SHAF’s semi-annual Work Day is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, (weather permitting, cancellation will be posted on our website & FB page), starting at 9:00 a.m. We will be clearing brush and small trees on the Avey farm, 124 East High St. Sharpsburg, MD. Please wear appropriate work clothing, and bring work gloves, and hand tools such as hand saws, pruners, etc. We will have a power chipper on site, so having some ear protection is a good idea too. The property is owned by the American Battlefield Trust and we will need to sign liability waivers before working. We will work until early or mid-afternoon, and you may leave whenever you choose. Some of the Rho Kappa Social Sciences Honor Society may join us, and I can sign forms for those needing volunteer hours for graduation requirements. It is a good idea to bring water or other soft drinks, and Burkholder’s Bakery is just a short distance away for anyone caving baked goodies.

We look forward to seeing you there. Call 301-331-3877 for further information.

Eat out at the Hagerstown Texas Roadhouse on February 28, 2024, from 3 to 10 pm to support the Save Historic Antietam Foundation. The Boonsboro High School Rho Kappa Honor Society has set up this fundraiser for us. 10% of the sales at the Hagerstown Texas Roadhouse will be donated to SHAF and support our mission of battlefield preservation. Print out and bring the flyer below with you and mention Rho Kappa Honor Society or the Save Historic Antietam Foundation when you dine!

120 S. Edgewood Drive, Hagerstown, MD 21740

On November 5, Antietam National Battlefield and the Friends of Tolson’s Chapel will debut a film about the life of Christina Watson. The National Park Service’s full event description is below:

“Learn about the connections between Antietam National Battlefield and Tolsons Chapel and School to commemorate the anniversary of emancipation in Maryland. In 1866, African Americans in Sharpsburg built Tolson’s Chapel, which would later serve as a Freedman’s Bureau School. Some of the parishioners and students lived on the battlefield including Hilary Watson, who was enslaved on the Otto Farm in 1862. His wife, Christina Watson, who went by Teeny, was enslaved and worked in a tavern in the town of Sharpsburg and also experienced the terror of the Battle of Antietam. The Friends of Tolson’s Chapel have produced a living history film to provide insights into Teeny’s life and role in the chapel. This film will be premiered in the park theatre at 1:00 pm. The showing will be followed by a panel discussion featuring those who researched, wrote, acted in, filmed, and produced the video including ZSunee Miller Matama, Dr. Emilie Amt, Edie Wallace, and Jerris Smith.”

SHAF stepped in to save Tolson’s Chapel from demolition years ago.

The program will begin at 1 pm at the Antietam National Battlefield Visitor Center.

Join Civil War author and adventurer John Banks at 2pm on April 16th at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine for “Faces of Antietam” as he provides snapshots of some of the men and women who witnessed the bloodiest day in American history and its aftermath. He also will spotlight a local historian as well as a man whose ancestor was rocked by the events of Sept. 17, 1862. Banks, a board member of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, is author of three Civil War books—including A Civil War Road Trip Of A Lifetime, coming late spring.

Reminder! SHAF Annual Meeting

The SHAF Annual Membership Meeting is this Saturday April 1st, (no fooling!) starting at 10:00 am at the Mumma Barn on Antietam National Battlefield. Parking on the grass around the barn is available. After the meeting we will conduct a tour of the War Wounds house for those interested, although we may need to divide into small groups to do so.