In this special 162nd battle anniversary edition of the podcast, co-hosts Tom McMillan and John Banks dive into some of their favorite soldier stories — from the United States soldier who carved his name into a window sill at the Dunker Church to four soldiers who wrote to loved ones as they lay mortally wounded on the battlefield and others.

"7 AM at which I am wounded," one of the them, a soldier from Michigan, wrote in his journal. "This is written on the spot wherein I lay. May God bless me and forgive all my sins, through Jesus Christ."

The podcast is sponsored by Civil War Trails, which since 1994 has connected visitors with small towns and big stories across a network that now spans six states.

Join McMillan and Banks for regular podcasts about Antietam, the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War — the most compelling period in American history.

McMillan is author of Our Flag Was Still There and other books. Banks is author of A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime. Find them on Facebook at Author Tom McMillan and John Banks' Civil War Blog. Banks' popular Civil War blog is here.