tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34396264756838143892024-03-14T05:02:58.482-04:00Lancaster at WarLancaster County and the 79th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry fight the Civil War.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-88666970858515636672020-06-21T00:47:00.001-04:002020-06-21T00:47:51.946-04:00FOUND: A Father-Son Photo with Lt. Col. John H. Duchman<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CDV of Lt. Col. John H. Duchman and Lt. Jacob S. Duchman (presumed)<br />Photo by Harmany & Eberman, Lancaster (vws collection) </td></tr>
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In honor of Father's Day, I'm happy to share a photograph of a father-son pair who served in the same theater of war. It also happens to be the first image -- at least that I can recollect -- showing the officer second-in-command of the 79th Pennsylvania for the first year of the war, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14493941/john-h.-duchman" target="_blank">Lt. Col. John H. Duchman</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnHHeJZkfNeoOjj3hYlPIt22vuhx-ZOAYqD35F0GHYx9IzZSXnJ_Sw7JwnB5kDrJsp0PQimS_TKR_KUbxr5irrcDgkoUKeKKQ3S3VKYrN8QsH4d4vVGjBqlCVrTLKXtblT87BfbmMYhLi/s1600/Image+%252853%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1230" data-original-width="779" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEnHHeJZkfNeoOjj3hYlPIt22vuhx-ZOAYqD35F0GHYx9IzZSXnJ_Sw7JwnB5kDrJsp0PQimS_TKR_KUbxr5irrcDgkoUKeKKQ3S3VKYrN8QsH4d4vVGjBqlCVrTLKXtblT87BfbmMYhLi/s320/Image+%252853%2529.jpg" width="202" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CDV Verso</td></tr>
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While the image isn't identified, Lt. Col. Duchman is an obvious conclusion for the older man with oak leaves on his shoulder straps (denoting a lieutenant colonel) is in this early-war photograph taken in the Lancaster studio of Harmany & Eberman. Born in 1796, he also has the distinction of veteran status for the War of 1812(!). He would raise Company B of the 79th Pennsylvania and get elected as lieutenant colonel at the age of 65. The identity of the other soldier is then almost surely his son, <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39046565/jacob-s-duchman" target="_blank">Jacob S. Duchman</a>, who served as a second lieutenant in Company K, 77th Pennsylvania.<br />
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Lt. Col. Duchman resigned after the arduous race back to Louisville just before the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862, where the 79th Pennsylvania fought gallantly and sustained heavy casualties. Rumors in Lancaster disparaging Duchman's character apparently circulated after Perryville, but the newspapers quickly sprung to his defense -- and his advanced age should have been more than enough of an excuse.<br />
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The younger Duchman took a more circuitous route with his Civil War service. The Bates PA card file lists him as an early enlistee in his father's original company before promotion, Company B, 79th Pennsylvania. He apparently took an opportunity to jump for a position as an officer in what become a Company K, 77th Pennsylvania (which was originally supposed to be the tenth Lancaster company of the 79th Pennsylvania). His resigned on May 1, 1862, which would have been a few weeks after the 77th Pennsylvania played a supporting role in the Battle of Shiloh. The card file indicates that he then reenlisted as a private in Company K, 77th Pennsylvania, in which he served through the end of the war and beyond as the 77th Pennsylvania served in the Department of Texas. It would be interesting to see if any newspaper records or soldiers' letters provide context to the decision to resign and reenlist.<br />
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At least two other father-son combinations exist within the set of Lancaster soldiers serving in the Western Theater: Oscar M. Johnston and Charles M. Johnston of Company F, 9th PA Cavalry, and Henry M. and Joshua W. Geiter of the 79th Pennsylvania. Both are worthy of their own stories. I believe that Oscar M. Johnston got involved with some company controversies in 1862 that resulted in disciplinary action. <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39972101/joshua-weistling-geiter" target="_blank">Joshua Geiter</a> was killed in action at Chickamauga, and his father would write to the <i>Intelligencer </i>under the pen name "Ajax" in 1864 and 1865. These are just pairs that I have run into in research. It's likely that there are several more.<br />
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Here's the biography of John H. Duchman from the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=O5N4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA164&lpg=PA164&dq=john+duchman+hotel+lancaster&source=bl&ots=yJZZ0UfHTF&sig=ACfU3U0eeyfso0VeMY9paKE2RAAmXOUDQw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj3-pmxgJLqAhV-VzABHclBBAMQ6AEwBHoECAYQAQ#v=onepage&q=john%20duchman%20hotel%20lancaster&f=false" target="_blank">1872 collection of Lancaster biographies by Alexander Harris:</a><br />
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<i>DUCHMAN, Col. John H., was a prominent citizen of </i><br />
<i>Lancaster city for many years. He was, by occupation, in </i><br />
<i>his younger years, a hatter, and carried on this business for </i><br />
<i>years. He kept for a number of years the Leopard hotel, </i><br />
<i>in East King street. Early in life he became captivated </i><br />
<i>with military glory and volunteered in the war of 1812-14. </i><br />
<i>He served as first Lieutenant of the old Lancaster Fencibles, </i><br />
<i>then under command of Capt. John K. Findley, which was </i><br />
<i>famed for its admirable discipline, and which was disbanded </i><br />
<i>about the breaking out of the Mexican war. Some years </i><br />
<i>after this Col. Duchman raised a new company, also named </i><br />
<i>the Fencibles, of which he was elected Captain. It was this </i><br />
<i>company which escorted James Buchanan to Washington in </i><br />
<i>March, 1857, at the time he was inaugurated President of </i><br />
<i>the United States. This company remained in existence up </i><br />
<i>to the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861. and became </i><br />
<i>Company F of the 1st Pennsylvania regiment. Owing to </i><br />
<i>ill health, Capt. Duchman was unable to march with his </i><br />
<i>company, and 1st Lieutenant Emlen Franklin succeeded to </i><br />
<i>the command. For some years he was clerk in the Lancaster </i><br />
<i>bank. During James Buchanan's administration he held a </i><br />
<i>position in the custom house in Philadelphia. Shortly after </i><br />
<i>the breaking out of the rebellion he raised a company for </i><br />
<i>the 79th Regiment, P. "V. of which he was chosen Lieutenant </i><br />
<i>Colonel. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>On account of advanced age and the rigors of the field, he </i><br />
<i>was compelled to retire from active service after having </i><br />
<i>served about one year. He died October 8th, 1866, in the </i><br />
<i>70th year of his age. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-17329508369624708512020-05-01T21:40:00.000-04:002020-05-01T21:40:00.869-04:00More Info on Binkley's Mill Covered Bridge<i>Self-described covered bridge buff <a href="https://www.amazon.com/covered-bridges-Lancaster-County-Pennsylvania/dp/B0007C6XN4" target="_blank">Thomas Kipphorn</a> found <a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2011/08/lancaster-county-views-stereoviews-by.html" target="_blank">an old blog post of mine with stereoviews (below) by William Gill showing Binkley's Mill and Bridge</a> on the New Holland Pike where it crosses over the Conestoga. He kindly sent me some of his research on the site, offering it for publication on this blog.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Binkley's Mill and Bridge" (vws)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ea0WGFzIbk8/TkXLGe88klI/AAAAAAAAARw/r6fOrzqTBvA/s1600/conestogaatbinkleys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ea0WGFzIbk8/TkXLGe88klI/AAAAAAAAARw/r6fOrzqTBvA/s640/conestogaatbinkleys.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Conestoga at Binkley's" (vws)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">"Binkley's Bridge" (vws)</td></tr>
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<b>PA/38-36-80x</b> Christian / Milo / David Binkley's Mill / Printer's Paper Mill Bridge- Was Big Conestoga #17, and then state owned. The site is now abandoned. It was a two span Double Burr Truss 306' long, with a clear span of 295'8", a 16' roadway, a 12'6" clearance and at 25', this was the highest built above water in the county except for Susquehanna River intercounty structures. The covered bridge had replaced an earlier multi-arch stone bridge that had been washed away. It was built in 1869 by Elias McMellen at a cost of $1,650.00.<br />
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It was located between East Lampeter and Manheim Townships, oriented east-northeast to west-southwest on what is now called Pennwick Road on the East Lampeter Township (east) side and Papermill Road on the other (T555 both sides), but formerly an old section of what is now Route 23, SR0023 or the New Holland Pike. On Saturday, November 25, 1882, the adjoining mill caught fire. Flames spread to the bridge and both were destroyed. <br />
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The Columbia Iron Bridge Company built a new two span wrought iron Pratt through truss bridge on the old abutments and center pier and that lasted until an overweight truck dropped one of the spans, killing the driver, on Thursday, September 29, 1929. After this, the road was relocated about 550' downstream (south), mainly to eliminate two right angle bends set in opposite directions of each other on the Pennwick Road end, which put the new road on the downstream side of the former Lancaster to New Holland trolley bridge (empty abutments now gone), in 1930, to a new two span steel pony truss bridge. This bridge was replaced in 1989 -1990 by the present four span concrete bridge at the same site. The two right angle bends of Pennwick Road, which can be seen in a Penn Pilot aerial photo dated to April 29, 1940, still exist behind a barricade, but there is no trace of the old abutments or center pier of the covered bridge. <br />
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A local resident says the stonework from the abutments and pier were used to build cofferdams to lay the foundations for the 1930 steel bridge. However, the foundation of the center pier can still be seen in low water. Coordinates are taken off the pier foundation: 40° 4.4723'N, 76° 15.5693'W.<br />
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Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com1New Holland Pike, Pennsylvania, USA40.0799153 -76.2505250999999940.0313108 -76.331206099999989 40.128519800000007 -76.169844099999992tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-71039797644574279722019-06-08T23:31:00.000-04:002019-06-08T23:33:52.786-04:00The Rev. Charles A. Baer's Civil War<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rev. Charles Alfred Baer<br />
From album of Lutheran pastors in the<br />
archive of LTS Philadelphia</td></tr>
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While the Civil War has been thoroughly documented through lenses such as regiments, battles, and cities, how religious communities experienced the war is somewhat of an open question. Perhaps the minutia of congregational life and how people lived out religious commitments over the entire 19th century hasn't received too much attention, but the intense experience of the Civil War provides a natural focal point. Not long ago during a trip to the archives of the Lutheran Theological Seminary, I found a reference to the diaries of the Rev. Charles Alfred Baer <a href="https://hsmcpa.org/images/thebulletin/1950vol7no2.pdf">conveniently published in the 1950 <i>Bulletin of the Historical Society of Montgomery County</i></a>, which are a fantastically interesting account of the Lancaster native's duties and how he cared for members of his congregation in Norristown.<br />
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The battlefield-home front connections are rather direct. He visited both the Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields, as well as the camp of the 122nd Pennsylvania. Trinity Lutheran Church in Norristown seems to be most connected with the 51st Pennsylvania, famous for charging across Burnside's Bridge at the Battle of Antietam. A role on the Board of Directors of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg brought him to Gettysburg after the battle, which makes sense as much planning for repairs would have needed to take place after the intense battle on Seminary Ridge on July 1, 1863. The trip to Gettysburg -- and, presumably, the time that he spent visiting battlefield hospitals -- caused his unexpected and much-lamented demise a few weeks later.<br />
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Baer was born on May 28, 1831, to John and Frances Baer in Lancaster. John Baer was a prominent publisher in Lancaster who might be best known for a farmer's almanac that is still published today. After studying in Lancaster under Prof. F. A. Muhlenberg, he went to Yale, which was actually the setting for a spiritual awakening. He proceeded to the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg and ended up as the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Norristown in 1859. His diaries ended up in the hands of someone named Kirke Bryan, who published selections in successive issues of the 1950 <i>Bulletin of the Historical Society of Montgomery County</i>. I don't know where the diaries are now. Just a few examples of the rich content that stuck out to me include:<br />
<ol>
<li>On August 15, 1862, he received a letter from his brother, Benjamin F. Baer, who was going off to war as a captain in the 122nd Pennsylvania. Charles Baer rushed to Lancaster to see him off, but missed seeing his brother. Charles Baer stuck around to visit with the Sunday schools on August 17 and preach a sermon entitled, "A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ," that evening in Holy Trinity.</li>
<li>On August 27, he was back in Norristown talking to the Sunday school assembled for a picnic. To impress the young people, he borrowed a sword from the Schall family -- which had several sons as officers in the 51st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry -- that had seen use in Burnside's North Carolina Expedition: "The exercises opened with singing several pieces and prayer, after which I made an address. I took with me a sword which I borrowed from Schalls' which had been used in battles in North Carolina. It attracted the attention of the scholars. From the 'carnal weapon' I led them to the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and showed them how they must use that weapon to keep them safe from the assaults of the Devil." </li>
<li>From Sunday, September 21, 1862: "Just as the people were gathering to churches several of our wounded men of the 51st Regiment came up the street, returning home. One of them was Mr. John Freedley, who was wounded in the battle of Antietam. He had been reported dead, but his family had the gratification to meet him alive." Also, "Evening services were well attended. I preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan, and made an application of it to the duty of caring for our wounded soldiers."</li>
</ol>
<div>
Some other links and notes: </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Another photograph of Charles A. Baer is in the collection of the Lancaster County Historical Society as object ID A-23-01-24.</li>
<li><a href="https://hsmcpa.org/images/thebulletin/1950vol7no2.pdf" target="_blank">Diary Part 1 </a></li>
<li><a href="https://hsmcpa.org/images/thebulletin/1950vol7no3.pdf" target="_blank">Diary Part 2</a></li>
<li><a href="http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1859_1924/1863-64.pdf" target="_blank">Yale's 1863-1864 Obituary Record</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=N0A5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA541&dq=%22Charles+Alfred+Baer%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8u63Dm67iAhUBm-AKHTIyBQEQ6AEIRzAF#v=onepage&q=%22Charles%20Alfred%20Baer%22&f=false" target="_blank">Several tributes to Baer in the <i>Evangelical Quarterly Review</i> </a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=61QJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA20-IA7&dq=charles+a+baer+norristown+lutheran&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt3oDnnq7iAhXkYd8KHQnoCsgQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=charles%20a%20baer%20norristown%20lutheran&f=false" target="_blank">History of Trinity Lutheran Church, Norristown</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34201802/charles-alfred-baer" target="_blank">Find A Grave entry</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFabxG761oc98kkqxiFSoBUw-1MJUhUUIKpKdvU4u7gOP-o_zjF0N71x3HbxDS3NWeWOhtpBw98YnyMvN8-WnRxok4lh4G43kGlD_YGOMbMIA25hi3eZBtuQmF3-xpt1LtdnD6natgmZmw/s1600/Edwin_Forbes_-_The_Charge_across_the_Burnside_Bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="726" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFabxG761oc98kkqxiFSoBUw-1MJUhUUIKpKdvU4u7gOP-o_zjF0N71x3HbxDS3NWeWOhtpBw98YnyMvN8-WnRxok4lh4G43kGlD_YGOMbMIA25hi3eZBtuQmF3-xpt1LtdnD6natgmZmw/s640/Edwin_Forbes_-_The_Charge_across_the_Burnside_Bridge.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The charge of the 51st Pennsylvania across Burnside's Bridge at the Battle of Antietam<br />
Many of Pastor Baer's parishioners served in this regiment.<br />
Sketch by Edwin Forbes (<a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Edwin_Forbes_-_The_Charge_across_the_Burnside_Bridge.jpg" target="_blank">source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-27870480958689610072019-06-07T22:16:00.001-04:002019-06-07T22:19:25.797-04:00"Bride of a Month" -- The Tragic Death of Emma Greenwald<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2kLSWiF_hKj6fUK0Hb12zMDuPQ0l7RSHp_Sl43tPV7n_sg4EhNM9oHs_FRGFs3woJXTWop7mcMxa-jQ80MFa5hV5iZzb8h7SfeZ5nqVzQIEboilyQIJQIyCQNLnXf7TOpRJ6UdYHv5_F/s1600/GreenwaldTombstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="814" data-original-width="1600" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV2kLSWiF_hKj6fUK0Hb12zMDuPQ0l7RSHp_Sl43tPV7n_sg4EhNM9oHs_FRGFs3woJXTWop7mcMxa-jQ80MFa5hV5iZzb8h7SfeZ5nqVzQIEboilyQIJQIyCQNLnXf7TOpRJ6UdYHv5_F/s640/GreenwaldTombstone.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41174767/emma-cornelia-saylor" target="_blank">Gravestone of Emma Greenwald in Woodward Hill Cemetery</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As you travel on the path that winds through Woodward Hill Cemetery, a particular phrase on a tombstone will likely stand out to you in the cemetery's easternmost section. One tombstone, which already catches the eye as it's a horizontal stone (is altar stone the correct term), is emblazoned with the words, "Bride of a Month." The mind might dart to a Wilkie Collins novel or Tim Burton film, but let's investigate the real story.<br />
<br />
The gravestone marks the final resting place of Emma Greenwald. Behind her stone is that of her parents, Levinia and the Rev. <a href="https://www.lutheranlibrary.org/emanuel-greenwald/" target="_blank">Emanuel Greenwald</a>, who served as Holy Trinity Lutheran Church's pastor from 1867 until 1885. Emma was born on October 25, 1852, which would be when her father was serving a Lutheran church and college in Columbus, Ohio. In a memorial volume written by the Rev. C. Elvin Haupt after Pastor Greenwald's death in 1885, Haupt described the roles of Emma and her sister, Ada, in the early years of Pastor Greenwald's pastorate in Lancaster:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>During these years two faithful daughters had been the diligent aids of their father in the midst of his duties. Emma and Ada were wont to be seen accompanying their father, or taking prominent parts aiding the missionary operations, both at home and abroad. It seemed a peculiar delight for Emma to join her father in his visits to the needy, the sick or the missions; and, although it began to be very evident that her strength was failing, and that an insidious pulmonary trouble was more and more asserting itself, the nobility of the Christian womanhood that was in her could not be quenched. She had previously become the betrothed of Mr. B. Frank Saylor, well known and justly prominent as a photographer, of the city of Lancaster, and a very active member of the Church of the Holy Trinity. At her desire and knowing that her remaining days were but a few, the marriage of this beloved daughter occurred. It was not long after that those who watched about her saw with regret that the end was fast approaching. Emma Saylor died as the bride of a month. The joy of her parents, her sisters, her husband and hosts of loving friends, her life work was complete. Her tomb rests surrounded by those of many whom on earth she loved, and among the changing shadows of the beautiful Woodward Hill cemetery of the city of Lancaster. </i></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbA75RhZ-oEg0W3xDRv3l33X29NEMX_XJMjqw_85CRTD3qKvJ7UkfWecIiFjpsuBB7H8WVNpltMddXZunhjGB8F4DDew_jLR2pRqulHKbjqhugBpkqMG_cu-NAsNrNbxTfd14BzXN3t0IC/s1600/scan0105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1055" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbA75RhZ-oEg0W3xDRv3l33X29NEMX_XJMjqw_85CRTD3qKvJ7UkfWecIiFjpsuBB7H8WVNpltMddXZunhjGB8F4DDew_jLR2pRqulHKbjqhugBpkqMG_cu-NAsNrNbxTfd14BzXN3t0IC/s400/scan0105.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabinet Card by B. F. Saylor (vws)<br />
The Rev. Emanuel Greenwald in center</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A good guess for the cause of Emma's death based on the description would seem to be tuberculosis. To compound the tragedy, it would appear that <a href="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41718332" target="_blank">Emma's niece, who was named after her, died a few months before Emma and only a couple of days after Emma's wedding.</a><br />
<br />
