Hello Battlefield Supporters,
Hope this note finds you well and enjoying the holidays. We had a fantastic year for the battlefield and expect this momentum to continue in new and exciting activities in 2025. I hope you agree after reading this note and consider renewing your annual membership and / or making a tax-deductible donation to the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association (SBPA).
As volunteers we have many accomplishments to be very proud of. One that stands out in 2024 is the transfer of the Osbourn Farm deed from the American Battlefield Trust to the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission. Thus, we have completed a key goal in our 20+ years of efforts to preserve the battlefield. Our partners have been working diligently as well resulting in a new farmland preservation easement on the remainder of the Aspen Pool Farm which straddles Trough Road. This is where A.P. Hill formed his men before the advance on Union troops across Engle Molers Road en route to the Osbourn Farm and Potomac River. What we have accomplished is nothing short of amazing: 820 acres have now been preserved in the core of the battlefield through a combination of purchased properties (~180 acres), Farmland Preservation Easements and Land Trust Easements.
This year, we have continued to follow our mission with focus and commitment. We have supported our battlefield partners, especially the WV Farmland Preservation Board and the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission, provided premier battlefield tours and promoted public education about the battle at local events. We have renewed and strengthened our collaborations with partners including the Civil War Trails and American Battlefield Trust, and built new bridges with the Historic Shepherdstown Museum, Antietam Institute, Americana Corner and the Spirit of Jefferson Advocate newspaper. Specifically, tour leaders were Kevin Pawlak, Professor Tom McGrath, Dr. Jim Broomall and myself. We sponsored a talk at the Opera House by Tom McGrath, author of Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign, provided interviews and a tour to a new history reporter at the Spirit of Jefferson newspaper, and presented educational displays at the Shepherdstown Opera House, Shepherdstown Earth Day Celebration, Shepherdstown Streetfest, the local Tomato Jam Festival and the Antietam Institute Fall Conference. We had a very successful Spring Cleanup day, with many SBPA volunteers partnering with the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission and the American Battlefield Trust to clean up the Riverside Park and Cement Mill, Trough Road, and the Osbourn Farm. We made it fun by dividing into ‘Union’ and ‘Confederate’ groups respectively that worked at the river (Union) and Osbourn Farm (Confederate). The cleanup groups then met on Trough Road in the middle of the battlefield where the fighting was most intense, and a successful cleanup was achieved.
Surprising new information about the battle and battlefield continued to emerge this year! We reviewed and edited our maps of the battle thanks Tom McGrath, Kevin Pawlak, Tom Clemens and myself+; and have now expanded to 4 maps showing troop movements and artillery on September 17-18, September 19, September 20 early morning and September 20 late morning. This revealed that Confederate General Ewell’s troops were in fact commanded by Jubal Early during the battle. Then, upon my deep dive into the after-action reports available on Antietam online, General Early provided a key detail about his and A.P. Hill’s camp from September 19-21 at ‘a school and cemetery.’ Other reports showed this location to conclusively be the Smoketown Cemetery (and former school) on the Opequon Creek off Route 45. Further, we confirmed the location of Stonewall Jackson’s camp on the Rocky Marsh Run at Billmyer Mill with a unique account discovered by Kevin Pawlak in the 1922 Shepherdstown Register. Both of these locations are newly discovered and complement the previously known location of Robert E. Lee’s camp on the Rocky Marsh Run off Rt. 480 near Rock Spring Farm. Thus, we now have planned a ‘Confederate Generals Camp Tour’ that complements our efforts in battlefield education.
The SBPA is at an exciting moment of transition heading into 2025. Our first 20 years have been incredibly successful in promoting awareness of the battle and preventing development in the core of the battlefield. However, just this year we lost 40 acres to houses built off Trough Road near River Road where regiments fought above and downstream from the Ford. This is a terrible, permanent outcome given our mission and shows the fight for preservation is not over! In 2025, we will begin our transformation into a ‘Friends of the Battlefield’ group to support transition of the battlefield to the National Park Service. As the NPS virtually requires an active and participatory ‘Friends’ group for the establishment of any new battlefields, we are in the unique position to provide these essential services and enthusiastic volunteers.
We plan to host more events that allow volunteers to participate in the battlefield promotion beyond the Spring and Fall Park Day cleanups, likely one each quarter led by a senior SBPA member. Events will be designed to provide participants unique access to the battlefield, promote fundraising and attract additional members. The types of events we are considering are based on member suggestions and successful similar events at other Parks and battlefields. These include battlefield bluegrass at the Osbourn Farm (maybe with re-enactors and a cookout), renewing the crossing of the Ford, a luminary car tour with lights near sites where soldiers died (similar to Antietam but with 670 lights), initiate visits by local school groups, a corn maze with history stops, a bonfire night on the battlefield, Brews in the Battlefield and/or a related History Happy Hour, and hosting an evening event that includes a speech by an elected official. These exciting events will give our volunteers diverse opportunities to showcase the battlefield to the public, attract new members and catalyze donations.
As we close out 2024, your renewed support of the SBPA will help fund these exciting events and help preserve the battlefield. We continually demonstrate that this is ‘History Worth Learning.’ Renew your membership today and please forward this to friends and family to grow our impact.
I hope you and your family have very Happy Holidays!
Regards,
Mike
Dr. Mike Nickerson
President
Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association
P.O. Box 1695
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
Cell: 304-995-6975
