In order to be a truly effective leader, it is necessary to learn as much as possible from the examples of history—the disasters as well as the triumphs. At Gettysburg, Union and Confederate commanders faced a series of critical leadership challenges under the enormous stress of combat. The fate of the nation hung in the […]
The African American Experience: Freedom Seekers of Waverly, PA
Before the Civil War, a community of African American freedom seekers grew in the town of Waverly in northeastern Pennsylvania. During the Civil War 13 African American men from the town served in the U.S. Colored Troops. In this episode of the African American Experience we talk with Yvonne Schrieks-Johnson and Jim Remsen about this […]
“Gettysburg’s Peach Orchard”
On July 2, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee ordered skeptical subordinate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet to launch a massive assault against the Union left flank. The offensive was intended to seize the Peach Orchard and surrounding ground along the Emmitsburg Road for use as an artillery position to support the ongoing attack. However, Union […]
“Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken”
“Lee is Trapped and Must be Taken” focuses on the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg and addresses how Maj. Gen. George G. Meade organized and motivated his Army of the Potomac in response to President Abraham Lincoln’s mandate to bring about the “literal or substantial destruction” of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s retreating Army […]
“Targeted Tracks”
The Civil War was the first conflict in which railroads played a major role. The Cumberland Valley Railroad, for example, played an important strategic role by connecting Hagerstown, Maryland to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Its location enhanced its importance during some of the Civil War’s most critical campaigns. Because of its proximity to major cities in the […]
“Too Much For Human Endurance”
The bloodstains are gone, but the worn floorboards remain. The doctors, nurses, and patients who toiled and suffered and ached for home at the Army of the Potomac’s XI Corps hospital at the George Spangler Farm in Gettysburg have long since departed. Happily, though, their stories remain, and noted journalist and George Spangler Farm expert […]
African American Experience: Camp William Penn and the U.S. Colored Troops
In 1863 when the Union Army began accepting African American men, Camp William Penn was established outside Philadelphia to train them. During the course of the war more than 10,500 soldiers comprising 11 infantry regiments were trained at the camp before leaving for battle. Camp William Penn soldiers fought in many battles, won Medals of […]
PA Books: “Longstreet at Gettysburg”
This is the first book-length, critical analysis of Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s actions at the Battle of Gettysburg. The author argues that Longstreet’s record has been discredited unfairly, beginning with character assassination by his contemporaries after the war and, persistently, by historians in the decades since. By closely studying the three-day battle, and conducting an […]
PA Books: “Blue-Blooded Cavalryman”
In May 1863, eighteen-year-old William Brooke Rawle graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and traded a genteel, cultured life of privilege for service as a cavalry officer. Traveling from his home in Philadelphia to Virginia, he joined the Third Pennsylvania Cavalry and soon found himself in command of a company of veterans of two years’ […]
Battlefield Pennsylvania: The Battle of Hunterstown
On July 2, 1863, the Battle of Hunterstown took place about five miles northeast of Gettysburg. Gen. Wade Hampton’s cavalry brigade was sent to protect the Confederate left flank where they were met by Gen. George Custer’s cavalry. Custer was unhorsed in the ensuing melee, pinned by his horse, and saved by Norvell Churchill, an orderly. […]