September 2009 Archives

Cincinnati Daily Gazette, August 2, 1877. Courtesy of NewsinHistory.com

Sunday, June 28, 1863, was a bitter day for the residents of York, Pennsylvania. More than 1,000 Confederate soldiers from North Carolina occupied the town, with a couple thousand more in the environs. Virginians encamped along George Street on the Henry King and Thomas Schall farms in what is now North York with some troops stationed farther up the road toward Emigsville. The fabled Louisiana Tigers sat astride the hills and farms along the Codorus Creek near the site of today's Harley Davidson factory. Artillery crowned the hills north and south of town. And, to make matters worse, division commander Major General Jubal A. Early ransomed York for $100,000. Door-to-door solicitation failed to gather the requested cash, and Early began negotiating how York would pay the rest of its debt. A courier from his superior officer interrupted General Early's deliberations with the town fathers.

Years later, the former general was still trying to collect the debt, somewhat tongue-in-cheek perhaps, but tinged with the bitterness of losing the war and failing to collect the full amount of a ransom he believed the civic authorities has fully agreed to pay.

Salt Lake City Tribune, April 23, 1881.

I spent Labor Day at historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, one of my favorites places to visit. Situated at the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, the town played an important role in the early U.S. It housed a major Army arsenal and gunworks (many Harpers Ferry rifles saw service in the Civil War), as well as other small industries that produced other items of use to the military, as well as to early explorers and pioneers such as Lewis and Clark. The Union garrison at Harpers Ferry was captured in September 1862 by Confederate forces under Stonewall Jackson; it was the largest surrender of U.S. troops until Corregidor in World War II.

All but abandoned after a series of devastating floods, much of the remaining town was restored and preserved as a National Park. It is well interpreted, with museums / displays on the early Harpers Ferry, the arsenal, the Engine House used as a fortress by abolitionist firebrand John Brown, recreations of old dry goods stores and other mercantile establishments, and various other interesting things to do. It's well worth the modest admission price. The private sector of the town has several good restaurants (check out the BBQ place), as well as a wax museum and some other tourist attractions. The upper town has an impressive old Catholic church that is often open for tours, as well as the ruins of an old Protestant church. There are some great hiking trails as well.

Here are some random photographs from my cloudy and rainy holiday visit back in early September 2009.

York County Heritage Trust sanctioned Civil War tour guide Scott L. Mingus, Sr. stands in front of the historic Strickler farmhouse off the Lincoln Highway near Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. Confederates under Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon deployed near this farm for their attack on the Union earthworks protecting the crossing over the Susquehanna River about a mile from this spot.

Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Bobby Housch is a school teacher in Hanover PA when he's not guiding tourists around the sprawling battlefield. A couple of weeks ago, he and I spent a pleasant Sunday afternoon filming a series of a dozen or so short video clips covering the June 28, 1863, Civil War skirmish at Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. The fight was the second largest military encounter in York County during the war, behind the Battle of Hanover.

Part 1 of the multi-part Wrightsville tour series is now on-line for your viewing pleasure at Bobby's very popular blog, Gettysburg Daily. In the weeks to come, he will post the rest of the videos, which include stops at Bair's Mill, the Union skirmish line, the line of the Confederate advance through the picturesque George D. Ebert farm, the riverfront and canal, the "heroine of the Susquehanna" feeds breakfast to the Rebels, and the African-American cemetery in neighboring Columbia.

Viewing these videos and reading my book Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863 should give you a good grasp of the strategic importance of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, deemed so important by the Confederate high command that Robert E. Lee sent one of his finest divisions to go take it by force.

Dr. Charlie Fennell of Harrisburg Area Community College is an adjunct faculty member at the Gettysburg Campus, as well as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park. An entertaining and knowledgeable speaker and tour guide, Charlie led a couple dozen members of the York (Pa.) Civil War Round Table on a detailed battle walk of the positions held by Iverson's Brigade during the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Here are some photos taken by Jackie Bailey of the York CWRT.

