Presentation on Fri., Nov. 22, at Lancaster County Historical Society

Event Details:

Union Warriors: A Lancaster County Company Fights the Civil War by Vince Slaugh

Friday, November 22, 2013, 4:00pm-5:30pm

Lancaster County Historical Society (LancasterHistory.org)

230 North President Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603 

http://lancasterhistory.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=44&Itemid=53

This presentation follows the wartime experiences of a group of ten soldiers from Lancaster County who joined Company E, 79th Pennsylvania, nicknamed the "Normal Rifles" for their connections to the Millersville State Normal School. Using photographs and their own words, we will learn about their backgrounds, the battles they fought, their connections to the home front, and where we can see their legacy in Lancaster today.

On Friday, November 22, I will be giving the latest iteration of my presentation, Union Warriors: The "Normal Rifles" Fight the Civil War, at the Lancaster County Historical Society.  There will be a social gathering with light refreshments beginning at 4:00pm, and the presentation starts at 4:30pm.  My presentation will follow ten soldiers of Company E, 79th Pennsylvania, through the war, and try to understand their lives and places in the community before and after the war.  In this version of the presentation, I will highlight people with connections to the Lancaster County Historical Society through involvement in its early days (e.g. Lieut. Samuel L. Hartman) or through items donated to its collections (Pvt. Reuben Long).

While many aspects of the Civil War's military and political history have long been the subject of microscopic attention, I believe we still lack a fundamental understanding of how individuals and communities experienced the war.  This presentation serves as a case study for understanding what the war meant to one community: How did existing social networks translate to Civil War armies? Why did soldiers enlist? How were soldiers' families cared for? How did soldiers stay connected to the home front? What happened to the wounded? How did communities mourn and remember the dead? How did soldiers on the battlefield attempt to influence life at home?  

As historians have pondered the future of Civil War history, some -- in particular, Peter Carmichael of Gettysburg College -- have proposed a new "nation at war" paradigm for understanding the war and its ability to both provide an opportunity for people make heroic sacrifices for the nation and senselessly rob people of their humanity through horrific suffering.  Ensuing discussions on blogs centered around how the National Park Service should interpret this on battlefields, and that's a complicated question.  What's straightforward, though, is that communities like Lancaster and Millersville/Mountville provide an extraordinary opportunity for us to find a "usable past."  Monuments, cemeteries, farms, intersections, institutions, churches, and homes in the community around us offer tremendous chances to interpret the sacrifice and suffering that came with the Civil War.  And that's what I hope to show by focusing on the stories of ten soldiers of Company E, 79th Pennsylvania.  

I hope to see you on Friday.  If you get a chance, please introduce yourself and your interest in Lancaster's Civil War history.

"We Would Stand with Anyone, If Properly Taken In": The 79th Pa at Chickamauga, Part I

Battle of Chickamauga, Morning of Sept. 19, 1863 (Source)
The 79th Pa belonged to Baird's Division.

During the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19-20, 1863, the Lancaster County Regiment fought a battle in which it incurred significant casualties for the second time.  Although the 79th Pa's casualty total compared to that of Perryville, the regiment experienced battle in a dramatically different way at Chickamauaga.  While at Perryville the regiment stood its ground on an open hillside for an entire afternoon against repeated Confederate attacks, Chickamauga was defined by chaos, confusion, and dense woods.

The campaign that culminated in the Battle of Chickamauga began at the end of August as Gen. William S. Rosecrans' Army of the Cumberland -- spurred on by Washington -- crossed the Tennessee River and ventured towards Georgia.  Mountainous terrain presented significant logistical challenges, and it would be much more difficult to get supplies now that the army's supply pipeline from Nashville was restricted.  Just after noon on September 12, the regiment reached the summit of the Lookout Mountain range as it passed through Stevens Gap.  While the 79th Pa was enjoying majestic vistas, Gen. Rosecrans realized that his army was scattered, split by the mountain range, and vulnerable to a counterattack.  He set out to concentrate his army and withdraw northward through a valley to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

