Book Thoughts: "Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam" by Stephen W. Sears

As I've delved more seriously into Civil War Histories, I found that Stephen Sears' writing is pretty much beyond equal. In particular, I found this book first rate both as a work of military history and as a historical narrative.

As with most reputable Civil War histories, in this book Sears doesn't just cover the battle that occurred along Antietam Creek, but the entire campaign that led up to the the bloodiest single day in American History. In particular, I found the discussion of the Battle for South Mountain to be particularly riveting.

As for the section on Antietam itself, Sears gives the reader an excellent sense of what it might have been like to witness what many soldiers described as some of the most savage and violent fighting of the war. The sections on the battle for the cornfield and the sunken road are page turners in the tradition of a great novel. He also describes in extreme detail the aftermath of the battle including the human toll and the devastation of the land around Sharpsburg.

What's also interesting about the book is the rather in depth character study of General McClellan. The "Young Napoleon" wrote frequent letters to his wife and his political friends during the Maryland campaign and Sears uses these to give us a valuable insight into the mind of the Union commanding general, a general who would be relieved of his command for the final time not long after the battle.

A great historical book. A definite must read for Civil War buffs.