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This book is scheduled for release on July 15, 2025.
Thank you to Arcadia Publishing for supplying a complimentary review copy. A regular review will be forthcoming.
About the Book
While Antietam remains one the most famous engagements of the Civil War, history largely overlooks the lower end of the battlefield.
Only here did the Confederates use Antietam Creek as a barrier, so it was the only place where Union troops had to force their way across. Here the Union army waged its final attack, and the Confederates launched their last counterattack led by A.P. Hill’s division. It might as well have been a different battle entirely from the more famed northern field.
Using dozens of journals, diaries, newspaper accounts and reports, author Robert M. Dunkerly examines the action in detail and explores the gradual preservation of this oft-neglected portion of America’s bloodiest battle.
About the Author
Robert M. Dunkerlyis a historian who is active in historic preservation. He has authored seventeen books about the American Revolution, Civil War and other topics. Dunkerly has served as president of the Richmond Civil War Round Table, taught classes at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and Central Virginia Community College and writes for the Emerging Civil War and Revolutionary War blogs. He has visited more than one thousand battlefields worldwide.
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As the nation’s future hung in the balance, the Weather Gods delivered a wrath of fury on Union and Confederate forces throughout the Gettysburg Campaign. First, record-breaking heat and humidity wore down the warring armies during ungodly forced marches. Next, relentless storms plagued the soldiers with resultant muddy slogs on nearly impassable roads.
As the armies met in mortal combat, soul-crushing heat turned the bucolic fields of Gettysburg into a sanguinary and barren expanse. Finally, torrential rains haunted the Confederate retreat and narrow escape across a swollen Potomac River.
Authors Jeffrey J. Harding and Jon M. Nese present firsthand accounts, harrowing narratives and groundbreaking meteorological research that reshapes how we view the Civil War’s Gettysburg Campaign.
Thank you to Arcadia Publishing for providing a complimentary review copy.
This book has received considerable early interest and has words of praise from licensed battlefield guides, academics, weather professionals, and expert National Park Service employees. I am looking forward to reading this.
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Arcadia Publishing imprint The History Press has released several Civil War titles in the “Hidden History” series including mine on the state of Florida. Others that come to mind cover Tennessee,Savannah, and Oregon. Each author has their own thought on how the book should be set up. That is a strength and weakness of this series. While the book covers are often similar, the meat of the book is decidedly different in format, style, and substance. This can lead to confusion for some readers, who might expect the books to be similar.
Mr. Thomas wastes no time in putting forth his primary beliefs when he states “Though it is most commonly called the Civil War or the War Between the States, the most appropriate moniker is the War for Southern Independence (page 9). That aside, the book cover 50 stories, covering topics the author believes are rarely mentioned elsewhere, staying away from “great battles, leaders, and other topics covered numerous times by others…” That is a noble goal and perfect for this series. In fact, I followed this route when I declined to include Olustee in my own book.
Thomas breaks his subject matter into six major themes with subchapters in each. The themes include the early days, leadership, blockade of South Carolina’s coast, naval operations, soldiers’ stories, and postwar years and remembrance. The individual chapters in each subject are usually short; two to three pages at most, allowing for the book to be easily picked up and put down.
With South Carolina being the first state to secede, I was disappointed to not find an in depth look at secession, how it came about, and the outcomes of the movement in the pre Confederacy days. Unionists are given no space in the book and the story of Robert Smalls (OK, maybe that’s not truly HIDDEN HISTORY) is not discussed. With 50 chapters being included, it seems there could be space carved out for these stories.
Arcadia is known for books which contain many b/w images to supplement the text. This title follows that template, though with maybe not as many as some Arcadia titles come with. The Library of Congress and Naval History and Heritage Command serve as primary sources for the photos in this book.
For those seeking a brief introduction to South Carolina Civil War history this might be a book you will enjoy. The chapters are brief which along with the notes and abbreviated bibliography will provide good starting points for further inquiry.
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Great Floridians 2000 General Edmund Kirby Smith and Frances Kirby Smith
The Great Floridians 2000 program recognizes individuals who distinguished themselves through their philanthropy, public service, or personal or professional service, and who have enhanced the lives of Florida’s citizens. The Great Floridians 2000 program honors General Edmund Kirby Smith and Frances Kirby Smith.
Members of the public nominated individuals by submitting a Great Floridians 2000 application to the state. The Great Floridians 2000 Committee, a group of seven distinguished historians from throughout Florida, was responsible for periodically reviewing and approving applications.
The program began in 1998 and was completed in 2000.
The distinctive blue plaques honor the men and women in the program. Plaques are attached to buildings or structures in the cities where the designee left their mark. The plaques do not contain biographical information. Many plaques have been removed and are no longer on display.
The official biographies published as part of the Great Floridians 2000 program are shown below. The information published by the state may or may not be accurate.
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General Edmund Kirby Smith
Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith courtesy Library of Congress
General Edmund Kirby Smith, was born in 1824 in St. Augustine, graduated from West Point in 845 and served in the army during the Mexican War. He resigned from the U. S. Army to join the Confederacy. He served under generals Joseph Johnston, Gustave Beauregard and Braxton Bragg and was instrumental in Confederate success at the First Battle of Bull Run in Virginia.
