“My Mind is Full with Thoughts of the Past”
The Second Battle of Winchester Through the Eyes of Combatants & Civilians
Saturday, November 5, 2022
The 18th Connecticut and 5th Maryland Infantry “trying to cut their way through Winchester, June 15th 1863” (Walker, History of the Eighteenth Regiment, 1885)
In mid-February 1864 the 18th Connecticut Infantry moved over a portion of the Second Battle of Winchester battlefield where fighting occurred during the early morning hours of June 15, 1863. As Corporal John Service, a veteran of the regiment, gazed around at the landscape which still contained scars from the battle, including graves of men who perished in the fight, he was moved. “As I stand here upon this sacred spot, my mind is full with thoughts of the past,” Service wrote. This fall Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute will explore the Second Battle of Winchester, including visits to several sites that are privately owned and not accessible to the public, to explore the Second Battle of Winchester on an intimate level–from the perspective of the Union and Confederate soldiers who fought, to Winchester’s civilians who regardless of allegiance, found themselves caught once more in war’s maelstrom. The tour will focus on individual experiences and how what occurred in mid-June 1863 forever transformed the lives of those involved.
“At this time the city was three fourths invested… It had been such a Sabbath.. The day had been full of stirring incidents… It was mortifying, indeed, to be compelled to surrender to the rebels.” (Chaplain William Walker, 18th Connecticut)
Schedule
- 10-10:30 a.m. Check-in at Shenandoah University, Winchester, Virginia
- 10:30-11:30 a.m. Welcome and lecture by Prof. Jonathan A. Noyalas “The Cause Which He was Fighting… Was Constantly Present in His Mind”: Reflections on the Life and Legacy of Union General Robert H. Milroy
- 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.: Lunch at Shenandoah University’s Allen Dining Hall (lunch included with registration)
- 12:30-4:30 p.m.: Caravan tour of sites associated with the Second Battle of Winchester, including privately owned sites not accessible to the public.
Registration fee of $25 covers the cost of morning lecture, handouts, lunch, and afternoon guided caravan tour. Carpooling is required for the afternoon tour as mass transportation will not permit access to certain sites.
TO REGISTER: please download the pdf registration by clicking on the link below.
Fall 2022 Seminar & Tour Registration Form
Questions about registration can be directed to Prof. Noyalas at jnoyalas01@su.edu or phone 540-665-4501.
Interested in learning more about General Robert H. Milroy prior to the fall seminar and tour, check out “My Will is Absolute Law”: A Biography of Union General Robert H. Milroy written by MCWI’s director Jonathan A. Noyalas. “My Will is Absolute Law”
