In the initial three chapters that comprise Part 1, Franco deftly covers the backstory of the general training and education process (or lack thereof in some cases) that a typical surgeon or assistant surgeon undertook before becoming a physician. She uses examples from dozens of doctors who served at Gettysburg to illustrate the diversity of medical expertise and training prior to the men joining the respective armies. Some continued their educations while in the field, learning “on the job” from more experienced and better trained surgeons.

Part II covers the battle of Gettysburg day by day in the first two chapters, and then the subsequent relief efforts in Chapters 6-9, Using primary material from medical records, diaries, letters, army reports, and the like, Barbara Franco expertly tells the story of the challenges the surgeons faced in treating tens of thousands of casualties in a town with limited medical facilities (the nearest army hospital was in York, PA, some 30 miles to the east of Gettysburg). Patients arrived with gunshot and artillery injuries of all sorts; some requiring immediate, life-saving medical care while others were left waiting until an opportune time to treat their less serious injuries. Many of these physicians left written accounts of their experiences; Franco has mined these to provide a solid overview of what the surgeons (and those soldiers under their care) went through.

The final section of the book deals with a selection of surgeons and how they progressed through the war and in civilian life the rest of the century. Some faced difficulties adjusting to routine medical practice; others flourished. A few made the army their career.

The book has a scattering of photographs of selected surgeons. The footnotes and citations are valuable to researchers wanting more information and details from the source material.  To learn more about this well-written and useful new addition to the burgeoning Gettysburg historiography, please visit the publisher’s website.

Joseph Richburg, Operations Manager for Lebanon Cemetery, reads the new Civil War Trails sign which recounts the story of Reverend Jesse S. Cowles and helps visitors find the other graves of African American Civil War veterans. Located at 1412 N. George St., York, PA. Photo courtesy of Civil War Trails, Inc.

First Civil War Trails Marker in the City of York to Remember Black Veterans
Lebanon Cemetery becomes the first Civil War Trails site in the City of York, PA

YORK, PA – On Tuesday, April 2, Lebanon Cemetery became the first Civil War Trails site in the City of York, Pennsylvania. The multi-state Civil War Trails program offers more than 1,500 sites for travelers, enabling them to stand in the footsteps of historic events and people. Lebanon Cemetery, located at 1412 N. George St., is administered by the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery who work to honor the early African American community members from York County.

Samantha Dorm, Advisor for the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery, said, “The Cemetery’s inclusion in the Civil War Trails program not only honors the memory of those laid to rest here, but also serves as a gathering place of inspiration and learning for current and future generations.” The Friends of Lebanon Cemetery recently unveiled this new marker during a dedication of headstones for five veterans this past Saturday, April 13. The Friends worked with the National Cemetery Association and local office of Veterans Affairs on this notable event. More than 100 visitors & volunteers were present for the Military Headstone Dedication.

The new marker was made possible thanks to a partnership between the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery, Explore York, and Civil War Trails, Inc. The Friends provided a wealth of information to help create the new interpretive sign now located just inside the Cemetery gates. A grant offered by Explore York covered the initial costs. Explore York will also cover the annual membership fee associated with the Civil War Trails program. This ensures ongoing sign maintenance and promotion of the program to not only history-loving travelers, but all travelers.

The Civil War Trails program has been expanding its footprint into Pennsylvania, the sixth state to join the initiative. There are twelve new sites under development in York County, but this is the first to be added in the city. “We’re thrilled to have this program in York County,” said Melissa Beaverson, Director of Destination Marketing for Explore York. “Travelers from around the world seek out these historical sites, and as they do they experience our local restaurants, shops, and all things that make York County unique.”

To find out more about Lebanon Cemetery, visit FriendsOfLebanonCemetery.com. To begin planning your trip, visit YorkPA.org and request our 2024 travel guide today. For more information about Civil War Trails, visit CivilWarTrails.org. Be sure to snap a #signselfie during your visit and post it with hashtags #civilwartrails and #ExploreYorkPA.

