Gettysburg Campaign: November 2008 Archives

In some cases during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, patrols from the Army of Northern Virginia went around searching for specific individuals who had been targeted for seizure because of their position as employees of the Federal government. Mostly, these unfortunate individuals were postmasters and similar occupations. York's postmaster fled to Lancaster County to avoid capture (as did Gettysburg's David Beuhler) and Dover's postmaster remained hidden for several days. In other towns, the men were indeed rounded up and taken back to Virginia in captivity. Other men were also detained, including a few civilians who became belligerent with the occupation force. In a few cases, the captives were former Union soldiers, such as in the case of one York Countian snatched on July 1 in northwestern York County.

I spent the summer of 2008 primarily working at our paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio, a facility Glatfelter purchased two years ago from another paper company (no, not Dunder Mifflin of "The Office" fame). Ironically, when Debi and I were first married, we spent the summer of 1977 living in Chillicothe while I was a college intern / summer help student working at the very same paper mill. A lot had changed in the mill and the town in those three decades, but, most noticeably, the foul, rotten egg odor that always pervaded Chillicothe was almost totally gone. It was so bad back in '77 that we used to stash extra clothes at my parents's house near Zanesville so we didn't stink when we arrived as visitors.

Back in 1863, a few thousand unexpected visitors to York County could have used fresh clothes and some good old-fashioned lye soap before they arrived! Like the old Mead paper mill in south-central Ohio, they could be smelled all over town.

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that a correspondent from the New York Times was attached to the Union army during the Gettysburg Campaign and had access to the high command of the cavalry corps, as well as some of the infantry. E. A. Paul claimed in an article preserved after the war in Frank Moore's Rebellion Record that a pre-teen boy served in the 1st Maine Cavalry (J. Irvin Gregg's brigade) and fought at Gettysburg as a bugler. He also mentions the lad had a horse killed at Hanover. One problem - Gregg's men were not at Hanover. However, the boy may have been a staff member or volunteer to Judson Kilpatrick.

In any event, here is the reporter's published story. If true, then this 12-year-old may have been the youngest trooper in the June 30, 1863, Battle of Hanover.

This anti-Lincoln pamphlet, published in 1864 by J.F. Feeks of New York City, is typical of the strong anti-war, anti-Lincoln rhetoric that pervaded many places in the North, including southern Pennsylvania and my native southern Ohio.

Pennsylvania's southern tier of Franklin, Adams, and York counties was a mixture of personalities, ethnic backgrounds, and political beliefs. Some pockets (including the Hanover, Codorus Township, and North Codorus Township area in southwestern York County) had fairly high concentrations of Southern sympathizers. Other enclaves were strongly Unionist, and another large group of residents were totally ambivalent and just wanted to be left alone.

E. A. Paul was a New York Times correspondent who was "embedded" (to use a modern term) with the Army of the Potomac as it traveled northward. Specifically, he accompanied the V Corps into southwestern York County on July 1 en route to Gettysburg. His comments and opinions regarding York County's Copperheads were recorded after the war in Frank Moore's Rebellion Record, a postbellum anthology of Civil War stories. Keep in mind as you read this account, Paul is biased and bases much of his article on hearsay and second-hand information. Still, there are some sentiments in here that have some authenticity, as York County indeed had a fair amount of Copperheads.

On the afternoon of June 29, 1863, a Confederate courier and his escort trotted down the road from Carlisle (parts of which are today's State Route 74) into downtown York, where he sought out Maj. Gen. Jubal Early. He delivered news that the Army of Northern Virginia was to concentrate to the west, near Cashtown. Early was to move toward Heidlersburg and reconnect with the Second Army Corps commander, Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell. At daybreak on Tuesday, June 30, Early's men broke their various campsites in and around York and convened near Weigelstown on the Carlisle Pike. From there, they would march to their evening campsite about three miles east of Heidlersburg.

