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SBPA RECENT NEWS & EVENTS
June 11th Book Signing Dinner
The Book Signing Dinner held on June 11th was a resounding success. SBPA collaborated with the Shepherdstown Men’s Club (SMC) and the Historic Shepherdstown Commission (HSC). The dinner was sold out about one week before the event with 104 attendees. The dinner yielded a total profit of $3,099 which was divided as follows: SMC - $1,203; HSC - $999; and,
SBPA - $897.
Tom Clemens did his usual great job discussing his book. The Civil War Art and Memorabilia Auction yielded $962 for SBPA.
Great thanks to Nieltje Gedney, Bonnie Austin, Carol Dunleavy, who went above and beyond the call of duty and to SMC, HSC and all SBPA members who made this event so successful.
If anyone would like to purchase a signed Tom Clemens book or a print of Tim Kurtz’s work, we have a few remaining; call (304) 876-7029 or email edunleavy@frontiernet.net
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For Immediate Release – May 10, 2010
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
For more information, contact:
Edward E. Dunleavy, President,
Shepherdstown Battlefield
Preservation Association Inc.
(917) 747 - 5748
Michael Austin, President
Shepherdstown Men’s Club Inc.
(304) 876 - 0598
John Griffith, President
Historic Shepherdstown Commission, Inc.
(304) 876 - 0741
BOOK SIGNING DINNER & AUCTION JUNE 11, 2010
In a collaborative effort, the Presidents of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), the Shepherdstown Men’s Club Inc. (SMC), and the Historic Shepherdstown Commission Inc. (HSC) announce a book signing dinner and Civil War Memorabilia and Art Auction to be held at the SMC’s War Memorial Building on Friday, June 11, 2010.
The dinner will celebrate the publication of The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Volume 1, edited by Dr. Thomas Clemens. The Maryland Campaign entailed 3 battles: South Mountain, Antietam and Shepherdstown; and the siege and surrender of Harper’s Ferry. The book is from a manuscript by Civil War Colonel Ezra Carmen who participated in the Maryland Campaign and almost immediately began an effort to complete a narrative of the Campaign. In 1894, he was appointed by Congress as “historical expert” of the Antietam Board with the mission of gathering information from the survivors of the Campaign. Eventually, his 1800 page manuscript was filed in the Library of Congress while much of his correspondence was scattered among several research libraries. Dr. Clemens, a history professor at Hagerstown Community College, is a noted expert on the Maryland Campaign and is also President of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation Inc. and a Board member of SBPA. Dr. Clemens has edited and annotated the manuscript. In his research, Dr. Clemens discovered boxes of correspondence between Carmen and participants in the Campaign that were heretofore unknown to the historic community. Following the dinner, Dr. Clemens will discuss his research and the Maryland Campaign.
After Dr. Clemens’s discussion, an auction of Civil War Memorabilia and Art will be held. Copies of 1862 newspapers highlighting the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Shepherdstown will be sold. The art auction will feature a 44x 24 inch oil painting depicting a scene from the Battle of Shepherdstown. The scene shows “Berdan’s” Sharpshooters covering the retreat of the 118th PA Volunteers as they crossed the Potomac River on the Cement Mill dam. The work is by Tim Kurtz, a Michigan-based artist who graciously donated the work to SBPA to help raise funds in the effort to save the site of the Battle of Shepherdstown. The painting can be viewed on SBPA’s website at: http://www.battleofshepherdstown.org/Dinner2010.html
The War Memorial Building is located at 102 East German St. in Shepherdstown, WV. The book signing and cocktail hour will begin at 6:30PM and dinner will be served at 7:30PM. The dinner menu will include filet de boeuf or vegetarian lasagna. Two bottles of wine, one red wine and one white wine will be provided for each table of 8. Other refreshments will be available. Tickets are $35 per person. Books are $34. Reservations for this limited seating event may be made through SBPA’s website: www.battleofshepherdstown.org or by calling 304-876-7029 to make arrangements to pay by check.
