In Episode 54, historian Robert Dunkerly joins co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks for a discussion about his book, The Lower Battlefield of Antietam: The Forgotten Front of America's Bloodiest Day. Dunkerly takes us to Burnside Bridge, the 40-Acre Cornfield and beyond. Plus, he dishes on John's favorite regiment (16th Connecticut) and recounts an epic hike to the battlefield.

This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 53, Jim Smith and Robert Gottschalk join co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan to discuss their new book, Armies of Antietam, a comprehensive look at the organization of both armies during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862. Their work focuses on each regiment of the Union and Confederate armies as well as biographical information on the regimental commanders. (John also sneaked in a question about Rush, Smith's favorite rock band.)

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states, and the Michigan Civil War Association.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 52, Irishman and historian Cóilín Ó Coigligh of County Cavan gives co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks the lowdown on Irish soldiers who fought at Antietam, including the famous Irish Brigade commander Thomas Meagher. Plus, John and Coilin dish on their American Civil War-focused trip in August on the Emerald Isle. (Pssst: They stayed at Meagher's birthplace in Waterford — it's now a four-star hotel.)

This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 51, with the holiday season looming, co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks discuss a range of Antietam books — from Landscape Turned Red by Stephen Sears to Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America's Bloodiest Day by William Frassanito and more.

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 50, historian George Rable — author of Conflict of Command: George McClellan, Abraham Lincoln, and the Politics of War — takes a deep dive with co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan into the contentious relationship between the president and general. Also, Rable takes us inside the McClellan-Lincoln presidential election of 1864, perhaps the most consequential election in U.S. history. (Plus, he dishes on his cats, named for Civil War generals.)

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

In Episode 49, former Antietam National Park Service ranger Alann Schmidt joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about the iconic Dunker Church on the battlefield. Schmidt, co-author of September Mourn | The Dunker Church of Antietam Battlefield, also dishes on the church's lesser-known post-war history (pile of rubble, convenience store). Plus. McMillan tells the story of an inscription by a veteran on the exterior of the church.

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 48, Antietam guide and lifelong western Marylander Gary Rohrer joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about the battlefield and his attendance at the centennial in 1962. Plus, he dishes on battlefield bridges, his family's connection to the South Mountain House (D.H. Hill HQ during battle) and gets teased about being the "mayor" of Rohrersville, Md.

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 47, licensed Gettysburg battlefield guide Jim Hessler, an expert on George Armstrong Custer, joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about "The Boy General" and the Maryland Campaign. He also weighs in on that famous post-Antietam photograph of President Lincoln and George McClellan that purportedly includes Custer. Plus, he dishes on Libbie Custer!

This podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of the recently released The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.