Rebels’ Revenge: The Burning of Chambersburg

Posted by William Vatavuk on Nov 29, 2013 in | Comments Off on Rebels’ Revenge: The Burning of Chambersburg Out of the predawn mist thundered the enemy, their horses’ hooves pounding the town’s dusty streets apocalyptically. Al­though grimy, weary and starv­ing, the cavalrymen were formidable, battle-hardened veterans, ready to fight at a moment’s notice. They had come to this little town to execute an order – a command which, when carried out, would add another bitter meas­ure...
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The Day They Raised a Monument in Dixie

Posted by Terrence Winschel on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Day They Raised a Monument in Dixie The artillery salvo thun­dered across the land­scape. The pandemo­nium reverberated through the ravines before fading eerily in the distance. The outburst was quickly followed by another, then another. It was reminiscent of an earlier day, many years before, when soldiers uni­formed in blue and gray skir­mished upon these heights and engaged in mortal combat amidst roaring guns and flar­ing...
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1876 Centennial Craze Sweeps into Philadelphia!

Posted by Jim McClelland on Nov 24, 2013 in | Comments Off on 1876 Centennial Craze Sweeps into Philadelphia! This spring marks the one hundred and thirtieth anniversary of the opening of the International Exhibition of Art, Manufactures and Products of the Soil and Mine, better known as the Centennial International Exhibition, staged to mark the one hundredth anniversary of American independence. Opening Day, Wednesday, May 10, 1876, welcome more than one hundred thousand visitors, and by closing day,...
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Pennsylvania Copperheads: Traitors or Peacemakers?

Posted by Timothy Kehm on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Copperheads: Traitors or Peacemakers? Panic swept through Philadelphia in 1860, gripping manufacturers and merchants in its throes as southern slave states threatened to leave the federal union. The South had grown into an enormous market for Philadelphia’s merchants, and the city’s textile manufacturers depended on Dixie to supply the cotton they needed. Fears of secession and resulting massive unemployment prompted Mayor Alexander...
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The Union’s Forgotten First Defenders

Posted by John Hoptak on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Union’s Forgotten First Defenders Throughout the four years of the American Civil War, more than two million men served the Union, some for months, others for years. The vast majority were volunteers, young boys and aging men who willingly left home behind to fight for the preservation of the Union and the eradication of slavery.1 Historians have documented the stories of countless citizens-turned-soldiers, recalling the...
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General Meade’s Press Warfare!

Posted by Joan Wenner on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on General Meade’s Press Warfare! Not all the skirmishes and engagements of the American Civil War were fought on the battlefield. Many were waged in popular publications of the day, pitting war correspondents against high-ranking officers in a war of words. One Union commander who waged his own intensely bitter war with the established press and held the Fourth Estate in contempt throughout the entire rebellion was Major...
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