NF Antietam book

[Rebelsoul]

Can't find any info, when is Scott Hartwigs second edition of the Antietam campaign coming out ? Got the first one looking for the second . Thanks !

 

[rpkennedy]

Can't find any info, when is Scott Hartwigs second edition of the Antietam campaign coming out ? Got the first one looking for the second . Thanks !

I thought that it was supposed to come out later this year but I haven't seen anything in quite some time so I don't know if that is still the timetable.

Ryan

 

[67th Tigers]

The author's last update in April says he's finished the Antietam chapters, and is moving on to Shepherdstown etc.:

I have finished the last two full chapters on the Battle of Antietam, covering the 9th Corps assault on the afternoon of September 17 and A. P. Hill's counterattack. Other than a part of the next chapter to cover the disastrous attack of the 7th Maine at the Piper farm this concludes my 18 chapters on the battle. Now, it will be on to the end of the campaign, aftermath, etc., to wrap up the manuscript. This is no small task but I see the end to this massive project now.

As I was working on these chapters I thought possibly some people might be interested in how I assemble my notes for a chapter. The process has changed over the life of this project. In my first chapters I had files and books spread all over my study and numerous files open on my computer. I would not call this a system. Chaotic and time wasting are better descriptors. Maybe it works for some people but I found it maddening paging through books or searching through files for that great quote you were sure you could find easily but a half hour later still eluded discovery. Or, there were the times you lost your grip on a fat file and its contents spilled out all over the floor. I decided to create an electronic notes file for each chapter. To do this I read through every source I have relevant to the chapter I was working on and typed into a single document anything important or quotable from that source. This is time consuming but it has two advantages. First, the process of both reading and typing sources familiarizes you with the source material and often reveals patterns that would not otherwise be noticeable. Second, when you finish you have a single document with nearly all the source material you need to write that particular chapter. As an example, my notes file for Chapters 17 and 18 is 83 pages long and 57,000 words. It could have been longer but I tired out trying to enter all the little details from the many different artillery batteries involved and just used the old-fashioned search, find and read process I had followed earlier for some of them. Battle chapters notes are organized by order of battle so it is easy to find what I need and a Word document is searchable, so tracking down a specific quote is simple. With everything in one place I have found writing flows more easily and makes it less likely that you may miss something important. Everyone who writes history has their own way of taking notes and using sources. I don't advocate that mine is better than anyone else's. It just works for me. I hope you all stay safe out there and that you are finding some time during this pandemic to get some reading done you've been wanting to do. I just finished Will Greene's A Campaign of Giants, about the first couple months of the Petersburg Campaign. An outstanding work.

 

[Andrew]

I think I read in the same FB thread as the one 67th quoted above that once the manuscript is done, the finished book is still 18 months away (editing, etc).

 

[Cavalier]

@67th Tigers Thank you for posting that! If he hasn't quite finished the book yet I imagine, as Andrew stated above, it will be a while before we see it. I am not complaining however, as good things are worth waiting for, and his first volume was certainly a good thing, anyway I loved it.

John

 

[rpkennedy]

@67th Tigers Thank you for posting that! If he hasn't quite finished the book yet I imagine, as Andrew stated above, it will be a while before we see it. I am not complaining however, as good things are worth waiting for, and his first volume was certainly a good thing, anyway I loved it.

John

With that new info, I'm thinking spring 2022.

Ryan

 

[Mango Hill]

I got Landscape Turned Red by Stephen Sears about a dozen years ago and Taken At The Flood plus Sounding The Shallows by Joseph L. Harsh on Kindle about half a dozen years ago (which I still haven't finished reading). If I were to buy To Antietam Creek by Scott Hartwig it wouldn't be putting any money in his pocket as all copies are sold out and only very expensive used one are available. From all the reviews I've seen Hartwig's book is at the top of the class, but I'm afraid of getting bogged down by too much detail (not a bad thing, sometimes) and a dry, scholarly style narrative (like Harsh's books). I like books that brings out the authors personality and graces the pages with his opinions. Gosh, I sound like a real p...k, but I don't mean to. Sorry to all the Joseph Harsh fans.

What I'm trying to say is if Hartwig's work worth the price in time and treasure, in order to get down in the nitty gritty of details not covered by Sears and Harsh, at the expense of a smooth and easier narrative? Basically, a scholarly work written for the general reader (if such a thing still exists).

 

[Cavalier]

@Mango Hill Speaking for myself, I am always looking for tactical details and I believe Hartwig's volume 2 will supply more of them. To me it would be worth it. Just an opinion, but it seems two detailed volume is not directed at the general reader just as I believe Dr. Pfanz's Gettysburg volumes are not directed at a general audience.

John

 

[Mango Hill]

@Mango Hill Speaking for myself, I am always looking for tactical details and I believe Hartwig's volume 2 will supply more of them. To me it would be worth it. Just an opinion, but it seems two detailed volume is not directed at the general reader just as I believe Dr. Pfanz's Gettysburg volumes are not directed at a general audience.

John

Thanks, John. Appreciate your response.

Regards,

MH

 

[Cavalier]

Your welcome.

John

 

[Rebelsoul]

Thanks for all the info, my question was answered. Really looking forward to the book as Sharpsburg holds a dear place for me. I lived very close to the battlefield for years and would go there all the time. Very haunting and mystical place for me. I have all the books by Carman, Priest, Harsh and these will fill out my collection. Again thanks all.