October 2009 Archives

My cousin's daughter sent me this cool old family portrait taken in the decade or so after the Civil War. This is the Barnhill clan, and the seated woman is my great-great-grandmother, Eliza Jane (Keegan) Barnhill. My great-grandmother Susan Barnhill Brown is in the second row. I had never seen this photograph before, and I am thrilled to see this connection with my family's rich Civil War heritage.

My great-great uncle Aaron Barnhill is on the right wearing a GAR medal. He was a "hundred days" man, serving in Company C of the 141st Ohio in the summer of 1864 when President Lincoln called for volunteers for three months to guard bridges, railroad lines, supply depots, etc. to free up the veteran troops for the all out push that summer (Grant in the Overland Campaign / Siege of Petersburg and Sherman in the Atlanta Campaign).

I had many ancestors in the Civil War on both side of my family. Among Dad's ancestors were Aaron Barnhill shown above, as well as Dad's great uncles the Chambers boys from the 7th West Virginia who fought at Antietam and Gettysburg. My mother's grandfather John D. Sisson was in the 51st Ohio and fought at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House).

If you have photos of your Civil War ancestors (particularly if they are in uniform or wearing GAR medals or similar post-war shots), please send me an electronic copy and I will include them in future blog posts in this new "Our Civil War Heritage" series.

The assassination of President Abraham Lincoln stunned the residents of York County, Pennsylvania, despite the fact that most voters had twice cast their ballots for the Democratic opposition candidate in the elections of 1860 and 1864. Political differences were set aside in the national outpouring of grief and shock that swept through the county in the wake of the death of the controversial Chief Executive.

Lumberman and businessman John Stoner Beidler of Wrightsville was among those who expressed their opinions in their diaries and journals. A dedicated Republican, the 27-year-old father of two had twice previously voted for Lincoln, as well as for Governor Andrew G. Curtin.

Saturday, April 15, 1865

News came early this morning that Lincoln was shot last night, Seward badly stabbed. I have still some hope it is not so. 9½ P.M. It is only too true that Lincoln was shot. As soon as the news was confirmed, all the stores in town were closed and business suspended. All or nearly all business places throughout U.S. are closed and many a downcast countenance can be seen and even tears. Seward is reported still alive but his son is dead. Copperheads are as silent as the grave. They dare not open their mouth.

Beidler would later be in York on April 21, the day that Lincoln's funeral train passed through town, but for some reason, he decided to head home before it arrived shortly after 6:30 PM. His diary entry would show his regret at missing the historic passage of the steam train carrying the Railsplitter back to Springfield, Illinois for burial.

Here is a detailed newspaper account of the passage of the funeral train through York County.

Glatfelter is a $1.3 billion global paper company headquartered in York, Pennsylvania. The company now operates paper mills and paper converting facilities in Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as in Germany, France, England, Wales, and the Philippines. The company traces it roots to the Civil War era, having been founded during the first term of President Abraham Lincoln. Today, many first edition Civil War books are printed on Glatfelter paper because of its archival qualities that fully comply with Library of Congress standards for book permanence.

I have worked for the company as the Global Director of New Product Development since the summer of 2001 when I moved to York County from Cleveland's "Snow Belt." I knew the Spring Grove mill had been purchased by P.H. Glatfelter in 1863 and reopened in 1864 under new management, but I was determined to learn the "actual story behind the story."

Here is an excerpt from a book I wrote a few years ago in which I recount how Mr. Glatfelter built what became a leading international supplier of specialty papers and engineered products.

It's all because of the Battle of Gettysburg...

"How Lincoln Came to Be 'Under God' at Gettysburg" is the topic for the November 20 meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table. Charles Teague, a seasonal Ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park, will explore how the President, who as younger man was an avowed atheist, inserted the words "under God" into his Gettysburg Address.

During this sesquicentennial of his birth, Lincoln's profound thoughts continue to intrigue Americans. At various points in his life, he espoused almost every possible point of view on religion. Few people have ever gone through such a dramatic transformation in matters of philosophy and faith as did he. In his mature years Lincoln was circumspect about his deepest thoughts, but intimate acquaintances who closely observed him and listened to him during his presidency witnessed this change. When the evidence is viewed chronologically, a distinct pattern of growing conviction appears.

