In early 1862 the war comes within view of the Brannon family farm in Culpeper County, Virginia. The din of drilling soldiers sweeps over the quiet county seat, and another son of Abigail and John Brannon answers the call to arms. A gifted horseman, Mac "jines" Jeb Stuart's cavalry and soon finds himself on one of the greatest adventures of the war.<BR>The anticipated spring offensive pitches the Union and Confederate armies against each other on the Virginia Peninsula, and it appears that Richmond and the fledgling Confederacy are doomed. As the Southerners fall back before the slowly advancing Northern army, Mac is reunited with his older brother, Will, when Stonewall Jackson's triumphant troops arrive from the Shenandoah Valley to blunt the Federal onslaught. Following the fighting at Seven Pines, the brothers witness firsthand the reversal of Confederate fortunes when Robert E. Lee is made commander of the Southern army.<BR>Antietam is the third book in a projected series of eight, spanning the Civil War and describing its effect on one southern family. The Brannon brothers answer the call to arms at different times, and the family finds itself struggling with dilemmas it never had considered.