Free Downloads Before Antietam: The Battle For South Mountain
Civil War buffs and scholars quickly recognize the dates of September 16-18, 1862 as the period marking the bloodiest battle of the entire campaign--Antietam. But until now, the ten days prior to that event have remained in relative obscurity. In Before Antietem, John Michael Priest offers the first book-length, tactical exploration of the Maryland campaign and the Battles of South Mountain, describing the decisive events leading up to the famous battle and elevating them from mere footnote status to a matter of military record. Chronicling Robert E. Lee's turnabout from defensive maneuvres to full scale Confederate invasion into Maryland, Priest demonstrates how this tactical change brought about a series of engagements near Sharpsburg, Maryland that came to be known as "The Battle of South Mountain" in which the Federal and Confederate forces struggled fiercely over Union territory. It was here that George B. McClellan, the new Northern commander, led his Army of the Potomac to its first victory over Lee in a furious action that produced one of the war's few successful bayonet charges. Written from the perspective of the front line combatants (and civilian observers), the book recounts the Confederate invasion and the Federal pursuit into Sharpsburg that set the stage for Antietam. From September 5-15, a total of twenty-five skirmishes and three pitched battles were fought. Priest provides graphic descriptions of the terrible conditions surrounding these events and so thoroughly enters into the common soldier's viewpoint that military history quickly gives way to gritty realism. He vividly shows that, had Robert E. Lee not been bested at the gaps along South Mountain, there would have been no Antietam. Lee's decision to make a stand along Antietam Creek was a point of pride--he had never been "whipped" before and would not return to Virginia defeated. That decision was a fateful one, since the sparring and fighting drove him into an untenable position that became his downfall. Priest's revealing narrative establishes that, at this stage of the Civil War, the Federal cavalry was better equipped and just as well trained as the Confederate cavalry thereby settling a point of debate among historians. Scholars and Civil War buffs alike will applaud the efforts of John Michael Priest in bringing us the means to view those devastating encounters from a true military perspective. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Hardcover: 433 pages
Publisher: White Mane Pub (November 1992)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0942597370
ISBN-13: 978-0942597370
Product Dimensions: 1.8 x 6.5 x 9.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #850,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #38 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Campaigns & Battlefields > Antietam #8449 in Books > History > Military > United States
Noted Civil War Historian and author John M. Priest has written an excellent book titled "Before Antietam: The Battle for South Mountain". The author based the book on the letters, diaries, and personal memoirs of the soldiers in the battle. This battle in September of 1862 occured when the Army of Northern Virginia invaded Maryland when General Robert E. Lee wanted to divert federal troops (Army of the Potomac) away from the Confederate Capital of RIchmond, Virginia. The area of South Mountain is part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range of Maryland and Pennsylvania. It begins at the Potomac RIver and increases in height and width as it goes northward. It is not a "good area" for battles, yet the battle occured in September 1862. When General Lee's "Special Orders No. 191" were captured by a Union corporal and a 1st Sergeant they were quickly passed to the Army of The Potomac's leading General Geroge McClellan. He believed it was a great stroke of luck and inspired him to make a quick move (unlike his prior performance as leader of the Army of The Potomac) and march towards South Mountain. But as usual "Little Mac" made some great mistakes. He overestimated the number of troops the Army of Northern Virginia (ANV) had, and as a result he went back to his overlay cautious nature and postponed encountering the ANV. Secondly, the Union commanders made no moves to hide their army's presence. Thus the ANV knew the Union army was on the move to meet and battle them. The author then tells the history of the battle where overwhelming numbers of Union troops battled savagely with the ANV and the fighting turned into hand-to-hand combat with bayonets and clubbed muskets. Two generals (CSA and USA) would be killed, Union General Jesse Reno and Confederate General Samuel Garland.
Before Antietam: The Battle for South Mountain The Battle of South Mountain: The History of the Civil War Battle that Led the Union and Confederate Armies to Antietam The Maps of Antietam: An Atlas of the Antietam (Sharpsburg) Campaign, including the Battle of South Mountain, September 2 - 20, 1862 (Savas Beatie Military Atlas) My Side of the Mountain Trilogy (My Side of the Mountain / On the Far Side of the Mountain / Frightful's Mountain) Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry: A Battlefield Guide (This Hallowed Ground: Guides to Civil War Battlefields) Too Useful to Sacrifice: Reconsidering George B. McClellan's Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam The Mountain Man 5 Journey of the Mountain Man (Smoke Jensen the Mountain Man) From Cedar Mountain to Antietam (Stackpole) Kershaw's Brigade - volume 1 - South Carolina's Regiments in the American Civil War - Manassas, Seven Pines, Sharpsburg (Antietam), Fredricksburg, ... Fort Sanders & Bean Station. (v. 1) Antietam: The Soldiers' Battle Landscape Turned Red : The Battle of Antietam Guide to the Battle of Antietam The Gleam of Bayonets: The Battle of Antietam and Robert E. Lee's Maryland Campaign, September 1862 Brave Hearts Trembled: Regimental Wargame Scenarios for the Battle of Antietam The Bloodiest Day: The Battle of Antietam (Civil War) The Bloodiest Day: Battle of Antietam (Graphic History) The Battle of Antietam:: The Bloodiest Day (Civil War Series) Rocky Mountain Mammals: A handbook of mammals of Rocky Mountain National Park and vicinity Chamonix Mountain Adventures (Cicerone Mountain Guide) Mountain Biking Moab: A Guide To Moab's Greatest Off-Road Bicycle Rides (Regional Mountain Biking Series)
