2026 Fall Conference

The Antietam Institute is proud to host our sixth annual Fall Conference.

This year’s theme is “I shall take the field, and lead my troops in person”: Edwin Vose Sumner, the Second Corps, and the fight for the West Woods” – a three-day event with a focus on the combat on September 17, 1862 in and around the West Woods near Sharpsburg.

Friday afternoon and evening will see three exciting speakers, an informal reception and dinner together, and the keynote address by Unfurl Those Colors! author Vince Armstrong; Saturday we’ll enjoy Antietam battlefield excursions all day and an informal gathering that evening; and the conference concludes on Sunday after two additional field excursions that morning.

Friday dinner and Saturday breakfast and lunch are included in the full conference registration fee and all participants received a detailed information booklet with maps and other illustrative materials.

The indoor events of the conference on Friday will be held in the Storer Ballroom in the Student Center on the campus of Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV, with Saturday and Sunday’s outdoor excursions at Antietam National Battlefield Park and on battlefield land nearby.

This is a members-only event and advance registration is required.

Conference Schedule

Friday October 9, 2026

12:30 – 1:00 pm Registration/Check-in at the Storer Ballroom in the Student Center, Shepherd University [google map]. Parking available in Lots A, B, and H (touch for larger parking map).

1:00–2:30 “My God, we must get out of this!;” The attack and repulse of Sedgwick’s division in the West Woods – Dr. Tom Clemens

Perhaps the climactic moment of the morning fight at Antietam was the arrival and attack of Union General Edwin Sumner, commander of the Second Army Corps. After several hours of fighting, there seemed to be a possibility of driving the Confederate forces out of the West Woods and crushing the left flank of Robert E. Lee’s Confederate line. Both sides were somewhat disorganized and demoralized by the previous bloody struggle across the Miller farm and the adjoining woodlots. In this talk, Dr. Clemens will endeavor to unravel the thinking of the various commanders involved in this mid-morning action, their understanding of the situation, and how they intended to resolve it.

2:30-3:45 Searching for Edwin Vose Sumner Through Fact and Fancy – Jim Buchanan

The history of the West Woods has continually evolved as each generation reinterprets the events of September 17, 1862. By the Civil War Centennial, a broad consensus held that Union commander Edwin Vose Sumner mishandled operations in the West Woods. According to this interpretation, Sumner advanced John Sedgwick’s division too quickly, leaving William French’s inexperienced division behind and creating a dangerous gap. Sedgwick’s brigades became compressed and poorly aligned, limiting their combat effectiveness. Sumner’s decision to ride as a division rather than a corps commander further weakened command and control of the division, while his lack of communication with French prevented coordinated support. Critics also faulted him for failing to reconnoiter the ground or deploy skirmishers. These perceived failures became central to the traditional narrative and influenced interpretation for decades—including National Park Service wayside exhibits that reflected this view.

In recent years, however, scholars have reexamined Sumner’s role in the engagement using extensive primary-source research. Their findings challenge many long-standing assumptions inherited from midtwentiethcentury historians. This reassessment has produced a more nuanced understanding of Sumner and the Second Corps’ movements and the complex factors that shaped the fighting in the West Woods. This presentation traces that evolution, from the earliest contemporary accounts to modern scholarship.

3:45-5:00 A Beacon of Peace in the West Woods Maelstrom: Antietam’s Dunker Church – Alann Schmidt

Antietam’s Dunker Church is one of the most iconic structures of the Civil War, but it is also one of the most ironic. In the middle of the worst part of the worst one-day battle our country has ever seen stood a humble church dedicated to peace!
This presentation provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the church, beginning with the background of those who worshipped there. Then we will take a look at the church’s role in the Battle of Antietam and its aftermath, and the many lasting impacts on the area. Finally we’ll see the many ups and downs (figurative and literal ups and downs!) the church went through in the years since the Civil War. Along the way we’ll point out many little-known facts about the Dunker Church – like the role it played in the memorialization of the battle and development of Antietam National Battlefield, the many years the church was actually missing, and even connections to George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Mark Twain. Come see a whole different side to the story of Antietam.