Samantha Dorm (left) and Joseph Richburg from the Friends of Lebanon Cemetery joined Melissa Beaverson (right) from Explore York on April 2 for sign installation. Photo courtesy of Civil War Trails, Inc.

Jamaal Lampkin (left) and Director Daniel Devine from the National Cemetery Administration, a division of the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, visiting from Washington D.C. The Friends hosted the official unveiling on April 13. 

George Alfred Townsend is not widely known today outside of hardcore Civil War circles, but in his day, he was one of the most talented and best-known newspaper correspondents and journalists in North America, with several novels also to his credit. Townsend was born in Delaware in January 1841 and went to work for a newspaper in Philadelphia. He then moved to the New York Herald in 1861, where he worked as a field correspondent. He is considered to be the youngest correspondent in the Civil War.  After the war, he wrote extensively on a variety of topics and constructed a spacious home, Gathland, on the Crampton’s Gap portion of the South Mountain battlefield. He also commissioned the War Correspondents Memorial Arch, which still stands on the battlefield along the wartime pike.

Of particular interest to Civil War buffs is his 1866 memoir titled Campaigns of a Non-combatant and His Romaunt Abroad During the War. Long out of print, for many decades scholars and researchers could only access the book through special collection libraries or inter-library loan programs. With the advent of the Internet, digitized transcripts became available. What the original book and the subsequent Internet versions lacked was context, footnotes, clarifications, and an editor’s touch. That has now been resolved.

Jeff Biggs has completed work on an abridged, deftly annotated version of Townsend’s classic work. Published in 2024 through Hardtack Books, this new version is highly readable and informative. The editor has skillfully interwoven most of Townsend’s original verbiage with slight revisions to clarify the text (replacing obsolete or outdated words, for example) and make it appealing to modern readers who may be unfamiliar with young Townsend’s writings. Footnotes offer additional background and occasionally note errors or misconceptions by Townsend. Biggs’ work is strong, and makes the original text come alive. The use of carefully selected photographs (not present in the 1886 version) further enhances this volume.

Cannonball blogger’s rating: Two thumbs up!

The Confederate cavalrymen were deep in enemy territory and in desperate need of rest.

It was the early evening of Wednesday, July 1, 1863. South Mountain cast shadows from the setting sun as Confederate Brigadier General Wade Hampton III and his brigade rode through the streets of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and headed out the road toward Carlisle. Two of brigades of Major General J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry division of the Army of Northern Virginia were somewhere ahead of Hampton farther to the northwest in Cumberland County. Stuart himself, with the brigade of Fitzhugh Lee (Robert E. Lee’s nephew), would ride all the way to Carlisle where he would encounter Union troops. His guide, Isaac Fishel of the Union Army’s 166th Pennsylvania, later was tried for desertion and piloting Lee’s brigade through York County. The treasonous York Countian was convicted and sentenced to death (his penalty was later reduced to ten years in prison).

Stuart left orders for General Hampton, protecting about 125 captured Union supply wagons, to set up camp outside of Dillsburg and await further orders. Hampton complied, only to be roused after midnight with new orders to head toward Gettysburg to the southwest, where a battle had raged all day against the Union Army of the Potomac.

Soon, Hampton’s exhausted troopers were back in the saddle again and on the march through the darkness toward York Springs.

The exact site of Hampton’s campsite, the last camp of any organized Confederates in York County, remains somewhat uncertain.

What is known is that Hampton camped on land owned by John Mumper, a horticulturist noted for developing the popular Mumper Vandervere strain of apples.

Here’s what I wrote in my short book, Confederate Calamity: Jeb Stuart’s Cavalry Ride Through York County, Pa.

