Dispatch from Governor Andrew Curtin

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Dispatch from Governor Andrew Curtin A dispatch issued on June 15, 1863, by Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin (1817–1894) to various post offices in Pennsylvania alerted citizens to the imminent arrival of Confederate troops under General Robert E. Lee in Pennsylvania. It was the first public notice of the South’s advance on the Keystone State which ultimately resulted in the horrific three-day Battle of Gettysburg waged July 1-3. “Lee...
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West Chester Wide Awake Club Ribbon and Hat at State Museum of Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on West Chester Wide Awake Club Ribbon and Hat at State Museum of Pennsylvania Throughout the North in 1856 the new Republican Party — established just two years earlier by antislavery activists, ex-Whigs, and former Free Soilers — organized marching clubs for young men called, among other names, the Wide Awakes. A paramilitary campaign organization affiliated with the Republican Party during the United States presidential election of 1860 that pitted Abraham Lincoln of...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Historic Landmarks of Philadelphia by Roger W. Moss, with photographs by Tom Crane published by the University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008; 339 pages, cloth, $34.95 A stunning pictorial celebration of Philadelphia’s architectural treasures, Historic Landmarks of Philadelphia breaks new ground in a heartfelt appreciation of the historic built environment by going far beyond being merely a...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf The Realignment of Pennsylvania Politics Since 1960: Two-Party Competition in a Battleground State by Renée M. Lamis published by the Penn State University Press, 2009; 398 pages, cloth, $65.00. The political party system in the United States has periodically undergone major realignments at various critical junctures in the nation’s history. The American Civil War boosted the Republican...
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An Interview with Richard C. Saylor: The Impact of the Civil War Legacy in Pennsylvania

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on An Interview with Richard C. Saylor: The Impact of the Civil War Legacy in Pennsylvania Richard C. “Rich” Saylor, an archivist with the Pennsylvania State Archives, has been deep within the treasures that are the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) collections for nearly twenty years. He has become a highly respected expert on Pennsylvania Civil War history, research, and artifacts on behalf of the Commission. With a master’s degree in American Studies from Penn...
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Pennsylvania’s War Governor

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Pennsylvania’s War Governor On September 14, 1862, Pennsylvania’s Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin invited the governors of the northern and border states to a meeting to be held at Altoona, Blair County, in ten days. The purpose of the meeting that became known as the Loyal War Governors’ Conference — or, simply, the Altoona Conference – was to “take measures for a more active support of the government’s prosecution of...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Soldiers to Governors: Pennsylvania’s Civil War Veterans Who Became State Leaders by Richard C. Saylor published by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2010; 196 pages, cloth, $59.95 The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) safeguards a literal treasure trove of artifacts and documents associated with the American Civil War and six veterans of the war who later...
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The Rise and Fall of “Young Napoleon”

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Rise and Fall of “Young Napoleon” On Wednesday evening, November 13, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln paid a visit to the residence of George Brinton McClellan (1826–1885), who he had recently appointed general in chief of the Union Army. Located on Lafayette Square, near the White House, McClellan’s luxurious dwelling also served as his Washington, D.C., headquarters. Accompanied by Secretary of State William H. Seward...
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The Indefatigable Daniel Hartman Hastings

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on The Indefatigable Daniel Hartman Hastings Despite the fact that he unsuccessfully attempted — not once, but three times — to enlist in the Union Army in the early days of the American Civil War, the underage Daniel Hartman Hastings (1849–1903) eventually did find several causes for which to fight. And his courage and persistence brought him many accolades and honors, including the title “Hero of the Johnstown Flood.” Hastings, who grew...
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Bookshelf

Posted by on Nov 20, 2013 in | Comments Off on Bookshelf Mrs. Goodfellow: The Story of America’s First Cooking School by Becky Libourel Diamond published by Westholme Publishing, 2012; 288 pages, cloth, $26.00 Married and widowed three times, Elizabeth Baker Pearson Coane Goodfellow (1768–1851) owned a popular bakery and sweet shop in Philadelphia during the first decades of the nineteenth century. In addition to catering to the city’s wealthy...
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