(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY) — It all started with a minivan. That’s what Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., then an educator at Jamestown Community College, used in 1995 to shuttle a group of his American Civil War students to Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland: one of the most significant sites in Civil War history.  

“I said, ‘You go with me to Antietam and each of you do a presentation somewhere on the battlefield, and I’ll give you extra credit if you do a good job.’ And they did,” recalls the military historian, explaining that the Union’s success at Antietam persuaded Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. “Those students loved it.” 

Inspired by the success of the overnight trip, Edwards aimed to establish a similar program after he joined the faculty at Empire State University in the early aughts. He officially established the university’s Civil War Residency in 2004 and followed suit with a Revolutionary War Residency in 2008. Facilitated by Edwards and historical studies department chair Paul Miller, Ph.D., the semester-long courses currently enroll students in the spring and fall, respectively. Registration for the upcoming Revolutionary War Residency—which is also taught by professor Ann Becker, Ph.D., and includes eight sections on subtopics including women’s history, the founding fathers, and slavery, among others—opened on April 8. 

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