• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Shenandoah University

Shenandoah University's McCormick Civil War Institute

  • MCWI
    • About MCWI
    • Civil War Archives
    • Civil War Era Studies Certificate
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Spring Conference
    • Fall Seminar & Tour
    • Cool Spring Anniversary Commemoration
  • Cool Spring Battlefield
    • Tour the Battlefield
    • Download our Tour App
    • Anniversary Commemoration
    • Watch Orientation Video
    • Visit Cool Spring
  • News & Readings
    • MCWI Journal
    • Picket Post Newsletter
    • MCWI News
    • MCWI Facebook

Check out C-SPAN for Episodes on American History Shenandoah Historian Jonathan Noyalas Speaks on Civil War-Related Topics

March 19, 2021

Throughout March, C-SPAN’s American History TV has been featuring presentations in which Director of the McCormick Civil War Institute Jonathan Noyalas, ’01, M.A., talks about various Shenandoah Valley-related topics.

 

Check out the episodes

Episode About Rebecca Wright – Union Spy in the Shenandoah

In the fall of 1864, Union General Philip Sheridan sought information on the position and strength of Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley. Rebecca Wright, with the help of enslaved man Thomas Laws, passed Sheridan intelligence that informed his battle plan for what would be the Third Battle of Winchester. Noyalas details Rebecca Wright’s involvement and how this action impacted the rest of her life.

Watch Rebecca Wright – Union Spy in the Shenandoah

 

Episode About Sheridan’s Ride

Noyalas looks at Union Gen. Philip Sheridan’s famous ride at the 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek and its commemoration in art, literature and popular culture.

Watch Sheridan’s Ride in Art, Literature & Memory

 

Episode About Union Veterans

Noyalas talks about how Union veterans of the 1864 Shenandoah Campaign attempted to burnish their regimental legacies through writing newspaper columns and publishing memoirs.

Watch Union Veterans & 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign

 

Filed Under: Arts & Sciences, History Alumni, History Spotlight, MCWI

McCormick Civil War Institute Publishes Its First Book ‘So Much to Say’ Uses 29 Donated Letters to Tell Union Soldier’s Story

March 10, 2020

Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute has published its first book—one that chronicles a Union soldier’s wartime experience and his beliefs on war, politics and the homefront.

“So Much to Say” is an account of the Civil War experience of Robert Bradbury, a Union corporal in Battery D, the First Pennsylvania Light Artillery. The book includes 29 letters, 4 poems, 13 illustrations, five maps and 13 images.

The book is edited by Jonathan Noyalas, ’01 M.A., director of the McCormick Civil War Institute, and Charles Givens, a World War II veteran who began the original transcription and organization of the letters years ago. Givens, who died in 2001, is the father of Harriet Johnston, a Pennsylvania resident who donated Bradbury’s letters to the institute in spring of 2019. Bradbury was the grandfather of Johnston’s aunt by marriage.

Noyalas, who has read thousands of letters from Civil War soldiers, called Bradbury’s collection unique and one of the richest he’s seen. Not only does Bradbury document the happenings of the battlefield, but he also chronicles current events and the politics of the time, such as President Lincoln’s assassination and Jefferson Davis’ capture.

Bradbury’s discussions of soldier life, generals, political figures, comrades in First Pennsylvania Light Artillery, not to mention discussions of places he fought, marched through, and was stationed at are impeccably detailed. I would think that anyone with an interest in the Civil War in Virginia, particularly the operations around Fredericksburg and in the Shenandoah Valley, would find these letters useful, as would anyone interested in how Union soldiers made sense of the conflict and what enlisted men thought of generals and war-planners on both sides.”
Jonathan Noyalas, ’01 M.A., director of the McCormick Civil War Institute

Bradbury joined the Union army in 1862 when he was 18 years old. He served until the end of the war in 1865 and fought from the Virginia Peninsula to the Shenandoah Valley. During the war, he created the newspaper The Weekly Blunder. Afterward, Bradbury worked as a journalist in Philadelphia.

The book is now available for purchase at Amazon.com and the Winchester Book Gallery. After April 4, it will be available at other retailers throughout the Shenandoah Valley and beyond. In a pre-publication review, Brian Matthew Jordan, Ph.D., a professor at Sam Houston State University and Pulitzer finalist for his book “Marching Home,” described this edited collection as “remarkable” filed with “plentiful comments about the natural and material environments of war.” Jordan also noted that Bradbury’s letters are “spiced with his pungent political commentary and candid assessment of military leaders.”

All proceeds go to the McCormick Civil War Institute to support student endeavors and efforts at Cool Spring.

This is the first book that the institute has published. Since 2018, it has also published three volumes of the peer-reviewed journal, The Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era.

Filed Under: History Alumni, History Spotlight, MCWI

Students Pen Essay in Volume III of Shenandoah’s Peer-Reviewed Journal Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era Hits Stores This Week

October 30, 2019

For the first time, Shenandoah University students have collaborated on an essay for the Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era — Shenandoah University’s only academic peer-reviewed journal.

