Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Cultural Distortion: The Dedication Of The Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Monument At Manassas National Battlefield Park, Shae Adams

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

The Stonewall Jackson monument on Henry Hill at the Manassas National Battlefield Park stands as a testament to the propensity of Americans to manipulate history in order to fit current circumstances. The monument reflects not the views and ideologies of the veterans of the Civil War, but rather the hopes and fears of those who spent the prime years of their lives immersed in the Great Depression. Those of the latter generation searched in vain for heroes among the corrupted businessmen on Wall Street who ran the economic affairs of the country, and who, in the eyes of the public, …

The Richmond Bread Riot Of 1863: Class, Race, And Gender In The Urban Confederacy, Katherine R. Titus

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

Confederate war clerk, J.B. Jones's description of the Richmond Bread Riot of 1863, clearly highlights the suffering which permeated the urban centers of the Confederacy by the midpoint of the Civil War. The production and transportation of goods became increasingly difficult in the war torn nation. Inflation undermined the value of Confederate currency and made it difficult for those on fixed wages to provide for themselves and their families. The influx of thousands of refugees into Richmond created a deficit of housing in the city and raised the already inflated prices of goods. By 1863, most citizens remarked that they …

Loose Party Times: The Political Crisis Of The 1850s In Westchester County, New York, Zachary Baum

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

On November 7, 1848 William H. Robertson rose early and rushed to the post office in Bedford, a town in Westchester County, New York. The young lawyer was brimming with excitement because two weeks earlier, the Whigs in the county?s northern section had nominated him as their candidate for the New York State Assembly. Only twenty-four years old and a rising legal star, Robertson hoped that holding political office would launch his nascent career. After casting his ballot at the Bedford Post Office, Robertson paid a visit to Sheriff James M. Bates, his political manager, to await the election results. …

“All May Visit The Big Camp”: Race And The Lessons Of The Civil War At The 1913 Gettysburg Reunion, Evan Preston

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

Shaping historical memory means extracting lessons from the past. Those lessons frame the debate about the nature of the present. Just months after the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson, the attention of most of the nation focused on the events scheduled to commemorate the semi-centennial of what was by then increasingly viewed as “the turning point” of the Civil War. The reunion at Gettysburg in 1913 constituted the contemporary public exegesis of the status of American memory of the Civil War. In this respect, the reunion in Gettysburg reflected the erasure of the legacy of emancipation and the unfulfilled promise of …

The Visual Documentation Of Antietam: Peaceful Settings, Morbid Curiosity, And A Profitable Business, Kristilyn Baldwin

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

On September 17, 1862, Confederate General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia into Sharpsburg, Maryland to confront Federal General George McClellan and the Army of the Potomac. The battle that followed became the single bloodiest day in American history. There were approximately 25,000 American casualties and battlefields were left in desolation, strewn with corpses needing burial. The Battle of Antietam, or Sharpsburg, is a well-documented and important battle of the Civil War. Endless research has been done regarding its impact on the war, military strategies, and politics. However, there is a unique aspect of Antietam which merits …

“A Debt Of Honor”: The Hegemonic Benevolence Of Richmond’S Female Elites At The “Last Confederate Christmas” Of 1864, Ashley M. Whitehead

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

In poignant remembrance of the last Christmas in the Confederate White House, Varina Davis, First Lady of the Confederacy, reflected upon that special event in an extended article for the New York Sunday World, some thirty-two years after the Confederacy’s final Christmas. Davis recounted the event fondly and praised the transformation of her female peers into perfect models of Confederate endurance under the extreme duress of civil war. In re-creating the dramaturgy of the three-part event, which was organized and hosted in large part by the Confederacy’s First Lady, Davis opened a critical window into southern sensibilities and the cultural …

"The Last Full Measure Of Devotion": The Battle Of Gettysburg And The New Museum In Schmucker Hall, Bradley R. Hoch, Gerald Christianson

Adams County History

Schmucker Hall offers an unprecedented opportunity to interpret the role of religion in the Civil War and the American expenment in democracy. In particular it can give palpable expression to major themes in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address concerning the battle itself, the conflict as a time of testing, the sacrifices of those who fought here, and the hope these sacrifices bring to the young nation for a new birth of freedom.