5:00 Social time – author book sales

5:30 Dinner

6:30 State of the Institute – Chris Vincent, Executive Director

7:00 Keynote talk To the West Woods: Reconsidering Edwin V Sumner at Antietam – Vince Armstrong

A week after the Battle of Antietam, Brigadier General Alpheus Williams, who commanded the Twelfth Army Corps at Antietam, wrote his brother-in-law concerning the decision of Major General Edwin V. Sumner, commanding the Second Army Corps, to commit the division of Brigadier General John Sedgwick to an attack on the West Woods. “Hundreds of lives were foolishly sacrificed by generals I see most praised, generals who would come up with their commands and pitch in at the first point without consultation with those who knew the ground or without reconnoitering or looking for the effective points of attack.”

In 1882, in the first comprehensive study of the Battle of Antietam, The Antietam and Fredericksburg, Francis W. Palfrey, Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Massachusetts in Sedgwick’s division at Antietam, wrote “What General Sumner may have expected or even hoped to accomplish by his rash advance, it is difficult to conjecture.” And Francis A. Walker, a Civil War veteran, though not of Antietam, in his 1887 History of the Second Army Corps commented of Sumner, “All his life in the cavalry, he has the instincts of a cavalry commander. What shall stay him?”

Thus was established the standard interpretation of Sumner regarding his decision to commit Sedgwick’s division to an attack into the West Woods at about 9:00 a.m. It has remained the accepted interpretation of Sumner at Antietam until the present day.

During the keynote address Marion V. Armstrong, author of the Institute’s 2026 Incentive Book, McClellan in Command, will reconsider this interpretation, focusing on the orders which Sumner received and could not ignore, his reconnaissance of the field before committing Sedgwick’s division, and the situation at that point in the battle, to demonstrate that Sumner’s decision was the right decision at the right time. This will also be the focus of the battlefield walk on Saturday.

Saturday October 10, 2026

7:45 – 8:30 am Breakfast on the Battlefield – in a tent on the American Battlefield Trust (ABT) property on the Sharpsburg Pike (bypass) at the West Woods [google map]

8:45 am-noon, 1:00-4:00 pm Battlefield Excursions

Attendees will be divided into two groups, one for each tour. Groups will switch tours at 1:00 pm after lunch.

Noon Lunch – in the tent on the ABT property

West excursion group: Saving Lee’s Army at Hauser’s Ridge – Jim Buchanan, Jim Rosebrock, Chris Vincent

Many visitors to Antietam are unaware that a significant amount of fighting occurred west of Route 65, on the Locher and Houser farmsteads, far from the tour roads, in an area difficult to access. This property, acquired by the National Park Service between 1991 and 2006 witnessed the timely arrival of Paul Semmes Confederate Brigade—comprising soldiers from Georgia and Virginia. The impact that both Semmes brigade and Confederate artillery posted there had on the advancing Union division commanded by John Sedgwick contributed significantly to the broader outcome of the Battle of Antietam.

Confederate artillery, positioned atop Hausers’ Ridge, quickly halted the progress of Sedgwick’s lead brigade under Willis Gorman. The effective use of artillery fire stopped Gorman’s men in their tracks, buying precious time for Semmes’ brigade. Descending from the ridge, Semmes’ troops were able to take up positions directly opposite Gorman’s brigade. This maneuver resulted in a head-to-head confrontation that not only blunted the Union advance but ultimately broke it.

The planned hike will follow the path of Semmes’ advance from Hausers’ Ridge to the Alfred Poffenberger farmstead, tracing the subsequent engagement with Gorman’s brigade. Participants will walk on the same ground as the Confederate artillery positions along Hausers’ Ridge, gaining a unique perspective on the battle. For many, it will be their first time experiencing the views once held by Confederate gunners as they fired upon the advancing Union infantry. The tour will highlight how the careful placement of artillery at this location and moment in the battle was crucial—potentially saving Lee’s left flank, if not his entire army.

By the end of the tour, participants are expected to gain a new appreciation for this part of the battlefield and recognize its pivotal role in what could be considered the fight that saved Lee’s army.

