John M. Priest

Antietam by John Michael Priest is aptly subtitled “The Soldier’s Battle” since it is a distillation of many letters, journal entries, diaries and various other contemporary personal accounts of the battle. The battle itself has the dubious distinction of recording the most casualties American armed forces have ever sustained in a single day, 24,412; nearly 30% of all the forces engaged. Of course, all the forces engaged were American. But that is the terrible added cost of a Civil war. What Mr. Priest has done with this account is set the reader in the rank and file of the soldiers who paid that cost.

There is no preamble or introductory set up. There is no elucidation of the grand strategy or how the forces came to meet. There is not even an explanation of what each armies’ goals were or what their commanders hoped to accomplish. In fact, aside from a very few almost cameo appearances by General Robert E. Lee, the commanders – in – chief are pretty much absent. Instead, we are placed almost as silent observers in the rank and file of those doing the fighting. The narrative, drawn from meticulously researching thousands of documents, follows along minute by minute from brigade to brigade as the first shots are fired from the West Woods through the Cornfield and across Bloody Lane finally to end in the fields between the Lower Bridge and Sharpsburg. It is a horrible journey through bravery, heroics, confusion, and, above all, extreme carnage. As the battle unfolds soldiers tell their experiences. They come either through journals or letters written directly afterward, in some cases during, or through memoirs and reminisces from later years. Either way, the sensation of being in the thick of the action is palpable.

Throughout the book, the reader has very little idea how the battle is going, much like the trooper in the field. Except, no matter which side is currently being described, the losses are staggering. Also staggering is the compassion. Scenes are described where moments before soldiers were mowing each other down with minie-balls and canister shot, are now offering water and binding wounds.

It takes a while to get into the rhythm of the author’s style but once you get used to it, the story flows very well. There are certain sections of the book that are definite can’t-put-it-down page-turners, particularly the fight at Bloody Lane. The maps, while helpful and abundant, could have been done better; perhaps in color and with more description.

It would be a very difficult task to find a work that better describes and makes the reader actually know and feel what it was like to be a soldier on a 19th century battlefield. I highly recommend this account.… (meer)