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The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), organized in 2004, is a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving and preserving the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA has preserved 84 acres by way of conservation easements granted by members who own property on the site. For more information and to purchase the book entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19 – 20, 1862; please visit: www.battleofshepherdstown.org
Founded in 1945, the Shepherdstown Men's Club is also a non-profit organization of men and women that is dedicated to community service. The historic War Memorial Building, on the corner of German and King Streets in Shepherdstown, was purchased by SMC in 1947, and named in honor of our local veterans. The SMC also owns Morgan's Grove Park, a 20 acre public recreational facility operated under lease by the Jefferson County Department of Parks and Recreation. Please visit: www.smc25443.org
The Historic Shepherdstown Commission is an active, non-profit, membership organization dedicated to preserving Shepherdstown's architectural character, and building public understanding of Shepherdstown's distinctive history. Incorporated in 1961, HSC has undertaken many important major projects that benefit our community. The Historic Shepherdstown Museum was founded in 1983, and in 1986 the expansion and updating of the National Register for Historic Places listing for the Shepherdstown Historic District was completed. Please visit: www.historicshepherdstown.com
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For Immediate Release – February 17, 2010
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
For more information, contact:
Edward E. Dunleavy
President,
Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc.
(917) 747 - 5748
PARK SERVICE STUDY AFFIRMS LOCATION & SIZE OF SHEPHERDSTOWN CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD
In an update of the 1993 Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields, the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) has provided information that sites the location of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown and provides more information about the actual size of the core of the battlefield. The report concludes that the core of the battlefield, as defined, is 1,534.4 acres; 1,034.64 acres in West Virginia (WV) and 499.76 acres in Maryland (MD). More importantly, the study concludes that the potential National Register boundary amounts to 4,259.32 acres; 2,502.71 acres in WV and 1,756.61 acres in MD. The report notes that four WV battlefields, including the Shepherdstown site, “have the largest percentages of Study Area land to land potentially eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places land. The ABPP (American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service) believes that all of these battlefields should be viewed as higher priorities for preservation.”
Edward Dunleavy, speaking as President of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA) stated that: “this report should finally put to rest the insistence by some that the battle took place only on the bluffs over looking the Potomac River. Not only was the fighting over a large area of northern Jefferson County, the importance of the battle is not to be under-estimated. General Robert E. Lee intended to continue the Maryland Campaign and, on September 19, 1862, after retreating from MD, issued orders to the Army of Northern Virginia to cross the Potomac back into MD at Williamsport. An important reason that Lee changed those orders and retreated south was the Battle of Shepherdstown which convinced Lee that the Union Army of the Potomac was pursuing his troops aggressively. Two days later President Abraham Lincoln was able to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.”
The Civil War Battlefield Preservation Act of 2002 directed “the Secretary of Interior acting through the American Battlefield Protection Program (ABPP) of the National Park Service, to update the ... (CWSAC) Report on the Nation’s Civil War Battlefields.” Funding for the update was provided by Congress in Fiscal Year 2005 and 2007.Early this month the report for WV was released and provided information about each battlefield relative to the size of: 1) the study area; 2) the core area; and 3) the potential National Register boundary area.
“The Study Area represents the historic extent of the battle as it unfolded across the landscape.” It contains the area in which the troops were maneuvered and deployed immediately before, during and after combat. In the case of the Battle of Shepherdstown, the study area totals 4,549.21 acres; 2,792.6 in WV and 1,756.61 in MD. “Historic accounts, terrain analysis and feature identification inform the delineation of the Study Area boundary.”
“The Core Area represents the areas of fighting on the battlefield. Positions that delivered or received fire, and the intervening space and terrain between them, fall within the Core Area.” This is frequently described as “hallowed ground”. “On current WV maps,” Dunleavy stated, “this area is approximately from Teague Run in the west to Rattlesnake Run in the east and as far south as Engle-Moler Road and Aspen Pool Farm. In MD, the area runs from Ferry Hill in the west to about Millers Sawmill Road in the East and approximately 3/8 of a mile north of the Potomac.
SBPA continues to focus on trying to save the “core” of the “core” or about 300 acres. “Our focus is on that area where most of the fighting occurred in WV”, stated Dunleavy, “it remains in relatively pristine condition and would be perfect for a Civil War Battlefield Park, not only preserving ‘hallowed ground’ but encouraging heritage tourism in Jefferson County.
