2008 SHARPSBURG HERITAGE DAYS

 

Sharpsburg Heritage Days will be celebrated Saturday, September 13, and Sunday, September 14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

 

Music, food, displays and demonstrations will be centered on the Fire and Rescue Parking Area off Chapline Street.

 

Lectures on Local and Civil War history will be held both days in Christ Reformed UCC and St. Paul's Episcopal Churches.

 

The Historic Places Tour of eleven historic places will be open both Saturday and Sunday from 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm. A donation of ten dollars is asked for this self guided tour. Your ticket entitles you to a map (available at the Historical Society Table), admission to the historic places, and a postcard set of these places. Each place will have a host or hostess present to answer questions about the historic property. The post card set is available for purchase separately for a donation of six dollars.

 

A Guided tour and lecture on O. T. Reilly, a turn of the century  Sharpsburg Resident who gave battlefield tours in the early 1900's will be conducted by Stephen Recker, battlefield guide and authority on O.T. Reilly. This tour will be given both days at 1:00 p.m.  A donation of ten dollars is asked for this tour. Because this tour is limited to 25 persons each day it is suggested that you secure these tickets in advance. All Tour tickets may be obtained from the Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 16 Public Square Hagerstown, Maryland or from Vernell Doyle by calling (301) 992-9767. Remaining tour tickets will be available at the Historical Society Table during the event. Money raised from these tours benefit the Sharpsburg Historical Society and Heritage Days.

  

Food Vendors will include the Sharpsburg Fire Co./BBQ chicken and hamburgers; Sharpsburg Lions Club/Pit beef sandwiches; Antietam Iron Works/Italian Sausages and Bratwurst; Stir Crazy/Kettle Korn; Sharpsburg Christ Reformed Church/Country ham sandwiches, hot dogs, soup and pies; Sharpsburg PTO/Coffee, Pastries and Desserts. On Saturday at 5 p.m. St. Paul's Episcopal church will have a pig roast (pork, cole slaw, baked beans, and apple dumpling).

    

The Music Schedule is:

 

Saturday, September 13

 

9-10am - Rohrersville Band

10-11am - 2nd Maryland Fife & Drum Corps

11-noon - Music Americana

Noon-1pm - Tara Linhardt & Mike Hansen

1-2pm - Music Americana

2-3pm - 2nd Maryland Fife & Drum Corps

3-5pm - The Speakeasy Boys

7:30pm - Alley Walk with the 2nd Maryland Fife & Drum Corps

7:30pm - Gospel Music & Traditional Hymns at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, a benefit concert for Tolson's Chapel. The Choir from Asbury United Methodist in Hagerstown will join St. Paul's Choir for this concert. Tolson's Chapel was an early historic African-American Church which is currently being restored  by the Sharpsburg Historical Society.

 

Sunday, September 14

 

11-12 noon - New Horizons Band

12 noon - Remembrance Ceremony with New Horizons, 2nd Maryland, and the Maryland Confederate Color Guard

Noon-1pm - 2nd Maryland Fife & Drum Corps

1-2pm - Tara Linhardt & Mike Hansen

 

2-3pm - 2nd Maryland Fife & Drum Corps

3-5pm - The Speakeasy Boys

 

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY – ALL DAY ACTIVITIES

9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Sharpsburg Historical Society Information Table – Fire Hall Lot

festival information, tour ticket sales, books and memorabilia

Town History Display & Garnet Jex paintings – Christ Reformed UCC Church

Historic Crafts Vendor/Demonstrations – Fire Hall Lot

Agricultural Vendor/Demonstrations – Fire Hall Lot

Horse-drawn Wagon Rides – circulates between the Fire Hall Lot & satellite parking at the Sharpsburg Elementary School

Food Concessions – Fire Hall Lot

Sharpsburg Lions Club – Pit Beef Sandwiches

Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Company – BBQ Chicken & Hamburgers

Christ Reformed UCC Church – Country Ham Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, Soup, Pies

Sharpsburg Parent Teacher Organization – Coffee, Pastries, & Desserts

Antietam Ironworks – Italian Sausages & Bratwurst

Stir Crazy Kettle Korn

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY – HISTORIC SHARPSBURG TOURS

12:30 – 3:00 Sharpsburg Open-House Tour

This self-paced walking tour features eleven select historic buildings in Sharpsburg. A packet of 12 postcards – suitable for mailing or framing – provide basic information about the sites. During tour hours your ticket provides entrance into the eleven open-house sites (ten on Sunday). Docents are located at each site to provide guests with additional information.

