Honoring Valor: Pennsylvania’s Collection of Civil War Battle Flags

Posted by on Jun 19, 2015 in | Comments Off on Honoring Valor: Pennsylvania’s Collection of Civil War Battle Flags As the American Civil War Sesquicentennial of the past four years draws to a conclusion, it is appropriate to direct attention to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s vast collection of Civil War battle flags and its 1914 transfer from the Executive, Library and Museum Building to the Capitol’s main rotunda cases. This special event, which occurred on Monday, June 15, 1914 – Flag Day...
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Camp Beaver

Posted by on May 8, 2015 in | Comments Off on Camp Beaver   “Hello Mary” wrote Frank Lloyd. “I’m in camp and have a fine time. You should be here.” Lloyd was at Camp Beaver, a 1914 National Guard encampment at Indiana, Indiana County. The camp was named in honor of James A. Beaver (1837-1914), decorated Civil War officer, judge of Pennsylvania’s Superior Court and governor of the Commonwealth, 1887-91. The entire National Guard of Pennsylvania was...
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Into the Woodlands

Posted by on Nov 25, 2013 in | Comments Off on Into the Woodlands Rarely does his name enjoy prominence in horticultural history, but William Hamilton (1745-1813), owner of The Woodlands, a picturesque eighteenth-century countryseat on the banks of the Schuylkill River in West Philadelphia, made sev­eral significant contributions that forever changed the landscape of North America. An avid plant collector he filled his English-style garden with as many new...
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A Flag Bears Witness – Don’t Give Up The Ship

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on A Flag Bears Witness – Don’t Give Up The Ship A mere five words stitched on a flag in 1813 in a tiny frontier village produced one of the most enduring symbols in United States history. Two hundred years later those few words – Don’t Give Up The Ship – have become a stirring, unofficial motto of the U.S. Navy; a rallying cry; and a flag flown from masts of sailboats, yachts, tall ships, and more. The details of the War of...
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