Pennsylvania Civil War 150

16/11/2016

PENN TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) Three black Civil War veterans will be honored and given a proper burial at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery.

25/06/2015

15/05/2015

He was alive when Abraham Lincoln was president. He fought in the Civil War. And his daughter is still alive.

19/04/2015

HARRISBURG — One hundred fifty years ago, crowds waited in the rainy streets of Pennsylvania’s capital for a train carrying the body of Abraham Lincoln. “It seemed as though Nature, sympathizing with poor humanity, had caught the spirit of the universal gloom and had donned the garb of mourning,” th…

18/12/2014

Happy 198th Birthday, Indiana! Abraham Lincoln was just seven years old when he and his family moved to Indiana. This is what Abraham Lincoln wrote about his arrival, "We reached our new home about the time the State came into the Union. It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals in the woods. There I grew up."

04/12/2014

Another cool photo, this one from Library of Congress! A group of camp boys, almost all of them wearing different coats. The original description doesn't list a date or location, but it looks like a winter camp.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003004925/PP/

04/12/2014

Because we like you all so much, we’re going to let you in on a little secret: volunteering at the Battle of New Orleans bicentennial is going to be one of the best ways to experience it. You’ll be a part of history yourself, you’ll get to meet living history reenactors from all over the world, and you’ll be on the battlefield before it opens to the public in the morning or after it closes in the evening (which is the perfect time to take a minute to pretend it’s 1815---last January’s fog was particularly magical). All the info on how to sign up is at the link---see you on the battlefield in January! http://www.nps.gov/jela/battle-of-new-orleans-bicentennial.htm

17/11/2014

In honor of Veterans Day, here are images of a very special group of who gathered 101 years ago on the at .

courtesy of the Pennsylvania State Archives

04/11/2014

Learn more about the important role that balloons played during the Seven Days' Campaign outside of Richmond in the summer of 1862.

03/11/2014

We wanted to show you this print, created in 1885, that depicts U.S. Grant from West Point to Appomattox. Surrounding the portrait of Grant are scenes of his life, starting with his graduation from West Point in 1843; artillery crew in Tower of Chapultepec, Mexico, 1847; drilling volunteers in 1861; Fort Donelson, 1862; Shiloh, 1862, Chattanooga, 1863, appointment by Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief of Union Armies, 1864; and Lee's surrender in 1865 at Appomattox.

29/10/2014

In the predawn darkness of Oct. 28, 1864, arguably the greatest feat of arms in American military history was performed on the Roanoke River at Plymouth, N.C. ...

29/10/2014

29/10/2014

The contending armies in Georgia set off in different directions: Union Gen. William T. Sherman marched for "the sea" while Gen. John B. Hood led his Confederates into Tennessee. On the home front, Maryland's slaves were finally declared free.

22/10/2014

Today we have two young faces from each side of the Mason-Dixon line. At left is an unknown youngster in a Confederate uniform, while at right is an unknown Union counterpart. Were they drummer boys? Camp attendants? In these two cases we are unsure, but it is still sobering to realize how young some of the participants on either side of the war actually were.

22/10/2014

(Actually, I'd kinda like one of these for SCA archery...)

A side view of a three quarter length white cotton Marcella archery jacket with pagoda sleeves, trimmed in military style with braid and covered conical buttons. Worn by Mrs. F***y Giveen (1833-1863), the wife of Captain Xavier Giveen.

Artist/Photographer/Maker Unknown

Date 1855 AD - 1855 AD

Museum of London (via Print Division)

- See more at: http://theebonswan.blogspot.com/2014/10/ladies-archery-jacket-1855.html .nCqY1TX4.dpuf

Pin it here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/269230883949738319/

13/10/2014

This site contains biographies of soldiers from the Davis, Englebert, Desport, Fulton, Mullenix, Plotner and Walker families who fought during the Civil War.

13/10/2014

We’re excited to announce the acquisition of a rare and previously unknown Civil War era stereo view photograph of enslaved housekeeper Selina Gray and two of her daughters. This extraordinary find was made by National Park Service Volunteer Dean DeRosa while perusing the online auction website, eBay. The seller, based in England, had found the photograph in a box of “unwanted” photographs at a “boot fair” in Kent, England. The Arlington House friends group, Save Historic Arlington House, Inc., jumped into action to bid on the item and, against stiff competition, won the auction. The photograph itself is priceless and will be an invaluable addition to the park’s museum collection, as identifiable period images of enslaved people are extremely rare. Only one other Civil War period photograph taken on site at Arlington House of an enslaved person owned by the Custis and Lee family has ever been known to exist prior to this discovery and that person is unidentified.