Emma's husband, <a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,500113" target="_blank">Benjamin Franklin Saylor</a>, would remarry, and his second wife <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=eoUsAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA72&lpg=PA72&dq=%22Mrs.+B.+F.+Saylor%22+greenwald&source=bl&ots=J0TiLkXXcL&sig=ACfU3U1Om8WMRPOiNh9fx_vl7H8QWTp3sg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhwdf25djiAhXIct8KHccwB1IQ6AEwAHoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Mrs.%20B.%20F.%20Saylor%22%20greenwald&f=false" target="_blank">would help raise money for a memorial window dedicated to Pastor Greenwald</a> at Christ Lutheran Church in the 1890s. In my collection -- an eBay find -- is a cabinet card by Frank Saylor of Pastor Greenwald and his various assistant pastors that is a collage photo of the portrait photographs that he took.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0501 S Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA40.029035 -76.30130500000001314.5070005 -117.60989900000001 65.5510695 -34.992711000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-87103419899751687182019-06-05T23:06:00.002-04:002019-06-08T23:13:09.507-04:00A Stereoview of Woodward Hill Cemetery<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkYFaVCciRholXiXos1XITYg5VtmoNQBkEf_2ReasFRhKuUMJFWb1rr8wTxp-Zfg9CkFTlRMwyzH2cBhen8qSGbaYuMKoYP5h2F-Nx7kNUL79cOPYvN6nOMDgDJZFDJabj7yEKLs3BKZS/s1600/Gill+Stereoview.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="760" height="324" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmkYFaVCciRholXiXos1XITYg5VtmoNQBkEf_2ReasFRhKuUMJFWb1rr8wTxp-Zfg9CkFTlRMwyzH2cBhen8qSGbaYuMKoYP5h2F-Nx7kNUL79cOPYvN6nOMDgDJZFDJabj7yEKLs3BKZS/s640/Gill+Stereoview.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stereoview of Woodward Hill Cemetery by William Gill, c. 1866<br />
<a href="https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-a4ea-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99" target="_blank">Dennis Collection, New York Public Library</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Sunday, June 9, 2019, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church will hold a tour of Woodward Hill Cemetery focused on members of the church family who happened to live in the 19th century as part of its "Sneaker Sunday" series. My father is organizing the program, and I've helped him with the content although will unfortunately not be in Lancaster to attend. Full details are:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The destination of Holy Trinity’s Sneaker Sunday on Sunday, June 9 is Woodward Hill Cemetery. Walkers will leave between 9:35 & 9:40 from the Duke Street steps of the Parish House. The distance is .9 miles. Those driving should park at the end of the straight road at the cemetery, away from Queen St. We will lead tours highlighting the history of Woodward Hill, gravesites of four Trinity pastors – Muhlenberg, Baker, Krotel, & Greenwald, other notable Trinity families such as Hager, Eicholtz, Fondersmith & Heinitsh, and notable Lancastrians such as President Buchanan, Watt and Steinman. Total tour walking distance in the cemetery will be less than .5 miles. Please join us!</i></blockquote>
Anyway, I thought I'd use the occasion to present a stereoview from around 1866 of Woodward Hill Cemetery and list the biographies of some pastors and members whose life stories will be highlighted. The cemetery was founded by Trinity Lutheran Church in 1850 as an alternative to the church's graveyard, but was quickly converted to an independent organization. It is a fantastic example of the rural cemetery movement, although the last several decades do not appear to have been kind to Woodward Hill's maintenance or appearance. For more information, check out the cemetery's <a href="http://www.dot7.state.pa.us/CRGIS_Attachments/SiteResource/H111042_01H.pdf" target="_blank">registration form for the National Register of Historic Places</a>.<br />
<br />
The stereoview is part of the Dennis Collection at the New York Public Library. It is the only one of about ten views created by William L. Gill around 1866 as part of his series of Lancaster stereoviews (<a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2011/08/lancaster-city-stereoviews-by-william.html" target="_blank">see here for a list</a>). I will have to check it out in person, but I believe the image is looking north from the path on the west side of the cemetery's chapel. You can view it as an anaglyph or a wiggle 3D photo -- although I struggled to get the 3D working right on this one.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9B9Qyw7Za5AwUTBBV4XckIgMZP24RKWRnwXUooDgsBbNqOUJMWhbKoVfYyF5JOBwTJPB1U2R05_FDKuetKuAognU0cvfbP2pnmNGqqpNFKuQOv2Tpnvd7Udx9y8kn48hlLSCdFBa2URh/s1600/Woodward+Hill+Anaglyph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1044" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9B9Qyw7Za5AwUTBBV4XckIgMZP24RKWRnwXUooDgsBbNqOUJMWhbKoVfYyF5JOBwTJPB1U2R05_FDKuetKuAognU0cvfbP2pnmNGqqpNFKuQOv2Tpnvd7Udx9y8kn48hlLSCdFBa2URh/s640/Woodward+Hill+Anaglyph.jpg" width="586" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anaglyph of Woodward Hill Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1zf9YfFwWFF8YcLGTq3Z6jTQyd8aUVVLpHgSc1yXHQF0RXdjfPCIEzcd_TMbX5lm_0-yd6wPeNy_K-Nx4B4y37DylquWQ-2iqJlBh0MkaS5H72nVI9867xPSkSnLDeLl1C6LEKX5Nnz_/s1600/Woodward+Hill+Anaglyph.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1137" data-original-width="1044" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH1zf9YfFwWFF8YcLGTq3Z6jTQyd8aUVVLpHgSc1yXHQF0RXdjfPCIEzcd_TMbX5lm_0-yd6wPeNy_K-Nx4B4y37DylquWQ-2iqJlBh0MkaS5H72nVI9867xPSkSnLDeLl1C6LEKX5Nnz_/s640/Woodward+Hill+Anaglyph.gif" width="586" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wiggle 3D Animated GIF of Woodward Hill Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The following pastors of Holy Trinity will be featured on the tour:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthilf_Heinrich_Ernst_Muhlenberg" target="_blank">Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=VY9TzE9UtXwC&pg=PA22&lpg=PA22&dq=baker,+rev.+john+c+lancaster&source=bl&ots=MhCJsaUw9M&sig=ACfU3U2fZjoof1mQB2S-yB0Xgx8evXxJBg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwigpKbe59PiAhVlT98KHbikADUQ6AEwB3oECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=baker%2C%20rev.%20john%20c%20lancaster&f=false" target="_blank">John C. Baker</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/05/rev-gottlob-f-krotels-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Gottlob F. Krotel</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.lutheranlibrary.org/emanuel-greenwald/" target="_blank">Emanuel Greenwald</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
The following members will be featured, as well: </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=o4dHPdGT9nwC&pg=PA2069&lpg=PA2069&dq=trinity+lutheran+lancaster+reuben+baer&source=bl&ots=mLG_2cRSCJ&sig=ACfU3U2l0UsCTuhnV2D_FW50-M5__nHlSg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwidktfQ06_iAhVRJt8KHarQCfsQ6AEwBXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=trinity%20lutheran%20lancaster%20reuben%20baer&f=false">Reuben and Mary Baer</a> <a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,103456" target="_blank">(second link); John and Frances Baer;</a> <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=61QJAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA20-IA7&dq=charles+a+baer+norristown+lutheran&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt3oDnnq7iAhXkYd8KHQnoCsgQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&q=charles%20a%20baer%20norristown%20lutheran&f=false" target="_blank">The Rev. Charles A. Baer</a> (<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=N0A5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA541&dq=%22Charles+Alfred+Baer%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8u63Dm67iAhUBm-AKHTIyBQEQ6AEIRzAF#v=onepage&q=%22Charles%20Alfred%20Baer%22&f=false" target="_blank">another link</a>)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,103294" target="_blank">Charles A. Fondersmith</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,103480" target="_blank">Christopher and Catherine Hager</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HM4xAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=biographical+annals+HEINITSH,+CHARLES+A.&source=bl&ots=JgfY0kWfBh&sig=ACfU3U0uIXLerpgoiQW5OJR-kVc_k78_dA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjh0evy6dPiAhWLMd8KHXDwBZsQ6AEwAnoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=biographical%20annals%20HEINITSH%2C%20CHARLES%20A.&f=false" target="_blank">Charles and Maria Heinitsh</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/04/army-surgeon-john-f-hubers-civil-war.html" target="_blank">Dr. John F. Huber</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jgcIAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA647&lpg=PA647&dq=john+b.+kevinski+biography&source=bl&ots=uYGir0KVhR&sig=ACfU3U0mP0xrYx3OakwFW0f8fssV6lasGw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwik5ozx6tPiAhWHZd8KHWORDPoQ6AEwCHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=john%20b.%20kevinski%20biography&f=false" target="_blank">John B. Kevinski</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,103290" target="_blank">Dr. Frederick A. Muhlenberg</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.geni.com/people/Horace-Rathvon/6000000023770507839" target="_blank">Horace Rathvon</a></li>
</ul>
<div>
The good deeds and extensive committee work of many of these members <a href="https://archive.org/details/memorialvolumeof00trin" target="_blank">are documented in a history of the congregation written by Pastor Krotel in 1861</a> as part of its "Centenary Jubilee" celebrating the 100th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone. Besides the pastors, the set of names that have been selected above for the tour is somewhat random based on whom I've happened to run into in my research and whose plot is along the tour route. Some, like Charles A. Baer and John F. Huber, had their lives cut short by diseases acquired in Civil War hospitals. Others like Frederick A. Muhlenberg and Christopher Hager presided over the church vestry and played leading roles in the city's economy. Heinitsh and Kevinski supervised the shipment and distribution of supplies to soldiers after the Battle of Antietam. A few of the rest helped with church Sunday School efforts that led to the establishment of new Lutheran churches in Lancaster. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I hope everyone involved in Sunday's tour enjoys the chance to get out and see Woodward Hill Cemetery, as well as hear some stories that can help inspire service to their church, community, and country. I'll try to provide some of those stories in future posts, particularly a post about Charles A. Baer's 1862-1863 fascinating diaries and the wartime diary of Horace Rathvon's sister-in-law (whose husband was a Lutheran pastor in Virginia and whose elderly father owned the Forney farm at Gettysburg where fighting occurred on July 1, 1863). </div>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0501 S Queen St, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA40.029035 -76.30130500000001314.5070005 -117.60989900000001 65.5510695 -34.992711000000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-42038236863832474972019-06-04T20:58:00.000-04:002019-06-04T20:58:09.265-04:00Book Published on The Camp Kettle and 100th Pennsylvania<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKw_66amb_Xvf71T8P5MXOud-w3rkONeUMAYZMwQkNZefQVjJGV-W-S6EmFNpe2Cl_uVmjcjDIQAb0_1r32kfyx1Z5SROFTsKd7q56dUCfySfPbF6ZVfGaQVkPLSsIGvme0z7-ZPR_G5a7/s1600/CampKettle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="953" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKw_66amb_Xvf71T8P5MXOud-w3rkONeUMAYZMwQkNZefQVjJGV-W-S6EmFNpe2Cl_uVmjcjDIQAb0_1r32kfyx1Z5SROFTsKd7q56dUCfySfPbF6ZVfGaQVkPLSsIGvme0z7-ZPR_G5a7/s400/CampKettle.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Camp Kettle</i><br /><a href="https://www.loc.gov/item/amss.as101830/">Library of Congress</a></td></tr>
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Congratulations to long-time friend and talented genealogist Gary Hawbaker on publishing a book containing on the <i>Camp Kettle</i> newspaper published by the 100th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. The full text of the newspapers is presented along with detailed biographies of soldiers associated with it. There aren't too many direct Lancaster connections, but anyone interested in the 45th Pennsylvania (which at times was brigaded with the 100th Pennsylvania) would appreciate the material. Here are further details about the book:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>THE CAMP KETTLE</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Civil War Newspaper</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
100th Pennsylvania Volunteers</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The Roundhead Regiment</div>
<br />
<i>With selected biographies of members of the 100th Pennsylvania and the 8th Michigan who fought with them After years of research, the complete collection of The Camp Kettle has been transcribed (with photographs and letters from the editor’s collection included). Pension records for seventy-five soldiers were researched and valuable information found in them has been included. Of special interest are the original soldier letters that families sent to the Pension Office to prove that a son had provided for the family before or while he was in the service which were never returned to the family.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Background on other newspapers printed by soldiers during the Civil War is included as well as references to The Camp Kettle found in other newspapers across the United States. Where available, images of the soldier and of his grave stone are shown. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Biographies and family histories of 75 soldiers (47 Pennsylvania and 28 Michigan). Over 8,000 references in the index. Major surnames: Atherton, Ayers, Badger, Bailey, Baker, Banks, Barton, Bell, Bidwell, Bonner, Borden, Brown, Browne, Campbell, Church, Clements, Condon, Crawford, Crowl, Cubbison, Dunlap, Eichbaum, Emery, Evans, Ferren, Fisher, Foote, Gilmore, Gordon, Graul, Gross, Gulmire, Hamilton, Hanna, Hart, Hobbs, Holton, Johnson, Kelly, King, Lobinger, Lock/Locke, Marshall, McClain, McClure, McCracken, McCreary, McKeever, McMillen, Miel, Miller, Mills, Mire, Nelson, Nicklin, Noah, Otto, Parkhill, Pentecost, Quest, Rhett, Rogers, Romberger, Semple, Shelter, Smith, Stevenson, Stewart, Stoner, Sutherland, Thurston, Waddington, Wagner, Watt, White, and Wood.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Publication is 5½ x 8½ inches. Perfect Bound. Laminated Soft Cover. Illustrated. 510+ pages. Index.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Gary has made available an order form available, which <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uidXYX6fZwlYq6zHlNm5tBGpeN-zlU8L/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">I have uploaded and made available at this link</a>.Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-90769379119159782182018-07-28T21:50:00.000-04:002018-07-28T21:50:05.571-04:00Newly Discovered Stereoview of West King Street<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9d7OI6MkiAk-E-ZklU2_Nhy2Pkbl3E9k6PTwP5M8ZVuWONX19wejw6vGrgOaTYyv55oiylk72brXHagIsw-CI7WQ3j9Ueg7UNSmAEjDuL3Aj65wcFJzJgNmFmsS3ckANft_P4n5GLvrWI/s1600/image357a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1600" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9d7OI6MkiAk-E-ZklU2_Nhy2Pkbl3E9k6PTwP5M8ZVuWONX19wejw6vGrgOaTYyv55oiylk72brXHagIsw-CI7WQ3j9Ueg7UNSmAEjDuL3Aj65wcFJzJgNmFmsS3ckANft_P4n5GLvrWI/s640/image357a.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stereoview of West King Street. Likely by B. Frank Saylor in 1866 or 1867.<br />
Sold on Ebay in 2018.</td></tr>
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A few months ago an intriguing photograph of a Lancaster street scene sold on Ebay. The photo shows West King Street from a vantage point above street level. In the foreground appears a sign for the Sorrel Horse Hotel with a date of "1857" and "C. Shenk" appearing on the sign. The image shows the intersection of Prince Street and King Street, and looks west along W. King Street going out of town. Snow appears on the rooftops and on the side of the streets.<br />
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My hypothesis is that this photo was taken by B. Frank Saylor in early 1866 or 1867. <a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,500113">Here's Saylor's background according to the 1903 <i>Biographical Annals</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Benjamin Franklin Saylor was born Feb. 24, 1838, and was educated in the public schools of Montgomery county, and left Trappe for Philadelphia when he was twelve years old. In 1858 he became a student of photography at Ninth and Spring Garden streets. In 1865 he came to Lancaster to take charge of the late Charles Eberman's gallery, which he later purchased. This gallery was on the north side of West King street, and in 1882 he bought the building where his residence and gallery are now found on the south side of the same street. It is one of the fine buildings of the block, and contains two stores besides the gallery and the residence. </i></blockquote>
I believe Eberman's photographic gallery was located approximately where the stereoview was taken. His carte de visite backmarks list his address at "No. 26 W. King St.," although that address currently corresponds to the Pressroom Restaurant/Steinman Hardware store. Could the numbering system for street addresses have changed sometime around the 1870s? If so, that would explain why the entry above mentions the photo studio as on the north side of the West King Street (whereas the modern No. 26 is on the south side of the street). Later photographs by Frank Saylor have an address listed of 45 West King St., and the 1886 Sanborn maps show a photo studio still at that location.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfWlIVkvzdMs_ZJjyH7XX-0ZJwEjcEcFeC9u1tAl7aCGDy7Q4k0KH5nwMIvLvNtetfxNPlD3EYRBvhh6_L34I2hE4Aik4vYFStxfrPq6LcZ4G-HOX3d9HHMYzffRLWP4N9Cc8TnL4YftQ/s1600/wking1886.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="1004" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfWlIVkvzdMs_ZJjyH7XX-0ZJwEjcEcFeC9u1tAl7aCGDy7Q4k0KH5nwMIvLvNtetfxNPlD3EYRBvhh6_L34I2hE4Aik4vYFStxfrPq6LcZ4G-HOX3d9HHMYzffRLWP4N9Cc8TnL4YftQ/s640/wking1886.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First block of West King Street showing Sorrel Horse Hotel and photo studio at No. 43/45 (1886 Sanborn Map)</td></tr>
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Besides the circumstantial evidence of the location, I also believe that Frank Saylor made stereoviews with this style of mounting in 1866. There is a pair of CDVs of the interior of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church during a June 1866 celebration event with a Charles Eberman backmark (although he had died in April 1866), and there is a stereoview of Holy Trinity of that same event which I presume to have been made by Frank Saylor. Saylor's biography notes that he was involved with Lutheran churches -- particularly their choirs -- in the city, and he even married the daughter of Pastor Emanuel Greenwald (a poignant and tragic story, as she was known to be terminally ill when they married).<br />
<br />
Anyway, enjoy this look at a Civil War era street scene from Lancaster! The depth of the 3D is great if you have a chance to look at the anaglyph below or can view the original stereoview with a VR headset, and the animated gif below can give a partial sense of the 3D.<br />
<br />
Hopefully future posts can look into the magnificent series of William L. Gill stereoviews showing other street scenes from Lancaster.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdG9qpuqxXYarcWZy0yyPjcevn50VcTjYS_BkNWqVmdxrZQO3m5rAxAglqdJ-grbAJwiLRi6TwHht4wRQGcAkxNIQKpcq7ItJxrmUYcJ8p3ciAAaHX7p3OQEjdIaVY3v2oA0tw_MNbuK84/s1600/wking-animated.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="792" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdG9qpuqxXYarcWZy0yyPjcevn50VcTjYS_BkNWqVmdxrZQO3m5rAxAglqdJ-grbAJwiLRi6TwHht4wRQGcAkxNIQKpcq7ItJxrmUYcJ8p3ciAAaHX7p3OQEjdIaVY3v2oA0tw_MNbuK84/s640/wking-animated.gif" width="604" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Animated GIF created from stereoview of West King Street, c. 1866-7 by Frank Saylor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxq4w1H0ZuvPSRMHnY87sUlj9xIVix2dHLHLFoUg9PD1FaVlu4Iq0ErChiQltHh4EgzMQL2YFSPddYjQcZmc6wB7xDMl51uHWe3KaKTUTMHWxZuL9PE6ERiaF9L8UrQwx5YcXe3oRL78e/s1600/wking-anaglyph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="833" data-original-width="788" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoxq4w1H0ZuvPSRMHnY87sUlj9xIVix2dHLHLFoUg9PD1FaVlu4Iq0ErChiQltHh4EgzMQL2YFSPddYjQcZmc6wB7xDMl51uHWe3KaKTUTMHWxZuL9PE6ERiaF9L8UrQwx5YcXe3oRL78e/s640/wking-anaglyph.jpg" width="604" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Anaglyph created from stereoview of West King Street, c. 1866-7 by Frank Saylor</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXIz05JyHYjoClo4i_DjEeCpcfQ31_S11nuhAhKV1876JWps0lpMgWORbEhfz1ejlzEuBjfUU8A_4gYydosRvULGOT9kv3hNj56mUNHRbCn1cDtnudhjJLJFZ2moUiJ_2j6S823HS1sO5/s1600/image357c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="845" data-original-width="1600" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqXIz05JyHYjoClo4i_DjEeCpcfQ31_S11nuhAhKV1876JWps0lpMgWORbEhfz1ejlzEuBjfUU8A_4gYydosRvULGOT9kv3hNj56mUNHRbCn1cDtnudhjJLJFZ2moUiJ_2j6S823HS1sO5/s640/image357c.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Verso of stereoview</td></tr>
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<br />Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com445 W King St, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA40.0380043 -76.3073977999999914.515969799999997 -117.61599179999999 65.5600388 -34.99880379999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-38407939824255788742018-04-24T22:58:00.000-04:002018-04-24T23:00:12.973-04:00The 79th Pennsylvania's 1st Reunion in 1877<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhE-WTaX0YcCdV9id2ubsvNlgcaWyLPSfgSDuw3rnryl3oYyvnsC32plg0HcRZAL7N-buHRunDRMPiWgIEoMPBW4eUSq-GvsPY5w_trcIs7Wkc7hyN4FUcq2AHOJN0h2ysYoqL2K92zew/s1600/scan0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1600" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhE-WTaX0YcCdV9id2ubsvNlgcaWyLPSfgSDuw3rnryl3oYyvnsC32plg0HcRZAL7N-buHRunDRMPiWgIEoMPBW4eUSq-GvsPY5w_trcIs7Wkc7hyN4FUcq2AHOJN0h2ysYoqL2K92zew/s320/scan0001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwTy02sAMMxgFG0x4gf-a5hi3lbXEjdzYeRTZ-fti7NDvcpDSJ4fw1k4veh_I9h68pnaGMyT43xTJzTR_ursrxOKt6UuWFBMR3-AV1Y6wMbUovrsQ_CzxOZIPNT6gfe7rO1hVvGx9UgJY/s1600/scan0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1399" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSwTy02sAMMxgFG0x4gf-a5hi3lbXEjdzYeRTZ-fti7NDvcpDSJ4fw1k4veh_I9h68pnaGMyT43xTJzTR_ursrxOKt6UuWFBMR3-AV1Y6wMbUovrsQ_CzxOZIPNT6gfe7rO1hVvGx9UgJY/s320/scan0002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the morning of October 8, 1877 -- the fifteenth anniversary of the Battle of Perryville -- the veterans of the 79th Pennsylvania assembled for the first time since the war's end. Colonel Hambright led a parade through the streets of Lancaster that culminated in a meeting at Fulton Hall that featured singing, a history of the regiment by Sigmund Wisner, and an oration by E. K. Martin.<br />
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The <i>Daily New Era</i> reported, "Long will live in memory the recollection of the 8th day of October, 1877, for it was a gala day in Lancaster -- a day when the survivors of as brave a regiment as ever fired a gun met in fraternal good fellowship for the first time since the close of the bloody war which called them into existence."<br />
