Author David Welker explains the Battle of Antietam and its role in American history in a way that some may construe as contentious. The Cornfield: Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point graphically depicts, for the first time, from a tactical perspective and narrative of the thrilling and harrowing account to control the “Cornfield,” on which the costly battle focused. It explains in detail what happened, from both the North and the South’s perspective and the reasons why.
The Cornfield conveys unique viewpoints of the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself from a holistic standpoint. The author considers the strategic, operational, and tactical perspective of both commanding generals, Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan, their superiors, and the ensuing actions their subordinates carried out that fateful day. Early on, the strategic and operational objectives presented weigh in on the decisions leading to the Maryland Campaign and its ultimate results. Economic and political considerations, both in the United States and Europe, also played a role in ensuring the results of the campaign’s calculus. Welker also delves into the strengths and weaknesses of McClellan as a military and business leader.
Welker is a professional historian and military analyst for the US government. He is the author of both the Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly and A Keystone Rebel, along with many magazine articles showcasing the American Civil War. He holds an international affairs master’s degree from American University and a bachelor’s degree in both history and political science from Westminster College.
Welker begins The Cornfield with the first two chapters highlighting the strategic and operational environments leading up to the Maryland Campaign and the third chapter focused on explaining the tactical units’ positions on 16 September 1862, the day prior to the Antietam fight. The author offers, in detail, McClellan’s military background and innate personality traits. Specifically, Welker explains that McClellan’s linear thinking (step by step approach in a logical manner) and inability to think creatively that prevented him from accomplishing his military objectives as the situation in The Cornfield changed.
Though McClellan did possess the ability to receive and apply new information using reason and logic to guide his decisions, the author argues McClellan lacked the ability to improvise and think more laterally, preventing him to seize new opportunities early in the fight. The author portrays him as a man who believed once he conducted planning and published orders, the fighting should be fought as planned. Following this linear thinking, McClellan relied on his subordinate commanders to think more laterally and creatively as the fighting progressed.
Welker provides a very thoughtful strategic and operational environmental laydown early on, allowing readers to understand the background leading to the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Antietam. He also presents an hourly rundown of units in succession from both sides fighting and struggling to meet their military objectives in and beyond The Cornfield. He provided numerous maps throughout the narrative at the tactical level. However, offering operational maps would have greatly benefited the reader in the first two chapters as he presented the operational environment allowing readers to follow in time, space, and purpose. This book is highly recommended for Civil War history enthusiasts as well as military leaders working at the operational levels of command because it shows how leaders, at all three levels of war, from both sides processed information and converted it into decisions.