In late, rainy September 2022, a small group of Princeton University Alumni came to the Antietam National Battlefield with a special guide, Professor James M. McPherson. They have previously been on a tour of Gettysburg with Professor McPherson and at the end of that tour, McPherson answered their question of what battlefield should we tour next: Antietam was his immediate answer. The group all stayed at Antietam Institute’s corporate member the Inn at Antietam, and for with owner Miriam Cunningham, it was a bit of reunion with the professor, having previously worked with McPherson at the American Historical Association.
Front Row/Couch: Christina McMaster, Jim McPherson, Len Teti
Instead of taking a speaker’s fee, McPherson suggested that the group donate to an organization in his name. They were all taken by the work done by the Institute, the conferences, the journals, the Brigades of Antietam book all being discussed and perused. It was decided that they would help support the Institute’s scholarship at Shepherd University, generously donating $2000 which will be matched to the $2000 the Institute provides. This scholarship was awarded for the first time to Kierstyn Williams in 2022. The goal of the Institute to maintain this scholarship with Shepherd University and increase it as funding allows. The scholarship is to encourage and inspire future study of the American Civil War and the Maryland Campaign. The Institute thanked the groups for their generosity and commitment to the study of history.
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