April 2008 political rally in York, Pennsylvania, for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). York Daily Record - Jason Plotkin

York, Pennsylvania, received some national publicity for its efforts last year to recover city funds from the failed Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy as reimbursement for police and protective services when she was downtown for a political rally and speech on a public street.

However, this was certainly not the first time that York officials had pursued getting money back for civic expenditures caused by outside visitors to the town.

Back in 1863, another famous nationally known figure paid a visit to York. Not as politically ambitious as Senator Clinton, Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early brought his own gun-toting entourage with him, a group far larger (and more dangerous) that Clinton's bodyguards and the York police that provided crowd control and security. Whereas Clinton's visit was in peace, Early's was to ransom the town for money and supplies (he collected $28,610 in tribute money collected by door-to-door solicitation). Early theatened to burn down the town's railroad station and associated rail yard structures, as well as nearby privately owned factories that manufactured rail cars and other supplies to the industry.

In March 1865, the city fathers took matters into their own hands in an effort to refill the coffers, sending a delegation down to Baltimore, Maryland, to meet with the Board of Directors for the Northern Central Railway Company. They asked for the exorbitant sum of $40,000 to cover expenses said to have been incurred by the town in protecting railroad property during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 (Early was not thwarted by anything the town provided in the way of protective services, but rather by his concern that a railroad fire might spread to the greater part of the town).

York received $2,500 from the Northern Central.

General Early's percentage of getting what he wanted from York was far higher than York's subsequent percentage from the railroad.

Baltimore Sun, March 23, 1865. Courtesy of NewsInHistory.com

August 28, 1862, started out as a quiet day for the citizens of Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. People went to work at the bustling factories along the riverbank or shopped in the stores that lined Hellam Street. People idly gossiped or discussed the news of the day, because the newspapers brimmed with the latest war news from down in distant Virginia, where names such as Jubal Early were becoming prominent. However, in a startling portent of General Early's unforeseeable official visit to Wrightsville less than a year later, dark plumes of smoke filled the might sky and flames reflected off the Susquehanna River. By nightfall, much of the riverfront section along Front Street was engulfed in one of the most significant fires in the town's history.

However, this major event largely remains forgotten today, especially in the wake of the subsequent fire less than a year later on June 28, 1863, when much of the same vicinity was again consumed by a significant conflagration, this one ignited by flaming embers from the burning Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. In the 1862 fire, the fire fighters were Wrightsville and Columbia volunteers; in 1863, they were the Georgia Volunteers (Confederate infantry, that is).

Philadelphia Public Ledger, September 2, 1862. Image courtesy of NewsInHistory.com.

Many of the same businessmen mentioned in this article would be filing damage claims after the war for the destruction of their property caused by the 1863 bridge inferno. A few never recovered from the double destruction.

The old Clear Spring Mill in Franklin Township in York County, Pennsylvania, was targeted by passing Confederate troops during the Gettysburg Campaign.

July 1, 1863 was a momentous day for northwestern York County, Pennsylvania. More than 600 horses were stolen by the 5,500-man Confederate cavalry division of Major General J.E.B. Stuart as it passed through the region between Dover and Dillsburg (following parts of today's route 74 and several parallel routes). Stuart had left one brigade under Brigadier General Wade Hampton III behind at Dillsburg and had taken two other brigades into Cumberland County, where he attacked the Union defenders of Carlisle. Late in the night, he received orders to march to Gettysburg, where the Army of Northern Virginia was engaged with the Union Army of the Potomac in a great battle. Stuart relayed orders back to Hampton, who roused his veteran troopers and had them on the road southwesterly by 1-2 AM.

Their path first took them through Franklin Township in northwestern York County.

It would not be a good night and early morning for the residents of the region. Hampton's weary men, though exhausted by the grueling, sleepness night march that one cavalryman deemed the worst march of the war, had enough energy to canvass the township and steal every good horse that could be found.

