April 2009 Archives

Col. William W. Jennings commanded the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, the regiment sent to defend Gettysburg on June 23 -- he and his men were delayed from reaching the town because of a cow - train accident west of New Oxford. Jennings sent a vanguard to Gettysburg, where York's Major Granville O. Haller ordered them west of town to defend the turnpike near the Marsh Creek crossing. Jennings' regiment arrived on the morning of June 26, marched to Marsh Creek, and by mid-afternoon was in full retreat after the approach of Confederates of Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon's expeditionary force. Not long afterward, Jennings' main body was shattered by the 17th Virginia Cavalry at Witmer Farm northeast of Gettysburg and forced to march to Harrisburg. Some of his men escaped the twin fiascos and made into York County, where eventually they took part in the defense of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge.

Haller and Jennings, political opposites, blamed each other for the loss of Gettysburg to the Rebels.

So, who was William Wesley Jennings, who played an important role in the early part of the Union defense of Adams and York counties???

Many of you have asked about the status of my upcoming book on the Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign. LSU Press sent me word that the book is now at the typesetter and I should expect galley proofs about June 3-4. I will proof the text and layout, and then I will index the book. Everything is due back to the publisher by June 24 for their final approval. Assuming there are no changes, the book should be then added to the schedule for their printer. It will be published on archival quality, library compliant permanent book paper manufactured by P.H. Glatfelter's paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio. The book is expected to ship in early October to those who have pre-ordered it.

I have a series of talks and book signings being arranged for the autumn and winter, including several Civil War Round Tables and various historical societies in this area. I am also working on a swing through Louisiana for several personal appearances.

I am thankful for my friend Rhode Island historian and author Brent Nosworthy, who has used me as a reference and proofreader for some of his past works. He was kind enough to return the favor by writing the foreword to this new book.

Pre-orders are being accepted at amazon.com.

Background post: Rebels Ride from Hanover, Part 1

As some of J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalrymen escorted 125 captured Union supply wagons across Fairview Road south of Hanover, Pennsylvania, following the Battle of Hanover, outriders and foraging patrols frequently raided the barns and stables along the way in an effort to locate and procure fresh horses. Dozens of farmers in West Manheim Township were victimized, some to the point where they would have difficulty bringing in their harvest that summer. Among the early victims was Edward Becker, who lived off Fairview Road and Beck Mill Road. He lost a horse he valued at $100.

He would not be alone in his anger at the passing Rebels...

The Joseph Arnold farm south of Hanover, Pennsylvania, was astride Fairview Road, one of the main routes for the Confederate cavalry to leave the area during the Battle of Hanover.

It was the hot, humid afternoon of Tuesday, June 30, 1863. For several hours, the roar of artillery had echoed off of the many ridges, hills, and low mountains in southern York County, Pennsylvania. Residents stood on their porches listening to the cacophony and wondered about the angry sound of war. For the citizens of Hanover, tucked in the extreme southwestern part of the county, the noise was even more deafening, as shells whirled through the air above them as opposing gunners on hills north and south of town dueled, with the houses and businesses and people caught in the middle.

Realizing that he was unable to drive off the Yankee defenders, who had received considerable reinforcements since morning, Major General J.E.B. Stuart decided to withdraw toward York, where reports indicated he would rendezvous with the easternmost elements of the Army of Northern Virginia, the division of Jubal A. Early. During the afternoon, while artillery shells still burst over Hanover, Stuart began pulling out, conceding the town and its crossroads to the Yankees.

Old railroad bed and culvert over Swift Run near New Oxford along Route 30 six miles east of Gettysburg.

One of the frequent problems for railroaders in the 19th century was the very distinct possibility of collisions with wildlife, and, more frequently, domesticated farm animals such as cattle. Cows would at times wander off from their farms and try to cross or walk along railroad tracks. Often, the train engineer could see the bovine in plenty of time to avoid a collision, and, as the years went on, the railroads began attaching "cow catchers" to the front of the engine to gently nudge the stubborn animals from the roadway.

However, at times, the visibility wasn't as good, and the locomotive would smash into the cow. Such was the case on June 25, 1863, when the 26th Pennsylvania Militia's troop train struck "a poor woman's cow" and derailed, forcing the regiment into temporary bivouac. The soldiers had traveled safely through York County, changed trains at Hanover Junction, enjoyed a festive reception in Hanover (where a company had been raised), and then headed into Adams County where the accident occurred.

Gettysburg Compiler, Monday June 29, 1863.

