L-R: Institute president, Chris Vincent; Dr. James Broomall, Director of the GTMC; Kierstyn Williams, scholarship recipient; and Monica Lingenfelter, Executive Vice President, Shepherd Foundation. Photo credit – Cecelie Mason, SU.
In support of the Institute’s mission, we are extremely proud to announce the establishment of an annual scholarship to provide financial assistance to a worthy Shepherd University student majoring in American history. This scholarship is to encourage and inspire future study of one of the most important military campaigns of the American Civil War. To be considered for selection of this $2,000 scholarship award, the undergraduate student has a major in Civil War/ Nineteenth Century America and must be in good standing with at least one year of study at Shepherd (2.0 or higher GPA).
Working through the Shephard Foundation and with Dr. James Broomall, Director of Shepherd University’s George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, this year’s recipient is Kierstyn Williams. Kierstyn and her family moved to the area from North Carolina specifically to attend Shepherd. She is a student in good-standing in the Civil War Concentration and is working toward a capstone presentation (next year) on field hospitals during the 1862 Maryland Campaign.
We wish Kierstyn all the best in her upcoming studies and are looking forward to her research on the hospitals.
The second annual appreciation event for members at the Honor Guard/Lifetime ($1,000) level was held on September 10. Noted historian and author Kevin Pawlak kicked off the event with a tour of the Battle of Shepherdstown. The excursion included a stop at the Osbourne Farm, an historic property encompassing the majority of the battlefield, yet rarely seen by the public and only recently rescued from developers. Wine, food and music at Antietam Creek Vineyards, located along the final attack route on Branch Avenue and owned by one of the Institute’s Corporate Sponsors, followed the tour.
Starting the tour at Ferry Hill Place, the childhood home of Henry Kyd Douglas
Kevin Pawlak provided an excellent tour of the Battle of Shepherdstown and the conclusion of the Maryland Campaign. Here are some highlights of the tour at the Shepherdstown Ford and the Osbourne Farm.
Group photo at the Osbourne Farm L to R: Bill Lowe, Lucas Cade, Mike Crume, Darin & Jan Wipperman, Erin Short, Chris Vincent, Jim Rosebrock. Jim Buchanan, Kevin Pawlak, Laura & Ed Marfut, Joe Stahl, and Sharon Murray. Randy Short photographer. Also attending the event at the winery were Miriam Cunningham, Amy Vincent and Julie Cade
It was a wonderful time at Antietam Creek Vineyards. Thanks to Joan, George and Kim.
Laura thanks Kevin for a great hike.
President Chris Vincent highlighted some of the activities the Institute has been conducting over the summer.
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.
Among the Antietam Institute’s objectives are the support of other groups and nonprofit organizations with goals related to ours. On February 26, 2022, members of the Antietam Institute Board of Directors were honored to present the Burkittsville Preservation Association with a check for $2500 to support the restoration of the Hamilton Willard Shafer Farm, site of Major General William Franklin’s Sixth Corps headquarters during the Battle of Crampton’s Gap on September 14, 1862. The pristine view from the farm is virtually the same that General Franklin would have found it 160 years ago.
Shafer House
The ultimate goal of the Burkittsville Preservation Association is to transform the farm into a center for the interpretation of the history, culture, and architecture of the Burkittsville community. The Antietam Institute looks forward to identifying other opportunities to support and encourage the preservation and interpretation of this historic property with our friends at the Burkittsville Preservation Association.
In the photo (l-r) are Mac Bryan and Jim Rosebrock from the Antietam Institute and Paul Gilligan, Karen Koch, and Ronald Dustin from the Burkittsville Preservation Association. Also present from the Antietam Institute were Jim Buchanan and Randy Short.
After the presentation, the members of the Institute were given a tour of the house and we had a chance to talk with Paul Gilligan, of the Burkittsville Preservation Association.
The second volume of the Antietam Journal is hot off the press.
This edition features a variety of stories and analysis about the events of September 1862 in Maryland, with many of the lesser-known ones that are nonetheless important.
The first titled “Davis’s ‘Valiant Coup’: Breaking the Union Cavalry out of Harpers Ferry, September 14, 1862” by Sharon Murray addresses the Federal cavalry’s escape from Harpers Ferry.
The second by Bradley M. Gottfried, fills the hole in Ezra Carmen manuscript detailing the charge of Van Manning’s brigade out of the West Woods.
The third featured article is by Phillip S. Greenwalt, who writes about the role that three Florida regiments played in the Maryland Campaign, specifically the fight for the Bloody Lane.
There are other great features and columns that you will not want to miss. Go to the issue Table of Contents to see all the featured essays and articles. A Journal subscription is a benefit for Antietam Institute members at the Corporal or higher membership level. Join today!
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.
