Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Students At War: Percy Eichelberger, Class Of 1921, S. Marianne Johnson

The Gettysburg Compiler: On the Front Lines of History

As a resident of Adams County, Eichelberger spent his childhood growing up in the Gettysburg area. When war came in 1917, 23 year old Eichelberger enlisted with the 4th Infantry, stationed at a training camp on the Gettysburg battlefield for the summer. [excerpt]

Growing Up In The Trenches: Fritz Draper Hurd And The Great War, S. Marianne Johnson

Adams County History

On February 18, 1919, Second Lieutenant Fritz Draper Hurd supervised recreational activities for the men of the 103rd Field Artillery. The men breathed easy; they tossed a football and even engaged in a little gallows humor with a “gas mask race,” at last finding a use for the once fearsome yet no longer needed device. The Great War was over, and the men of the 103rd Field Artillery were content to lob footballs instead of shells as they awaited their discharge papers. [excerpt]

Gettysburg College & The Battle Of Gettysburg: A Civil War Walking Tour, John M. Rudy '07

Civil War Era Studies Faculty Publications

Originally compiled by John Rudy as a student project in 2007 at Gettysburg College, this new, revised edition of the Civil War Walking Tour booklet guides a visitor on a truly unique campus tour. Visitors can walk among buildings from the war era and learn how they were pressed into service during and after the Battle of Gettysburg. Likewise, many college figures such as President Henry Baugher, John "Jack" Hopkins (janitor), and many students are part of this complex and heroic story of Pennsylvania College's story in July 1863.

The Semester Ends, The Semester Begins, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

It's finals week at Gettysburg College, but in another time, it was just the beginning of the oddest session of college just over 100 students would ever experience. Some would join the 26th PEMR, some would run home from the oncoming rebel hordes, and others would remain in Gettysburg, sitting in the cross-hairs of the war as the slowly rested on Adams County. [excerpt]

Virtual Sesquicentennial: #Invasion63 Goes Live, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I teased this project a short while ago, and now that May has arrived history has begun coming back to life. Over the next three months, the men and women who walked Gettysburg's streets and crossed the Pennsylvania College campus will reenact their lives in the last few moments before Gettysburg changed irrevocably. As May creeps along, more characters will rise from the grave and begin reliving the past. [excerpt]

Pennsylvania At Chancellorsville, But Headed Back Home, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

With the anniversary of the battles around Fredericksburg this week, the Civil War world's eyes seem to be turned toward Chancellorsville and the battles there. Almost as a reflex, my mind has gone there too. I've been thinking about Simon Stein Wolf, the Gettysburgian who faced death at Chancellorsville only to find it terribly displayed in the days after. So today another excerpt from my manuscript, to start re-conceptualizing Chancellorsville through the eyes of a Pennsylvania College dropout. [excerpt]

On The Battleground At Gettysburg: A Journey To Remember, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I was very pleased to be one of the two speakers at Sunday night's inaugural "Journey to Remember" event sponsored by Gettysburg College. A group of students and community members trekked up the hill from the campus, resting on Oak Hill at the base of the Eternal Light Peace Memorial to hear myself and Janet Riggs, the college's President and a fellow alum. The student organizers asked me to place that place into historical context. [excerpt]

Meaningless Lists Of Soldiers: Hidden In Plain Sight, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

This week I had the chance to visit National Archives 1 to do some research for work into the history of the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry, and particularly the building I work in. Mather Training Center waswas the Superintendent's House before the War came and upended the entire town. It was nice to get back into the stacks downtown and dig through musty boxes of (in this case) Office of the Chief of Ordinance records.

It brought to mind the last time that I got the chance to root around in the trove that is the Nation's repository down …

Fear In Illinois: A Father's Grief, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Like a prose poem, the passage leaped off of the page of the Lutheran and Missionary as I scanned the newspaper's columns. Sitting in the reading room of the Abdel Ross Wentz Library at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, my heart raced. It's not often that you find new words penned by someone you've been studying for years. [excerpt]

An 1858 Patent Office Report: The Joy Of Being Wrong, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

I love being wrong. I think every historian should love that feeling. Finding that one small piece of evidence that puts a crack in your perception of the past and makes you restructure your view of the flow of history is a joy.

I had one of those moments a few weeks ago at Adams County Historical Society, digging through the vertical files for random things. I go digging every week or so, simply immersing myself in the raw material of the past and seeing what floats to the surface. [excerpt]

Once Upon A Time In Gettysburg: Sometimes It Works, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

Monday night, I took my class out on the 'battlefield.' I know some of them are taking my class because, "it's Gettysburg College and I should take a Civil War class before I leave." I couldn't resist the siren call to show them where they have lived for four years and transform the meanings of that ground for them. So we went on a campus tour, the battlefield they walk everyday when they go to class or dinner or out to party on a Friday night. [excerpt]

Confederates In The Dorm: Hidden In Plain Sight, John M. Rudy

Interpreting the Civil War: Connecting the Civil War to the American Public

You can imagine the terror in the young 21-year-old's eyes as he realized who was charging down the Cashtown Pike into Gettysburg on the 26th of June. You can feel the chill that might have run down his spine as he realized that the rebel army he had deserted, the one he had escaped by running to the Federal lines, was crashing down upon him again. And the deserter's fate during this war was simple: execution. [excerpt]