East excursion group: the West Woods – Tom Clemens, Vince Armstrong, Olivia Black

Tour description to follow.

4:00 pm Dinner on your own

6:00 pm Social gathering at Potomac Ridge Brewing [google map]

Sunday October 11, 2026

8:45 am Meet – at the Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center overflow parking area [google map]

9:00 – 10:30, 10:30-noon Battlefield Excursions

Attendees will be divided into two groups, one for each tour. Groups will switch tours at 10:30 am.

Excursion group 1: Re-securing the West Woods: Walker’s Division (CSA) Attacks Across the Pike – Laura Marfut, Lucas Cade

As many of Union Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick’s troops ran for their lives toward the D.R. Miller farm buildings pursued by Confederates from Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws’ division, a new threat to the Federal right emerged from the West Woods.

Brig. Gen. John Walker’s division, with two large brigades commanded by Brig. Gen. Robert Ransom, Jr. and Col. Vannoy Manning, had double-quicked from the Confederate right near Snavely’s Ford, arriving just in time to reestablish the Confederate line in the West Woods before Union Twelfth Corps soldiers could clear them. The action that followed around the Dunker Church saw three Confederate attacks across the Hagerstown Pike to the east, toward the East Woods gun line and Union infantry; one nearly reaching the Roulette barn.

Lucas Cade and Laura Marfut will walk you through this often-overlooked phase of the battle.

Excursion group 2: East Woods Gun Line – Jim Rosebrock

Join Jim Rosebrock for a guided walk along the 1,200-yard Federal artillery line bordering the East Woods — a position that proved decisive in halting Confederate efforts to extend their advance across the Hagerstown Pike. Organized by Major Francis Clarke, Second Corps chief of artillery, this massed line drew at various times on twelve batteries from the Second, Sixth, and Twelfth Corps. Throughout the day, sustained Union fire suppressed Confederate artillery and sharpshooters, denying Southern infantry further gains. By evening, the Federal center still stood — owing much to a line of cannon that rarely earns notice, yet quietly shaped the course of the battle.

We will walk along the western boundary of the East Woods and discuss the different batteries and their commanders placed there at different time of the day. We will examine the key roles played by the corps chiefs of artillery – Francis Clarke, Second Corps, Clermont Best, Twelfth Corps, and Romeyn Ayres and Emory Upton from the Sixth Corps.

Noon Wrap up – Battlefield Visitor Center overflow parking lot

Keynote Speaker

Marion V. Armstrong Jr. (Vince) is a Civil War author, particularly known for his detailed studies on the Battle of Antietam. He is the author of Unfurl Those Colors!: McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army Corps in the Antietam Campaign and Opposing the Second Corps at Antietam: The Fight for the Confederate Left and Center on America’s Bloodiest Day. His books offer an in-depth operational analysis of Union and Confederate leadership and tactics at the battle, and provide fresh reappraisals of commanders like Edwin Vose Sumner. The Institute will be publishing Vince’s upcoming book, McClellan in Command: The Maryland and Virginia Campaigns of September to November 1862.

A retired U.S. Army Reserve officer and Vietnam veteran, Vince brings a valuable military perspective to his historical writing.  He resides in Lewisburg, TN, and teaches history as an adjunct professor at Middle Tennessee State University.

Speakers & Tour Leaders

Olivia Black is a park ranger and the volunteer program coordinator at Antietam National Battlefield where she has worked since August 2016. Previously, she worked at Fort Sumter National Monument from 2008 to 2016. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in history from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and a Master’s Degree in history from The Citadel in Charleston, SC

Jim Buchanan is a native Washingtonian and earned a BA and an MA in history at the University of Maryland, College Park. After a stint as a social studies teacher, he joined a Supreme Court history project, and then went on to write curriculum for the National Street Law project. He retired in 2017 after 25 years at the Federal Judicial Center. He is a volunteer and guide at Antietam National Battlefield.

Lucas Cade is a native of Marietta, Georgia and developed an early interest in the Civil War. He received a BS in Secondary Education from Troy State University and a MS in Economic Development from the University of Southern Mississippi. He moved to Washington County, Maryland and has enjoyed a 30-year career in business development. Lucas has been a long-time advocate of battlefield preservation and has been active in the American Battlefield Trust and its predecessors for over two decades.  A certified guide at Antietam National Battlefield, Lucas lives in Winchester with his wife, Julie.