They also paused to raid the village of Clear Spring, Pennsylvania, as they plodded toward Gettysburg...

...where the old mill was among the businesses and farms raided. (Photo from Art and Donna Bert's excellent website for the award-winning restored mill).

Concurrent with the Confederate movement by John McCausland's brigade of cavalry into Franklin County and Chambersburg, fears spread throughout Adams and York counties that the raiders would turn eastward, as had the Rebels in late June of 1863 en route to the Susquehanna River.

Here is an article from the July 16, 1864 issue of the Columbia Spy which illustrates the typical fear that was again gripping the region. For the second time in 12 months, merchants packed up their inventories, residents began taking horses out of Adams and York counties, and refugees clogged the turnpike through York to the river. Now, because the toll bridge that had burn down June 28, 1863, had not yet been rebuilt, a series of small steam-powered ferries carried the fleeing populace into Lancaster County (for a fee, of course).

It was all a false alarm. No Confederates entered York County.

The ferry boat owners were the big winners.

Here's the short article...

The verbiage of this article echoes the fears of 1863. Luckily for the war-weary population, this was the last time that York Countians were in the potential path of Confederate raiders.

This memorial plaque commemorating the Gettysburg Campaign activities in the Dover, Pennsylvania, region now sits in front of the local fire station on East Canal Street.

Background post: Old memorial plaque recalls J.E.B. Stuart's occupation of Dover PA

An old Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper article from November 1907 describes the ceremony in Dover to dedicate the Civil War marker.

Dover ceremony.pdf

This newspaper scan is courtesy of NewsInHistory.com, a fascinating new website that was reviewed in Cannonball recently.

The text of the newspaper article follows:

1852 image of the old train station in downtown York, Pennsylvania. From fellow York Daily Record blogger Jim McClure's York Town Square blog.

Saturday, June 27, 1863, was one of the most momentous days in the history of York, Pennsylvania. Confederate troops were encamped in several locations in the western part of the county, specifically at Spring Forge, Farmers, and Big Mount. Cavalry raiders had looted Hanover and stolen horses and whiskey from scores of farmers in southwestern York County before sacking the Hanover Junction rail yard. Union militia guarding the vital railroad bridges at York Haven in northeastern York County spotted distant Confederate scouts, a signal that the vital railroad bridges were certain to attract further attention on the morrow.

More enemy troops were just across the northern border in Cumberland County and would arrive in York County on Sunday, concurrent with the eastward sweep through the heart of the county and on to the banks of the Susquehanna River in multiple locations.

All throughout the day, a throng of refugees passed through York en route to Wrightsville and passage across the mile-and-a-quarter long toll bridge to presumed safety in Lancaster County and points farther east.

In downtown York in the late afternoon, the scene at the N.C.R.'s rail station was compelling and, at times, chaotic, as crowds clamored to board what would be the last train out of town before the Rebels came.

One quick-thinking Philadelphia reporter climbed up on a nearby rail car to get a better view as the train steamed into York after making a hasty escape from Hanover Junction, where it had been chased by pistol-firing Rebels.

Here is his long-forgotten account of that chaotic late Saturday afternoon as the troops of Major Granville O. Haller sought to maintain order and decorum.

The old adage was in play: "Women and children first!"

Charlie Fennell poses by a monument on Culp's Hill at Gettysburg National Military Park. A professor at Harrisburg Area Community College in Gettysburg, Dr. Fennell is one of the recognized experts on that portion of the Battle of Gettysburg. A long-time friend of the York Civil War Round Table, he will lead a battle walk / field study on September 19.

Photo from Gettysburg Daily, the most informative Gettysburg blog currently on the Internet.

The York CWRT has scheduled a battlefield walk at Gettysburg National Military Park with Dr. Charles C. Fennell, Jr. for Saturday, September 19, 2009, at 1 p.m. The walk will be approximately 2 hours and it will cover the movements of Iverson's Brigade on Oak Ridge on July 1, 1863. The cost is $10.00 and is due the day of the walk.