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A full report of the day's proceedings and speeches appeared in the <i>New Era. </i>See the following link for a scan of these newspaper articles: <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R_iwUQ48iwORhy832tYRUhhEWMgwSasc/view?usp=sharing">https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R_iwUQ48iwORhy832tYRUhhEWMgwSasc/view?usp=sharing</a><br />
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Recently, I acquired some ephemera related to this event on eBay. Appearing here are scans of the envelope, ticket, and program that were presumably saved by one of the veterans attending the event.<br />
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Hopefully a future post could go further in depth on the content of the speeches and the people present.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">79th Pennsylvania Reunion Program, 1877 </td></tr>
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<br />Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com212 N Prince St, Lancaster, PA 17603, USA40.0380536 -76.308230640.0376736 -76.3088611 40.0384336 -76.3076001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-57512236649542694302018-04-17T21:30:00.000-04:002018-04-17T21:30:16.152-04:00Genoa (NY) at War: Researching my new hometown<i>Almost two years ago my career took me to the Finger Lakes region of New York, and I moved to a beautiful house from the 1850s in the small hamlet of Genoa, New York. While I maintain a deep interest in the Civil War history of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the demands of career and family have limited my ability to post on this blog. However, I'm naturally curious about the Civil War history of my new hometown and recently took part in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Genoa Historical Association. Here's my account of the discussion that summarizes some of the things that I learned preparing for that discussion.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title page of list of Civil War soldiers compiled by the clerk of the Town of Genoa at the war's end</td></tr>
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When the Civil War ended in 1865, the state of New York required all town clerks to compile a list of all soldiers and sailors from each town who fought in what was then more commonly known as the “War of the Rebellion.” The clerk for the Town of Genoa dutifully completed this task, documenting the basic service details for 156 men. This list and the details it provided became the basis for a roundtable discussion on Genoa’s contribution to the Civil War at the Genoa Historical Association on Sunday, February 25. The discussion aimed to start discovering the fascinating stories of courage and conflict behind the names, dates, and places on the town clerk’s list. I presented information on Civil War soldiers from Genoa, and Joe Jadhon gave an interesting overview of the uniform and equipment of the average Civil War soldier from New York.<br />
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The enlistments of soldiers from Genoa were spread out over the years 1861 through 1864 with most enlisting in 1861 or 1862 and serving a three-year term. Some who enlisted in 1861 – including George W. Crocker, who was wounded in battle in 1863 – even chose to reenlist when their term of service expired before the war ended. Out of the 156 soldiers, 115 were listed as single and 41 were listed as married.<br />
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Civil War soldiers usually served in regiments of up to 1,000 soldiers from the same state, and ten companies recruited in individual towns made up a regiment. Serving with soldiers from one’s hometown produced social cohesion and fostered connections between the home front and battlefield. However, it also meant that a regiment being in a tough spot in a battle could result in a devastating casualty list for a town, as was the case for Genoa and the Battle of Gettysburg.<br />
The most common Civil War regiments in which soldiers from Genoa served were the 75th New York and the 111th New York. The 75th New York fought in many lesser-known campaigns in Florida and Louisiana before finishing the war in Virginia and Georgia. The 111th New York fought in many of the more famous battles in the Eastern Theater of the war, and suffered heavily while playing a critical role in the Battle of Gettysburg.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gen. George D. Robinson<br />
(Source: <i>Captaining the Corps D'Afrique</i>)</td></tr>
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Soldiers from Genoa served in many other regiments, as well. George Dorgue Robinson, the highest-ranking of all of Genoa’s soldiers, enlisted in the 75th New York as a 2nd Lieutenant. His parents, Joseph and Maria (Sill), immigrated to the United States from England and owned a farm just to the west of the Genoa Rural Cemetery by 1855. Against the advice of his professors, George left the University of Michigan after the war’s outbreak to become an officer. In 1863, he presumably volunteered to take a position as a major in the 1st Louisiana Colored Engineers – a recently established regiment of freed slaves – and later as the colonel leading the 3rd Louisiana Colored Engineers (later the 97th Infantry Regiment, United States Colored Troops). He died in Florida in 1873 after receiving the rank of brevet brigadier general and completing his studies at the University of Michigan.<br />
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George Robinson and the 3rd Louisiana Colored Engineers’ biggest contribution to the war came in May 1864 during the ill-fated Red River Campaign in Louisiana. The Union army had suffered many setbacks, but the Union navy was on the verge of a complete disaster when a drop in the Red River’s water level meant that a flotilla of gunboats was stuck upriver and in danger of capture by the Confederates. Robinson and his soldiers spent two weeks helping to construct a partial dam with an opening in the middle to allow the valuable Union gunboats to escape downriver.<br />
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Karen Spiero, great-granddaughter of George Robinson’s sister, attended the presentation and provided more information about the family. George’s brother, Charles, served in the 111th New York and was mortally wounded in the Battle of Gettysburg. Karen also brought a sword likely used by Col. Robinson while he completed this task and a beautiful sword presented to him as a testimony of respect form the officers of the 3rd Louisiana Colored Engineers.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bailey's Dam, <i>Harper's Weekly 6/18/1864</i></td></tr>
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Two African-American residents from Genoa served in the Union army, according to the town clerk’s list. Aaron Prime – who is listed as a farmer born in Auburn and appears in the 1850 census as living with father Simon and mother Sophia – went to Rhode Island to join the 11th Regiment, US Colored Heavy Artillery, in 1863. Henry Green was born in Virginia, presumably as a slave, and joined the 26th Regiment, US Colored Infantry. Research indicates that both men survived the war and that Prime is buried in Owego while Green is buried in Ithaca.<br />
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The town clerk’s list also indicates the fate of those who served in the war – whether they survived and where they resided upon coming home. Ten of the 156 soldiers were killed in battle or died of wounds received in battle. All but one of the ten were casualties from the Battle of Gettysburg; Henry C. Crocker died in the opening battle of the Siege of Petersburg. All but one of the ten belonged to the 111th New York; Henry Hallet was killed defending Culp’s Hill with the 137th New York in the Battle of Gettysburg. Twenty more of the 156 soldiers from Genoa lost their lives from other causes. Four died in captivity – one at Andersonville prison and three at Salisbury prison in North Carolina. Sixteen others died of disease in hospitals at places such as Petersburg, Hilton Head, and Fort Pickens, and at home.<br />
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The Genoa Historical Association intends to continue these roundtable discussions to discover and share the stories of Genoa and the Civil War. Anyone with information (especially letters and photographs) about soldiers from Genoa, their families, or life in Genoa in the mid-1800s is welcome to contact the Genoa Historical Association at GenoaHistorical@gmail.com or (315) 364-8202. Future roundtable discussions will be organized by regiments in which soldiers served and will focus on the soldiers’ battle experience and biographies. The next event will take place on April 22, 2018, with a topic of the battles and campaigns of the 111th New York and the soldiers from Genoa in that regiment.<br />
<i><br />
</i>Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Genoa, NY 13071, USA42.6678489 -76.53577410000002617.145814400000003 -117.84436810000003 68.1898834 -35.227180100000027tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-19636385579718388222016-06-09T01:17:00.002-04:002016-06-09T01:17:12.260-04:00The Story Behind a Gravestone in Lancaster Cemetery<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jCUnU9Xy33E/V1ecnPn5bWI/AAAAAAAACqQ/AS9Nqe9kAjofeQ6u-T4fgfNjwwO1TApFgCKgB/s1600/IMG_0309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jCUnU9Xy33E/V1ecnPn5bWI/AAAAAAAACqQ/AS9Nqe9kAjofeQ6u-T4fgfNjwwO1TApFgCKgB/s640/IMG_0309.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone of Jacob and Elizabeth Gemperling, Lancaster Cemetery<br />Local artist J. Augustus Beck sculpted the wreath in 1854.</td></tr>
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Gravestones provide one of the most accessible and intimate connections to the nineteenth century. However, the personal, commercial, and artistic decisions behind them rarely show up in research, so I jumped at the chance when I accidentally ran across an article in the May 16, 1854, <i>Lancaster Intelligencer</i> while pursuing another research tangent. <br />
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In an article that led with "Lovers of Art" that the <i>Intelligencer </i>actually copied from the <i>Inland Daily</i>, a couple items in the marble yard of Lewis Haldy on North Queen Street received attention. The first was actually a relief sculpture by <a href="http://www.lancasterhistory.org/objects/makers-manufacturers-and-artists/3451-beck-julius-augustus-j-augustus-beck-1831-1917">J. Augustus Beck -- son of the noted artist from Lititz</a> -- on its way to the Washington Monument. Commissioned by the American Medical Association via Dr. John L. Atlee in 1852, Beck's sculpture depicted Hippocrates refusing the gifts of the Persian King Artaxerxes meant to entice him to provide medical aid to his country's enemies. The newspaper reported, "The execution of the work is in the highest style or art, and evinces extraordinary talent in the artist." Some sources indicate that the sculpture is still in the Washington Monument in very damaged form and others say that it is in the Smithsonian Institute. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone detail<br />Jacob and Elizabeth Gemperling<br />Lancaster Cemetery</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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The article continued:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>We might mention several other fine specimens of art, the productions of this talented young artist, which may be seen at the same place. Among other things we note a beautiful wreath--the prettiest thing of the kind we have ever seen. It is engraved on a marble slab, and designed for the grave of the late Mrs. Gemperling, whose remains repose in the Lancaster Cemetery. </i></blockquote>
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The deceased referred to in the article is <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=32853420&PIpi=139058638">Elizabeth Gemperling (1785-1854), and the gravestone still stands in Lancaster Cemetery not far from the entrance</a>. I have not found anything about Elizabeth, but her husband Jacob and son Daniel received attention in the <i>Biographical Annals of Lancaster County </i>(1903) in an entry on Elizabeth and Jacob's grandson, Henry Clay Gemperling:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Jacob Gemperling, grandfather of Henry Clay, who was a distiller and farmer, was born near Rohrerstown; his son Daniel, who was born in Lancaster, died Nov. 13, 1895 at the age of eighty-seven years. The latter and his brother John, were the leading tinsmiths of the city for many years, filling many important contracts. Daniel Gemperling conducted the business on East Orange street alone to within a short time of his death, and became one of the best-known citizens of his time, owning a large amount of real estate, and making his influence felt in business and commercial circles. Anna Hurst, his wife, was a half-sister of Elam Hurst, a prominent citizen of Lancaster, and also a sister of the mother of H. C. Demuth. From this union were born three children, two of whom, William and Anna, died in early childhood, and the only survivor is Henry Clay Gemperling. </i> </blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry Clay Gemperling<br /><i>Biographical Annals of<br />Lancaster County (1903)</i></td></tr>
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<i>Henry Clay Gemperling was born in the large brick mansion at the southwest corner of East King and Jefferson streets, then the home of his parents, in February, 1846, and was educated in the city schools and at John Beck's celebrated school in Lititz. When less than sixteen years old he left school to enlist in the Union army, joining Co. A, 79th P.V.I., Aug. 19, 1861, and served throughout the war, receiving his discharge Aug. 12, 1865. He took a gallant part in all the battles and skirmishes in which his command participated, and was wounded in the arm at Jonesboro, Ga., under Gen. Sherman, being promoted to the position of corporal. After the war Mr. Gemperling was captain of "The Boys in Blue," a campaign organization in the first campaign of Gen. Grant for the presidency. After Gen. Grant's election the boys in blue were organized into two military companies, A and B, and attached to the National Guard of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gemperling being commissioned captain of Co. B, both companies taking part in the inauguration of Gen. Grant as President. Until 1879 he worked with his father at the tinsmith and plumbing trade, and then removed to Ephrata, where he engaged for himself in the same lines. There he remained until March 13, 1895, when he returned to Lancaster, to become a tip-staff in the court house, very shortly being made a court crier for court No. 2, and in November, 1899, he was made court crier of the courts of Lancaster county, to fill a vacancy created by the death of Joseph C. Snyder, a position which he still holds. </i></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>While living in Ephrata, Mr. Gemperling bought and remodeled a fine property. For fifteen years he was a deputy coroner of the district, for nine years he was a notary public, and was the first president of the Pioneer Steam Fire Engine and Hose Company, and was acting in that capacity, when he left the borough; he was commander of Post No. 524, G.A.R., of Ephrata, for three years, and was the second man to be elected burgess after Ephrata became a borough.</i></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>While a resident of Lancaster he served as a policeman during Mayor Stauffer's first term, and is remembered as one of the best police officers this city ever had. During his residence in Ephrata he twice arrested Abe Buzzard, the noted outlaw, "putting him behind the bars." This he did as a private citizen, his fellow townsmen calling on him because of his well-known fearlessness. When thieves broke into the store of Schaeffer & Reinhold, at Ephrata, Mr. Gemperling discovered one of the thieves, arrested him, and took him to jail. This same bravery was conspicuous through his army experiences.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Mr. Gemperling was married Aug. 14, 1869, to Miss Susan Jacobs, daughter of William Adam Jacobs, a farmer living near Beartown, Lancaster county. From this union were born four children: Anna Maria, the wife of E. E. Royer, a farmer of Ephrata township; Martha Alpha, unmarried and at home; Daniel H., a paper hanger; and Henry Clay, Jr., now at school. </i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry Clay Gemperling Service Record (PA Civil War Card File)</td></tr>
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While on the subject of the Gemperling family, you may note that another soldier with the surname Gemperling served in the 79th Pennsylvania. William Gemperling also enlisted in Company A with Henry Clay Gemperling. William Gemperling was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga. He died a year later in the Andersonville prison, although I'm not sure if he was captured at Chickamauga or elsewhere. I also cannot establish the relationship between Henry and William Gemperling, which I guess to be first or second cousins. If anyone knows more about William Gemperling, feel free to leave a comment below. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TIJ2sRk8twg/V1jsrwbXXVI/AAAAAAAACt0/o5N8d2HbkGsafkbWEks4V55gESUSG9pvgCKgB/s1600/Gemperling_William.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TIJ2sRk8twg/V1jsrwbXXVI/AAAAAAAACt0/o5N8d2HbkGsafkbWEks4V55gESUSG9pvgCKgB/s640/Gemperling_William.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Gemperling Service Record (PA CIvil War Card File)</td></tr>
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Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Lancaster Cemetery, 205 E Lemon St, Lancaster, PA 17602, USA40.044982 -76.3023049999999940.043462 -76.30482649999999 40.046502 -76.29978349999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-10763586842036376922016-06-08T04:01:00.001-04:002016-06-08T04:01:10.463-04:00Ebay Find: Two USCTs Send Pay Home to Quaker Farmer in Gap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adams Express Company Cash Envelope from Isaac Parker to Joshua Brinton (Ebay)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reverse of Envelope from Isaac Parker to Joshua Brinton (Ebay) </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Adams Express Company Cash Envelope from Henry Harley to Joshua Brinton (Ebay)</td></tr>
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Once again, an item being auctioned on Ebay led me on a rather fascinating research trail. This time it is a pair of envelopes used to forward cash via the Adams Express Company. In both cases, soldiers in the 3rd Infantry Regiment, United States Colored Troop, sent money to a Quaker farmer near Gap. <br />
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The 3rd USCT <a href="http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/usct/3rdusct/3rdusctorg.html">was organized in the summer of 1863 in Philadelphia, and largely recruited from central Pennsylvania</a>. Among those who enlisted were two African-American men from Lancaster County:<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Isaac Parker</b>, born c.1836 and mustered in as a corporal in <a href="http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/usct/3rdusct/3rdusctcob.html">Company B</a> on June 30, 1863. Parker shows up in the 1860 census as a farm laborer in Salisbury Township. He is listed with presumably his wife and daughter: Mary Parker, age 20, and Sarah Parker, age 6. Going back to the 1850 census, it is likely that Isaac Parker matches the sixteen year-old by that name who resided in West Caln Township in Chester County with Loyd Parker (age 63) and Margaret Parker (age 32). Isaac Parker appears adjacent to the Brinton family in the 1860 census (see below), so it is likely that Parker labored on Brinton's farm. </li>
<li><b>Henry Harley</b>, born c. 1841 in Lancaster County (according to his USCT service record) and mustered in as a private in Company B on June 30, 1863. I haven't been able to find anything else about him before the war, but he appears in the 1870 census as living in a black community and working as a laborer in Fernandina, Florida. This census notes that he could read but not write. </li>
</ul>
After training at Camp William Penn, the 3rd USCT moved south and went right into combat as part of the siege of Fort Wagner on Morris Island. The regiment spent most of 1864 in Jacksonville, Florida, manning garrisons and going out on details.<br />
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While serving in South Carolina and Florida, both Parker and Harley sent some of the pay back to Lancaster County. To do so, they paid the Adams Express Company to carry their cash to a Quaker farmer near Gap named Joshua Brinton. Parker's envelope contained $15 and was sent from Morris Island on October 19, 1863. Harley's envelope contained $120 and was sent from an unknown location on October 5, 1864. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Q337c4LuVU/V1en6bHeW9I/AAAAAAAACtA/5Qdn_v8p9G88HH1cl6wApNScbWRmiL2xgCKgB/s1600/IMG_6782.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Q337c4LuVU/V1en6bHeW9I/AAAAAAAACtA/5Qdn_v8p9G88HH1cl6wApNScbWRmiL2xgCKgB/s320/IMG_6782.jpg" width="208" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone of Isaac Parker<br />Beaufort National Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Sadly, Parker died on April 25, 1864, in Beaufort, South Carolina, presumably in a military hospital there. He was buried in what is now the Beaufort National Cemetery. I had the opportunity to visit the cemetery a year ago and take the pictures displayed in this post. <br />
<br />