"Dueling Banjos" was a popular instrumental composition from the 1972 movie Deliverance. In the film two musicians play off one another in an impromptu concert. Friendly duels to see who can outdo whom are often competitive, but inspiring. In the Civil War, individual duels were much more deadly.

When one thinks of the Civil War, the first mental image is often of sweeping, Pickettesque charges across open fields while the cannon roar. However, often the encounters between combatats was much smaller and more personal, but no less theatening. Here is an anecdote about one such incident in Warrington Township here in York County, Pennsylvania.

Hanover resident and Licensed Battlefield Guide John T. Krepps has spent years researching the Battle of Hanover, and the general Civil War history of southwestern York County, Pennsylvania. I ran into John a couple of years ago in the State Archives in Harrisburg when I was researching the state damage claims for York County, searching for stories about farmers and businesses raided by the Louisiana Tigers. John was researching the same files for a manuscript on the Battle of Hanover. Now, Colecraft Industries has published John's exhaustive work.

A Strong and Sudden Onslaught: The Cavalry Action at Hanover, Pennsylvania is a wonderful book, full of well researched accounts that have rarely or never been used in any previous studies of the June 30, 1863, battle. In addition to the damage claims, Krepps makes extensive use of Hanover-area accounts, including newspapers, letters, diaries, and other accounts from local eyewitnesses. He has also scoured hundreds of soldier's accounts and digested them in a fast-paced narrative that breaks new ground.

I will be posting nearly two dozen photos of this classic 1960s diorama that has been seen by hundreds of thousands of visitors to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, over the years.

See my Charge! blog to view these pictures.

A lone Confederate supply wagon passes down a back country road somewhere in York County, trailing a patrol of Virginia cavalry who are going from farm to farm seeking forage, supplies, food, and, perhaps most importantly, fresh horses and mules. From a Civil War diorama / 15mm wargaming layout by Scott Mingus.

Maj. Gen. Jubal Early stripped his division of its encumbrances for the march from Greenwood, Pennsylvania (just west of South Mountain on the Chambersburg Pike). He left behind all his wagons loaded with tents, supplies, personal baggage, and non-essentials, leaving each regiment with an ambulance and a cooking wagon, as well as extra ammunition. What he did bring along was a vast train of empty wagons to be filled with the plunder he took from the region. The materiel would be sent back to the Old Dominion and used for future military needs. Few wagons returned empty, as Early's men, particularly his cavalry, were very efficient in scouring the county for these supplies. Here are some of their stories...

Cavalry statuary on the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. While no Ohio units fought at Hanover, Brig. Gen. George Armstrong Custer was a native Buckeye, although he commanded the Michigan Brigade.

The Rev. Louis Napoleon Boudrye was the chaplain of the 5th New York Cavalry. He and his comrades participated in the June 30, 1863, Battle of Hanover here in York County, Pennsylvania. Here is his account of the regiment's action at Hanover, taken from his 1865 book, Historic Records of the Fifth New York Cavalry, The Ira Harris Guard.

Frank Moore's classic Rebellion Record is one of my favorite anthologies of Civil War stories and events. The variety of topics is astounding, and there are some records that are now only to be found in this extensive work. Moore includes many dispatches and reports from period accounts, including reprinting a story written by a reporter for the York Gazette. It is a nice summary of the events of June 28 - 30 as York became the largest Northern town to be captured by the Confederates during the Civil War.

The cover art for the upcoming new book on the June 1863 Gordon / Early expedition into York County, Pennsylvania. Artwork by Mike Stretch; painting by Bradley Schmehl used under license.

The graphics and files have been sent to the printer, and we expect proof copies in December. Once OK, we should be on press within a few weeks. A national roll-out is expected in Q1 '09. I will have autographed, first edition copies for sale before then, and we expect a York County kick-off celebration at the York Emporium.

For more info on the book, as well as photos, see the official website for Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863.

H. Judson Kilpatrick in September 1863, scarcely two months after his encounter with York industrialist A. B. Farquhar. (Library of Congress)

You could not imagine two more different men. Both were young, self-confidant, well connected, and ambitious. That's where the similarities stopped.