Early 20th century view of downtown Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, looking up Baltimore Street, the town's main street. A. N. Eslinger's post office and store were on the east side of the street in the middle of the block as one walked toward the town square from Locust Alley. Courtesy of DIllsburg Online.

Augustus N. Eslinger became the postmaster of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, in early 1863 following a succession of other local merchants and businessmen to hold the position. Eslinger would give the office stability, capably filling the job until July 1885. A. N. and Agnes (Diller) Eslinger raised several children in Dillsburg and among the borough's leading citizens throughout the mid and late 1800s. A proud pro-Union man, he named one of his sons Edwin Lincoln Eslinger.

In 1902, the former postmaster became an author, writing and publishing an interesting little book on the history of his adopted hometown, entitled Local History of Dillsburg, Pa. By then, he was in his fiftieth year as a resident.

Among his collection of memories and thoughts is a brief treatise on the pair of Confederate cavalry incursions - one a raid by Brigadier General Albert Gallatin Jenkins and then a subsequent and unrelated trip through town by the partial division of Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, which paused in Dillsburg on July 1 after marching up from Dover, Pa.

Here is A. N. Eslinger's rarely retold eyewitness account of Dillsburg during the Gettysburg Campaign...

Dill's Tavern has been patiently and accurately restored by volunteers from the Northern York County Historical and Preservation Society (NYCHAPS).

Background post: In the Footsteps of J.E.B. Stuart: Dillsburg

Stuart's cavaliers rested in Dillsburg before he ordered Fitzhugh Lee's column to head for Carlisle, trailed by the brigade of John R. Chambliss, Jr. Before the Rebels left in the late afternoon, they visited most of the merchants in town. Some of the DIllsburgers suffered rather severe losses; other had removed much of their inventory to safety well before the Confederates arrived in town.

Many of the Rebels watered their horses and refreshed themselves from a well outside the venerable Dill's Tavern. After a long day in the saddle riding up from Dover, the cool well water was welcomed, and lines of Southerners patiently waited their turn for a drink.

Meanwhile, a few officers took the opportunity to take a drink of a different sort, visiting Dillsburg's taverns for a meal and some more potent beverages.

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, is the principal town in Carroll Township in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania. Irish-born Matthew Dill settled there in 1740 on a 504-acre tract, raised a company of men to fight the occasional Indian raids, and later prospered, becoming a county judge. By 1833, there were enough people living in Dillsburg for it to become incorporated on April 9 of that year. It was an important regional trade center, as well as a popular stopping place on the old state road between York and Carlisle, two of south-central Pennsylvania's most prominent towns. Dill's Tavern became a focal point of the community, providing rooms and refreshment for weary travelers.

Nestled near the termination of South Mountain and on an important road, Dillsburg during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign was the scene of a minor skirmish between the 26th Pennsylvania Militia (retreating from Gettysburg) and elements of Albert G. Jenkins' Virginia mounted infantry brigade, which was raiding the region for horses (we will have a detailed look at Jenkins' seldom discussed raid in a series of future posts).

On the late afternoon of July 1, 1863, more than 5,000 Confederate cavalrymen under Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart arrived in Dillsburg.

Stories abound about the brief incursion...

Living history buffs construct a mock frontier settlement in Gettysburg during the 2009 History Meets the Arts spring festival.

An area of increasing interest to me is Pennsylvania's history of border wars between the Native Americans who inhabited the state and the colonists. I am a native of "the dark and bloody ground," southern and east-central Ohio, which saw considerable fighting between the invading settlers and the natives, as did northern Kentucky. The Ohio Country warfare has been featured in a number of movies (Including "Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier" and many others that helped shape my interest in the period as well as in several popular books and an Elizabeth Montgomery TV miniseries, "The Awakening Land").

Now that I live in Pennsylvania, I have become increasingly aware of this state's frontier history, which rivals the Ohio-Kentucky region, and in some ways, exceeds it in terms of the scope and variety of interactions between the colonists and natives.

The old Gettysburg Visitors Center / Rosensteel Museum has been demolished and clean up efforts are now underway. Here are a couple of photographs I took today when my grandson and I drove past the site after visiting the annual History Meets the Arts festival.

amazon.com is now taking pre-orders from the upcoming October 2009 publication of my latest book, The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863. This book contains perhaps the most detailed account written yet of the Tigers' smashing assault that doomed the Union defenses at the Second Battle of Winchester, and, of course, as one would expect from my books, there are a lot of human interest stories scattered throughout the narrative. Included are several brand new stories from here in York County, as the Tigers paid their respects to York merchants and to Spring Garden Township and Manchester Township residents. The book covers the Tigers two attacks at Gettysburg (July 1 and July 2), and the subsequent retreat into Virginia.

