Tag: scholarship

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Publications

Commanders of Antietam

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.

Categories
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. 

Jacob Duryee
manuscript

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.

Categories
Philanthropy

Scholarship Donation

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.

Back Row: Stephen McMaster, Clayton Ramsey, Josh Pollack, Jimmy Teti
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. 

Professor James M. McPherson and Institute Board Member, Miriam Cunningham

If you would like to donate to the Institute’s scholarship fund, click on

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Categories
Philanthropy

Annual Scholarship with the GTMC

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.

Categories
Philanthropy Programs

Shepherd University Student selected to attend Fall Conference

Jillian Black

A huge thanks goes out to Institute members Jack and Kathy Richer, who are not able to attend this year’s Fall Conference but donated funds to pay for a deserving Shepherd University student to attend. The Institute worked with the university’s George Tyler Moore Center to select one of their outstanding students, Jillian Black.

Jillian Black is a senior Civil War History major at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV. As a lifelong Civil War reenactor with the 142nd PVI Co. F, Jill has garnered a deep interest in all things Civil War related. She has been employed through Eastern National in the Antietam Park Store since 2019 and has recently started working in Monocacy’s Park Store as well. Her dream is to be a Park Ranger in Alaska for a handful of years before returning east to be at a Civil War battlefield. Outside of history, Jill is an avid musician. She plays the oboe and English horn with the Shepherd University Wind Ensemble and is a sister of Sigma Alpha Iota, a professional music fraternity for women. She has held the positions of Treasurer, President, and Vice President Membership. Her favorite battlefields include Petersburg, Cedar Creek, and of course, Antietam.

Categories
Philanthropy

Philanthropic Goals for 2022

The Antietam Institute Board of Directors approved its 2022 operating budget in February, including decisions for philanthropic donations. These donations will support the goals and objectives of the organization as found in our by-laws. The recipients for 2022 are:

  • The Burkittsville Preservation Association – The Antietam Institute presented a one-time $2,500 donation on February 26 toward restoration of the Willard Shafer farmhouse and barn. The Shafer House was the headquarters for Major General William B. Franklin, commander of the Union Sixth Corps on September 14, 1862 during the battle of Crampton’s Gap. Once restored, the circa 1830 farmhouse will house a museum dedicated to the Burkittsville area’s history during the Civil War. A video about the project produced by the Institute can be seen here. 
  • Town of Sharpsburg Interpretive Plaza – The Institute has committed to a $2,000 annual contribution for three consecutive years for the development of an interpretive plaza in the green space at the corner of Main and Church Streets. Initiated by the Town of Sharpsburg, this project will tell the story of Sharpsburg and the people who have lived there, even prior to the founding of the town in 1763.
  • Civil War Trails – the Institute has approved funding for a one-time $2,600 payment for development of a Civil War Trails – Antietam Campaign marker in a to-be-determined location. Adding to the existing 33 markers associated with the Antietam Campaign, the new interpretive site in or around Sharpsburg would enable visitors to learn something unique to the town or the battlefield.

Also, our goal of creating a scholarship has become a reality. In collaboration with Shepherd University Foundation and the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War (GTMC), we are excited to announce that the first annual Institute scholarship will be awarded this fall. The recipient will be recognized at our Fall Conference in October. Additionally, our internship program will continue into its second year. This year’s GTMC intern will assist our Digital Archive team in adding more digital copies of historical and contemporary material to our Historical Research Center.

Your dues allow the Institute to financially support bona fide historical efforts in education, preservation and research. Keep an eye out for future announcements!