Suggested donation of $10 per tour ticket with postcard packet.

Postcard Packet only - $6.

Proceeds to the Sharpsburg Historical Society.

1:00 – 2:00 O.T. Reilly of Sharpsburg Tour

Steven Recker leads a narrated walk through Sharpsburg stopping at sites associated with O.T. Reilly, the noted turn-of-the-20th century battlefield guide and historian. These tours are limited to 25 people each day so get your tickets early.

Suggested donation of $10 per ticket.

Proceeds to the Sharpsburg Historical Society.

SATURDAY – Special Tribute to the Spong Children

11:00 am Mt. View Cemetery will host a special tribute to the Spong children of Sharpsburg.

Their story will be told and flowers placed on their graves to honor their memory.

The three children, Johnny, age 13, Willard, age 11, and Sarah, age 6, were tragically killed in a steam explosion accident on the C&O Canal near Georgetown on September 11, 1916. They were the children of Samuel and Nina Spong. Samuel, captain of canal boat No. 74, and Nina were lifelong residents of Sharpsburg and are buried near the children.

SATURDAY – IN THE MUSIC TENT

9:00 Rohrersville Cornet Band – community band

10:00 2nd Maryland Fife and Drum Corps – Civil War field music for the Southern Cause

11:00 Music Americana – mid 19th century dance music

12:00 Tara Linhardt & Mike Hansen – "extremely fine Bluegrass music"

1:00 Music Americana

2:00 2nd Maryland Fife and Drum Corps

3:00-5:00 The Speakeasy Boys – "zesty river hobo jugband style" bluegrass from Shepherdstown, West Virginia

SATURDAY – HISTORIC LECTURE SERIES (See below for details on our guest speakers and their topics.)

Christ Reformed UCC Church Venue – 117 West Main Street

10:00 Ted Alexander, "September 16, 1862: The Day Before the Battle."

11:15 Juanita Leisch Jensen, "From A(prons), to Z(ouaves): A Year-by-Year Look at Children's Civil War Clothing."

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Venue – 209 West Main Street

Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) Lecture Series

1:00 John W. Schildt, "‘One Vast Hospital’: The Hospitals of Antietam."

2:00 Tom Clemens, "The Battle of Shepherdstown."

3:00 Harry Smeltzer, "Threads." (The First Battle of Bull Run)

SATURDAY – EVENING ACTIVITIES

5:00/6:00 Pig Roast Picnic Dinner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 209 W. Main Street. Tickets for 5 or 6 pm seatings: $10 adults, kids 10 and under $6. Sponsored by the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Women; proceeds to benefit the Sharpsburg Volunteer Fire Company and Emergency Medical Service.

7:00 Alley walk with the 2nd Maryland Fife and Drum Corps – meet at the music tent

7:30 "Great Day" Concert at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – featuring the choirs of Asbury United Methodist Church of Hagerstown and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, singing traditional hymns and spirituals. Donations to support the restoration of Tolson’s Chapel in Sharpsburg, the historic African-American Methodist church and Freedmen’s Bureau school built in 1866.

SUNDAY MORNING

Please feel free to visit one of our many churches for Sunday morning services.

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church – 201 East Main St., 10:00 am

Sharpsburg Church of the Brethren – 123 East Main St., 9:30 am

Christ Reformed UCC Church – 117 West Main St., 9:00 am

Sharpsburg Bible Church – 5134 General Stuart Ct., 10:30 am

First Baptist Church of Sharpsburg – 18823 Shepherdstown Pike

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church – 209 West Main St., 10:00 am, special recreation of an 1862 worship service, 19th century hymns accompanied by a harmonium, period costumes welcome!