Arthur Briggs Farquhar was the son of a Quaker family from Maryland, Educated at the Hallowell School in Alexandria, Virginia, he counted Confederate general Fitz Lee among his personal friends. He bought a company in York, Pennsylvania, and expanded it into a profitable farm implement manufacturing form that lasted for nearly 100 years. During the Gettysburg Campaign, he openly negotiated with Confederate generals John B. Gordon and Jubal Early, repeating an unauthorized visit to Fitz Lee during the Maryland Campaign. In both cases, he was trying on his own initiative to spare his factory (and the town of York) from potential harm. He went on to meet President Lincoln and later became a powerful voice for labor laws in Washington, D.C., serving as Secretary of Labor.

Hugh Judson Kilpatrick was a New Jersey-born son of an Irish farmer. He graduated from West Point in 1861 and became a lieutenant in the 1st U.S. Artillery. By the time of Gettysburg. he commanded a division of Union cavalry. Fond of mistresses and fine living, he was caught napping with a lady friend in a surprise attack by Rebels at Monroes Crossroads. Later a diplomat to Chile, his descendants include CNN reporter Anderson Cooper and socialite Gloria Vanderbilt.

Here is A. B. Farquhar's account of his visit during the Battle of Gettysburg...

Background post: Gettysburg wounded soldiers entrained for York army hospital

"On the day that the railroad bridge was repaired (July 7) we moved up to the depot, close by the town, and had things in perfect order; a first rate camping ground, in a large field directly by the track, with unlimited supply of delicious cool water. Here we set up two stoves, with four large boilers, always kept full of soup and coffee, watched by four or five black men, who did the cooking, under our direction, and sang (not under our direction) at the tops of their voices all day.

Then we had three large hospital tents, holding about thirty-five each, a large camp-meeting supply-tent, where barrels of goods were stored, and our own smaller tent fitted up with tables, where jelly pots and bottles of all kinds of good syrups, blackberry and black currant, stood in rows. Barrels were ranged round the tent walls; shirts, drawers, dressing-gowns, socks, and slippers (I wish we had more of the latter,) rags and bandages, each in its own place on one side; on the other, boxes of tea, coffee, soft crackers, tamarinds, cherry brandy, etc. Over the kitchen, and over this small supply-tent we women rather reigned, and filled up our wants by requisitions on the Commission's depot. By this time there had arrived a "delegation" of just the right kind from Canandaigua, N.Y., with surgeon dressers and attendants, bringing a first-rate supply of necessities and comforts for the wounded, which they handed over to the Commission.

Twice a day the trains left for Baltimore or Harrisburg, and twice a day we fed all the wounded who arrived for them."

Following the Battle of Gettysburg in early July 1863, perhaps as many as 21,000 wounded soldiers remained in Gettysburg for medical treatment, according to Licensed Battlefield Guide Phil Lechak. As soon as they were stable enough for a train ride, they were transported from the various temporary field hospitals (often in barns, sheds, stables, private houses, churches, and schools) to the Gettysburg train station on Carlisle Street. Trains left regularly for Hanover Junction, and from there the men were taken to New York City, Baltimore, Harrisburg or York.

Here is a record of the initial shipments of Union soldiers to the York U.S. Army Hospital on Penn Commons:

The photograph, taken in the 1920s by a field survey team for the U.S. government, is part of a series of old pictures of York County that are now housed in the collection of the Library of Congress.

Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's CSA cavalry camped around Dover, Pennsylvania, in the wee early morning hours of July 1, 1863. Patrols were sent out throughout the region to gather forage, supplies, and, most importantly to riders whose mounts were played out, fresh horses. Some York County farmers took great measures to hide their horses, while others mistakedly believed the Rebs would not come near their farms.

Background post: A Near-Miss at Dillsburg!

