September 17, 1862 The single bloodiest day in the entire Civil War. A last hope for the Confederacy to bring the war to the North. A Union commander whose preoccupation with politics distracted him from a chance for victory. The result: a bloody stalemate. All of this was Antietam! Promise of Glory Robert E. Lee knew that he had to keep the momentum of the Confederate forces moving forward, bringing the Army of Northern Virginia and the war itself northward into Union territory. A decisive string of victories might embolden foreign allies to join the Confederacy"s fight. On September 13, a piece of paper marked Special Orders No.191 fell into Union General McClellan"s hands. On it was a message from Lee to his generals detailing his master plan for opening an invasion of the North ... but could it be trusted? This is the story of the battle of Antietam and the events leading up to the fateful day where Union casualties topped 12,000 and Confederate casualties topped 11,000, where not just such memorable figures of military history as Lee and McClellan, but also Burnside, Longstreet, Hooker, and Jackson all took part. In the grand tradition of The Killer Angels and Andersonville, Promise of Glory is a truly epic narrative of the American War Between the States.