Author: Chris Vincent

Frederick: the Crossroads of the Civil War John Schildt

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 14, 2025
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Frederick, MD in 1862, (Crossroads of War)

We’ll be wrapping up the Summer Lecture Series on August 25 with local historian, John Schildt presenting Frederick: the Crossroads of the Civil War

Just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, Frederick, Maryland, was poised at the crossroads of the Civil War. Here, Confederate troops passed west to the Battles of Antietam and South Monocacy, while Union troops marched north to Gettysburg and south to raid the resources of the Shenandoah Valley. Both heroes and villains were made in the spired city, such as Dame Barbara Fritchie, who is said to defied General Jackson; General Jubal Early, who threatened to put the town to the torch; and the local doctors and nurses who cared for thousands of wounded soldiers. Join local historian John Schildt as he recounts the fascinating history of Frederick in the Civil War.

Reverend John Schildt graduated from Shepherd College, Wesley Theological Seminary and has studied at Western Maryland College, Gettysburg Seminary and West Virginia University. John’s first book, September Echoes, published in 1960, was the first on Antietam since Francis Palfrey in 1887. This led to an appointment to the Maryland Centennial Committee. He wrote the account of the battle for the Official Centennial Program and was the guest speaker for the 125h anniversary. John has been a lecturer and guide for several Civil War organizations, Round Tables, and many other groups. John led his first tour of Antietam in 1958. Since then, 2,000 additional tours have followed. John has written over thirty-five books relating the various aspects of the Maryland Campaign of 1862 and local history. This list includes Drums along the Antietam, Roads to Antietam, Four Days in October, Islands of Mercy, and Roads to Gettysburg. He and his wife and daughter live in Sharpsburg.

Come join leading historians and scholars as they discuss intriguing topics about their latest works and research on the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War during our Civil War Summer Lecture Series. See the complete 2025 schedule.

These indoors programs are held in McKinley Hall at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. The church is located at 209W Main Street with a small parking area off the alley. More parking is available on Main and Hall Streets. These lectures free and open to the public. Each week we hold a drawing in which the proceeds support the Save Historic Antietam Foundation. Be sure to check our Facebook page for updates and changes to the schedule.

Tags Civil War, Frederick, Maryland Campaign, Programs, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

Meade at War: General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865 Dr. Jen Murray

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 14, 2025
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Dr. Jen Murray

Once prominently defined as the “Hero of Gettysburg,” General George G. Meade is often obscured by generals deeply embedded into the Civil War narrative–Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan or Lee and Jackson. This program will explore Meade’s role in the Civil War, starting with his appointment as a brigade commander in the Pennsylvania Reserves to his rise as commander of the Army of the Potomac, the North’s principal instrument of war. We will discuss Meade’s leadership during the Gettysburg Campaign, how Grant’s arrival to the Eastern Theater in March 1864 impacted Meade’s place in the army’s hierarchy, and some of the challenges that Meade faced as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Be sure to join us on August 18, as Dr. Jen Murray presents – Meade at War: General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865

Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is a Civil War historian in the Department of History at Oklahoma State University. Murray’s most recent publication is On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2023, published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2014 and printed as a second edition in 2023. Murray is currently working on a full-length biography of General George Meade, tentatively titled Meade at War. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming, “They Are Dead, And Yet They Live”: Civil War Memories in a Polarized America to be published by the University of Nebraska Press. A native of Maryland, Murray worked as a seasonal interpretive park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park for nine summers.

Tags Antietam, George G. Meade, Programs, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

Little Mac at the Front – Steve Stotelmyer

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 14, 2025
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“A Fateful Turn” by Captain James Hope

“A Fateful Turn” by Captain James Hope (McClellan and staff riding on field)

On August 11, battlefield guide and author, Steve Stotelmyer will discuss some of his latest research in his presentation – Little Mac at the Front. The accepted historical consensus of the Battle of Antietam portrays a sedentary McClellan at Antietam. The notion persists that, unlike his counterpart, Gen. Robert E. Lee, who visited several locations at the front during the battle, the allegedly timid and cowardly McClellan remained at his headquarters at the Pry House. Some authors would have their readers believe that Little Mac never led or observed from the front or was even on the battlefield when his army went into a major action. Using primary eyewitness accounts, Steve’s talk demonstrates conclusively that the accepted consensus does not reflect the historical record.

Steven R. Stotelmyer is a native of Hagerstown, Maryland. He first visited Antietam National Battlefield as a child and has been fascinated with it ever since. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Frostburg State College and a Master of Arts from Hood College in Frederick, MD. Before retirement, he was employed as a teacher, surveyor, and civil engineer. In 1989 Stotelmyer was a founding member of the Central Maryland Heritage League, a non-profit land trust which helped preserve some of the South Mountain Battlefield. During his tenure with CMHL he discovered significant information regarding the Battle of South Mountain and the Legend of Wise’s Well. This led to the publication of The Bivouacs of the Dead: The Story of Those Who Died at Antietam and South Mountain (Toomey Press, 1992). In 2019 Stotelmyer authored Too Useful To Sacrifice, Reconsidering George B. McClellan’s Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam (Savas Beatie, 2019). Recently Steve wrote From Frederick To Sharpsburg; People, Places, and Events of the Maryland Campaign before Antietam (Antietam Institute, 2023). Currently, Steve is a National Park Service Volunteer as well as a NPS Certified Antietam and South Mountain Battlefield Tour Guide.

