North Ward - Mechanicsburg, PA

Norman D. Keefer, Mechanicsburg: Civil War Centennial (Mechanicsburg, PA: Mechanicsburg Area Chamber of Commerce, 1963).

Norman D. Keefer’s essay provides a detailed overview of what happened in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area during the Confederate invasion in June 1863. While this essay’s title includes “Centennial,” the focus throughout the article remains on what happened in 1863 rather than how Mechanicsburg commemorated the war in 1963. After Confederate troops captured Mechanicsburg on June 28, 1863, Brigadier General Albert G. Jenkins established his headquarters in the town. Two days later his troops left the town and marched towards Gettysburg. Some historians argue that Mechanicsburg was “the northern-most town to have been captured…during the Civil War,” as Keefer explains.

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