In early September 1862 thousands of Union soldiers huddled within the defenses of Washington, disorganized and discouraged from their recent defeat at Second Manassas. Confederate General Robert E. Lee then led his tough and confident Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland in a bold gamble to force a showdown that could win Southern independence. The future of the Union hung in the balance. The campaign that followed lasted only two weeks, but it changed the course of the Civil War.

D. Scott Hartwig delivers a riveting first installment of a two-volume study of the campaign and climactic battle. It takes the reader from the controversial return of George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac through the Confederate invasion, the siege and capture of Harpers Ferry, the daylong Battle of South Mountain, and, ultimately, to the eve of the great and terrible Battle of Antietam.

"The first volume of this two volume set is so very well written and all-inclusive on the detailed facts of this Maryland Campaign that it looks like this two volume set just might be the very best ever written on this campaign and battle."--Lone Star Book Reviews

"It is difficult to imagine that a future study on this campaign could supersede Hartwig's work."--Civil War Book Review

"A new and monumental study of the origins and initiation of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 . . . To Antietam Creek is a tour de force which will stand as the preeminent and final word on the subject . . . A must read for any serious Civil War student interested in the crucial events leading up to the Battle of Antietam. It is an instant classic on the subject, superbly written, and a ready preface to what will be an equally important and fresh approach to the battle in a second book."--Blue and Gray Magazine

"Hartwig has unquestionably produced the most thoroughly researched book published in this Civil War sesquicentennial period."--Journal of Southern History

"[To Antietam Creek's] sheer comprehensiveness makes it indispensable for studying the Maryland Campaign. For the first time, the entirety of the campaign, from the end of the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 30 to the night of September 16 is covered in detail . . . The narrative is clear and strikingly vivid, making for a compelling read . . . Hartwig offers a wonderful study on the battlefield commanders as well, maintaining a fair and balanced account . . . [T]he result is a comprehensive, engaging, and informative study."--Southern Historian

"To Antietam Creek is a masterfully detailed and exceptionally well-written narrative of the Union and Confederate perspectives on the Maryland Campaign leading up to the bloodiest day in the history of the Western Hemisphere. It skillfully examines the armies and the men who both commanded and served in them. It disentangles complicated battle narratives and provides balanced coverage of the personalities and major decisions of the campaign. Finally, it deconstructs many persistent myths about the campaign and uses abundant evidence to support its conclusions. It should serve as a definitive work on the buildup to Antietam, and its companion volume should be eagerly awaited."--H-Net Reviews

"To Antietam Creek makes a very substantial contribution to the scholarship on the Maryland Campaign. It is thoroughly researched and taps previously unused sources. As the most comprehensive work available on the campaign leading up to Antietam, it will inform both historians and casual readers; its gripping narrative forcefully conveys some [of] the excitement that participants in the campaign must have felt. We should look forward to D. Scott Hartwig's concluding volume on the Battle of Antietam itself."--Michigan War Studies Review

D. Scott Hartwig was the supervisory park historian at the Gettysburg National Military Park for twenty years. He is the author of The Battle of Antietam and the Maryland Campaign of 1862: A Bibliography.