The Antietam Effect

by Bradley Graham

The Antietam Effect concerns itself with what Antietam, the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War, tells us about our history, about man's nature, about humans exposed to tremendous stress and about what this battle fought nearly a century and a half ago means to us today. This historical study brings history alive, to make it something useable in the present rather than a curiosity of the past.

447 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brad Graham’s treatise, "The Antietam Effect,"holds priceless historical value for at least two major reasons. It underscores the fact “the American Civil War was a laboratory for the changing world of battlefield tactics.” It also highlights “one of the most important decisions of the American Civil War (as) made in the early morning hours of September 15, 1862.” Those changing tactics and those important decisions form the backbone of this important study of some of our nation’s darkest hours.

Graham’s 447-page historical analysis, in the author’s own words, is a “journey into the backstory of Antietam.” Graham’s meticulous examination includes a documentation of “three principles that were ignored, causing (General Edwin) Sumner’s chosen formation (within Maryland’s West Woods) to break down.” First, according to the author, Sumner didn’t maintain a proper interval between brigade lines as they advanced. Second, Sumner didn’t initiate action at Antietam “with the kind of manpower he started with.” Third, Sumner didn’t protect his flanks. This, in this reviewer’s experience, is the kind of in-depth reporting that goes largely unreported to the average American history student.

In thinking back to your days in public school history classes, when were you told about any coup d’etat attempt of the Abraham Lincoln administration following the battle of Antietam? When did you learn about the Union army’s professional officer corps’ efforts to prevent that takeover?

Again, think back to your American history classes. When were you told about the threat of mutiny within the ranks of the Union troops? Here Graham exposes “a great gulf in our understanding of the Civil War soldier: his grievance against the government that employed him in its prosecution of the war.” Just like “a laborer who is ready to strike,” Graham outlines “four distinct stages” in a process leading to military demoralization. Moving from the initial stage of dissatisfaction, to the second stage of grievance, to the third stage of disaffection to the final stage of a readiness to quit, Graham writes, “the Union soldier experienced them all.”

In the late fifties and early sixties, from this reviewer’s perspective, American history students were given a highly sanitized view of the North versus South conflict. If you were in public school in those days, were you ever told about riflemen on either side “picking off” wounded combatants? Were you told about “a more efficient way” (execution) of dealing with Union or Confederate prisoners? Were you ever told about rescuers of the wounded being shot by enemy troops? Beyond the battlefield brutality, were you ever exposed to why these brutal acts occurred in the Civil War? Here Graham goes into great detail to discuss the physiology, the command and control, the psychology, the military and international laws affecting morality and brutality in conflict.

Here’s just one other example of the “great gulf in our understanding of the Civil War soldier.” Were you aware that “weather, hard campaigning and even a volcano the year before, affected General Robert E. Lee’s soldiers during the Antietam campaign?” Who knew? If you don’t read "The Antietam Effect," you may never know!

In addition to Graham’s obvious skills as a chronicler of history, this 2012 treatment of a sad period in our American journey includes an incredible supply of footnotes documenting every chapter. Numerous photographs and maps, along with an extensive, highly detail bibliography and index, add to this treasure trove of research published here. This is a gold mine for any Civil War history buff. This is the North versus the South, not under a magnifying glass but a microscope. With this doctoral thesis-worthy volume, Graham has raised the standards of historical scholarship.

[Bobsie67 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that not only busts some of the myths about the Civil War (the Maryland Campaign was all Lee's idea) and explores the Battle of Antietam from a multi-disciplinary perspective--psychology, biology, military tactics, and history. This should not be your first book about the Civil War, nor your first book about the Battle of Antietam. There is an expectation that the reader is familiar with the campaign and therefore can more easily digest the often counter-arguments made regarding who did what and why. Interesting perspective given comparing the battle to several other historical battles, including those during World War 2 that had some striking similarities. An amazing amount of research went into writing this book, so some prior reading about Antietam is necessary to appreciate the scope of this text (I've read several books about Lee, McLellan, Lincoln, the Maryland Campaign, and Antietam, as well as visited the Antietam Battlefield). One of the best histories of the battle that I've read so far.