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Education Philanthropy Research

2024 Summer Internship

Sarah Sofsky

We are excited to announce the start of a new internship with Shepherd University at the Antietam National Battlefield. The intern will be assigned to the Resource Education and Visitor Services Division at Antietam National Battlefield under the direct supervision of the Division Chief, Park Ranger Keith Snyder.

Working with Dr. James Broomall, Director of the George Tylor Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University and Keith Snyder, we’ve selected Sarah Sofsky. Sarah is a Maryland native, but has lived in many places in the United States. She is currently a junior at Shepherd University and a proud member of Phi Alpha Theta, the National History Honor Society. Sarah says her “time at Shepherd University has been phenomenal, the last three years of seminars, research and projects have propelled my love for all things historical farther than I ever imagined.” Sarah’s goal is to work for the National Park Service and ultimately become an archaeologist.

Sarah duties will include working at the park visitor center assisting visitors; performing roving/informal interpretation at various sites on the battlefield; and presenting the 30-minute battlefield orientation program. During her three-month internship, Sarah will also be conducting some transcription of over sixty Civil War letters related to Antietam and the Maryland Campaign soldiers that will be posted on our Historical Research Center. These documents have been provided to the Institute by William “Griff” Griffing, owner and transcriber at Spared & Shared. Board members, Brian Downey and Chris Vincent are overseeing this portion of the internship. 

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Education Publications Research

Antietam Battlefield Base Map

For over three years, Aaron Holley, our cartographer, has been working on an Antietam Battlefield base map. Aaron Holley is a native of West Virginia and a lifetime student of the American Civil War. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry and a Master of Science in Forestry from West Virginia University and has experience working on forest conservation projects worldwide. This professional experience has led Aaron to be intimately familiar with the practice of cartography and modern mapping techniques, which when paired with his passion for the American Civil War, results in this outstanding map.

Map created by Aaron Holley for the 2021 Fall Conference

The objective of this initiative is to recreate the 1862 landscape in three dimensions using a computer-based Geographic Information System (GIS), which utilizes modern data collected from such sources as satellites and aircraft combined with historical maps, ground-truthing in the field, and expert input. This results in a map that is true to scale and even usable in a GPS to compare the modern landscape to the 1862 landscape while in the field. For the last year, a committee of “experts”: Jim Rosebrock, Kevin Pawlak, Jim Buchanan, Steve Cowie and Chris Vincent, have reviewed every sector of the map, analyzing fence lines, roads, farmsteads, and the topography for accuracy. This base map is a “living” map that can be updated as new information is obtained, and it serves as the backdrop for Antietam Institute publications, such as Artillery of Antietam and The Antietam Journal.

Now that this initial phase is completed, the Institute is looking to print these base maps not only for members, but for purchase by the public with our vendors. The map will be 24×36 inches and in full color. A draft of the base map was revealed during the Honor Guard event to gather members’ interest and feedback. Based on that, we made some final edits and it was off to the printers!

Member Aaron Holley discusses the progress on our mapping initiative of creating a base map of the battlefield. We are looking to have the final version ready for printing and available for purchase at the fall conference.

Figuring in the printing costs, shipping and packaging, we estimate the map will retail for $30. The maps will be available for members to purchase at the fall conference.  When members start to see the value of this new and improved battlefield map, and there is an interest for more, the mapping committee will begin looking at recreating the fourteen battlefield maps with the unit positions.

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Philanthropy Publications Research

2023 Summer Internship

We are pleased to announce that our summer internship program with Shepherd University has begun. Working with Dr. James Broomall, Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, we have selected Gareth Cushman-Reynolds to be a transcription intern for the Publications Committee.  Gareth is a local student, graduating from Boonsboro High School in 2019 and lives in Hagerstown, Maryland. Gareth will be a senior at Shepherd University pursuing a bachelors degree in History with a concentration in the American Civil War and 19th Century America.  He is passionate about history, and is excited to be working with the Antietam Institute to help bring historical documentation into the digital age. Gareth assisted in a separate transcription project at school, working on the Journal of Cotton Mathers, and is excited to continue with this line of work. In his free time he enjoys reading, writing, gaming, and traveling to explore new places.