Volume III of the 154-page journal contains six main essays and 11 book reviews. Eleven authors and 22 contributors worked on the publication, which highlights untold stories of the Civil War era in the Shenandoah Valley.

Even though events or people discussed in the journal might not seem flashy or significant, they’re still an important part of the story of the Civil War. History would not have happened the same without these less-significant events taking place.”

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

Purchase the Journal

Journal Volume 3

The first essay in the journal, “The Shenandoah Chanting Its Endless Requiem: A Roster of Cool Spring’s Union Dead” was written by Noyalas and four students: Jake Gabriele ’19; Victor Hererra ’20; Sarah Powell ’19; and Shelby R. Shrader ’17.

The essay took the students two years to complete and chronicles the lives of all 72 Union soldiers killed at the Battle of Cool Spring in 1864. The students spent hours poring over records—including pension records and regimental histories—in both local archives and the National Archives.

Students used documents and evidence to reconstruct the lives of these soldiers who have otherwise been forgotten. It’s a unique essay because it’s bringing the average soldier’s experience to life in the way a traditional book can’t. It’s looking at them as individuals. It’s taking people who are a statistic, in essence, and making them real again.”

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

The journal includes three essays that in some way deal with the Battle of Cool Spring and its aftermath; one essay about African-American children serving as apprentices in the Shenandoah Valley after the Civil War; an essay on Judge Richard Parker from Winchester (who tried abolitionist John Brown in 1859); and an essay about Unionist refugees during the Burning Raid, which was a Union military raid conducted in the Loudoun Valley in 1864.

The journal is available at the end of this week at the Winchester Book Gallery, Shenandoah University’s campus bookstore, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historic Park, Belle Grove Plantation, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society.

The cost is $10, and all proceeds benefit the McCormick Civil War Institute and its efforts at Cool Spring Battlefield.

Explore the McCormick Civil War Institute

Filed Under: Arts & Sciences, History Spotlight, University Home

Civil War Institute Director Rendered Speechless By Donation Philadelphia woman donates collection of Civil War documents to Shenandoah University

June 24, 2019

The Johnston family recently donated wonderful artifacts from Union Army Private Robert Bradbury, who fought in the Northern Shenandoah Valley, to SU’s McCormick Civil War Institute! MCWI Director, Jonathan Noyalas says he got a treasure trove! Dozens of letters, photographs and even a self-portrait of Bradbury were packed into boxes. “I’m not often rendered speechless. But this was one of those jaw-dropping moments.”

Filed Under: History Spotlight, MCWI, press

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

June 4, 2019

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

Filed Under: Arts & Sciences, History Spotlight, Magazine News, MCWI, scil, University Home, Virtual Reality Design, Virtual Reality Design Spotlight

One Artifact At A Time Shenandoah University Students Serve As Co-authors of Artifact-Driven History of Winchester

May 29, 2019

A group of Shenandoah University history majors are set to be published authors this year for their work on a book commemorating the 275th anniversary of the founding of Winchester, Virginia.

The history students are using artifacts to help tell the city’s story in a book to be published by the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society and co-edited by Shenandoah’s McCormick Civil War Institute Director Jonathan Noyalas ’01, M.A. (Shenandoah’s main campus has been located in Winchester since 1960.)

Noyalas said he suggested the book’s creation as an item to leave behind for future generations. And, it’s a project that allows the historical society to achieve a goal of further interaction with the university.

Photo of a dress created for an early Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, included in a book on Winchester's 275th anniversary, co-written by Shenandoah University students.

Dress crafted for an early Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.

The book will tell the city’s story through short explorations of 50 artifacts chosen by Noyalas and the historical society’s director, Cissy Shull. The book is intended for general audiences, with the artifacts, their importance, and their connection to Winchester’s history described in approximately 1,000-word essays, Noyalas said.

Order Your Copy Now

The writers & their artifacts

Kim Oliveto ’20 is writing about a lock of George Washington’s hair and a Quaker marriage certificate. Washington, the nation’s first president, worked as a surveyor in the Winchester area prior to the American Revolution, was elected to his first office from the city, and oversaw the construction of Fort Loudoun, which sat where North Loudoun Street is today. Even so, Oliveto noted that it’s unclear how exactly the lock of the nation’s first president’s light auburn hair ended up in Winchester.

Winchester, the first city west of the Blue Ridge Mountains to be settled by European immigrants and their descendants, has a longstanding Quaker community. Oliveto said certificates, like the one she is researching, were how American Quakers proved that they had married. In her piece, she is also explaining why Quakers relocated to the area from Pennsylvania.

Sarah Powell ’19 is telling a story of immigration and business development by focusing on a mortar and pestle used by early German immigrant Godfrey Miller. The family business grew to include dry goods as well as an apothecary, which was once the longest continuously operating drugstore in the nation. Miller’s apothecary is now on display at Shenandoah University’s Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy.

