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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By June 1865, the 112th Illinois Infantry was a battle-toughened veteran regiment. The starry-eyed recruits who had joined the regiment at its inception were now combat experienced and victorious, as the war was now over and it was time to head home. The regiment had participated in the Carolinas Campaign under William T. Sherman. The soldiers had boarded a train in Greensboro, North Carolina, for the long trip back to Chicago, where the men would receive their final pay and be mustered out of the army.

Instead of the hero's welcome in the WIndy City, one soldier would find himself in a Pennsylvania hospital.

Posted in Railroads Yankees York Haven

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Background post - Fire on the Conewago!

During the Civil War, the railroad tracks of the Northern Central crossed over the Conewago Creek near York Haven on a pair of single span wooden bridges. If these bridges could be destroyed, direct rail access from Baltimore to Harrisburg would be severed. Major General Darius Couch, commander of the Department of the Susquehanna, ordered part of the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia to safeguard the twin bridges against any Rebel attack. The Philadelphia-raised regiment had only been in the service for a few days when it was taken by train to York County and marched to to its various assignments. Little did they know, the Confederates were indeed coming for those bridges.

Posted in Gettysburg Campaign Railroads Yankees York Haven

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Harper's Weekly woodcut of an 1865 train wreck in Connecticut.

On July 18, 1863, the 23rd New York Militia passed through York, enroute from Baltimore to Harrisburg, where they would catch another series of trains to take them home to Brooklyn. In a previous post, I mentioned their relaxing train ride through scenic southern York County, and their impression of the somewhat greedy street vendors of the borough of York. A little adventure lay ahead of the big city boys as their train steamed through the farmland of northeastern York County.

Posted in Gettysburg Campaign Railroads Yankees York Haven

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On June 28, 1863, a veteran Confederate division under Major General Jubal Early entered York County with the goal of driving off local militia defenders and holding York for ransom. Near Weiglestown, Early dispatched Colonel William French with most of the 17th Virginia Cavalry on a mission across Manchester Township. His objective? Seize and burn the twin railroad bridges over Conewago Creek near York Haven. Their destruction would severely hamper traffic between Baltimore and Harrisburg on the Northern Central Railway.

Unknown to Early, the Yankees had, several days before, dispatched nearly a thousand fresh soldiers to York County to guard important bridges, the Howard Tunnel, and key supply routes. They were commanded by Colonel William Thomas (a wealthy Philadelphia businessman and Republican politician who was a personal friend of Abe Lincoln). Most of Thomas's men worked for him in the Customs House and Port of Philadelphia, but all were equipped with the latest in rifled muskets. The cavalrymen had pistols and sabers, with an occasional carbine. A clash of arms loomed, and the unsuspecting Confederate cavalrymen would be outnumbered and outgunned.

Posted in Gettysburg Campaign Railroads York Haven

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