Thursday, July 23, 2009

Stony Lonesome Marker Dedication

Hey everyone!
Here's a great event coming up this weekend!


Historical Marker Text
STONY LONESOME FARM
(BELLEVILLE)
Childhood Home of General Richard S. Ewell


Nearby is the site of Stony Lonesome, childhood home of one of the Confederacy’s most distinguished generals. Richard S. Ewell left this farm in 1836 to enter West Point. Graduating in 1840, Lieutenant Ewell served with the 1st U.S. Dragoons on the western frontier and fought with distinction during the Mexican War. When the Civil War began, Ewell joined the Confederacy and was commissioned a Colonel. Slightly wounded in action at Fairfax Courthouse on June 1, 1861, Ewell won promotion to Brigadier General before First Manassas. “Old Baldy,” as he became known, commanded a division under Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah
Valley, Seven Days, and Second Manassas campaigns until severely wounded on August 28, 1862, necessitating amputation of his left leg. Promoted to Lieutenant General after Jackson’s death in May 1863, Ewell commanded the Army of Northern Virginia II Corps at Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, the Wilderness, and Spotsylvania. His capture at Sailor’s Creek in
April 1865 ended his military service. After the war, Ewell retired to his wife’s Tennessee farm, dying there in 1872.


Stony Lonesome Farm Historical Marker Dedication Ceremony
Saturday, July 25, 2009 at 10:00 a.m.
Greenwich Presbyterian Church
(Adjacent to the Civil War Trails Marker)
Opening Remarks Dennis Van Derlaske, Chair
PWC Historical Commission
Posting of the Colors Fairfax Rifles, Company D,
17th Virginia Infantry
Pledge of Allegiance
Overview, Acknowledgements,
General Ewell at First Manassas
Jim Burgess,
PWC Historical Commission
Overview of PWC Civil War History, Civil
War 150th, Gen. Ewell at Second Manassas
Mark Trbovich, President,
PWC Historic Preservation Foundation
Keynote Address—Richard S. Ewell: Prince
William County’s Forgotten Son
Donald C. Pfanz, NPS Historian,
Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania NMP and
author of “Richard S. Ewell: A Soldier’s Life”
Unveiling of the Stony Lonesome Marker
Retirement of the Colors Fairfax Rifles, Company D,
17th Virginia Infantry
Refreshments Courtesy of Greenwich Presbyterian Church

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Manassas Historic Markers

Below is the new Manassas Historic Markers Map that will be dedicated on July 27 at 5pm. Any Battlefield Journal readers in the area at the dedication, please send us your photos!


Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Confederates on Turners Gap!

On July 11-12, 2009 Confederates will occupy Turner’s Gap once more. The Friends of South Mountain are inviting the public to come and interact with living historians portraying Captain John Lane's Battery of artillery and Colonel Alfred Colquitt's Brigade of infantry. Demonstrations, including infantry and artillery drill, cooking and soldier life scenarios, will be held throughout the day both Saturday and Sunday.

Some of the events include: at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, a walking tour leaving from the Dahlgren Chapel will retrace the route of Brigadier General Thomas Drayton’s Brigade to Fox’s Gap and its eventual demise. Also, the Dahlgren Chapel, built in 1881 by Madeleine Dahlgren (wife of Admiral John Dahlgren), will be open for tours from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Saturday and from 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. on Sunday.

About the Battle of South Mountain Sep. 14, 1862: Spurred by word that Union Major General George B. McClellan had found a copy of Special Order 191, Confederate Major General Daniel H. Hill spent the evening hours of September 13 and early morning hours of September 14 deploying troops on Turner’s and Fox’s Gap. At nearly 9:00 a.m. on September 14, 1862, Maryland’s first major battle of the Civil War began on Fox’s Gap when Confederate Brigadier General Samuel Garland’s Brigade of North Carolinians met Union Brigadier General Jacob Cox’s Kanawha Division. Fighting soon escalated and spread north to Frostown and Turner’s Gap and south to the Brownsville Pass and Crampton’s Gap. As combat closed with nightfall, more than 6,000 Union and Confederate soldiers had been killed or wounded. Confederate Major General Robert E. Lee ordered his outnumbered forces off South Mountain and in the direction of Sharpsburg.