To place an order, or to read more about this book, please visit amazon's webpage.

Gettysburg again this year plays host to dozens of nationally known artists and sculptors during the annual History Meets the Arts 2009 spring festival. There are many wine and cheese receptions to mark these personal appearances, and artists will be glad to sign their prints and collectibles. Several well known Civil War artists will be on hand, including York County's very own Bradley Schmehl, whose excellent painting "Columbia Bridge Burning" graces the cover of my recently released book Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition.

A full schedule of events and guest appearances can be found on the organization's website.

A typical old York County farmhouse along today's State Route 74 (Carlisle Road) not far from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's Virginia cavalry passed by this house on the late afternoon of July 1, 1863, en route from Dover to Dillsburg. Beautifully restored and meticulously maintained, the "witness house" sat silently as more than 2,000 saddle-weary Confederate soldiers rode past.

J.E.B. Stuart's men were exhausted by the late afternoon of July 1. They had skirmished with a wagon train and captured it in Maryland, fought another skirmish at Westminster, endured a gruelling ride up western York County following the Battle of Hanover, and now had crossed the Conewago Mountains earlier that day. Unknown to them, their travails had only just begun... Gettysburg awaited.

Pulitzer Prize winning historian Dr. James McPherson will speak at the gala 50th anniversary meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table on Friday, May 15. His topic will be "Lincoln, Slavery and the West."

From Mickey Kraft... The Lancaster Civil War Round Table will once again be raising funds for the Civil War Preservation Trust by having dinner beginning at 6:00pm at Hoss's Steak House in Lititz, Pennsylvania, on Monday, April 20, 2009.

We're not all eating together...it's you and your friends and family. It costs you nothing but the cost of your dinner. You will need a community fundraiser card to hand to the cashier when you pay and then Hoss's will donate 20% of your bill to our cause. If you want to participate, contact me and I will see that you get a card for your group. Also, at 7:30, we will play trivia games again like we did last time. These will not be Civil War questions. This way everyone can play. For, $1.00 per game you can have a chance at prizes. It was a lot of fun last time!

Tom Ryan of the Washington Times has written many articles on the Civil War, including some rather thought provoking and illuminating material on the intelligence networks of both the Confederate and Federal governments during the Gettysburg campaign. Spies were quite active in this area. A Rebel spy named Will Talbot was captured in Gettysburg in the days before the Battle of Gettysburg; he was executed down in Maryland by the Union cavalry. Another spy was picked up near Harrisburg when he was spotted sounding the depth of the Susquehanna River from a rowboat. He was taken to Fort Delaware.

A lot of rumors floated around here in York. A one-armed Bible salesman who went around town peddling the Word supposedly, according to the rumor mill, accompanied the Confederates during the invasion of York. Another man drinking in a York bar claimed to be a member of an Alabama regiment who had been sent into York County at the specific orders of Robert E, Lee; he spent time in the local jail while he sobered up. He wasn't a soldier, just a wino.

Several strangers in Wrightsville were picked up and interrogated by the authorities, and the flood of refugees coming from the west from Adams County only added to the confusion and suspicion, and perhaps a tad of paranoia set in among some locals.

Ironically, the newspaper article shown above is from the Columbia Spy!

Tim Smith of the Adams County Historical Society and his friend author Bill Frassanito of Gettysburg pointed out a couple of suggested changes to the driving tour of Route 30 to New Oxford.

1. The railroad tracks at Swift Run are post-war, and the site of the cow-train accident was to the south of the current RR crossing across Route 30

2. I should have clarified to the reader that the train station in New Oxford that has the plaque for the 26th PVM is post-war; another station existed in 1863. I had been told that by a local historian, but the text does not indicate it's post-war.

Thanks Tim and Bill.

Mount Top is a tiny hamlet tucked in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania, not far from Dillsburg. Today, it's a whistle stop, as cars blow through the place on State Route 74. Few if any of the passersby are aware (or care) that they are traveling the same route as parts of Major General J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.

On the late afternoon of July 1, 1863, a long line of Confederate cavalrymen passed through this hilltop community en route to Dillsburg from their campsite at Dover. In command of this column was veteran Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee, one of the South's better cavaliers. He led his own brigade of Virginia horse soldiers, as well as another Virginia brigade under Colonel John R. Chambliss, Jr. Perhaps 2,500 soldiers rode through Mount Top, and foraging patrols scoured the countryside in all directions, rounding up horses and mules, as well as seizing supplies and food of material value to the Old Dominion saddle soldiers.