Ms-107: Michael Jacobs Collection, Katherine Downton

All Finding Aids

The collection consists primarily of letters about the publishing, distribution, and sale of Michael Jacobs’ book Notes on the Rebel Invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania and the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1st, 2nd and 3rd, 1863 (J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1864) from sales agents, his publisher, family members, and other individuals interested in the book. The letters date from September 22, 1863 – March 4, 1864. They were later transcribed with a typewriter and the transcriptions are included. Other items in the collection include lecture notes and other notes about the battle (partially transcribed), a photograph of Michael Jacobs, biographical information, …

Ms-093: John Henry Wilbrand Stuckenberg Papers, Tara R. Wink

All Finding Aids

The John Henry Wilbrand Stuckenberg collection consists of materials relating to the life and works of J.H.W. and Mary Gingrich Stuckenberg. This material includes correspondence, publications, articles, newspaper clippings, and personal papers—such as diaries, biographical material, and photographs of both J.H.W. and Mary Gingrich Stuckenberg.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on our website https://www.gettysburg.edu/special-collections/collections/.

Ms-070: Papers Of Philip M. Biklé And Family, Nicole M. Lenart

All Finding Aids

The papers of Philip Biklé consist of mostly personal correspondence between Biklé and Emma, and the correspondence of Emma and their children. Also included are class notes from Biklé’s years as a student, and account books from the Lutheran Quarterly and Pennsylvania College Monthly. This collection does not include any information on Biklé’s publications, the classes he taught, or his work as a professor and dean.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of …

Jack Hopkins' Civil War, Peter C. Vermilyea

Adams County History

In the 1862 Pennsylvania College album there is a photograph of John Hopkins, who that year was entering his fifteenth year of service as the college's janitor. In one student's book, the portrait of Hopkins jokingly refers to him as the school's "vice president." This appellation speaks volumes about the life of the African-American custodian, for while it was clearly made in jest as a token of the students' genuine affection for Hopkins, it symbolizes the gulf between the white students and the black janitor. It goes without saying that the students found the picture humorous because they understood that …

Adams County History 2005

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

Ms-048: World War I Service Questionnaires, Keith R. Swaney

All Finding Aids

After the conclusion of the First World War, two distinct entities at Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) College—Professor S. N. Hagen and the Phi Delta Theta fraternity— endeavored to document and commemorate the experiences of the college’s graduates in the First World War.

The first section contains the Phi Delta Theta questionnaires, which the fraternity sent to its alumni to record their participation in the field or on the home front. As the questionnaires note, the historian of the Pennsylvania College chapter wished to use this information in a publication to be entitled the “Karux.”

The second section contains questionnaires that Hagen, a …

Ms-034: Henry Louis Baugher Family Papers, Christine M. Ameduri

All Finding Aids

This collection is a compilation of miscellaneous papers of the family of Henry Louis Baugher, 2nd President of Gettysburg College, consisting of photocopies of a few letters to and from President Baugher, military service records of his son, Nesbit, and memorium books of another son, Henry Louis. It is not an extensive or in-depth collection.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about each collection in addition to inventories of their content. More information about our collections can be found on …

Ms-023: Papers Of Samuel Simon Schmucker And The Schmucker Family, Jaclyn Campbell

All Finding Aids

The Samuel Simon Schmucker collection is arranged into four series: I. Correspondence of Samuel Simon Schmucker (S.S.), II. Other Schmucker Correspondence, III. Publications and Papers, and IV. Sermons. Series I is primarily comprised of correspondence written by Schmucker. Series II is composed of correspondence written by other Schmucker family members. Series III includes diaries written by Schmucker, a Schmucker family genealogy, lecture notes by Schmucker, a certificate of reimbursement for damage to Gettysburg College during the Civil War, clippings, and an article about Schmucker. Series IV contains the original sermons written by Schmucker.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids …

Ms-003: The Papers Of Amos E. Taylor, Gettysburg Class Of 1915, Christine M. Ameduri

All Finding Aids

The Amos E. Taylor Collection is divided into eight Series. I. Biographical Information; II. Military Service; III. University of Pennsylvania; IV. U.S. Department of Commerce; V. Inter-American Economic & Social Council/Pan American Union; VI. American University; VII. Personal Memorabilia, and VIII. Publications. It includes materials covering many decades of his life including his extensive education, his military service in World War I, and his career working for federal agencies, presidents, and economic associations.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. Finding aids include historical and biographical information about …

Yonder Beautiful And Stately College Edifice : A History Of Pennsylvania Hall (Old Dorm), Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Charles H. Glatfelter, Michael J. Birkner

Gettysburg College Faculty Books

On January 21, 1834 Thaddeus Stevens, a freshman member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Adams County, rose in that body to speak in favor of a bill appropriating a sum of money to the new college at Gettysburg in whose fortunes he had become deeply interested. After answering the arguments of his colleague from Adams County, who had just spoken against the bill, Stevens undertook to explain in a few words the predicament in which the fledgling college found itself: It has been chartered two years ; and organized about eighteen months. It has now ninety-eight students, without …