19th-century York Fairgrounds scene of grand reviews, death

Gov. Andrew Curtin reviews troops at York's Camp Scott, the old York fairgrounds, in the early years of the Civil War. Camp Scott drew its name from Union Gen. Winfield Scott, and Curtin's name later became associated with Pennsylvania's main military camp near Harrisburg. The fairgrounds moved to its current location, west of York, in 1888. Lewis Miller drew this scene, courtesy of York County Heritage Trust.

The old York Fairgrounds, southeast corner of King and Queen streets, was the scene of pageantry early in the Civil War.

But it was also the scene of death, as it accommodated tens of thousands of raw recruits, as told in the York Town Square blog post: The horrors of Civil War struck York soon after Sumter.