Thoughts on the North Woods
This post is the first of what we hope will be many more where our guides will be contributing content to our new website. We want to do a better job of reaching out to visitors, telling them about our experiences at Antietam, and why this is such a special place for us. Below, you will find a short piece written by Antietam guide Jim Rosebrock. Jim is our new head guide, and he also spends quite a bit of time volunteering at Antietam. We asked Jim to share a few thoughts on his favorite place on the battlefield. He chose the North Woods, at Park Tour stop 2. We hope you will enjoy hearing from Jim, and in the future, from our other guides as well.
The Joseph Poffenberger Farm
I am a relative youngster when it comes to being associated with Antietam National Battlefield. I started as a volunteer five years ago and have been a guide for the past four years. People often ask me if I have a favorite place on the field. As a volunteer, I have the privilege to be a battlefield ambassador; I position myself out on the field to talk to visitors and answer questions. Sometimes, I provide brief presentations on the place where I am stationed. The Cornfield, Sunken Road, and West Woods were always well covered, so I decided to make the North Woods my usual place. This spot does not get as many visitors stopping by, but I see lots of hikers on the Cornfield Trail and many bicyclists on the park tour roads. And people do stop if they see a volunteer there. I learned about the Joseph Poffenberger farm and the family that lived there and over the years I watched the progress on the renovation of the barn and farm buildings. The other thing about the North Woods is that is where this terrible struggle at Antietam began. The Union First Corps was massed there. Joseph Hooker and George Meade slept in the Poffenberger barn, and from the edge of the North Woods, they saw the Dunker Church in the fog and mist and made it their objective. From Nicodemus Heights south and west, Major John Pelham’s artillery opened fire on the Black Hat Brigade as it formed for its attack. Clara Barton’s monument is there as well.
North Woods on Battle Anniversary
On battlefield anniversary, before I go to the Cornfield to observe the opening program, I travel to the North Woods and contemplate the costs of this battle and its impact on our history. Soon, as I understand, there may be civilian historical interpreters at the Poffenberger Farm on weekends. My “spot” on the field is the North Woods. In fact, three years ago, I began a blog called South from the North Woods. While most of our standard tour programs don’t have time for a stop at the North Woods, I always include it for longer tours. If you’re in the neighborhood, usually on a Sunday afternoon stop by the North Woods and I will be happy to show you around.
Save Historic Antietam Foundation Award Announcements
Antietam Battlefield Guides is very pleased to announce that Daniel Vermilya, one of our battlefield guides, has been named the first recipient of Save Historic Antietam Foundation’s Dr. Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholarship award. This award was created in honor of the late historian, Dr. Joseph L. Harsh, a man whose work on Antietam has redefined how many understand the battle and the campaign. Dan, who also works as a seasonal ranger at Antietam, will be researching the strength, composition, and experience of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Antietam.
We would also like to congratulate Susan Rosenvold of the Pry House Field Hospital Museum on being awarded the Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) Sesquicentennial Award for Scholarship. Susan will be conducting research on the areas where Clara Barton worked during the Battle of Antietam. These two research projects, funded by SHAF, will lead to presentations by each award recipient at a SHAF seminar on Antietam on September 8, 2012. Please join us in congratulating Dan and Susan. We look forward to their research on these important Antietam topics. The press release from SHAF for these awards can be found below:
Save Historic Antietam Foundation Inc. (SHAF) is proud to announce the recipient of its first Dr. Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholarship. The winner’s research will be presented at a free seminar at Antietam National Battlefield sponsored by SHAF on September 8, 2012. This award was created in honor of Dr. Harsh, a professor at George Mason University, an award-winning author on Confederate strategy in the Maryland Campaign and member of SHAF. The purpose of the Scholarship is to further knowledge on the battle of Antietam and Maryland Campaign, and is open to all applicants. The first award recipient is Daniel Joseph Vermilya of Kirtland, Ohio. Dan is a seasonal ranger at Antietam National Battlefield. His topic will be “The Strength, Composition, and Experience of the Army of the Potomac at the battle of Antietam,” which will also be submitted to SHAF as a publishable article. Dan’s research will be based on primary sources, and will be conducted extensively at the Antietam Battlefield library and the National Archives.
There were several very strong applications, and the selection process was quite difficult. After long deliberation the selection committee decided to also fund a proposal by Susan Rosenvold, the Director of Operations and Education, Pry House Field Hospital Museum at Antietam National Battlefield. Susan is an authority on the life and services of Clara Barton, and her proposal was to identify and locate the places on and around the Antietam Battlefield where Barton worked and cared for the wounded. Susan listed an impressive number of sources she intends to consult to complete her project, and she, too, will present her findings at the SHAF Seminar in September. The results of her research will also be published. Because of the merits of her proposal and the experience she brings to the project the selection committee decided to award Susan a special SHAF Sesquicentennial Award for Scholarship.
Additional information on the research papers and the free September 8, 2012 Antietam seminar will be posted this spring on SHAF’s website (www.shaf.org).
Further information can be obtained from Tom Clemens, President of SHAF, 301-432-2522 or at Antietam@verizon.net.
Spring at Antietam: Gearing up for the Sesquicentennial
Because the month of April is now upon us, we are at the start of the busy 2012 touring season for Antietam. Warmer weather means that, not only are the trees and flowers are in bloom, but it as perfect a time as any to get out onto the battlefield to see some of the most hallowed ground in American history.
To prepare for our busy upcoming season, this past Friday evening, March 30, we held our spring battlefield guide meeting at the Antietam Visitor Center. We were very thankful to have new Antietam Superintendent Susan Trail in attendance. After discussing matters of how to continue improving our organization, our guides received certificates verifying their status as an Antietam tour guide. Because most of our guides were present for the meeting, it was also a great time for a group photo.
We hope to see you at Antietam soon. With the warmer weather and the historic 150th anniversary of the battle upon us, there is no better time to visit Antietam than now.
Welcome to the official site for the Antietam Battlefield Guide Association. The Antietam Guides are a group of historians dedicated to providing outstanding interpretive tours of the Antietam Battlefield, as well as other sites related to the Maryland Campaign of 1862. The Antietam Guides are booked through the Antietam National Battlefield Museum Store. This site offers a listing of our battlefield guides, as well as updates about our programs, what our guides are up to, and information about Antietam National Battlefield. We hope to see you at the park soon!
Antietam Battlefield Guides 