We are pleased to announce that our Membership incentive book for 2024 will be Commanders of Antietam.
Commanders of Antietam, the Union and Confederate Commanders at the Battle of Antietam is a comprehensive look at the biographies of both armies’ high command during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862. This treatment focuses on the lives of Union and Confederate commanders from the brigade level up to the army commanders, Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan.
Each commander’s biography is broken into three sections: Before the Maryland Campaign; During the Maryland Campaign; and After the Maryland Campaign. This is the most complete volume of commanders’ biographies in the Maryland Campaign.
This book has been written by a collaboration of Antietam Battlefield Guides, National Park Service Rangers and volunteers, and Civil War historians. Kevin Pawlak and Brad Gottfried are the editors of this volume. It is the third in a series of books focused on different aspects of the campaign, including Brigades of Antietam (edited by Bradley Gottfried) and Artillery of Antietam (by James A. Rosebrock), both published by the Antietam Institute.
Institute historian are back at the Pry House this summer for our “Artillery and Brigades of Antietam” speaker series. Come to the Pry House to hear the contributors of the Brigades of Antietam discuss in detail some of the brigades and the artillery that fought in the 1862 Maryland Campaign. The series is sponsored by the Antietam Institute and hosted by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. The presentation begins in the Pry Barn at 2:00 PM and is a pay-what-you-please event. There is a $3.00 suggested donation to tour the Pry House Field Hospital Museum.
The Pry House is open from 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays, from June 3 through October 28. The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is located at 18906 Shepherdstown Pike, Keedysville, MD 21756.
2023 Schedule:
June 17 – Jim Rosebrock – The Union Artillery at Antietam. Jim Rosebrock served 28 years in the US Army, including combat operations with the 82nd Airborne in Grenada, retiring at the rank of Lt. Colonel. He holds a master’s degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Jim recently retired from the Department of Justice. He was the Chief of the Antietam Battlefield Guides from 2011 to 2018. He manages two blogs, Antietam Voices, and South from the North Woods. Jim is currently the Vice President of the Antietam Institute and the author of The Artillery of Antietam.
July 1 – Jim Buchanan – Napoleon J. T. Dana’s Brigade James M. Buchanan received his BA and MA (History) from University of Maryland, and an MA in teaching from Antioch University. He was also a teacher in the D.C. Public Schools and Emerson College Preparatory School. He served as Associate editor of the Documentary History of the Supreme Court, 1789-1800; Program Director, National Institute for Citizen Education in the Law; Education Specialist, Federal Judicial Center; and is a volunteer and Certified Antietam Guide.
July 15 – Jim Rosebrock – The Confederate Artillery at Antietam Jim Rosebrock served 28 years in the US Army, including combat operations with the 82nd Airborne in Grenada, retiring at the rank of Lt. Colonel. He holds a master’s degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. Jim recently retired from the Department of Justice. He was the Chief of the Antietam Battlefield Guides from 2011 to 2018. He manages two blogs, Antietam Voices, and South from the North Woods. Jim is currently the Vice President of the Antietam Institute and the author of The Artillery of Antietam.
August 5 – Brad Gottfried – brigades of Richard Anderson’s division 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 18 books, including his most recent, The Maps of the Spotsylvania Through Cold Harbor Campaigns.
September 2 – Lucas Cade – Alfred Colquitt’s Brigade Lucas Cade. A native of Marietta, Georgia, Lucas 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 Hagerstown with his wife, Julie.
September 16 – Laura Marfut – Truman Seymour’s Brigade Laura Marfut is a retired U.S. Army colonel with master’s degrees in International Relations and Education, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. She became a certified Antietam Battlefield Guide in 2019 and added Harpers Ferry and South Mountain credentials the following year. She volunteers for Hospice of Washington County and as an Antietam Battlefield Ambassador. She and her husband Ed live in Hagerstown, Maryland.
October 7 – Jim Smith – Max Weber’s Brigade J.O. Smith is a native of Miami, Florida. He has been a volunteer at Antietam National Battlefield since 2017 and a certified battlefield guide since 2018. He has a master’s degree in history from the University of Georgia and undergraduate and law degrees from Duke University. He is an attorney and lives with his family near Annapolis, Maryland.
