The bloodiest day in American military history first attracted citizens as curious spectators. Sharpsburg and the surrounding countryside were soon filled with worried families of soldiers, ghoulish visitors seeking battlefield relics, and droves of nurses and doctors tending to the wounded. This talk will consider citizens’ encounters with the Antietam battlefield from September 17, 1862, through 1865. In so doing, it will recount the scenes that local residents and visitors confronted which were indelibly etched in their minds for years to come. On Monday, August 12th, Dr. Jim Broomall will discuss “‘The hills were black with spectators’: Civilians on the Antietam Battlefield”.

Dr. James J. Broomall is an associate professor of history at Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV, and the director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War, which promotes a dialogue among popular and academic audiences by integrating scholarship, education, and engagement. He is a cultural historian of the Civil War era and has published articles or essays in Common Place: The Journal of Early American Life, Gettysburg Magazine, Ohio Valley History, Civil War Times, Civil War History, and The Journal of the Civil War Era. He co-edited with William A. Link, Rethinking American Emancipation: Legacies of Slavery and the Quest for Black Freedom (Cambridge University Press) in 2016. The University of North Carolina Press published his book, Private Confederacies: The Emotional Worlds of Southern Men as Citizens and Soldiers, as part of the Civil War America series in 2019. He is currently working on a book project titled Battle Pieces: The Art and Artifacts of the American Civil War Era, which explores how historical imagery and military artifacts were used to create representations of violence, war, and death.

Come join leading historians and scholars as they discuss intriguing topics about their latest works and research on the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War during our Civil War Summer Lecture Series.

These indoors programs are sponsored by the Jacob Rohrbach Inn and will be held in McKinley Hall at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m.  The church is located at 209W Main Street with a small parking area off the alley. More parking is available on Main and Hall Streets. These lectures free and open to the public. Each week we hold a drawing in which the proceeds support the Save Historic Antietam Foundation. Be sure to check our Facebook page for updates and changes to the schedule.