In Episode 2 of "The Antietam and Beyond Podcast," historian and author Scott Hartwig joins co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks to discuss I Dread The Thought Of The Place, his monumental 960-page book about the Battle of Antietam and end of the Maryland Campaign. "The best and most complete story of the Civil War's bloodiest day," historian James M. McPherson calls Hartwig's work. "Masterful," a reader writes of the recently released book. "Exhaustive," says another.

Hartwig — the former supervisory park historian at Gettysburg National Military Park —  talks about his writing process, why he wrote about Antietam, A.P. Hill's legendary 17-mile march from Harpers Ferry, the fighting at the southern end of the battlefield in the 40-Acre Cornfield and much more. During the nearly 53-minute podcast — it could have lasted eight hours! — Hartwig also mentions some of the more compelling soldiers who fought at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862. (You'll also hear brief mentions from McMillan and Banks about the "mystery dog" in the 40-Acre Cornfield and the podcast's semi-official beer and restaurant.)

PURCHASE HARTWIG'S BOOKS: I Dread The Thought Of The Place| To Antietam Creek, his first book on the campaign, was published in 2012.

The 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 Our Flag Was Still There. Banks is author of the recently released A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime.Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.