Maryland Campaign

“Cavalry Operations in the Maryland Campaign” is the topic Antietam National Battlefield Historian Ted Alexander's talk at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the park's visitor center. During the Maryland Campaign of 1862, the mounted arms of Union and Confederate forces were in a period of transition. Although cavalry played a limited tactical role in most Civil War battles, Alexander will point out how mounted troops played an important role in some aspects of the Battle of Antietam. Alexander will also discuss the role of the cavalry in the campaign, including the battles of South Mountain and Shepherdstown, as well as Stuart's Chambersburg Raid.

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- It was the autumn of 1862, and Gen. Robert E. Lee was on the move. Pointing his Confederate army toward Maryland, he decided to divide his forces -- sending some to Harpers Ferry while he headed to South Mountain to spar with Union Gen. George B. McClellan. Eventually, battle lines were drawn along Antietam Creek. And in the misty dawn of Sept. 17, Union artillery crashed into a cornfield where rebel soldiers crouched. "Again and again, the field was lost and recovered, until the green corn that grew upon it looked as if it had been struck by a storm of bloody hail," a survivor recalled.

Editor's note: It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area. Seeking an opportunity to strike north of the Mason-Dixon line and seize provisions for his famished troops, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia forded the Potomac River into Maryland on Sept.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. - Shepherd College's George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, in association with Savas Publishing Company, is publishing the quarterly scholarly journal, "Civil War Regiments: A Journal of the American Civil War. " Center director Mark Snell is serving as the managing director and center database manager Albert Pejack is responsible for the desktop publication. The first issue with which the center is associated is Volume 5, No. 3, "Antietam: The Maryland Campaign of 1862.

When historians recount parts of the Maryland Campaign of the Civil War, they often rely on accounts from Ezra A. Carman, who led the 13th New Jersey infantry during the campaign, according to Thomas G. Clemens, a history professor at Hagerstown Community College. But Clemens had a burning question. “How does Carman know what he's talking about?” asked Clemens, who has closely studied the Maryland Campaign. After the war, Carman was commissioned by the federal government to give a report on the war. But Carman's 1,800-word manuscript had few footnotes, so it was hard to determine where Carman's information came from, Clemens said Sunday at Antietam National Battlefield, where he was signing copies of a book he wrote about Carman's manuscript.

Hagerstown Community College professor Thomas Clemens recently received two awards for his work as a Civil War historian. In April, Clemens received the Hagerstown Civil War Round Table's Henry Kyd Douglas Award, which is presented to individuals who have advanced the study of the Civil War through preservation, publication and education. Clemens was chosen because of his work as a historian, re-enactor and licensed tour guide at Antietam Battlefield. Clemens received his second award in June when he was recognized as a 2010 Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award recipient for his work on "The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Volume I: South Mountain," the first part of a two-volume historical, annotated manuscript that details the Maryland Campaign.

Save Historic Antietam Foundation Inc. announced the opening of applications for the Dr. Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholarship.     The award was created in 2012 to honor Harsh, a professor at George Mason University and an award-winning author who wrote a trilogy of books on Confederate strategy in the Maryland Campaign.   Harsh was generous contributor to and member of SHAF.  The purpose of the scholarship is to advance the knowledge and understanding of the battle of Antietam and Maryland Campaign, and is open to all applicants.  The guidelines for the award are listed below, and can also be found at www.shaf.org : The award is presented to an applicant who produces a scholarly paper on some aspect of the Maryland Campaign of 1862, based on solid original research with proper citations using the Chicago Manual of Style.

The Save Historic Antietam Foundation will help fund research by Civil War scholars about the Army of the Potomac and about Clara Barton's work during the Battle of Antietam, the organization announced in a press release. The foundation awarded its first Dr. Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholarship to Daniel Joseph Vermilya of Kirtland, Ohio, for research on the topic of “The Strength, Composition, and Experience of the Army of the Potomac at the battle of Antietam,” foundation President Tom Clemens said.

Soldiers who arrived on South Mountain during the Civil War survived in the mountainous terrain with items they packed: a blanket, a haversack containing food items like salted pork or salted beef, cooking utensils and coffee. They also carried a canteen, ammunition, a bayonet and a ground cloth that might have been waterproof and could have been used to shield against rain, said Jeff Hayes, a living historian. Hayes and other Civil War experts welcomed the public to the South Mountain State Battlefield on Saturday and Sunday to give them an idea of what life was like for soldiers when the Battle of South Mountain broke out Sept.

