Hanover, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War was a typical Pennsylvania town, with a town square marked by a public market shed where farmers could come to town once a week and sell their produce to townspeople and other shoppers. The sign for A. G. Schmidt's drugstore is on the right of this photograph. Courtesy of the Hanover Historical Society. If I recall correctly, Schmidt's wartime store was in a slightly different location.
June 27, 1863, was a day that the residents of Hanover would never forget. After days of persistent rain the skies brightened and the rain clouds went away. However, the day soon darkened in a different manner as a cloud of Confederate cavalry soon enveloped the regional commercial center. Lt. Col. Elijah V. White led his 200+ band of former partisans into downtown Hanover from Gettysburg, and troopers were soon busy destroying railroad track, severing telegraph wires, searching stables for fresh horses, and patrolling the streets. A handful of fleeing Hanoverians were chased out of town as bullets whizzed by. Several Rebels took the opportunity for a little shopping in downtown stores.
One thirsty officer entered A. G. Schmidt's drug store, hung his sword belt over a desk post, and demanded a pint of whiskey. Schmidt did not sell liquor, but he took an empty medicine bottle across the street to John Irving's hotel and purchased whiskey for the dumbfounded Rebel. Other cavalrymen came in later to buy soap, brushes, and combs for themselves, and several acquired fine-toothed ladies' combs to send home. The officer, still sitting in a chair savoring his whiskey, told Schmidt that he should only accept greenbacks. Schmidt declared that the soldiers could take whatever they really needed and not worry about payment. He did accept a few Confederate bills, keeping them as souvenirs.
