Author: rainwatj

The Confederate High-Water Mark

On July 14, 2010

According to the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, the farthest north point of the Union attained by an organized body of the Confederate Army was present day Pennsylvania Route 34, about 1 mile north of Carlisle Springs. The Pennsylvania Historical marker, erected in 1929, states that on the morning of June 28, 1863, an organized band of the Confederate Army of Robert E. Lee reached the farm of Joseph Miller near Sterrett’s Gap. There is no evidence as to whose command these Confederates belonged to. Check out ExplorePAhistory.com for more information and details on the historical marker.

Another common conception of the farthest north point or high-water mark of the Confederate Army is a small grove of trees within a confined area known as “The Angle.” It was behind this location where the Union troops were positioned on July 3, 1863 during “Pickett’s Charge” which took place during the Battle of Gettysburg. The first government historian of the Gettysburg battlefield, John B. Bachelder, conferred the title “High Water Mark of the Rebellion” to the small grove or “copse” of trees. Bachelder’s influence led to the creation of the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion Monument,” dedicated in 1892. For more information the National Parks Service website and the Historical Marker Database provides further details, maps and images.

One other historical theory of the Confederate high-water mark is from Jeff Shaara’s Civil War Battlefields: Discovering America’s Hallowed Ground. Shaara contends that a monument representing the 11th Mississippi is the actual high-water mark. In his book he notes:

“I respect those who care deeply about paying homage to such noteworthy historical landmarks as the high-water mark. I speculate, however, that the copse of trees does not indicate the farthest advance of the Confederate troops that day. Drive just north, to the Bryan House. Walk to the stone wall on the left, peer over, and you will see the newest monument on the battlefield. This marks the spot where the battle flag of the 11th Mississippi was found as it lay across the stone wall. The 11th was part of the brigade commanded by Joe Davis, nephew of the Confederate president. By all information, a total of fourteen Mississippians reached this spot, farther into the Union position than the North Carolinians, at what is today labeled the high-water mark.”

Dickinson College Professor and the ‘Know Nothing’ Party in Cumberland County

By rainwatj

On June 24, 2010

In Antebellum (1840-1861)

A new political movement born out of New York and Philadelphia spread across the country, emerging in Cumberland County in 1854, shaping its politics for more than two years. Spurred by anti-Catholic and anti-immigration sentiment, the Know Nothing party grew to significant prominence if only for a short period during the mid 1850s. Reverend Otis H. Tiffany was Dickinson College’s professor of mathematics and president of the Know Nothing State Council. Tiffany, a prominent leader and adamant speaker for the Know Nothing party, gave a public lecture at Carlisle Union Fire Hall on November 16, 1854 on the Protestant origins of American freedoms and on the dangers of the vast immigration and rapid naturalization of foreigners. Tiffany commented, “No foreigner is competent to discharge the duties of an American until he ceases to be identified with the land which gave him birth.”

Much of the sources on the Know Nothings in Cumberland County are derived from local newspapers such as the Carlisle American, Carlisle Herald, Shippensburg News and American Volunteer. During this time, Tiffany and several other professors at Dickinson College had been active in the Know-Nothing movement. While most of the papers were supportive, the American Volunteer was the most negative, commonly criticizing the party and the involvement of Tiffany and others from Dickinson College. On August 23, 1857 with the Know Nothing movement nearly dissolved, the Volunteer cited the negative effects brought on by the faculty “by their constant dabbling in politics…But we gained our point which was to drive them from their Know-Nothing lodges to their duties in the College.”

While unsuccessful in sustaining the Know Nothing movement in Cumberland County, Tiffany was and remained a respected leader throughout the community. In Alexander Kelly McClure‘s Old Time Notes of Pennsylvania, he comments on the merits of Tiffany. McClure, a prominent Pennsylvania politician and journalist, regarded Tiffany as the ablest of all the Know-Nothing leaders.

“The one who stood out most conspicuous as an active politician and consistent Christian gentleman was Dr. Tiffany, who, as I have stated, accomplished the union of the opposition forces at the conference in 1855. He was not only a man of unusual eloquence, but a sagacious leader in Church and State, and always commanded the respect of all who came in contact with him, whether supporting or opposing him.”

Outbreak of War at Dickinson College

By rainwatj

On June 22, 2010

In Civil War (1861-1865)

The Dickinson College student body was evenly divided between Northern and Southern students who fought on both sides of the conflict. The split is well documented in Dickinson College class of 1861 student Francis Benjamin Sellers’ Autograph Album for the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Taken from the Phi Kappa Sigma News Letter, Fall, 1954:

“On April 21, 1861, Epsilon held its last meeting shortly past midnight. All of the members gathered in the room of John. E McCahan and Francis B. Sellers in West College and dispensed with the usual forms of business so that the brothers could say their last farewells before leaving for their respective armies.”

Dickinson College students expected to encounter one another on the battlefield, which is reflected in the comments left in the autograph album. Howard Kennedy Weber class of 1863 remarked: “If I wear the “Phi Kap” badge, don’t shoot me Frank.”

Other Dickinson College students featured in Sellers’ album that fought in the conflict include fellow classmates Elbridge Hoffman Gerry, James Glasgow Archer, William Miller Ogilby and Ernest Dudley Martin.