"I consider it an honor to tell the stories of men like my great-great grandfather who fought on this hallowed ground...." -Andy Blair

One of the most thrilling and exciting experiences that I have had in my life, was the opportunity to be a part of The Gettysburg Semester program at Gettysburg College. Through the many rewards that this experience offered me, perhaps one of the greatest was being able to work at Antietam National Battlefield. I knew that when offered an opportunity to take part in an internship; my first choice was to help out the wonderful Rangers and Volunteers who help to maintain this pristine battlefield and its history. It was my hope as I went into the program, to help preserve the stories and legacies of the men who fought at the Battle of Antietam, like my great-great grandfather Sgt. Neill T. Arnold of Company H in the 46^th North Carolina Regiment. The over twenty-three thousand soldiers, who were killed, wounded, or missing from both sides, following the Battle of Antietam is just staggering. As well as the work done by both men and women from the surrounding communities who following the battle, took care of the wounded and buried the fallen soldiers, it is important that their legacy should also be remembered. I learned a great deal about the Battle of Antietam from my experience working there, through talking with the Rangers and other Volunteers, I came to a greater understanding of what the Battle of Antietam means to our national history and I consider it an honor to tell the stories of men like my great-great grandfather who fought on this hallowed ground.

This experience of working at Antietam National Battlefield was one of the true joys of being a part of the Gettysburg Semester. I had the great privilege of living on the Gettysburg National Battlefield everyday for several months, and then being able to go and work at Antietam National Battlefield almost every weekend and sometimes during the regular week made the experience that much more rewarding. I usually worked every Sunday afternoon, and would make my trip down to Sharpsburg around mid-day following church at the Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. I found the drive beautiful and relaxing, especially being able to drive through the Catoctin National Forrest, and in particular I was lucky to see the beautiful mountains and scenery covered in blankets of snow, which is something a young man from Tennessee is not always fortunate to see. My days usually consisted of working behind the Visitor Center Desk, helping the everyday visitors from across the United States and around the World with their visit to Antietam. I would point out the best ways to tour the Battlefield in however much time the visitor had, reminding them to make sure and see the Dunker Church, the Cornfield, the Sunken Road, and Burnside’s Bridge. I would go over the park map, a brief history of the battle, and show them the museum, as well as when the next documentary would be starting or when there was a Ranger led program. I was also able to travel out on the battlefield and take part in the Battlefield Ambassadors program. Which most volunteers have the opportunity to do as a way to help the visitor know a little more about a particular area of the battlefield and the action that occurred there on September 17, 1862. In my case that included the West Woods, where my great-great grandfather and the 46^th North Carolina Regiment fought.

Some other rewarding experiences were being able to help the visitors with any questions that they might have, and if they had an ancestor who fought at the Battle of Antietam, then I was able to provide for them a history of their ancestor’s unit, and show them where on the battlefield they fought, one-hundred and forty-seven years ago. I also enjoyed meeting all of the visitors, especially young children and would help them to become Junior Rangers. One of the greatest parts about working with the visitors, was you never knew who you were going to meet or see, from visitors across the United States and the world, to Ed Bearss and James McPherson, two leading Civil War Historians. I was rewarded each and every day that I was at Antietam National Battlefield, and in particular, I was fortunate to be a small part of two great events that occur at the battlefield each year. One being the Annual Battle Anniversary led Ranger program, which occurs each year on September 17, and begins early in the morning at seven o’clock in the Cornfield and ends in the late afternoon at the National Cemetery. It was truly a rewarding day and one that I got to share with my fellow companions from the Gettysburg Semester, as we walked all across the battlefield re-tracing the events that occurred on those fields one-hundred and forty-seven years ago. Another great experience, was being able to help with the Annual Remembrance Day Illumination, which occurs usually the first weekend of December as hundreds of volunteers from across the country come to place over twenty-three thousand luminaries across the battlefield to remember the brave soldiers of both the Union and Confederacy who were killed, wounded, or missing during the epic Battle of Antietam. That particular day was one in which snow kept falling throughout the day, as the volunteers worked hard to set out all of the luminaries, and even though the snow prevented some of them from being lighted, the symbol of sacrifice that they represented will never be forgotten.

