As I write this, I am sitting in a hotel in southern Ohio on a temporary business assignment. This area, Ross County, is rife with Native American lore and legend, and the town, Chillicothe, was once a bustling chief town of the Shawnee Nation. Legendary war chief Tecumseh is a popular figure in these parts, and there is a well attended outdoor drama remembering his exploits and life.

In some respects, this area during the Civil War was similar to York County. Both counties provided significant numbers of troops for the Union Army; both were comprised primarily of people of Germanic and Scotch-Irish heritage. Farming was still king, and the county seats were beginning to develop a strong industrial base. There were still vestiges of Native American culture and people scattered in the rural areas, and some of these men also joined the army to fight under Old Glory.

Posted in Yankees York

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An engraving of Richard S. Ewell before his hairline significantly receded.

By the early summer of 1863, the name Richard Stoddard Ewell was well known within North America. The balding and somewhat eccentric Ewell had received considerable press as a brigadier general for his service during the Peninsular Campaign, and had survived a bad wound at the Battle of Groveton that cost him a leg. Promoted to command of a corps in the Army of Northern Virginia in May 1863, his men had won a smashing and decisive victory only a few weeks later at the Second Battle of Winchester. By late June, Ewell was approaching Harrisburg with two-thirds of his force, while a division under Jubal Early threatened York.

York was a place quite familiar to "Old Baldy," for he had visited the town before the war, and an older brother, Benjamin, had moved to York in the late 1830s to accept a position as assistant engineer of the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad. The former West Point professor had subsequently married a York woman.

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Cover art from a 1991 book, The Story of the Northern Central Railway, by Robert L. Gunnarsson, Greenberg Publications.

All over York County, from the outskirts of Abbottstown to the west across the turnpike to Wrightsville and from Hanover to the southwest up to Dillsburg (and dozens of other towns and hundreds of farms), residents took stock of their losses. For some, the damage was relatively light - as low as a single horse. For others, their livelihoods had been destroyed (for example, a large milling operation in Wrightsville that had burned down, displacing the workers). In the next few days, I will outline some of the damage in York County (and perhaps beyond) caused by the Confederates.

I thank York County railroad buff, author, and historian Ivan E. Frantz, Jr. (and a colleague of mine at work) for sharing the following very interesting information he has gleaned from the files of the Northern Central Railway, one of the hardest hit companies.

Posted in Civilians Confederates Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Hanover Junction Other places Railroads York

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Life here in York County, Pennsylvania, was slowly returning to normal, although, for many, the trauma and scars from the Confederate invasion would go away slowly. Efforts continued to clean the U.S, Army Military Hospital on Penn Common, even as patients from the Battle of Gettysburg began arriving. Work crews assessed the damage to the county's railroad bridges, and telegraphers in Hanover and Hanover Junction worked to restore that vital communications link.

Posted in Civilians Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Hanover Junction York

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Jeb Stuart's three brigades of veteran Confederate cavalry rose in fields surrounding Dover and leisurely ate their breakfasts. Foraging patrols scoured neighboring farms for several miles looking for horses, mules, forage, horsehoes, and other supplies of military interest. They paid for them with worthless CSA currency or bank drafts to be paid by the Confederacy after the war ended. Scores of Union prisoners captured in Maryland or at the Battle of Hanover are paroled, released, and sent walking back down today's Route 74 to York. By early afternoon, Stuart's men are back in the saddle, as multiple columns wind their way through northwestern York County through Wellsville, Rossville, and Dillsburg, where the brigade of wealthy South Carolina planter and politician Wade Hampton III will camp for the night on the Mumper fruit farm.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the county...

Posted in Civilians Confederates Dillsburg Dover Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Hanover Junction Jefferson Wrightsville York

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James E. B. Brown, CSA Major General, led three brigades of veteran cavalry through southwestern York County after a half-day battle at Hanover.

At dawn, Confederate troops stir in their various camps, enjoy a final breakfast in York County, and prepare to resume their marching. Young Isaac Avery led his brigade out of downtown York, as the Tar Heels gustily sang "We'll Plant Our Colors on a Northern Hill," a popular ditty of the day. They picked up the Louisiana Tigers and Smith's Virginia brigade, and, trailing French's cavalry, marched toward Davidsburg.

In the meantime...

Posted in Confederates Dover Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Jefferson York

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Representative Civil War troops on the march, in this case, New York volunteers. Courtesy of Corbis.com.

Failing to find a way across the Susquehanna River with the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge now a smoldering wreckage, Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon retraces his steps and marches back to York. Cavalry under Elijah V. White burn a few more railroad bridges and terrorize farmers in the Hellam region, stealing or buying (with worthless CSA money) as many horses as they can find. Gordon's infantry march westward through York in the late afternoon and camp out near the Carlisle Road (today's Route 74).

Posted in Confederates Gettysburg Campaign Railroads York

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Reenactors / living historians pose in front of the 19th Century Bonham House, one of downtown York's many beautifully restored and maintained older homes.

My grandson and I spent much of the morning Saturday visiting the annual Patriot Days celebration in downtown York, Pennsylvania. This series of events includes a Civil War encampment, a Victorian ball, 19th Century musicians / dancers, a historical drama, a panel discussion on York during the Confederate occupation, and others.

Posted in Civilians Local ACW events York

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One of John Gordon's Georgians left a brief anecdote from his passage through York. This has not appeared in print since the 19th Century, I believe, when it was in a newspaper. Here is Private G. F. Agee's account...

Posted in Confederates Gettysburg Campaign Wrightsville York

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Sunday dawned bright and early on June 28. Most townspeople in York went about their daily routines, including dressing nicely for worship, strolling the sidewalks, and visiting friends and relatives. While church was in progress at St. Paul's Lutheran, the vanguard of the Confederate division of Jubal Early marched into York, preceded by the pioneer corps and advance pickets from the 31st Georgia. Rebels hauled down the large flag in the Center Square, as well as a smaller one from a nearby shop. York was now under Confederate control. The lead brigade, the Georgians of John Gordon, moved on to Wrightsville, while Jubal Early ringed York with artillery and established a series of camps.

Posted in Civil War people Civilians Confederates Dillsburg Emigsville Gettysburg Campaign Hanover Wrightsville Yankees York York Haven

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