In a freewheeling Episode 17 of "The Antietam And Beyond Podcast," co-hosts and published authors John Banks and Tom McMillan talk about approaches to writing about history, Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead at Antietam, what motivates them to return to the battlefield again and again and much more.

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 Our Flag Was Still There and other books. Banks is author of 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.