Summer Lecture Series: "Meade at War: General George Meade, ...1861-1865" - Dr. Jen Murray

Once prominently defined as the “Hero of Gettysburg,” General George G. Meade is often obscured by generals deeply embedded into the Civil War narrative–Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan or Lee and Jackson. This program will explore Meade’s role in the Civil War, starting with his appointment as a brigade commander in the Pennsylvania Reserves to his rise as commander of the Army of the Potomac, the North’s principal instrument of war. We will discuss Meade’s leadership during the Gettysburg Campaign, how Grant’s arrival to the Eastern Theater in March 1864 impacted Meade’s place in the army’s hierarchy, and some of the challenges that Meade faced as commander of the Army of the Potomac. Be sure to join us on August 18, as Dr. Jen Murray presents – "Meade at War: General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865"

Dr. Jennifer M. Murray is an Assistant Professor of History at Shepherd University and the Director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War. Her most recent publication is On A Great Battlefield: The Making, Management, and Memory of Gettysburg National Military Park, 1933-2023, published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2014 and printed as a second edition in 2023. Murray is currently working on a full-length biography of General George Meade, tentatively titled Meade at War. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming, “They Are Dead, And Yet They Live”: Civil War Memories in a Polarized America to be published by the University of Nebraska Press in February 2026. Prior to joining the faculty at Shepherd, Murray taught at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. A native of Maryland, Murray worked as a seasonal interpretive park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park for nine summers.

Come join leading historians and scholars as they discuss intriguing topics about their latest works and research on the Maryland Campaign and the Civil War during our Civil War Summer Lecture Series. See the complete 2025 schedule.

These indoors programs are held in McKinley Hall at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Monday evenings at 7:00 p.m. The church is located at 209W Main Street with a small parking area off the alley. More parking is available on Main and Hall Streets. These lectures free and open to the public. Each week we hold a drawing in which the proceeds support the Save Historic Antietam Foundation. Be sure to check our Facebook page for updates and changes to the schedule.

You may also like the following events from Antietam Institute:

• Next Monday, 28th July, 07:00 pm, Summer Lecture Series: Organization of the Federal Artillery in the Civil War – Jim Rosebrock in Sharpsburg
• Next Saturday, 2nd August, 09:30 am, “A Senseless Charge into a Cauldron of Fire” The 7th Maine Volunteer Infantry in Sharpsburg
• Next Saturday, 2nd August, 02:00 pm, August 2: Kevin Boyer – Artifacts of the Maryland Campaign in Sharpsburg

Also check out other Arts events in Sharpsburg, Fine Arts events in Sharpsburg, Nonprofit events in Sharpsburg.