1. Getting air Keigwin and Company will perform, featuring Artistic Director Larry Keigwin, pictured, at 8 p.m. Saturday, April 7, at Shepherdstown University's Frank Center, off W.Va. 45, Shepherdstown, W.Va. $20; $15, senior citizens and Shepherd staff; $5 for ages 17 and younger. Purchase tickets at the Shepherd University bookstore or call 304-876-5219 or go to www.shepherdbook.com . 2. Civil War lecture On Tennessee Day, Saturday, April 7, part of a year-long salute to every state that had troops in the Battle of Antietam, Park Ranger Matt Atkinson will give a talk about the Battle of Shiloh at 11 a.m.; and Archer's Brigade in the Maryland Campaign at 2 p.m. Antietam National Battiefield's visitor center, off Sharpsburg Pike, Sharpsburg.

Save Historic Antietam Foundation Inc. announced the opening of applications for the Dr. Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholarship.     The award was created in 2012 to honor Harsh, a professor at George Mason University and an award-winning author who wrote a trilogy of books on Confederate strategy in the Maryland Campaign.   Harsh was generous contributor to and member of SHAF.  The purpose of the scholarship is to advance the knowledge and understanding of the battle of Antietam and Maryland Campaign, and is open to all applicants.  The guidelines for the award are listed below, and can also be found at www.shaf.org : The award is presented to an applicant who produces a scholarly paper on some aspect of the Maryland Campaign of 1862, based on solid original research with proper citations using the Chicago Manual of Style.

Age: 54 City in which you reside: Smithsburg Day job: Web developer, High Rock Studios, Hagerstown Book title: "Rare Images of Antietam and the Photographers Who Took Them" Genre: Historical nonfiction, Civil War Synopsis of book: "Rare Images of Antietam" is the beginning of my attempt to document, organize and interpret, in a comprehensive fashion, the historical photographs and photographers associated with...

What once divided a nation turned into a big year for tourism in Washington County 150 years later. “2012 will probably go down in history as the busiest year, or at least one of the busiest years in the tourism industry in Washington County,” Tom Riford, president and CEO of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau said Friday. “We expect well over 2 million visitors who have come to this county during this year, and we also anticipate visitor spending to exceed $300 million.” The sesquicentennial celebrations of the Battles of Antietam and the Battle of South Mountain, both part of the Maryland Campaign of the Civil War in 1862, played a major role in the increase of visitors, which are defined as people who travel 50 miles or more into the county, according to Riford.

Aliene Shields of Columbia, S.C., has an ancestor whom she believes died in the Battle of Maryland Heights and whose remains are buried in the mountain ridge that runs parallel to Rohrersville Road in southern Washington County. “My great grandfather and five other brothers fought for the Confederacy,” she said. “They left Virginia and came to Maryland, and my great-grandfather and one of his brothers were in the same unit.” Shields, 66, was at Brownsville Church of the Brethren on Thursday to commemorate her great-grandfather, Thomas Marion Shields, and his brother, David Andrew Shields.

Editor's note: It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area. Seeking an opportunity to strike north of the Mason-Dixon line and seize provisions for his famished troops, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia forded the Potomac River into Maryland on Sept.

Editor's note:   It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area.   Shortly before 6 a.m. Sept. 17, 1862, Union soldiers launched an assault across a cornfield against Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's left flank a little more than a mile north of Sharpsburg.

Editor's note:   It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area.   By the time Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's army reached the Potomac River north of Leesburg, Va., on Sept. 4, 1862, approximately one-third of his troops were barefoot, their shoes worn out from months of marching and fighting.

Editor's note: It has been 150 years since the Civil War moved into Washington County and North and South met Sept. 17, 1862, on a battlefield along Antietam Creek. The following story is part of a package of stories that look back at the Battle of Antietam and the Civil War's impact on Washington County, Md., and the surrounding area.   The merchants in downtown Hagerstown fled and farmers in Sharpsburg secured their operations as best they could. Some farmers went to stay with family members while others huddled in churches, caves and cellars.

Soldiers who arrived on South Mountain during the Civil War survived in the mountainous terrain with items they packed: a blanket, a haversack containing food items like salted pork or salted beef, cooking utensils and coffee. They also carried a canteen, ammunition, a bayonet and a ground cloth that might have been waterproof and could have been used to shield against rain, said Jeff Hayes, a living historian. Hayes and other Civil War experts welcomed the public to the South Mountain State Battlefield on Saturday and Sunday to give them an idea of what life was like for soldiers when the Battle of South Mountain broke out Sept.

In the autumn of 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee was on the move. “We cannot afford to be idle,” he wrote, and pointed his Southern Army north toward Maryland. Numbering 50,000 - not 120,000 as the enemy believed - they were, said one observer, “the dirtiest men I ever saw, a most ragged, lean and hungry set of wolves.” Gambling against time, Lee divided his force, sending some to knock out Harpers Ferry, still then in Virginia, while he sparred with Gen. George McClellan at South Mountain.