History Commons^™

Ms-082: Capt. Russell Miller And Claudia Lewis Miller Correspondence, 1916-1919, Amy Sanderson

All Finding Aids

This collection consists of 297 letters written between Russell Miller and Claudia Miller from Washington in 1916-1919 during their courtship and marriage before Russell was deployed to Europe during World War I. Almost all letters are attached to their original envelopes with stamps.

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-078: John B. Young, Company H, Pennsylvania 5th Heavy Artillery Regiment, Amy Sanderson

All Finding Aids

This collection contains the diary of John B. Young from October 30, 1864 to May 20, 1865, mainly commenting on the day to day happenings in his regiment during the winter picket post and guard duty. Entries include daily comments on the weather and the pace of work. Some entries include mention of men captured by rebels, rebel deserters/prisoners, and the progress and frustrations of building the stockades with some comments regarding the African Americans who worked with the timber train.

Special Collections and College Archives Finding Aids are discovery tools used to describe and provide access to our holdings. …

Ms-079: Captain Benjamin F. Lee Collection Regarding 28th Pennsylvania Infantry And John W. Geary, Amy Sanderson

All Finding Aids

The Benjamin F. Lee Collection consists of three series which contain documents relating to requisitions by the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry and correspondence of Lee and John W. Geary between themselves and various other individuals.

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-067: Robert Bell Bradley Papers, Barbara Schuitt

All Finding Aids

This collection is composed of Robert Bell Bradley’s memoirs of his experiences as a medic during combat in France during WWII and his subsequent capture and five months’ imprisonment east of Berlin in a prisoner-of-war facility. Included are poems from that time as well as collections of his general poetry selections and philosophical reflections. There are no letters or other memorabilia from his war experiences.

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 …

Ms-072: Adin B. Thayer, Co. B, 16th Maine Volunteer Infantry, Christopher M. Gwinn

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This collection contains twenty-one Civil War era letters, ranging from 1862-1865, written by Adin Thayer of the 16th Maine. Most of his letters are written to family members prior to his capture and imprisonment in the Confederate prison camp in Salisbury, North Carolina. The final letter in the collection is dated April 26th, 1865 and is addressed to Thayer’s father from Sgt. William Fennelly, of the 16th Maine informing him of his son’s death.

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 …

Ms-073: Alexander C. Barr, Battery F, 3rd Independent Pa Light Artillery, Christopher M. Gwinn

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The Alexander Barr collection consists of 17 letters written in between March 14, 1864 and June 3, 1865. The majority of the letters are addressed to his brother Charles in Taylorstown, PA, with the exception of at least one letter composed for his brother Jeff in April, 1864. Most of the letters in the collection date from the time Barr served on Maryland Heights and Harper’s Ferry. Included in the letters are Barr’s experiences as a new recruit in the artillery with topics ranging from the “very poor grub” at the artillery cookhouse, the oppressiveness of the summer weather and …

Ms-074: Thomas B. Mcgaffick, Co. F, 101st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Christopher M. Gwinn

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The letters of Thomas B. McGaffick, a corporal in Company F of the 101st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry range in date from January 19th, 1861 to February 11, 1863. The collection contains twenty two pieces of correspondence, including two fragments of letters along with a number of official documents relating to McGaffick’s discharge from the army. The letters are all addressed to members of Thomas’s family, including his sisters Belle and Mary, his brother Benjamin and his parents. The letters address a variety of subjects ranging from the rigors of army life to McGaffick’s constant battle with his own health. Thomas …

Ms-075: Henry W. Siebert, Company E, 16th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, Christopher M. Gwinn

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The Henry W. Siebert journals, of which there are two, cover the years 1863 and 1865 respectively. The journals themselves are leather bound notebooks closed with straps, the whole measuring 3 inches by 6 inches. The 1863 volume numbers 90 pages, with entries for every day. The 1865 diary numbers 150 pages and has entries for January 1, 1865 through May 24, 1865. The entries are generally short in nature, not exceeding a paragraph in length. The text is normally limited to a discussion of the morning weather, general activity of the day and the geographic location reached by nightfall. …

Ms-076: George C. Wynkoop, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Dept. Of Pennsylvania, Christopher M. Gwinn

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This collection consists of records from George Wynkoop’s service as a Brigadier General in the three month Pennsylvania Volunteers. Over three hundred pieces of correspondence, orders, forms, and daily reports make up the collection. The correspondence and reports come from a variety of locals at which the Department of Pennsylvania set up camp. Locations include Camp Scott and Camp Chambers, Pennsylvania, Hagerstown, Maryland and Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (Today West Virginia).

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 …

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

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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 …

Interview With Robert O'Brien, January 9, 2006, Robert O'Brien, Michael J. Birkner

Oral Histories

Robert O'Brien was interviewed on January 9, 2006 by Michael J. Birkner about his military service during World War II and his years as a student at Gettysburg College. He discusses his childhood and time at Muhlenberg College, before he enlisted in the US Navy Air Corps and served at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida. After the war he came to Gettysburg on a basketball scholarship. He discusses his experience as a physics major, fraternity brother, and college athlete.

Length of Interview: 94 minutes

Collection Note: This oral history was selected from the Oral History Collection maintained by …

Book Review: Thaddeus Stevens In Gettysburg: The Making Of An Abolitionist, Peter C. Vermilyea

Adams County History

Over a million and a half tourists visit Gettysburg every year, finding the quintessence of American history in the borough and surrounding battlefields. Had the great battle been fought elsewhere, it is likely that Gettysburg's legacy in American history would instead be the town where Thaddeus Stevens spent the formative years of his legal practice and political career. As the subtitle to Dr. Bradley R. Roch's new book, Thaddeus Stevens in Gettysburg: The Making of an Abolitionist, makes abundantly clear, it is also the town where the man often put forward as the most radical of Radical Republicans formulated his …

March Into Oblivion, Larry C. Bolin

Adams County History

The Whiskey Rebellion often is assigned, even by historians, to an obscurity which belies its significance. Its importance was major not only to the people most affected by its cause and those most intimately involved in the playing out of the events, but also to the young federal government, which had to demonstrate its authority yet not trample its own citizens. The situation held a very real potential for tearing apart the fragile nation. President George Washington felt strongly enough about it to involve himself personally in the beginnings of the military action. In the last few years of the …

What Is An Anzac? An American Response To Australian Warriors, Brandon P. Roos

The Gettysburg Historical Journal

Rarely, in the annals of historical memory does one find a story as compelling and depressing as the narrative of the ANZACs. Never have men fought so bravely and ultimately so futilely to protect a land they only knew from history and geography books. With a deep sense of responsibility and youthful nationalism, these Australians and New Zealanders volunteered for service to the British Crown. Few knew their actions and the actions of their comrades and enemies would result in the war to end all wars, World War I. Few Australians knew their engagements would be covered in many of …