Booknotes: Artillery of Antietam

New Arrival:

• Artillery of Antietam: The Union and Confederate Batteries at the Battle of Antietam by James A. Rosebrock (Press of the Antietam Inst, 2023).

The depth and scope of Jim Rosebrock's Artillery of Antietam clearly exceeds that of the battle's long-serving standard reference work Artillery Hell: The Employment of Artillery at Antietam, which is fast approaching its 30-year anniversary.

From the description: Rosebrock's study "provides for the first time ever, a comprehensive examination of every Federal and Confederate artillery battery (135 in all), and their commanders, that participated in the Maryland Campaign of 1862. Detailed accounts cover the artillery battles at South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, Antietam, Shepherdstown, Williamsport, and the skirmishes between the Union and Confederate horse artillery batteries during the advance into Maryland."

Saying the battery accounts are "detailed" is no overstatement. The divisional artillery (consisting of 2 or more batteries) unit background and Maryland Campaign service histories for both sides routinely fill a dozen or so 8.5" x 11" double-column pages. The text is researched from a diverse range of primary and secondary sources, including archival materials, newspapers, books, articles, and various online resources.

Supplemental material is also impressive. More from the description: "Twenty-eight original maps highlight the artillery actions in great detail. The book has an introductory chapter on light artillery operations in the Civil War and six tables providing detailed information on numbers of artillerymen, casualties, and armament."

Hartwig's mammoth battle history, of which I am currently approaching the halfway mark, will undoubtedly leave me Antietam'd out of a while, but I will eventually get to this.