Author: donsailer Page 1 of 2

“In Old Bellaire”

On September 6, 2010

Old West, 1860

D. W. Thompson, In Old Bellaire (Carlisle, PA: Hamilton Library Association, 1963).

D. W. Thompson explains Carlisle’s connection to Mary Dillon’s novel In Old Bellaire (1906). While set in the fictional town of Bellaire during the Civil War, Thompson describes how Dillon based her story on people, places, and events in Carlisle. “In Old Bellaire’ will always be the novel about old Carlisle in Civil War days, with allusions to actual local scenes and charters on every page,” as Thompson notes. Dillon’s family lived in Carlisle during the Civil War because her father, Herman Merrills Johnson, was the President of Dickinson College from 1860 to 1868. You can read In Old Bellaire online at the Dickinson College Chronicles Reading Room.

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

43 Baltimore Street – Carlisle, PA

By donsailer

On August 29, 2010

In Civil War (1861-1865), Reconstruction (1865-1880)

Peggy Garrett, “Forty-three Baltimore Street,” Cumberland County History 13 (1996): 63-76.

Peggy Garrett tells the story of a family who lived at Forty-three Baltimore street in Carlisle, Pennsylvania for three generations. When Jonas and Mary Foulk Kee bought the property in the 1890s, they had lived in Carlisle for more than three decades. Jonas Kee, along with several other members of his extended family, served in the United States Colored Troops and moved to Carlisle after the Civil War. Garrett also examines some of the difficulties that the family faced in their new community. In addition, Garrett provides extensive information on the family’s history and highlights a number of interesting details. Researchers can access the documents and other material that Garrett used in the Johnson Family Collection at the Cumberland County Historical Society.

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Carlisle Women in the War Effort

By donsailer

On September 6, 2010

In Articles, Civil War (1861-1865)

Central Square, Carlisle, PA (1860)

Lenore E. Flower, Women in the War Effort (Carlisle, PA: Hamilton Library Association, 1963).

Lenore E. Flower’s essay discuses the letters that two sisters wrote after Confederates shelled Carlisle on July 1, 1863. “We never dreamed that by evening the Rebel demons would attempt to shell the town, and that too without giving the usual warning,” as seventeen year old Margaret Murray noted in a letter to her brother. In addition, Flower includes a letter that Sara A. Myers wrote to Union General William Farrah Smith’s wife. “I am indebted to the exertions of Gen. Smith and his brave soldiers – I wish I could something for each of them – that I still have a home,” as Myers explained.

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Civil War Times in Carlisle

By donsailer

On August 30, 2010

In Articles, Civil War (1861-1865)

Central Square in1860 - Carlisle, PA

William E. Miller, Civil War Times In Carlisle (Carlisle, PA: Hamilton Library Association, 1931).

Merkel Landis provides an overview of what happened in Carlisle, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. After a review of the political conditions in Carlisle in 1860, Landis describes key events that took place in the town during the Civil War. Landis starts in November 1860 with the election returns and ends with the celebration in Carlisle after General Robert E. Lee surrendered. The essay also includes a number of photographs of people and places in Carlisle during this period.

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Cumberland County Political History (1847-1860)

By donsailer

On August 17, 2010

In Antebellum (1840-1861)

John Weigel, “‘Americans Shall Rule America!’ The Know-Nothing Party in Cumberland County,” Cumberland County History 15 (1998): 3-18.

John Weigel, “Free Soil: The Birth of the Republican Party in Cumberland County,” Cumberland County History 17 (2000): 36-57.

John Weigel, “In Defense of Union and White Supremacy: The Democratic Alternative to Free Soil, 1847 – 1860,” Cumberland County History 17 (2000): 103-117.

In a series of three essays John Wesley Weigel traces the political history of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania between the late 1840s and the Republican victory in the Presidential election of 1860. Weigel’s articles are based in large part on primary sources, in particular three local newspapers: Carlisle (PA) Herald , Carlisle (PA) American Volunteer, and the Shippensburg (PA) News. All three articles include extensive endnotes. Weigel’s essay of the rise of the Republican party in Cumberland county includes two maps and a graph related to voter turnout. In addition, Weigel provides two detailed charts that breakdown Cumberland county votes by party between 1839 and 1873.

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Frederick Douglass – Visit to Carlisle in 1872

By donsailer

On August 17, 2010

In Reconstruction (1865-1880)

David L. Smith, “Fredrick Douglass in Carlisle,” Cumberland County History 22 (2005): 48-60.

