behind AotW

(we’ve got 17,000 people now in the Antietam on the Web database)

I am pleased to report that I’ve just added the 16,000th person to the Antietam on the Web (AotW) database. There’s much more to the AotW website than people, of course, but they’re what keep me going at it year in and year out.

16,000 is a nice round number and perhaps large enough to be statistically interesting. It also marks a good point to stop and take stock.  To that end I’ve built some simple charts of summary data about all those people … 

I’ve added a new tool on AotW: an interactive tree diagram display for the Orders of Battle (OOB) of each of the main armies in Maryland. You can click any “node” (dot) on the diagram to drill down further into an Army Corps/Wing, Division, or Brigade at Sharpsburg. Each of the unit names is also a link to a page with more information about it.

I hope this new way of looking at the command organizations will be useful. I find the trees are a lot of fun to play with, too. Here’s a sample of what they look like:

Give ’em a try and let me know what you think! Start at the main OOB page and look for the tree symbol.