John Michael Priest gives us the story of this horrible event from the perspective of the common soldier. Jay Luvaas summed it up in the introduction as this:
The purpose of the book is not to analyze and interpret the battle, but to weave a tapestry of individual experiences...one should read this book not so much to understand the movements on the battlefield as to enhance our understanding of the Civil War soldier.Priest wants us to remember those who fought in the trenches, not just the leaders whose visions we've read for years. Why Lee split his forces in Maryland while McClellan approached is not of significance to discuss, because we already know the generals' reasoning. What we don't know, however, is the thoughts coursing through the mind of the Rebel soldier overlooking what would be called Burnside's Bridge, outnumbered 10 to 1 yet still preventing a Yankee crossing of Antietam creek.
And the soldiers weren't alone. The people of Sharpsburg suffered during this monumentous conflict in their town, and the nurses who tried to calm and heal the wounded, most noticeably present was nurse Clara Barton.
Priest did such extensive research through Civil War veterans' letters, notes, diaries, etc., he puts the reader into battle alongside the troops in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and McClellan's Army of the Potomac.
The quote that really brought home the horror of what the sounds, the sights and smells must have been, are best personified by Private George K. Harlow (D Co., 23rd VA), who visited the battle field ten months later on the way to Gettysburg:
Dear Father Mother and FamilyWhen visiting Antietam National Battlefield during Spring Break in '95 with Dad, it was easy to see how the Rebs (mainly Georgians) hid in the hill over Burnside's Bridge and picked off the yanks by the dozens, or envision the Confederates sitting in the sunken road shooting the troops coming over the rolling hills like ducks in a county fair.
...I have been this morning over the old Sharpsburg battle field this morning and have witnessed the most horrible sights that my eyes ever beheld. I saw dead yankees in any number just lying on the top of the ground with a little dirt throwed over them and the hogs rooting them out of the ground and eating them and others lying on the top of the ground with the flesh picked off and their bones bleaching and they by many hundreds! Oh what a horrible sight for human beings to look upon in a civilized Country! When will this horrid war ever end; God grant the time may spedily [sic] the time may soon come that piece [sic] may return to our once happy Country and our lives may be spared to meet each other again on earth; may the Lord take care of you all and shield you from all harme [sic] is the prayer of your unworthy son and Brother....G.K. Harlow
Back to Jeff's Book Reviews | Home