 

SUNDAY – IN THE MUSIC TENT

11:00 New Horizons Band – community band

NOON Remembrance Ceremony w/ the Maryland Sons of Confederate Veterans Color Guard, the New Horizons Band, & the 2nd MD Fife and Drum Corps

12:00 2nd Maryland Fife and Drum Corps – Civil War field music for the Southern Cause

1:00 Tara Linhardt & Mike Hansen – "extremely fine Bluegrass music"

2:00 2nd Maryland Fife and Drum Corps

3:00-5:00 The Speakeasy Boys – "zesty river hobo jugband style" bluegrass from Shepherdstown, West Virginia

 

SUNDAY – HISTORIC LECTURE SERIES (See below for details on our guest speakers and their topics.)

Christ Reformed UCC Church Venue – 117 West Main Street

11:00 Dennis Easterday, "Civil War Culture in the Field and at Home."

1:00 Justin Mayhue, "The Life of a Soldier."

2:00 Susan Rosenvold, "Unlikely Landmark: The Philip Pry House."

3:00 Steve French, "Andrew Leopold Sharpsburg Rebel."

Sharpsburg Heritage Days

Lectures

Ted Alexander. Saturday 10:00 am, Christ Reformed UCC Church, "September 16, 1862: The Day Before the Battle."

Back by popular demand, Ted will describe the events just prior to America's bloodiest day - the Battle of Antietam. Civilians evacuating the town and farms, troops on both sides taking positions on the field, and sharp and sometimes bloody skirmishing in the area.

Ted Alexander is Senior Staff Historian, at Antietam National Battlefield. He is the author of four books on the Civil War and more than 200 articles and book reviews for publications such as Blue and Gray Magazine, Civil War Times Illustrated and The Washington Times. Ted is also a popular lecturer for groups such as The Smithsonian Associates and The Civil War Preservation Trust.

 

Juanita Leisch Jensen. Saturday 11:15 am, Christ Reformed UCC Church, "From A(prons), to Z(ouaves): A Year-by-Year Look at Children's Civil War Clothing."

In this extensively illustrated talk, Juanita Leisch Jensen shows how children in the Civil War era were dressed from infancy to adolescence. Juanita bases her research on an age-based analysis of carte de visit photographs and on her extensive collection of original clothing. In this talk she will dispel the popular notion that clothing for very young boys and girls was "exactly" alike.

Juanita Leisch Jensen a nationally known researcher, writer and speaker on subjects related to Civil War civilians. An avid collector of clothing, photographs, and artifacts, much of her research is based on material culture studies. Her books in print include Who Wore What: Women's Clothing 1861-1865 and An Introduction to Civil War Civilians. Juanita is currently serving as President of the Society for Women and the Civil War, is a member of the 1st Maryland Infantry, CSA, in the North-South Skirmish Association, and is a member and fellow in the Company of Military Historians. Juanita and her husband, Les Jensen, split their time between houses in Orange County, NY and Shenandoah County, VA.

 

John W. Schildt. SHAF Lecture Series: Saturday 1:00 pm, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, "‘One Vast Hospital’: The Hospitals of Antietam."

18,000 young Americans were wounded at Antietam. The Hagerstown paper said, "the entire area is ‘one vast hospital.’ The slide program will show many of the hospitals, located in barns, houses, churches, etc. Reference will be made to the care and treatment of the wounded, as well as to the four doctors who were killed in action, and the one who was awarded the Medal of Honor.

John W. Schildt is a graduate of Shepherd University, and is the author of several books on Antietam. Among them, September Echoes, Drums Along the Antietam, Roads to Antietam, Four Days in October, Monuments at Antietam, and Regiments at Antietam.

 

Tom Clemens. SHAF Lecture Series: Saturday 2:00 pm, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, "The Battle of Shepherdstown."

Learn the circumstances surrounding the ill-fated Battle of Shepherdstown that followed closely on the heals of the Antietam Battle of 1862.

Tom Clemens is a history professor at Hagerstown Community College and is the President of Save Historic Antietam Foundation, a local battlefield preservation organization. He is the author of numerous articles and a frequent speaker at Civil War Round Tables, an Antietam Battlefield guide, and has been a long-time student of the Maryland Campaign of 1862.

 

Harry Smeltzer. SHAF Lecture Series: Saturday 3:00 pm, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, "Threads."