Meet at the Eternal Light Peace Memorial at 12:45 p.m. Please dress for the weather as we will go rain or shine ( unless it is a deluge) and wear long pants or spray for ticks.

The York CWRT welcomes members of other round tables to join them for this battlefield walk.

NAPLES, Fla./Tuesday, August 18, 2009-- NewsBank, inc., one of the world's premier information providers, announced today the launch of NewsInHistory.com, a subscription service providing easy access to fully-searchable historical U.S. newspapers published from 1800-2000.

Featuring thousands of newspapers from all 50 states, including new content added monthly, NewsInHistory.com provides an exceptional record of the topics, people, issues and events that shaped America's past.

"NewsInHistory.com consolidates two centuries of hard-to-find American historical newspapers into a single database," says website editor Tony Pettinato. "This comprehensive resource makes it easy to find eyewitness accounts of battles, wide-ranging news and editorials, period photographs, advertisements, firsthand perspectives on daily life, and much more."

NewsInHistory.com offers cover-to-cover reproductions of thousands of historical newspapers and millions of articles that capture the civic, political, social and cultural events of American life. This new resource will appeal to a broad spectrum of users, from the serious scholarly researcher to the casual user interested in learning more about the nation's past.

In addition to the extensive newspaper archives, visitors to NewsInHistory.com can also enjoy free, thought-provoking commentaries that explore important events in American history. This week's featured article is Pickett's Charge: Turning Point of the Civil War. For a limited time, new subscribers can save up to 20% on memberships.

Visit NewsInHistory.com to learn more.

The Maple Shade barn on the old Harrisburg Pike in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, serves as the headquarters, meeting room, and gift shop for the local historical society. Confederate raiders are known to have camped nearby on the old John Mumper farm along Logan's Run. The small sign to the right advertises my talk on J.E.B. Stuart's Ride to Dillsburg."

Not much has previously appeared in books and historical documents regarding the June 28-29, 1863, raid through extreme northwestern York County by of a portion of Confederate Brig. Gen. Albert G. Jenkins' brigade of mounted infantry. I am currently assembling materials for an article I plan to submit to the Gettysburg Magazine regarding this incursion, and have found some interesting new material. Recently I spoke at the Northern York County Historical and Preservation Society on the topic of "J.E.B. Stuart's Ride to Dillsburg," and I included a few snippets from my recent research into Jenkins' {West} Virginians and their earlier raid, including the near-miss between Dillsburg and Franklintown between the retreating 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia and Jenkins' advance guard.

After the talk, Martin and Connie Trostle were among the attendees who paused to share the stories they had heard concerning the two separate Confederate raids through the Dillsburg area. Connie, the secretary of the NYCHAPS group, was kind enough to send me a copy of a transcript generated in 1930 by an older lady from Dillsburg who had been an 8-year-old girl named Anna Mumper when the Rebels came through Carroll Township in June and July of 1863. The account is fascinating, albeit heavily colored by time and dimming of memory (and the mixing up of the various raids, events, timeline, and officers). Still, much of her basic recollections corroborate other earlier accounts of events in Dillsburg (that brief account can be purchased at the NYCHAPS gift shop in the Maple Shade Barn).

Here is one anecdote with its genesis from the Anna Mumper account, with historical facts added from my research...

The York Civil War Round Table will feature Edward H. Bonekemper, III at its monthly meeting on September 16, 2009. The topic of the evening will be "Antietam: A Calamity of Mistakes by Lee and McClellan". The talk will commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam which occurred on September 17, 1862, an engagement often described as the single bloodiest day of the Civil War. The author of books on both opposing generals, Bonekemper will examine how each officer in turn lost what could have been major opportunities for success, and will argue that in reality neither man could be considered a victor.

