Empire’s Civil and Revolutionary War Residencies Bring History to Life 

(SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — April 10, 2025) It all started with a minivan. That’s what Gregory Edwards, Ph.D., then an educator at Jamestown Community College, used in 1995 to shuttle a group of his American Civil War students to Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland: one of the most significant sites in Civil War history.  

“I said, ‘You go with me to Antietam and each of you do a presentation somewhere on the battlefield, and I’ll give you extra credit if you do a good job.’ And they did,” recalls the military historian, explaining that the Union’s success at Antietam persuaded Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. “Those students loved it.” 

Inspired by the success of the overnight trip, Edwards aimed to establish a similar program after he joined the faculty at Empire State University in the early aughts. He officially established the university’s Civil War Residency in 2004 and followed suit with a Revolutionary War Residency in 2008. Facilitated by Edwards and historical studies department chair Paul Miller, Ph.D., the semester-long courses currently enroll students in the spring and fall, respectively. Registration for the upcoming Revolutionary War Residency—which is also taught by professor Ann Becker, Ph.D., and includes eight sections on subtopics including women’s history, the founding fathers, and slavery, among others—opened on April 8. 

“Of the students who are doing the Civil War Residency [right now], I’d suspect a third of them or maybe even close to half [did] the Revolutionary War Residency,” Miller says. “We get a lot of people who come back.” 

Both Miller and Edwards attribute the popularity of the residencies to the structure of the programs, which offer students a unique opportunity to connect with their professors and peers outside of a virtual classroom. While the courses do include an online component, both residencies culminate in two days of in-person learning at historically significant locales. The Revolutionary War Residency, for instance, brings students to Saratoga Springs, where “the United States forced the surrender of an entire British Army and consequently convinced the French to officially become allies of the fledgling U.S.,” Edwards explains, calling the event “the decisive turning point” of the war. There, attendees gather for a day of student-led presentations and discussions in a classroom, followed by a day spent outside touring the battlefield sites at Saratoga National Historic Park.  

“It’s a creative way of learning,” Edwards says. “Students like that fellowship, that camaraderie that they discover in a residency.” 

Plus, the instructors say, nothing beats learning about historical events in the very spots they occurred.  

“If you’re going to study history, the best way to do it is where it took place. That’s even more true when it comes to military history,” Edwards says. “You see the geography and for a moment you have Robert E. Lee’s perspective.” 

Miller agrees. 

“It’s almost a kind of spiritual experience,” he adds. “It helps students connect with the material in a way that a book just can’t.”