During the battle, Turner’s Gap was a Confederate stronghold and was used as Hill’s headquarters, as a staging area for Confederate reinforcements going to Fox’s and the Frostown Gap, and as an artillery position. Notwithstanding a frontal Union assault until about 5:00 p.m., Colquitt’s Brigade waited nervously at the base of Turner’s Gap for the approach of Brigadier General John Gibbon’s Brigade (later to become known as the Iron Brigade). As nightfall approached, the evening’s hard fighting began to tell on the Confederate soldiers. With the Confederates retiring to the summit, Gibbon was left in command of the gap.

The Confederates on Turner’s Gap event site will be located off of Alternate Route 40 on Turner’s Gap, next to the Dahlgren Chapel. From Boonsboro, take Alt. 40 for about 2 miles and turn left onto Washington Monument Road, then an immediate right into the Dahlgren Chapel parking lot.

All programs and events are free and open to the public. For more information call (301) 432-8065 or visit www.friendsofsouthmountain.org.

South Mountain State Battlefield is Maryland's FIRST State Battlefield Park. For additional information about South Mountain State Park visit www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/western/southmountain.html.

South Mountain State Battlefield is a member of the Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau. For more information about Washington County's 8 state parks and 5 national parks, see: www.marylandmemories.com. Washington County is part of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. For more information see: www.heartofthecivilwar.org and also www.hallowedground.org.

For more information about Maryland's role in the Civil War, see: www.visitmaryland.org/Pages/ANationDivided.aspx

Friday, July 3, 2009

Civil War Medicine Museum Receives Grant

Frederick, MD - The National Museum of Civil War Medicine (NMCWM) is pleased to announce the receipt of a $5000 matching challenge grant from the Ausherman Family Foundation of Frederick. The grant will be used to support the Museum’s educational programming.

The NMCWM and its education department serve thousands of students and other young visitors every year. In addition to tours of the Museum’s two floors of immersion exhibits and interactive displays, scouts and other youth groups participate in workshops on subjects ranging from 19th century food and nutrition to famous people of the Civil War. A new first aid program provides hands-on instruction on the development of first aid and gives students training and skills comparable to the American Red Cross’s first aid certification program.

“With the Ausherman matching grant, each dollar donated to support the Museum’s educational programming will double in value,” said Education Coordinator Susan Rosenvold. “We’re thrilled to receive this generous pledge at a time when we are working to expand our programming and reach more children.”
The Museum has until the end of the year to raise the funds needed to meet the match requirements of the grant.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is the premiere repository of exhibits and artifacts devoted to the technological and procedural advances made in the medical field between 1861-1865. The Museum utilizes its collection to heighten public awareness of the modern medical practices that originated on the battlefields and in the hospitals of this once divided country.

The National Museum of Civil War Medicine is located at 48 E. Patrick Street in downtown Frederick, Maryland, and is open Monday through Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 11-5. For further information, please visit our web site at www.civilwarmed.org or call 301-695-1864.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Gettysburg Resident joins Gettysburg Foundation Staff

Daniel M. Bringman hired as CFO

Gettysburg, Pa. (June 30, 2009)—The Gettysburg Foundation today announced the addition of Daniel M. Bringman as chief financial officer. Bringman, a Gettysburg resident, will oversee the Foundation’s accounting, human resources and information technology departments and will serve on the nonprofit organization’s management team.

“Dan brings years of financial and nonprofit leadership, and we are pleased to have him on board as we continue to grow and work with the National Park Service to preserve the hallowed ground of Gettysburg,” said Robert C. Wilburn, Gettysburg Foundation president.

Mr. Bringman has previously served as vice president for finance and administration, and treasurer, for the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and most recently was outsourcing manager for an accounting and consulting firm in Washington, D.C. He earned his master’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University. He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
“I am thrilled to join the staff at the Gettysburg Foundation and look forward to helping the organization continue its important work preserving, enhancing, honoring and protecting the natural and cultural resources associated with one of America’s most important places,” said Bringman.
The Gettysburg Foundation is a private, nonprofit educational organization working in partnership with the National Park Service to enhance preservation and understanding of the heritage and lasting significance of Gettysburg. The Foundation raised funds for and now operates the Museum and Visitor Center at Gettysburg National Military Park, which opened in April 2008. In addition to operating the Museum and Visitor Center, the Foundation has a broad preservation mission that includes land, monument and artifact preservation and battlefield rehabilitation—all in support of the National Park Service’s goals at Gettysburg.
For information about the Foundation, about visiting Gettysburg, or how you can become a part of the history of Gettysburg through your contribution, visit www.gettysburgfoundation.org or call 877-874-2478 or the administrative offices at 717-338-1243.