Seminars spread awareness of regional Civil War history

George Armstrong Custer

CHAMBERSBURG - People from around the world come to Chambersburg for Civil War seminars each year, learning from well-known scholars and visiting battlefields and other historic sites within a day's drive of Chambersburg.

For Ted Alexander of Greencastle, the seminars that he helps to coordinate are a labor of love. He visited the battlefield in Gettysburg for the first time when he was in first grade, and he made a career out of his love of history. He has been chief historian at Antietam National Battlefield in Sharpsburg, Md., for the past 16 years, as well as a tour guide for Smithsonian Associates and author of several books about the Civil War.

Alexander described the seminars as "educational, with some of the top people in the field, but we also have a lot of fun." The Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce has sponsored the seminars since 1989. Some participants who attended the first seminars have been back for many more. "They build their vacation around it," Alexander said.

Attendees come from nearly all of the 50 states, as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and China, he said.

Historian Ted Alexander makes a point at one of the Civil War exhibits in the Chambersburg Heritage Center, 100 Lincoln Way East, Chambersburg.

The first seminar of 2008 will shine the spotlight on George Armstrong Custer, the flamboyant leader who was a hero of the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg before he lost his life at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

Jeffry D. Wert, who wrote a book about Custer, will be one of the featured speakers during the March 27-30 seminar. Steve Alexander will portray Custer, as he has done on the History Channel and other television productions. In addition, there will be a special exhibit of artifacts from The Battle of the Little Big Horn.

Other seminars scheduled this year include: Annual Lincoln Symposium, May 16-17; The Gettysburg Experience, July 23-27; The Men Stood Like Iron, the Iron Brigade from Second Manassas to Gettysburg, Oct. 3-5.

More information about the seminars is available on the Web site, http://www.chambersburgcivilwarseminars. org, or by calling Cindy Baker at the chamber, 717-264-7101.

Costs vary depending on the sessions attended. Price includes motor coach transportation for guided tours, seminar materials and some meals. Prices have been set for the Custer seminar, but are not final for other seminars.

Those who attend the seminars range from novices to "hard-core Civil War buffs," according to Alexander. Attendance can range from 50 to 75 for the smaller seminars to nearly 150 for the largest seminar, five days of sessions held in July each year during ChambersFest, which Chambersburg observes to commemorate the rebirth of the community after it was destroyed by Confederates in 1864. Chambersburg holds the distinction of being the only town north of the Mason Dixon Line to be destroyed during the Civil War.

"Many people are familiar with Gettysburg's Civil War history, but these seminars also spread awareness of Chambersburg's Civil War history," said Baker, the chamber's event coordinator of the seminars.

Since the inception of the seminars, more than $100,000 has been donated for the preservation of Civil War battlefields and other historic sites. That is important to the presenters and others who attend, according to Alexander.

"Many come back on a regular basis. They're impressed by the fact that we raise money for Civil War preservation, and by how well the seminars are run," Alexander said.

Well-known speakers of national merit have been presenters, including Ed Bearss, who appeared in documentary filmmaker Ken Burns' PBS film about the Civil War, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. James McPherson.

While the seminars always feature regional Civil War history, they've also covered a wider range of topics, such as the life of Stonewall Jackson and battles in the Richmond, Va., area. Some of the ideas for seminars come from participants, Alexander said.

Chambersburg Civil War Seminars give teachers an opportunity to learn about the Civil War from some of the nation's top historians. Teachers who sign up for any of the four seminars offered each year receive a 10 percent discount.

There also are two scholarships available for the July seminar focusing on Gettysburg, one awarded to a student and one awarded to a teacher. Winners attend the seminar free of charge and receive an additional $100 stipend for expenses.

For information on applying for the Depuy/Adams Scholarship for teachers and the Scott Hosier Scholarship for students, call Cindy Baker at 717- 264-7101 or e-mail her at chaden@chambersburg.org to request an application.

For information on the seminars, call Baker at 717-264- 7101 or see the Web site, http://www.chambersburgcivilwarseminars. org