On Thanksgiving day in November 1863 two children whose fathers were killed during the Civil War went to the executive mansion in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and asked for food. Apparently this experience inspired Governor Andrew Curtin to ask the Pennsylvania legislature to establish an organization to care for orphans of Union soldiers. While legislators did not […]
29
Sep
10
White Hall School – Camp Hill, PA
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, Places to Visitno comment
28
Sep
10
Election of 1860 – “Mr. Lincoln A Black Man”
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Historic PeriodicalsWhen European newspapers discussed Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the Election of 1860, their reporters did not always provide the correct details. In January 1861 the (Montpelier) Vermont Patriot highlighted a mistake in an editorial from the Drogheda (Ireland) Argus, which discussed the implications of “a black Man’s” victory for the United States. “No Presidential election has excited […]
24
Sep
10
Election of 1860 – Ulysses S. Grant
Posted by sailerd Published in Antebellum (1840-1861), Images, Letters & DiariesThe Ulysses S. Grant Association at Mississippi State University has digitized all 31 volumes included in the Papers of Ulysses S. Grant. This project also offers a chronology and a nice collection of images. In August 1860 Grant observed that “the Democratic party want a little purifying and nothing will do it so effectually as […]
7
Sep
10
Skirmish at Oyster Point (June 1863)
Posted by sailerd Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Places to VisitThe skirmish at Oyster Point was a small engagement that took place in late June 1863 in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania between Confederate forces under General Albert G. Jenkins’ command and Union militia from New York under General William F. Smith’s command. After Confederates entered Mechanicsburg, General Jenkins set up artillery and sent Virginia cavalry in […]
