Edwin Forbes’ sketch “The battle of Antietam–Charge of Burnside 9th Corps on the right flank of the Confederate Army” as printed in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper of 11 October 1862 (colorized by Park Service staff)
Welcome!
This year’s event will be held at Antietam Creek Vineyards adjacent to the Antietam National Battlefield Park and is set for 3pm to 6pm on October 3, 2026. Included are dinner and a presentation by special guest author and historian Scott Hartwig.
The Legacy Reception is an opportunity to recognize and show our appreciation to those members that have gone above-and-beyond with their generosity.
This event is limited to Institute members at the Honor Guard, Colonel, and Corporate levels, and advance registration with a small fee to hold your spot is required.
Members are encouraged to bring a guest, who need not also be a member.
The venue
Antietam Creek Vineyards, nestled next to the historic Antietam National Battlefield, began its transformation from an abandoned 55-acre dairy farm in 2010. Today, Antietam Creek Vineyards features a complete estate wine production facility and tasting room.
The address is:
4835 Branch Ave, Sharpsburg, MD 21782 [Website]
This event begins at 3:00pm and ends at 6:00pm on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
Presentation
“In a second the air was full of the hiss of bullets and the hurtle of grape-shot” – Colonel Harrison Fairchild’s Brigade Storms the Harper’s Ferry Road Ridge.
Although the assault of Colonel Harrison Fairchild’s New York brigade on the afternoon of September 17 has never achieved the notice as has been accorded Union brigades that fought in the Cornfield area or the Sunken Lane, no Union unit that day exceeded the courage and elan of this brigade. But ultimately, the experience of Fairchild’s New Yorkers is a reminder that battle is fickle and cruel and even the most sublime courage can be undone by factors beyond the control of a single brigade.
About Scott
D. Scott Hartwig was the supervisory park historian at Gettysburg National Military Park and retired in 2014 after a 34-year career in the National Park Service, nearly all of it spent at Gettysburg. He won the regional Freeman Tilden Award for excellence in interpretation in 1993, and was a key player for the design of all aspects of the current Gettysburg museum/visitor center. He is the author of To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign from September 3 to September 16, published in September 2012 by Johns Hopkins University Press, and of I Dread The Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and End of the Maryland Campaign, also published by Johns Hopkins in August 2023. The latter title won the 2024 Barksdale Award, Emerging Civil War Book Award, and was one of two books which received honorable mention for the American Battlefield Trust 2024 History Prize.