Gaze across the fields of Antietam National Battlefield and the bucolic landscape in many locations speaks of tranquility and an agrarian 19th-century society. Scratch beneath that surface, however, and stories roll out about the bloodiest single day of not just the Civil War, but of all American military engagements.

Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler, who previously authored A Field Guide to Gettysburg, relate nearly two dozen stories associated with the battle on September 17, 1862, that led to nearly 25,000 casualties.

With the help of full-color maps, the authors show the relative positions of the armies (led by Gen. George B. McClellan on the Union side and Gen. Robert E. Lee on the Confederate) and where their artillery stood. They even inserted star symbols on the maps to show where you should position yourself as you read the supporting narrative to gain a better sense of how the battle played out.

Adding depth to the narrative are words of some of the combatants that were memorialized by history.

“I am an officer of distinction, an officer of rank, for God’s sake come over and send my dying words to my family,” one Union officer cried out after being wounded along the Smoketown Road.

Reardon and Vossler have created a terrific field guide for on-the-ground exploration of Antietam, which was named for a small creek that runs through the town. This heavily footnoted, 300-plus-page book asks, and answers, six questions, as you visit 21 sites across the battlefield. As you stand at each location, the authors explain what happened, who fought, who commanded, who fell, who lived, and what historians said afterward.

As you visit the Sunken Road or Burnside’s Bridge, you’ll get an excellent idea of what mayhem ensued during the battle. The detailed maps and illustrative photos help give context as well.