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The Attack on Chattanooga, June 7, 1862
Map of Road from Jasper to Chattanooga (on the right edge of the map)Detail of Map by N. Michler, 1862 (Library of Congress) From Sweeden's Cove to Chattanooga After a perfectly executed surprise...
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The Week the War Changed for Lancaster
Gaines' Mill Battlefield (vws)Before June 26, 1862, the Lancaster community's exposure to combat casualties had been limited. Only a few of the twenty or so companies recruited in Lancaster County had...
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Auctions I Missed
Civil War Grouping of Capt. William D. Reitzel, Co. G, 2nd Penna. ReservesSold by Alderfer Auctions in 2010Although my research on this site primarily relies upon soldiers' accounts published in period...
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With the US Military Telegraph on the Peninsula Campaign
Lowe's Balloon Ascension (Source)Seeing a post today by Craig Swain on the actions of the U.S. Signal Corps jostled my memory to remind me that there was a letter about telegraph operations in the...
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A Fourth of July Barbacue with the 79th Pa and the People of Shelbyville, Tenn
Union Soldiers in Shelbyville, Tennessee(Harper's Weekly October 18, 1862)After their expedition to Chattanooga in early June 1862 and a couple weeks of rest afterwards, the next excitement in the...
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Capt. Emanuel D. Roath's Civil War
Last week, I posted about a couple lots and items sold at auction which I was sad to have missed. Much to my surprise and pleasure, I was contacted by the new owner, John Mulcahy, of the photograph...
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Cut Off
Monument of the 7th Penna. Cav.(PA at Chickamauga and Chattanooga)After the Union excursion to Chattanooga in early June 1862 (in which the 79th Pennsylvania played a central role), Confederate General...
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The USS Essex, CSS Arkansas, and 4th Master D. P. Rosenmiller
Destruction of the CSS Arkansas by the USS Essex, August 6, 1862 (Library of Congress)Continuing the trend of literate Lancasterians serving aboard various vessels in the Western Theater, the Lancaster...
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Bully for Old Lancaster, Cock-a-Doodle Doo
In the second week of August 1862, Union General Don Carlos Buell and Confederate General Braxton Bragg began putting their armies in motion. Bragg put his army in motion to strike north into...
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Back to Kentucky (Twice)
On August 22, 1862, the 79th Pennsylvania undid six months' of work as it crossed the border to reenter Kentucky for the first time since February 28. Rather than focus on the rapidly deteriorating...
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'Officers and Men Alike Were Heroes': Lancaster at South Mountain
The Battle for Fox's Gap, in which the 45th Pennsylvania participated.(Library of Congress)Corresponding to Friday's 150th anniversary of the Battle of South Mountain, here are some words and images of...
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Reaction to American Experience's "Death and the Civil War"
Tombstone of Capt. John H. DysartWoodward Hill CemeteryAlerted by Kevin Levin's review, I watched American Experience's two-hour documentary, "Death and the Civil War." Overall, I thought it was well...
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After Antietam
Confederate Dead near the Dunker Church on the Antietam Battlefield. Multiple civilians from Lancaster visited this site in the days after the battle. (Library of Congress)The Battle of Antietam had...
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'Finally Arrived at Louisville'
Buell's Army Enters Louisville (HW 10/18/1862)As the sun rose on September 26, 1862, the Lancaster County Regiment marched into the city that one year previous had welcomed the regiment to the war's...
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'In Hot Pursuit': The March to Perryville
Buell's Army in Pursuit of Bragg (HW 10/25/1862)After what amounted to a long weekend in Louisville that ranked among "the most agreeable and pleasant times" we have experienced since our departure...
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The 79th Pennsylvania in the Battle of Perryville: Arrival on the Battlefield
The following narrative tells the story of the Lancaster County Regiment in its first battle, the Battle of Perryville. It is my attempt to synthesize over a dozen primary source accounts of the 79th...
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The 79th Pennsylvania in the Battle of Perryville: The Fight
Engraving entitled ""Battle of Perryville--The Extreme Left--Starkweather's Brigade" (Library of Congress)I wonder if this intends to show the Confederate attack on the 21st Wisconsin in the cornfield...
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A Slave in Lancaster County on the Eve of the Civil War?
"Historical Geography" map about Slavery, 1888 (See discussion at Civil War Memory)While researching Samuel Evans, native of Columbia and Quartermaster of the 5th Pennsylvania Reserves, for his...
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The Tragedy of the Pa Reserves at Fredericksburg
A photo between shots from Fredericksburg scenes of Gods and Generals in 2001 (vws)Perhaps the most tragically heroic action on any Civil War battlefield occurred on December 13, 1862, at the Battle of...
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A Battle Casualty, a Desperate Father, and a Community in Mourning
Railroad running through Fredericksburg Battlefield near where the 5th Pennsylvania Reserves fought and Sergt. Edward M. Shreiner was mortally wounded. (NPS)Continuing a minor focus on the biographies...
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