A Savage Thunder: Antietam and the Bloody Road to Freedom

In September 1862, two great armies faced each other across Antietam Creek. The outnumbered Confederate forces were led by famed General Robert E. Lee. The Union army was led by overly cautious General George B. McClellan. As the epic confrontation played out across the battlefield, President Abraham Lincoln was finishing his final draft of the Emancipation Proclamation in Washington, DC. Jim Murphy uses archival photographs, maps, and firsthand accounts to recreate one of America's most important battles. Notes and sources. Bibliography. Index. Battlefield maps. Black-and-white photographs.