Much more information is known about Joshua Brinton (1811-1892), the recipient of the cash for Parker and Harley. His farm was approximately one mile northeast of Gap near the small community of Limeville (see map below). The <a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,103492">1903 </a><i><a href="http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?31,103492">Biographical Annals</a> </i>described him as " an excellent farmer but not an excellent manager for the reason that his too generous nature induced him too often to expend his means in aiding his friends when he should have applied them to use nearer at home. Lacking only a wise economy, he was a consistent member of the Society of Friends and an unusually warm upholder of its principles and methods." He is credited in the <a href="http://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Boston%20MA%20Liberator/Boston%20MA%20Liberator%201861/Boston%20MA%20Liberator%201861%20-%200044.pdf">March 8, 1861, <i>Liberator</i></a> with donating five dollars to relief for sufferers in Kansas. I believe that Brinton is a direct descendant of William Brinton, who built what is now the <a href="http://www.brintonfamily.org/">William Brinton 1704 House</a> museum in West Chester, which would make him a distant cousin of Gen. George Brinton McClellan. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGrmNcvsDCw/V1en2qsPbbI/AAAAAAAACs4/Ni5nMA-q-P83KVPwESHQO1KKAgXeYlo1gCKgB/s1600/IMG_6775.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sGrmNcvsDCw/V1en2qsPbbI/AAAAAAAACs4/Ni5nMA-q-P83KVPwESHQO1KKAgXeYlo1gCKgB/s320/IMG_6775.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone of Horace Passmore<br />Beaufort National Cemetery</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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In a sad coincidence, Brinton's brother-in-law also served and died around the same time and place as Parker. Brinton married Mary E. Passmore on November 23, 1848, in Philadelphia. Mary's younger brother, Horace Passmore, enlisted in Company A, 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, on August 22, 1861. The 97th Pennsylvania operated in South Carolina in 1862 and 1863, and Passmore would have experienced grueling conditions around Charleston and Fort Wagner in the summer of 1863. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/cu31924030914455/cu31924030914455_djvu.txt">Passmore died of chronic diarrhea on November 18, 1863</a>, a little over a month after the regiment moved to Fernandina, Florida.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUwdwh5nMj8/V1fLUwW2VoI/AAAAAAAACsg/A90CLS89SMotbHFj96XG4SAl0kTWc9rWwCKgB/s1600/PassmoreHorace.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nUwdwh5nMj8/V1fLUwW2VoI/AAAAAAAACsg/A90CLS89SMotbHFj96XG4SAl0kTWc9rWwCKgB/s640/PassmoreHorace.gif" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.digitalarchives.state.pa.us/archive.asp?view=ArchiveItems&ArchiveID=17&FL=P&FID=1353573&LID=1353622">PA Service Card for Horace Passmore, 97th Pennsylvania</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S72RO6ER1o0/V1fNcj8g2jI/AAAAAAAACso/vsYtHGLb1DYk5-u5NSd6zdE__ZMv-LsOQCKgB/s1600/census1860brintonparker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S72RO6ER1o0/V1fNcj8g2jI/AAAAAAAACso/vsYtHGLb1DYk5-u5NSd6zdE__ZMv-LsOQCKgB/s640/census1860brintonparker.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Census listing Isaac Parker and Joshua Brinton, Salisbury Township, 1860</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g2L_24fgBD0/V1evXbwqyVI/AAAAAAAACsQ/B6HCvfOeduwtFoz-dFOTlM-1jsZDdCUSQCKgB/s1600/SalisburyTwpBrinton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="374" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g2L_24fgBD0/V1evXbwqyVI/AAAAAAAACsQ/B6HCvfOeduwtFoz-dFOTlM-1jsZDdCUSQCKgB/s640/SalisburyTwpBrinton.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of 1864 Salisbury Township Map showing farm of Joshua Brinton near Limeville</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xgvuo8O3tRA/V1en5Ahg9uI/AAAAAAAACsA/3PEdI9WPo-8pXUysPBef8JyqDge5umm0wCKgB/s1600/IMG_6779.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xgvuo8O3tRA/V1en5Ahg9uI/AAAAAAAACsA/3PEdI9WPo-8pXUysPBef8JyqDge5umm0wCKgB/s640/IMG_6779.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone of Horace Passmore at Beaufort National Cemetery</td></tr>
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<br />Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Limeville, Salisbury Township, PA 17527, USA40.0020475 -75.98022879999996314.480013000000003 -117.28882279999996 65.524082 -34.671634799999964tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-19257692102322706332015-08-16T15:22:00.001-04:002015-08-16T15:22:54.468-04:00With the Pennsylvania Reserves at Camp Wayne, June 1861<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qLvRddBwiuE/TsiCeGO7HuI/AAAAAAAACR4/zr965yiV_Ds/s1600/B-184%2BInfantry%2BCamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qLvRddBwiuE/TsiCeGO7HuI/AAAAAAAACR4/zr965yiV_Ds/s640/B-184%2BInfantry%2BCamp.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mathew Brady image of camp of 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, June 1863. As seen in the center background of the image, the soldiers' June 1861 fascination with leaning on each other (recorded in the letter) continued two years later. </td></tr>
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<i>Although personal and professional priorities have limited my blogging this year, <a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/12/the-tragedy-of-pa-reserves-at.html">an inquiry about the Pennsylvania Reserves from a soldier's descendant</a> gives me the opportunity to post the transcription of a soldier's letter. This particular letter appeared in the weekly Lancaster Inquirer, a newspaper with limited surviving copies (which are not on microfilm but in the archives of LancasterHistory.org). </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Before heading south for the seat of war, the newly-formed Union Guards went east for a rendezvous in Chester County. On June 4, 1861, the Union Guards -- which later became Company B, 1st Pennsylvania Reserves -- under command of Captain Thomas Barton boarded a train in Lancaster for Camp Wayne. The following letter gives a picture of the company’s first week away from home and appeared in the June 15, 1861, Lancaster Inquirer: </i><br />
<br />
CAMP WAYNE,<br />
<br />
West Chester, June 11th, 1861.<br />
<br />
Mr. Editor: —Since you were kind enough to compliment the Union Guards, at the time of their primary organization, we have been literally overwhelmed by the “sunny smiles of adventitious fortune.” Since our departure, all prior difficulties vanished into “thin air,” and joy and gladness dispelled the vexation and discontent that had prevailed in our ranks. Although not strictly on the tented field, or by the bivouac fire, to recount brave deeds done, or bloody frays made victorious, our camp life furnishes its incidents to weave into an interesting tale. Fun and frolic, duty and labor are agreeably interspersed.<br />
<br />
The first Regiment, under the State Reserve was formed last Sunday. The post of honor, through chicanery and favoritism was allotted to the Brandywine Guards: and our Company secured the second post. We do not desire to cavil or object now at this unjust disposition of the two companies, as regret is unavailing; but in all equity and honor, the first position was deservedly ours. This same finesse of management gave to Chester county all the prominent posts. The Lt. Colonel, McIntyre, is of the Brandywine Guards: the acting Adjutant is from the same Company: the Quartermaster is from Chester county. In short, all the loaves and fishes were appropriated by men from this section of the country. Biddle Roberts, the Colonel is a native of Pittsburg; and Samuel, the Major is from Carlisle.<br />
<br />
The “Union Guards” are well furnished with musical instruments from the rattle of the “[?]bones” to the soft strains of the flute. – Every night, we have a gratuitous concert. – Since our arrival here, we have improvised and adopted a “cheer,” in honor of the “Union” Fire Company. It is given by spelling the word, “Union” three times, and pronouncing it each time, ending with a hiss, a bomb and a tiger. It is popular and temporarily “lionized” its authors. We have also introduced a new feature of evolution, not laid down in Hardee – called “the Company squat.” – The men are marched, in close order, so as to form a circle, when the command of “Company squat!” is given, when we sit down on each other’s knee. It is quite amusing to see the boys each the sport, which has become contagious, and as we have not secured the services of the Bummers’ Counsel, B.F. Baer, Esq, to get it copy righted (!) it has become adopted by the whole camp. I do not desire to be considered as a boaster, but our company is considered the best in the camp.<br />
<br />
The ladies of West Chester are a little charish about visiting the Camp, as but few have as yet honored us with their presence. Our men are all well; but two or three being slightly indisposed since our arrival here. We have an excellent hospital here, fully supplied with all the necessary appurtenances. Dr. F. de W. Breneman of your city, is with us as Assistant Surgeon—a fact which gives our men great satisfaction.<br />
<br />
I am quartered with the Captain, first and second Lieutenants, the four Sergeants, Corporal Hoffmeir, privates Rutler, Nauman, Steinhauser and that jolly typo, Nathan Bear. Our quarters are extensive and well arranged, as we have a dining room, bed room, and office parlor. Our bunks are weather tight, and well built, so that none can complain in rainy weather. We have three cooks detailed for the Company, and so far we have had plenty to eat. If short rations should ensue, be assured I will let you printers ventilate the matter! I am a firm believer in the power and efficacy of printers ink, as a curative to all abuses. Two men of Captain Neff’s Company refused to take the oath, and were drummed out of camp, by our drummer, Frank Haines, who, by the bye, is a “brick;” he is the life of the camp, and his presence is always welcomed in a crowd.—Out three cuisines, Geo. M. Bauman, William Dellet, and James Strachan, although not equal to Demonico, or Taylor, or Shultz Reese, deserve praise for their proficiency in providing for the inner man. <br />
<br />
Ye Captaine Barton was tendered the post of Lt. Colonel of this Regiment, a position which he would have efficiently filled; but love for and pride in his company to whom he is devotedly attached prevented him accepting the position. They then insisted on him taking the place of Major; but this he also finely declined. Our Captain is by far the best drilled, disciplined and competent man here—a fact generally acknowledged. His men are devoted to him for his innumerable acts of kindness, courtesy, and attention. Our mess sends its respects to you. Sergeants Bauman and McCracken, and private Wm. Cox, and dozens of others desire to be remembered.<br />
<br />
Yours truly,<br />
S. R. EVERTS,<br />
O. S. Union Guards.<br />
<br />Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0West Chester, PA, USA39.9606643 -75.60548819999996839.911980799999995 -75.686169199999966 40.0093478 -75.524807199999969tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-40589233962633733542015-05-24T22:07:00.000-04:002015-05-24T22:07:31.317-04:00Interpretation Beyond the Battlefield and the 'Mass Customization' of History<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sDY349J8Uq4/TxNt0Bl_3KI/AAAAAAAAAxw/cypMrv_QMrs/s1600/100_3162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sDY349J8Uq4/TxNt0Bl_3KI/AAAAAAAAAxw/cypMrv_QMrs/s640/100_3162.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Intersection of Queen St. and King St., Lancaster, Pennsylvania<br />with Soldiers and Sailors Monument (dedicated in 1874)</i></td></tr>
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<br />
Over at the excellent <i><a href="https://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/150th-obs-soldiers-experience/">To the Sound of Guns</a> </i>and <i><a href="http://cwmemory.com/2015/03/27/report-from-the-field-interpreting-civil-war-battlefields/">Civil War Memory</a> </i>blogs, the subject of new trends in battlefield interpretation has received attention lately. Taking stock of the Sesquicentennial, Craig Swain commends new programming that seeks to interpret soldiers' experiences between battles, but remarks:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>On the other hand, we might also point out, for the sake of those bicentennialists to follow, many missed opportunities. For all of the focus in late June and early July upon Adams County, Pennsylvania, the public-facing programming left out exactly how those armies got there. Almost as if the soldiers were suspended in time at Chancellorsville, then magically re-appeared, somewhat worse for the wear, at Gettysburg. That’s just one handy example. I’m sure we could demonstrate a few more worth noting. The point to push home here is, again, that the soldiers were not one-dimensional, and their experience was more than combat actions.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>This is somewhat odd, I think, given the current trends with a lot of noise about “new military history.” Shouldn’t historians be seeking out those interpretive opportunities to discuss the life of soldiers beyond the battlefields? But we often see tours, especially those focused more on the “education” function over the general “entertainment” functions, that simply hit a set of battlefield sites….</i></blockquote>
<br />
While I have a tough time -- even as a soon-to-be professor of supply chain management -- envisioning the value of visiting, say, the site of a supply depot or winter camp, I agree with the general sentiment and offer my own tangential opinion: We should start expecting more high-quality interpretation of life beyond the battlefield (and beyond the army). Although the National Park Service can be the vanguard of these efforts (e.g., talking about civilians at Gettysburg), the interpretation should largely take place far beyond NPS boundaries in communities across the North and South.<br />
<br />
The question is, are Civil War historians (academic, public, and amateur) making an impact outside of NPS battlefields? Are they even imagining the possibilities -- especially the new possibilities enabled by technology -- or are their efforts almost exclusively focused on the NPS?<br />
<br />
As we go from the Civil War Sesquicentennial to the Bicentennial, I hope to see the emergence of historical interpretation that is more fully integrated with our modern communities. In these settings, the history of military organizations and events interacts naturally with social, political, and religious history. Rather than formal historical sites, we can have a virtual historical layer covering the modern world that is anchored by museums, old houses, cemeteries, churches, etc. In this virtual layer is content -- facts, anecdotes, photographs, analysis -- that enhances the meaning of what we see. <br />
<br />
At first glance, this isn't necessarily anything new. Within months of becoming interested in the Civil War at age 10, I went on a fantastic walking tour of Lancaster city in 1996 or 1997 with costumed interpreters acting out diverse scenes or relaying facts related to particular locations. For many years, a friend had led a full-day bus tour of Lancaster County focusing on the Underground Railroad.<br />
<br />
What is new, however, is the potential for increasing interpretive quantity and quality enabled by digitization (already happening) and increasing relevance through algorithmic and crowdsourced content curation (still nascent). At some point, something analogous to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_customization">"mass customization"</a> will make an impact on the work of historical interpretation, and people will find new and captivating ways to connect to history. A simple inquiry based on a person, place, or institution would return abundant information harvested from diverse primary sources set within the appropriate scholarly frameworks. <br />
<br />
The volume of raw primary source material that has become available in the last ten years is amazing. Sources such as Google Books, the PA Civil War Newspapers Project, internet forums, genealogical sites, and even (maybe especially) Ebay make it possible to tell a well-rounded story with nice visual aids about some obscure topic with limited effort. With some guidance by experts, amateurs, and algorithms, people will be able to look at the world around them -- focusing on their town or religious community or family or school or whatever interests them -- and find dozens of compelling historical threads to explore.<br />
<br />
So, what might this look like, or at least what is an example of Civil War history interpreted far beyond the battlefield (or even a historical museum) that primarily utilizes digitized resources? I've actually had the great pleasure over the past year of participating in such a project investigating how people associated with First Lutheran Church in the city of Pittsburgh experienced the Civil War era. For those of you familiar with the city, it's the church directly across Grant Street from the U.S. Steel tower. Needless to say, space is limited and the church's archives isn't too much more than a few records books and stray pamphlets. However, starting with just a few lists of names, we were able to craft a story of the congregation and the Civil War that we presented in two one-hour Sunday School classes...and still felt like we barely scratched the surface. Based primarily on what we found in digitized books and newspapers, our presentation touched on slavery and racism, patriotism, mobilization, benevolent efforts, the work of women, the 62nd Pennsylvania and the 101st Pennsylvania, Hampton's Battery, death and mourning, prisons, memory, and the Lutheran confessionalism/pietism controversy. The presentation was received extremely well by the congregation, and <a href="https://firstlutheranpittsburghcivilwar.wordpress.com/">a new website provides ample opportunities for the primary sources corresponding to those topics to be explored in detail</a>. Also, projects like the Valley of the Shadow seem like a good first-generation
effort, but we can continue to think about how to craft narratives and
make the primary sources more accessible and relevant to readers. <br />
<br />
Going back to my original point, I really hope to see professional and amateur historians seeking more Civil War interpretive opportunities beyond battlefields. And I don't mean just giving tours or creating exhibits, but enhancing them with online historical ecosystems that dynamically engage learners to reward curiosity. I know that I will eagerly consume such efforts. No matter the location, it's hard to beat the human drama of Civil War history grounded in specific people and places. Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-30436038844396581782015-05-21T02:37:00.001-04:002015-05-21T09:58:56.162-04:00"The Young Christian Soldier" -- A Eulogy for Corp. Samuel Roth, 103rd PA<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-97a9jjXrlFw/VV1Hjb3OxjI/AAAAAAAAClo/S2PL_dBSQwY/s1600/IMG_6059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-97a9jjXrlFw/VV1Hjb3OxjI/AAAAAAAAClo/S2PL_dBSQwY/s640/IMG_6059.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cemetery at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Prospect, Butler County, Pennsylvania<br />
Samuel Roth's grave is at the center of the picture and marked by an American flag.</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XKlqyLPi1yA/VV1HiiwOMeI/AAAAAAAAClk/7I_r7wjQ4pk/s1600/IMG_6055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XKlqyLPi1yA/VV1HiiwOMeI/AAAAAAAAClk/7I_r7wjQ4pk/s320/IMG_6055.JPG" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original gravestone of<br />
Corp. Samuel Roth</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
A couple weeks ago, I finally took the opportunity to make a trip north from Pittsburgh to find a Civil War soldier's grave associated with a lengthy eulogy published in the pages of a Lutheran newspaper during the war. The soldier was Corporal Samuel Roth of Company E, 103rd Pennsylvania, who died of disease in May 1862. His pastor, the Rev. Asa H. Waters (<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2nvTAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA409&ots=8D8eDETqMx&dq=%22Asa%20H.%20Waters%22%20lutheran&pg=PA409#v=onepage&q=%22Asa%20H.%20Waters%22%20lutheran&f=false">bio</a>), of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Prospect, PA, testified to Roth's Christian character and devotion to the church.<br />
<br />
The eulogy provides a rare glimpse into church life and mourning during the Civil War era. Waters praises Roth's attendance at prayer meetings, service to the Sabbath School, giving to the missions fund, and his intentions to become a pastor. Using Hebrews 11:4, Waters exhorts his congregation to emulate the example set by the young man. He concludes with a verse from <a href="http://www.hymnary.org/text/lift_not_thou_the_wailing_voice">a period hymn by George W. Doanne</a>. <br />
<br />
Samuel Marion Roth was born on April 24, 1844, to Christian David and Susannah Roth, who were farmers in Franklin Township, Butler County, according to the 1850 and 1860 census. Samuel was baptized at Emmanuel Lutheran Church on June 23, 1844. With real estate valued at $4000 and a personal estate valued at $1169, the family appears to have been relatively prosperous as farmers. Samuel's grandfather, John David Roth, was born on June 13, 1775, in Mount Joy, Lancaster County, and died in 1859 near Prospect. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Roth_%28clergyman%29">His father was a Prussian clergyman who came to the United States around 1756 as a Moravian missionary to Native Americans.</a> Several of Samuel's first cousins went on to become Lutheran pastors and even presidents of Thiel College. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=2nvTAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA399&lpg=PA399&dq=%22John+D.+roth%22+prospect+butler+county&source=bl&ots=8D8eDFVtME&sig=fJYYEGFr-RMWP_prrFf1bPoa5PY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HHNdVcCPOqqQsQTK5oLYBg&ved=0CCQQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22John%20D.%20roth%22%20prospect%20butler%20county&f=false">A brother went on to become a pastor</a>. <a href="http://genealogytrails.com/penn/butler/home_book/chapt22-23.html#23">According to a family history</a>, it also appears that two other of Samuel Roth's first cousins, George Washington Roth and John William Strain, died in the war. George W. Roth died at Camp Nolin in Kentucky on December 12, 1861, with Company H, 78th Pennsylvania, and John W. Strain died on January 7, 1863, of "fever" at Falmouth, Virginia, with Company F, 134th Pennsylvania.<br />
<br />
While small, the town of Prospect was home to 188 volunteers for the Union army (and one Confederate). <a href="http://genealogytrails.com/penn/butler/home_book/chapt10-12.html">From a town history that includes a chapter on the war that seems to be written by cousin David Luther Roth:</a><br />
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<i>The Revd. A.H. Waters, Pastor of the Lutheran Church in Prospect, deserves and shall be here given, an honorable place among those who upheld the cause of the Union in those dark and dreadful days. He never faltered, he never wavered, but through all stood firm and was a pillar of strength to those about him. He served his country as he served his Church, with true and conscientious devotion. The writer was instructed by him in preparation for his confirmation, examined by him for his first certificate as a teacher in the Soldiers Orphans' Home, at Uniontown in Fayette County, and knew him well for many years and always favorably. The last office he discharged was the mournful one of pall-bearer at his funeral when he was buried in the Allegheny cemetery. He died May 24, 1903. He was active inthe work of recruiting the companies which went out from Prospect, especially in that [Co. F, 137th PA] commanded by Captain Henry Pillow, who was a regular attendant on his preaching and whose family was in his church.</i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Second gravestone of<br />
Samuel M. Roth</td></tr>