Tags Antietam, George B. McClellan, Leadership, Programs, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

The Fate of Antietam’s Wounded – Tracey McIntire

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 11, 2025
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Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1862 (Crossroads of War)

Join us on August 4 for Tracey McIntire’s presentation – The Fate of Antietam’s Wounded. Hear the little-known stories of some of the almost 8,000 soldiers wounded at Antietam who were sent to Frederick for treatment.

Tracey McIntire earned her BA in English at Rivier College in Nashua, NH. She is Lead Educator at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, site manager of the Pry House Field Hospital Museum, and an interpretive volunteer at Antietam National Battlefield. She is also an active Civil War living historian, where she portrays a woman soldier in various guises.

Tags Hospitals, Maryland Campaign, Programs, soldiers, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

Organization of the Federal Artillery in the Civil War – Jim Rosebrock

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 11, 2025
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A Union artillery battery in the field. (LoC

We wrap up the month’s talks on July 28 with battlefield guide and author, Jim Rosebrock presenting – Organization of the Federal Artillery in the Civil War. This talk will examine the role and evolution of the Federal light artillery organization, focusing on the Army of the Potomac. Led by innovators such as William Barry and Henry Hunt, this Army was where the artillery organizations and doctrine evolved, which would ultimately be used in some variations in every other Federal army in the war.
Jim will start with a look at the US. Army’s experience with light artillery leading up to the start of the Civil War, examine the four components of the artillery – men and organization, guns, ammunition and artillery horses, and explore the evolution of the artillery arm by looking at the two major schools of artillery organization: Dispersal and Concentration.

James Rosebrock is a retired Army officer and Department of Justice employee, with 45 years of leadership experience in the logistics, security and emergency management fields. Jim graduated from Niagara University in 1976 with a degree in Russian History. Jim served with the 82nd Airborne Division during Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces where he was awarded a master’s degree in National Resource Strategy. Jim was an instructor for Combined Arms and Services Staff School when he retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He is a National Park Service certified battlefield guide at Antietam National Battlefield and served as Chief Guide from 2011 – 2018. He has two Civil War related blogs and is the author of the Artillery of Antietam.

Tags artillery, Civil War, Programs, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

“Little-Known Antietam: Henry Winters and ‘Mystery and Murder at the Lodge'” – Tom McMillan

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 10, 2025
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Dunker Church window sill - HENRY WINTERS

On July 21, author Tom McMillan will present – “Little-Know Antietam: Henry Winters and ‘Mystery and Murder at the Lodge‘” Tom we’ll take a look at two of the intriguing but lesser-known stories at Antietam. Henry Winters of the 89th New York Infantry carved his name on a windowsill at the Dunker Church — a piece of Civil War graffiti that still is visible to visitors today. But who was Henry? Why did he leave his mark? When did he come back? The second story involves two Antietam-related murder mysteries, one of which took place at the National Cemetery lodge, the other targeting a battlefield superintendent.

Tom McMillan has spent a lifetime in sports media and communications – including 25 years as VP of Communications of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL – but his heartfelt passion is history. The author of four books on American history, he has served on the board of trustees of Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center, the board of directors of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial, the marketing committee of the Gettysburg Foundation, and as a docent at the Thomas Espy GAR Post in Carnegie, PA.. Tom and his wife, Colleen, are also volunteer ambassadors at Antietam. A former newspaper sports writer and radio talk-show host who has covered the Olympics, the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Finals and the NCAA Final Four, he earned a journalism degree from Point Park University in Pittsburgh.

Tags Antietam, Dunker Church, National Cemetery, Programs, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

The Texas Brigade at Antietam – Dr. Brad Gottfried

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 10, 2025
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1st Texas at the Battle of Antietam (Don Troiani)

The storied Texas Brigade had already gained fame as a result of its actions at Elthan’s Landing, Gaines’ Mill, and Second Manassas, but it became legendary as a result of its fight at Antietam. This presentation covers the brigade’s actions before, during, and after the battle, using first hand accounts and maps to describe its actions in the blood-soaked Cornfield. Join us on July 14 for “The Texas Brigade at Antietam” presented by Dr. Brad Gottfried.

Dr. Brad Gottfried received his Ph.D. in Zoology and worked at seven colleges over a span of 40 years. He retired in 2017 as the President of the College of Southern Maryland. Brad became an Antietam Certified Battlefield Guide in 2019. He is the author of over 20 books, including his most recent, The Maps of Second Bull Run.

