Author: oczkowsl

The Shelling of Carlisle Map is a virtual tour of the Confederate shelling that occurred on July 1, 1863. The tour begins with the entrance of Major General Fitzhugh Lee into the town of Carlisle and ends at the burning of the Carlisle Barracks. The map is a great resource for those visiting the area and those who want to discover the historical past of Carlisle. Each marker on the map gives a brief explanation of what happened in 1863 and shows the location in town today. Such locations include the Courthouse downtown, the First Presbyterian Church, buildings on Dickinson College’s campus and the Carlisle Barracks. The purple line indicates the location of the railroad that ran through Carlisle during the Civil War. Using this map visitors can explore the town of Carlisle and view its sights.

For more information on the Shelling of Carlisle, view BlogDivided. The House Divided Search engine can provide additional information on Carlisle from the Civil War. Other maps on various Civil War topics can be found on Google Maps.

On June 27, 1863, Confederate General Richard S. Ewell stopped at Carlisle for supplies, forage, and food before moving towards Harrisburg. During the Gettysburg Campaign, Stuart arrived in Carlisle on the evening of July 1, 1863 looking for Ewell’s troops, but instead found General William F. “Baldy” Smith’s 32^nd and 33^rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia and 1st New York Cavalry.  After Smith’s refusal to surrender, Stuart allowed Maj. General Fitzhugh Lee to start firing on the town.  Lee’s artillery fired about 80 shells into Carlisle, stirring up the militia and townspeople but causing minimal injuries to both civilians and soldiers.  Shots landed in many places including one at the Courthouse and two on the street wall of the First Presbyterian Church. Around midnight, Stuart received a message from General Robert E. Lee stating that the army was in battle at Gettysburg and to call off the action in Carlisle.  Before leaving, Fitzhugh Lee burned a lumberyard and set fire to the Carlisle Barracks.

Harper’s Weekly Magazine issued on July 25, 1863, provides a clear outline of the happenings by the locals in Carlisle and a sketch of  Main Street or present day High Street by Thomas Nast. The sketch shows the Rebels shelling women and children as well as the New York militia, putting the town into immense chaos.

The Soldiers Aid Society of Carlisle, Pennsylvania formed on August 25, 1863 and disbanded sometime in 1865.  The organization provided the thousands of men who enlisted in the Union Army with blankets ,clothing ,as well as local fruits produce. Women were the driving force and chose to spearhead these efforts because they felt they had a better knowledge of what would comfort the soldiers and the domestic skills to enable their work to be successful.  In addition, the Soldiers Aid Society assisted with burials and grave decoration for the soldiers that died in battle.

The women and men of the Soldiers Aid Society provided a welcoming place for the soldiers before and after they left for battle by exchanging  tokens of affection with the soldiers such as handkerchiefs explained by James W. Sullivan in Boyhood Memories: ” The women of Carlisle had brought out from their scantily stocked larders the essentials of a welcoming reception.” The Carlisle American also describes the women’s actions “by expressing tokens of love but cheerfulness” ( Carlisle American. 25 April 1863. Back at Home section).

The church dynamic was vital to the success of the society because many of the members belonged to the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle and as a result attracted other religious organizations of the community and surrounding areas. The Soldier Aid Society of Carlisle worked with many Sanitary Commissions and ” resoleved a draft for a systematci plan for securing contrubutions in the town”, according to the American Volunteer (American Volunteer, Central Fair in Aid and the Sanitray Commission. Back at Home section).

The organization also involved many social classes of people.  The society allowed the whole community to have a common goal no matter if you were an educated man or a domestic homemaker.  Motivations varied from patriotic or Christian duty to personal reasons, but they all brought people together in unity to aid in the war effort and provide solace to each other while loved ones were in harms way.

Many Soldiers Aid Societies existed at the time that were similar to that of  the one in Carlisle. The United States Sanitary Commission of the Cleveland Branch provides the first annual report of the Soldiers Aid Society of Cleveland, the area where the first soldiers aid societies began. Google Books provides a preview of Civil War Sisterhood: The U.S. Sanitary Commission and Women’s Politics in Transition which discusses the relationship between Sanitary Commisions and Solders Aid Societies during the Civil War.