Dr. Thomas Clemens, a noted Civil War historian, a Board member of SBPA and the President of Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) commented that “much of the battlefield site in MD is included within the C & O Canal National Park. In addition, many historians view the Shepherdstown Battle as the end of the Battle of Antietam and the SHAF has been active for more than 20 years in preserving battlefield land in MD.”
A copy of the CWSAC report can be obtained at:
http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/CWSII/CWSIIStateReportWV.htm
The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), organized in 2004, is a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving and preserving the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA has preserved 84 acres by way of conservation easements granted by members who own property on the site. For more information and to purchase the book entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19 – 20, 1862 ; please visit www.battleofshepherdstown.org
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PRESS RELEASE:
BATTLEFIELD GROUP PROPOSES COUNTY RIVER PARK
For Immediate Release – July 30, 2009
Shepherdstown, West Virginia
For more information, contact:
Edward E. Dunleavy
President,
Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc.
(917) 747 - 5748
BATTLEFIELD GROUP PROPOSES COUNTY RIVER PARK
At the weekly meeting of the Jefferson County Commission, the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA) proposed that the County pursue an opportunity to purchase 13 acres on the Potomac River for use as a County park. Ed Dunleavy, President of SBPA, cited a communication he had with the owner of the parcel who indicated that he was willing to negotiate its sale if the land was “used for park/historic activity.”
The parcel is historic and could be used for boat access to the Potomac River. The land is an important part of the County’s industrial history containing the remnants of a Cement Mill and kilns that operated from 1829 until 1904. The product of the mill was used to construct the C&O Canal and buildings in Washington D.C. It is also of great historical value because it is part of the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. The battle, fought on September 19 and 20, 1862, was the bloodiest Civil War battle in what is now West Virginia involving more than 9,000 troops and resulting in 677 casualties.
While Dunleavy pointed out that he does not know the value of the property, he suggested to the County Commission that funds for the purchase could come from the $250,000 that SBPA obtained for the County through the Federal Transportation Enhancement program. The Civil War Preservation Trust agreed to supply the matching funds. In addition, Dunleavy reminded the Commission that the County had set aside $100,000 to purchase battlefield land.
Dunleavy’s presentation included a letter from the property’s owner indicating his willingness to negotiate with the County. Also, he included letters of support to pursue this opportunity from the President of the Jefferson County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Chairman of the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission.
The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), organized in 2004, is a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving and preserving the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA has preserved 84 acres by way of conservation easements granted by members who own property on the site. For more information and to purchase the book entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19 – 20, 1862 ; please visit www.battleofshepherdstown.org
UPDATE:
BATTLEFIELD GROUP PROPOSES COUNTY RIVER PARK
In an unprecedented, earth-shaking vote, the Jefferson County Commission agreed, unanimously, with the essence of SBPA's proposal to pursue a Potomac River Front Park. They voted, 5 to 0, to begin action to extend the Transportation Enhancement Grant that soon expires and unanimously recommended that the County's Parks and Recreation Commission (PRC) pursue the purchase of the "Cement Mill Property". Informally, they appeared to agree that if the PRC successfully negotiated the purchase the property, the County Commission would allocate the $100,000 set aside several years ago to purchase battlefield land to the purchase of the "Cement Mill".
And they say miracles never occur.
-SBPA Board of Directors
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The Battle of Shepherdstown was fought on September 19 – 20, 1862 over approximately one square mile, east of what was then Shepherdstown, Virginia and south of the Potomac River and Boteler's (aka Packhorse) Ford. The battle was the last of three battles fought during the Army of Northern Virginia's (ANV) Antietam or Maryland Campaign. Approximately 9000 troops took part in the Shepherdstown battle with 677 casualties about equally divided between the Union Army of the Potomac and Robert E. Lee's troops. The battle's significance is that it was a contributing factor in Lee's decision to reverse the order to move north back into Maryland. As a consequence, the ANV retreated up the Shenandoah Valley toward Winchester. That retreat allowed the Union Army to declare a military victory and enabled President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
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The Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc. (SBPA), organized in 2004, is a non-profit, Section 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to saving and preserving the site of the 1862 Battle of Shepherdstown. SBPA has preserved 84 acres by way of conservation easements granted by members who own property on the site. For more information and to purchase the book entitled: Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Antietam Campaign September 19 – 20, 1862 ; please visit www.battleofshepherdstown.org
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