ECW to Honor Tom Clemens with Emerging Civil War Award for Service in Civil War Public History

Emerging Civil War will honor Antietam scholar Dr. Thomas Clemens this weekend with its Emerging Civil War Award for Service in Civil War Public History. The award recognizes the work of an individual or organization that has made a significant impact on the field of public history in a way that better helps the general public connect with America’s defining event.

“Tom has not only reshaped modern scholarship about the battle of Antietam, he’s made a significant impact on the preservation of the battlefield itself,” says ECW President Neil Chatelain. “For forty years, the Civil War community has benefitted from his scholarship and his commitment to Antietam’s story.”

“It’s not an understatement to call him ‘Mr. Antietam,’” adds ECW’s Chris Mackowski. “He’s just so well regarded among Antietam scholars and buffs. His scholarship and leadership have helped the Civil War community understand and appreciate Antietam in important new ways. And he has helped save a lot of battlefield, to boot!”

Clemens received his BA and MA degrees at Salisbury University, and his Doctorate in History Education from George Mason University, studying under noted Civil War historian Dr. Joseph L. Harsh. He taught for 34 years at Hagerstown Community College, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 2012.

Clemens edited and annotated General Ezra A. Carman’s 1,800-page hand-written manuscript, the Maryland Campaign of September 1862, which was published in 3 volumes by Savas Beatie LLC, and which earned the Army Historical Foundation’s Distinguished Writing Award. His new multi-volume work, The Carman Papers will be released in Fall 2026.

He has written numerous articles for Civil War Times, Columbiad, and other magazines, as well as several monographs. He appeared as an on-screen historian in episodes of Civil War Journal and in the Emmy-Award winning Maryland’s Heart of the Civil War, 2012.

Clemens is a founding member and the current president of Save Historic Antietam Foundation Inc., and a retired Antietam Battlefield Guide.

ECW will present the award to Clemens on Saturday, August 8 at its annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge in Spotsylvania, Virginia. As a follow-up, Clemens will appear as a guest on the Emerging Civil War Podcast on Tuesday, August 11.

Previous recipients of the ECW Award include Eric Jacobson of the Battle of Franklin Trust; Gordon L. Jones of the Atlanta History Center; Civil War Trails, Inc.; the American Battlefield Trust; scholar Gary W. Gallagher; Dave Ruth, former superintendent of Richmond National Battlefield; John Coski of the American Civil War Museum; D. P. Newton of the White Oak Museum in Stafford, VA; Dave Roth, publisher of Blue & Gray magazine; and Ted Alexander, historian at Antietam National Battlefield and director of the Chambersburg Civil War Seminar.