Warrington Township: 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.

"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.