Tuesday, October 02, 2012

First installment of Hartwig's Antietam study released


I first heard that D. Scott Hartwig was working on a monumental campaign study of Antietam so many years ago, I had actually forgotten about the project, or assumed it had been abandoned. Not so! Volume one is now available from Johns Hopkins University Press, and sets the stage with an examination of McClellan's return to the Army of the Potomac, the capture of Harpers Ferry, and the all-day fight for control of the South Mountain passes. Can't wait to read this one. 

3 comments:

DW@CWBA said...

My review copy of this behemoth arrived today. Until recently, I had no idea such a thing was in the works. I've often thought of keeping a listing of rumored projects on my blog. I often hear of things cooking and then just as quickly forget about them among the flood of new books that come out each year.

dw said...

Hi Drew,

The one and only time I met Scott Hartwig was when he was the keynote speaker at the West Coast Civil War Conference one year -- in November of 1994, at Tenaya Lodge near Yosemite -- all the buzz was about him working on the "definitive" Antietam campaign study. I remember thinking it interesting that a Gettysburg park ranger was writing about Antietam. I thought of Hartwig as a rising star, who would claim Gallagher or McPherson status in CW circles. But then I stopped hearing about him (at least in any kind of national publishing sense).

I'm excited about this one. Hopefully a worthy complement to Harsh's books.

Chris Evans said...

I knew it had been a while. I first heard about it in the late '90s. I would see him discuss it on programs and he was one of the featured historians on the excellent documentary shown at Antietam Battlefield everyday.

I always found it fascinating that a renowned Gettysburg park ranger working on 'THE' history of Antietam. I'm glad it finally came out. Now if I can ever afford to get a copy.

Chris