Civil War Times Spring 2023

HARPERS FERRY GRATITUDE #HumpDayHistory runs every Wednesday on our Facebook page (facebook.com/CivilWarTimes) with vignettes about the war and its era. In our last #HumpDayHistory post of 2022 we shared the story of Harpers Ferry’s Camp Hill. Regiments on both sides encamped there during the war before its rebirth as a launching pad for Civil Rights. You had a lot to say! Working as a ranger there was one of the best years of my career.—Historian Jared Frederick Never forgotten. —Dan Dry Lived not far from Harpers Ferry…. Visited few times…before National Park Service took over….Also remains of Stoner College…. GG Grandfather was one of military captured John Brown… Buried in family plot in Petersville, MD.—Robert Hemp Very nice research which made for a good story. —Lester Adams I’ve never seen those older illustrations or the photo.…

For years, the Adams County Historical Society has been housed in a cramped Victorian house on Seminary Ridge, unable to display its rich horde of artifacts or offer access to researchers. But this April, the ACHS will open a new 29,000-square-foot complex just north of the Gettysburg battlefield. The expansive building will feature 12 galleries of immersive exhibits that showcase the county’s deep history. No matter how much has been written, displayed, or filmed about the Civil War’s largest engagement, the appetite for more information about the Battle of Gettysburg remains insatiable. The ACHS will help satisfy that hunger with its revolutionary Beyond the Battle Museum, featuring some of Gettysburg’s rarest artifacts and using media and special effects technology to take visitors on a journey through time. “Beyond the Battle will push…

IN NOVEMBER, The Lincoln Forum hosted its 27th annual symposium at Gettysburg. This year’s event featured two cable news stars: John Avlon, who spoke on “How Lincoln Helped Win the Peace After World War II,” and Jon Meacham, who delivered an address on Lincoln as a moral leader. Three biographers discussed their recent books: Walter Stahr on Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase, Elizabeth D. Leonard on Union general Benjamin F. Butler, and John Rhodehamel on John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln assassination. Jonathan W. White delivered a lecture on his two recent books about Lincoln and African Americans; Roger Lowenstein and Frank J. Williams had a conversation about how the North financed the Civil War, and Christopher Oakley received a standing ovation for showing how historic photographs and computer technology could be…

SOME SOLDIERS had a bit more flair when it came to having their images taken than others. This unidentified Union bon vivant is showing off his “camp hat.” Patterns for such hats were available in ladies’ magazines of the era, and it’s possible a loved one made this and sent it to the soldier to help keep him warm during winter camp. He’s added some drama to the sixth-plate tintype by opening the top buttons on his overcoat and brandishing an Allen & Wheelock revolver and a rifle with a gnarly looking sword bayonet. Those weapons might be photographer props. He spent a little extra to have the photo tinted with color, which makes the decoration on the hat pop and even more interesting. PHOTO BY MELISSA A. WINN; DANA B.…

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS recently acquired a rare surviving copy of the complete run of the Civil War regimental newspaper, the Soldier’s Letter of the 2nd Colorado Cavalry. More than 100 regiments on both sides of the conflict printed at least one edition of a camp newspaper, but few survive and a complete run of one paper is even harder to find. The 2nd Colorado Cavalry’s four-page Soldier’s Letter was staunchly against slavery and the Confederacy. It ran for 50 editions between 1864 until after the war ended in 1865. “The rebels have taken to smuggling in bacon past the blockage,” a short item noted in one edition near the end of the war. “The evidences multiply that they are on their last legs.” Three pages in each edition were devoted to…

ENLIST NOW! Join the volunteer army transcribing the papers and correspondence of notable figures in the collections of the Library of Congress. Launched in 2018, the Library’s “By the People” crowdsourcing campaign has several active projects in progress. Volunteers are helping transcribe, review, and tag digitized pages in the collections of Walt Whitman, Clara Barton, James Garfield, Theodore Roosevelt, and more. As of December 2022, the Library has released more than 831,000 pages for transcription, and about 591,000 have been transcribed. For more information visit: https://crowd.loc.gov.…