In Episode 6 of "The Antietam and Beyond Podcast," historian and author Tom McGrath, a New Englander, discusses the Battle of Shepherdstown with co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks. Fought Sept. 19-20, 1862, the battle on what was then Virginia soil (it became West Virginia in June 1863) was the final clash of the Maryland Campaign.

We discuss:

• The 118th Pennsylvania and how a "Civil War badass" in its ranks became a hero.
• The amazing terrain of the battlefield.
• What you can see on the hallowed ground today (cement mill ruins and a house with a cannon ball embedded in it!) and much more.

  McGrath is author of Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign, September 19-20, 1862, which you can purchase 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 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.