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Antietam Institute Education Center

The Institute is extremely excited to announce the opening of our new Education Center! Over the last few weeks, institute volunteers have been busy painting and organizing the education center which is located at the square in Sharpsburg on the first floor at 101 W. Main Street.

The center will be used to host small events and hold our research library of Maryland Campaign material and books. The center will be open once a month from 1:00 – 3:30pm or by appointment. Institute staff will be on hand to answer questions about the Maryland Campaign, help with membership and event registrations.

We will have a grand opening on Saturday, April 5 at 1:30pm with light refreshments. At 2pm, Institute president and author of Artillery of Antietam, Jim Rosebrock will give a presentation on “Civil War Artillery 101: A basic understanding of Field Artillery at Antietam”. Institute publications will be available to purchase.

Each month the center will be open with a featured presentation beginning at 2pm.

April 5: Jim Rosebrock – Artillery 101

May 3: Matt Borders – Life of a Civil War Soldier

June 7: Justin Mayhue – Small Arms Weapons at Antietam

July 12: Meet the Authors of Commanders of Antietam

August 2: Kevin Boyer – Artifacts of the Maryland Campaign

September 6: Joe Stahl – CVDs and Identification Disks of Soldiers from the Maryland Campaign

October we will be closed due to our fall conference

November 1: TBA

December 6: TBA

(Details of the programs and speakers will be post here at a later date and on our Facebook page)

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Education Publications

Behind the Commanders of Antietam

We sat down with some of the contributors of the Commanders of Antietam to give us a little insight in to they commanders the wrote about. We asked the contributors several questions during these interviews. One – what got them particularly interested in the commander they choose to write about. We asked about the commanders background before the Maryland Campaign, how important was this commander’s role in the Maryland Campaign or the Battle of Antietam, and finally to summarize this commander’s career after the battle and his life after the Civil War.

We want to thank institute members, Ernie Chase and Will Blaney (Chase History) for volunteering to conduct the interviews and for turning them into these first-rate video productions providing us with a behind the scenes look at the Commanders of Antietam.

We kicked off the interviews with Institute President and author of Artillery at Antietam, James Rosebrock. Jim wrote about the artillery commanders for the book and choose to provide a little more insight on Captain Dunbar Ransom.

Historian and author, Matthew Borders talks about Confederate commander Robert Ransom, Jr. and his role at Antietam and the Civil War.

Author and guide, Joe Stahl talks about Colonel William Christian and what happened to him at the Battle of Antietam.

Historian and author, Steven Stotelmyer discusses the life of Major General Jesse Lee Reno.

Historian and author, Sharon Murray talks about Confederate commander Colonel Thomas Munford.

Historian and author, Matthew Borders talks about Union commander George Sears Greene and his role during the Civil War and extortionary engineering career before and after.

Historian and author, James Rosebrock discusses the role of Colonel Stephen D. Lee at Antietam and his career.

More contributor interview videos will be add both here and our YouTube channel as they are completed

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Education Philanthropy Programs

Student Symposium Scholarship

We are pleased to announce that Trevor Huff from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland is a recipient of our Student Symposium Scholarships.

Trevor is a 27-year-old Hood College third-year student and United States Army veteran. He is originally from Houston, TX, where he attended his first two years of college and completed an associate’s degree.

From December 2021 to June 2024, Trevor served as an Infantryman in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard,” where he participated in hundreds of funerals at Arlington National Cemetery. Since leaving the Army, Trevor enrolled at Hood College to complete a Bachelors Degree in History. He intends to further his education beyond a bachelor’s. Trevor is a proud Phi Theta Kappa member and has recently been invited to join Phi Theta Alpha, the Honors Society for History.

Last fall, Trevor volunteered at Antietam National Battlefield under the NPS volunteer program. During that period, he had the unique opportunity to inform park guests about the park’s programs and speak to the public about the Civil War. This experience furthered his passion for studying the war and its legacy. Trevor said, “For all of my life, History, specifically military history, has been my principal area of study.”

We look forward to seeing Trevor at the symposium and talking more about his love for history.

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Programs

Frederick: the Crossroads of the Civil War John Schildt

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

Frederick, MD in 1862, (Crossroads of 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.

Rev. John Schildt

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.

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Programs

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

Dr. Jen Murray

Gen. George G. Meade (LoC)

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. Jen Murray

Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is an Assistant Professor of History at Shepherd University and the Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War. Her 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 in February 2026. Prior to joining the faculty at Shepherd, Murray taught at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. A native of Maryland, Murray worked as a seasonal interpretive park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park for nine summers.

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.

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Programs

Little Mac at the Front – Steve Stotelmyer

“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.

Steve Stotelmyer

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.

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.

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Programs

The Fate of Antietam’s Wounded – Tracey McIntire

Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1862 (Crossroads of War)
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

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.

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.

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Programs

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

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.

A Union artillery battery in the field.
(LoC)
Vice President, Jim Rosebrock

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.

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.

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Programs

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

Dunker Church window sill - HENRY WINTERS
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

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.

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.

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Programs

The Texas Brigade at Antietam – Dr. Brad Gottfried

1st Texas at the Battle of Antietam (Don Troiani)
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

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.

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.