In 1863, he was promoted to Lieutenant General commanding the Trans-Mississippi Department, the highest-ranking Confederate officer in the western campaign. On May 26, 1865, he surrendered his troops, the last major Confederate army to surrender. Following the war, Kirby Smith served as president of a telegraph company, then of the Western Military Academy in Nashville, and became a mathematics teacher at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. General Edmund Kirby Smith died in 893, the last surviving full general of either army.
His Great Floridian plaque is located at the Sequi-Kirby Smith House, 12 Aviles Street, St. Augustine.
St. Augustine and the Civil War
I recommend my book, St. Augustine and the Civil War if you are interested in the role of St. Augustine during the Civil War. Signed copies are available directly from my shop. You may also purchase copies through Amazon. Use THIS LINK to find other histories of St. Augustine.
Frances Kirby Smith
Frances Kirby Smith, born in 1785, was St. Augustine’s most successful Confederate spy. Though born in Connecticut, she and her husband Judge Joseph Lee Smith moved to St. Augustine about 1820. For months before and during the Union occupation of Fort Marion (Castillo de San Marcos) she orchestrated the transport of mail to Confederate troops. At the same time, she entertained Union officers and learned of planned maneuvers, passing the knowledge to the Confederate Army. In the spring of 1863, the federal government ordered the removal of Southern sympathizers from their homes. After the war Smith returned to St. Augustine and lived for another decade, a Confederate supporter until the end. Francis Kirby Smith died in 1875.
Her Great Floridian plaque is located at the Sequi-Kirby Smith House, 12 Aviles Street, St. Augustine.
The distinctive blue Great Floridians 2000 markers may be see at the Segui-Kirby Smith House, located at 12 Aviles Street, in St. Augustine.
Frances Kirby Smith is buried in the Huguenot Cemeteryin St. Augustine, FL, located adjacent to the Visitor’s Center. An online memorial can be found HERE.
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Thank you to Arcadia Publishing for providing a complimentary review copy of Hidden History of Civil War South Carolina. The book will be released in February, but is available now for pre-order. Please look for a review in the near future.
All of South Carolina’s history during the Civil War isn’t well known. Author D. Michael Thomas has uncovered fifty accounts of lost history pertaining to the state and its men during the war. These are stories of astounding chivalry and valor in the face of horrific tragedies, along with unprecedented events. A single South Carolinian captured nearly six hundred Union soldiers.
Lieutenant Alexander Chisolm had an extraordinary career. See the connection between South Carolina College and its Confederate generals. Learn little-known tales about naval operations from the Union and the Confederacy and witness the recovery of the state’s “Gettysburg Dead.” Join the author as he recounts these hidden stories and more.
I have had the pleasure of reading several books in the Civil War “Hidden History” series from Arcadia. Each is distinct and different in approach, content, and writing style.
First, is my personal book, Hidden History of Civil War Florida. You may order on Amazon,or signed copies are available in the shop on this website.
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The Images of America series from Arcadia Publishing provides readers/viewers with a formula ready way to learn a brief history of a selected topic. Some teach more history than others and some titles are more needed than others. I think the argument can be made that Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site is a photo history that is needed.
Authors Colby Lipscomb and Derrick Brown have decades of experience at the battlefield as visitors and, currently, as staff members and this experience shows in their treatment of the material. As the authors themselves note, the book is not meant to be a retelling of the Battle of Bentonville, nor is it meant to be a history of the Bentonville community. Rather, “it is the authors’ fervent desire that these images relay the story of the struggles, victories, and labor that went into the creation of Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site and making it the place it is.
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Chapters
Authors Lipscomb and Brown cover a wide swath of ground in a concise 128 pages that can easily be consumed in a single sitting. Chapter one is titled The Battlefield, as should be expected. Maps, period engravings, and photos of the primary players comprise the majority of the chapter.
The community of Bentonville and battlefield monuments and memorials are chapters two and three. These chapters contain a nice mixture of vintage and modern images. The Goldsboro Rifles monument takes center stage with several nice images throughout the years. This monument was erected by veterans of the battle years before the Historic Site was created . Begun in 1894 and unveiled in 1895, the marker is in memory of the Confederate dead.
The Harper House, built in 1855, served as the home to John and Amy Harper. During the war, Union troops occupied the home. The use it as a temporary hospital for troops from Sherman’s XIV Army Corps. This structure is the only war era building still standing at the site and as such it plays a significant role in this book. Images include former inhabitants, grounds, the home through the years, and renovation efforts. For me, however, the chapter went on too long, reaching twenty-four pages.
The chapter titled Establishing a Historic Site brings to life the 1950s and 60s efforts to create the Bentonville Battlefield State Historic Site. With images as diverse the signing of the property document, to parades, to fieldwork, and the development of the visitor’s center, this is a fascinating chapter. Several images show just how far museum exhibits have come in the last sixty years.
