Ed Root introduced Kay Bagenstose who spoke of her Bicentennial Covered Wagon ride bringing the Liberty Bell replica from Philadelphia to Allentown. As we approach the 250th, she talked about the Lehigh County Heritage Museum program on May 23, in which the period clothing from that ride will be featured on lifelike mannikins of her and her late husband. CWRT will also have a display on that day. More information at right —>
Ed also spoke of the possibility of reopening the Bethlehem pop-up museum this summer for visitors to the city. It woud be more low key and perhaps only one day a week.
Our presenter, Scott Hartwig, shared letters written by soldiers describing their battle experiences. Some were penned immediately after the fighting, some a few weeks later, and others after some time had passed.
He explained that depending on the recipient, the tone might be entirely different. A note to a worried mother might downplay the severely of the battle. A letter to a friend might be boastful, While a more distant reflection might want to give honot to his unit.
Reading these letters might give one flavors of reality or not. Checked against historical records, one can begin to dig deeper into the soldiers’ expereinces of the Civil War.
It was a fascinating look at the geography, progression, and location of fighting at Antietam.
Hartwig was the supervisory park historian at Gettysburg National Military Park and retired in 2014 after a 34-year career in the National Park Service, nearly all of it spent at Gettysburg. He won the regional Freeman Tilden Award for excellence in interpretation in 1993, and was a key player for the design of all aspects of the current Gettysburg museum/visitor center.
He is the author of To Antietam Creek: The Maryland Campaign from September 3 to September 16, published in September 2012 by Johns Hopkins University Press, and of I Dread The Thought of the Place: The Battle of Antietam and End of the Maryland Campaign.
We held the Preservation Book Raffle and the winners are pictured below.
