Artillery Hell: The Employment of Artillery at Antietam (Volume 38)

Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series #38

by Curt Johnson, Richard C. Anderson Jr.

September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek was the bloodiest day of the Civil War, as both armies made heavy use of field artillery, the "long arm."

In Artillery Hell Curt Johnson and Richard C. Anderson, Jr., provide a detailed examination of the role of field artillery in the Battle of Antietam. Johnson sets the context with an overview of organizational problems on the eve of a great battle. Anderson's concise discussion of different types of artillery and their capabilities and ammunition is presented in accessible language.

The heart of Artillery Hell is Maj. Joseph Mills Hanson's unpublished 1940 report, "Employment of Artillery." It includes compilations of the batteries in the respective armies at Antietam, a review of the battle actions of the "individual batteries," and a "list of battery positions in a tentative order."

Johnson and Anderson build upon Hanson's reports with individual chapters on the Union and the Confederate artillery at Antietam. Utilizing previously untapped or unavailable sources, especially the Henry Jackson Hunt Papers at the Library of Congress, they answer questions that have long challenged historians and others interested in the battle.

Artillery Hell discusses virtually every aspect of field artillery used during the Civil War. Battlefield visitors can use it to identify and understand the different types of cannon and their capabilities, and historians will find in it the military perspective so many studies of the battle lack.

Genres: American Civil War, History

168 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now, understand right off that this book is not a battle narrative, although it does contain a pretty good synopsis of the battle from the artillery's point of view on both sides. What it is, is an excellent reference guide to what gun types were used by both sides at Antietam, and what the experiences of the various battalions and batteries were. It's a reference book to be treasured by Civil War artillery enthusiasts and scholars.

The meat of the book is a reproduction of the 1940 report by MAJ Joseph Mills Hanson on the experiences of both sides' artillery in the battle, to be used as a guide for where to place guns as markers in the Antietam National Battlefield park. He had to do an analysis of which guns to put where to accurately portray the flow of the battle for park visitors. My old friends and colleagues Johnson and Anderson build on this with a lovely set of photos of the battlefield (in the mid-1990s, when the book was written) which are well-interpreted, as well as an in-depth description of each battery on both sides, with numbers and types of guns engaged, personnel strengths and casualties, and quotes from various other reports (including the Barry Hunt papers and the Carman manuscript) that mention that particular battery.

Serious Civil War scholars--especially artillery enthusiasts--will not rest until they have a copy of this excellent scholarly work on their research shelf.

[Brian Miracle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good discussion of the types and usage of artillery used at Antietam. While not recommended for a general book on the Battle of Antietam, it makes a good supplement if you want further understanding of artillery employment at Antietam.

[William Olenick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent artillery reference book. Contains great descriptions of each type of cannon and howitzer used at the battle. Also explains the ammunition types to clarify any misunderstanding s about them.