This program focuses on the life stories of individuals involved in or associated with the First Battle of Bull Run.

Harry Smeltzer is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and the Katz School of the University of Pittsburgh. While working as an independent fee real estate appraiser and educator in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he serves on the board of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, is a contributing writer and book reviewer for America’s Civil War magazine, and maintains the Civil War blog "Bull Runnings."

 

Dennis Easterday. Sunday 11:00 am, Christ Reformed UCC Church, "Civil War Culture in the Field and at Home."

The primary focus of this living history lecture is the sheet music that was published before and during the Civil War. The composers, the poetry of the words, and the views of the music from both the Union and Confederate soldiers will be discussed. Women’s artifacts, including sweetheart jewelry and tear collectors will be displayed and talked about. A few books written by women of the time who had a major influence on society will be shown along with a group of artifacts from the Civil War.

Dennis Easterday is a native of Washington County. Although he was born in Hagerstown, he spent much of his youth in Boonsboro learning about the early history of the area from his grandfather. His interest in the Civil War began when his grandfather showed him an ID tag from A. R. Renner with 1862 printed on it. Dennis’ grandfather found the item in the ground near Keedysville. Mr. Renner, who was from Sharpsburg, was in the Union army during the Civil War. From this introduction grew a passion that has become "out of control."

 

 

Justin Mayhue. Sunday 1:00 pm, Christ Reformed UCC Church, "The Life of a Soldier."

The presentation is a first person account of John W. Brendel, Private in the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Pvt. Brendel wrote 144 letters home from August 1862 thru the end of the war. Brendel’s first combat was at South Mountain and in the Cornfield at Antietam. Since we are in church I will also highlight his religious beliefs.

Justin Mayhue is a battalion chief in the Hagerstown Fire Department, battlefield guide at Antietam National Battlefield, president of the Hagerstown Civil War Roundtable, and author of five books the most recent being A Civil War Journey, The Letters of John W. Brendel. Mayhue is also a part-time actor, films include "Gods and Generals", "No Retreat from Destiny", "Ladder 49" and numerous History Channel projects the most recent "Sherman’s March to the Sea."

 

Susan Rosenvold. Sunday 2:00 pm, Christ Reformed UCC Church, "Unlikely Landmark: The Philip Pry House."

Philip Pry’s remarkable farmhouse became a national landmark for military and medical history when selected as Gen. George B. McClellan’s headquarters prior to the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. Little did this prosperous farmer of a quiet, idyllic town suspect that his home would not only serve as U. S. Army Headquarters during the pivotal battle, but would also serve as Medical Headquarters, where military medicine was significantly impacted with the implementation of Dr. Jonathan Letterman’s reorganization and development of an innovative and radical system of administration. Dr. Letterman’s system, later adopted by armies world-wide, remains the basis of combat and emergency medicine today. This lecture also features information about the Pry family and how the battle permanently affected their lives.

Susan Rosenvold has been studying the Civil War and 19th century history since 1994. She has a BS in History from Excelsior College and is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the National Honor Society for History, and the Organization of American Historians. Susan is the webmistress for The Longstreet Society, and has published biographies of Civil War participants on several websites. Beyond history, Susan enjoys decorative painting, gardening, training and showing dogs, and traveling overseas. She joined the staff as Education Coordinator for the Pry House Field Hospital Museum in 2007.

 

Steve French. Sunday 3:00 pm, Christ Reformed UCC Church, "Andrew Leopold Sharpsburg Rebel."

Andrew Leopold was a Confederate cavalryman and one of General JEB Stuart’s top scouts. He was involved in several incidents in the Shepherdstown-Sharpsburg area and accused of murdering Mr. Entler at the Bridgeport ferry. He was tried by a military court and convicted of murder. Federal authorities hanged Leopold at Fort McHenry on May 24th, 1864.

Steve French is a teacher at Martinsburg South Middle School. He is the author of several books, including Imboden’s Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign, and a frequent contributor to many magazines and newspapers including the Washington Times and the Maryland Cracker Barrel.

 

 

For further information contact:

Rev. Delancy Catlett

Christ Reformed UCC

Sharpsburg MD

Cell Phone (717) 977-4232

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________