1862 Celebration of Independence
June 25-27, 2027
A Living Prelude to Antietam
Hosted by Homespun Historical Ventures, Inc.
The Year of Uneasy Liberty
It is July 4th, 1862.
The air in Sharpsburg is warm and still. The wheat is tall, the orchards full, and the good people of Washington County gather for a day of hope — a celebration of the nation’s birth, even as that same nation tears itself apart.
The locals—the Millers, the Nicodemuses, the Poffenbergers, the Mumma family, the Roulettes and their Dunker neighbors—come together for an Independence Day celebration on the fields north of Sharpsburg, unaware that within months, these same names will fill the ledgers of history for very different reasons.
They bring picnic baskets, hymnbooks, and fiddles. The women of the community whisper of sons gone south with the armies. The men talk quietly of the Conscription Act passed in Richmond — and whispers that the Union may soon follow suit. Young men glance at one another, wondering who will be called next.
Soldiers of the 3rd Maryland Home Guard—men recruited from the county to guard the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad—on leave, join the festivities, unaware they will be captured at Harpers Ferry a few months later.
The Quiet People
Among them walk the Dunkers—the German Baptist Brethren, pacifists who worship simply and reject the war altogether. They move gently among their neighbors, offering blessings of peace, reminding all that the sword cannot mend what has been broken. Their plain speech and simple garb seem almost otherworldly beside the sound of distant drumming and the talk of politics.
They pray that day for peace in all lands and mercy upon all men.
None can imagine that by September, their small white church—soon to be built and standing in quiet testimony to their faith—will become the most recognized ruin of the war.
The Daisy Saloon and the Evening Illumination
As twilight settles over the fields, the Daisy Saloon opens its doors once more — its lanterns glowing softly through the summer haze. Inside, the air hums with fiddle tunes, laughter, and the raising of glasses. Some toast to the Union, their words proud and firm; others, more cautious, quietly lift their cups to peace. Tobacco smoke curls in the lamplight as voices join in familiar patriotic songs. Outside, the crowd gathers along the fence line as darkness deepens over the cornfield. Then, with a hiss and a spark, the period fireworks begin spinning and bursting above the fields that will soon bear a far different fire. For this one night, the sky belongs to celebration, not to war.
The Setting: A Living Landscape
Homespun Historical Ventures Inc. invites you to step into that moment in time.
On the same historic property that hosted the 1858 Agricultural Fair, HHV is recreating the Dunker Church, the Hagerstown Pike, Smoketown Road, and Miller’s Cornfield—a breathtaking landscape for the 1862 Celebration of Independence.
The beauty and peace of this setting will linger only for a while.
In the months that follow, the same recreated ground will be transformed for the 165th Commemorative Battle of Antietam, when smoke, cannon, and chaos will descend upon it—just as they did in history.
Here, participants will first experience the calm before the storm.