“Ancestors at Antietam” – Virginia Mumma Hildebrand: The 70 Year Journey of the Antietam Remembered Manuscript
Virginia Mumma Hildebrand (1901–1982) grew up in Sharpsburg, Maryland. Virginia’s grandfather was Samuel Mumma Jr. (1838–1925), and her grandmother was Frances Reichard Mumma (1844–1883). Virginia’s great-grandfather was Samuel Mumma Sr. (1800–1876), and great-grandmother was Elizabeth Miller Mumma (1816–1886), owners of the Mumma farm in the middle of the battlefield.
The September 17, 1862, Battle of Antietam destroyed Samuel and Elizabeth Mumma’s family of ten’s home, barn, outbuildings, crops, and all of their personal property, save a few personal items and the clothes they were wearing when they evacuated.
Over her lifetime, Virginia Mumma Hildebrand listened to stories from family members and residents of Sharpsburg who were present during the battle. In her youth, she attended reunions held on the battlefield by past combatants from the North and South and listened to and recorded their stories. Many of these veterans convalesced from horrible wounds and illnesses in local homes and field hospitals for months and formed lifelong friendships with residents. Between 1956 and 1960, Virginia developed a draft manuscript for a new book called “Antietam Remembered” with plans to release it in time for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam held August 31 through September 17, 1962. Unfortunately, after five years’ work and bringing the manuscript to near completion, she took ill, and a series of circumstances left the work unpublished.
Despite her best efforts, her manuscript was never formally published as a finished work. One bound copy of the 1959 draft resides in the Western Maryland Room of the Washington County Free Library in Hagerstown, Maryland. In 2024, Virginia’s grandson Michael Hildebrand took on the task of updating and completing Antietam Remembered.
Mr. Michael Hildebrand had a fifty-one-year career in hazardous materials emergency planning and response. During his career, he held professional positions with the National Transportation Safety Board, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, and the American Petroleum Institute. He was a successful consultant for 27 years, completing more than 700 emergency planning and response projects throughout the United States and internationally. Michael is an experienced technical writer and has worked on 18 different textbook projects. He is the co-author of six textbooks currently in print on emergency response, including Hazardous Materials: Managing the Incident, 5th edition (2024), now in its 37th year of continuous print. Michael grew up in Hagerstown, Maryland, and spent many days visiting Sharpsburg, the Antietam Battlefield, and hunting relics on the Mumma family farm. He is a self-described Civil War history buff. These monthly “Ancestors at Antietam” talks are free and open to the public – anyone may attend – and you do not need to register. The talks will be held at the Institute’s Education Center at 101W Main Street, Sharpsburg, beginning at 2 pm.
