Charles Lenker’s M1917 Doughboy Helmet

Posted by on Nov 3, 2019 in | Comments Off on Charles Lenker’s M1917 Doughboy Helmet Charles W. Lenker (1896–1973) of Palmyra, Lebanon County, entered the Army from Lebanon on April 2, 1918, and wore this M1917 steel combat helmet during his service in World War I (also see inside front cover). It is preserved today not only as a relic of the war but also as a fine example of early helmet folk art with its painted record of a soldier’s military service. The steel combat helmet...
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Loretto Perfectus Walsh, First Woman to Serve in the U.S. Armed Forces

Posted by on Oct 28, 2019 in | Comments Off on Loretto Perfectus Walsh, First Woman to Serve in the U.S. Armed Forces At the age of 20, Loretto Perfectus Walsh (1896–1925) became the first woman to enlist in the U.S. Armed Forces in March 1917, just weeks before the U.S. entered World War I. Women had served in the American military since 1901 but as nurses only. Walsh joined the U.S. Navy and was sworn in as a chief yeoman. She was expected to perform the same duties and was entitled to the same benefits and...
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Sallie the Dog and the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers

Posted by on Oct 28, 2019 in | Comments Off on Sallie the Dog and the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers The 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment originally entered service near the beginning of  the American Civil War on April 26, 1861, as a three-month unit. Later that year, many of its soldiers reenlisted in the three-year regiment. The men of the 11th were eventually classified as veteran volunteers; they fought at Falling Waters, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Antietam,...
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2017 Trails

Posted by on Oct 25, 2019 in | Comments Off on 2017 Trails Another year has passed on the Pennsylvania Trails of History. Exhibits, special events, thousands of visiting schoolchildren, more than a few beer and wine festivals, and several battle reenactments are now recorded in the books. As a way of wrapping up the year, we look back at a few milestones along the way. But before we turn our attention to the World War I centennial and an overview of...
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Hunter Liggett, World War I General from Reading

Posted by on Oct 22, 2019 in | Comments Off on Hunter Liggett, World War I General from Reading Hunter Liggett (1857–1935), born and raised in Reading, Berks County, was a senior officer in the U.S. Army during World War I. When America entered the war, he was given command of the 41st Division, which arrived in France in late 1917 as part of the American Expeditionary Forces. He then commanded I Corps and later the First Army. Liggett had graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West...
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“Remember Paoli!”

Posted by on Aug 22, 2017 in | 0 comments Two centuries ago, in September 1817, local War of 1812 veterans gathered in a Chester County field with Revolutionary War veterans and citizens to place a marble monument on the grave of soldiers killed in the Battle of Paoli, or “Paoli Massacre,” four decades earlier. Today, it remains the second oldest Revolutionary War monument in the nation, and the campaign to “Remember Paoli!” continues...
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Herb Pennock, Baseball Hall of Famer and World War I Vet

Posted by on Jun 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Herb Pennock, Baseball Hall of Famer and World War I Vet Herbert Jefferis “Herb” Pennock (1894-1948) was born and raised in Kennett Square, Chester County. He was reared in the Religious Society of Friends, or Quaker, faith. He was the son of Mary L. (Sharp) and Theodore Pennock, a well-to-do businessman whose lineage in Pennsylvania stretched back to 1685, when Christopher Pennock immigrated to Philadelphia from Ireland. Nicknamed the...
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Pennsylvania: A Military History by William A. Pencak, Christian B. Keller and Barbara A. Gannon

Posted by on Mar 13, 2017 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania: A Military History by William A. Pencak, Christian B. Keller and Barbara A. Gannon Pennsylvania: A Military History by William A. Pencak, Christian B. Keller and Barbara A. Gannon Westholme Publishing, 304 pp., cloth $35 In 16 incisive and insightful original essays covering wars among Indians to the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, the authors reveal a Pennsylvania that was and is very different from the “peaceable kingdom” image of art and myth. Indeed,...
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Shorts

Posted by on Nov 26, 2013 in | Comments Off on Shorts “From Ft. Wagner to Verdun: African Americans in the U.S. Military, 1863-1918,” is on view at the Civil War Library and Museum in Philadelphia. The exhibition, continuing through August 30, 1998, showcases artifacts, objects, and documents chronicling the experience of African Americans in mili­tary service from the Civil War through World War I. The Civil War Library and Museum is...
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Experience Lake Erie as a Seaman!

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Experience Lake Erie as a Seaman! Standing on Lake Erie’s shoreline on a summer day, your eye catches a glint of sunlight on a tiny speck white far off in the distance. Eventually, sails, masts, and rigging of a magnificent tall ship emerge over the horizon, unlike any other structure for hundreds of miles in any direction. For those on board this stately vessel, the US Brig Niagara offers an incomparable experience. They can...
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