The meeting will be held at 7:00 PM on Wednesday evening in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market Street in downtown York, Pennsylvania. There is no charge for admission and the public is welcome! Parking is also free.

Edward H. Bonekemper, III is the author of four Civil War books: How Robert E. Lee Lost the Civil War, A Victor, Not a Butcher : Ulysses S. Grant's Overlooked Military Genius, McClellan and Failure: A Study of Civil War Fear, Incompetence and Worse and Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian. He is a dynamic, controversial, and informative speaker who will both inform you and challenge you to dig deeper into the always interesting subject of the Battle of Antietam. He will be available to autograph copies of his books.

Ed Bonekemper. author of four controversial Civil War books, will discuss his views on calamitous Union and Confederate generalship leading up to and at the Battle of Antietam.

Ed's views:

In the Maryland or Antietam Campaign,Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan demonstrated the weaknesses that characterized their Civil War careers. Lee launched an unapproved strategic offensive that may have lost the war, placed his army in what should have been a death-trap, failed to entrench, allowed fatal counter-attacks that decimated his force, and risked his weakened army by leaving it on the battlefield for an extra day for no explicable military reason.

On the Union side, McClellan's performance was probably even worse. He failed to aggressively pursue Lee in Maryland, allowed a large Union force to be captured by Stonewall Jackson at Harper's Ferry, squandered his massive manpower advantage for days at Antietam, attacked in piecemeal fashion, failed to use his cavalry effectively, left a huge reserve force unused, and failed to destroy the Rebel army Lee had left so vulnerable for an extra day at Antietam.

The scenic Kreutz Creek in Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania. This creek roughly parallels the old rail bed of the Northern Central Railway and played a role in the June 28, 1863, Skirmish of Wrightsville. This was the line of approach used by a portion of the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry to screen the movements of three regiments of Georgia infantry under Col. Clement A. Evans.

Cannonball reader Gerry Boehm is a history buff from Berks County, Pennsylvania. He has had a special interest in the June 28, 1863, Skirmish of Wrightsville, a subject that of course has special meaning to me. Gerry is working his way through my recent book, Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863, which focuses on the expedition of part of Jubal A. Early's Confederate division to seize the mile-and-a-quarter-long covered bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville and Columbia.

Copyright 2007, Scott Mingus and Tom Poston, all rights reserved. Map of the June 28, 1863 skirmish of Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. No reproduction without written permission.

This old hilltop barn sits alongside York Road between Dover and Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. Thousands of cars drive past it every day, with almost none knowing (or caring I presume) about its historical significance.

Back in 1863, more than 1,000 Confederate cavalrymen under Brigadier General Wade Hampton III of South Carolina slowly rode past this massive wooden edifice in the mid-afternoon of Tuesday, July 1, 1863. They were escorting a captured Union wagon train of 125 loaded supply wagons, each pulled by a brace of mules. Another 250 or so extra mules were being herded behind the column (Stuart had cut the mulepower in half to shorten his column's length, although it also cut its speed). Also in the entourage was fabled Confederate cavalry Major General J.E.B. Stuart, who was likely the biggest star in the galaxy of Rebel generals who visited York County that summer.

The barn sat on the farm of Aaron Firestone, who very much rued Stuart's ride past his farm, for a patrol peeled off the column and rode into the farmyard, with mischief on their minds.

A view of the northwestern corner of the main intersection in Dover, Pennsylvania. In the 19th century, the town (and surrounding township) had a significant population of citizens with German heritage, including a Mrs. Forscht, who owned the white house.

The sturdy red brick building was the office of Dr. John Ahl, which was the Confederates' business office during their half-day stay in Dover on July 1, 1863. Here, Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton fired off dispatches via couriers, and later supervised the parole of 230 Yankees, including 21 men captured at the Battle of Hanover. Ahl's house was a beehive of activity, with a long line of Union prisoners lining the pavement awaiting their turn to sign the papers that promised they would not take up arms again until they were properly exchanged. They would be sent down into York, where they would be generously fed by the citizenry.