Selina Gray was a woman of great importance to the history of Arlington House. A house maid from her youth, she developed a close relationship with Mary Custis Lee, Robert E. Lee’s wife. She was married in the same parlor as the Lee’s and she and her husband, Thornton, raised seven children in the small quarters behind Arlington House. When the Civil War began and the Lee family left Arlington, Mary Lee entrusted care and protection of the home and many valuables to Selina Gray. When Mrs. Gray learned of Union soldiers breaking into the mansion and stealing precious Washington family heirlooms she confronted their commander, General McDowell who removed the items for safekeeping. Selina and her family were freed by the will of George Washington Parke Custis in December, 1862, but continued to live on the estate for several years. Their descendants are numerous and some still live in the area. Her children were instrumental in the restoration of Arlington House in the 1920s and ‘30s.

The photograph will be unveiled to the public in a ceremony at 2:00pm on Saturday, October 11 as part of our special program on African American history at Arlington House. For more information, visit the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1475169356085188/

07/10/2014

Detail of the wonderful "Wounded Indians" photo taken May 1864 on Marye's Heights, Fredericksburg, showing a small group of which I have long taken notice. The wounded soldier pausing his writing or drawing with his foot wrapped in what looks like a piece of a striped blanket stripped, is flashing one of the most genuine smiles in all Civil War photography. Perhaps he's happy that his wound has taken him out of the war, at least for a time.

07/10/2014

Civil War Program STARTING SOON: 6pm & 10pm ET today on C-SPAN3 - Railroads & the Civil War
IMAGE: Atlanta in 1864, Library of Congress

03/10/2014

The 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Franklin Reenactment, presented by the Battle of Franklin Trust, will be held November 15 and 16 on Eastern Flank Battlefield Park, adjacent to Carnton Plantation, in Franklin, Tenn.

Reenactors from all over the country will recreate two different scenarios from the 1864 Battle of Franklin, with a different scene being depicted each day:

November 15: The Columbia Pike Sector and Fighting Near the Carter House
Sunday, November 16: A. P. Stewart's Advance Against the Federal Left Flank

Learn more here: http://ow.ly/C6NWx

03/10/2014

By the time Confederate Maj. Gen. Sterling Price invaded Missouri in September 1864, he had earned a reputation for his men’s lack of discipline ...

01/10/2014

Special thanks to Thomas Badye Grott for sending us this picture of the grave of Colonel Edward Frisby. This final resting place in Albany, New York--far from the theater of war in Virginia--serves of a reminder of the wide-ranging impact of distant battles on families and friends on the Northern and Southern homefronts. Col. Frisby commanded the 30th New York at Second Manassas. On the third day of the battle, the 30th participated in the failed Union attack at the Deep Cut, during which Frisby was struck first in the jaw, then mortally in the head.

Be sure to check out the Civil War Trust's article about the 30th New York's participation in the fight of August 30, 1862, at http://goo.gl/50uPt4

01/10/2014

On this day 150 years ago, Confederate war clerk John B. Jones noted that fighting had occurred near Fort Harrison out on the New Market Heights south east of Richmond.September 30th.—Cloudy, and occasional showers. None of the papers except the Whig were published this morning, the printers, etc. b

29/09/2014

AASLH highlight "The Civil War in Pennsylvania: A Photographic History" in one it its blog entries about AASLH award winners! The book is still available at http://shopPAheritage.com , the State Museum Store in Harrisburg, the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, and at a number of other outlets. Thanks, AASLH!

PA Civil War 150 Senator John Heinz History Center Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation

25/09/2014

Gettysburg National Military Park staff returned the granite Battery F, 5th US Artillery monument to its original location, within the footprint of the old Cyclorama building in Ziegler’s Grove, today, September 24. The monument was moved from its original location in the early 1960s to make way for the construction of the Cyclorama building. Now that the demolition of the Cyclorama building is complete, funded by the Gettysburg Foundation, the monument has been returned to its original location.

The monument represents the 116 men of Battery F, 5th United States Artillery who were led at Gettysburg by First Lieutenant Leonard Martin, a twenty-two year old West Point graduate. They brought six ten-pounder Parrott rifles to the battlefield and belonged to Col. Charles Thompson's artillery brigade of the 6th Army Corps. On July 3rd, following the repulse of Pickett's Charge and the two-hour artillery bombardment that preceded it, the battery was ordered to limber up and report to the front. Around 4:00 p.m. the battery occupied a position in Ziegler's Grove on the northern extension of Cemetery Ridge. They remained here as a reserve for the rest of the battle, not engaged and suffering no casualties. Beginning in 1907 the United States War Department began marking the position of regiments and batteries belonging to the regular army. The granite marker indicating the position of Battery F, 5th US Artillery was placed during this time and is the battery's only representation on the field.

24/09/2014

This remarkable man risked his life to undermine the Confederacy yet remained close to his former owner after the Civil War

24/09/2014

Unexploded Civil War artillery shell discovered at Richmond National Battlefield Park’s Fort Gilmer unit

22/09/2014