Built in 1832 and named for an abolitionist and founder of Gettysburg Seminary, Samuel Simon Schmucker, it is the original structure on the oldest continuously-operating Lutheran seminary in the …

The First Battle Of Gettysburg: April 22, 1861, Timothy H. Smith

Adams County History

The fears of invasion voiced by the residents of south-central Pennsylvania prior to the Gettysburg Campaign are often the subject of ridicule in books and articles written on the battle. But to appreciate the events that occurred during the summer of 1863, it is necessary to understand how the citizens were affected by the constant rumors of invasion during the first two years of the war. And although there were many such scares prior to the battle, nothing reached the level of anxiety that was felt during the first few days of the war. On Monday morning, April 15, 1861, …

Adams County History 2010

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

“An Altercation Full Of Meaning”: The Duel Between Francis B. Cutting And John C. Breckinridge, Annie Powers

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

“A Duel!” In late March of 1854, the northern press burst with the news. A duel had allegedly taken place between two members of the House of Representatives—Francis B. Cutting of New York and John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. Confusion and anticipation reigned, and a flurry of rumors circulated. Had Breckinridge been shot in the neck? Was he killed or wounded? Did Cutting emerge victorious? Or was the entire affair a mere hoax? The situation became so dramatic that it even appeared in a theatrical advertisement, beckoning people to see a play that promised to be just as exciting as …

“The Fall Of A Sparrow”: The (Un)Timely Death Of Elmer Ellsworth And The Coming Of The Civil War, Adam Stauffer

The Gettysburg College Journal of the Civil War Era

On the morning of May 24, 1861, a group of Union cadets marched into the city of Alexandria, Virginia. The cohort looked peculiar in their flamboyant Zouave uniforms with bright blue shirts and flashy red sashes. They were led by a dashing young colonel named Elmer Ephraim Ellsworth and charged with occupying the city. Noticing a Confederate flag flying high on the roof of a hotel called the Marshall House, Ellsworth and a few of his men entered the building, determined to bring it down. The trip up the stairs was easygoing and the flag was quickly retrieved without incident. …

'A Beautiful Dream Realized': John S. Rice And The Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Of The Battle Of Gettysburg, Brian Matthew Jordan

Adams County History

"We have real cause for being proud of our past and the heritage it has given us ... We have a rich past ... along with this heritage we have had thrust upon us a deep responsibility," John S. Rice said in 1959. Indeed, it was the same sense of deep responsibility that had motivated him in anticipation of 1938. That year marked the seventy- fifth anniversary of the cataclysmic, three-day battle that was waged in the fields and farm lanes surrounding the seat of his native Adams County, Pennsylvania. Rice's cognizance of the importance not only of the Battle …

John Charles Wills: Reminiscences Of The Three Days Battle Of Gettysburg At The Globe Hotel, Benjamin K. Neely

Adams County History

John Charles Wills left the fullest account of what happened at and around the Globe Inn in the borough of Gettysburg during the Battle. In July of 1910, the Gettysburg Compiler interviewed Wills and printed a short story of his observations and experience during the Gettysburg Campaign entitled, "Battle Days at Globe Inn." In September of 1915, Wills once again shared his memories of the Battle of Gettysburg, this time in greater length. Fifty two years had passed since the battle occurred and Wills was approximately 77 years old. The 1910 and 191 5 reminiscences are remarkably similar indicating perhaps …

Adams County History 2007

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

"The Regiment Bore A Conspicuous Part": A Brief History Of The Eight Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Gibraltar Brigade, Army Of The Potomac, Brian Matthew Jordan

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

On April 10, 1850, a sixteen year-old from Xenia, Ohio named Samuel Sexton copied a stanza of Epes Sargent’s poem, “A Life on the Ocean Wave,” into his notebook:

A life on the ocean wave! A home on the rolling deep!

Where the scattered waters rave, and the winds their revels keep!

Like an eagle caged I pine, on this dull unchanging shore.

Oh give me the flashing brine! The spray and the tempest roar!

Before his death in New York City, July 11, 1896, Sexton would serve as the Assistant Surgeon of the Eighth Ohio Volunteers, his entire service …

George Arnold (1799-1879) And A Town Immortalized, Charles H. Glatfelter

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

"Our Blood Would Rise Up & Drive Them Away:" Slaveholding Women Of South Carolina In The Civil War, Nicole M. Lenart

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Southern slaveholding women during the Civil War are usually portrayed as either Eve or the Virgin Mary. They are either depicted as staunch patriotic wives and mothers who out of love suffered and sacrificed most of their worldly goods for the Cause, or as weak-willed creatures who gave up on the war, asked their men to come home, and concerned themselves with getting pretty dresses from the blockade runners and dancing at elaborate balls and bazaars. This latter view, which seems cut so superficially from Gone With the Wind, is nevertheless one that is common in Civil War scholarship …

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.

A Visit To The Battlefield, Michael J. Birkner, Richard E. Winslow

Adams County History

This piece was transcribed and edited by Michael J. Birkner and Richard E. Winslow.

