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Richard Croker's "To Make Men Free: A Novel of the Battle of Antietam" goes behind the scenes to the people involved in America's deadliest battle. By Michael Aubrecht

Date published: 10/15/2005

TO MAKE MEN FREE: A NOVEL OF THE BATTLE OF ANTIETAM, by Richard Croker. Hardback: William Morrow; first edition (March 2004, $16.35); paperback: Harper Paperbacks (March 2005; $10.17). 448 pages.

FOR MOST CIVIL WAR enthusiasts, Sept. 17, 1862, will always be remembered as "The Bloodiest Day of the Civil War." This is the date of the Battle of Antietam, which marked Gen. Robert E. Lee's first attempt at an invasion of the North. More importantly, it is the date on which more soldiers were lost than any other day in American history.

Although they had been repeatedly successful in defending their own land from invasion, most high-ranking members of the Confederacy felt compelled to take the fight to the North. Many believed that one well-executed victory on Union soil would impress Britain or France enough to pledge their support to the Southern cause.

Gen. Lee believed this, as well, and moved his Army of Northern Virginia across the river into U.S. territory. To support the mission, he sent the majority of his army under Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to Harpers Ferry, with orders to seize the area and open up supply routes to the Shenandoah Valley. This was a crucial step in establishing the "lifeline" that was required to maintain the Confederate army while they marched abroad on "foreign" soil. Lee then stationed the rest of his army at Sharpsburg, Md., near Antietam Creek. It was there that he was intercepted by an opposing force of 75,000 men under the command of Gen. George B. McClellan.

What followed was one of the most grotesque Civil War battles of all and before the sun would set over this once-beautiful farmland, more than 23,000 men would be killed, wounded or missing in action. Although many historians would consider the outcome indecisive, Antietam was ultimately a major success for the Union and led directly to President Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Date published: 10/15/2005