The civilian contingent of the 165th Anniversary Antietam Campaign will portray the citizens of Sharpsburg and the surrounding community during the Battle of Antietam.

Hosted by Homespun Historical Ventures, this immersive living history experience will place civilians alongside the military events unfolding around them during the Maryland Campaign of September 1862.

Participants will have opportunities to interact with both Federal and Confederate soldiers as the armies move through the countryside and converge around Sharpsburg.

But the civilian experience is about much more than interacting with the armies.

It is about experiencing the uncertainty of a community caught between them.

As musketry erupts in the distance and artillery begins thundering across the countryside, civilians will experience the growing realization that the battle may be coming directly to their homes, farms, businesses, churches, and families.

Through first-person impressions, historically accurate civilian clothing, period activities, and stories drawn from diaries and contemporary accounts, we will portray the extraordinary resilience of ordinary people caught in the storm of war.

The objective is not simply to have civilians present at a military reenactment.

The objective is to recreate a living community experiencing the Maryland Campaign.

Juried Civilian Contingent

The civilian contingent for this event will be juried.

Participants should submit an impression appropriate to the people who lived in Sharpsburg and the surrounding region during September 1862. Submissions will go via Facebook messenger to Amy Debord or Michele Shuman

Impressions should represent believable individuals rather than generic "Civil War civilians."