Antietam Battlefield Hosts Program on Civil War Graffiti

Author: ITP News Desk | Published: 07/31/2012 | 161 Views | Short URL: http://itpwv.com/local/n/8989

Sharpsburg, MD—Please join historian Edie Wallace on Saturday evening, August 11, 2012 for a special presentation: “Marking Time: Civil War Graffiti in the Catoctin Region.”

Civil War period graffiti, names inscribed, penciled, or written in charcoal on walls, rocks, or windowsills, marks the paths that Confederate and Union soldiers followed through the Catoctin Mountain region. Silent tokens of the horror of civil war, the signatures also remind us that the grand armies, the corps, battalions, regiments, and companies were composed of individual human beings. The inscriptions served often as a forum for political opinion, a palate for artwork, or a simple attempt to be remembered. Mostly though, the graffiti filled the moments of boredom experienced by soldiers during the long periods of dull routine between battles. This presentation will put a face to the men who left their mark in Frederick and Washington Counties, Harpers Ferry, and Shepherdstown throughout the American Civil War.

The presentation will begin at 7:00 p.m. on August 11, 2012 at the Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center.

The Antietam Visitor Center (5831 Dunker Church Road, Sharpsburg, MD 21782) is located on Maryland Rte. 65 just north of Sharpsburg. Phone: 301-432-5124.

There is no charge for this program.