Joining the Ranks

I am proud to say that my daughter Rachel age 17 has joined the ranks of volunteers at Antietam National Battlefield. Rachel started last weekend. Today to add to her knowledge of things Civil War, we journeyed to Gettysburg to take in several of the Ranger programs there. One program we enjoyed was a Civil War Soldier program given by Gettysburg Ranger Matt Atkinson. Matt brought Rachel up to model the uniform and accoutrements of a Union soldier in the Civil War. She is pictured here at left. I am very proud of Antietam's newest volunteer who has jumped into it with both feet already borrowing a bunch of my books and videos this week. She is very dedicated. It must be in the blood for she joins her brother Jim, now a lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps who also volunteered. Jim also served with Antietam's Battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery, worked in the book store, and was a member of the park's Youth Conservation Corps for a season. There is Jim in his Black Hat brigade uniform with his old man at the Sharpsburg Memorial Day parade in 2010. If you cant already tell, I am very proud of my two kids.