“John Mumper’s farm was located in Carroll Township at the corner of today’s Route 74 and Campground Road, only a couple of miles from Dillsburg. Nearby, the family mined iron ore, hauling it eight miles on wagons to Mechanicsburg, the nearest railroad station. His sons ran the daily affairs of the farm and mine. Perhaps as many as 1,700 Rebels camped on the 46-year-old Mumper’s farm on July 1. Weeks later, he would die from a massive heart attack.”

Mumper owned at least three farms near Dillsburg, the one near Campground Road northwest of town along today’s Route 74 (the suspected campsite), another one northeast of town off of today’s Harrisburg Pike on Mumper Lane (near modern Calvary United Methodist Church), and the third one close by to the second. I have circled these on this detail from the 1860 Shearer & Lake Map of York County (Library of Congress).

Confederates destroyed Mumper’s prized orchard by breaking off limbs and eating the apples. Wood from the trees and fencing became fuel for Rebel campfires.

While John Mumper had several orchards, I suspect his farm along Route 74 is where Hampton camped. That location gave the Rebels a nearby source of water in Dogwood Run, as well as being on the same road that Stuart and Lee had taken to Carlisle. John Chambliss’s brigade was not far away just across the Cumberland-York county line.

I photographed the suspected campsite in early September 2020.

Another view from Campground Road.

I did not get a chance to speak to the current homeowners about their knowledge of the history of this farm. I am told that at one time, the sprawling apple orchard stretched up the mountainside. A reminder: This is private property so please do not trespass or hunt for Confederate relics without authorization.

Perhaps the keenest interest was in Great Britain and Ireland. Authorized Confederate agents  in England worked to acquire arms such as Enfield rifles, ammunition, supplies, medicine, and naval vessels from the British, often trading cotton or gold for necessary war materiel. Daring blockade runners slipped through the Union blockaders, testing the Union’s ability to enforce what had been deemed as the Anaconda Plan to squeeze the life from the Confederacy by bottling up its key ports. Other Brits openly supported the Union government. Irishmen, sometimes with family members in the opposing armies in America, were open in their disdain or support for Abraham Lincoln’s war.

Talented novelist J.P. Maxwell has written a compelling new historical fiction the neatly captures these divergent sentiments in wartime Liverpool. Set against the backdrop of political intrigue, international espionage, and divided loyalties, Water Street: He’s here to win the War; His wife is here to stop him adds the element of familial discord and disloyalty to the already potent mix. Commander Xavier Banastre Dunwoody is a Confederate agent working with the British to launch a powerful new ironclad to aid the Rebel cause. He also is scheming behind the scenes on a daring plan that could tip the balance of power decidedly to the Confederates—goading the unsuspecting British to join the war effort, a move that should lead to the Union capitulating and allowing the South to gain its formal independence. Unknown to Dunwoody, his cunning and charming Southern belle wife Harriet is working covertly with a small network of companions to thwart his ambitious plans and save the Union.

Maxwell neatly introduces the characters, provides enough of a glimpse into their backstories and life experiences to give plausible explanations for their divided loyalties, and supports the unfolding storyline with a myriad of interesting side characters. We meet Conte Marie-Louise Louverture, the beautiful granddaughter of famed Haitian revolutionary Toussaint Louverture. She becomes Harriet’s confidant and chief accomplice. Mr. Ake is the local law in Liverpool. Fervent in his quest to keep the peace and punish wrongdoers, the “West African leviathan” runs the “busiest bridewell gaol in the entire city.” Many other lesser (and some major) characters come and go (often violently, it turns out) as the plot unfolds.

Water Street is filled with intrigue, double-crosses, murders, and twists. Written for a British audience, some of the phrases, locations, idioms, and mannerisms may not be as familiar to American readers who have not had the fortune of spending much time in the UK. Those of us who have frequently England in business or pleasure will have an easier time with the local jargon. Maxwell’s storyline is brilliantly conceived and executed and, frankly, would make an interesting baseline for a film adaptation.

