UROP Project

The Antietam Project: Using Visual Evidence to Better Understand the American Civil War

Civil War, photography, military history
Research Mentor: Prof. G. Kurt Piehler, Him
Department, College, Affiliation: History, Arts and Sciences
Contact Email: kpiehler@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators: Lt. Colonel Joel Barnes him
Faculty Collaborators Email: Joel.Barnes@afacademy.af.edu
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all Majors
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required:
Remote or In-person: Partially Remote
Approximate Weekly Hours: 7-8, Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
  • Day: Wednesday, September 3
    Start Time: 2:00
    End Time: 2:30
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/98381726177?pwd=cd09QHFTZMfzdZSLGfypfeUlGcdGJb.1
  • Day: Thursday, September 4
    Start Time: 2:00
    End Time: 2:30
    Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/95882312959?pwd=ZduukhDSHxjSIJ1qIDKB9GbkUGzpvw.1

Project Description

This project led by Joel Barnes (Lt. Colonel, USAF) of the Department of History, U.S. Air Force Academy will assess the logistics available to General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during his invasion of Maryland that culminated in the Battle of Antietam. Barnes seeks to draw on photographic evidence supplemented by documentary sources (letters, diaries, memoirs, newspaper accounts) to assess whether Confederate soldiers went into the battle in 1762 ill fed, poorly clothed, and lacking boots. G. Kurt Piehler of the History Department at FSU will be co-investigator for this project and he is a former visiting professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy (2024-25).

Research Tasks: Drawing on the resources of the FSU libraries and other libraries, research assistants will collect from printed and digital primary sources documents and images related to the Battle of Antietam He/she will also develop a comprehensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources related to the battle (including visual sources).



Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Ability to write effectively and ability to think critically about evidence are absolutely essential. Experience working with archival sources is plus. A willingness to learn how to read and transcribe cursive documents is important. All majors are welcome, including history majors.

Mentoring Philosophy

The ideal research assistant is able to take broad direction and work independently. During the semester, research assistants will meet with Piehler in-person weekly and virtually with Barnes bi-weekly. Both will offer guidance of how to conduct primary source research and oversee their research. These meeting will also offer assistants insights of how historians make sense of a range of primary sources to write history. As a mentor, Piehler envisions a research assistantship as laying the groundwork for future internship and graduate school and/or employment. Piehler’s past research assistants have gone on to secure internships at the Smithsonian Institution, the Grove Museum, and the Florida state government. As an active-duty air force officer, Barnes brings to his scholarship the insights gained from serving in a war zone and engaging in ground combat. He can offer guidance to career paths in the U.S. Air Force, especially related to intelligence.

Additional Information


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