Gettysburg Campaign: March 2009 Archives

Jim Durney of Tampa Bay wrote on various Civil War and book review sites:

"Histories of the Gettysburg Campaign dismiss The Pennsylvanian response with no more than a page. The hapless state militia breaks at the first rumor of an attack, dropping all government issued equipment in their haste to run away. The Army of Northern Virginia's veterans make jokes about the militia's lack of performance while reequipping themselves at U.S. Government expense. Somehow, the local militia manages to burn the critical bridge over the Susquehanna River stopping the Army of Northern Virginia from capturing the state capitol. This piece of almost mindless good luck saves the Lincoln administration from a major embarrassment and contributes to the South's defeat. During the Battle of Gettysburg, only one man, John Burns, stepped forward to fight for his home.

The question is how do you turn 120 odd words into book of over 600 pages? More important, can you make that book a marketable product that people will want to buy? First, any book that is part of The Discovering Civil War America Series, merits consideration. This outstanding series of histories on the Civil War are informative, fun to read and inexpensive. This is a Gettysburg book and any Civil War person will automatically look at a book on Gettysburg. The opening paragraph is only half in jest. I have read a few books on Gettysburg but never read much more than a page on this operation. You might stop in York to look at the tablets saying Early took the town in 1863. Maybe you stop in some of the small towns on the way to the park from York. However very few of us know much about this area and we really want to get on the battlefield.

Scott Mingus Sr. makes an important addition to the story of Gettysburg by filling a void that we were unaware of by replacing our comfortable assumptions with a detailed study of the action from June 26 to 30, 1863. This is a rich layered story with unexpected complications. The first 90 pages set the stage as the author starts the invasion of 1863. While some of this is familiar territory, the focus moves us toward Pennsylvania and the state's building response. The balance of the book moves us from Gettysburg on June 26 to the Susquehanna River and back to Gettysburg on July 1.

Cannonball reader and Harrisburg CWRT member Doug Gibboney of Cumberland County was kind enough to send me a couple of photos of his house and barn, which were among the hundreds of Pennsylvania homesteads visited by the Confederate cavalry of J.E.B. Stuart in late June / early July of 1863.

Doug writes, "The house is on Rt. 74, Monroe Twp., Cumberland County. It was built in 1813 by the Young family. They still owned the house when Jeb Stuart and his boys rode by on the late afternoon and early evening of July 1. According to oral history, the Young family fled upon the Rebs' approach, taking with them as much as they could. Upon their return, they found a young horse in the barn when apparently had been stolen down the road and could no longer keep up. It became the daughter's saddle horse.

The house can be found on the map Jed Hotchkiss prepared for the C.S. invasion."

Washington historian and author Guy Breshears wrote a book on the efforts of York-born Major Granville Owen Haller of the 7th U.S. Infantry's long fight to overturn his dismissal from the Regular Army, an effort that finally resulted in his reinstatement and promotion to colonel. Breshear's book is entitled Dismissed with Malice.

Haller's house where he lived in Coupeville, Washington, after he was dismissed from the army (he was accused by a mentally unstable naval officer Clark Wells of making seditious comments about Lincoln and the Federal government). Shortly after the end of the Gettysburg Campaign, Haller was dismissed, despite letters of recommendation from several Union officers who served with him or for him in Adams and York counties of southern Pennsylvania.

This well maintained old 19th century farmhouse and associated outbuildings are located at the intersection of Butter and Bull roads (a.k.a "Eastmont") in northeastern Dover Township in York County, Pennsylvania. During the American Civil War, Confederate cavalry patrols from Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton III's brigade of Jeb Stuart's cavalry corps passed by this home and foragers likely wandered around the barn and stable looking for horses. It is probable they found none, as farmer E. Gross did not file a formal damage claim with the state to recover any losses for personal property taken by the Rebels. Of course, not every York Countian whose horses or other possession were stolen bothered to file a claim after the war.

Stuart divided up his force, with the brigades of Col. John Chambliss, Jr. and Brig. Gen. Fitzhugh Lee heading northwesterly via Harmony Grove Road to Wellsville, where they too apparently split up on parallel roads for a short period before rendezvousing south of Dillsburg.

My new book on one of the most famous brigades in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia during the Gettysburg Campaign will be published (as was my recently released Flames Beyond Gettysburg) on archival quality, acid-free premium book paper from Glatfelter. Click on the icon above to learn more about the permanent, library-quality paper used by many leading printers and book publishers across North America.