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Roth was mustered in to Company E, 103rd Pennsylvania, on December 7, 1861. As the Peninsula Campaign unfolded, Roth fell ill and returned to Washington, DC, where he died on May 24, 1862 (there is a typo below stating the date as June 24). The eulogy appeared in the <i>Lutheran and Missionary</i>, the conservative/confessionalist paper associated with Charles Porterfield Krauth and William A. Passavant, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=NLzTAAAAMAAJ&dq=passavant%20asa%20waters&pg=PA256#v=onepage&q=passavant%20asa%20waters&f=false">who included him in some of his earliest aid work in Pittsburgh in the 1840s</a>. In 1863, Waters went to Memphis, Tennessee, with the US Christian Commission and brought thirteen orphans back to be cared for in homes in Zelienople and Rochester, PA. After the war, he established a Soldiers' Orphan School in Uniontown, which later <a href="http://www.jumonville.org/history.us.html">moved to Jumonville</a>. Waters labored as the school's superintendent for 24 years. As an interesting side note, the superintendent of the statewide orphan school system for much of this time was none other than J. P. Wickersham, who helped recruit Company E, 79th Pennsylvania. <br />
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Here is the transcript of Waters' eulogy from the July 3, 1862, <i>Lutheran and Missionary</i>:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Title to Eulogy for Corp. Samuel Roth by Rev. Asa H. Waters<br />
<i>Lutheran and Missionary </i>7/3/1862</td></tr>
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We have again heard the mournful requiem of the tolling bell. We have again proceeded in the slow and solemn procession to the burial place of the dead. We have again stood around the open grave, and beheld, with tearful eyes and stricken hearts, the remains of one of our number silently deposited in their last earthly resting-place, and heard the solemn words pronounced, "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust."<br />
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Our brother who so recently left us, on his patriotic mission, buoyant with health and spirits, whose robust constitution seemed able to endure the toils and exposures of a soldier's life, has returned to us; but, alas, how changed! That noble form, so erect and buoyant with life, how prostrate in death's embrace! Those hands so ready to engage in life's duties, and so willing to serve his bleeding country, how motionless! Those eyes which ever reflected the kindness, gentleness, generosity and purity of his heart, how lifeless! and that heart whose every pulsation throbbed for humanity, for patriotism and for God, how hushed in the sleep of the grave! Who is there among his friends and acquaintances who does not exclaim, with the prophet, in contemplating his character, "Alas! my brother!"<br />
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Having had our contemplations directed to the great truth contained in the words of the Apostle, spoken of Abel, "He, being dead, yet speaketh," let us inquire how far these words are verified in the case of our departed brother. Truly, for one so young in years, and so recently enlisted in the service of Christ, the declaration of the Apostle may be affirmed in him in no ordinary sense.<br />
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On the 2d of October, 1859, having just entered upon his sixteenth year, after a due course of catechetical instruction, he became a communicant of the church by the solemn rite of confirmation. Here, around this sacred altar, with a number of others, one of whom has already preceded him to the [] land, he professed Christ. How sincere that profession was is seen in his life. "Being dead, he yet speaketh." He speaks to us, and particularly to the young of this church, by his example.<br />
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1. <i>In his early profession of faith in Christ</i>. How many, even older than he, think themselves too young to profess Christ! How many think such an early profession incompatible with the character of youth, and destructive of their happiness! How unwise and contrary to the truth! Such were not the views entertained by the deceased. He believed that the morning of life was the time when we should consecrate ourselves to the service of Christ, and so, acting upon this conviction, thus early professed faith in Christ.<br />
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2. <i>In the earnestness of his profession</i>. It was not simply a profession, as it is too often the case, "having the form of godliness but destitute of the power." The earnestness of his profession is seen is his punctuality in attending the public worship in God's house. How seldom was his seat vacant in the sanctuary! God's house was to him a sweet and delightful place. In a letter which he wrote from the army near Yorktown, but a short time before his illness, he inquires concerning the welfare of the church, and remarks that he thought of us on our Communion Sabbath, and was with us in spirit, though he could not participate in the blessed feast. He loved the church. He could not forget her. With all the paraphernalia of war around him, and the excitement of the approaching siege, his heart was with his brethren in the church, and, with David, he could say, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy." His connexion with the church militant has ended. He is now a member of the church triumphant.<br />
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3. <i>In his zeal for the cause of Christ</i>. He not only loved the church, but he also loved the cause of Christ. As an evidence of this he transmits, but shortly before his sickness, out of his hand earnings as a private, the liberal sum of two dollars and fifty cents for the cause of missions, which was dear to his heart. It was his last offering for the cause of his Divine Master. Precious legacy! The reward of weary marches and painful watchings! But he now has a richer reward in the realization of the words of Jesus, "Inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these my brethren, ye did unto me." Ah! friends, does he not speak to us in this example of benevolence and interest in the cause of Christ! How sparingly and how reluctantly do we often contribute to the cause of the Redeemer! But, another and still better evidence of his zeal for the cause of Christ, is seen in his having consecrated himself to the work of the Christian ministry. This was his full determination, and had he been spared to return, he would immediately have entered upon a course of studies in view of that work. But it has pleased the Lord to make him a ministering angel in the courts of heaven, instead of a minister of the gospel here on earth. Blessed change! We would not call thee back, my brother, from that exalted station, to endure the toils and trials of this earthly ministry. Again, his earnestness in the cause of Christ is seen in his labors in the Sabbath School. How many, both old and young, of professed Christians have no interest in the Sabbath School! It is regarded as something outside of the church, and hence, having no claim upon them. Thus this blessed instrumentality for good is often suffered to languish for the want of aid and encouragement. But, our brother did not thus lightly regard this work. He was faithful in his duties and attendance as a teacher in the Sabbath School. And finally, his zeal is seen in his love for the prayer-meeting. Alas! here we miss our brother the most. How few there are who are found at the prayer-meeting! How fewer still to participate in its exercises! How few consider this amongst the duties of the Christian! But, our dear brother was not long, after publicly professing Christ, in becoming a co-worker in the prayer-meeting. He loved to be there, and those who have attended these meetings can bear testimony to the humble and fervent character of his prayers. That voice we shall no longer hear. O does he not speak to you, my brethren, who have neglected this duty, in most earnest language!<br />
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But we most close. We have paid but an imperfect tribute to the memory of our departed brother. But no tribute can be greater than that which is given in the words of the text, "He being dead, yet speaketh." Then let him not speak to us in vain. Let his example of early consecration speak to the young. Let his example of zeal for the cause of Christ, of his faithful discharge of Christian duty, speak to us. Who is there amongst the young men in this church to take his place in preparing for the holy office of the ministry? The church now mourns the loss of many in this terrible war, who had devoted themselves to this work. Who will fill their places? Who will takes his place in the Sabbath School? Who, in the prayer-meeting? He speaks to many in this church to come forward and earnestly engage in every Christian duty. In conclusion, we would say to you whom this providence has bereaved, seek comfort in that blessed gospel which he professed, and in the assurance that he has fought a good fight, that he has finished his courses, that he has kept the faith, and now wears a glorious crown of righteousness.<br />
"Lift not thou the wailing voice;<br />
Weep not: 'tis a Christian dieth;<br />
Up, where blessed saint rejoice,<br />
Ransom'd now the spirit flieth;<br />
High in heaven's own light he dwelleth;<br />
Full the song of triumph swelleth;<br />
Freed from earth and earthly failing,<br />
Left for him no voice of wailing."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Service Card of Corp. Samuel M. Roth, 103rd Pennsylvania</td></tr>
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Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 143 Church Street, Prospect, PA 16052, USA40.9063731 -80.04423650000001115.384338600000003 -121.35283050000001 66.4284076 -38.735642500000012tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-35379079259821622302015-03-14T22:22:00.000-04:002015-03-14T22:22:34.711-04:00On the Road to Bentonville<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Header of 3/25/1865 <i>Daily Evening Express</i> to accompany Lieut. Marshall's letter</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lieut. James H. Marshall<br />(79th PA Officers Oval)</td></tr>
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While I lack the time now for an in-depth series of posts, I would like to at least observe the 150th anniversary of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolinas_Campaign">Carolinas Campaign</a> by providing two accounts from the 79th Pennsylvania in the two weeks leading up to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bentonville">Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina</a>. Bentonville stands out as one of three battles (including Perryville and Chickamauga) in which the Lancaster County Regiment took around 30-40% casualties. For background on this campaign, I refer you to <a href="https://markerhunter.wordpress.com/">Craig Swain's daily blog posts</a> about the army's movements. Note that the 79th Pennsylvania was in the First Division of the Fourteenth Corps. <br />
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Since crossing the Savannah River at Sister's Ferry on February 5, 1865, the 79th Pennsylvania and the rest of General Sherman's army cut off their line of communication to move aggressive through South Carolina. Upon reestablishing communication on March 11, when the regiment reached Fayetteville, North Carolina, Lieut. James H. Marshall took the time write his first letter in several weeks for publication in the <i>Daily Evening Express. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> Marshall essentially copied his diary to cover events of each day of the five week interval. He reported that the "health of the regiment has been good," gave details on the march, and listed the names of soldiers captured while foraging. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5luPkqpDDWkUk12dHZfMjdqVW8/view?usp=sharing">Read the full letter, published in the March 25, 1865, <i>Daily Evening Express</i> here</a>. <br />
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Picking up where Marshall left off, I'll excerpt a week's worth of diary entries from Sgt. William T. Clark (whose diary is in the collections of the Lancaster County Historical Society). Clark recorded the regiment's movements as it marched forth from Fayetteville:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sgt. William T. Clark<br />(Rick Abel Collection)</td></tr>
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<i>Sun., March 12th</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i><b>Get my clothes washed for the first time since Feb. 17th. One boat has reached us from Wilmington & more are coming.</b> Mail goes out at 1½ P.M. I write to Sister Agnes. Last night drew & issued some captured rice & 900 lbs. F. beef & this morning some tobacco. 1st Luke paid me 35 cts. due me for coffee for Capt. Nixdorf. <b>Sergt. Rutt, Corp. Witmer, & Priv. Campbell of Co. “H” were captured on the 10th, the latter wounded near Fayetteville.</b></i><br />
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<i>Mon., March 13th</i><br />
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<i><b>Move at 7 A.M., cross river on pontoon bridge below burnt bridge & move on the Raleigh Road 2 miles & camp.</b> Reb. pickets short distance in front. We expect to remain 3 or 4 days for clothing & rations. 2 Reb boats were captured here. Several boats come up from Wilmington tonight. Drew & issued 100 lbs. corn meal & 900 lbs. F. beef. Traded my mare for colt, black, with heavy mane & tail. Very small ears, small white spot between ears & eyes, hind feet white close to hoofs, & right hip down.</i><br />
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<i>Tues., March 14th</i><br />
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<i>New York & Phila. papers of the 3rd received today. Drew & issued tobacco. Sent in Provisions Return for 15 days, commencing 1st March & ending 15th for 287 men. Wrote to Father a brief sketch of our campaign. We have been out 54 days & marched 395 miles. <b>Lieut. James H. Marshall, Major Locher & some Officers from Brig. Hd. Qrs. took the band & serenaded Gen. Sherman, who said, among things, that in 3 days we would connect with Gen. Schofield.</b></i><br />
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<i>Wed., March 15th</i><br />
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<i>20th Corps moves out this morning leaving its 2nd Div. in charge of their Corps trains. We nove at 10 A.M., our Brigade in advance & upon the Raleigh Road. Lieut. Russell visited me this morning Drew & issued 2 days rations & bought 5 pounds coffee for Lieut. James H. Marshall at 47 cts. pr. lb. amt. to 2.35$ & 1.00$ due me amt. to 3.35$. He gave me 5.$, thus leaving a balance in his favor of 1.65$. Lieut. Russell renews the acquaintance of Capt. McCaskey & Lieut. Marshall. They had formerly been schoolmates in Lancaster, Pa. I accompany him to his Regt. & take dinner with him. Country level today—soil sandy. Forage sufficient for animals, very little for man. Some Artillery firing on our right. We camp 12½ miles from Fayetteville, having marched 11 miles. Day wet. Rebels reported in our front in heavy force.</i><br />
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<i>Thurs., March 16th</i><br />
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<i>Move at 9 A.M. on the Raleigh Road, our Brigade in rear. I move up to the front, where Cavalry are skirmishing with Rebs. They have left one line of works. Road very bad. <b>At John C. Smith's s plantation the skirmish merges with a fight.</b> 1st & 3rd Divs. of 20th Corps relieved Cavalry. Artillery is freely used. Rebs are kept busy in front while one Brigade is sent upon their right flank, throwing them into confusion, capturing 4 pieces of Artillery & 100 prisoners. Many are killed and wounded. J. C. Smith's residence is used as a hospital. Cape Fear River runs nearly parallel with this road. Reb right rests upon the river. Johnston is in command of Rebel forces. Report says he has 2 Corps’. This is called the Battle of Averasboro. The 1st South Carolina Heavy Artillery are armed with muskets. Many of them were killed, wounded & captured. They were at Charleston untill its evacuation. Our 2nd Div. and 1st Brig, of our Div. were engaged this P.M. Drove the Rebs 6 miles & then quiet down for the night. Day wet. Our loss in killed & wounded is.</i><br />
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<i>Fri., March 17th</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Morning clear. <b>Rebs have gone—commenced leaving at sunset yesterday.</b> Their skirmishers were withdrawn at daylight this morning 3rd Div. of 20th Corps moves after them upon Raleigh Road. That town is 37 miles distant. Courier captured whose dispatch said that Johnston should hurry to Raleigh & Lee would give him enough troops. I go 1½ miles on the Raleigh Road & get some lard, then hear that our Corps & 1st Div. of 20th Corps are moving to the right on the Goldsboro Road. This place is 42 miles distant. Rebs have parked & burned their train near Smithfield 3½ miles from their works. Also abandoned many ambulances loaded with wounded. We cross Black River & camp 5 miles out, having marched 7 miles. 2nd Div. in front. Country better, soil sandy.</i><br />
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<i>Sat., March 18th</i><br />
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<i>Move at 6 A.M. on the Goldsboro Road, 2nd Div. in advance. Foragers pass troops & find Rebs 30 miles from Goldsboro and push them back & 27 miles from that town we had sharp skirmishing in which 4 horses were killed by a Rebel shell, & two skirmishers wounded by minnie balls, one man captured. They skedaddled when they saw our line of battle. Forage more plentiful. I get some potatoes & onions & return, finding Div. encamped 27 miles from Goldsboro. That town reported taken by Gen. Schofield. Marched 12 miles. </i><br />
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I'll try to follow up next week by posting letters from the Battle of Bentonville. Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Fayetteville, NC, USA35.0526641 -78.8783584999999934.8447416 -79.201081999999985 35.2605866 -78.555635tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-68508642162200620872014-12-12T23:17:00.000-05:002015-01-03T18:15:13.370-05:00Better Know an Officer -- Lieut. Henry Ransing<div style="text-align: right;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of Sword Presented to Lieut. Henry Ransing (Sold on Heritage Auctions in 2014)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lieut. Henry Ransing<br />
(79th PA Officers Oval)</td></tr>
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<b>Name</b>: Henry Ransing<br />
<b>Birth</b>: September 15, 1838 (Holland)<br />
<b>Occupation</b>: Attended Lancaster city public schools; Worked in cotton mill from age 13<br />
<b>Church/Religion</b>: Roman Catholic<br />
<b>Term of Service</b>: Enlisted in Company G, 79th Pa, on 10/3/1861. Promoted to 1st Sgt., 2nd Lt, dates unknown.<br />
<b>Notable Events</b>: All battles with 79th Pa.; Clothing perforated by 16 bullets at Bentonville; Chickamauga monument committee <br />
<b>Post-war</b>: Watchman; Mill overseer, Grocer, Hotel Keeper<br />
<b>Death</b>: May 19, 1900 (St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Cemetery)<br />
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Yesterday, blog reader Glenn Benner contacted me to let me know that he had <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSmcid=48191807&GRid=140633447&df=7&">documented the grave of Lieut. Henry Ransing of Company G, 79th PA, on Find a Grave</a>. Not knowing anything about Ransing, I entered his name as a Google search and was surprised to see his presentation sword scheduled for auction today by Heritage Auctions (it sold for almost $6,000).<br />
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So, to give Lieut. Ransing his due, here is his <i>Biographical Annals </i>entry, accompanied by some pictures of the sword. (Source: <i>Biographical Annals of Lancaster Co., Pa.,</i> 1903 by J. H. Beers & Co., page 1129-1130.)<br />
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CAPT. HENRY RANSING (deceased) was a son of George Hiram Ransing, who died in Holland, and whose widow came to the United States when Henry was a lad of two years of age. She became the owner of the land between East Orange, Plum, Marion and Center streets, and this land she sold little by little as the march of improvement took its course in that direction.<br />
<br />
Henry Ransing was educated in the Lancaster public schools, and at the age of thirteen years entered a cotton mill, where he worked until the breaking out of the Rebellion. At that time he enlisted as a private in Co. G, 79th P. V. I., and at the end of his first term of enlistment, he re-enlisted for the war. He rose rapidly and presently attained the rank of captain. When the company came back in which he first enlisted, he was its captain, though only nine of the original members survived the dangers of war. He was in twenty-seven battles and eighteen skirmishes in the Western Army, but was never wounded. though at the battle of Bentonville his clothing was perforated by sixteen bullets. After the war Capt. Ransing was presented by the members of his company with a magnificent sword, sash, belt and epaulets, the sword bearing this inscription: "Presented to Capt. Ransing by the members of Company G, 79th regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, as a token of respect and friendship; and for the gallantry displayed in all the battles in which he participated." Capt. Ransing was a member of the Committee on the Monument to the memory of the men of the 79th P. V. I, who fell at Chickamauga.<br />
<br />
The war ended, Capt. Ransing became an overseer in the Lancaster Fulton Cotton Mills, where he remained until the factory was partially destroyed by the explosion of the boiler. After this he gave up his position in the mill, on account of the objection of his wife to his being in what she regarded as a dangerous place, though he was in the line of promotion to the superintendency. Capt. Ransing engaged in business, opening a small grocery, which soon assumed large proportions under his close and careful management, soon necessitating the construction of the fine brick building on East Orange street, where for ten years a successful business was carried on. At the end of that time this building and business was converted into a hotel, for which he secured a license, and established the "East End Hotel." After a prolonged absence from the hotel, and a residence in another part of the city, Capt. Ransing finally returned to it, where he died May 19, 1900, deeply regretted far and wide. The following poem was published in the New Era, shortly after his death:<br />
<br />
<i>IN MEMORY OF A GALLANT SOLDIER.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>We mourn. but we comfort feel.</i><br />
<i>When of our friend we're thinking.</i><br />
<i>That when on him Death pressed the seal</i><br />
<i>He died brave and unshrinking.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>He feared not death: Why should he fear?</i><br />
<i>He who with musket's rattle</i><br />
<i>And shot and shell and wildest cheer</i><br />