"Politics makes strange bedfellows," so goes the old saying.

A careful study of the Civil War indicates how many military decisions, particularly officer appointments and promotions, were politically motivated. Democratic governors tended to support their own political appointees, as did the Republicans. Within the Army of the Potomac, commander George McClellan was surrounded by fellow Democrats, many of which were swept out of power after McClellan, Hooker, and their crowd lost favor in 1862, although Dan Sickles and other Democrats remained in leadership positions well afterward.

During the Gettysburg Campaign, partisan politics reached new heights in Pennsylvania, as Democratic newspapers voiced their displeasure with the Lincoln administration, and some called for McClellan's re-ascension to command.

One Reading newspaper early in July issued a rather enlightening editorial blasting the War Department and an unnamed Republican newspaper in Washington about the lack of alacrity in moving Federal troops into Pennsylvania to protect its citizens from the oncoming Confederates.

Interestingly, the letter demands the recall of Pennsylvania troops from the Federal army and darkly hints that perhaps Pennsylvania would be better off as an independent entity.

States rights was not just a Southern topic, and some historians have suggested that, had the South won the Civil War, the North would have fragmented into sections. I'm sure the editor of the Reading paper would have not minded the Country of Pennsylvania.

Here is his editorial...

Gettysburg National Military Park News Release

For Release: April 8, 2009
Contact: Katie Lawhon
Phone: 717/ 334-1124 x 3121

Gettysburg NMP Plants More Battlefield Orchards This Week

This week, Gettysburg National Military Park is replanting four more historic orchards in major battle action areas on the battlefield. Contractors for the National Park Service will replant 30 acres of orchards with hardy varieties of apple so visitors can better understand the fighting and see the battlefield through the eyes of the soldiers fighting in 1863.

The project includes replanting the largest orchard in the park - the McMillan Orchard which is 26 acres along both sides of West Confederate Avenue. In addition, the park is replanting the orchards at the Timbers Farm, Klingel farm and at the Spangler farm at East Cavalry Battlefield. The contractor is Hively and the trees are six varieties of hardy apple.

According to park historians, almost every farm of any size in 1863 Gettysburg had an orchard, usually of a size in proportion to the farmstead. The orchards played many roles during the battle--cover from observation or from fire for both troops and artillery batteries; concealment during movement; obstructions to observation or clear fields of fire; places to gather to rest or seek medical assistance.

Since 2000, the park has replanted 79 acres at 32 historic orchard sites. The goal is to replant a total of 160 acres of orchards throughout the major battle action areas of the battlefield. For more information go to www.nps.gov/gett

The November 4, 1862, issue of the Philadelphia Press includes this brief entry on long-time Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, merchant / grocer Henry Sidle (spelled Sidle in some records). He was arrested for discouraging military enlistments and escorted to Fort Delaware near Philadelphia. I have not located any records that indicate how long Sidel was imprisoned, or when he returned to Dillsburg, nor what his attitude toward the Federal government may have been after his incarceration.

However, after the war, the elderly Sidel filed a border claim for damages inflicted by the Confederate army during the Gettysburg Campaign. J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry raided his store and took $300 worth of groceries. He and his family soon packed up and left Dillsburg, moving to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a fresh start.

Pennsylvania historical marker from the Gettysburg Campaign.

Several of you posted some interesting comments and thoughts in regard to whether Jubal Early or J.E.B. Stuart bears the brunt of the blame for their failure to rendezvous in York County on June 30, 1863, during the Gettysburg Campaign.

Today's briefly throw in another general officer into the culpability argument - Lt. Gen. Richard Stoddard Ewell, commander of the Second Corps and for much of the week before the Battle of Gettysburg, the highest ranking Confederate officer north of the Mason-Dixon Line. He was Major General Early's superior, and perhaps should share in that officer's blame for the fiasco that Stuart's absence implied.

According to Early, of course not exactly an unbiased source of information, he did not receive any orders from Ewell to watch for the arrival of Stuart, or to send parties out looking for the late arriving cavalier. Of course, Ewell and his defenders have a different slant, in that a major general operating along the border with Maryland should have been watching more carefully.

Here is Early's post-war summary of the actions of the days immediately preceding the Battle of Gettysburg. Note the entire lack of any mention of receiving any orders or advice regarding Jeb Stuart. Perhaps Early never did receive anything, and in that case, Ewell must held accountable in part for the failed connection between Stuart's cavalry and the Second Corps. Or, perhaps Ewell did indeed inform Early of Stuart's mission, and Early must accept sole responsibility for the failure, particularly in light of all the noise coming from the Battle of Hanover on June 30...