I received formal notification today from LSU Press that my upcoming book, The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863, will indeed appear in their Fall 2009 book catalog.The book will be 352 pages, with a footprint of 6"x9". It will have 8 maps, some of which I am using under license from Brad Gottfried (maps of the Second Battle of Winchester). The forward to the book is by noted New England author Brent Nosworthy, who wrote the classic Civil War book Bloody Crucible of Courage.

ISBN 978-0-8071-3479-5

Cloth-bound hardback, dust jacket. October 2009.

$34.95 MSRP.

Here is a snippet...

With the publicity created by my recently released Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863, I have received so many great e-mails from around the country. Among them is one from Georgia history buff Jerry Ivey, who sent me these photographs of his ancestors. These men were part of Brigadier General John B. Gordon's brigade that marched from Farmers to York, paraded through Center Square, and then on to Wrightsville for the skirmish against the Pennsylvania militia and the York Invalids.

James T. Branch had five sons [Jesse, David, Elias, James C., Jr. and William] in the army in the 61st Georgia, as well as his brother-in-law WIlliam Young. They would not all come home.

RiverTownes PA USA is a non-profit organization formed several years ago by several citizens of three southern Pennsylvania cities along the Susquehanna River, including Wrightsville here in York County and Columbia and Marietta across the wide river in Lancaster County. The organization works to promote the cities for tourism, newcomers, visitors, and current residents. Its mission is "promoting, preserving and enhancing the culture, heritage and related commerce and recreational activities in the Pennsylvania Susquehanna river towns of Columbia, Marietta and Wrightsville and surrounding areas."

The group's board of directors is equally represented by delegates from each of the three river towns, and they meet regularly to conduct their business. Claire Storm is the current president, and among her passions is the Civil War history of the region. The wayside interpretive marker shown above is located outside of the Susquehanna Valley Visitors Center just off U.S. Route 30, and Claire and the RiverTownes organization maintain close ties with the VC. Several other historical interpretive panels are planned or installed.

The Krall family owned a fair amount of land off Lisburn Road in Warrington Township near Round Top, including much of the land on the eastern side of the intersection of today's State Route 74 and the state game land road. There, they operated a general dry goods store. A little farther up Lisburn Road is the old farmhouse owned by Jacob D. Krall. On a warm summer afternoon in 1863, a patrol of Confederate cavalry from Brigadier General Wade Hampton III's brigade of Jeb Stuart's division passed by this farm.

They did not leave empty handed.

Press Release:

DOVER -- Glatfelter scientist and local historian Scott L. Mingus Sr. will give a presentation at the March meeting of the Greater Dover Historical Society, 7:00 p.m. Thursday. March 19, 2009, at Calvary Lutheran Church on the square in Dover (near the intersection of Carlisle Road (Route 74) and Canal Road).

Mingus will discuss the trails of Civil War generals Early, Stuart, Hampton and others as they led their troops through Dover Township and Dover, and east to York or northwesterly toward Dillsburg.

He will speak on Dover-area families whose lives were directly touched by the troops while they camped on local farm properties and helped themselves to horses and crops. Some family names he will touch on are Meisenhelter, Bowersox, Kinsey, Laucks, Daron and Weigle.

The public is invited to the free program. Refreshments will be served following the presentation. For details, call president Madelyn Shermeyer at 292-2018 or e-mail mmshermeyer@ddogcom.net.

The society will meet again at 7 p.m. April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16 (picnic), Aug. 20, Sept. 17, Oct. 15 and Nov. 19, all at Calvary Lutheran Church.

York Gettysburg buff Randy Drais has a new and improved version of his popular Battle of Gettysburg Buff website. It's chock full of interesting anecdotes, incidents, and nearly 400 (yes, 400!) photographs, as well as resources, links, book suggestions, and all kinds of information jammed into a single website that is sure to become one of your favorites.

Great job, Randy!!!

On July 1, 1863, Confederate cavalry under J.E.B. Stuart, most likely patrols from the brigade of Brigadier General Wade Hampton III, foraged far and wide in north-central Dover Township in York County, Pennsylvania. They were looking for horses, and, more often than not, they discovered that the residents had taken their animals to safety. However, more than 260 horses were collected by Stuart (and earlier Rebels parties) in Dover Township alone, according to state border claim records in Harrisburg.

Among the farms hit by the Rebels was this one off Nursery Road. George Wintermeyer reported losing a three-year-old black mare from his stable in his barn.