September 19, Late Morning

Brig. Gen. J. C. Starkweather
(Source)

The Battle of Chickamauga began in earnest on the morning of September 19 when Gen. George H. Thomas, commander of the Fourteenth Corps (which included the the 79th Pa) dispatched one of his divisions to attack a Confederate brigade rumored to be trapped on the west side of the Chickamauga Creek.  A fight escalated as combatants requested reinforcements and both sides committed more men to the fight. The second division that Gen. Thomas committed was Brig. Gen. Absalom Baird's, which included the 79th Pennsylvania (in a brigade commanded by Brig. Gen. John C. Starkweather).  Starkweather's brigade advanced behind two other of Baird's brigades.  Although listed as having an effective strength of 424 men and 21 officers, around 350 men were present with the regiment on September 19 to go into battle.  Starkweather's brigade moved in support of Baird's other brigades until Gen. Thomas ordered him to move to the left to relieve a brigade in another division.

While advancing through dense woods towards the fight that was supposed to be to the east, Confederates marching northward slammed into Starkweather's brigade just north of the intersection of Brotherton and Alexander's Bridge Roads.  Starkweather tried to wheel right and form a semicircle to confront the enemy.  As the front right regiment on the advance, the 79th Pennsylvania bore the brunt of the attack.  The recently promoted Capt. William S. McCaskey -- who led Companies A and B as skirmishers -- recounted, "We had not moved far, before we were completely flanked, and surprised.  I had charge of the skirmishers, but had not gotten them into position before they received a murderous fire from the enemy."  McCaskey tried to rally the skirmishers, but the rest of the line withered, unable to do anything about the Confederates firing on their right flank.  Starkweather's adjutant-general, Lieut. Charles Searles, was shot in the breast and fell from his horse.  The Union soldiers got off at most three or four shots and fled to the rear.  The Confederates did not advance far, though, as they were struck in their flank and rear by adjacent Union brigades.  

Capt. William S. McCaskey
(Richard Abel Collection)

In these brief disastrous moments, the regiment took most of its casualties during the battle (according to McCaskey).  Captain Louis Heidegger of Company F fell mortally wounded.  Captain Abraham Godshalk of Company H was wounded in the leg, which was soon amputated.  Lieuts. James Benson and Charles Madden were both wounded.  From a historian's perspective, it is sad to note that this action silenced the pen of the regiment's active and articulate soldier-correspondent, Corp. Elias H. Witmer.  Witmer was wounded in the thigh and left behind as the regiment hastily retreated, never to be heard from again.  Others left on the field would later be retrieved, including Cyrus Tool and Corp. Charles W. Wiley of Company B.

Eventually, the pace of the retreat slowed as the 79th Pennsylvania gained some distance from the spot of the their rout.  Lieut. John M. Johnston, in command of Company G (which served as the color company) recalled, "Our pace slackens.  I keep near the colors, and try to gather the stragglers around them; but my heart's in my mouth.  I feel more like crying than anything else."  Gen. Starkweather began to regain control of his brigade.  Johnston continued, "

But now Starkweather's stentorian voice is heard trying to rally the men.  He orders the colors to halt and face to the front.  I spring to the side of the boy who is carrying the striped flag and face him about, calling on Adjutant [Lyman] Bodie to stop the bearer of the blue flag who is still further to the rear.  But the blue flag still goes to the rear, till Starkweather dashes forward with an oath and drawn sword and orders the color bearer back into line.  And now a reorganization of the regiment rapidly commences. 

Note: See the Chickamauga section of the "Battle Files" page for sources.  Also, see the Civil War Preservation Trust's map of the morning fight for another visual resource. 

FOUND: Col. Hambright's 1863 Presentation Sword

This post is written with a special thanks to Maureen Lane and Maddie Frye of the Phillips Museum of Art for their kind help in allowing me to visit the archives to see the sword and to Rick Abel for the clues that he dug up from over twenty years ago.   