Gareth Cushman-Reynolds

This summer, Gareth will be transcribing the Jacob Duryee manuscript and documents that the Institute acquired last year. He will also conduct research while transcribing and annotating the manuscript. The goal of Gareth’s work is to prepare the manuscript for future publication. Board members, Kevin Pawlak and Chris Vincent are overseeing this project. 

The internship will meet one of the requirements for Gareth’s Practicum in Civil War Studies course he is taking this summer and provide an opportunity for him to grow and develop as an historian.

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Philanthropy Research

The Antietam Institute acquires Jacob Duryee’s manuscript

The Antietam Institute has purchased a set of documents written more than a century ago by Jacob Duryee who led the 2nd Maryland Regiment at the battle, including a 53-page account of his unit’s attempt to take the Burnside Bridge.

Jacob E. Duryee

“One of our members noticed that these were available the day before they went up for auction in New York and our board immediately approved supporting an online bid,” said Chris Vincent, the Institute president. “We were pleased that our bid was successful.”

The typewritten documents — apparently written by Duryee not long before his death in 1918 in hopes of publishing a memoir — describe not only the assault but also conditions in a farm building used as a field hospital for the regiment which suffered 44 percent casualties as it approached the bridge along the road from the south.

Duryee also explains his decision to resign his commission a few days later, incensed that the Maryland Governor Augustus Bradford did not visit the regiment when he came to Antietam a few days after the fighting.

A separate manuscript tells of Duryee’s initial unit, the 7th New York, making its way to Washington via Annapolis just after the riots in Baltimore on April 19, 1861, becoming one of the first units to garrison the capital just after the bombardment of Fort Sumter. There is also a set of letters concerning a reunion of the 7th New York and a Duryee family genealogy.

“There are many interesting aspects to Duryee’s account of the fighting at the Burnside Bridge, including his claim that the 2nd Maryland attacked the bridge at 9 a.m. not 10 as the tablet written by Ezra Carmen states,” Vincent said. “Duryee also tells of being surprised to see a chaplain he knew from the 5th Corps who came to the field hospital to retrieve Duryee’s body, assuming he had been killed.”

After the war, Duryee received a brevet promotion to brigadier general of volunteers. When he died, his body was returned to Antietam, and he is the only general buried in the national cemetery.

“The Institute wants to make sure these important documents are available to students of this battle, both online and in person,” Vincent said. The manuscript will be donated to the Antietam National Battlefield Library later this year.

A special thank you to member – Michael Hill for leading the effort to acquire this unique item.

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Research

Summer Internship

We are pleased to announce that our summer internship with Shepherd University has begun. Working with Dr. James Broomall, of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, we have selected Shane Allen to work as a Digital Archive Intern for the Historical Research Center (HRC).  Shane hales from Paige, Texas and is a junior at Shepherd University pursuing a degree in Historic Preservation and Public History.  Shane volunteers locally at the Texas Wendish Heritage Museum where he serves as a docent and assisted with the digital archiving of photos documenting the Wendish families and their cultural experiences.

This summer, Shane will be populating our HRC with digital copies of regimental histories, manuscripts, books, documents, maps, photographs, and other items related to Antietam and the Maryland Campaign. Board members, Brian Downey and Chris Vincent are overseeing this project.  With this internship the HRC will grow exponentially, with over 600 items by September.

Completing our summer internship will also meet one of the Capstone requirements for Shane and provide an opportunity for him to grow and develop as an historian. 

Update: Sept. 25, 2022. Shepherd University student Shane Allen completed a 400-hour summer internship with the Institute in August. Shane uploaded over 500 items to the Institute’s on-line Historic Research Center (HRC), including regimental histories, manuscripts, related works, battlefield drawings, photos and maps. Each entry is complete with detailed information, descriptions and biography links. The Institute developed this repository to collect and share digital copies of historical and contemporary materials on the Battle of Antietam and the Maryland Campaign of 1862.

Upon returning back to Shepherdstown in time to start back to school, Shane Allen was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation from Institute President, Chris Vincent for his hard work over the summer.