Programs and events are a key part of any historic site and Bentonville has been an active participant since inception. From a special Boy Scout badge to the development and expansion of annual reenactments, and the arrival of army staff rides, Bentonville is eager to share an accurate and true history of the battle and the events surrounding it. This enthusiasm leads to the final chapter, Bentonville in the 21st Century.
In 1999, the opening of a new visitor’s center allowed the battlefield to welcome more guests than they had previously encountered. The “Dean of Civil War Historians,” Ed Bearss; “the unofficial mayor of Bentonville,” Tim Westbrook; and Eric Wittenberg, among others set the stage for the modern Bentonville park . With ongoing archaeological work, reinterpretations, and archival research, Bentonville is not an overlooked, end of the war, encounter. Visitors will learn of the 80,000 soldiers who fought here on March 19-21, 1865.
This book helps provide a gateway for readers wanting to learn more about the waning days of the Confederacy. Through this easy to navigate volume, readers will find themselves developing an interest in this late war conflict. They can then move to full battle treatments. Recommended.
This book is not meant to be a retelling of the Battle of Bentonville. The authors do make two suggestions for readers interesting in learning more about this battle.
For readers seeking a modern look at the battle in a concise and accessible format, you are referred to Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865. As part of the established Emerging Civil War series, this book is short, but full of detail, and comes with a budget friendly price of around $20.
Thank you to Arcadia Publishing for providing a complimentary review copy of this book. If you click my special Arcadia link and place an order, you will receive 15% off your total order. Orders over $50 qualify for free shipping. Use code REDD24 to save 15% on your entire order direct from Arcadia.
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If you are interested in soldiers from North Carolina, you should read my post on Charles George, a member of the East Band of the Cherokee Tribe who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War. CLICK HERE to read more.
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Navigate the often-overlooked history of the resolute defense of the Texas coast during the Civil War.
With volumes written on the Civil War, little attention has been given to the defense of the Texas coast. Most military-aged Texans had been dispatched across the Mississippi, but those left behind resolutely weathered naval bombardments and repulsed invasion attempts. It was only at the end of the conflict that Federal troops were able to make their way into South Texas, as the Confederacy prepared its last stand at Caney Creek and the Brazos River. From famous battles to obscure skirmishes, William Nelson Fox provides an account of the Lone Star State’s defensive strategies during the Civil War.
Thank you to Arcadia Publishing for providing a complimentary review copy of this book. A review will be forthcoming.
Thank you for reading my post announcing Texas Coastal Defense in the Civil War. This new book release from Arcadia Publishing will add to the growing literature on the role of Texas and naval affairs during the Civil War years. Read my reviews of other Arcadia Publishing titles using THIS LINK.
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For those interested in Galveston, TX during the Civil War, I recommend this excellent volume written by James M. Schmidt, and published by Arcadia Publishing.
At the start of the 1860 presidential campaign, a handful of fired-up young Northerners appeared as bodyguards to defend anti-slavery stump speakers from frequent attacks. The group called themselves the Wide Awakes. Soon, hundreds of thousands of young white and Black men, and a number of women, were organizing boisterous, uniformed, torch-bearing brigades of their own. These Wide Awakes-mostly working-class Americans in their twenties-became one of the largest, most spectacular, and most influential political movements in our history. To some, it demonstrated the power of a rising majority to push back against slavery. To others, it looked like a paramilitary force training to invade the South. Within a year, the nation would be at war with itself, and many on both sides would point to the Wide Awakes as the mechanism that got them there.
In this gripping narrative, Smithsonian historian Jon Grinspan examines how exactly our nation crossed the threshold from a political campaign into a war. Perfect for readers of Lincoln on the Vergeand TheField of Blood,Wide Awakebears witness to the power of protest, the fight for majority rule, and the defense of free speech. At its core, Wide Awake illuminates a question American democracy keeps posing, about the precarious relationship between violent rhetoric and violent actions.
The press release for Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War shows this should be one of the most anticipated Abraham Lincoln related books of 2024. I hope to be reading this and subsequently posting a review. In the meantime, be sure to click the image or link above to order your own copy.
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Please join me on Saturday, February 17 in Bradenton at Reflections of Manatee. We’ll be discussing the Hidden History of Civil War Florida. The Civil War continues to be a hot button issue more than 160 years later. Come and hear about some of the lesser known aspects of the war in the Sunshine State.
My book, Hidden History of Civil War Florida, published by Arcadia Publishing, has proven very popular and I am honored to have been asked to speak here.
As an FYI, I will not be discussing the Battle of Olustee and it is not covered in my book. There are several excellent full-length books available on the topic. In the limited space I had available in my book, I could not have done justice to the topic.
I am proud to announce this talk is sponsored in part by Florida Humanities. Thanks to their support, this event is free and open to the public. Come out to Reflections of Manatee and let’s discuss the Hidden History of Civil War Florida.
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Dunkerly, Robert M. The Lower Battlefield of Antietam: The Forgotten Front of America’s Bloodiest Day. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing. 2025. Index, bibliography, notes, order of battle, maps, b/w photos. ISBN 9781467159289, $24.99.
General Edmund Kirby Smith is buried in the 
Center. An online memorial can be found 