October 21 – Marty Pritchett – George Gordon’s Brigade Martin Pritchett was born in Southern Kansas. Martin is a member of the Oklahoma Shawnee tribe. He grew up in a military family that took him from the Midwest to Europe. A veteran of 23 years in the United States Coast Guard and Texas General Land Office specializing in coastal search and rescue, environmental protection response, and maritime port safety. After seven years as an Antietam Battlefield Ambassador, Martin became a Certified Antietam Battlefield Guide.
Come to the Pry House to hear the contributors of the Brigades of Antietam discuss in detail some of the brigades that fought in the 1862 Maryland Campaign. This event is sponsored by the Antietam Institute and hosted by the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. The presentation begins in the Pry Barn at 2:00 PM and is a pay-what-you-please event. There is a $3.00 suggested donation to tour the Pry House Field Hospital Museum.
The Pry House is open from 11 AM to 5 PM on Saturdays, from June 4 through October 29.
The Pry House Field Hospital Museum is located at 18906 Shepherdstown Pike, Keedysville, MD 21756.
2022 Schedule:
June 4 — Jim Rosebrock discusses Buchanan’s Brigade
June 18 — Gary Rohrer discusses Law’s Brigade
July 2 — Kevin Pawlak discusses Hartsuff’s Brigade
July 16 — Tom Clemens discusses Phelp’s Brigade
August 6 — Joe Stahl discusses Christian’s Brigade
August 20 — Laura Marfut discusses Caldwell’s Brigade
September 3 — Jim Buchanan discusses Gorman’s Brigade
September 17 — Marty Pritchett discusses Gordon’s Brigade
October 1 — Jim Smith discusses Fairchild’s Brigade
October 15 — Matt Borders discusses Ransom’s Brigade
For more information, please contact Rachel Moses at Rachel.Moses@civilwarmed.org
The Brigades of Antietam offers a comprehensive treatment and fresh perspective for every one of the 112 infantry and cavalry brigades, North and South, that fought in the pivotal Maryland Campaign of 1862. The Brigades of Antietam is certain to be a classic and indispensable reference for the Maryland Campaign for years to come.
Join us at Antietam Creek Vineyard to meet some of these authors on May 1, 2022, for a discussion of the book which will be available for sale after the talk. Following the talk, one of the authors will lead a walk around the historic winery property of the southern end of Antietam National Battlefield.
The following authors are scheduled to appear, but others will be present to sign your book.
James Buchanan received his BA and MA in History from the University of Maryland and an MA in teaching from Antioch University. Jim spent his career as an educator, writer, and developer of leadership programs. Now retired, Jim has been a longtime volunteer at Antietam and is a certified Antietam Battlefield Guide. Jim’s writing focused on brigades that fought in the West Woods and includes essays about the brigades of Willis Gorman, Oliver Howard, Napoleon Dana, and Paul Semmes.
Jason Campbell is a graduate of Hood College and was a long-time volunteering at Antietam becoming a certified Antietam Battlefield Guide and then a seasonal park Ranger for the National Park Service. Jason is currently a permanent park Ranger working in Washington DC on the National Mall and Memorial Park. Jason wrote about the Ninth Corps brigades of Edward Ferrero, Hugh Ewing, George Crook, and James Nagle.
Tom Clemens after earning a doctorate from George Mason University, where he studied under Dr. Joseph L Harsh, Tom taught for years at Hagerstown Community College, retiring as professor emeritus. He edited and annotated Ezra a Carman’s narrative of the Maryland Campaign of September 1862, which has received several awards. Tom is the founding member and current president of Save Historic Antietam Foundation Inc., a nonprofit battlefield preservation organization and is an Antietam Battlefield Guide. Tom wrote about Walter Phelps’ brigade, the original Iron Brigade.
Sharon Murray is a native Idahoan with degrees in History and Mining Engineering from the University of Idaho. She volunteers at Antietam National Battlefield in several capacities including Battlefield Ambassador, photographer, cannoneer and cleaning and repainting the park’s historic cast iron tablets. Sharon has been a Certified Battlefield Guide since 2014. Sharon is currently writing a biography of Colonel Benjamin Franklin “Grimes” Davis. Sharon wrote about John Gibbon’s “Black Hat” brigade.
Laura Marfut is a retired U.S. Army colonel with masters degrees in International Relations and Education, and a Master of Strategic Studies from U. S. Army War College. She became a certified Antietam Battlefield Guide in 2019 and added Harpers Ferry and South Mountain credentials the following year. Laura volunteers for Hospice of Washington County and as and Antietam battlefield ambassador. Laura wrote about the brigades of Truman Seymour, John Caldwell, Joseph Kershaw, and William Barksdale.