Dr. Ahl never filed any border claim for any damage to his property or theft, so it would appear that Hampton and his staff kept a tight rein on their men (and on the prisoners who paraded before them).

Who was Dr. John Ahl?

Hanover, Pennsylvania telegraph operator Daniel Trone heard on Saturday June 27, 1863 that Confederate cavalry was in the neighborhood, so he hid his equipment in a loft and left two broken sets on a table in his office as decoys before fleeing. He made it out the back door of his office just as members of the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry (later famed as "White's Comanches") entered the front door.

Trone finally returned home after the Battle of Hanover. Upon visiting his office, he discovered that Rebel cavalrymen had smashed his decoy telegraph equipment, but they did not find the good set in the loft. Trone retrieved his hidden equipment, and for the next two days telegraphed information about the Gettysburg battle in an exclusive arrangement with the New York Tribune and its reporter A. H. Byington. Abraham Lincoln received his first news of the battle from reports that Trone sent to New York through Washington. Much of the news telegraphed to the major northeastern cities concerning the Battle of Gettysburg was done by Trone.

Friday, October 16, 2009 - Presentation: "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition" Civil War Round Table of New Hampshire, Epping, New Hampshire, 6:45 PM

Saturday, October 24, 2009 - Book signing - Gettysburg Civil War, Antique Gun and Militaria Show, Eisenhower Inn, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 10 AM - 2 PM

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 - Presentation: "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition" Butler Civil War Round Table, Butler, Pennsylvania, 7:00 PM

Saturday, November 14, 2009 - Book signing - "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign," Gettysburg Visitors Center Museum Bookstore, Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 10 AM - 3 PM

Thursday, November 19, 2009 - Presentation: "The Civil War in West Manchester Township" West Manchester Township Historical Society, York, Pennsylvania, 7:00 PM

Friday, November 20, 2009 - Presentation: "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition" Historic Wrightsville, Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, 7 PM

Friday, December 11, 2009 - Presentation: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign" Harrisburg Civil War Round Table, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, 7 PM

Thursday, February 18, 2010 - Presentation: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign", Lancaster Civil War Round Table, Lititz, Pennsylvania, 7 PM

TBD - Presentation: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign," York Civil War Round Table, York, Pennsylvania, 7 PM

Monday, March 22, 2010 - Presentation: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign," Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 7 PM

Thursday, May 27, 2010 - Presentation: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign" Gettysburg Civil War Round Table, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 7 PM

Tuesday, September 14, 2010 - Presentation: "The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign" Northeastern Ohio Civil War Round Table, Mentor, Ohio, 7 PM

Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - Presentation: "Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition" - Phil Kearny Civil War Round Table, New Jersey, 7 PM

Dr. Richard J. Sommers will discuss "Petersburg: the Strategic Siege," at the Friday, September 25, meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table. Sommers, a nationally recognized expert on the American Civil War, is the author of Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg which won the National Historical Society's Bell Wiley Prize. Sommers' talk will act as a prelude for the round table's field trip to Petersburg on October 3 and 4.

Dr. Sommers serves as senior historian at the U.S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle, where he has worked for nearly four decades. Since 1971, he has been an active member of the Harrisburg Round Table, having served as president, on the board of directors and program chairman. Dr. Sommers is a life member of the Civil War Preservation Trust and frequent speaker before history-minded groups around the country. A graduate of Carleton College, he earned his doctorate from Rice University.

The Harrisburg Civil War Round Table meets at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Camp Hill, PA, Camp Hill Bypass @ Routes 11&15. An informal reception starts at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner at 6:30. The cost of dinner is $20.00 and reservations must be made by no later than Tuesday, September 22, by calling 717-938-3706. The program begins at 8:00 PM and is free to the public.

Contact Douglas Gibboney, Publicity Chairperson, for further information @ 717-243-1738.