U.S. Congressman Joe Pitts (R - PA) and Pennsylvania author and wargamer Scott L. Mingus Sr. met on March 9 to discuss the Civil War in Lancaster and York counties. Here, the writer (right) presents Congressman Pitts with a personalized copy of Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863. Pitts is a long-time supporter of Lancaster-area historical venues and in particular has been interested in the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge during the American Civil War.

Two of Mingus's children graduated from Lancaster County colleges (Millersville University and Elizabethtown College), and Professor Scott L. Mingus, Jr. teaches World History at Harrisburg Community College's Lancaster regional campus.

This old grist mill on the banks of the Big Conewago Creek in extreme southern Washington Township, York County, Pennsylvania, has a long and storied history, including playing a role in feeding Confederate troops in the Gettysburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Known for many years as the "Eisenhart Mill" for a post-war owner, during the War Between the States, the mill was owned and operated by a miller named Emanuel Butt.

On June 28, 1863, Confederate troops of the veteran division of Major General Jubal A. Early marched through Adams County to East Berlin and subsequently camped in nearby York County at the hamlet of Big Mount. Along the way, dozens of residents were victimized by foraging patrols which were seeking supplies, food, and, most of all, fresh horses and mules.

The southeastern corner of Canal Road (foreground) and Bull Road (a.k.a "Motter's Corners") in northern York County, Pennsylvania, has been a site for a country store for more than 150 years. Heavily modified and expanded, the original frame building can be discerned within the newer structure. On June 29, 1863, Confederate raiders from the 17th Virginia Cavalry visited the store and cleaned it out. They took large quantities of coffee, sugar and some wearing apparel, and left worthless Confederate cash with the owner, Elias S. Quickel.

Youthful Eli Quickel opened the shop in extreme western Conewago Township in the early 1860s. Born November 3, 1837, in York, Quickel came from a large and old Pennsylvania German family. On December 1, 1859, he married Mary A. Bear in York and they established a household. They raised a daughter, Mary Magdalena Quickel, and were active in their community.

The Confederate raid on his shop did not deter Quickel, as he soon rebuilt his inventory and resumed business.

Quickel died on his wedding anniversary, December 1, 1914, at the age of 76 in York. He is buried in the city's Greenmount Cemetery.

Washington writer Guy Breshears has always been interested in the military and social history of the state and the Pacific Northwest as a region. One of his particular interests is Major Granville Owen Haller, a York native who plays the antagonist role in my book, Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863. A couple of years ago, Breshears chronicled the court-martial proceedings of Major Haller, who was accused by another Civil War officer with York ties, Clark Wells, of making disloyal comments about the Federal government and President Lincoln at a late 1862 wine-tasting party at a military campsite near Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Letters flew back and forth between Wells and Haller at the start of 1863, and Haller apparently thought the matter was settled. He commanded the forces that tried to defend Adams and York counties during the Gettysburg Campaign, and then, after the emergency was over, found that he had been dismissed from the army for disloyalty. He was not reinstated for nearly two decades, during which time he amassed a fortune in Washington as a businessman. The army finally reinstated Haller and promoted him to colonel.

Guy Breshear's book, Major Granville Haller: Dismissed with Malice, was published by Heritage Books and is available from leading book dealers such as amazon.com. It is mostly a collection of Haller's official reports, statements made by him that are contained in his widely circulated rebuttal to the charges, and a transcript of the court proceedings that reinstated him to the service.

The southern approach to Mount Royal, Pennsylvania, along the old Carlisle Road as seen in this February 28, 2009, photograph. On the afternoon of July 1, 1863, Major General J.E.B. Stuart led a column of Confederate cavalry into this tiny village nestled in the Conewago Mountains of northern York County. Those forces most likely consisted of the cavalry brigade of Brigadier General Wade Hampton III, the divisional wagon train, and a captured 125-wagon Union supply train that had been taken near Rockville, Maryland, a few days before Stuart's passage through Mount Royal.

Manchester Township author and historian Scott L. Mingus, Sr. will be the featured guest speaker at the March 18, 2009, meeting of the York Civil War Round Table. The meeting is FREE and open to the public, so everyone is welcome! It is at 7:00 PM at the York County Heritage Trust's auditorium at 250 E. Market Street in York (the historic Lincoln Highway).

One of the most strategically important parts of the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign today is virtually unknown to the modern battlefield tramper. In late June, Confederate Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon led a vital expedition through south-central Pennsylvania with a goal of seizing the mile-long Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge over the Susquehanna River. Along the way, Gordon had to deal with hastily recruited and barely trained state emergency militia whose mission was to delay the Rebels for as long as possible and then deny them the use of the river crossing.