Another Rebel threat to York County: July 1864
Concurrent with the Confederate movement by John McCausland‘s brigade of cavalry into Franklin County and Chambersburg, fears spread throughout Adams and York counties that the raiders would turn eastward, as had the Rebels in late June of 1863 en route to the Susquehanna River.
Here is an article from the July 16, 1864 issue of the Columbia Spy which illustrates the typical fear that was again gripping the region. For the second time in 12 months, merchants packed up their inventories, residents began taking horses out of Adams and York counties, and refugees clogged the turnpike through York to the river. Now, because the toll bridge that had burn down June 28, 1863, had not yet been rebuilt, a series of small steam-powered ferries carried the fleeing populace into Lancaster County (for a fee, of course).
It was all a false alarm. No Confederates entered York County.
The ferry boat owners were the big winners.
Here’s the short article…
The verbiage of this article echoes the fears of 1863. Luckily for the war-weary population, this was the last time that York Countians were in the potential path of Confederate raiders.