Click on this link to visit the publisher’s webpage for Water Street. This second link goes to the book’s page on GoodReads. This is the first book in the planned Harriet Farrell series.

Yet, it is his performance at Gettysburg that has drawn the most attention to the general over the years. He is oft depicted in the media as slow and stubborn, launching Pickett’s Charge reluctantly on July 3 after delaying the planned grand assault on July 2 for hours by a lengthy countermarch.

In recent years, Longstreet has enjoyed somewhat of a revival in modern Civil War circles. Artist Gary Casteel sculpted an equestrian statue of Longstreet that stands in Pitzer’s Woods off of West Confederate Avenue, decades after another planned statue failed to gain enough support to become reality. Several authors have issued fresh biographies of the general in recent years, adding the previously lean historiography.

Among those modern scholars is Cory M. Pfarr. The Marylander’s most recent book is titled Righting the Longstreet Record at Gettysburg: Six Matters of Controversy and Confusion (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co., 2023). The author’s passion for the subject and the depth of his research is evident throughout this new 204-page work.

Pfarr has sectioned his book into six chapters, each one an independent essay yet linked with the common theme that many historians have unjustly criticized Longstreet without examining all of the available evidence. As the author states, his intention was to produce “a carefully sifted story of the records,” one that in the end exonerates Longstreet to a large degree. Confederate intelligence failures, unexpectedly strong Union performances among the leadership and rank and file, miscommunications, etc. plagued Lee’s army at Gettysburg. Singling out Longstreet as a prime culprit for the Confederate defeat in Pennsylvania has been a popular thread in many secondary books on the battle of Gettysburg. Pfarr looks at available primary resources, including battle accounts from Longstreet’s peers, to dispel some of the longstanding criticisms of Longstreet.

Righting the Longstreet Record at Gettysburg is lavishly illustrated with maps from cartographer Hal Jespersen (no stranger to Civil War readers), period photos, and modern images. The graphics nicely augment and support the prose, helping the reader to better understand what Longstreet and his men actually accomplished at Gettysburg.

Among the topics that Pfarr tackles are the arguments for and against Longstreet’s performance on July 2, 1863, most notably the controversial countermarch that has drawn so much attention from writers for 160 years. He dives deeply into the origins of the criticisms of the general, including the post-war dialogue in the press and in private correspondence. His concluding chapter looks at Longstreet’s widow, Helen, and her early 20th-century efforts to rectify the image of her husband and his relationship with Robert E. Lee.

All in all, this book is sure to evoke new interest in the historical record of James Longstreet at Gettysburg and how the popular misconceptions and controversies came into the stream of consciousness over the past century in particular. Cory Pfarr has raised the bar in Longstreet research (again, joining his previous fine book, Longstreet at Gettysburg.

Pick up a copy from your favorite book dealer and judge for yourself if the longstanding traditions about Longstreet are, as the author puts it, a “vestige of the postwar Lost Cause, anti-Longstreet group’s agenda that has managed to survive into the present day.”

Rating: Five stars.

Here is John’s compelling story of David Thompson.

Several years ago, I was conducting research on Civil War soldiers buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Hanover, PA.  One day I discovered a gravesite that immediately caught my attention.  The headstone identified the man as David Thompson, Co. B, 22^nd U. S. C. V. I.  (United States Colored Volunteer Infantry.)  I had never heard of an African-American Civil War soldier from Hanover, and my curiosity was further heightened by the fact that none of the local historians I consulted knew anything about Thompson; he appeared to be a complete “mystery man.”

While there will be much about this soldier that we will never know, several personal facts can be gleaned from his pension file and compiled service record in the National Archives, along with various census and tax records.  In combination with the chronicle of service rendered by the 22^nd United States Colored Infantry Regiment, a compelling story can be told regarding the role of this Hanover area soldier in the U. S. Civil War.

