Antietam: New book coming on battle (mine!)

Connecticut Yankees at Antietam is due out in early August.

Roger Spear's great-great grandfather, Richard Jobes, was severely 
wounded at the Battle of Antietam. Jobes, who survived the war, is 
buried in Zion Hill Cemetery in Suffield, Conn.

One of the best parts about writing a book on Antietam was meeting descendants of those men (and a woman) who were there. Connecticut Yankees at Antietam (History Press), due out in early August, couldn't have been written without the help of folks such as Roger Spear and Evelyn Larson, who supplied terrific information about their ancestors. Corporal Richard  Jobes of Suffield, Spear's great-great grandfather, suffered a severe wound in John Otto's 40-acre cornfield; Private Robert Hubbard of Middletown, Larson's ancestor, was killed by friendly fire on William Roulette's farm. My book, which you can pre-order on amazon.com and at the Barnes & Noble site, doesn't delve into the strategy and tactics of the bloodiest day in American history. Rather, it's focused on  the stories of people, some whom died or suffered terrible battlefield wounds at Antietam. Tom Brokaw called those who grew up during the Depression and fought World War II America's "greatest generation." The men and women who helped restore the Union are at least their equals.