Member Review September Mourn: The Dunker Church of Antietam

chellers

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Allan D. Schmidt and Terry W. Barkley (Authors)
Savas Beatie (July 19, 2018)

The Dunker Church is one of the most iconic structures of the American Civil War. Surprisingly, few people know much if anything about its fascinating story or the role it played within the community of Sharpsburg and its importance during and after the Battle of Antietam. September Mourn: The Dunker Church of Antietam by Alann D. Schmidt and Terry W. Barkley rectifies this oversight in the first book-length study of its kind.

On September 17, 1862, two mighty armies grappled across the rolling hills, fields, and woodlots surrounding Sharpsburg, Maryland. The combat left more than 23,000 Union and Confederate soldiers killed, wounded, or captured, repulsed Lee’s invading Virginia army, and paved the way for the Emancipation Proclamation. Ironically, in the epicenter of that bloodiest day in American history stood a small whitewashed building dedicated to peace, equality, and the brotherhood of man.

The German Baptist Brethren, or Dunkers (Dunkards) as they were colloquially known, built the Mumma Church of the Manor congregation in 1853 just nine years before Antietam. In addition to being a house of worship with important ties to the local community, the history of the Dunker Church is interwoven with such notable figures as Stonewall Jackson, Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, and even Mark Twain. The structure was heavily damaged during the battle, housed torn bodies as a hospital in its aftermath, and suffered a complete collapse before undergoing the long and arduous process of being rebuilt.

Schmidt’s and Barkley’s impressive September Mourn is based upon years of meticulous research from both a Church of the Brethren (Dunkers) and a National Park Service perspective. The authors establish the importance of the structure to Sharpsburg and its citizens, its role during the battle and its aftermath, and how it helped establish tourism and education for future generations of Americans.

The Dunker Church can finally take its place alongside the Alamo and Shiloh churches as one of the most notable houses of worship in American military history. September Mourn: The Dunker Church of Antietam is a must-read for anyone interested in the full story of the monumental battle and the community who lived through it.

About the Author
Alann Schmidt spent fifteen years as a park ranger at Antietam National Battlefield and presented hundreds of programs on the Dunker Church to park visitors, Civil War seminars, community groups, churches, and Brethren Heritage tours. Alann earned degrees from the University of Pittsburgh, Shippensburg University, Shepherd University, and the Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/1611214017/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

Disclaimer: This post is neither a recommendation nor solicitation by CivilWarTalk or Chellers. It is solely for informational purposes.
 
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I think I'll get this one out of the library.

I haven't visited as many Civil War sites as a lot of other CWT folk, but I have been to Antietam and to the Dunker Church. I found it very moving to stand inside the church and think about the terrific struggle that raged outside back in September 1862. It is really one of the most powerful experiences I have ever had in visiting a historic site.
 
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Since these are so dark I never bothered to post most of them before, but since they're relevant, here they are anyway!

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This plaque for Jackson's Command is located to the right of the church as you face it from the road.

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This less-seen view above was taken from near the Maryland State Monument.

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My apologies but I swear I had tried the link you had posted and could not find September Mourn. The link works find and I am very sorry for my post.
Regards
David
 
Well, nice to have two sources, thank you!

We're so lucky to have these structures all these years later, gosh. What gets me is thinking of all the wounded, how long they were there and how many men said goodbye to the planet inside that church. Makes no sense saying this out loud but those photos James posted- looks even emptier, somehow.

Ordering, thanks so much.
 
Well, nice to have two sources, thank you!

We're so lucky to have these structures all these years later, gosh. What gets me is thinking of all the wounded, how long they were there and how many men said goodbye to the planet inside that church. Makes no sense saying this out loud but those photos James posted- looks even emptier, somehow.

Ordering, thanks so much.

Sometimes it is not understood that the structure on the site today is a reproduction.

It's a good one, though.
 
Sometimes it is not understood that the structure on the site today is a reproduction.

It's a good one, though.
Not exactly - I thought so too, but was corrected during my last visit at the visitor center, and there's also a descriptive plaque or marker at the church itself too. Photos show that the structure was toppled in the 1920's by a windstorm, but fortunately all of it was salvaged and put into storage, leaving only the stone foundations below which I saw on my visits there during the Centennial. The church was rebuilt by the NPS later during the 1970's or 80's and other than what had to be replaced the materials are what had been salvaged a half-century earlier!

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No way! It really, really pays to keep reading these threads! Not that I can lay claim to any deep knowledge but had never caught a whiff of that story!

