Artist James Hope enlisted in the Union army during the early part of the American Civil War. A professional artist, Hope was a keen observer of camp life and battle scenes. The Battle of Antietam held a special place for Hope, and during the late 1880's into the 1890's, he created five large panoramic paintings of various aspects of the battle. Four of the five still exist today and are regularly displayed at the Antietam National Battlefield; the fifth was badly damaged in a flood, but a smaller version still exists.

This booklet describes Hope's life and then reviews each of the five panoramic paintings in detail, beginning with a representation of the entire painting and then by dividing the painting into three sections and illustrating the major features of each in subsequent pages. A full-color panel is on the right side of each page and a description of the events/scenes, is on the left.

This 48 full-color book illustrates Hope's Antietam paintings in detail never before seen.