Civil War Campaigns: From Cedar Mountain To Antietam (1959) By Edward J. Stackpole
 
 A study of the period of the summer of 1862 when Lincoln assembled the Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope to threaten Lee's forces from one direction while McClellan continued to press against Richmond from the James River side. The campaign opened with the battle of Cedar Mountain, continued with Second Manassas, Chantilly, Harper's Ferry, South Mountain, and finally Antietam.
 
Stackpole provides a combined depiction of the Second Bull Run and Antietam Campaigns, viewing them as two acts of the same story. John Pope's Army of Virginia, jerry-rigged together from the hodgepodge of commands defeated by Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, is created after George McClellan's Peninsular Campaign fails. The aggressive Pope is completely outgeneralled by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who boldly divides his army, outwits Pope and forces a battle before Pope can be reinforced, culminating in a crushing victory at Second Bull Run: Lee's most complete victory over a Union army. Seeking to retain the initiative, Lee invades Maryland, but his plans unravel when his campaign plans fall into McClellan's hands. This sets the stage for Antietam, the "bloodiest single day" in American history, where Lee tries to prevent his army's complete annihilation.
 
First edition
 
Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
466 pages 
In Good Condition