William Sagle was Antietam Battlefield Guide for 11 years and the 2016 recipient of the O. T. Reilly Guide of the Year for outstanding performance. Bill began conducting programs at the battlefield in 1981. His highly refined grasp of tactics and weaponry developed into unique perspectives on the battle. As a guide, Bill conducted hundreds of tours for groups ranging from military professionals to those with a more casual interest in the history of Antietam. Bill wrote about the brigades of Abram Duryee, Albert Magilton, Robert Anderson, and Marcellus Douglas.
We sat down with Brad Gottfried, the editor of the Brigades of Antietam and all the contributors of the book to give us a little insight in to their brigade. We asked them about the action the brigade was in during the 1862 Maryland Campaign, some of the interesting men that served in the brigade and what they learned during their research over the last several months.
Battlefield Guide, Laura Marfut sat down to discuss Joseph Kershaw’s South Carolina Brigade. This was one of the brigades Laura wrote about in the “Brigades of Antietam” that was published by the Antietam Institute.
Battlefield Guide, James Rosebrock discusses Robert Buchanan’s Brigade. This was one of the brigades Jim wrote about in the “Brigades of Antietam” that was published by the Antietam Institute.
Battlefield guide, Gary Rohrer joined us to talk about Evander Law’s Brigade, Hood’s Division, in Longstreet’s Command. Law’s Brigade was one of the brigades that Gary wrote about in the “Brigades of Antietam”.
Battlefield Guide and Park Ranger Matthew Borders sat down to tell us about Robert Ransom’s Confederate Brigade, of John Walker’s Division in Longstreet’s’ Command. The was one of the brigades that Matt wrote about in the “Brigades of Antietam”.
Battlefield Guide, Sharon Murray wrote about John Gibbon’s Brigade, Doubleday’s Division, in Hooker’s First Union Corps; as part of the “Brigades of Antietam”.
Historian and battlefield guide Steven Stotelmyer tells us more about Thomas Drayton’s Brigade which was in David R. Jones’ Division of Longstreet’s Command. Steve wrote about Drayton’s Brigade as part of the “Brigades of Antietam” book published by the Antietam Institute.
Historian and battlefield guide Joseph Stahl talks about Col. John Brooke’s Brigade which was in Richardson’s Division of Sumner’s Second Corps. Joe wrote about Brooke’s Brigade as part of the “Brigades of Antietam” book published by the Antietam Institute.
As part of the “Brigades of Antietam” book that was published by the Antietam Institute; retired Battlefield Guide, William Sagle discusses Robert Anderson’s Brigade, of the Pennsylvania Reserves, Meade’s Division, in Hooker’s First Union Corps.
Historian and battlefield guide, Dr. Thomas Clemens discusses Col. Walter Phelps Jr. and his “Iron Brigade” which was in Doubleday’s Division of Hooker’s First Corps. Tom wrote about Phelps’ Brigade as part of the “Brigades of Antietam” book published by the Antietam Institute.
We are pleased to announce that the Brigades of Antietam has arrived! The book, written by a collaboration of Antietam Battlefield Guides, Rangers, and park volunteers presents complete accounts of every infantry and cavalry brigade and their commanders, 112 in all, that fought in the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Bradley Gottfried, the respected author of The Brigades of Gettysburg, and The Maps of Antietam: An Atlas of the Antietam (Sharpsburg) Campaign, is the volume’s editor.
A complimentary copy of Brigades of Antietam is offered to Antietam Institute members at the Sergeant Major membership level or higher. It will also be offered exclusively for sale to all members of the Antietam Institute for a limited time before being available for purchase by the general public.
The Brigades of Antietam belongs on the bookshelf of every student of the Maryland Campaign and will be of interest to all Civil War students. It is certain to become a classic and indispensable reference for 1862 Maryland Campaign. Be among the first to acquire this important book by joining the Antietam Institute today.
The Brigades of Antietam is the first book of a two volume series covering the units that fought in the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Look for the Artillery of Antietam, the story of the 114 artillery batteries and their commanders, to be published next year.
Antietam Institute President Chris Vincent (on the left) with several contributors to the Brigades of Antietam (left to right Gary Rohrer, Laura Marfut, Brigades editor Brad Gottfried, Jim Rosebrock, and Matt Borders)
