York: September 2009 Archives

Cincinnati Daily Gazette, August 2, 1877. Courtesy of NewsinHistory.com

Sunday, June 28, 1863, was a bitter day for the residents of York, Pennsylvania. More than 1,000 Confederate soldiers from North Carolina occupied the town, with a couple thousand more in the environs. Virginians encamped along George Street on the Henry King and Thomas Schall farms in what is now North York with some troops stationed farther up the road toward Emigsville. The fabled Louisiana Tigers sat astride the hills and farms along the Codorus Creek near the site of today's Harley Davidson factory. Artillery crowned the hills north and south of town. And, to make matters worse, division commander Major General Jubal A. Early ransomed York for $100,000. Door-to-door solicitation failed to gather the requested cash, and Early began negotiating how York would pay the rest of its debt. A courier from his superior officer interrupted General Early's deliberations with the town fathers.

Years later, the former general was still trying to collect the debt, somewhat tongue-in-cheek perhaps, but tinged with the bitterness of losing the war and failing to collect the full amount of a ransom he believed the civic authorities has fully agreed to pay.

Salt Lake City Tribune, April 23, 1881.

April 2008 political rally in York, Pennsylvania, for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). York Daily Record - Jason Plotkin

York, Pennsylvania, received some national publicity for its efforts last year to recover city funds from the failed Hillary Clinton presidential candidacy as reimbursement for police and protective services when she was downtown for a political rally and speech on a public street.

However, this was certainly not the first time that York officials had pursued getting money back for civic expenditures caused by outside visitors to the town.

Back in 1863, another famous nationally known figure paid a visit to York. Not as politically ambitious as Senator Clinton, Confederate Maj. Gen. Jubal A. Early brought his own gun-toting entourage with him, a group far larger (and more dangerous) that Clinton's bodyguards and the York police that provided crowd control and security. Whereas Clinton's visit was in peace, Early's was to ransom the town for money and supplies (he collected $28,610 in tribute money collected by door-to-door solicitation). Early theatened to burn down the town's railroad station and associated rail yard structures, as well as nearby privately owned factories that manufactured rail cars and other supplies to the industry.

In March 1865, the city fathers took matters into their own hands in an effort to refill the coffers, sending a delegation down to Baltimore, Maryland, to meet with the Board of Directors for the Northern Central Railway Company. They asked for the exorbitant sum of $40,000 to cover expenses said to have been incurred by the town in protecting railroad property during the Gettysburg Campaign in 1863 (Early was not thwarted by anything the town provided in the way of protective services, but rather by his concern that a railroad fire might spread to the greater part of the town).

York received $2,500 from the Northern Central.

General Early's percentage of getting what he wanted from York was far higher than York's subsequent percentage from the railroad.

Baltimore Sun, March 23, 1865. Courtesy of NewsInHistory.com

1852 image of the old train station in downtown York, Pennsylvania. From fellow York Daily Record blogger Jim McClure's York Town Square blog.

Saturday, June 27, 1863, was one of the most momentous days in the history of York, Pennsylvania. Confederate troops were encamped in several locations in the western part of the county, specifically at Spring Forge, Farmers, and Big Mount. Cavalry raiders had looted Hanover and stolen horses and whiskey from scores of farmers in southwestern York County before sacking the Hanover Junction rail yard. Union militia guarding the vital railroad bridges at York Haven in northeastern York County spotted distant Confederate scouts, a signal that the vital railroad bridges were certain to attract further attention on the morrow.

More enemy troops were just across the northern border in Cumberland County and would arrive in York County on Sunday, concurrent with the eastward sweep through the heart of the county and on to the banks of the Susquehanna River in multiple locations.

All throughout the day, a throng of refugees passed through York en route to Wrightsville and passage across the mile-and-a-quarter long toll bridge to presumed safety in Lancaster County and points farther east.

In downtown York in the late afternoon, the scene at the N.C.R.'s rail station was compelling and, at times, chaotic, as crowds clamored to board what would be the last train out of town before the Rebels came.

One quick-thinking Philadelphia reporter climbed up on a nearby rail car to get a better view as the train steamed into York after making a hasty escape from Hanover Junction, where it had been chased by pistol-firing Rebels.

Here is his long-forgotten account of that chaotic late Saturday afternoon as the troops of Major Granville O. Haller sought to maintain order and decorum.

The old adage was in play: "Women and children first!"

The scenic Kreutz Creek in Hellam Township, York County, Pennsylvania. This creek roughly parallels the old rail bed of the Northern Central Railway and played a role in the June 28, 1863, Skirmish of Wrightsville. This was the line of approach used by a portion of the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry to screen the movements of three regiments of Georgia infantry under Col. Clement A. Evans.

Cannonball reader Gerry Boehm is a history buff from Berks County, Pennsylvania. He has had a special interest in the June 28, 1863, Skirmish of Wrightsville, a subject that of course has special meaning to me. Gerry is working his way through my recent book, Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863, which focuses on the expedition of part of Jubal A. Early's Confederate division to seize the mile-and-a-quarter-long covered bridge spanning the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville and Columbia.

Copyright 2007, Scott Mingus and Tom Poston, all rights reserved. Map of the June 28, 1863 skirmish of Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. No reproduction without written permission.

A view of the northwestern corner of the main intersection in Dover, Pennsylvania. In the 19th century, the town (and surrounding township) had a significant population of citizens with German heritage, including a Mrs. Forscht, who owned the white house.

The sturdy red brick building was the office of Dr. John Ahl, which was the Confederates' business office during their half-day stay in Dover on July 1, 1863. Here, Brig. Gen. Wade Hampton fired off dispatches via couriers, and later supervised the parole of 230 Yankees, including 21 men captured at the Battle of Hanover. Ahl's house was a beehive of activity, with a long line of Union prisoners lining the pavement awaiting their turn to sign the papers that promised they would not take up arms again until they were properly exchanged. They would be sent down into York, where they would be generously fed by the citizenry.

Dr. Ahl never filed any border claim for any damage to his property or theft, so it would appear that Hampton and his staff kept a tight rein on their men (and on the prisoners who paraded before them).

Who was Dr. John Ahl?