<i>Feared not the bloody battle!</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>No mocking yell his soul could quell;</i><br />
<i>He fought to save the Union;</i><br />
<i>Stood like a rock while others fell,</i><br />
<i>Stood firm against disunion.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>He rose from private rank to lead</i><br />
<i>The gallant volunteers.</i><br />
<i>He rose from merit and with speed,</i><br />
<i>Rose with his comrade's cheers.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>They honored him by act and word,</i><br />
<i>And to attest their feeling,</i><br />
<i>They gave to him a handsome sword,</i><br />
<i>Their deep love thus revealing.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>The war was o'er. His sword was sheathed.</i><br />
<i>And doing good to others,</i><br />
<i>No gentler, kindlier heart e'er breathed,</i><br />
<i>Beloved by all his brothers.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>For all the world to his kind heart,</i><br />
<i>Were just like sisters, brothers;</i><br />
<i>He never failed to do his part,</i><br />
<i>In lending help to others.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>His soul's at rest; his battle's done.</i><br />
<i>He's done with care and striving;</i><br />
<i>He left a light like noonday sun</i><br />
<i>To comfort the surviving.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>To danger he was first to go,</i><br />
<i>None quicker in advancing,</i><br />
<i>No braver man e'er met a foe.</i><br />
<i>Than gallant Captain Ransing.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
Capt. Ransing was married in 1866, to Rose Roth, who survives him, as does his only son, Henry Edward. The latter was born Sept. 16, 1877, and after securing a partial education in St. Anthony's parochial school, finished his education in Franklin and Marshall College, but was compelled to leave school before graduation that he might assist his father, who became seriously ill three years before his death. Henry E. Ransing has since succeeded to the hotel business. He was married Sept. 20, 1900.<br />
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Capt. Ransing was a devout Catholic, having taken his first communion at old St. Mary's Church when twelve years old. In his later years he was associated with St. Anthony's Church. He was the founder of St. Michael's Catholic Benevolent Society, and was chief marshal of the great parades that attended the laying of the corner stone of St. Anthony's Church, at the dedication of St. Anthony's Institute, and at other notable Catholic occasions in this city, besides leading his society frequently to other cities to participate in prominent events. Few men indeed were better known in Lancaster than Capt. Henry Ransing, and none more esteemed.<br />
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Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-60749584750013177432014-12-04T05:44:00.000-05:002014-12-04T05:44:17.283-05:00'Set Your House in Order for Death': A Pastor's Letter to a Soldier<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihS_JgSzLg8/VIA3DVni-TI/AAAAAAAAChM/XVUSFXpgkL4/s1600/fwconrad5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ihS_JgSzLg8/VIA3DVni-TI/AAAAAAAAChM/XVUSFXpgkL4/s1600/fwconrad5.jpg" height="284" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Envelope for Letter from Frederick and Rebecca Conrad to Lieut. Peter A. Filbert<br />(Sold on Ebay in 2006)</td></tr>
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While Civil War soldiers' private letters are a scarce resource that we treasure for the factual details and the opinions that they contain, even rarer are letters to Civil War soldiers from family members. I am aware of very few in Lancaster: one to William T. Clark of the 79th PA from his father just before returning home to try to recruit a company during the Gettysburg Campaign (LancasterHistory.org collection) and one to 1863 militiaman William H. Torr just before Gettysburg (in my collection and likely the subject of a future post).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rev. F. W. Conrad<br />(Holy Trinity Archives)</td></tr>
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In this post, I will transcribe and comment on another such letter related to several individuals from Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, with an important connection to Lancaster's Civil War history. The recipient was Lieut. Peter A. Filbert, 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, and the writers were his sister Rebecca and her husband <a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/05/rev-f-w-conrads-civil-war.html">Rev. Frederick W. Conrad -- whom you might recognize as the ardent abolitionist/unionist who was pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster between 1862 and 1864 (see post)</a>. Believe it or not, I stumbled across this letter when it was sold on Ebay for $270 in 2006. For family details, see their biographies on <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=fycUAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA323&ots=cupqeJZ8ki&dq=pine%20grove%20%22peter%20filbert%22&pg=PA324#v=onepage&q=pine%20grove%20%22peter%20filbert%22&f=false">pages 321-323 of <i>The History of Schuylkill County, Pa</i></a>. Filbert's diary, letters, and photographs are part of the Harrisburg Civil War Roundtable Collection at USAHEC in Carlisle, and were apparently the subject of master's thesis by Kurt Emerich at Penn State Harrisburg. <br />
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The letter was written six weeks after the war's outbreak. The Rev. and Mrs. Conrad were in Dayton, Ohio, where he had been pastor of <a href="http://www.firstlutheranchurchdayton.com/">First Lutheran Church</a> since 1855. Lieut. Filbert was at Camp Slifer near Chambersburg helping to lead Company D, 10th Pennsylvania Infantry, which he had joined on April 23. News was just spreading of the shooting of Col. Ellsworth. <br />
<br />
The first three of the letter's four pages were a letter from Rebecca to her brother. She expresses her concern for him, reacts to Col. Ellsworth's murder, and provides an update on her status. I have added paragraph breaks to enhance readability. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5luPkqpDDWkZnRVcU5acDVZeUU/view?usp=sharing">See the original here.</a><br />
<br />
<i>Dayton, Saturday morning 25th/61</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>Dear Brother,</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>Your very welcome letter was received on friday the 24th, and read in a great hurry, as I was very anxious to know where you were, and how you are getting along. I am much relieved to hear that you are so well satisfied that you are in the path of duty, and hope that you will ever be faithful to your God and country. Remember that a Sister's heart beats in this bosom, and that a Sister's prayers ascend to the Throne of Grace for your protection and success in your effort for the once happy union. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>God grant that the seceding States may see their error before it is too late. This morning brings the sad tidings of the murder of Col. Ellsworth. He had hauled down the Secession flag from the market house in Alexandra and with flag in hand was shot by a concealed foe. If that be Southern chivalry, let it be added to the dastardly assaults of the Baltimore mob, and pray that the North may never be guilty of so mean an act. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>In your letter you said nothing about brother Will. I am very anxious to hear how he is getting along. If he were a Christian, <u>how great a burden</u> would be taken of my heart. I long to hear that he is a Soldier of the Cross. Then only can he be a faithful Soldier of his country </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>The unsettled state of our Country has changed my arrangements for the present. I am anxious to go home if Mr Conrad can make up his mind that it is best for me at present he seems inclined to think that it will be best for me to remain here. I wish I could be where I could add to your comfort. I often think of you, and the many privations you must have in camp, and would willingly share my comforts with you. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>Mr. Conrad has treated himself with a fine Horse, Phaeton Harness and Sadle which makes him feel a little more as in bygone days. We call the horse Bonnie. I will leave a little space for Mr. Conrad. Farewell God bless you. Be faithful. Write soon. Tell me what your hopes are for eternity so that I may pray for you with an understanding heart, and if I should never see you again in this world may we meet in heaven is the heartfelt prayer of your anxious Sister R. </i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>I am much obliged for the Photograph and if I do not go home shall ask them to send it.</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>Monday morning</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>Much love to William from us, and tell him we would like to hear from him soon. Write whenever you can. We are very anxious about you. Many hopes and much love from your affectionate Sister Rebecca.</i><br />
<br />
The part about the new horse is actually somewhat funny, as it would tie in to the <i>Intelligencer</i>'s unfriendly characterization in 1870 of his time in Lancaster: "His penchant for preaching political sermons, a la Beecher, and driving fast horses, a la [Robert] Bonner, soon disgusted the greater portion of his congregation, and would have disgusted all of them, had it not been for the angry passions stirred up by the great rebellion." Pastor Conrad followed his wife's comments with his own one-page pastoral exhortation for his brother-in-law. <br />
<br />
<i>Dear Peter,</i><br />
<i><br />
</i> <i>Rebecca has left his side for me to fill, but as I must go to Springfield in the cars his morning (Monday) I can say only a word or two. While we sympathize with you in your hardship and danger, we feel that you are in the path of duty. There never was a better cause to fight for than that of the Government, the Constitution, the Union. And as God was with our fathers in establishing them, so too will he be with us in defending them. But you must not forget that your lives are daily in your hands and may be sacrificed any hour. Your soul's salvation is worth more than the whole cause gained for which you entered. While you show yourselves good soldiers of the U.S. don't neglect to show yourselves good soldiers of Christ. You must be ready not only to meet the enemy, but your maker in judgment. Prepare to meet God! Set your house in order for death! Be ready for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh. We can bear the loss of your life on the altar of your country, but not the loss of your souls on the altar of impenitence. Yours prayerfully and encouragingly, F. W. C. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<br />Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Spring Grove, PA 17362, USA39.8745436 -76.8658077999999739.850174100000004 -76.90614829999997 39.8989131 -76.825467299999971tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-19160030338071774652014-11-20T18:52:00.004-05:002014-11-21T01:41:54.638-05:00Church Records Speak -- Lancaster's Slaveholders, "Elmer Ellsworth ___", 79th Pa Connections, Faith and Gender<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trinity Lutheran Church, Lancaster<br />
(From <i>Memorial Volume</i>, 1861)</td></tr>
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While it may seem that the Civil War has been studied from virtually every angle, one important but largely missing perspective is the experience of religious communities such as churches and synagogues on the local level. Over the past ten years, I've thoroughly enjoyed researching Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (<a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/05/troublous-times-trinity-lutheran-church.html">see here</a>) -- one of Lancaster's more physically and historically prominent churches -- and have been lucky in the abundant high-quality primary source material that I have been able to glean. This has better enabled me to better understand the war's effect on individuals at the local level, as well as take historical persons more seriously (sometimes a problem in Civil War studies) due to our shared institutional connection. <br />
<br />
Since earlier this year, I've even been working with members of First Lutheran Church in Pittsburgh (the one at the base of the US Steel Building) to reproduce this line of research inquiries and see what we find. A comparative lack of newspaper primary sources and turn-of-the-century industrial biographies for First Lutheran Church and Pittsburgh vs. Holy Trinity and Lancaster has made us turn to (1) published sources related to famous pastors Passavant and Krauth and (2) church records as staring points. Studying church records prompted me to go back and do something during a recent weekend in Lancaster that I had not done before (at least not comprehensively): examine Holy Trinity's baptism, marriage, and burial records. In this post, I'll give some thoughts based on my preliminary scan of these records.<br />
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<h3>
Slavery in Lancaster</h3>
<br />
(This paragraph refers to an LCHS Journal Article: Ebersole, Mark. ‘German Religious Groups and Slavery in Lancaster County Prior to the Civil War.” <i>Journal of the Lancaster County Historical Society</i>. Vol. 107, No. 4. Winter, 2005-2006. 158-187.)<br />
<br />
I'll start by saying that it's rather jarring to someone with your last name (Schlauch, or its many Anglicized forms such as Slough and Slaugh) and connected to the same church listed as "one of the largest chattel-holders of the county" with eleven slaves. It turns out that there's no perceptible genealogical relationship, as my Schlauch line only came from Germany to Lancaster in 1871 (Andreas Schlauch, from Baden Baden), but the somewhat surprising fact remains that some of Lancaster's and Holy Trinity's leaders in the mid-1700s owned African Americans as slaves. Ebersole describes this essentially as a adaptation by select Germans of a more largely English practice. While it may not have had the industrial scale of later forms of slavery in the cotton South, slavery in Lancaster still evidently involved the separation of families for profit and slaves and a system that some slaves tried to flee. Clearly, it's a complex subject with a range of primary and secondary sources that I still need to study.<br />
<br />
At Holy Trinity in the late 1700s and early 1800s, free and enslaved African Americans had some level of participation in church life through baptism, marriage, and burial (hence, the helpfulness of church records). In the years after emancipation began as a gradual process in 1780, laymen and pastors of Holy Trinity supported the founding of African-American churches in Lancaster and later joined the Africa colonization movement. Despite giving some prominent examples of slaveholders, Ebersole writes that "for the most part, the Moravian, Reformed, and Lutheran churchmen also stayed aloof from the English culture, and from all slavery practices, upon their arrival in the New World." It will be interesting in future research to identify differences in opinion between members of the congregation, as well as the German-born Rev. Gottlob F. Krotel and the Pennsylvania-born Rev. F. W. Conrad, Furthermore, what can we infer from the exclusion of African-Americans at Trinity-connected Woodward Hill Cemetery, or from the <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=LCL/1860/12/04/2/Ar00200.xml&CollName=LCL&DOCID=78794&PageLabelPrint=2&skin=civilwar&AW=1416519521888&sPublication=LCL&sScopeID=All&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=trinity%20kansas&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=0&ViewMode=GIF">Ladies' Kansas Relief Meeting at Holy Trinity that so irked the Democratic <i>Intelligencer</i></a><i> </i>(12/4/1860)?<br />
<br />
I don't recognize too many family connections between the mid-1700s slaveholders and those active with Holy Trinity in the Civil War Era, with one exception: records exist of George Hopson Krug's grandfather Valentine Krug leaving slaves to George's father Jacob in his will. The Krug family was known for its tannery, and George H. Krug was an important lay leader at Holy Trinity until his death in 1869. At Holy Trinity in 1842, Krug's daughter, Rebecca, married a young Navy officer named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Reynolds_%28naval_officer%29">William Reynolds</a>, whose father was in the same Democratic Lancaster social circles (think James Buchanan) as Rebecca's father. William went on to lead a remarkable career in the Navy, and his younger brother John Fulton Reynolds achieved even greater fame as a general in the Army of the Potomac. <br />
<br />
<h3>
Baby Names </h3>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozuGNQzCNuutLzmB41pT9ODzdpOMoZq1GOVW6ygUvI0FJRO3IXkjYdIpkCOe8OS3yo-t6lBQCCOnzufDKhuv6Bm8LJ-PVPSpvlDaNWFl6tPq4D8-7hFYDioO6hvcJIkeVo4ky6galTqSQ/s1600/ElmerEllsworthphoto01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiozuGNQzCNuutLzmB41pT9ODzdpOMoZq1GOVW6ygUvI0FJRO3IXkjYdIpkCOe8OS3yo-t6lBQCCOnzufDKhuv6Bm8LJ-PVPSpvlDaNWFl6tPq4D8-7hFYDioO6hvcJIkeVo4ky6galTqSQ/s1600/ElmerEllsworthphoto01.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmer_E._Ellsworth">Col. Elmer Ellsworth</a></td></tr>
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<div>
One rather interesting way to assess the patriotism of the people affiliated with Holy Trinity at this time is to look at trends at baby names. And we're really talking about one trend: many people named their child after Elmer Ellsworth, the Union martyr who died one month into the war while trying to seize a Confederate flag in Alexandria, Virginia. A total of nine(!) children (out of roughly 10-12 per month) baptized at Holy Trinity in the succeeding months would bear some version of his name (one baby born in April 19 was even apparently named retroactively). Especially because the original Elmer Ellsworth was known pretty much solely as a martyr, these children seem to be a way for families to signal their willingness to sacrifice for the Union cause. Here is a list: </div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Elmer Ellsworth Filler (b. 4/19/1861), son of Henry and Juliana Filler (sponsor). </li>
<li>Elmer Ellsworth Shreiner (b. 6/15/1861), son of Henry Michael and Mary Shreiner (sponsor). </li>
<li>Ellsworth Leibley (b. 6/20/1861), son of Jacob and Elizabeth Leibley (sponsor). </li>
<li>Elmer Ellsworth Winour (b. 7/15/1861), son of George Washington and Fanny Winour. Sponsored by Amelia Sensendorfer. </li>
<li>Charles Ellsworth Peterman (b. 8/2/1861), son of George and Frances Peterman (sponsor). </li>
<li>Ellmer Ellsworth Steigerwalt (b. 9/5/1861), son of Michael F. and Martha Steigerwalt (sponsored by both parents). </li>
<li>Charles Ellsworth Bowman (b. 9/23/1861), son of William and Catherine Bowman (sponsor).</li>
<li>Ellsworth Holtz (b. 8/9/1862), son of George Washington and Mary Ann Holtz (sponsored by both parents).</li>
<li>Edward Elmer Ellsworth Cogley (b. 12/13/1861), son of Joseph and Sarah Ann Cogley (sponsored by grandmother).</li>
</ul>
<div>
<div>
A couple other names show up in the records, but none with the concentration of Elmer Ellsworth:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>George B. McClellan Killian</b> (b. 4/18/1863), son of Henry K. and Pricilla Killian (sponsored by both parents). I wonder how ardent abolitionist F. W. Conrad felt baptizing this child. </li>
<li><b>Abraham Lincoln Mishler</b> (b. 11/9/1865), son of Isaac and Catherine Mishler. Sponsored by mother.</li>
</ul>
<div>
At least two children were also named after <a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/05/rev-gottlob-f-krotels-civil-war.html">the Rev. Dr. Gottlob "George" F. Krotel</a>, who had earned the admiration of much of the congregation before his departure to Philadelphia in 1861.</div>
</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>George Krotel Bender</b> (b. 8/17/1861), son of Benjamin S. and Hetty Bender (sponsor). </li>
<li><b>George Frederick Krotel Erisman</b> (b. 2/23/1863), son of Emanuel J. and Mary Erisman (sponsor not listed). </li>
</ul>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
79th Pa Connections</h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">79th PA Monument, Chickamauga</td></tr>
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<br />
From the baptismal records, I also recognized a few 79th Pennsylvania connections, which I note here for future biographical or genealogical research or investigations of the social networks from which the Lancaster County Regiment was raised:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Capt. Jacob Gompf</b>: Jacob Augustus (b. 10/14/1860) baptized 3/14/1861 with mother Susan as sponsor. </li>
<li><b>James P. Dysart</b> (brother of 79th PA captains): Henry Scherff (b. 11/26/1860) baptized 4/18/1861). Sponsored by grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Henry Scherff.</li>
<li><b>Capt. Edward Edgerly</b>: Edward Everett Edgerly (b. 9/3/1859). Son of Edward and Rosanna Edgerly. Sponsored by grandparents John and Rosanna Stehman. </li>
<li><b>Lieut. William P. Leonard</b>. Three children with wife Harriet baptized on 6/10/1867. Daughter Emma Virginia (b. 6/24/1846) baptized on July 15, 1846.</li>
<li><b>William F. Dostman</b> (b. 10/8/1841), son of John Peter and Catherine Dostman (sponsor). </li>
<li><b>Horace Binney Vondersmith</b> (b. 5/6/1844), son of Daniel B. and Clara Elizabeth Vondersmith. Both parents sponsored.</li>
<li><b>Robert M. Dysart and Lyman G. Bodie</b>: both listed in death records for mid/late-1860s which I did not copy.</li>
</ul>
<br />
Note that Dostman and Vondersmith are the color bearers depicted in the 79th Pennsylvania's Chickamauga monument. In the battle, Dostman was fatally wounded by an exploding shell and Vondersmith carried the flag forward. As an aside, Vondersmith's father, Daniel B. Vondersmith, had become infamous during the 1850s when he fled the United States on charges of fraud in a pension forging scheme. He later returned to serve jail time before being pardoned. Later in life, he could be found as the cashier for a traveling circus. His son, meanwhile, earned a sterling reputation as Lancaster's fire chief. I'll have to document the lives of the father and son Vondersmith in a future post.<br />
<br />
And connections to other notables: <br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_James_Dickey"><b>Oliver J. Dickey</b></a> (Republican politician): Mary Elvira (b. 9/10/1858) baptized 11/10/1860. Sponsored by mother Elizabeth.</li>
<li>Rebecca Reynolds Krug (b. 6/23/1861), daughter of John H. and Henrietta Krug. Named after her aunt, wife of future Admiral <b>William Reynolds</b>. Baptized 8/12/1861. Sponsored by grandfather George H. Krug. Rebecca Reynolds Krug and Rebecca Krug Reynolds seemed to have a mother-daughter relationship (see latter's obituary). </li>
<li><b>Emlen Franklin</b> (Col., 122nd PA): Emlen Augustus (b. 2/23/1864) baptized on 12/3/1865, son of Emlen and Clara Amelia Franklin. Both parents were sponsors. </li>
