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While Confederate cavalry under Brigadier General John McCausland threatened Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, rumors flew in York County PA that other Rebel raiders had entered the southern part of the county and were riding toward the village of Glen Rock. The rumors proved groundless, but they scared the locals, many of which still vividly recalled the Confederate invasion of York County the previous year.

"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.

Philadelphia Press, August 6, 1863.

The Codorus Woolen Mill near the tiny hamlets of Brodbeck and Glenville, Pennsylania, in southern York County was established in 1790. It operated for more than a century and now is used as a workshop and apartments. During the American Civil War, the mill owner had a contract to supply woolen blankets to the Federal government for the Union Army.

The mill's operator / owner lived in the adjacent mill house, which is now a private home.

Cannonball reader Jim Brown is a long-time collector of old Civil War letters. He recently read my piece on the Amish and other conscientious objectors in York County, Pennsylvania, during the war. It reminded him of one of the letters in his extensive collection, which he was kind enough to transcribe, edit a bit for clarity of sentence structure, and then forward it to me to share with our readers.

He wrote,

Dear Mr. Mingus,

"Just finished reading your wonderful piece in "Viewpoints" about the Amish during the Civil War. Thanks for writing it; I learned a lot.

As a long time collector of Civil War letters, I immediately thought of a letter in my collection from an Amish (Pennsylvania Dutch ?) lady describing what the farmers were doing as two great armies advanced into Pennsylvania only to meet at a little town called Gettysburg. The letters date is June 26, 1863.

I must warn you that it is somewhat difficult to read. Many words are spelled phonetically and I have included punctuation for easier reading. It is transcribed exactly as it was written. It's most interesting to read what they were doing with their farm animals to hide them from the rebels.

I hope you enjoy it."

With Jim's permission, here is the fascinating letter from Phebe Angeline Smith, who lived in Washington Township in northwestern York County. Members of the Smith family were visited by the Rebels during the Gettysburg Campaign. Mrs. Smith writes to her sister on June 26, 1863, the day before the Confederates begin streaming into western York County on multiple roads from Adams County.

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To place an order, or to read more about this book, please visit amazon's webpage.

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.

At one time, scores of grist mills dotted the land along most larger creeks in York County, Pennsylvania. Many of these buildings are still in existence as private homes, storage buildings, or other uses, but unfortunately, a large number of old mills have been razed over the years since the decline of smaller private flour mills in favor of national brands.

Among those mills now long gone was the David B. Sprenkle mill near New Salem. He was particularly hit hard by elements of J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry in the early evening of June 30, 1863, when at least one group of Rebels paused from their northward trek toward Dover to take what they wanted from Spenkle's flour mill, stable, and country store.

Previous posts:
The Hanover Branch Railroad - Part 1 of a series
The Hanover Branch Railroad - Part 2
The Hanover Branch Railroad - Part 3

The approximate route of the historic Hanover Branch Railroad can be seen in the above map. The base map, courtesy of Google.com, shows the modern railroad tracks leading from Hanover, Pennsylvania, through Smith's Station to Porters Sideling, where they turn to the south. The existing track bed from Hanover is essentially the same as that of the old HBRR, and Elijah V. White and his raiders would have traveled this route. Undoubtedly some of his roughly 230 men would have followed the tracks themselves from Hanover while their ambulance, forge wagon, ammunition wagon, and a small train of empty supply wagons presumably used local roads that roughly parallel the tracks.

In the next few installments in this series (leading up to the skirmish and sacking of Hanover Junction), we will retrace some of the old HBRR line. Reader Bob Resig has sent in some photos taken a few years ago of some of the embankments of the old HBRR, as well as some piers from the old bridges that White burned (which were rebuilt in the months after the June 27, 1863, cavalry raid.

A view of the exterior of the Schultz house on Emig Street in Hallam, Pennsylvania. This heavily modified stone house dates from the early 19th century, and is shown in this U.S. government photograph taken in the 1980s. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

On Sunday afternoon, June 28, 1863, nearly 2000 Confederate soldiers marched through the tiny village of Hallam, Pennsylvania, in the heart of Hellam Township in eastern York County. Led by pre-wear Georgia attorney and businessman John Brown Gordon, the Rebels were marching from York to Wrightsville, where they were supposed to seize the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge and control access to Lancaster County.

It would not work out as General Gordon hoped.