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The Legend of Wise’s Well–A South Mountain Mystery

January 21, 2023 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST

What happened to the Confederate dead at Fox’s Gap?

*Steven Stotelmyer and Wise’s cabin, circa 1862*

Join us at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine in the Delaplaine Randall Conference Room on January 21 at 2:00 PM as author and Antietam/South Mountain Battlefield tour guide Steven Stotelmyer investigates the legend of Wise’s well.

After the Battle of South Mountain on September 14, 1862, 58 dead Confederates were dumped down Daniel Wise’s well–or so the story goes. Stotelmyer’s talk will explore the facts behind this long-accepted legend and shed light on the real human drama after the battle at Fox’s Gap.

The presentation is included with admission to the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and FREE for NMCWM members.

Steven R. Stotelmyer is a native of Hagerstown, Maryland. He first visited Antietam National Battlefield as a child and has been fascinated with it ever since. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Frostburg State College and a Master of Arts from Hood College in Frederick, MD. Before retirement, he was employed as a teacher, surveyor, and civil engineer. In 1989 Stotelmyer was a founding member of the Central Maryland Heritage League, a non-profit land trust which helped preserve some of the South Mountain Battlefield. During his tenure with CMHL he discovered significant information regarding the Legend of Wise’s Well. This led to the publication of The Bivouacs of the Dead: The Story of Those Who Died at Antietam and South Mountain (Toomey Press, 1992). More recently, Stotelmyer authored Too Useful To Sacrifice, Reconsidering George B. McClellan’s Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam. (Savas Beatie, 2019). Currently, Steve is a National Park Service Volunteer as well as a NPS Certified Antietam and South Mountain Battlefield Tour Guide.