Dr. Tom Clemens holds a Doctorate in College Education-History from George Mason University, Professor Emeritus from Hagerstown Community College. He is a Tour guide for the Maryland Campaign for the past 30 years. Tom is the Editor of Ezra Carman’s Maryland Campaign of September 1862, 3 Vols. 2010, 2012, 2016. Author of numerous essays and magazine articles, appeared in several documentary films as on-screen historian, including the orientation film in the NPS Visitor Center. Tom has just completed The Carman Papers: The Maryland Campaign of 1862, the correspondence between Antietam veterans and Ezra A. Carman which is expected to be available this fall.

Laura Marfut is a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 32 years of service, including 12 years on the Joint Staff and two tours in Afghanistan. She taught high school in Washington County, Maryland and served as President of the Mason-Dixon Council, Boy Scouts of America. Laura became an Antietam Battlefield Guide in 2019, adding Harpers Ferry and South Mountain credentials the following year. She volunteers for Hospice and as an Antietam Battlefield Ambassador. She and her husband Ed live in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Jim Rosebrock is a retired Army officer and a federal government civil servant serving for 45 years in both capacities. He has volunteered at Antietam National Battlefield since 2007 and currently works with the park’s artillery detachment Battery B, 4th United States Artillery. A certified battlefield guide at Antietam for the past 15 years, Jim led the guide service from 2012 to 2018 and currently serves as President of the Antietam Institute. Jim’s first book is The Artillery of Antietam, published in 2023. He also co-authored the Artillery Atlas of Antietam with Aaron Holley. Jim is also a contributing author to the Brigades of Antietam and the Commanders of Antietam.

Alann Schmidt is the co-author (along with Terry Barkley) of September Mourn: The Dunker Church of Antietam Battlefield. Alann spent 15 years as a park ranger at Antietam National Battlefield, and has presented many programs on the Dunker Church to park visitors, Civil War seminars, community groups, churches, and Brethren Heritage tours. He earned degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, Shippensburg University, Shepherd University, and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. While illness unfortunately forced him into early retirement, he now serves as a pastor for the Churches of God, General Conference. He and his wife of 30 years Tracy also operate Righteous Rescues, a cat rescue that provides transportation to low cost spay/neuter clinics. They live on their family farm near Fort Littleton, PA.

Christopher Vincent retired after a 24-year career in the U.S. Army as a senior non-commissioned officer with light infantry units, including combat tours during Operation Desert Storm and Kosovo with the 10th Mountain Division. He earned a master’s degree in Military History from the American Military University. Chris was drawn to Sharpsburg because his great-great-grandfather served during the Maryland Campaign with the 132nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He and his wife, Amy, also own two businesses in Sharpsburg. His research is primarily focused on the farmsteads of Antietam and the impact the campaign had on the civilians of Sharpsburg. Chris was certified as an Antietam National Battlefield Guide in 2015 and has served as the Chief Guide since 2019.  Chris was the founder of the Antietam Institute and served as president from 2021-2025. 

Sessions and Fees

You may attend 1, 2 or all 3 sessions (days) of the conference as best fits your needs and schedule. The fees for attending, including meals, as applicable, are:

• Friday, October 9 (includes events and dinner) – $125.
• Saturday, October 10 (includes breakfast and lunch) – $175.
• Sunday, October 11 – $75.
• Total for all 3 sessions – $375.

A Note about Refunds

Full payment is required upon registration. If you cancel in writing before September 9, 2026 (one month prior to the event), 80% of your registration fee will be refunded. After that date there will be no refund, but another person may be substituted without penalty.

Accomodations

The following establishments are convenient to the battlefield:

Inn at Antietam (Sharpsburg)

Jacob Rohrbach Inn (Sharpsburg)

The Bavarian Inn (Shepherdstown)

Thomas Shepherd Inn (Shepherdstown)

The Institue has a block of rooms at the Quality Inn (Sharpherdstown)