The Antietam and Beyond Podcast

Antietam battlefield guide Scott Kenepp joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a wide-ranging conversation about iconic Antietam photographs, battlefield monuments — including those of the 125th and 132nd Pennsylvania — and much more.  T his podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and Civil War Trails , which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big sto...

Author Michael Lang joins co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks for a freewheeling discussion about his book, Decisions at Antietam: The Fourteen Critical Decisions That Defined the Battle. We hit on the major leaders — McClellan and Lee — and the other men who shaped America's bloodiest day. This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and Civil War Trails , which since 1994 has...

In Episode 63, legendary historian Tom Clemens — longtime president of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation — joins co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks to discuss the latest in Antietam preservation news. Plus, we tackle the thorny subject of George McClellan’s HQ and get the lowdown from Clemens on his latest (and epic) Antietam book  This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Associat...

In Episode 62, Frederick, Maryland-based public historian Jake Wynn joins co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks for a discussion about what happened in Frederick and beyond in the aftermath of Antietam. Plus, enjoy a lively discussion about the Pry House — McClellan HQ or not? — and some Abraham Lincoln chit-chat. Wynn writes online at wynninghistory.com and is a co-host on the "Public History with...

In a freewheeling Episode 61, recorded in front of a live audience at the recent Antietam Institute spring symposium, distinguished military historian Carol Reardon, Antietam map expert Aaron Holley and artillery expert Jim Rosebrock join co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks. This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and Civil War Trails , which since 1994 has connected visit...

On a special 60th edition of the podcast, an all-star lineup of guests — Scott Hartwig, Dr. Jennifer Murray, Doug Douds, Dr. Jim Broomall and Dan Welch — joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a whirlwind discussion of topics before a live audience at the Antietam Institute spring symposium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and...

In Episode 59, Antietam Institute executive director Chris Vincent takes co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan on a tour (virtually) of Antietam farmsteads — from the Poffenbergers’ to the John Otto farmhouse — and shares details about the upcoming Antietam Institute spring symposium.  This podcast is sponsored by the Michigan Civil War Association and Civil War Trails , which since 1994 has connec...

In Episode 58, Antietam battlefield guide Jess Rowley — a former National Park Service ranger — joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about Antietam Medal of Honor recipients, famed Union Army officer Francis Barlow and interacting with the public. Plus, we learn about a New England regiment in which each soldier received a Medal of Honor. This podcast is sponsor...

In Episode 57, William Griffing joins co-host John Banks (with Tom McMillan off this week) for a conversation about his remarkable transcriptions of Civil War soldier letters — including many tied to Antietam — which he shares on his Spared & Shared website. “Griff” has transcribed and posted more than 15,000 letters so far — and he types every single one, one-handed.  Read more about Griffing...

In Episode 56, prolific author/historian Brad Gottfried joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a discussion about his latest book, Lee Invades The North: A Comparison of the Antietam and Gettysburg Campaigns . In a freewheeling podcast, we hit all the big names — Lee, Lincoln, Meade, Burnside and McClellan. Plus, Gottfried dishes on guide exams and April's Antietam Institute conference. Th...

In Episode 55, historian Darin Wipperman breaks down generals Joseph Hooker and Ambrose Burnside and explains the First Corps’ role at Antietam with co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan. Wipperman is the author of First for the Union: Life and Death in a Civil War Army Corps from Antietam to Gettysburg and other Civil War books. (Plus, John riffs on a pig that crossed a Duck River railroad bridge...

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 spo...

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 i...

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 f...

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 th...

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. (...

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 th...

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. Thi...

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...

In Episode 46, Darin Weeks and Mare Fincher, co-hosts of the excellent "Civil War Breakfast Club" podcast, join co-hosts John Banks (fresh from a trip to Ireland) and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion of generals (O.O. Howard!) as well as lesser-known soldiers from the Battle of Antietam. Plus, they dish on their long-running podcast, favorite Antietam spots and much more. This podcast is...