Major General Jubal Anderson Early, CSA, commanded the division of infantry and cavalry that devastated much of Manchester Township in central York County, Pennsylvania in the days immediately before the Battle of Gettysburg. (Library of Congress)

Manchester Township Civil War historian and author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. will present a free PowerPoint presentation and talk on Tuesday evening, October 27 at Otterbein United Methodist Church, 3241 N. George Street in Emigsville, Pennsylvania. For directions or information, call the church office at 717-764-0007.

The talk will include considerable new information on Manchester Township during the Gettysburg Campaign, including an examination of the scores of damage claims filed by local residents for horses and personal property stolen by the Confederate army during its occupation of central York County in late June 1863. Among the highlights of the talk will be a discussion of the exact locations of several Confederate campsites, including that of the Virginia brigade of Brig. Gen. William "Extra Billy" Smith, the governor of Virginia.

This old farm along North George Street near Emigsville was raided by troops under the command of General Early. Photo courtesy of York County photographer and historian Dianne Bowders, whose ancestors lived on the farm in the early 1900s.

Twice a year Gettysburg's All-Star Sports Complex on Emmitsburg Road hosts the Gettysburg Militaria, Relics, and Book Show, an event that usually is packed with all sorts of interesting Civil War artifacts. As usual, I perused the tables looking for a dealer might have one of the Knights of the Golden Circle membership tickets that so many Confederates wrote about after their invasion of southern Pennsylvania.

For $1, con artists from New York sold these worthless certificates to unsuspecting farmers who were told that the papers and a series of strange hand gestures would notify any Rebel invaders that the farmer was a friend of the Confederacy whose personal property would be protected. Quite the opposite actually occurred, as the Rebels mocked the farmers who performed the hand gesticulations and waved the KGC golden tickets. Their horses were taken with far higher frequency than Unionist neighbors who headed for the hills when Jubal Early's and J.E.B. Stuart's Southern soldiers came calling.

For more photos of the Gettysburg relics sale, please continue reading. Click on the pictures to enlarge them for better viewing of the artifacts.

Headstone erected in 1988 to mark the approximate spot of an earlier grave of a Confederate soldier who perished in the June 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. 2006 photo by Dr. Thomas M. Mingus, Civil War historian and author from Manchester Township, York County, PA.

This modern headstone is nestled between scenic River Road and the Susquehanna River about a mile north of the Accomac Inn in northeastern Hellam Township in York County, Pennsylvania. Of all the gravestones associated with the Army of Northern Virginia in the Gettysburg Campaign, this one is farthest east (excepting those soldiers who died in captivity or in hospitals). It is one of the three known graves of Rebel soldiers from the campaign who are buried in York County - the other marked gravesite is in York's Prospect Hill Cemetery where five Rebs are interred after dying at the temporary hospital in the local Odd Fellows Hall. An unmarked grave near Big Mount marks the final resting place of Charles Brown of the Louisiana Tigers (I recount that story in my recent book on the Tigers). And, not to forget, at one time there were several Confederate graves from the Battle of Hanover in southwestern York County, but these men were disinterred in the late 1800s and re-interred elsewhere..

So, who was this unknown Rebel who is remembered with a small headstone alongside the mighty Susquehanna?

Mt. Olivet Cemetery sprawls on a hilltop southeast of Hanover, Pennsylvania in extreme southern York County. During the Civil War, it was of course much smaller than today, and the heights became a platform for Confederate horse artillery during the June 30, 1863 Battle of Hanover. Following the war, the graveyard became the final resting place for many of the Civil War veterans of the Hanover region, and a stroll through the cemetery grounds yields dozens of headstones for these veterans.

Among those men buried in Mr. Olivet is Samuel Fitz, whose story can be pieced together from studying the rosters of Pennsylvania Civil War soldiers. The typical image of a Civil War soldier conjures up images of heroic charges across farm fields while bullets whistle past and shells explode overhead. For many soldiers, this indeed was the case. For tens of thousands of others, including Hanover's Sam Fitz, their military service was much more mundane and tedious.

Franklin Repository, Mar 9, 1864.