<li><b>George Unkle</b> (correspondent and Pvt., 9th PA Cavalry): Ann Elizabeth Unkel (b. 2/11/1845), daughter of George and Ann Adelaid Unkle. </li>
</ul>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Future Questions -- Gender and Faith</h3>
<br />
One thing that stuck out is approximately one-third to one-half of the baptisms only seem to have the mother as the sponsor. What does this say about church membership and gender roles? Is this specific to Holy Trinity or to Lutherans? Was there a lost generation of men in churches in the mid-1800s? Were maternal lines more important in determining a family's religious life? Or is there some other reason to explain the trend? I'll have to pay attention to these questions as I look at other churches' records and dig up Lutheran newspapers to see if any editorialists comment on a trend. <br />
<br />
I'm glad I finally took the time to flip through Holy Trinity's records. It's given a few interesting data points to help characterize the Union cause and will help to fill in some holes about 79th Pa personalities. I haven't even touched on the weightier themes of the interplay between competing Lutheran ideologies and competing national ideologies regarding the Lutheran identity, race, patriotism, and church life. <br />
<br />
Look for a future posts with a more biographical focus on members of Holy Trinity to enhance our capacity to imagine and study how the war affected communities and individuals. Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com131 South Duke Street, Lancaster, PA 17602, USA40.0372777 -76.30275999999997814.515243199999997 -117.61135399999998 65.5593122 -34.994165999999979tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-53053729898047069732014-10-07T21:19:00.001-04:002014-10-07T21:19:11.866-04:00Killed at Perryville<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oeGxcPR-ZiU/VDSKW1KPzxI/AAAAAAAACf0/5yrVJXV6Fh8/s1600/IMG_8635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oeGxcPR-ZiU/VDSKW1KPzxI/AAAAAAAACf0/5yrVJXV6Fh8/s1600/IMG_8635.JPG" height="344" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of tombstone of Capt. Samuel J. Boone, Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church, Quarryville, PA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Thirty-seven officers and men of the 79th Pennsylvania died at the Battle of Perryville on October 8, 1862, making it by far the bloodiest day in the military history of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. With another 149 wounded and and three missing, the regiment's casualties numbered 189 according to <a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/aby3439.0002.001/1090?page=root;sid=9f675b682c68cf9fba6328d078a48c3c;size=100;view=image;q1=Seventy-Ninth+Regiment">Bates' regimental history</a> and an <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=LCL/1863/03/24/2/Ar00200.xml&CollName=LCL&DOCID=91887&PageLabelPrint=2&skin=civilwar&AW=1396204474895&sPublication=LCL&sScopeID=All&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=%22Chaplin%20Hills%22&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=5&ViewMode=GIF">1863 casualty list published in the 3/24 <i>Intelligencer</i></a>. Of the wounded, at least 10 soldiers would die in Kentucky before the end of October, although most of the remainder appear to have returned to service. As far as I know, of these 47 men killed or mortally wounded at Perryville, the remains of only five made it back to Pennsylvania. They include:</div>
<div>
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=boone&GSfn=samuel&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1862&GSdyrel=in&GSst=40&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=88419879&df=all&"><b>Capt. Samuel J. Boone</b>, Company C. Killed in action. Buried at Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Quarryville.</a> </li>
<li><b>Lieut. Henry J. Test</b>, Company C. Killed in action. Presumably buried in York. </li>
<li><b>Corp. Frederick J. Sener</b>. Died October 24, 1862, of wounds. Buried at Woodward Hill Cemetery. [Plot location unknown.]</li>
<li><b>Corp. John A. Keller</b>, Company B. Died November 3, 1862, of wounds. Buried at Lancaster Cemetery. [Plot location unknown.]</li>
<li><a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=eakert&GSfn=william&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1862&GSdyrel=in&GSst=40&GScnty=2276&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=27322600&df=all&"><b>Pvt. William Eckert [Eakert]</b>, Company B. Killed in action. Buried at Calvary Monument Bible Church Cemetery, Paradise.</a></li>
</ol>
<div>
The rest of the men killed in action were buried on the field by their comrades -- despite the wishes of many family members in Lancaster to have remains sent home. Those remains, which did not retain any identification, were transferred to Camp Nelson National Cemetery after the war. Others who died in military hospitals are buried in national cemeteries around Louisville. </div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Two years ago, I went out to visit and photograph the graves of Capt. Boone and Pvt. Eckert, which are only a couple miles apart in southern Lancaster County. In posts over the upcoming days, I'll post more about their lives and deaths and share some photos of their tombstones. </div>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-51442460218145477532014-10-06T23:40:00.002-04:002014-10-06T23:40:21.956-04:00Photos from PerryvilleBack in May, I finally had the opportunity to visit the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site, where on one afternoon in October 1862 the 79th Pennsylvania played a key role in saving the Union army from disaster. The battlefield seems like it's an hour from anything else, but it's certainly a compelling and well-interpreted site. While the armies engaged were relatively small, the casualty rates were extremely high. The ground is a series of undulating ridges, which helps to delineate the engagements and understand their sequence. I definitely recommend visiting the battlefield, preferably by foot or bike.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDR4TG9D5jI/UHLrHnR9s0I/AAAAAAAACec/lDFE8A-Cy84/s1600/Perryville_1545.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RDR4TG9D5jI/UHLrHnR9s0I/AAAAAAAACec/lDFE8A-Cy84/s1600/Perryville_1545.jpg" height="400" width="357" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map showing correct position of 79th PA at Perryville<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.2479991912842px;">By Hal Jesperson (</span><a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Perryville_1545.png" style="background-color: white; color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.2479991912842px; text-decoration: none;">Wikimedia Commons</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17.2479991912842px;">)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I got the chance to walk the battlefield, focusing on the site where the Lancaster County Regiment, and met with park manager Kurt Holman. Besides dropping off some eagerly devoured primary sources (<a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/p/battle-of-perryville.html">available here</a>), we had a discussion to straighten out the 79th Pennsylvania's role in the battle. Kurt -- probably using Ken Noe's book -- had them moving a couple different places over the course of the afternoon, where primary sources make it fairly clear that the regiment stayed in one place for the duration of the fighting. We seemed to reach a pretty satisfying conclusion (<a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2012/10/the-79th-pennsylvania-in-battle-of.html">matching what I wrote in a previous post</a>), and Kurt updated park maps and files. <br />
<br />
The 79th PA fought on a shoulder ridge that stretched south beyond a bend on the Benton Road from a hill on which the 1st Wisconsin and Bush's and Stone's batteries fought. To their front was about a 100-yard down slope that ran into a wood lot on land not suitable for farming. The 24th Illinois would have been to their right, but the ground drops off and it does not appear as if that regiment coordinated with the 79th PA. So, it's not hard to imagine how the 79th Pennsylvania felt isolated in their position. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dL6DRZZ51PI/VDNbwhzABqI/AAAAAAAACfA/5-Z_aUXHUkE/s1600/IMG_2799.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dL6DRZZ51PI/VDNbwhzABqI/AAAAAAAACfA/5-Z_aUXHUkE/s1600/IMG_2799.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">79th PA battle line, looking south (left to right) from left flank</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sXIB_pwCqhI/VDNb3c_sVjI/AAAAAAAACfI/k6SxTzoz9XU/s1600/IMG_2801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sXIB_pwCqhI/VDNb3c_sVjI/AAAAAAAACfI/k6SxTzoz9XU/s1600/IMG_2801.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">79th PA battle line, looking north (right to left) from right flank</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4KpfgLL9EhA/VDNb8p1UzXI/AAAAAAAACfQ/7fY4-M-mt7I/s1600/IMG_2804.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4KpfgLL9EhA/VDNb8p1UzXI/AAAAAAAACfQ/7fY4-M-mt7I/s1600/IMG_2804.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Left flank of 79th PA battle line, looking north. Col. Hambright swung out his left two companies from this position to provide a flanking fire on Confederates to the regiment's front. The 1st Wisconsin fought beyond the 79th PA's left flank on the hill with the artillery piece. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-96CCpDaLpPI/VDNcBBSqAOI/AAAAAAAACfY/IJIQrcTKQb4/s1600/IMG_2806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-96CCpDaLpPI/VDNcBBSqAOI/AAAAAAAACfY/IJIQrcTKQb4/s1600/IMG_2806.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of 79th PA position from front left (roughly from the direction of the 1st Wisconsin. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YcLXk75zyhs/VDNcHwAWCCI/AAAAAAAACfk/sKYVxylxS0Q/s1600/IMG_2796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YcLXk75zyhs/VDNcHwAWCCI/AAAAAAAACfk/sKYVxylxS0Q/s1600/IMG_2796.JPG" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the 79th PA left flank position from the front</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Perryville, KY, USA37.650351 -84.95162340000001737.637779 -84.97179340000001 37.662923 -84.931453400000024tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-55348639747006455662014-04-06T14:58:00.000-04:002014-04-06T15:00:42.715-04:00Death and the Civil War<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r7nbSaEIbsA/Tt1hE9PFlUI/AAAAAAAAAvs/WmZvmaXUSbU/s1600/hw1861-11-02-soldiersgrave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r7nbSaEIbsA/Tt1hE9PFlUI/AAAAAAAAAvs/WmZvmaXUSbU/s1600/hw1861-11-02-soldiersgrave.jpg" height="400" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Soldier's grave" (<i>HW</i>, 11/5/1861)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Over at <i>Civil War Memory</i>, <a href="http://cwmemory.com/2014/04/05/from-750000-to-7-2-million-dead/">Kevin Levin comments on a recent article</a>, "The Great Exaggeration: Death and the Civil War," by Nicholas Marshall in the <i><a href="http://journalofthecivilwarera.com/">Journal of Civil War History</a></i>. Marshall reappraises the significance of the Civil War death toll, arguing that it wasn't all that different from death before and after the war. After reading the article, I have major issues with the statistical framework used in his analysis and found the assertion that one single statistic (i.e., number of deaths) does not give a full picture of societal ramifications to be somewhat obvious. Furthermore, it was jarring to see assertions like "dying of disease in a camp must have seemed distressingly normal" [p. 16] appearing in an academic publications without any evidence or exploration. I was going to comment on Kevin's blog, but instead will use this post to give some thoughts on the topic and connect them to Lancaster and the 79th Pennsylvania. <br />
<br />
The article's main argument is that the variability of the death rate was not all that different from pre-war levels. Unfortunately, the author has no sense of the very important relationship between population size and the variability of the death rate. Of course the variability of the death rate will be higher for smaller cities and very low nationally -- the variability of the death rate should decrease with population size. Raw annual changes in the percentage of people who die mean nothing if you're not comparing populations of similar size, and Marshall is comparing that of single cities or states with changes in the national rate. He should have known that something funny was going on when the death rate in Chicago jumped by 300% one year. <br />
<br />
He also claims that drops in the male survival rate for the 1860s decade was not significant because, well, it's still within the range of 1/4 and 1/5 -- whatever that means [p. 12]. [Interesting side note: did the female death rate during childbirth increase during the 1860s due to war's claim on medical resources?] We have measures of statistical significance for a reason -- just because you're writing history doesn't mean that you shouldn't use them! <br />
<br />
Even within this "change in death rate" framework, there are two other problems: (1) the high casualty rate lasted for three or four consecutive years and was not just a one-year fluke; and (2) although the war spanned four years, combat casualties were concentrated over three years. For Lancaster, it was really 2 years and 9 months (Seven Days Battles in June 1862 though Battle of Bentonville in March 1865). This would make the spike in the death rate look more dramatic, and possibly better point out the scope and scale of the war's trauma. <br />
<br />
By the way, I never placed too much stock in the whole "if the death rate was extrapolated to today's population..." meme as a teaching tool; I think the stats speak for themselves. For example, Lancaster County had a population of 116,000 according to the 1860 census. From my knowledge of Pennsylvania volunteer companies recruited in Lancaster, I'd guess around 10,000 men served as soldiers and approximately 1,500 died. The 79th Pennsylvania (9 out of 10 companies from Lancaster) accounts for 268 of those deaths -- which I believe to be reasonably accurate based on reviewing rosters -- according to Dyer (1908). Having these numbers on a county level seems to give better intuition about how death affected a community than national statistics. <br />
<br />
Regardless of this considerably flawed statistical analysis, the article does touch on an interesting issue -- the response to death fit into prewar and postwar traditions and did not reflect a fundamental shift. This is an interesting hypothesis to investigate. In my research, I was struck by one particular example that demonstrates how Civil War death fits into an existing framework. When Emanuel Rudy of Company A, 79th Pennsylvania, died a couple days after the Battle of Perryville of a wounded from that battle, hospital steward and newspaper correspondent John B. Chamberlain wrote a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5luPkqpDDWkOTROV05LWlJlVU0/edit?usp=sharing">letter that appeared in the October 24, 1862, <i>Daily Inquirer</i></a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Poor Emanuel Rudy, whom I reported as wounded in the groin, in the list of Company A, has since died. Poor fellow, I was with him to the last moment. His death strangly reminded me of the last verse in Mr. Norton's "Bingen on the Rhine" that I loved to declaim semi-monthly in my school boy days at the Lancaster High school: </i> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i></i><i>His trembling voice grew feint and hoarse...[continues to quote the <a href="http://readytogoebooks.com/classics/CEN-bingen.htm">poem's last verse</a>]</i></blockquote>
The point is that Chamberlain relied on an English poet's words about the death of a soldier with the French Foreign Legion in Algiers to make some sense of Rudy's death. A comprehensive look at how the literary and artistic tools for confronting death before the war transferred to the war could be very interesting, if not already done. In particular, I always pay special attention to wartime tombstones in cemeteries as they often offer an artistic richness that shows how people dealt with death during the war, and am curious to know more about that subject. A comparison of different religious newspapers and the ideas (or lack thereof) from religious thought leaders could be particularly illuminating.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_BpoJhifQ8/Tn_pGy2dIjI/AAAAAAAAAa8/GlMevTXiEmk/s1600/woodwardhill001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9_BpoJhifQ8/Tn_pGy2dIjI/AAAAAAAAAa8/GlMevTXiEmk/s1600/woodwardhill001.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gravestone of Capt. John H. Dysart, Co. C, 79th PA<br />
Woodward Hill Cemetery, Lancaster, PA</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
However, the poem and the topic of cemeteries point to a way in which death was experienced very differently during the Civil War. Namely, there was no body to bring home to bury. Considering Company E, 79th Pennsylvania, how many bodies of the 26 soldiers who died during the war were brought back to Lancaster? As far as I know, zero. Almost all are in military cemeteries from Louisville to Nashville to Chattanooga to Atlanta to Andersonville to Bentonville, and some even suffered unknown fates on the battlefield and presumed dead. As evidenced by its prominence as a topic in almost every letter after the Battle of Perryville, the inability to bring bodies home for burial significantly frustrated pre-war death rituals. In response, more public forms of commemoration in Lancaster (e.g., Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Lancaster, erected 1874) and more national ideas about death and sacrifice took hold. This is basically the premise of the PBS documentary from last year, I believe. <br />
<br />
So, with some knowledge of statistics and the social mechanics of death in one particular Northern community, I find Marshall's characterization of recent scholarship on death and the Civil War as built on a "great exaggeration" to be unconvincing. Although there are many interesting questions on this subject left to explore regarding the broader context of death in that era, I estimate current scholarship to be more or less on the right track. Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-43506709962816488522014-03-23T16:27:00.000-04:002014-03-23T16:27:33.787-04:00The Grand Welcome Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R8AbKa9ehFE/TiSl1NqoDUI/AAAAAAAAABE/d2PiAnP9BJg/s1600/image03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R8AbKa9ehFE/TiSl1NqoDUI/AAAAAAAAABE/d2PiAnP9BJg/s1600/image03.jpg" height="440" width="640" /></a></div>
On the evening of March 5, 1864, any soldiers of the 79th Pennsylvania who reenlisted as veterans were relieved of picket duty near Tyner's Station, about ten miles east of Chattanooga. Early the next morning, they left camp and marched to Chattanooga, where they waited for a day before boarding a train for Loiusville. The journey to Louisville took three days, and the 79th Pennsylvania passed many regiments that had just completed their furlough and were heading in the opposite direction. <br />
<br />
The regiment arrived in Pittsburgh on the night of March 13, and were treated to splendid supper before boarding another train for an overnight journey east. March 14 was spent completing to journey to Harrisburg, where the regiment spent a day preparing for their return to Lancaster by tending to some long overdue personal grooming. Although the food in Harrisburg was worse than what they got on the front lines, the state legislature acknowledged the regiment's presence by <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=HET/1864/03/15/2/Ar00201.xml&CollName=HET&DOCID=17548&PageLabelPrint=2&skin=civilwar&AW=1370630848630&sPublication=TAT&sScopeID=DR&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=hambright%20%3COR%3E%2079th&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=true&sDateFrom=%2530%2533%2f%2531%2530%2f%2531%2538%2536%2534&sDateTo=%2530%2533%2f%2531%2537%2f%2531%2538%2536%2534&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=5&ViewMode=GIF">unanimously passing resolutions offered by State Senator Benjamin Champneys of Lancaster</a>. <br />
<br />
At 7am on Wednesday, March 16, the 200 or so returning veterans of the 79th Pennsylvania boarded a train bound for Lancaster. They arrived at the Dillerville Yard, where a procession formed led by the 79th Pa's former Lieut. Colonel, John H. Duchman, and marched through town to take part in a grand collation at Fulton Hall. The citizens of Lancaster were certainly prepared for the 79th Pa's return. The <i>Daily Evening Express </i>reported:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Upon their arrival [at Dillerville], the veterans were met and welcomed by an immense crowd of their fellow citizens, and the streets through which they passed were thronged with men, women, and children. The display of bunting was magnificent, and reminded us of the patriotic uprising in 1861, when the demand for flags could not be supplied. The Reception was altogether a magnificent affair, and the veterans after what they witnessed that day can have no doubt of how deeply the People sympathizes with the gallant defenders of the flag of the free.</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The officers and men of the 79th looked like veterans as they are. Their soldierly deportment in marching was noticed by every spectator. There was not as much noisy enthusiasm as many expected to witness. the regiment is under strict military discipline, and of course the men received all greetings with the dignity of military silence. The general joy at welcoming home the gallant survivors was mingled with sadness at the memory of the lamented dead. Many once familiar faces were missed from the veteran ranks; and as the torn colors of the regiment passed along, riddled by the deadly missiles of many a battle, we saw the tear start to eyes unused to weep.</i></blockquote>
At Fulton Hall, five long tables that stretched the hall greeted the veterans. Dr. Henry Carpenter gave a greeting and Rev. F. W. Conrad of Trinity Lutheran Church gave a prayer before Mayor George Sanderson gave a lengthy welcome speech. Private Edwin K. Martin of Company E, 79th Pennsylvania gave a response on behalf of the regiment, and collation concluded with music by the Fencibles Band and the Glee Club. <br />
<br />
The joyous occasion was not without controversy, as could be expected given the deep divisions that existed between Lancaster's borderline peace Democrats and its pro-Lincoln Republicans. Rather than describe it in detail, I'll defer to William T. Clark's diary entry for the day:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Took train at apptd. time, met committee on reception at Dillersville (one
mile north of Lancaster). We disembarked, marched, halted, Artillery firing as
salute to us. Procession formed at 10½ A.M. lead by (our former Lieut. Col.)