Presentation Sword, Sash, and Belt of Col. Henry A. Hambright
Phillips Museum of Art, Franklin and Marshall College

It's hard to think of an artifact that better facilitates telling the story of Lancaster and the Civil War than a presentation sword that the non-commissioned men and officers of the 79th Pennsylvania purchased and presented to Col. Henry A. Hambright in May 1863.  As far as I'm aware, that sword has never been displayed publicly since it left Hambright's possession.  On Monday morning, I got to see that sword for my first time when local collector Rick Abel and I visited the Phillips Museum of Art at Franklin and Marshall College.

Col. Henry A. Hambright
(No Backmark)
Richard Abel Collection

I had actually known of the sword's existence for a while due to its being mentioned in a law journal summary of a dispute over Hambright's estate and money for his wife, who was declared a lunatic in the days after her husband's death [PA State Reports, v. 169, p. 57].  Specifically, his presentation sword was left to the Lancaster Linnaean Society, whose collection became part of Franklin and Marshall College (and largely ended up as the North Museum).  The sword's fate was unclear, however, through the institutional transitions over the twentieth century.  When I met with Rick Abel in December 2011, he mentioned that he had seen it in the basement of one of F&M's buildings under an inch of dust in the early 1990s.  I sent emails out to various people at F&M who I thought might know something about the sword, and Maureen Lane, curator of the Phillips Museum of Art, responded saying she might know something about it.  We set up an appointment, and the sword and case were out and waiting for Rick and me when we arrived!  (I wish all historical mysteries were this easy to solve and all museums were this helpful.) 

Going back to 1863, the sword's story begins with widespread acclaim for Col. Hambright's leadership of the regiment through its first battles at Perryville and Stones River.  It is unknown when the effort to purchase a presentation sword for Hambright began, but his two-week furlough in April 1863 visit to Lancaster certainly would have provided a convenient time for the effort to get underway.  The non-commissioned officers and men of the 79th Pennsylvania pooled together money to buy the sword as a testament of respect for their colonel.  The sword arrived in camp and was presented to Hambright in a special ceremony on May 27, 1863.  Sergt. Sigmund E. Wisner described the sword and accompanying items in a letter to the Weekly Mariettian [6/13/1863]:

The non-commissioned officers and privates of the 79th have purchased a magnificent sword, accompanied with a belt, sash, set of spurs, and a pair of gauntlets, for Col. Hambright. The whole is enclosed in a rose-wood box, and is valued at nearly $400. The blade of the sword is composed of Demascus steel, and is slightly ornamented in gold and bears the inscription "God and my Country;" the hilt is set with rubies and a silver goddess of liberty with a rubic clasping a mantle over his breast, forms the gripe. The scabbard is heavily plated with gold, finely chasted, and and has inscribed on it, `"Presented to Col. H. A. Hambright, by the non-commissioned officers and privates of his regiment as a testimonial of their esteem for gallant conduct at the battles of Chaplin Hills, Ky., October 8, 1862, and Stone river, January 2, and 3, 1863."

The sword was sent back to Lancaster shortly thereafter and displayed in the window of one of the stores on Centre Square.  In my next post, I'll examine the speeches made during the presentation, as well as Hambright's relationship with the Lancaster community, especially the families of his soldiers, around this time  In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of a beautiful set of artifacts. Hopefully, they'll have a chance to once again be put on display in Lancaster for the community to appreciate.

Donations Collected from Drumore for the Patriot Daughters: Photos and Biographical Notes

Donation list appearing in July 14, 1863, Daily Evening Express

In the weeks after the Battle of Gettysburg, Lancaster's citizens responded liberally to the need for hospital goods in Gettysburg.  The Patriot Daughters of Lancaster sprang to action, collecting goods from Lancaster and surrounding towns (and then taking them to Gettysburg and serving as nurses, but that's another story).  The Daily Evening Express supported their work by printing daily lists of donors and their gifts that filled column after column in July 1863.  I noticed one in particular from Drumore Township in southern Lancaster County, and recognized a few of the names from a photo album that is one of my favorite items in my wife's and my collection.  Since going through that list took my on a few research tangents, including one related to the underground railroad, here's a post matching that list with a few photos and biographical notes.

