The Battle of Shepherdstown and the End of the Campaign is the third and final volume of Ezra Carman’s magisterial The Maryland Campaign of September 1862. As bloody and horrific as the battle of Antietam was, historian Ezra Carman—who penned a 1,800-page manuscript on the Maryland campaign—did not believe it was the decisive battle of the campaign. Generals Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan intended to continue fighting after Sharpsburg, but the battle of Shepherdstown Ford (September 19 and 20) forced them to abandon their goals and end the campaign. Carman was one of the few who gave this smaller engagement its due importance, detailing the disaster that befell the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry and Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill’s success in repulsing the Union advance, and the often overlooked foray of Jeb Stuart’s cavalry to seize the Potomac River ford at Williamsport. Carman also added a statistical study of the casualties in the various battles of the entire Maryland Campaign, and covered Lincoln’s decision to relieve McClellan of command on November 7. He also explored the relations between President Lincoln and General McClellan before and after the Maryland Campaign, which he appended to his original manuscript. The “before” section, a thorough examination of the controversy about McClellan’s role in the aftermath of Second Manassas campaign, will surprise some and discomfort others, and includes an interesting narrative about McClellan’s reluctance to commit General Franklin’s corps to aid Maj. Gen. John Pope’s army at Manassas. Carman concludes with an executive summary of the entire campaign. Dr. Clemens concludes Carman’s invaluable narrative with a bibliographical dictionary (and genealogical goldmine) of the soldiers, politicians, and diplomats who had an impact on shaping Carman’s manuscript. While many names will be familiar to readers, others upon whom Carman relied for creating his campaign narrative are as obscure to us today as they were during the war. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Vol. III: The Battle of Shepherdstown and the End of the Campaign, concludes the most comprehensive and detailed account of the campaign ever produced. Jammed with firsthand accounts, personal anecdotes, detailed footnotes, maps, and photos, this long-awaited study will be appreciated as Civil War history at its finest.

The definitive soldier’s-eye view of the Battle of Antietam—the bloodiest day in American history. A veteran of the Battle of Antietam, Ezra A. Carman served as a colonel of the 13th New Jersey Infantry. After the horrific fighting of September 17, 1862, he recorded in his diary that he was preparing “a good map of the Antietam battle and a full account of the action.” Unbeknownst to the young officer, the project would become the most significant work of his life. Appointed as the “Historical Expert” to the Antietam Battlefield Board in 1894, Carman solicited accounts from hundreds of veterans, scoured through thousands of letters and maps, and assimilated the material into the hundreds of cast iron tablets that still mark the field today. Carman also wrote an 1,800-page manuscript on the campaign. Although it remained unpublished for more than a century, many historians and students of the war consider it to be the best overall treatment of the campaign ever written. Dr. Thomas G. Clemens, recognized internationally as one of the foremost historians of the Maryland Campaign, has spent more than two decades studying Antietam and editing and richly annotating Carman’s exhaustively written manuscript. The result is The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Carman’s magisterial account published for the first time in two volumes. Jammed with firsthand accounts, personal anecdotes, maps, photos, a biographical dictionary, and a database of veterans’ accounts of the fighting, this long-awaited study will be read and appreciated as battle history at its finest.

Antietam is the eagerly awaited second volume of Ezra Carman's magisterial The Maryland Campaign of September 1862. Many authors have written about the climactic September 17 battle of the 1862 invasion of Maryland, but it is impossible to do so without referencing Carman's sweeping and definitive maps and 1,800-page manuscript. His work guides every Civil War historian and comprises the basis of the National Park Service's interpretive programs at Antietam. Indeed, even the basic layout of the National Park battlefield was based upon Carman's groundbreaking work. Carman had the advantage of not only participating in the battle as a colonel in the Union army, but knowing, corresponding, and conversing with hundreds of Northern and Southern soldiers from corps commanders all the way down to privates. Over the decades he amassed a vast collection of letters, maps, and personal memoirs from many key participants. He used this treasure trove of firsthand accounts to create his compelling narrative. No one has devoted more time and effort to understanding what happened at Antietam than did Ezra Carman-the campaign's first true historian. Unfortunately, Carman did not always note from where he obtained his information, making the authenticity and reliability of his work problematic. Editor Thomas G. Clemens, recognized internationally as one of the foremost historians of the Maryland Campaign, has spent more than two decades studying Antietam and editing and richly annotating Carman's exhaustively written manuscript. As Clemens discovered, Carman used his sources judiciously, and the stories he relates withstand scrutiny for accuracy and reliability. Carman's invaluable prose is augmented by his detailed maps of the dawn to nearly dusk fighting on September 17, which have never appeared in their original form in any book on the battle. Even more exciting are the newly discovered 19th century photographs authorized by Carman to document his work laying out the battlefield, a haunting visual record of how the battlefield appeared to Carman as he tried to unravel its mysteries. The result is The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Antietam, the most comprehensive and detailed account of the battle ever produced. Jammed with firsthand accounts, personal anecdotes, detailed footnotes, maps, and photos, this long-awaited study will be read and appreciated as battle history at its finest. Indeed, we will never see such a study again. About the Authors: Ezra Ayres Carman was born in Oak Tree, New Jersey, on February 27, 1834, and educated at Western Military Academy in Kentucky. He fought with New Jersey organizations throughout the Civil War. He died in 1909 on Christmas day and was buried just below the Custis- Lee mansion in Arlington Cemetery. Thomas G. Clemens earned his doctoral degree at George Mason University, where he studied under Maryland Campaign historian Dr. Joseph L. Harsh. Tom has published a wide variety of magazine articles and book reviews, has appeared in several documentary programs, and is a licensed tour guide at Antietam National Battlefield. A retired professor from Hagerstown Community College, he also helped found and is the current president of Save Historic Antietam Foundation, Inc., a preservation group dedicated to saving historic properties.

