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.