All in all, my time spent as a member of the Gettysburg Semester Program, was truly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I learned so much from Dr. Guelzo, as well as all of the staff in the Civil War Era Studies Department and History Department at Gettysburg College that I will be able to carry the knowledge that I have gained from them for the rest of my life. I also had the fortune of meeting some wonderful new friends as part of the Gettysburg Semester, especially the eight of us semester students from around the country, Mrs. Cathy Bain, Mr. John Rudy and all of the other Gettysburg students and staff who I had the fortune of meeting. My time at the battlefield was one of the true highlights of my semester at Gettysburg College, and I cannot thank enough the extraordinary staff of Rangers and Volunteers at Antietam National Battlefield, who I had the privilege of coming into contact with and learning a great deal from. The experience of working at the battlefield was something that I will keep close to me forever and I hope that I was able in a small way to bring the stories of the men who fought there and what they went through to life, for our democracy was never more tested in one day than at the Battle of Antietam.

"Although this project was tedious... it has been incredibly rewarding and honed my skills of analytical research" - Annie Powers

Over the course of this semester, I worked in the Gettysburg National Military Park with John Heiser. I began in my first few weeks with cataloguing back-issues of Gettysburg Magazine, primarily those from 2006. Very quickly, however, John gave me a new – and more exciting – responsibility: researching Union and Confederate staff officers at the Battle of Gettysburg. Using the Official Records, rosters, books, and other references materials from the park, I compiled a list of each Union and Confederate staff officer at Gettysburg with information about their position there and the units to which they had originally belonged.

Although this project was tedious and involved a meticulous eye, it has been incredibly rewarding and honed my skills of analytical research. Before coming to Gettysburg for the semester, I had little experience with research in the field of military history, so working at the Park library has allowed me to dive into it headfirst – and really learn how to tackle and interpret available sources. I can safely say that the research I did at the Park will help me with any future encounters I may have with military history research, and it certainly allowed me to broaden my horizons. (I’ve never been much for military history, but digging into the lives of some of these men has definitely been a treat.) It may sound a bit dull, but I really did enjoy the experience (and even got to sit in on some Park staff meetings!) – and would recommend it to absolutely anyone interested in Civil War history.

"...a great opportunity for me to gain valuable experience directly related to my career goals." - Jacob Dinkelaker

As part of the Gettysburg Semester, I had the opportunity to do many great things while I was living in Gettysburg. These “experiences” included the Friday battlefield trips, a visit to Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum (A Gettysburg institution since 1975), exploring all areas of the battlefield, and the best of all, interning at Gettysburg National Military Park in interpretation. Working in interpretation this fall was a change of pace from working in Museum Services, as I had previously done.

During the summer, I was fortunate to be able to work under Greg Goodell and Paul Shevchuk as a seasonal for Museum Services, a job that I was made aware of thanks to Cathy Bain and the Civil War Era Studies office at Gettysburg College. While working in the museum, one of my first projects was re-housing many of the artifacts that were previously on display in the old Gettysburg Visitor Center. These artifacts had been packed away for the move to the new Visitor center; it was part of my duties to unpack them, and help Paul Shevchuck assign them new locations in the collection storage. The other seasonals and I also started several other projects. We processed hundreds of photos from the 125^th Anniversary events to present day photos taken by maintenance personnel, documenting what they were working on. We assigned each picture a number continuing the record keeping done by previous employees, and housed the pictures in archival folders and boxes for protection. Another project we tackled was reorganizing the relic collection by discoverer.

Although I had a great time working in Museum Services, I realized that it was not something I wanted to pursue as a career. Working with so much of our country’s history, I found myself wanting to share it with the public, and share with people my passion for history. I was able to do that in the fall, switching departments at the park, when I began my internship in interpretation under Scott Hartwig, supervisory historian. I had several responsibilities as part of my internship. One of my primary duties was staffing the visitor center information desk. Here I answered visitor’s questions, and provided information on how to explore the park and see the sights. I also developed and presented two interpretive programs on different areas of the park. My first program was on the Soldier’s National Cemetery, and the soldiers buried there. I tried to focus my program on the memory of the soldiers, and preservation of the park itself. My second program was on Day 3, specifically on Pickett’s Charge. For my program, I started with Meade’s headquarters, and developed the program to talk about the charge and ended with the horrific results of the attack. My direct supervisor, Angie Atkinson, was a big help as a sounding board for ideas for my programs, in addition to being full of advice on all things concerning the National Park Service and employment with them.

I had a great time during my internship, working for the National Park Service in interpretation. I really enjoyed working at Gettysburg National Military Park, and it is something that I am pursuing as a career. My internship this fall was a great opportunity for me to gain valuable experience directly related to my career goals, one of which is to obtain a job as a park ranger. My internship was probably the most rewarding experience I had during the semester, and it has helped me immensely as I continue my journey learning not only about history and the civil war, but historical interpretation as well.