I will present over time some opposing views on whether J.E.B. Stuart or Jubal Early was at fault concerning missing their planned rendezvous in York on June 30, 1863, the day before the Battle of Gettysburg began. Stuart of course has been widely castigated for his supposed joy ride around the Army of the Potomac, but, as authors Eric J. Wittenberg and J. D. Petruzzi have pointed out in their landmark book Plenty of Blame to Go Around: J.E.B. Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg, Stuart must share some of the blame with several others, including Old Jube.

One of the earliest non-military commentators on the Stuart-Early controversy was a Chambersburg author and eyewitness to the Rebel occupation, a merchant named Jacob Hoke.

Here is his commentary from just after the war from his book, The Great Invasion...

Because I cannot yet drive following my recent surgery to reattach a retina in my eye, my daughter drove me to the York Fairgrounds yesterday for my scheduled book signing and local TV interview at the York Book & Paper Fair. We sold a reasonable amount of books and, most importantly, I got to spend time with her.

The mix of dealers was quite interesting, with a smattering of Civil War related material being offered at a few tables, including old newspapers, art prints, and photographs. Besides collectible and vintage book dealers, the show also had comic book dealers, postcards, vinyl records, movie and political collectibles, posters, advertising pieces, and all sorts of other paper memorabilia. Because my daughter and I both work for a leading global paper company, the show took on even more interest. Unfortunately, I left my camera at home, so there are no pix to share of this event.

My hat's off to Pam and Jim Lewin of the York Emporium for organizing and promoting this show, and I really, really look forward to the autumn rendition of the Book & Paper Fair when I will more time and better eyesight to peruse the vendor's wares and perhaps stay for the auction.

Thanks Jim for a job well done, and here's to your next effort!

Photo provided by Channel 16 and the York Emporium. Local TV personality Greg Johnson interviews me about my books and my interest in the Civil War.

Shortly after leaving Dover, Pennsylvania, in the early afternoon of July 1, 1863, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia divided his cavalry force into two wings. One group, consisting of the brigades of Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee and Col. John R. Chambliss, Jr., rode through Harmony Grove and Wellsville to reach the rendezvous point at Dillsburg. The other wing, under Stuart's direct control, was the brigade of South Carolina planter Wade Hampton III and a lengthy and slow-moving train of 125 captured Union supply wagons. It headed up the Carlisle Road aka Old State Road (parts of which are today's Route 74) through the crossroads at Rossville.

Over my Christmas break from my duties as a scientist at a paper company, I have made a detailed analysis of the movements of Hampton's force, and it's very clear that he sent out patrols that ranged as far east as four miles from the main column, which kicked up a massive cloud of dust on the Carlisle Road that could be seen for miles according to eyewitnesses.

Before arriving in Rossville, At least one large column of Hampton's troopers rode up Bull Road, scouring the area for horses and mules.

The speaker for April 15, 2009, is Joe Mieczkowski who is the current president of the Gettysburg CWRT. He is doing a First Person Impression of Lancaster, PA native, Senator Simon Cameron, who was President Abraham Lincoln's first Civil War Secretary of War. The presentation will focus on the political issues of the era, including abolition, women's rights, temperance, party platforms, the Civil War Department and the draft.

This engaging presentation is historically accurate and often humorous. Joe's authentic impression has been featured in the Civil War Times magazine. Joe and his wife Christine have made presentations at Civil War events and Civil War roundtables around the country. They are members of the living history group The Civilians of Gettysburg and are also accomplished Victorian dancers, demonstrating and teaching Civil War era dancing.

Joe is a Licensed Battlefield Guide and also a licensed town guide in historic Gettysburg. They are life members and officers of the Gettysburg CWRT. They live in Fairfield, PA along the very roads travelled by both Northern and Southern armies.

Joe's presentation is FREE, as is parking! The talk is at 7:00 PM at the York County Heritage Trust's auditorium at 250 E. Market Street in York, Pennsylvania. The public is very welcome!

Bring a friend (or three!).

Confederate Brigadier General Fitzhugh Lee led his brigade of Virginia cavaliers into the village of Wellsville in Warrington Township in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of July 1, 1863. Lee's men were tired and exhausted from their grueling ride northward through the county following the Battle of Hanover the previous day, and many of his men later recalled how they dozed off and slept in the saddle as their horses plodded along in the lengthy column. However, by the time the column reached Wellsville, spirits had been raised, and the Rebels broke out into song, serenading the Keystone civilians with Southern martial airs.

It must have been quite a scene.