You'd rather see Dunker Church glued back together so painstakingly than say, Libby. Dunker keeps the battle present for us; brings History to us through 150 years. Libby's reconstruction seemed so macabre, couldn't help but be glad it vanished back into separate bricks.
 
No way! It really, really pays to keep reading these threads! Not that I can lay claim to any deep knowledge but had never caught a whiff of that story!

You'd rather see Dunker Church glued back together so painstakingly than say, Libby. Dunker keeps the battle present for us; brings History to us through 150 years. Libby's reconstruction seemed so macabre, couldn't help but be glad it vanished back into separate bricks.
Off topic, but the McLean House at Appomattox was also dismantled and rebuilt. Instead of a wind storm, however, financial gain from the historical structure was the culprit.

https://www.nps.gov/apco/mclean-house.htm
 
Not exactly - I thought so too, but was corrected during my last visit at the visitor center, and there's also a descriptive plaque or marker at the church itself too. Photos show that the structure was toppled in the 1920's by a windstorm, but fortunately all of it was salvaged and put into storage, leaving only the stone foundations below which I saw on my visits there during the Centennial. The church was rebuilt by the NPS later during the 1970's or 80's and other than what had to be replaced the materials are what had been salvaged a half-century earlier!

View attachment 177947

James' post has reminded me of the Brethren's/Dunker website.

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https://www.cob-net.org/antietam/dunkers.htm

They also have a page dedicated to the battle.

https://www.cob-net.org/antietam/battle.htm
https://www.cob-net.org/antietam/battle.htm
As well as Emancipation.

https://www.cob-net.org/antietam/emancipation.htm

This is from their Homepage, which also has many excellent links that refer to all things Sharpsburg.

POETIC REFLECTIONS

Little Dunker Church
by Ronald J. Gordon © 2002
I'm the little Dunker Church that sits upon a hill,
With many, many stories, your ears to quickly fill.
Peaceful people built my frame and spoke the words of life.
They sang of love and mercy. A way devoid of strife.
Dunked three times in waters still, it was their clannish mode.
To make a distinct witness. To walk a separate road.

One day the voices of war, announced their bloody scheme.
To march against their brothers and kill them by this stream.
Antietam Creek, it is known, a quiet slender brook
Its many surrounding hills, a pleasant overlook.
Thick are the wooded places, and dense the fields of corn.
Here soldiers will fall in death and families will be torn.

The bark of guns and powder begin to level men.
Commands are fixed on killing. The bugle tells them when.
Blue men chose my whitened walls, a goal to later meet.
Gray men own this Dunker ground and flay their charging feet.
Thousands, thousands died today upon these fields of grain.
Cut down by shell and bullet, they writhed in horrid pain.

Look beyond my open door, a sunken lane is found.
Deeply worn from years of tread by wagons tightly bound.
Gray men gather in those ruts, and lie behind its banks.
Marching towards their leveled guns, the Blue men form in ranks.
For hours the roar of war is heard around this lane.
The count of dead increases. It's madness. It's insane.

Greater numbers hurt this day, than any other count.
More families were shattered than wisdom can surmount.
I blame not gun or cannon, for bodies cold or lame.
It's hate in the hearts of men that primes this kind of shame.
Why do men run just to die? What gain is here to see?
Needlessly they fell in death, but here's the irony.

The Dunkers preach a message of peace when hate is clear.
Rich words of grace and mercy, cast out all hate and fear.
You've come to walk, know and see, what happen long ago.
To muse upon hallowed grounds. To think of what they show.
Guns are silent, armies gone, but peace is witnessed still.
I'm that little Dunker Church that sits upon a hill.

https://www.cob-net.org/antietam/index.htm
 
Here is another picture of the church after the storm in 1921 as well as a very brief description of the man who saved what was left to be rebuilt, from NPS website. I know I've seen a more detailed description...somewhere.

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The destroyed Dunker Church

NPS photo

The land and church ruins were put up for sale and purchased by Sharpsburg resident Elmer G. Boyer. He salvaged most of the undamaged material of the building and in turn sold the property. The new property owner built a home on the foundation of the old church and in the 1930’s operated a gas station and souvenir shop on the site. This structure was removed in 1951 when the property was purchased by the Washington County Historical Society. They in turn donated the site, then just a foundation, to the National Park Service. The Church was restored for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle in 1962 on the original foundation with as much original materials as possible and now stands as a beacon of peace on the battlefield.

https://www.nps.gov/anti/learn/historyculture/dunkerchurch.htm
 
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