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Guys,

I took some time to write up a blog entry on the Top 5 books on the Battle of Antietam and the Maryland Campaign of 1862. I'm interested to see what everyone thinks. Did I do a decent job? Did I leave YOUR favorite book out? I'm including my own Top 5 here for you to see, but I also encourage you to click the link, head to the blog entry, and tell me YOUR top 5.

1. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam
By Stephen W. Sears


2. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Ezra A. Carman’s Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam
Edited by Joseph Pierro


3. Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862
By Joseph L. Harsh


4. The Antietam Campaignand Antietam: Essays on the 1862 Maryland Campaign
Edited by Gary Gallagher


5. Guide to the Battle of Antietam
Edited by Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson

Brett the Appendix campanion to Taken at the Flood by Harsh is it any good?
Does it have any oob information?

Comtedemeighan wrote:Brett the Appendix campanion to Taken at the Flood by Harsh is it any good?
Does it have any oob information?

Very informative.

bschulte wrote:Guys,

I took some time to write up a blog entry on the Top 5 books on the Battle of Antietam and the Maryland Campaign of 1862. I'm interested to see what everyone thinks. Did I do a decent job? Did I leave YOUR favorite book out? I'm including my own Top 5 here for you to see, but I also encourage you to click the link, head to the blog entry, and tell me YOUR top 5.

1. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam
By Stephen W. Sears


2. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Ezra A. Carman’s Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam
Edited by Joseph Pierro


3. Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862
By Joseph L. Harsh


4. The Antietam Campaignand Antietam: Essays on the 1862 Maryland Campaign
Edited by Gary Gallagher


5. Guide to the Battle of Antietam
Edited by Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson

I own 1, 3 and 4. I would place Taken at the flood at the 1st. Of course, the book is only focused on Confederate side but what a bunch of detailed informations and developpednew regards on the campaign. Truly one of the best among the best on the CW ( and the 2 others of his trilogy are very commendable too).

I'm personally a huge fan of Sears. All his books are informative but amazingly readable.

Clovis wrote:I own 1, 3 and 4. I would place Taken at the flood at the 1st. Of course, the book is only focused on Confederate side but what a bunch of detailed informations and developpednew regards on the campaign. Truly one of the best among the best on the CW ( and the 2 others of his trilogy are very commendable too).

Clovis,

Taken at the Flood is my personal favorite, but I also weighed cost and viewpoint into this list. I figured since it costs more than Landscape Turned Red and only looks at the campaign from a Confederate viewpoint that Sears' book deserved to be ranked higher. Anyone who has Taken at the Flood at the top of their list won't hear an argument from me!

Comtedemeighan wrote:Brett the Appendix campanion to Taken at the Flood by Harsh is it any good?
Does it have any oob information?

As Clovis already mentioned, it is VERY informative. Harsh has detailed chapters on the weather of the campaign, the Order of Battle of the Army of Northern Virginia (updated from the incorrect OOBs in the ORs, Lee's reasons for entering Maryland, and much, much more! I look at Taken at the Flood and Sounding the Sahllows as parts of the same book, truth be told.

The companion has a full oob for the Confederate Army,with descriptions on all brigades and artillery battalions.Apart from that it has information on all counties and towns involved in the campaign.From stats on population,number of slaves per county,even to the amount of livestock slaughtered per county,and just about any other stat you would want to know.It's a good companion to go along with Confederate Tide Rising and Taken at the Flood.

Would also like to see Priest's book in the top five,Antietam: A Soldiers Story.Lots and lots of maps over 70 I believe.

Comtedemeighan wrote:Brett the Appendix campanion to Taken at the Flood by Harsh is it any good?
Does it have any oob information?

You can browse many pages of the companion at google books, including the order of battle

http://books.google.com/books?id=WOT2lL37U98C&pg=PA91&vq=survey&dq=sounding+shallows&lr=&as_brr=3&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0



Another OOB is in Osprey's monograph on Antietam, but for some reason you (americans) do not like Ospreys

http://books.google.com/books?id=3bw0MLkTC40C&pg=PA30&dq=antietam+%22order+of+battle%22&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=58bsSd-nNIfSNPzukIUJ

Ian Coote wrote:Would also like to see Priest's book in the top five,Antietam: A Soldiers Story.Lots and lots of maps over 70 I believe.

Ian,

You mean you didn't take my advice and click to read the blog entry?

I have both of Priest's books in the list of best Antietam books for wargamers in the article. I also did best books for beginners there. I guess I should have just made this a top 10 list!

Thanks for the info I gotta look into getting these I've been eyeing Taken at the flood anyway, I didn't know it had an appendix book. I love Osprey books Nikel I also gotta pick up the Longest Night...... so many books so little $$$

Comtedemeighan wrote:Thanks for the info I gotta look into getting these I've been eyeing Taken at the flood anyway, I didn't know it had an appendix book. I love Osprey books Nikel I also gotta pick up the Longest Night...... so many books so little $$$

Comte,

I hear you on the "so many books so little $$$" and I'll throw in "so many books so little time" as well!