Shelby Sprague ’22 is exploring Fort Loudoun and the French & Indian War. Steven Stabler  ’22 is focusing on 20th-century history through a Korean War uniform, a World War II Purple Heart awarded to one of the first Winchester residents to die in the conflict, and a grouping of artifacts connected to Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s Antarctic expeditions. Through his artifacts, he’ll tell stories about how the city’s residents felt about war, as well as discuss the development of science and technology through the 20th century.

Pike

The artifact handled by Zach Thompson ’19 is a chest, owned by James Mason, a mid-19th-century U.S. senator who authored the Fugitive Slave Law in conjunction with the Compromise of 1850. The chest was part of Mason’s baggage when he was captured during the Civil War, along with Louisiana politician John Slidell, in what came to be known as the Trent Affair. Some of the story he will focus on includes the last-ditch efforts of the republic’s political leaders to keep the nation united during the tumultuous decade of the 1850s.

Jessica Kronenwetter ’20, who also photographed the artifacts for the book, is focusing on two areas. One allows her to talk about the Devil Diarists of Winchester, who were Confederate sympathizers who went to sometimes scandalous lengths to irritate Union troops during the Civil War. She will write about the many times Winchester changed hands, how the city’s women felt during the conflict, and how Union soldiers were perceived in the city. Her other area of focus allows her to explore the work of Frank Turgeon, a prominent aerial photographer and pilot who worked with National Geographic in the early 20th century.

Noyalas is also writing about a couple of artifacts. The Orrick Cemetery gravestone of Edward Hall, who served in the 30th United States Colored Troops during the Civil War, allows him to discuss racism, slavery and the 167 African Americans from Winchester who served with the Union Army during the Civil War. Additionally, he’s writing about a rifle presented by a group of Union veterans to Confederate veterans in Winchester in 1888 as an act of reconciliation – one that he said appears to have been unique in the post-Civil War south.

All told, Shenandoah faculty, alumni and students are writing about approximately half of the artifacts featured in the book, Noyalas said.

Becoming published authors

Sprague said being part of such a project, particularly as a freshman, is an honor. She said her friends at other colleges and universities don’t have such an opportunity available to them. And, the writing and research “gives me a better understanding of why I want to be a history major,” she said, noting that, at 19 years of age, she’ll be a published author.

The writing and research is providing the student authors with a unique extracurricular opportunity, said Oliveto, a grandmother who never thought a chance to be published would “happen to little ’ol me from Winchester, Virginia.” She’s loved the thrill of digging for information, and she said her experience in the history program shows that “It’s never too late to go back to college. Pick the right college and you can be published, whether you’re a freshman or a grandma.”

“We’ve gotten to showcase our talents to people outside of Shenandoah and prove our worth as prospective historians,” Kronenwetter said of the book project.

The book’s launch

Noyalas said that the hope is that the book will pique readers’ curiosity and inspire them to visit local museums or read more in-depth histories of Winchester and its demographically diverse population.

The book will be released in mid-October, Noyalas said, with the release celebrated during a special event on campus, with some of the artifacts available for viewing at the event.

Order “A Prominent Place”: Winchester’s 275 Years in 50 Artifacts

 

Photo credits: Jessica Kronenwetter ’20 and https://www.mygenealogyhound.com/

Filed Under: Arts & Sciences, Arts and Sciences Faculty News, History Alumni, History Spotlight, Magazine News, MCWI Tagged With: faculty book, faculty books, history, Jessica Kronenwetter, Jonathan Noyalas, Kim Oliveto, Sarah Powell, Shelby Sprague, Steven Stabler, Zach Thompson

MCWI

  • About MCWI
  • Upcoming Events
  • MCWI News & Readings
  • Civil War Archives
  • Civil War Era Studies Certificate
  • Bachelor of Arts in History
  • Meet the Director

 

Cool Spring Battlefield

  • Visit Cool Spring
  • Tour the Battlefield
  • Through Their Eyes App
  • Anniversary Commemoration

su-logo@2x

About MCWI

  • MCWI
  • About MCWI
  • Upcoming Events
  • MCWI News & Readings
  • Through Their Eyes App
  • Civil War Archives
  • Civil War Era Studies Certificate
  • Bachelor of Arts in History

Cool Spring Battlefield

  • Tour the Battlefield
  • Download our Tour App
  • Visit Cool Spring
  • Anniversary Commemoration
  • Watch Orientation Video

Contact Us

McCormick Civil War Institute Director
Jonathan A. Noyalas, ‘01 M.A.
jnoyalas01@su.edu
540-665-4501
Office: Davis Hall 115

Follow MCWI on Facebook

Back To Top
© 2025 Shenandoah University All rights reserved. 1460 University Drive Winchester, VA 22601