David Thompson was born in Carroll County, Maryland (date unknown).  It is unclear when he moved to Pennsylvania, but statements by David indicate that by 1863 he had resided in Heidelberg Township, York County, for at least five years.  By that time David was approximately 38 years old, and his wife Mary was approximately 40.  By 1863, they had been married several years and had four children: Samuel, Hannah, Emily, and Abraham, whose ages in 1863 would have been approximately 19, 17, 6, and 1, respectively.  (Those approximate ages surmised from evidence in the 1870 census.)

On December 12, 1863, David enlisted in the 22^nd U. S. C. T. Regiment.  (The regiments that were formed under the direction of the Bureau of Colored Troops were often referred to as U. S. C. T. regiments.)  The following description of David was given at the time of his enlistment:

Age-36

Height-5’10 ½”

Complexion-Black

Eyes-Black

Hair-Black

Occupation-Laborer

By the time the war ended the 22^nd was U. S. C. T. would see action in some diverse geographical locations and also be assigned to some very unique duties.  The regiment was organized in Camp William Penn, Philadelphia, beginning in January 1864.  By April of that year the 22^nd was integrated into the Eighteenth Corps, Army of the James.  In May and early June, the regiment participated in various unsuccessful attempts by Gen. Benjamin Butler to threaten Richmond and Petersburg.

The regiment’s first major combat occurred when Gen. William Smith, commander of the Eighteenth Corps, was ordered to launch attacks against Petersburg.  The outer defense for Petersburg was an imposing ring of earthworks known as the “Dimmock Line”.  This position could be described as a large fort, but in early June of 1864 the Confederates holding it had one big disadvantage – at that time, they did not have the numbers to adequately cover such a long defensive perimeter. (A situation that would change significantly in the next several days.)  On the evening of June 15th Union forces, including several U. S. C. T. regiments, assaulted this undermanned, but still very formidable position.

During this assault, David Thompson was wounded when a bullet or shell fragment struck the U. S. plate of his belt.  Possibly the belt plate saved his life; but the plate was driven into his abdomen causing a serious wound.  He claimed that although he was “knocked senseless” at that point, he recovered and assisted in the attack.

Union troops captured over a mile of the “Dimmock Line” that evening, including several batteries that were part of that Confederate defensive perimeter.  Unfortunately, Union forces were not able to follow up on these initial gains.  Breakdowns in coordination the next few days, along with stiffening Confederate resistance, would buy enough time until much larger numbers of Southern troops reached Petersburg.

Several U. S. C. T. regiments had taken part in the attacks and their conduct had not gone unnoticed.  Chaplain William S. Hunter of the 4th U. S. C. T. declared that June 15th was “the day when prejudice died in the entire Army of the U. S. of America.  It is the day when it was admitted that colored men were equal to the severest ordeal.”  While Hunter’s hopes regarding the death of prejudice against Black troops were certainly idealistic, the actions of these regiments (and many more acts of courage and heroism by U. S. C. T. units) would have a lasting impact in Union military circles.

Meanwhile, David spent at least five months recuperating from his wound in Virginia hospitals, rejoining his unit in late 1864.  In December of 1864 his regiment was assigned to the newly formed Twenty-Fifth Corps (a corps composed entirely of African-American regiments).   In the spring of 1865 the 22^nd U. S. C. T. participated in the capture of Richmond and was one of the first regiments to enter the city on April 3.

The assassination of President Lincoln had a profound impact upon many African-American soldiers and the men of Thompson’s regiment may have been effected most of all. Orders were sent from Washington for one U. S. C. T. regiment to be selected to participate in the funeral ceremonies.  Gen. Godfrey Weitzel picked the 22^nd on “account of its excellent discipline and good soldierly qualities.”  At least one correspondent noted that same discipline and skill shown by the troops during their ceremonial duties in the Lincoln funeral procession.