After the horrific fighting of September 17, 1862, Ezra Carman recorded in his diary that he was preparing "a good map of the Antietam battle and a full account of the action." Unbeknownst to the young officer, the project would become the most significant work of his life.

Completed in the early 1900s, The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 is still the essential source for anyone seeking understanding of the bloodiest day in all of American history. As the U.S. War Department’s official expert on the Battle of Antietam, Ezra Carman corresponded with and interviewed hundreds of other veterans from both sides of the conflict to produce a comprehensive history of the campaign that dashed the Confederacy’s best hope for independence and ushered in the Emancipation Proclamation. Nearly a century after its completion, Carman's manuscript has finally made its way into print, in an attractively packaged one-volume edition painstakingly edited, annotated, and indexed by Joseph Pierro. This edition, the first to publish the entire Carman manuscript, including the fifteen appendices, is designed for ease of use, with standardized punctuation and spelling, and conveniently footnoted explanations wherever necessary. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 is a crucial document for anyone interested in delving below the surface of the military campaign that forever altered the course of American history, and is still the only complete edition of Carman's work on the market. **Due to an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, the man currently appearing in the frontispiece of The Maryland Campaign of September, 1862 is not the actual Ezra Carman, but someone who looks remarkably similar to him. The real Mr. Carman can be found at: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003001783/PP/. We apologize for the mistake, and will correct this error in further printings.

Shepherdstown Ford and the End of the Campaign is the third and final volume of Ezra Carman's magisterial The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, superbly edited and annotated by Dr. Tom Clemens. Carman includes an invaluable statistical study of the casualties in the various battles of the entire Maryland Campaign.

A fully illustrated narrative of the Maryland campaign 1862, culminating in Antietam, the bloodiest single day in American military history. By the late summer of 1862, it appeared as though the United States would be permanently split in two, and by the beginning of September, General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was on the doorstep of Washington, D.C. Panicked and defeated Federal soldiers huddled behind the capital’s defenses. Rather than attacking the city, Lee turned his attention north into Maryland, seeking a decisive battlefield victory to influence public opinion at home and diplomatic opinion overseas. Major General George B. McClellan led the reorganized Army of the Potomac into the state to meet Lee. Over a span of 18 days, the two armies fought four significant battles, including the climactic engagement along Antietam Creek outside Sharpsburg on September 17, 1862. The battle there still holds the distinction as the bloodiest single day in American military history. Forced from Maryland, Lee withdrew into Virginia, leaving President Abraham Lincoln free to follow up this strategic victory with the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, a measure that changed the nature of the American Civil War. Copious illustrations and maps paired with a detailed text, this account of the Maryland campaign will have wide appeal.

The relative importance of Civil War campaigns is a matter for debate among historians and buffs alike. Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Atlanta have their advocates. Gettysburg certainly maintains its hold on the popular imagination. More recently has come the suggestion that no single campaign or battle decided the war or even appreciably altered its direction. If any one battle was a dividing line, Antietam is a solid contender. In no other campaign were the political, diplomatic, and military elements aligned so favorably for the Confederacy. Yet Lee's retreat after the terrible battle in September 1862 changed everything. Great Britain had second thoughts about intervention; Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; and Lee's army, while victorious on other fields, proved not to be unbeatable. Across the years, Antietam remains the worst one-day slaughter in American history. The ghastly losses in the Cornfield, the West Woods, and the Sunken Road still appall the reader. Lee's gamble against disaster and George McClellan's inexplicable refusal to press his advantage remain puzzlements.