With fighting concluded at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, the enormous task of burying the dead, treating the wounded, and rehabilitating the town began in earnest. Although Gettysburg looked and smelled worse than it ever had or ever would again, thousands of people arrived on the battlefield in the days and weeks following General Robert E. Lee's retreat. Some came to minister to the sick and reclaim the bodies of neighbors and loved ones; others scavenged souvenirs of the battle. Of the many visits to the …

Veterans Residing In Adams County, Pennsylvania, 1840-1930, Kevin L. Greenholt

Adams County History

The federal decennial census provides a wide-ranging set of data for analysis. The census forms for each ten-year cycle from 1790 until 1930 have been released to the public for access. The tabulations of 1840, 1910, and 1930 contain data relating to the military service of those interviewed by the census enumerator. Compiled here is a list of veterans, listed by Adams County township, who served in the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American War, World War I, or other military actions from 1840 through 1930.

The Gettysburg Battlefield, One Century Ago, Benjamin Y. Dixon

Adams County History

In the fall of 1899, Colonel John Nicholson reported on the recent changes being made to the Gettysburg National Military park. The park held a dedication ceremony that July for a new equestrian statue to General John Reynolds erected northwest of town. It was a shiny goldenbrown, polished-bronze statue sculpted by Henry Kirke Bush-Brown (his second equestrian statue at Gettysburg in three years). The horse and rider, balancing on two legs stood on a large pedestal near the new avenue in his name. Reynolds Avenue and adjoining Wadsworth, Doubleday, and Robinson Avenues were new to the battlefield as well. These …

Adams County History 2000

Adams County History

No abstract provided.

The Civil War Letters Of Jeremiah Mickly Of Franklin Township, Adams County, Eric Ledell Smith

Adams County History

On December 2, 1862, just eleven days before the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Jeremiah Mickly said goodbye to his wife and two children and reported for duty with the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry to become a Civil War chaplain. The only known photograph ofMickly shows him dressed in the standard chaplain's uniform of the day: a plain black frock coat with a standing collar and black buttons with plain black pantaloons. Like many other Civil War soldiers, Mickly re-enlisted for service after his stint with the 177th ended, becoming chaplain of the 43rd Regiment, United States Colored Troops. Impressed with the …

Some Culp Family Members In The Civil War, David A. Culp

Adams County History

In the 1860s Gettysburg had a population of around 2,400. The Culps had lived there since 1787, the year Christopher Culp purchased the farm, located on the east end of town, with its western boundry starting at Baltimore St. between Breckenridge and South Streets, going northeast to South Stratton St. and Wall Alley East, then on to East Middle St. between South Stratton and Liberty Streets. The town more or less ended at the farm boundary. Prominent on the farm and southeast of town was Culp's Hill. Five generations of Culps had lived in Gettysburg by the time of the …

Building A Battle Site: Roads To And Through Gettysburg, Elwood W. Christ

Adams County History

On the morning of 1 July 1863, lead elements of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia advanced on the town of Gettysburg situated in the lush farm lands of south-central Pennsylvania just eight miles east of the South Mountain in Adams county. The Southern reconnaissance in force made early that summer morning was destined not only to change the history of the struggling Confederacy, but also to set the infant United States republic, indeed the world, on courses towards more democratic forms of government.

Although many historians have dwelled on those three fateful days in 1863, few …

William And Isabel: Parallels Between The Life And Times Of The William Bliss Family, Transplanted New Englanders At Gettysburg, And A Nineteenth-Century Novel, 'Isabel Carollton: A Personal Retrospect' By Kneller Glen, Elwood W. Christ

Adams County History

By 3 July 1863, Union troops under the command of General George G. Meade and elements of General Robert E. Lee's Confederate army had struggled for two days over the rolling farm lands, ridges, and rocky crags around a small farming community and county seat known as Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Within the encompassing whirlpool ofbattle, however, smaller dramas had unfolded, and one of them is of interest to us here. The soldiers had been fighting for the possession of a house and barn situated equidistant between the battle lines about one and onequarter miles south-southwest of the town square. During a …

A Tour Of Gettysburg's Visual Battle Damage, Timothy H. Smith

Adams County History

A little-known aspect of the Battle of Gettysburg is the story behind the Civil War battle damage still present m some of the town's buildings. During the first three days of July 1863, cannons fired over and into Gettysburg, and as a result some of the homes were inadvertently struck by the shells. As a battlefield guide, the author has driven by these structures everyday for the past few years, and a highlight of any tour is a stop in front of the Sheads house on Buford Avenue, where one can point up to an artillery shell embedded just to …

Catherine Mary White Foster's Eyewitness Account Of The Battle Of Gettysburg, With Background On The Foster Family Union Soldiers, David A. Murdoch

Adams County History

Catherine Mary White Foster lived with her elderly parents in the red brick house on the northwest corner of Washington and High Streets in Gettysburg at the time of the battle, 1-3 July 1863. She was the only child of James White Foster and Catherine (nee Swope) Foster (a former resident of Lancaster county), who married on 11 May 1817 and settled in Gettysburg, Adams county, Pennsylvania. Her father, James White Foster, had served his country as a first lieutenant in the War of 1812. Her grandparents, James Foster and Catherine (nee White) Foster, had emigrated with her father and …