{"id":4972,"date":"2018-06-11T10:05:21","date_gmt":"2018-06-11T15:05:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/blogdivided\/?p=4972"},"modified":"2018-09-14T00:45:54","modified_gmt":"2018-09-14T05:45:54","slug":"beyond-gettysburg-primary-sources-for-the-gettysburg-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/housedivided.dickinson.edu\/sites\/blogdivided\/2018\/06\/11\/beyond-gettysburg-primary-sources-for-the-gettysburg-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Gettysburg: Primary Sources for the Gettysburg Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Shelling of Carlisle occurred on July 1, 1863, even as the Battle of Gettysburg raged to the south.<\/p><\/div>\n

Alabama soldier Elihu Wesley Watson<\/a>\u00a0arrived in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 as part of the Army of Northern Virginia’s shocking invasion of Pennsylvania –the one that culminated with the Battle of Gettysburg (July 1-3, 1863).\u00a0 While he was on brief occupation duty in Carlisle at the end of June, Private Watson spent some time talking to the president of Dickinson College (Herman Johnson), a man he then described in a subsequent letter as “an unmitigated abolitionist and a bitter enemy to the south,” with\u00a0\u201cprinciples… as bad as Wm. H Seward\u2019s.\u201d Watson’s fascinating account from the occupation of Carlisle was not an isolated bit of first-hand testimony.\u00a0 While often overlooked in classroom studies of the great battle, the primary sources describing the days leading up to confrontation at Gettysburg offer rare and very teachable glimpses into the nature of the war and especially into a deeper understanding of the interactions between Confederate soldiers and Northern civilians.<\/p>\n

For this post, I have assembled available digitized primary sources from the House Divided Project<\/a>, the\u00a0Dickinson College Archives<\/a>, the\u00a0Cumberland County Historical Society<\/a>\u00a0and from my book,\u00a0The Confederate Approach on Harrisburg<\/em><\/a>\u00a0(2012). Featured below are accounts that describe a series of little-known skirmishes and events from the 1863 invasion, including the Confederate occupation of Carlisle. Of special interest\u00a0are the stories of Samuel Hillman<\/a>, a Dickinson professor who debated Confederate officers about slavery, and recollections from Dickinson alumni and Confederate officers\u00a0Richard Beale<\/a> and Richard Shreve<\/a> who were among the Confederate troops responsible for shelling Carlisle on the evening of July 1-2.\u00a0 I created this post originally in the summer of 2018, but we will keep adding materials to it as they become available.\u00a0 Feel free to make your own suggestions or contributions using the comment box (“Leave A Reply”) below.<\/p>\n

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Primary Sources – Skirmishes\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Construction of the defenses near Harrisburg (Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, July 4, 1863, House Divided Project)<\/p><\/div>\n

Confederate Occupation of Carlisle – June 27-28, 1863<\/p>\n