I am fortunate to have several Civil War veterans in my lineage, including my great-great-grandfathers William Sisson of Dover, Ohio, who fought in the 51st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and John Fauley of Fultonham, Ohio, who fought in the 5th U.S. Regulars. My great-uncles, the Chambers boys, fought in the 7th West Virginia on East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg and participated in the famed charge on the Sunken Road at Antietam.

Another great-uncle, Aaron Barnhill, was in the 141st Ohio, a National Guard regiment that served for 100 days in the summer of 1864 when the U.S. War Department enrolled tens of thousands of men for temporary duty for an all-out push to win the war. These "Hundred Days Men" in the 141st served on garrison duty at Charleston, West Virginia, allowing the release of veteran troops to man the front lines.

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Author Scott Mingus signs copies of his latest book at a store in Gettysburg

The August meeting of the York CWRT will feature Scott Mingus as the guest speaker, telling true tales and Human Interest Stories from the Gettysburg Campaign - many of which are taken from the manuscript for Volume 3 of this series, which is being compiled currently.

The meeting will be in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 East Market Street in York, Pennsylvania at 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening, August 20. There will be a PowerPoint slide show in conjunction with the talk.

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As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel in southern Ohio on a temporary business assignment. This area, Ross County, is rife with Native American lore and legend, and the town, Chillicothe, was once a bustling chief town of the Shawnee Nation. Legendary war chief Tecumseh is a popular figure in these parts, and there is a well attended outdoor drama remembering his exploits and life.

In some respects, this area during the Civil War was similar to York County. Both counties provided significant numbers of troops for the Union Army; both were comprised primarily of people of Germanic and Scotch-Irish heritage. Farming was still king, and the county seats were beginning to develop a strong industrial base. There were still vestiges of Native American culture and people scattered in the rural areas, and some of these men also joined the army to fight under Old Glory.

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A few years ago, York County author and blogger Jim McClure and I briefly discussed a fellow by the name of John A. Wilson, who is thought to be the last black Civil War veteran from York County to have been laid to rest. I started digging into this man, researching what Jim had found and searching for a little more information. Not only was "Quil" Wilson the last surviving black ACW veteran, he was among the youngest men to take up arms against the Confederates during the Gettysburg Campaign, when he served as an unpaid volunteer manning the trenches defending Wrightsville against the Confederate brigade of Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon. There are no specific records of Wilson's individual service at Wrightsville, but his small company was noted by the Lancaster Examiner and Herald as having "fought bravely."

Posted in Civilians Other places Wrightsville Yankees

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25mm wargaming figures from the collection of a wargaming friend from Erie, Pennsylvania.

Background post: An unexpected visit to York

One of the most colorful Civil War regiments from the Keystone State was the 155th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, a unit known for its late war colorful "zouave" uniform (loosely modeled after similar uniforms worn in the French Army). These men and boys from Pittsburgh saw their first combat at the Battle of Antietam, and a few of their casualties were transported to the U.S. Army Military Hospital in York for treatment of their injuries. As mentioned in the background post, teenaged private Franklin Gilmore of the 155th was an emergency patient at that hospital in 1864.

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Several descendants of Michigan Brigade soldiers and other interested persons donated money to acquire a small piece of land at Hunterstown and erect one of the country's newest Civil War monuments. This marble slab and bronze relief is dedicated to Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer, who led the Michigan Brigade (the "Michigan Wolverines") into action at Hunterstown against the troops of Wade Hampton III of the Confederate cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign.

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Veteran National Park Service Ranger and author Troy Harman speaks to an enthusiastic crowd during his outstanding battlewalk of the seldom visited, seldom discussed fight on Brinkerhoff's Ridge along Hanover Road (Route 116) between the main Gettysburg Battlefield and East Cavalry Field.

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Huge crowds attended today's first two battlewalks on this the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. National Park Service Ranger Eric Campbell leads a two-hour walking tour of Cemetery Ridge examining the actions and movements of Union Maj. Gen. Winfield S. Hancock during the second day of the battle.

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Sunday dawned bright and early on June 28. Most townspeople in York went about their daily routines, including dressing nicely for worship, strolling the sidewalks, and visiting friends and relatives. While church was in progress at St. Paul's Lutheran, the vanguard of the Confederate division of Jubal Early marched into York, preceded by the pioneer corps and advance pickets from the 31st Georgia. Rebels hauled down the large flag in the Center Square, as well as a smaller one from a nearby shop. York was now under Confederate control. The lead brigade, the Georgians of John Gordon, moved on to Wrightsville, while Jubal Early ringed York with artillery and established a series of camps.

Posted in Civil War people Civilians Confederates Dillsburg Emigsville Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Wrightsville Yankees York York Haven

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Maj. Gen. Jubal Early's veteran Confederate division, one of the hardest fighting units in the Army of Northern Virginia, departs from camps near Mummasburg, Gettysburg, and Hunterstown and heads eastward toward the prize they had been ordered by Richard S. Ewell to capture - the prosperous town of York. Early's main column - 3/4 of his artillery, all but one company of the 17th Virginia Cavalry, and the brigades of Ike Avery and Extra Billy Smith trudged from Mummasburg toward Hunterstown, picking up the Louisiana Tigers en route. John Gordon's Georgians left the Wolf farm just east of Gettysburg and marched out the turnpike (today's U.S. 30). It would be a leisurely march for these two columns this day, one that would end at Big Mount and Farmers, respectively.

It was the third column that would create the military excitement on this day - White's Comanches which had terrorized much of northern Maryland and had earned a reputation for lightning raids on Union supply lines. Now, their war whoops would be heard in southwestern York County...

Posted in Civil War people Civilians Confederates Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Hanover Junction Jefferson Other places Spring Grove Yankees York

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