Isaac Fishel was born in Dillsburg in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania. A Lutheran in his religious convictions, he married Leah "Muzzie" Wolf and they eventually raised a family of nine children on his prosperous farm in Carroll Township.

At the age of 28, the general laborer was drafted into Company H of the 166th Pennsylvania Infantry on October 25, 1862, and was formally mustered into service on November 16. Family lore says he deserted from the army and "hid in the mountains" to avoid military service.

He was in the Dillsburg area when J.E.B. Stuart's column came through the region on July 1, 1863, during the Gettysburg Campaign. Unlike many other York Countians who were forced at gunpoint to serve as guides for Stuart's movments, Fishel volunteered his services to Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee's column and helped pilot it to its destination.

Fishel was arrested, tried, and convicted. He was sentenced to be executed, but President Lincoln intervened and pardoned him. He was formally discharged in March 1864 on a surgeon's certificate of disability.

In 1863, this brick building in downtown Hanover, Pennsylvania, was the Central Hotel. It served as the nerve center for Union cavalry under Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick during and after the Battle of Hanover.

Thousands of cars and trucks pass through downtown Hanover, Pennsylvania, each day, often creating a traffic jam that can back up the queue at the various signals. Patience is a must for the modern traveler visiting this historic town, as similar to the nearby town of Gettysburg, a network of roads converge in Hanover conveying traffic into downtown.

That network of roads led to the June 30, 1863, unplanned collision between Major General J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalrymen coming up from Maryland and a column of Federal troopers from H. Judson Kilpatrick's division.

Like the modern traffic flow, the point of congestion and contention was the intersection of the roads in downtown Hanover.

Dr. Mark Snell of the George Tyler Moore Center for Civil War Studies at Shepherd University is involved with the planning of the West Virginia Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission's inaugural events. The kick-off event take place on Thursday, October 15. Among the many events being planned is a panel discussion titled "Madman, Martyr, or Myth: John Brown's Portrayal in Film." The panel will be showing and discussing video clips from films and miniseries, including, among others, the Santa Fe Trail and North and South. Each clip will be followed by panel comments and discussion.

Dr. Snell, a York County PA native and well respected educator and author, will be moderating a distinguished panel, which will consist of Dr. Charles Niemeyer of the USMC University; Ron Maxwell, director of Gettysburg and Gods and Generals; Dr. Walter Powell, a cultural historian who also is adjunct professor of historic preservation at Shepherd University and past president of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association; and Beth White, adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Charleston and a member of the WV Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

The event takes place from 6-7:30 pm this Friday, October 16 on the second floor of the John Brown Museum in the Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. It is FREE and open to the public but seating is very limited.

The WV Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission also will have an information table set up in HFNHP on Friday and Saturday.

The York Civil War Round Table will feature James A. Hessler at its monthly meeting on October 21, 2009. The topic of the evening will be "Sickles At Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg."

No individual who fought at Gettysburg was more controversial, both personally and professionally, than Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By 1863, Sickles was notorious as a disgraced former Congressman who murdered his wife's lover on the streets of Washington and used America's first temporary insanity defense to escape justice. With his political career in ruins, Sickles used his connections with President Lincoln to obtain a prominent command in the Army of the Potomac's Third Corps despite having no military experience. At Gettysburg, he disobeyed orders in one of the most controversial decisions in military history.

Licensed Battlefield Guide James Hessler has written the first balanced, deeply researched, and eminently readable biography of this colorful and wholly unique American icon. Civil War enthusiasts who want to understand General Sickles' tarnished life, Gettysburg's battlefield strategies, the in-fighting within the Army of the Potomac, and the development of today's National Park will find " Sickles at Gettysburg" a must read.

James A. Hessler works in financial services for Bill Me Later, Inc., is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park, and has taught Sickles and Gettysburg-related courses at college level. He has published Civil War-related articles, and speaks regularly at Civil War Round Tables. A native of Buffalo, NY, Jim resides in Gettysburg with his wife and children.

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.

You're invited to join the Lancaster Civil War Round Table as they welcome Licensed Battlefield Guide Roy Frampton.

