“Exposed to the Fire of Slavery and Freedom:”
A Symposium Commemorating the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Antietam
Saturday, September 10, 2022,
JBK Theater, Frederick Community College
In Partnership with Shepherd University George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War
Internal CONFLICT over the institution of slavery split our nation in two, leading to a great Civil War. Federal forces repelled a Confederate invasion of Maryland at Antietam, enabling President Abraham Lincoln to issue a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This action, combined with the efforts of Congress, enslaved people, and free African Americans, redefined the United States government’s war aims to include the elimination of slavery. This shift led to FREEDOM for four million people and the country’s reunification. The people who experienced the horrors of Antietam endured TERROR and fought for their SURVIVAL. After the war, every American had a stake in the MEMORY of Antietam.
Conflict, Terror, Freedom, Survival and Memory, concepts that every human has experienced, provide the organizing structure for the new exhibits in the renovated park Visitor Center, which will be opening this fall. In this series of five programs, historians and National Park Service Rangers will further explore the connections between these themes and the Battle of Antietam. Join us at Frederick Community College’s Jack B. Kussmaul Theater, 7932 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick, Maryland, 21702. Doors open at 8:15 am. Talks starting at 8:30 am. Programs are free and open to the public.
Schedule:
8:15 am: Doors open
8:30 am: “’A House Divided:’ Slavery, Secession and Civil War,” Park Ranger Jess Rowley
10:00 am: “’A Savage Continual Thunder:’ A Soldier’s Perspective of the Battle of Antietam,” Park Ranger Keith Snyder
11:15 am: “A Scene of ‘Romantic Horror:’ How Soldiers and Civilians Survived the Maryland Campaign,” Dr. James Broomall, Shepherd University
12:30 pm-2:00 pm: Lunch Break
2:00 pm: “Antietam and the Winding Pathways to Black Freedom during the Civil War Era,” Dr. Joseph Reidy, Howard University
3:15 pm: “Myth and Memory at Antietam and Beyond,” Dr. Caroline Janney, University of Virginia
Full schedule of 160th Anniversary Events
