On July 1, 1863, Gen. Jeb Stuart’s cavalry shelled Carlisle and skirmished with troops commanded by Union Gen. Baldy Smith. A number of buildings were damaged and burned, including several at the U.S. Army garrison at the Carlisle Barracks, which was temporarily captured, but this last skirmish of Stuart’s 10-day ride during the Gettysburg Campaign […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Battle of the Monongahela
On July 9, 1755, after a six-week journey of 110 miles, Commander in Chief of the British Army Gen. Edward Braddock was mortally wounded and his men suffered almost 800 casualties, including 600 dead and 90 percent of the officers killed or wounded in a clash with French Canadian and Indian troops dispatched from Fort […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Battle of Jumonville Glen
The first shots of what would turn into the French and Indian War occurred on May 28, 1754, when militia under Lt. Col. George Washington fired on a small French force. France and England were in an uneasy peace, but events in the Ohio Country would ignited a world war – called the Seven Years War […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: The Homestead Steel Strike
On July 6, 1892, 300 Pinkerton agents, a private security force hired by Henry Clay Frick, attempt to disperse 5,000 locked out Homestead steelworkers by landing at the pump house in barges pushed by tugboats up the Monongahela River. They were defeated in the Battle of Homestead, and surrendered to the striking steelworkers. Unrest continued […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Battle of Kittanning
Kittanning, a Delaware Indian village on the Allegheny River, was used as a base for Lenape raids against Western Pennsylvania frontier settlements. On Sept. 8, 1756, the village was attacked and much of it burned to the ground by 300 provincial troops led by General John Armstrong in the Battle of Kittanning. Armstrong won the […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: The Conestoga Massacre
On Dec. 14, 1763, the Paxton Boys raided a Conestoga village and killed six people. Two weeks later, on Dec. 27, they rode to Lancaster and massacred 14 men, women and children who were being held in protective custody. No attacker was ever prosecuted. In fact, a large contingent of Paxton Rangers marched on Philadelphia, […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Allegheny Arsenal Explosion
On Sept. 17, 1862, 78 people – 71 young women and 7 men – died when the Allegheny Arsenal in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh exploded. This was the largest single day civilian death toll of the Civil War, but it was overshadowed because of events that happened in Sharpsburg, Maryland at The Battle of […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Flight 93 – War on Terror
Civilian passengers wrestled with terrorists for control of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in rural Shanksville, PA on Sept. 11. Thirty-six passengers and crew were involved in a hijacking by four terrorists. Their flight, originating from Newark, NJ, was delayed, and passengers used the plane’s Airfones to called loved ones and discover that the Twin Towers and Pentagon had already been attacked. No one knows for sure what happened, but two cell phone calls indicated passengers intended to fight for control of the plane to prevent the terrorists from crashing it into another building, presumably the U.S. Capitol.
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Battle of Paoli
British spies locate Gen. “Mad” Anthony Wayne’s camp at Paoli Tavern on Sept. 20, 1777, and British troops quickly plan a surprise night attack. British troops were ordered to remove the flints from their muskets to ensure a silent approach to the American camp and the out-numbered British force routed colonial troops and inflicted significant casualties.
Battlefield Pennsylvania: Battle of Brandywine
On Sept. 11, 1777, Gen. Washington was beaten by superior tactics at the Battle of Brandywine, allowing the British to move on to capture Philadelphia. While guarding most of the known the fords across Brandywine Creek, the British found an unguarded ford and outflanked Washington’s army during the Philadelphia Campaign, which eventually sent colonials fleeing from the young nation’s capital. The Marquis de Lafayette arrived late to the battle, was wounded, but helped rally retreating troops.