Reverend Frampton has been a Civil War "buff" since the age of nine years old. He became a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg in 1968, and is currently the President of the Association of Licensed Battlefield Guides. The Gettysburg National Cemetery has been passionately studied by Roy for many years, and he concentrates on the personal lives of the soldiers buried in the cemetery. Roy Frampton is the co-author (with Licensed Battlefield Guide Jim Cole) of the book Lincoln and the Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

Roy's topic for the evening will be "Battlefield Curiosities." Ever wonder if there could possibly still be living witnesses to the Battle of Gettysburg? Did you know that there are rock carvings left behind by Civil War soldiers all over the battlefield? Have you seen the 5-inch, three-toed dinosaurs foot print on one of the stone bridges on the battlefield? Licensed Battlefield Guide Roy Frampton will be your guide through the curious, little known secrets of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

Lancaster Civil War Round Table will meet on Thursday, October 15th at 7:00pm at the Lititz Public Library in Lancaster County. These programs are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Micky Kraft at 717-392-4976.

The identity of this southern Pennsylvania "Copperhead" farmer is unknown, but during the Civil War the majority of pro-Southern sentiment in York County was in Dover, Codorus, and North Codorus townships. A few farmers in those rural regions filed damage claims for multiple horses taken by the Rebels, but it is impossible to know exactly who the reporter was describing.

Interestingly, in reading through more than a thousand border claims from Cumberland, Franklin, Adams, and York counties, commonplace merchandise such as pencils and personal goods such as key chains were allowable claims, but livestock such as cattle, chickens, and pigs were not allowed to be listed as legitimate damage caused by either army. Foodstuffs such as jelly, flour, crackers, and even barrels of mackerel were allowed, but a herd of cows did not qualify for recompense.

The Louisiana Tigers were one of the most publicized (and feared) brigades in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. has assembled many of the stories of the Tigers' invasion of southern Pennsylvania (including York County) in this major new work from Louisiana State University Press.

Background posts:

Pleasureville merchant receives visit from the Louisiana Tigers
A Louisiana Tiger describes York
Loucks Mill was a major Confederate campsite

The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign: June-July 1863 is the latest book from long-time Civil War author, wargamer, and tour guide Scott Mingus. It includes a significant section dealing with the Tigers march into York County, the interactions of the soldiers with the local populace, their campsites north of the town of York, their exploits as they raided stores in downtown York, the "drunk pen", and their perceptions of York Countians. Drawn from a myriad of contemporary sources including letters, diaries, journals, newspaper accounts, and similar primary accounts, the book contains many human interest stories and anecdotes. The book is now in stock and for sale at the York Emporium, the first stocking location in York County.

The York Emporium is located at 343 West Market Street (the Lincoln Highway) in York, Pennsylvania, just a couple of blocks west of the Codorus Creek. Call the owner, Jim Lewin, at 717-846-2866 for more information.

Here are a couple of excerpts from this new book, which offers the first sweeping narrative of the Louisiana Tigers in the entirety of the Gettysburg Campaign and has been called the "definitive work" on the brigade's activities in Pennsylvania.

York County, Pennsylvania, was a valuable source of war materiel, woolen blankets, supplies, and perhaps most of all, fresh troops. As the war progressed, the need for additional manpower caused the Lincoln Administration to institute the first mass conscription in U.S. history, a controversial move that led to riots in several places, including a large scale civil disturbance in New York City in the summer of 1863. By the following year, the draft resistance had somewhat calmed down, but the Overland Campaign and the subsequent Siege of Petersburg, created the need for manpower in the Eastern Theater, while William T. Sherman's activities in Tennessee and Georgia also demanded soldiers by the tens of thousands.

"Hundred days regiments" helped fill the void, providing temporary manpower to guard bridges, railroads, and supply lines, thereby freeing veteran troops for combat duty. Additional front line troops were also being raised, including the 209th Pennsylvania.

In northwestern York County's Franklin Township, a prominent carpenter and builder stepped up to do his civic duty...

"The Rebels have come! The Rebels have come!"

