Unfurl Those Colors!: McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army Corps in the Antietam Campaign
By Marion V. Armstrong Jr.

Illustrated, maps, notes, selected bibliography, index, 384 pp., 2008. University of Alabama Press, Box 870380, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0380, $39.95 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Jeffry D. Wert
Jeffry D. Wert is a retired Pennsylvania high school teacher. He is the author of seven books on the Civil War, including his recent The Sword Of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac.

Review:
Unit studies and regimental histories have abounded in recent years. Some of the modern works detailed a unit’s record during the war, while others focused on its performance during a campaign or battle. This new book by Marian V. Armstrong Jr. fits the latter category and is one of the finest to appear.

Unfurl Those Colors! offers a well-reasoned and firmly argued defense of Edwin V. Sumner’s and the Union Second Corps’ performance during the critical Antietam Campaign. Armstrong also defends, in most aspects, George B. McClellan’s conduct of operations during the movement from Washington, D.C., to the battlefield at Sharpsburg, Md.

 The author’s arguments are subject to debate and disagreement. He bases his views, however, on a careful description of events, presenting the actions from McClellan’s and Sumner’s assessments of the strategic and tactical situations. Armstrong does the same with lower-ranking officers, from division commanders to regimental commanders.

 As it should be, the author focuses much of the book on the actions in the West Woods, along Bloody Lane and the Piper cornfield. In his judgment, Sumner acted according to orders and what he perceived to be the situation on the north end of the battlefield at mid-morning on Sept. 17, when he ordered John Sedgwick’s division into the subsequent disaster in West Woods.

Armstrong also maintains that Sumner directed William French’s brigades toward Sunken Road, contrary to the belief that the corps commander lost control of French’s troops.

 The author’s descriptions of the fighting are detailed and well-written. His work is clearly the best and fullest presentation of the Second Corps’ bloody struggle at Antietam. Armstrong could have, however, described the Confederate dispositions and units opposing Sumner’s troops more fully. While the author rightfully centers the narrative on the Federals, the Confederates appear as dim figures too often.

 Nevertheless, Unfurl Those Colors! is a solid, if not excellent, study. The book examines thoroughly the organization of the Second Corps during the campaign and describes its movements and actions with commendable detail.

As noted, some of the author’s conclusions will generate controversy, but they should not detract from the overall quality of the book. It is well-researched and well-written.