In Episode 50, historian George Rable — author of Conflict of Command: George McClellan, Abraham Lincoln, and the Politics of War — takes a deep dive with co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan into the contentious relationship between the president and general. Also, Rable takes us inside the McClellan-Lincoln presidential election of 1864, perhaps the most consequential election in U.S. history. (Plus, he dishes on his cats, named for Civil War generals.) 

This 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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

This 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.

In Episode 49, former Antietam National Park Service ranger Alann Schmidt joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about the iconic Dunker Church on the battlefield. Schmidt, co-author of September Mourn | The Dunker Church of Antietam Battlefield, also dishes on the church's lesser-known post-war history (pile of rubble, convenience store). Plus. McMillan tells the story of an inscription by a veteran on the exterior of the church.   

This 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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 48, Antietam guide and lifelong western Marylander Gary Rohrer joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about the battlefield and his attendance at the centennial in 1962. Plus, he dishes on battlefield bridges, his family's connection to the South Mountain House (D.H. Hill HQ during battle) and gets teased about being the "mayor" of Rohrersville, Md.

This 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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 47, licensed Gettysburg battlefield guide Jim Hessler, an expert on George Armstrong Custer, joins co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion about "The Boy General" and the Maryland Campaign. He also weighs in on that famous post-Antietam photograph of President Lincoln and George McClellan that purportedly includes Custer. Plus, he dishes on Libbie Custer!

This 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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 46, Darin Weeks and Mare Fincher, co-hosts of the excellent "Civil War Breakfast Club" podcast, join co-hosts John Banks (fresh from a trip to Ireland) and Tom McMillan for a freewheeling discussion of generals (O.O. Howard!) as well as lesser-known soldiers from the Battle of Antietam. Plus, they dish on their long-running podcast, favorite Antietam spots and much more.

This 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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 45, join co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan for a "Best Of" podcast featuring these previous guests:

• Historian Scott Hartwig on researching for his epic I Dread The Thought Of The Place, a nearly 1,000-page book on the Battle of Antietam.
• Dr. Tom Clemens on the Save Historic Antietam Foundation.
• Historian Dennis Frye and Troy Cool on their historic houses near the battlefield.
• Dana Shoaf of the National Museum of Civil War Medicine on Jonathan Letterman, "The Father of Modern Battlefield Medicine." 
• Dr. Jennifer Murray on George Meade, "Old Baldy" and her new role as director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University.

  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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 44, Justin Martin — author of A Fierce Glory about the Battle of Antietam and four other books — talks with co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan about the major personalities he weaved into his terrific book (Lincoln! Letterman! Gardner!). Plus, he dishes on the great lull in the fighting on Sept. 17, 1862 (and other surprises), Quentin Tarantino and driving a stick shift. 

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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

On Episode 43, Aaron Holley — an Antietam Institute board member and West Virginia University graduate — talks with co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan about fields of fire, lost roads, hidden fence lines and other information derived from his fascinating battlefield mapmaking.

Holley took the late 19th-century Ezra Carman-Emmor Cope Antietam maps and aligned them with locations on today's battlefield. Through remote and field-based work, dozens of locations were matched between those maps and actual locations on the ground. This process gives these classic maps a modern GPS usage while preserving their timeless aesthetic.

Per the Antietam Institute, "Both the base map and the Carmen-Cope maps are available to purchase and download to your phone through the Avenza app. Peruse the map on and off the field, and by using GPS, you can immerse yourself on the landscape of the battlefield. Simply download Avenza to your smartphone, create a free account and purchase this map set for only $14.99."

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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 42, co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan discuss battlefield preservation at Antietam, Gettysburg and elsewhere. Should all hallowed ground be saved?

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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.

In Episode 41, author/historian/speaker Sarah Kay Bierle chats with co-hosts John Banks and Tom McMillan about Confederate artillerist John Pelham, who played a pivotal role at Antietam. Her latest book is Glorious Courage: John Pelham In The Civil War, published in May 2025 by Savas Beatie. You may not know much about "The Gallant" Pelham, but you've surely seen the remarkable circa-1858 image of him by Mathew Brady in dozens of publications. Plus, Bierle dishes on the role of "Hancock The Superb" at Antietam and more.

For more on Bierle, go here.

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 The Year That Made America: From Rebellion to Independence and four other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime and numerous magazine articles about the Civil War. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.