As news spread throughout southwestern York County, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon, June 27, 1863, that Confederate cavalry was raiding f arms and stealing horses in the region, hundreds of residents went into their barns, stables, and fields and made preparations to take their horses and livestock to safety. Some hid their animals in out-of-the way woods, ravines, or hollows. Others took to the roads in an attempt to make it to Lancaster County or deeper into rural southern York County, correctly (as it turned out) assuming the Rebels would concentrate their raiding to those towns and farms along the railroad.

This snippet from a period Baltimore newspaper is illustrative of the chaos and migration caused by the raid of Lt. Col. Elijah V. White and the 35th Battalion,Virginia Cavalry.

Engine House in Harpers Ferry (restored and relocated from its original location). John Brown and some of his raiders sought refuge here and used it as a blockhouse to resist local militia and then Federal troops under Robert E. Lee.

Background post: One-tank trip: Harpers Ferry, part 1

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the famous (or infamous, depending upon your perspective) insurrection of abolitionist firebrand John Brown and his small band of followers, a few of which had Pennsylvania connections. Five members of his group escaped and were not recaptured. A free black man named Osborn P. Anderson was among them, eventually making his way to York, Pennsylvania, where wealthy black businessman William C. Goodridge gave him shelter in his Philadelphia Street home (and his Centre Square business as well) and later smuggled him in a rail car across the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge. Anderson eventually returned to his home in Canada.

Columbus (Ohio) Crisis, July 29, 1863, citing the Philadelphia Age, a long defunct newspaper. Several reporters from Philadelphia, Lancaster, Harrisburg, and Reading were in York during the Confederate occupation, along with some from out of state papers such as Baltimore and New York. Their reports provide a source of interesting eyewitness accounts of the town and its residents and their reactions to the invaders from Dixieland.

Historian Roger S. Durham will speak on Sherman's capture of Savannah, Georgia, at the Friday, October 23, meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table. Entitled "A Great Lion at By: William T. Sherman Storms Fort McAllister," the talk focuses on the final phase of the general's legendary and controversial "March to the Sea" in late 1864. The program will include a "then-and-now" examination of twenty-four historic photographs taken of Sherman's army shortly after the fort's capture.

Mr. Durham is the former director of the Army Heritage Museum in Carlisle. He is the author of six books, including two on Fort McAllister. His latest effort is entitled Carlisle Barracks: A Pictorial History. A Viet Nam veteran, he earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin and his master's degree from Georgia Southern 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, October 20, 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.

The popular Civil War blog "Gettysburg Daily" has now posted the second installment of my video tour series of the skirmish at Wrightsville and the Confederate approach to the Susquehanna River. Have a look!

Scott Mingus' tour of Wrightsville, Part 2

I have read several excellent books on the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg, including the late Greg Coco's fine works, especially his classic A Strange and Blighted Land. More than 150,000 combatants descended upon the town of less than 3,000 people and left the buildings, countryside, and streets littered with dead, dying, and wounded men, and the debris of war. Among the more deadly of the war materiel left behind were unexploded artillery shells, loaded pistols and rifles, and other weapons. Greg Coco related several stories in his fine book about civilians who perished at Gettysburg in the weeks and months following the battle, including the sheriff of York, Pennsylvania. Disease was the number one cause of death, but another significant problem was children (and at times adults) who were playing with or handling explosives that detonated.

York County had its own tragic story.

During the Skirmish of Wrightsville, Captain William Tanner of the Confederate army fired forty rounds from his battery, the Courtney (Virginia) Battery. At least one of those rounds failed to explode as designed.

It had tragic consequences.

Here is a newspaper article from the Columbia Spy of March 3, 1866, that related the ultimate result of Captain Tanner's long-delayed shell.

Heritage Day will be celebrated October 18th at St. John's Franklin Lutheran Church for the community and the three churches comprising Faith United Lutheran Parish near Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. The public is welcome to this celebration.

Among those groups participating in the historic traditional worship service at 10:30 AM will be members of the 11th Pa. Volunteer Fife and Drum Corps from Gettysburg, members of the 42nd Pa. "Bucktails," and others visiting in the Dillsburg area this weekend. In tribute to early members who continued their native language service into the latter 19th century, a portion of the readings will be in German. About 11:30 attendees will gather at the gravesite of some Civil War soldiers for a short memorial service.