Quite some time ago I wrote about a near-miss during the Gettysburg Campaign at Dillsburg, Pa., where the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia deployed in ranks on a hillside near the village in an effort to resist an anticipated charge by the elements of former U.S. congressman Albert Jenkins' Confederate cavalry. In scanning through some old material today, I found a first hand account of Private Dennis Bashore Shuey, a teenaged student and part-time teacher from Lebanon County. Nearly six decades after his brief visit to Dillsburg, he published his recollections in a family genealogy book. Here is D. B. Shuey's account of the fight at Witmer Farm near Gettysburg, and the subsequent retreat to Dillsburg in northwestern York County.

One of the Licensed Battlefield Guides at Gettysburg National Military Park maintains an outstanding blog on the modern battlefield, as well as including historic photographs. Among his recent entries is a nice montage of photos of the Henry Winebrenner house in Hanover, PA, here in York County. This home played a role in the June 30, 1863, Battle of Hanover.

See the Hanover entry on Gettysburg Daily here. Scroll down past the photos of the Washington Monument (which are interesting in their own right).

Photograph of Winslow's Battery marker in the Wheatfield at Gettysburg National Military Park. Taken by Kim Shayda of the York Civil War Round Table during a recent battle walk.

I am attending the annual Fall-In miniature wargaming convention this weekend at the Eisenhower Conference Center and All-Star Sports Complex just south of Gettysburg. Among the hundreds of wargames was one that replayed the fighting at the wheatfield, and, in particular, the attack by the II Corps division of John C. Caldwell that temporarily cleared the wheatfield of Rebels.

The Jacob S. Altland house near Farmers in Paradise Township, where York civic officials "surrendered" the town to Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon, CSA.

I took a day of vacation today and escorted Georgia author and historian Gregory C. White around York County, retracing the route of John Gordon's Georgians and seeing many of the sites associated with Gordon's Brigade, including their daily camp sites and houses where key events occured. Greg wrote a book a few years ago on This Most Bloody and Cruel Drama: A History of the 31st Georgia, which was one of the six regiments in Gordon's Brigade that tramped across York County to Wrightsville and back. He is working on a new manuscript on Georgia at Gettysburg and is writing a definitive article on the Barlow-Gordon Affair at Gettysburg in which he will introduce some new sources and clarity to this controversial event (where Gordon and the badly wounded Union general Frank Barlow met on the battlefield).

Several of Greg's ancestors were members of the Gordon Expedition, and it was my distinct pleasure to discuss the Confederate perspective with him. Greg had graciously provided me many leads on Georgia sources that I used in my book, Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863. It was a delight for me to show him York County, which he had never before visited. We paused in New Oxford, Abbottstown, Farmers, and took a detour down to Hanover Junction before heading to York, Hellam, and Wrightsville.

Kathy Friel and other members of the York CWRT listen to the description of what happened on the site on July 2, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Kim Shayda of the York Civil War Round Table was among the battlefield trampers on Saturday, November 1st, who accompanied Gettysburg National Military Park interpretive ranger Scott Hartwig on a battlewalk of the Stony Hill and Wheatfield.

For more pictures, click on the link...

For those of you who are wargamers, I am pleased to announce the impending publication of my latest collaboration with Chicago graphics designer and game author Ivor Janci. Entitled Brothers Divided: Skirmishes in the Gettysburg Campaign, the book presents several historical situations at various engagements during the campaign for wargamers to refight or try to change history.

Among the battles of local interest for gamers to play is the Skirmish at Hanover Junction (Elijah V. White versus the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia). Illustrations and maps are by Ivor Janci and Colin Burke; dioramas by Dennis Morris, and other gaming photos by Gettysburg's own John Mayer. For more information, or to read about the hobby of miniature wargaming and see scores of photos of games in progress, please click here.

York has always had strong ties with neighboring Maryland. As I frequently drive down I-83 to the BWI airport, I am reminded of the economic and commercial relationships, and, here in my neightborhood, a number of the homes are owned by transplanted Marylanders.

Those economic and social relationships date to well before the Civil War. During that conflict, for more than a year, the largest military force defending York was a company of infantry from Maryland.