NF New Cornfield Book To Be Released in March

Non-Fiction

Andy Cardinal

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The Cornfield: Antietam's Bloody Turning Point

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1612008321/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

The author, David Welker, also wrote Tempest at Ox Hill and writes the Cornfield blog

https://antietamscornfield.com/blog/
 
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Oh, I am looking forward to this, because of my special interest in the 3rd North Carolina Infantry Regiment.

I reecently read Marion Armstrong's 2016 Opposing the Second Corps at Antietam, which does a good job with same subject.
 
Is the Amazon link working for other CWT folk? Not for me...
 
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Is the Amazon link working for other CWT folk? Not for me...
I'm not sure why the link is blocked, but I did an Amazon search and was able to get to it. I preordered a copy, so I will report back and receiving it. The release date is March 14.
 
Dude, this is gonna be AWESOME! The 1st Texas was practically decimated in the Cornfield. Thanks so much for letting us know about this.

James
I want to read about them too for they suffered the highest casualty rate than any other regiment in a single battle North or South. The Texas Brigade suffered over 50% casualties. The 1st Texas suffered 82.3% casualties; 186 out of 226 engaged.
 
Has anyone read this yet? I'm very interested to read feedbacks on this book. The battle at the cornfields changed hands no less than 15 times.
 
I recently read online that Rufus Dawes in the 6th Wisconsin(Iron Brigade)said that after the war he visited all the battlefields including Fredericksburg and Gettysburg but he would NOT go visit the battlefield at Antietam/Sharpsburg especially the cornfield.
 
I recently read online that Rufus Dawes in the 6th Wisconsin(Iron Brigade)said that after the war he visited all the battlefields including Fredericksburg and Gettysburg but he would NOT go visit the battlefield at Antietam/Sharpsburg especially the cornfield.
That's true. I suspect thats because he struggled with the fact that after taking command of the regiment, some of his orders were either mis-delivered or mis-interpreted and many men were killed or wounded as a result. Also one of his best friends in the regiment, Captain Edwin A. Brown, was killed instantly right in front of Dawes as he was carrying out another of Dawes's orders.

I recently finished the book. It is by far the best account of the cornfield fighting available -- lots of tactical and personal details. I'm not sure if I agree with everything the author says -- but the cornfield fighting is so confusing that I think I will need to read the book again to get a really good feel for it.
 
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That's true. I suspect thats because he syruggled with the fact that after taking command of the regiment, some of hos orders were either mis-delivered or mis-interpreted and many men were killed or wounded as a result. Also one of his best friends in the regiment, Captain Edwin A. Brown, was killed instantly right in front of Dawes as he was carrying out another of Dawes's orders.

I recently finished the book. It is by far the best accoun t of the cornfield fighting available -- lots of tactical and personal details. I'm not sure if I agree with everything the author says -- but the cornfield fighting is so confusing that I think I will need to read the book again to get a true to get a really good feel for it.
Great reply!!! I did read that Rufus Dawes suffered from PTSD after the war. This book is definitely on my wishlist! Author's account may not be agreeable but at least they provide much that other books and sources have not. Wow! What you said of Dawes just leaves me speechless and cannot imagine the carnage both sides fought and went through and all they saw in this terrible battle.
 
Great reply!!! I did read that Rufus Dawes suffered from PTSD after the war. This book is definitely on my wishlist! Author's account may not be agreeable but at least they provide much that other books and sources have not. Wow! What you said of Dawes just leaves me speechless and cannot imagine the carnage both sides fought and went through and all they saw in this terrible battle.

Dawes' memoir is outstanding and should be read by anyone interested in the Iron Brigade.

Ryan
 
Dawes' memoir is outstanding and should be read by anyone interested in the Iron Brigade.

Ryan
I have a book called "Iron Brigade" by Alan Nolan in my reading list of books I have. I hope they cover a good portion of the Cornfield battle and all they went through the entire war in this book and that would be good enough for me. Thanks Ryan!
 
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I have a book called "Iron Brigade" by Alan Nolan in my reading list of books I have. I hope they cover a good portion of the Cornfield battle and all they went through the entire war in this book and that would be good enough for me. Thanks Ryan!

I read that book 20-odd years ago when I was in college and remember enjoying it back then.

Ryan
 
There are a lot of good Iron Brigade books. Regarding coverage of the Cornfield fighting, I would also recommend The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory and Giants in Their Tall Black Hats (which is actually a book of essays) in addition to Nolan.
 
I hope this book is balanced covering both sides and steers away from controversies.
 
I hope this book is balanced covering both sides and steers away from controversies.
It's balanced and presents both sides without going into too much hyperbole. The author's conclusions are not always conventional. For example, he calls both Hooker and Hood to task for their command performances, even though most people would say both did well. But I should emphasize that in questioning Hood's performance, he does not question what his men accomplished. For Hood, the critisicm is that behaved as a brigade commander and did not oversee the whole division effectively, which is why the counterattack became disjointed.

One of the author's main points is McClellan's linear thinking, which I think is a major theme of the book. The prolonged fighting in the cornfield disrupted McClellan's linear plan, which is a big reason in the author's view that he did not accomplish more at Antietam. In other words, McClellan could not adjust his plan on the fly, which is an obvious flaw in a fluid battle.
 
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