John H. Duchman. Copperheads following their Copperhead leader. Marched through
the different streets of town. Saw many friends. Stacked arms in front of Fulton
Hall. Were marched in where a fine collation was spread. This has been done by
deception on the part of Copperheads, only a few Patriot Daughters being among
them. The Hon. Copperhead Mayor of Lancaster made a speech of welcome which
greatly belies his former actions toward all soldiers. Col. H. A. Hambright made
a few remarks excusing himself by saying he never made a speech. Ed Martin
responded in behalf of the 79th P.V.V. in a splendid speech cutting Copperheads
& all others leagued with Treason right & left. It gave many of them the short
coughs & made them generally uneasy. We then ate heartily of the dinner
prepared. An hour afterwards we fell in & drilled in Centre Square more than an
hour, when we returned to the Hall, marched to the upper story, stacked arms &
are given leaves of absence untill the 20th when we must answer to our names &
receive our furloughs.</i> </blockquote>
For further information, see:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Account in <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5luPkqpDDWkaHpCZzdkekxvTVU/edit?usp=sharing">March 17, 1864, <i>Daily Evening Express</i></a></li>
<li>Account in <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=civilwar&BaseHref=LCL/1864/03/22&PageLabelPrint=2&EntityId=Ar00200&ViewMode=GIF">March 22, 1864, <i>Intelligencer</i></a></li>
<li>Account in <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=civilwar&BaseHref=LCL/1864/03/29&PageLabelPrint=2&EntityId=Ar00201&ViewMode=GIF">March 29, 1864, <i>Intelligencer</i></a></li>
</ul>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Lancaster, PA, USA40.0378755 -76.30551439999999339.940622499999996 -76.466875899999991 40.1351285 -76.1441529tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-87608414342078419702014-03-14T23:21:00.003-04:002014-03-14T23:21:39.560-04:00Horse and Buggy CDV from Gap, Pa<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XIaTMvZ6894/UyO25SVyO_I/AAAAAAAAB3o/z4PBAf0ycYw/s1600/heiss1a077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XIaTMvZ6894/UyO25SVyO_I/AAAAAAAAB3o/z4PBAf0ycYw/s1600/heiss1a077.jpg" height="402" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CDV of Horse and Buggy by W. H. Heiss taken in Gap, Pennsylvania (vws)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k4RyIKHspls/UyO25cFMCDI/AAAAAAAAB3k/43Ej4Pj9AuA/s1600/heiss1b078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k4RyIKHspls/UyO25cFMCDI/AAAAAAAAB3k/43Ej4Pj9AuA/s1600/heiss1b078.jpg" height="320" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CDV Backmark</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
For the second time in a week, an interesting transportation-related photograph from Lancaster County appeared on Ebay. First, there was a carte-de-visite of a locomotive built at the Norris Locomotive Works in Lancaster City in 1867, which I wrote about <a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2014/03/a-locomotive-built-in-lancaster-2-10-0.html">in a post earlier in the week</a>. Then, an image of a horse and buggy carrying two men in front of a barn appeared. Fortunately, I was able to purchase both, and I look forward to doing more research about them and using them to tell the story of life in Lancaster County during the 1860s.<br />
<br />
The horse and buggy image was taken by an itinerant photograph named W. H. Heiss, who took pictures at of his "Mammoth Photograph Wagon" in the Lancaster County towns of Strasburg and Gap during the mid-1860s. Because the photograph does not have a tax stamp, it was almost certainly taken before summer 1864 or after summer 1866. A couple of his images pop up on Ebay every year. Several that I have seen are of children with the same hoop rolling toy props as seen in the image below.<br />
<br />
The image is also remarkable simple because it was taken outside. I don't know if I can think of an earlier CDV taken in Lancaster outside of a photography studio, although there were some earlier daguerreotypes of Lancaster and photographer William L. Gill started <a href="http://www.lancasteratwar.com/2011/08/lancaster-city-stereoviews-by-william.html">making stereoviews of outdoor scenes</a> sometime around 1866. <br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGsb0nD_3oc/UyPFXpLu-hI/AAAAAAAAB34/2Ms3IBuEaII/s1600/Heiss-tumblr_mrcg29a5A31qamj9fo1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGsb0nD_3oc/UyPFXpLu-hI/AAAAAAAAB34/2Ms3IBuEaII/s1600/Heiss-tumblr_mrcg29a5A31qamj9fo1_1280.jpg" height="400" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CDV of Two Children<br />by W. H. Heiss, Strasburg, 1865<br />(<a href="http://proust.tumblr.com/post/57927337592">David Claudon Collection</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Unlike the "Bee" locomotive photo, it's difficult to guess what message the photograph is trying to convey. Is the focus on the horse or the buggy, or both? Where is the farm? Are these Quaker farmers making a show of their prosperity? Where type of buggy is it, and where was it made? And, of course, who are the men in the photo? <br />
<br />Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Gap, PA, USA39.987325 -76.02050729999996339.9386625 -76.101188299999961 40.0359875 -75.939826299999964tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-4553302678490111512014-03-09T23:25:00.000-04:002014-03-09T23:25:03.388-04:00A Locomotive Built in Lancaster -- The 2-10-0 "Bee" in 1867<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TXhlstQdjA/Ux0SgjDq03I/AAAAAAAAB2s/49HB5UOzBdM/s1600/locomotive1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0TXhlstQdjA/Ux0SgjDq03I/AAAAAAAAB2s/49HB5UOzBdM/s1600/locomotive1.JPG" height="424" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photograph of the "Bee" locomotive, built at Norris Locomotive Works in Lancaster, 1867</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
One of the joys of Civil War research is that any day artifacts can pop up on Ebay and send you on diverse and exciting research paths. Such was the case a couple days ago when a carte-de-visite photograph of a locomotive built in Lancaster showed up in my Ebay searches. <br />
<br />
The photograph shows a locomotive named "Bee" and has a backmark identifying it as a product of the Norris Locomotive Works, Lancaster, PA. The locomotive's specifications -- "Cylinders, 20-In. Diameter, 26-In. Stroke, Driving Wheels, 48-In. Diameter" -- and the name of John A. Durgin, Constructor, also appear on the back. There is a reference in the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=OJaZAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA212&ots=hDxT5B_z-1&dq=norris%20locomotive%20works%20lancaster&pg=PA212#v=onepage&q&f=false"><i>Locomotive Engineers Journal </i>of 1870</a> to the trading of photographs among different shops, so it seems plausible that this photograph was taken to showcase the work being done in Lancaster. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GwVWfHF_93E/Ux0SggqrU_I/AAAAAAAAB2o/nZwLN5l-5dI/s1600/locomotive2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GwVWfHF_93E/Ux0SggqrU_I/AAAAAAAAB2o/nZwLN5l-5dI/s1600/locomotive2.jpg" height="251" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Backmark of photograph above<br />
"The Norris Locomotive Works, Lancaster, PA."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Prior to the war, the Lancaster Locomotive Works turned out engines from 1853 until it failed during the Panic of 1857 when railroads could not pay for the locomotives that they purchased. The shops lay idle for several years until two of the Norris brothers connected to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norris_Locomotive_Works">Norris Locomotive Works</a> in Philadelphia moved production <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=LCL/1863/12/29/3/Ar00312.xml&CollName=LCL&DOCID=95788&PageLabelPrint=3&skin=civilwar&AW=1370630848630&sPublication=LCL&sScopeID=All&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=norris%20locomotive%20&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=45&ViewMode=GIF">to Lancaster in late 1863</a>. <br />
<br />
The facility was located in the northeastern part of Lancaster City along the railroad on the northeast corner of Plum and Fulton Streets. By June 1865, the works produced one locomotive per week and employed 400 men in Lancaster. <a href="http://www.philageohistory.org/rdic-images/view-image.cfm/HGSv1.0042">A map from 1866 exists in the collections of the Free Library of Philadelphia</a> and shows the facility's six-acre layout with buildings labeled A-L that housed a machine shop, foundry, blacksmith, boiler shop, erecting shop, etc. <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=LCL/1866/06/20/3/Ar00303.xml&CollName=LCL&DOCID=108926&PageLabelPrint=3&skin=civilwar&AW=1370630848630&sPublication=LCL&sScopeID=All&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=norris%20locomotive%20&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=false&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=75&ViewMode=GIF">An article in the June 20, 1866, <i>Intelligencer</i></a> describes all of these shops in detail. <br />
<br />
A Lancaster boy, <a href="http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=104651881">Henry C. Frazer (1850-1903)</a>, who apprenticed at the shop between 1865 and 1868 recalled that many of the locomotives produced in 1865 went into service on the Western Pacific Railroad in California (<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=D5EjAAAAMAAJ&lpg=PA207&ots=ToCkOtBzAK&dq=brandt%20locomotive%20works%20lancaster&pg=PA208#v=onepage&q=brandt%20locomotive%20works%20lancaster&f=false">Railway and Locomotive Engineering, May 1902, p. 208</a>). In 1866, John A. Durgin became Constructor and Superintendent, and the first ten-wheeled locomotives were produced in 1867 for the Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Valley Railroads.<br />
<br />
Focusing on these two 2-10-0 "decapod" engines, the locomotives are interesting as prototypes in the first wave of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2-8-0">consolidation</a>" engines that would successfully fill the role of hauling heavy freight. The two 2-10-0 Lancaster engines were the first of that configuration built in the United States and designed by Alexander Mitchell, <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=1A4iiGAz628C&lpg=PA456&ots=ps6uBlyXRv&dq=norris%20locomotive%20works%20lancaster&pg=PA456#v=onepage&q=norris%20locomotive%20works%20lancaster&f=false">who had perfected the design of the 2-8-0 engine in 1866</a>. Other correspondents to the <i>Railway and Locomotive Engineering </i>journal provided additional details about the locomotives:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Alexander Mitchell tried to advance on the consolidation with two engines called the "Ant" and the "Bee," which had five pair of drivers connected and a pony truck in front. The engines gave some trouble on curves, so the back pair of drivers were taken out and a pair of small carrying wheels substituted, making the first of the 2-8-2 or Mikado type. Two engines were built by the Norris Locomotive Works, Lancaster, Pa., in 1867. Quite a number of this kind of engines is now used in mountain service. (<a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=KP1KAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=norris+locomotive+bee&source=bl&ots=vzOYgFHQyD&sig=oXTQx_DyraqgLcOZ3xLnJ0s3uoQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IjsXU6jrEYf50gHC9oDQDA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=lancaster&f=false">p. 32, Railway and Locomotive Engineering, January 1907</a>)</i></blockquote>
Lancaster's locomotive works were closed again in October 1868, perhaps testifying to the volatility of industrial growth in the Civil War era. Surely, some of the returning veterans of the 79th Pennsylvania found employment there upon their return from the war in summer 1865. <br />
<br />
The Bee appears to have gone into service on the Lehigh Valley Railroad and was modified in 1883 to a 2-8-2 configuration. The Bee's novelty attracted attention as railroad engineers reflected on their early days in professional journals in the early 1900s, and engravings from those journals document its appearance over the course of its lifetime. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bdh5EaPDOQU/Ux0SglHRlSI/AAAAAAAAB2k/5yIzOoIuBgc/s1600/locomotive3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Bdh5EaPDOQU/Ux0SglHRlSI/AAAAAAAAB2k/5yIzOoIuBgc/s1600/locomotive3.jpg" height="220" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=KP1KAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA32&ots=vzOYgFHQyD&dq=norris%20locomotive%20bee&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q=lancaster&f=false">1907 <i>Railway and Locomotive Engineering</i></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bi8SozyXQQ4/Ux0jWsBz7NI/AAAAAAAAB28/VOdbsn9fYMk/s1600/locomotive3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Bi8SozyXQQ4/Ux0jWsBz7NI/AAAAAAAAB28/VOdbsn9fYMk/s1600/locomotive3.jpg" height="282" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/lvhist.Html">Engraving of "Bee" Locomotive</a><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6YdtthWPXg/Ux0mgwjjxlI/AAAAAAAAB3I/-ZZq70wY-68/s1600/locomotive4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b6YdtthWPXg/Ux0mgwjjxlI/AAAAAAAAB3I/-ZZq70wY-68/s1600/locomotive4.png" height="282" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Modification Plan for the Bee, 1883-4<br /><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=vU8jAAAAMAAJ&dq=Lancaster%20Bee%20locomotive&pg=PA28#v=onepage&q=Lancaster%20Bee%20locomotive&f=false">Locomotive Engineering, January 1898, p. 28</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com1North Plum Street & East Fulton Street, Lancaster, PA 17602, USA40.0426659 -76.29781229999997514.520631400000003 -117.60640629999997 65.5647004 -34.989218299999976tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3439626475683814389.post-18300485444761767052014-02-10T23:09:00.002-05:002014-02-10T23:09:29.048-05:00Lt. Col. David Miles' Escape from Libby Prison (and his recapture, use as a human shield, and parole)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pmO-I1YGLPY/UvmdW7r1kFI/AAAAAAAAB2E/g0fz-NnxLA0/s1600/libbyprison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pmO-I1YGLPY/UvmdW7r1kFI/AAAAAAAAB2E/g0fz-NnxLA0/s1600/libbyprison.jpg" height="476" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libby Prison in Richmond, 1865 (<a href="http://richmondthenandnow.com/Libby-Prison-Official-Publication-12.html">Source</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<i>In this post, I republish an exciting account of David Miles' eleven months in Southern prisons that Miles gave to the editors of the Daily Evening Express upon his parole and return to Lancaster. <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5luPkqpDDWkWDZySFZMdDZXemc/edit?usp=sharing">See the full account here, which was published on August 11, 1864</a>.</i><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fAeZ7E3lQcY/Tn_mZwUiLVI/AAAAAAAAAY0/aJCra-fTVzc/s1600/image029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fAeZ7E3lQcY/Tn_mZwUiLVI/AAAAAAAAAY0/aJCra-fTVzc/s1600/image029.jpg" height="320" width="283" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lieut. Col. David Miles<br />(D. Scott Hartzell Collection, USAMHI)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
David Miles, the future lieutenant colonel of the 79th Pennsylvania, was born in Franklin County in 1831. By 1860, he had moved to Lancaster's Northwest Ward to work as a tinsmith with wife Mary and four children. Before the war, he was involved with the Lancaster Fencibles militia and apparently also worked to promote Lincoln's election, as William McCaskey mentions Miles as the marshal of "the great Lincoln Mass Meeting" (as a reference point for a type of hat McCaskey wished to have sent from Lancaster, 2/5/1865). Upon the organization of the Lancaster County Regiment, Miles would take the position of first lieutenant of Company B, 79th Pennsylvania. The departures in 1862 of Captains Kendrick, Duchman, and Druckenmiller opened the path for Miles to become lieutenant colonel, and he led the regiment's left wing with distinction at the Battle of Perryville. <br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Just after the dark on September 19, 1863 -- the first day of the Battle of Chickamauga -- the 79th Pennsylvania advanced through dense woods to plug a hole in the Union line. Commanding the left wing was Lt. Col. David Miles, who was mounted on horseback after breaking his leg in a fall from his horse back in May. As the Lancaster County Regiment moved forward, a combination of friendly and enemy fire caused the situation to rapidly deteriorate. The line broke and the regiment hastily retreated. <br />
<br />
The hobbled Miles found himself dismounted in no man's land with his horse's reins in his hands. He lay on the ground to escape the bullets and eventually remounted after finding a stump to stand on. Due to a faulty sense of direction or the shifting battle lines, Miles rode into what he thought were friendly soldiers, only to be surrounded by Confederate soldiers who demanded his surrender. <br />
<br />
For the next month, his fate was a mystery to the remaining soldiers in the 79th Pa, who feared the worst for him and his family. Capt. William G. Kendrick wrote his wife of the situation, "[Miles'] wife has five children and she is not able to walk and has nothing to live on, a terrible condition to be left in, <u>no life insurance</u>." (10/14/1863, emphasis in original) Miles' self-described protege, Capt. William McCaskey, thought it a good idea for his brother to send his sister on a visit to Mrs. Miles to comfort her, but felt confident that Miles would turn up based on reports of another regiment nearby thinking that they saw him on the night of September 19. <br />
<br />
By the time news of Miles' capture reached Lancaster and the 79th Pennsylvania, Miles had already spent two weeks as a resident of Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia. Immediately after his capture on September 19, the Confederates had him and other prisoners march to a rendezvous point ten miles distant. Fellow captives John Shirk of Company E, 79th Pa, and <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=NbAKAAAAIAAJ&lpg=PA33&ots=yfXhnuJXNk&dq=adjutant%202nd%20ohio%20infantry%20captured%20chickamauga&pg=PA33#v=onepage&q=adjutant%202nd%20ohio%20infantry%20captured%20chickamauga&f=false">Lieut. John W. Thomas of the 2nd Ohio Infantry</a>* provided the injured Miles with badly needed shoulders to lean on during this march. Miles and other Union soldiers made a journey by train and arrived at Libby prison -- an old tobacco warehouse -- on September 29, 1863. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tl4XEOxPCgQ/UvmdWujBOII/AAAAAAAAB18/odkahwmPUpg/s1600/Side+escape+diagram.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Tl4XEOxPCgQ/UvmdWujBOII/AAAAAAAAB18/odkahwmPUpg/s1600/Side+escape+diagram.gif" height="202" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Diagram of Libby Prison Escape Tunnel, <a href="http://www.mdgorman.com/Prisons/Libby/libby_prison_breakout.htm"><i>Century Magazine</i>, March 1888</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libby_Prison_Escape">The escape</a> took place on the night of February 9-10, 1864, after weeks of tunneling by imprisoned Union officers. The total number of prisoners to escape was 109, of whom 59 succeeded in reaching Union lines. Miles joined Captain Hardy of the 79th Illinois and broke east for Union lines. The traveled an estimated 60 miles in a circuitous route, aided by local African Americans. While trying to pass the very last line of Confederate pickets, they were recaptured five days after they escaped. Miles was taken back to Libby prison and was confined in a hole for two days, but was spared further punishment due to his illness and rejoined the general prison population.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cAQqCqGE21c/UvmdWouYZBI/AAAAAAAAB2A/QcM7wuDlHwY/s1600/oconnerhouse-charleston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cAQqCqGE21c/UvmdWouYZBI/AAAAAAAAB2A/QcM7wuDlHwY/s1600/oconnerhouse-charleston.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Conner House, Charleston, South Carolina<br /><a href="http://www.rubylane.com/item/936286-240/1865-Civil-War-OCONNER-HOUSE">Stereoview by John P. Soule (1865)</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The next chapter in Miles' prison saga involved getting sent to Charleston, South Carolina, as a human shield, which was an upgrade from prisoner in Richmond as far as Miles was concerned. Upset about the bombardment of Charleston by Union forces, the Confederates placed the fifty highest ranking prisoners (which included Miles) in a jail and subsequently a relatively comfortable house in range of the Union shells. Miles claimed not to have felt any great danger but rather enjoyed the ability to purchase from market wagons and even to "play ball and exercise themselves" in a space set aside for that purpose.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6VVQrBJZT8k/Tn_pLkTQN3I/AAAAAAAAAbM/QGdbUmFouPE/s1600/lanccem008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6VVQrBJZT8k/Tn_pLkTQN3I/AAAAAAAAAbM/QGdbUmFouPE/s1600/lanccem008.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tombstone of David Miles<br />Lancaster Cemetery</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Eventually, the controversy over the bombardment of Charleston and use of human shields came to a resolution, and a special exception to the no prisoner exchange policy allowed the Union officers in Charleston to be exchanged. Miles arrived home in Lancaster in early August 1864. Besides spending time with the editors of the <i>Express</i> to get a full account that was published on August 11, the Lancaster Fencibles -- his old militia unit -- <a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=LCL/1864/08/18/3/Ar00337.xml&CollName=LCL&DOCID=99667&PageLabelPrint=3&skin=civilwar&AW=1370630848630&sPublication=TAT&sScopeID=All&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=%22David%20Miles%22&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=true&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=15&ViewMode=GIF">treated him to a supper on August 18</a>. Miles made a celebrated return to the Lancaster County Regiment on the evening of October 29, 1864. Sgt. William T. Clark reported in his diary, "Lieut. Col. Miles looks very well. Crowds are continually around him, hearing of the suffering of Rebel Prisons." <br />
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Miles would lead the 79th Pennsylvania or its brigade for most of the rest of the war, most notably commanding a brigade at the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, where he was wounded. Overall, he seems to have been a courageous, competent, and highly-esteemed officer. The escape in which he participated gained national attention and provided another welcome positive distraction in what could have been a long winter of 1864 for Northern civilians and soldiers. <br />
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Notes:<br />
* Both Shirk and Thomas have their own escape stories. Shirk went off to Danville prison and was part of a similar escape later in February 1864. He left his own account (and is mentioned in an account by John Obreiter of the 77th Pennsylvania), which I will feature in a future post. Thomas successfully reached Union lines in the escape from Libby prison. He was killed in battle on July 20, 1864, near Atlanta. <br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5luPkqpDDWkWDZySFZMdDZXemc/edit?usp=sharing">Full account published in <i>Daily Evening Express</i> on August 11, 1864</a>.</li>
<li><a href="http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Search&Key=LCL/1863/11/03/2/Ar00200.xml&CollName=LCL&DOCID=94895&PageLabelPrint=2&skin=civilwar&AW=1370630848630&sPublication=TAT&sScopeID=All&sSorting=IssueDateID%2casc&sQuery=%22David%20Miles%22&rEntityType=&sSearchInAll=true&RefineQueryView=&StartFrom=15&ViewMode=GIF">List of prisoners in Richmond, <i>Lancaster Intelligencer</i>, 11/3/1863</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mdgorman.com/Prisons/Libby/libby_prison_breakout.htm">Resources on Libby Prison breakout</a></li>
</ul>
Vincehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07443492379769127484noreply@blogger.com0Richmond, VA, USA37.5407246 -77.436048137.339233099999994 -77.758771599999989 37.7422161 -77.1133246