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Shenandoah University

Shenandoah University's McCormick Civil War Institute

App Uses Augmented Reality To Recreate History ‘Through Their Eyes’ Provides In-Depth Look at Battle of Cool Spring

A new app that recreates scenes from the 1864 Battle of Cool Spring is now available for download.

Through Their Eyes is a collaboration between Shenandoah’s McCormick Civil War Institute and the Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCiL).

The app has two components:

  1. 360 augmented reality component
  2. audio augmented reality experience

Download on Google Play    Download in the App Store

The 360 augmented reality experience can be done anywhere. Those who download the app can scan any flat surface and a map appears showing the contours of the Cool Spring Battlefield, which is located in Clarke County off Va. 7. Users can tap on any one of a dozen flags marking a designation on the map where a particular regiment fought. They are then instantly transported into a moment in the battle that is recreated by volunteers, students and living historians.

An example of this includes a scene that centers around the account of Lt. Col. Thomas Wildes, 123rd Ohio, where he describes the fate of a sergeant in that regiment, Sgt. Davis, who was mortally wounded at the battle and carried off the field by his comrades. Aware that he was putting those who carried him off the field in great danger, Davis requested they put him down on Parker’s Island and save themselves. Wildes’ account notes that the sergeant, fearful his personal items would fall into Confederate hands, buried them in a log. At some point between July 18 and the following day, the sergeant passed away. When the 123rd Ohio crossed back over to Parker’s Island on July 20, they discovered what the sergeant had done.

This example offers an opportunity to explore not only the battle’s tragic consequences, but also the battle’s impact on the family Davis left behind.

“It’s a revolutionary, non-invasive way to interpret a battlefield with greater depth,” said Director of the McCormick Civil War Institute Jonathan Noyalas ’01, M.A. “We are able to create such an immersive, personal experience, connecting you with people involved, that you can’t get from a printed brochure.”

The second part of the app is an immersive audio tour in which participants can walk the battlefield and hear an audio account of particular soldiers and their experiences while also learning what happened to that soldier, either at Cool Spring or in the conflict’s aftermath. The app uses GPS satellite data to determine where the participant is on the battlefield and syncs this with specific soldiers’ accounts.

Jonathan NoyalasWe’re trying to create an intimate, powerful experience that will aid individuals to better understand the personal stories of soldiers who fought at Cool Spring and the impact the battle had on them — a stark reminder of tragic consequences of what happens when a people become divided to an unbridgeable point. Both augmented reality experiences draw on the accounts of about two dozen Union and Confederate soldiers.”

Jonathan Noyalas ’01

Wes Brown, AR/VR developer in SCiL, served as the developer of the app, with several students aiding in the process.

Both he and Noyalas are unaware of any U.S. battlefield that has anything like this — a GPS-driven app that can also create a 360 experience on a 2D device.

Wes BrownThe way it interprets the 360 video is not common practice. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s new and kind of revolutionary.”

Wes Brown

 

The unveiling of the app took place March 24 at Cool Spring.

 

Through-Their-Eyes

Go Virtual at Battle of Cool Spring Anniversary celebration highlights Civil War history through tours, augmented reality

Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute is commemorating the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Cool Spring with tours, lectures and the unveiling of an augmented reality experience.

The commemorative event occurs on Saturday, July 20, at the university’s River Campus at Cool Spring Battlefield located at 1400 Parker Lane, Bluemont. This event is free and open to the public.

155th Anniversary Schedule of Activities

9 am

Site opens

10:15 am – noon

Walking tour of Battle of Cool Spring with historian Jonathan Noyalas ’01, M.A. Tour includes vignettes with living historians.

Noon – 1 pm

Lunch on your own. Please note that there are no food vendors on site. Please bring a picnic lunch and enjoy it either in the air-conditioned lodge or the shade of the pavilion.

1 – 1:45 pm 

“Dreams of War & Peace: The Remarkable Night Life of Civil War America” with Jonathan White, Ph.D., associate professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University

2 – 2:45 pm

“Follow Him to the Death: Sheridan, Early, and the Shenandoah Valley in the Summer of 1864” with Jennifer Murray, Ph.D., teaching assistant professor at Oklahoma State University

3 – 4 pm 

Unveiling of “Through Their Eyes: An Augmented Reality Experience at Cool Spring”

cool spring

Through Their Eyes

The augmented reality experience, “Through Their Eyes,” is a collaborative effort between the McCormick Civil War Institute and the Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCiL).

Visitors will use an iPhone or iPad to float a holographic 3D version of the battlefield above a 2D map. Clickable flags on the map will take users into one-minute experiences of the battle using 360 virtual reality. Visitors will find themselves in a dramatic attack, retreat, camp scene, or the battle’s sorrowful aftermath.

More than a dozen scenes were filmed with actors from both Shenandoah and the community. The experience is based on the primary accounts of Union and Confederate soldiers who fought at the Battle of Cool Spring on July 18, 1864.

The second part of the project involves an immersive audio walk of the battlefield using an iPhone app and earbuds.

Jonathan A. Noyalas ’01, M.A., director of the McCormick Civil War Institute, served as historian for the project (he also appears in the production). Associate Professor of Theater and SCiL Director J.J. Ruscella, M.F.A., and his SCiL team directed the action.

I have often been bothered by the fact that some overlook the Battle of Cool Spring because statistically it pales in comparison to the Civil War’s larger and more well-known engagements – Gettysburg, Antietam, Shiloh and the like. While statistically not as big (13,000 troops engaged and nearly 1,000 total casualties), to the men who died there, to their families, and to those wounded at the battle who lived with the pain and disfigurement of those wounds for the rest of their lives, the Battle of Cool Spring was the most significant action of the Civil War. It is my hope that this experience will help people better comprehend the human element of the battle and understand the dramatic costs a nation endures when a people become divided to an unbridgeable point.”

Jonathan A. Noyalas ’01, M.A., Director of the McCormick Civil War Institute

A total of 12 students in Noyalas’ spring 2019 Civil War & Reconstruction course researched the backgrounds of the soldiers whose accounts are used as the basis for the various scenes and moments. Shenandoah history major Jessica Kronenwetter ’20 documented the process through photography. History majors John Oross ’19 and Steven Stabler ’22 played various roles in the filming.

Self-Guided Experiences Available Throughout Day of Commemoration

In addition to the scheduled activities, battlefield trails will be open throughout the day for self-guided tours, and the exhibition about Cool Spring and its aftermath will be available for viewing. Tour guides are available for free, or visitors can download a pdf with information about the site. Harpers Ferry National Historical Park bookstore is selling books by the day’s speakers, as well as other relevant titles.

This event is free and open to the public, though monetary donations are appreciated. Please email Noyalas at jnoyalas01@su.edu or call 540/665-4501 with any questions. Pre-registration is not required for this event.

cool spring