Ezra A. Carman is regarded as the father of Antietam historiography. Colonel of the 13th New Jersey Infantry during the battle, he spent the better part of his later life writing a comprehensive manuscript detailing the Maryland Campaign. He also spent a significant amount of effort to build an accurate order of battle, along with the strength of the armies engaged. The result was a detailed and meticulously researched account of the actions in Maryland and Virginia during that fateful September 1862. Adding to this work, he created a series of maps showing the movement and flow of the battle over the course of the day. His work has served as the foundation for much of the following history of the battle. Though written more than a century ago, it holds up to modern scrutiny quite well.

The Visual Antietam series publishes Carman's manuscript with a heavy emphasis on maps and photographs. Visual Antietam Vol. 2: Ezra Carman's Antietam Through Maps and Pictures: The West Woods to Bloody Lane contains sixty (60) images, both period and modern, allowing the reader to see the battlefield today and as it was only days after the battle. Fifty-three (53) original maps explain the troop movements during the course of that morning and afternoon.