Stonewall Jackson's Siege of Harper's Ferry ended with the surrender of 12,000 Union soldiers with six dozen cannons--the largest surrender of United States forces until World War II. This and the Battle for South Mountain long have been overshadowed by Antietam. Civil War buffs and battlefield trampers will welcome this detailed guide, with maps and photos throughout.

In September 1862 the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac conducted one of the truly great campaigns of the Civil War. At South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, and Antietam, North and South clashed in engagements whose magnitude and importance would earn this campaign a distinguished place in American military history. The siege of Harpers Ferry produced the largest surrender of U.S. troops in the nation's history until World War II, while the day-long battle at Antietam on September 17 still holds the distinction of being the single bloodiest day of combat in Amer.

“A thorough account of the fighting . . . Not only appealingly written but a worthwhile addition to Maryland Campaign literature.” —Historynet.com In September 1862, Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia north of the Potomac River for the time as part of his Northern invasion, seeking a quick end to the war. Lee divided his army in three, sending General James Longstreet north to Hagerstown and Stonewall Jackson south to Harper’s Ferry. It was at three mountain passes, referred to as South Mountain, that Lee’s army met the Federal forces commanded by General George B. McClellan on September 14. In a fierce day-long battle spread out across miles of rugged, mountainous terrain, McClellan defeated Lee but the Confederates did tie up the Federals long enough to allow Jackson’s conquest of Harper’s Ferry. Join historian John Hoptak as he narrates the critical Battle of South Mountain, long overshadowed by the Battle of Antietam. “A remarkable work . . . The marches of both armies to South Mountain are presented with close attention to the men in the ranks. The combat is fully covered at each of the gaps in South Mountain.” —Civil War Librarian “A crisp, concise but comprehensive account of the battles at the four passes or ‘gaps’ across South Mountain on September 14, 1862 . . . A truly scholarly effort that will satisfy both serious Civil War students and the general reading public. For Maryland Campaign aficionados, it is a must have addition to your library and is now the definitive account of the battle.” —South from the North Woods

Describes the battle on 17 September 1862 when nearly 70,000 Federal troops actually engaged in the battle, nearly 13,000 were killed, wounded, or missing; the approximately 35,000 Confederates engaged lost almost as many. General McClellan's indecision allowed General Lee to withdraw to the safety of the Virginia shore.

Contains more than 20 maps, diagrams and illustrations The Battle of Antietam has been called the bloodiest single day in American History. By the end of the evening, 17 September 1862, an estimated 4,000 American soldiers had been killed and over 18,000 wounded in and around the small farming community of Sharpsburg, Maryland. Emory Upton, then a captain with the Union artillery battery, later wrote, "I have heard of 'the dead lying in heaps,' but never saw it till this battle. Whole ranks fell together." The battle had been a day of confusion, tactical blunders, individual heroics, and the effects of just plain luck. It brought to an end a Confederate campaign to "liberate" the border state of Maryland and possibly take the war into Pennsylvania. A little more than one hundred and forty years later, the Antietam battlefield is one of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields in the National Park System. Antietam is ideal for a staff ride, since a continuing goal of the National Park Service is to maintain the site in the condition in which it was on the day of the battle. The purpose of any staff ride is to learn from the past by analyzing the battle through the eyes of the men who were there, both leaders and rank-and-file soldiers. Antietam offers many lessons in command and control, communications, intelligence, weapons technology versus tactics, and the ever-present confusion, or "fog" of battle. We hope that these lessons will allow us to gain insights into decision-making and the human condition during combat.