It is interesting to ponder what David’s emotions might have been during the funeral proceedings.  And, this event was not the only military exercise relating to the president’s death that involved the 22^nd U. S. C. T.  – a few days later the regiment joined the hunt for John Wilkes Booth.  From April 23 – 27, the men scoured the Maryland countryside along the lower Potomac in pursuit of the assassin, usually moving in a widely dispersed skirmishing formation.  When word was received of Booth’s fate, the regiment was ordered back to Virginia.

By the summer of 1865 a completely different phase of service began for the 22^nd U. S. C. T.  The regiment was assigned to duty along the Rio Grande as U. S. troops tried to establish security along the Mexican border.  David did not participate in this operation, however, as he had been honorably discharged at Fort Monroe, Virginia on June 24, 1865.

For the next few decades after the war David lived at various addresses in and around Hanover.  In 1868 he resided in Adams County, as shown by the tax assessment book of Conewago Township.  According to Federal Census records, he was still residing in Adams County by 1870.  (His placement in that census seems to indicate that he resided just east of McSherrystown, very near the Adams/York county line.  See 1870 Federal census – Conewago Township, Adams County, Family #85, dwelling place #85.)

Sometime during the 1870’s David moved back to York County.  Apparently, a significant part of his post war years was spent living and working in the Hanover Borough.  When he applied for a federal invalid pension, a few individuals who resided on Frederick Street gave testimony on his behalf and claimed to be his neighbors.  Although his specific address at this point is unknown, clearly David had established a number of social and working ties with Hanoverians.

For most of the 1880’s David resided in Penn Township, probably very close to the Hanover Borough.  (See 1880 Federal Census Penn Township, York County – Family #190, dwelling place #190.)  In the 1886 Penn Township tax assessment he was cited as owning 3 acres of land.  (The only citation of real estate ownership I have been able to locate.)

By this time it is unlikely that David’s health would have enabled him to work a plot of land without significant aid.  Although the war had ended, the effects of his wound had not.  Like many injured veterans, his injury was crippling; he frequently experienced intense pain and some rather grisly symptoms.  One of his physicians, Dr. Joseph Bittinger, stated that David was sometimes confined to his bed for weeks and “at various times suffered most intensely” from the effects of the injury.  Bittinger further testified that during one two-year period David was bed ridden “almost constantly suffering severe pain and had alarming hemorrhages from his stomach.”

David filed a claim for a federal invalid pension, and was granted a monthly payment of $10.  During the 1890’s he enlisted an attorney in Washington, D. C. to try to secure an increase in his pension.  Although several attempts were made the increase was rejected.  Unfortunately, he had previously made a statement to a medical examiner admitting of “former intemperance”.  According to officials in the Bureau of Pensions, this statement caused a “reasonable doubt” that David’s “present total disability is not caused to some extent by the habits above referred to.”

If David did have a drinking problem, it is certainly understandable.  By that time he was not only in intense physical pain, but emotional anguish as well.  His wife, Mary Jane, died on July 11, 1893 and her death was not the only tragic event the family had to deal with.  Evidence in David’s pension file suggests that by 1898, his two daughters had also passed away.  (I have not been able to discover the whereabouts of his two sons at this point.)

David Thompson died on Oct. 26, 1900 and is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Hanover, Pa.  His story is unique in some ways and shows the diversity of the soldiers who fought in the war.  The 22nd U. S. C. T. Regiment was largely composed of men from New Jersey and the greater Philadelphia area.  So in some ways, David was something of an outsider even within his own regiment.  He lived his pre-war and post-war years in an area with an overwhelmingly White population.  His family would have faced significant prejudice and much economic hardship.  And yet, David Thompson had justifiably earned the respect of many local citizens.  Several Hanoverians claimed to be his friends and neighbors and gave testimony on his behalf in trying to secure his pension benefits.  Those citizens did what they could to honor his sacrifices; hopefully in today’s society, we also will remember David and his brothers-in-arms.

John Krepps