West Manchester Township: May 2009 Archives

Jacob Deisinger, like so many of his fellow farmers in York County, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War had either ignored the repeated warnings in mid-June 1863 that the Confederates were coming, or did not receive them for some reason. Deisinger, born in 1818 in the county, owned a sprawling farm off Baker Road in West Manchester Township. He married, raised a large family, and was active in his church and community. As far as can be known, he lived a productive, industrious life.

On the evening of June 30, his peaceful, secure lifestyle was temporarily interrupted by a passing patrol of Southern saddle soldiers.

The old Peter Bott, Sr. farm at 141 N. Emig Mill Road in West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania. Bott filed a border claim after the war complaining that a large body of Confederate cavalry briefly camped on his land late on June 30, 1863.

Peter Bott was a member of a prominent family of farmers in the lower part of West Manchester Township. A small village, Bottstown, grew up around the turnpike gate on what is today U.S. Route 30 west of the city of York. Period maps are dotted with the Bott name or derivatives. Peter Bott's sprawling farm contained a hilltop cemetery that was filled with family members and nearby neighbors and distant relatives.

His farm was along the known path of J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry on the night of June 30, and was the first farm north of the turnpike (Route 30). It was (and is) prominent from the pike, and would have been a landmark in the moonlight.

Another picturesque York County farm that was visited by the Confederates during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. This particular farm is on Taxville Road near Baker Road in West Manchester Township. The Knights of the Golden Circle operated in this region, but were most active in Codorus and North Codorus townships to the south and in Dover township to the north.

Background posts:
* The Knights of the Golden Circle
* 1863 Washington newspaper recounts outrages Rebels inflicted on York Countians

I have been fascinated by the June 1863 shenanigans of several New York con artists here in York County, Pennsylvania. These men traveled to York, set up headquarters there (presumably in a local hotel), and then canvassed the county to sell worthless certificates / tickets from the Knights of the Golden Circle, a secret pro-Confederate organization with alleged ties to the Copperhead or peace movement. The buyer would pay a buck for the golden paper, and would in turn be instructed in secret hand signals similar in concept to the Masons or other secret societies of the day. Of more interest to the farmers and residents, the tickets came with the promise that the Confederates would leave their property and horses alone should war come to southern Pennsylvania. The same con game was played on residents of Franklin and Adams County, and both Jubal Early and J.E.B. Stuart commented on the unusual hand gestures in their post-Gettysburg reports.

In March and April of 1863, reports circulated in Berks County that the Rebels would be invading Pennsylvania at harvest time (mid-summer) and that the payment of $1 would protect the livestock and crops (the same con as was perpetrated in southern PA). I have also read of similar accounts elsewhere.

Here is a Harrisburg reporter's view on the situation (forgive the butchered Pennsylvania Dutch: I do not speak the language and it was hard to make out the words of the microfilmed old newspaper).

This hand-carved Civil War soldier and his faithful dog stands guard at a house on Taxville Road in West Manchester Township in central York County, Pennsylvania. The pair of statues were carved in oak, and replaced an earlier set of statues that had been carved from an old tree that once stood in the yard.

The old farmhouse in 1863 was the Dr. Jacob Eisenhart house. He was related to Dr. Adam Eisenhart, whose Manchester Township farmhouse, raided by Rebel cavalrymen from Virginia, now serves as the offices of the church Debi and I attend, the Stillmeadow Church of the Nazarene.

The old George Eyster, jr. farm is at 1760 Taxville Road near the intersection with Derry Road in West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania.

For several hours on the evening of Tuesday, June 30, 1863, thousands of Confederate cavalrymen rode through a part of West Manchester Township en route from the Battle of Hanover toward Dover, Pennsylvania. Commanded by colorful Virginia-born Major General J. E.B. Stuart, the long column entered the township north of York-New Salem, crossed the Gettysburg turnpike (U.S. Route 30) and followed N. Emig Mill Road to S. Salem Church Road, where it turned and headed up to Dover. The troopers came into the township in three distinct brigades, with the final column, that of Brigadier General Wade Hampton III of South Carolina pausing at a particular farm to rest and regroup while the leader slept (more on that in an upcoming post).

Patrols from Stuart's division scoured the countryside to find horses. Among the many farms where they found success was the George Eyster, Jr. place.

The old Cicero G. Weigel house at 1931 Derry Road in West Manchester Township, York County, Pennsylvania, has witnessed a lot of York County's changes. it dates back to before the American Civil War, when the township was agrarian, dotted with mills and farms. Now, the township is marked by bedroom communities, sprawling shopping complexes, and at times maddening traffic. Photo courtesy of Mel Miller.

I met Mel Miller back before all my eye problems when I was speaking at the March meeting of the Greater Dover Historical Society. We had a pleasant conversation, and Mel remarked that he was the historian for the West Manchester Township Historical Society. I shared with him that portion of my county-wide database of all Civil War damage claims that I have compiled over the years (more than 800 claims), and Mel has since invited me to speak to his organization on Confederate activity in the township during the Gettysburg Campaign. He and I are working on a date to get together to combine our efforts and exchange knowledge (and to take photos for this blog and for an upcoming new book).

Mel graciously provided me with an article he wrote for the newsletter of the West Manchester Township Historical Society. The society is open to any interested persons, and they maintain a website with some historical information of use, particularly the cemetery information for those of you readers with ancestors buried in the area. If you are interested, membership in the group starts at only $20 a year.