Reflections on a Busy Summer at Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute

By Jonathan A. Noyalas · Originally published November 2023 · p. 12

Shenandoah at the Third Battle of Winchester. The summer fellows presented some of their findings in late August as part of Shenandoah University’s College of Arts & Sciences Summer Scholars Program. Additionally, some findings were presented at Fort Collier on September 16. Eventually, this research will be shared through various interpretive media at the site and digitally.

Artist’s Watercolors Find Home at MCWI In early September MCWI was delighted and honored to accept a donation of original watercolors painted by artist Paul Salmon for the 1991 Time Life Civil War series. The watercolors were donated by Salmon’s widow Pamela. As a teenager, intent on pursuing a career in Civil War history, I remember my parents subscribing to the series and being enthralled with the images Salmon created of such notable places as Antietam, Chancellorsville, Manassas, and Atlanta. I am honored that Pamela entrusted these to our care. We are currently developing a plan to create a temporary exhibition of these watercolors in our exhibition area at Cool Spring in conjunction with the battle’s 160th anniversary in July 2024 and exploring other potential venues to exhibit these watercolors.

MCWI’s director Jonathan Noyalas with two of artist Paul Salmon’s original watercolors.

Reflections on a Busy Summer at Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute MCWI and Fort Collier Civil War Center Team Up for Summer Fellowship This summer Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute (MCWI) was honored to partner with the Fort Collier Civil War Center for two summer fellowship opportunities. Throughout the summer, students James Harbaugh and Brennan Komelasky worked with me to identify individuals intimately connected with Fort Collier’s history enhancing the interpretive experience at the site located at 922 Martinsburg Pike, Winchester, Va. In addition to exploring more about Isaac Stine, his wife Katherine, and their four children, the summer fellowship investigated the experiences of enslaved people who aided in the fort’s construction and provided Federal forces with information about it. Our team also researched civilians such as Hattie Griffith, a Unionist from Winchester who left a detailed account of her visit to the fort during its construction in the summer of 1861, explored the experiences of Confederates who defended Fort Collier and its immediate environs, and the Union soldiers who attacked it on September 19, 1864, and studied various artists who painted or sketched the massive Union cavalry assault that assured victory for General Philip H. Sheridan’s Army of the

Noyalas (in center) with summer fellows James Harbaugh (right) and Brennan Komelasky (left).

New Digital History Project Underway at MCWI Earlier this year MCWI was approached by Will Griffing, architect of “Spared and Shared,” an array of websites containing transcriptions of thousands of letters from soldiers and civilians, about the possibility of MCWI pulling all these transcriptions together into a single site that was more accessible to researchers. With support from Dr. Anne Marchant, Shenandoah University’s resident expert in digital history, and MCWI’s tireless work-study Emily Mullen, the digital platform for “I Want You to Write…” has been created and the site is currently being populated. Our hope is that by the end of October the site, which will be under construction for some time, will have enough content available that it will be made available to researchers.

MCWI’s director Jonathan Noyalas, portraying an officer in the 18th Connecticut Infantry, with a group of young historians at Cool Spring.

Another Busy Summer at Cool Spring We continued to welcome people from across the globe to our Cool Spring site that interprets the Battle of Cool Spring (July 17-18, 1864) and life at Judge Richard Parker’s “Retreat” during the Civil War era. In addition to our usual slate of programming, including a 159th anniversary tour which focused on the experiences of Union and Confederate soldiers who fought at the battle, we were delighted to welcome a contingent of young people interested in history to explore the site’s rich history. The encampment, done in partnership with Clarke County Virginia’s Department of Parks and Recreation, has become one of our staple programs at the site. Jonathan A. Noyalas is the Director, Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute.

The homepage for “I Want You to Write…”