Frederick Douglass gave a speech in Carlisle, Pennsylvania on March 2, 1872 about his work relating to Santo Domingo. In 1871 President Ulysses S. Grant had appointed Douglass to the Commission of Inquiry for the annexation of Santo Domingo the United States of America. Douglass delivered his speech at Rheem’s Hall, which was located behind the Old Court House in Carlisle. Today that location is a parking lot. Reports about the speech did not appear in any national newspapers, but his visit created a local controversy. George Z. Bentz, who was the manager of the Bentz House and a Republican, refused to let Douglass eat his dinner in hotel dining room with the white guests. (The Bentz House stood on what is today the former Wellington Hotel on East High Street). The American Volunteer used the incident to characterize Republicans as hypocritical. “We have in this circumstance positive evidence that the Radicals are just as loath to recognize negro-equality as the Democrats,” as the American Volunteer observed. While the Herald “[found] no fault with” the manager’s decision, the editors argued that policies which denied African Americans entry into a hotel “[were] simply silly and wicked.” In addition, Historic Carlisle recently added a Wayside Maker for Douglass’ visit.

David L. Smith also discusses Douglass’ visit in his essay “Fredrick Douglass in Carlisle” (2005). Smith provides transcripts of the newspaper articles cited in this blog post.

Location: Bentz House stood on what is today the former Wellington Hotel on East High Street ; Rheem’s Hall, which is a parking lot today, was located behind the Old Court House

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Grand Army of the Republic – Posts in Cumberland County, PA

By donsailer

On August 31, 2010

In Articles, Civil War (1861-1865)

G. A. R. Parade - Washington DC, 1892

Jacob M. Goodyear, The GAR Posts of Cumberland County (Carlisle, PA: Hamilton Library Association, 1951).

After the Civil War, many Union veterans joined the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and established posts in their communities. Seven posts were set up in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania between 1880 and 1890 and Jacob M. Goodyear provides a short history for each one. Each post, as Goodyear explains, had “its own life story.”

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Harrisburg’s Civil War Patriot and Union

By donsailer

On August 29, 2010

In Civil War (1861-1865)

Harrisburg, PA

Richard L. Dahlen, “Harrisburg’s Civil War Patriot and Union: Its Conciliatory Viewpoint Collapses,” Cumberland County History 15 (1998): 115-127.

Richard L. Dahlen’s essay explores the shifts and eventual “collapse” of the Harrisburg (PA) Patriot and Union’s editorial stance during the Civil War. As the editors were “staunchly Democratic,” Dahlen explains that “[they] printed dispatches calculated to prove that the Republican administration’s military performance was a failure.” In addition, the Patriot and Union supported George McClellan in the 1864 election based on the idea that he would quickly end the war if elected. Yet by September 1864 the editors faced a crisis as events seemed to prove that their positions were wrong. The Union army won several key victories and McClellan rejected the idea of a truce. The paper’s “credibility [was] shattered,” as Dahlen notes. The “collapse” of a prominent Democratic newspaper had an important impact on the results of 1864 election. As Dahlen argues, “the Patriot and Union helped drag the famous General George Brinton McClellan down.”

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Locust Grove African American Cemetery – Shippensburg

By donsailer

On August 17, 2010

In Antebellum (1840-1861), Civil War (1861-1865)

Stephen Burg, “Shippensburg’s Locust Grove African-American Cemetery,” Cumberland County History 26 (2009): 33-47.

Professor Stephen Burg explores the history of the Locust Grove African-American Cemetery in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania in this article. The grandson of Shippensburg’s founder gave the land, which had been used as a slave burial ground, to the town’s black residents in 1842. Burg also provides details on some of the individuals buried in this cemetery (also known as North Queen Street Cemetery), including several of the twenty six United States Colored Troops veterans. In addition, Burg includes an index of the headstones in this cemetery.

This article has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.

Lt. Thomas Sweeny – Carlisle Barracks (1854-1855)

By donsailer

On August 17, 2010

In Antebellum (1840-1861)

Richard J. Coyer, ed., “Carlisle Barracks—1854-1855: From the Letters of Lt. Thomas W. Sweeny, 2nd Infantry,” Cumberland County History 16 (1999): 100-115.

This article contains nine letters to Ellen Sweeny about Lt. Sweeny’s experiences and acquaintances at the Carlisle Barracks. Editor Richard J. Coyer introduces the letters with a biographical sketch of Sweeny, including details about his military service from the Mexican War through Reconstruction. This article includes extensive notes where Coyer indentifies figures and provides context for Sweeny’s letters.

This essay has been posted online with permission from the Cumberland County Historical Society.