Tags Antietam, Programs, Summer Lecture Series, Texas Brigade

Programs

Before September: The Origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign – Dr. Alex Rossino

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 10, 2025
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Colorized print of Jefferson Davis and his first cabinet with General Robert E. Lee, published by Thomas Kelly (1897)

We’ll be kicking off July by looking at how and when the idea of invading Maryland occurred. On July 7, Dr. Alex Rossino will present – Before September: The Origin of the 1862 Maryland Campaign

Confederate military and political leaders hatched multiple plans for an invasion of Maryland before Lee’s army crossed the Potomac in September 1862. In this talk, Dr. Rossino documents those plans and the impact they had on Lee’s decision to enter the state.

Dr. Alexander B. Rossino resides in Washington County, Maryland. An award-winning independent historian, Dr. Rossino earned his degree from Syracuse University and worked at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C from 1994 to 2003. He is the author of Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862 (Savas Beatie, 2021), Calamity at Frederick: Robert E. Lee, Special Orders No. 191, and Confederate Misfortune on the Road to Antietam (Savas Beatie, 2023) and has published several articles on the Maryland Campaign. He has co-authored The Tale Untwisted: General George B. McClellan, the Maryland Campaign, and the Discovery of Lee’s Lost Orders (Savas Beatie, 2022) with Gene Thorp. Alex has also written a two-part series of historically accurate Civil War novels published by Savas Beatie, Six Days in September: A Novel of Lee’s Army in Maryland, 1862 (2017) and The Guns of September: A Novel of McClellan’s Army in Maryland, 1862 (2024).

Tags Maryland Campaign, Programs, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

“I Am Bullet Proof:” The Last Four Months of a Fifth Corps Soldier – Darin Wipperman

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 10, 2025
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Captain Joseph Collingwood (Find a Grave)

On June 30, author Darin Wipperman will discuss a unique individual he came across during his research in his presentation – “I Am Bullet Proof:” The Last Four Months of a Fifth Corps Soldier.

A tremendous resource for students of the Civil War, the Huntington Library, San Marino, California, houses an array of excellent manuscripts. One of the library’s many highly impressive collections includes more than 200 letters from Captain Joseph Collingwood, who joined the 18^th Massachusetts Infantry in August 1861. Collingwood and soldiers in his Company H became original member of the Fifth Corps the following May. This presentation discusses the Bay State warrior in the last four months of his life, from the catastrophe at Second Bull Run to Collingwood’s sad destiny below the stone wall at Fredericksburg. His perspectives from ten September letters – before and after the battle of Antietam – offer especially interesting thoughts from a frazzled yet resolute American warrior.

Darin Wipperman’s first two books on the Civil War discussed the histories of the First and Ninth Corps. His most recent book, Thunderbolt to the Rebels: The United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War, was released in February 2025. Darin completed nearly 17 years of service in the federal government, then moved to northern New Hampshire, where he was a reporter and editor for weekly newspapers. Continuing his lifetime of studying the Civil War, Darin’s fourth book on the conflict is currently entitled, A Dangerous Man: Major General Joseph Hooker and the Civil War. Darin plans to complete his manuscript on “Fighting Joe” by the end of 2025.

Tags Antietam, Programs, soldiers, Summer Lecture Series

Programs

From The Brazos To The Antietam & Beyond: The Story of the Fifth Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment – Michael S. Lang

Post author By Chris Vincent
Post date January 10, 2025
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Regimental flag of the Fifth Texas Infantry (Texas State Library and Archives)

Texas’s history often has deep roots in lore and tall tales. The author John Steinbeck once said of The Lone Star State, “Texas has its own private history, based on but not limited to the facts.” Sometimes, the truth about Texas and Texans feels torn from a tragic Greek legend. Such is the case of Hood’s Texas Brigade and the Fifth Texas Infantry, a regiment that left an indelible mark on history. These young men from Texas left their homes in 1861 and were everywhere. The odds are excellent if you can name a famous battle in the East; the “Bloody 5th,” as they were sometimes called, were there, charging headlong into a storm of enemy fire.

In this narrative, we will follow this regiment from its formation near Houston in 1861 to the surrender at Appomattox four years later. Of course, no retelling would be complete without recounting its historic counterattack across a blood-strewn cornfield in western Maryland on September 17, 1862. Be sure to join us on June 23 to hear author, Michael S. Lang present – From The Brazos To The Antietam & Beyond: The Story of the Fifth Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

Michael S. Lang has worked as a manager for Federal Express for 38 years and is also a successful photographer. Capturing images of Civil War battlefields is one of his favorite subjects.

Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Michael moved to Frisco, Texas, in 2017. As relative newcomers to the great state of Texas, he and his wife, Rebecca, have spent the last seven years exploring the state and learning about its unique and rich history, including sites related to the Civil War. Michael has loved history since a young boy and has been a student of the Civil War for just as long.

Michael is the author of three books, Decisions at Antietam and Decisions of the Maryland Campaign, and Decisions of the Red River Campaign. These books are all part of the Command Decisions of America’s Civil War series published by the University of Tennessee Press.

Tags Antietam, Programs, Summer Lecture Series, Texas Brigade