Detail of Bridgens 1864 Atlas map of Drumore Township showing area around Liberty Square

Rachel S. Smith
Photo by T&W Cummings, Lancaster

This particular donation list appeared in the July 14, 1863, Daily Evening Express, and contains the names of many residents from near Liberty Square in Drumore Township (not far from the Susquehanna River) populated by Quaker, Scots-Irish, and African-American families.  Acting on the Patriot Daughters' behalf, Rachel S. Smith collected dried fruit, preserves, and hospital supplies from about forty of her neighbors.  Rachel lived with her father, Joseph Smith, a wealthy Quaker farmer, on their farm near where Susquehannock State Park is today. 

Little else is known about these donations, but I was excited to find Rachel's photograph in a CDV album I purchased on Ebay a couple years ago.  That album mostly depicts the extended family of her cousins, Annie and Edwin Shoemaker, and their spouses, John B. and Margaret F. Kensel, who were also siblings.  Most individuals in the album belonged to the Drumore Friends Meeting at Liberty Square.  The women's well-fitted bodices, full and pleasingly-shaped skirts, and elegant trim--as well as the Philadelphia backmarks of almost all images--testify to a level of prosperity enjoyed by this neighborhood of southern Lancaster County farmers.

It turns out that Rachel (1825-1904) also had interesting stories to tell, as her father's farm was one of the most important Underground Railroad stops in Lancaster County.  African-American drivers working for her father would take produce to Baltimore and have the chance to interact with slaves and spread knowledge of a network to escape.  Rachel even became involved, and is mentioned in Robert Smedley's History of the Underground Railroad for once accompanying slavecatchers executing a search warrant to search her father's house.  We also have this very interesting account (p. 231) attesting to the importance of her family's role:

In October, 1859, Joseph's daughter Rachel visited Niagara Falls, and registered at the Cataract house.  The head waiter, John Morrison, seeing her name and residence upon the book, approached her one day and politely made apology for intruding himself; but said he would like to ask if she knew a man named Joseph Smith in Pennsylvania.  She replied that he was her father.  He continued, "I would like to tell you about the poor fugitives I ferry across the river.  Many of them tell me that the first place they came to in Pennsylvania was Joseph Smith's.  I frequently see them when I visit my parents at Lundy's Lane.  Many of them have nice little homes and are doing well."  He ferried some across the river during two of the nights she was there. 

Emmeline Smith
Photo from Larkin Gallery, Philadelphia

Rachel Smith's sister-in-law, Emmeline Smith (nee Tennis) also appears on the list, having donated "1 shirt, 2 bags peaches, 1 pot sauce, rusk."  Emmeline's husband, George Smith, is listed in Pennsylvania records as one of six conscientious objectors from Drumore Township.  See this link for a biographical portrait of their son, Gerritt Smith. 

The third woman on the list who also appears in our photo album is Emeline Shoemaker (nee Lamborn), daughter of Smedley Lamborn, who had a farm near Joseph Smith and is linked to the Underground Railroad (see biography of his son, George).  Emeline donated two cans of fruit, two shirts, and a roll of muslin.  Three of her siblings are included in the album, including William Lewis Lamborn, who fought with Company E, 79th Pennsylvania, and Mary Elizabeth Lamborn, who married Thomas B. Hambleton of the same unit.  Interestingly, their older brother, Aquilla Lamborn, is another one of the six conscientious objectors from Drumore Township.  

Emeline Shoemaker
Photo by I. R. Bishop, Philadelphia

The goods collected by Rachel Smith were likely forwarded to the Patriot Daughters' outpost of mercy, Christ Lutheran Church in Gettysburg, to be distributed to the wounded soldiers of the Second Division, First Corps, of the Union Army (although the could have very easily been donated to another location in need, as well).  I don't know of any of the women mentioned going to Gettysburg as nurses, but the donations show how a Quaker community in one corner of Lancaster County responded to the battle and provide an opportunity to learn about a family network with deep connections to abolitionism and the Underground Railroad.