2025 Civil War Fall Seminar

Name: 2025 Civil War Fall Seminar
Start: 2025-09-18T12:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-09-20T18:00:00-04:00
Location: 136 W German St, Shepherdstown, WV, United States, West Virginia 25443

Schedule

Thu, 18 Sep, 2025 at 12:00 pm to Sat, 20 Sep, 2025 at 06:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

136 W German St, Shepherdstown, WV, United States, West Virginia 25443 | Shepherdstown, WV

Join us September 18-20, 2025 for an immersive seminar experience on the “Battle of Antietam and Its Legacy.” Our line-up features nine distinguished academic historians and public historians and offers a blend of battlefield walks, lectures, and discussions that consider the bloodiest day in our nation’s history and its legacy.
Our program features four “footsteps” programs on the Antietam battlefield that will give attendees an opportunity to walk on this historic terrain while learning more about a specific part of the Battle of Antietam. The seminar kicks-off with Kevin Pawlak’s “The Night Before the Great Ball,” a dive into the often-overlooked battle action of September 16. Friday’s line-up features two battlefield tours: Garry Adelman’s “photo extravaganza” offers an immersive experience with historic Antietam photos and Dennis Frye’s tour follows the footsteps of General Joseph Hooker’s assault on the morning of September 17. Then, on Saturday, Scott Hartwig will lead a battlefield tour that focuses on General Joseph Mansfield and the assault of the Federal Twelfth Corps.
Our classroom lectures and discussions offer a wide range of topics that help contextualize the battlefield experience. The seminar begins with a keynote by Dennis Frye on “The Prelude of Battle.” Tom Clemens will offer a talk on Antietam veteran and historian, Ezra Carmen, and Zack Fry’s program will consider the contentious partnership between Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan. Saturday’s session will also include a discussion of “Antietam as a Crisis in Health Care,” a program led by Dana Shoaf and Melissa Hacker Winn. A new “Voices From the Battlefield” session led by Jen Murray will provide attendees with an opportunity to read and consider selected primary sources from the battle.
Interested in Registering? Information on registration will be available soon on our website: https://www.shepherd.edu/civilwar
Have additional questions? Please contact our incoming director Dr. Jennifer Murray at [email protected] or Program Coordinator Kristen Marino at [email protected]
The George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at Shepherd University has offered annual seminars for nearly thirty years, each exploring a wide range of topics and themes related to the American Civil War. This year’s conference offers an exciting and dynamic line-up that will expand and deepen our understanding of the “Battle of Antietam and Its Legacy.”