The Bloody Ground — Bernard Cornwell

LEE'S ARMY INVADES THE NORTH FOR THE WAR'S BLOODIEST BATTLE, IN THE FOURTH VOLUME OF THIS ROUSING AND SPLENDID CIVIL WAR SERIES

It is only weeks after Second Manassas in September 1862, and in General Lee's army the northern renegade Nathaniel Starbuck must prove his loyalty once again. As Robert E. Lee takes the war north he will be met by "Little Mac," General George McClellan, whose northern army far outnumbers and outguns the invading Confederates.

In Richmond, Virginia, Starbuck is given command of a punishment battalion; a motley collection of cowards, thieves, deserters, and murderers, officered by men who do not welcome Starbuck's arrival. Setting off to join Lee's army, Starbuck's men reach Harper's Ferry in time to take part in Stonewall Jackson's capture of the Union garrison. From there, it is on to the legendary horror of Sharpsburg beside the Antietam Creek, forever to be remembered as the bloodiest single day of the war. There, in the cornfield, Starbuck and his despised men will have their courage and commitment tested as never before.