Here are ten misconceptions about York County, PA, during the Civil War. Author and lecturer Scott Mingus answers readers’ questions.
Yankees Archives
The images on the nightly news are searing and unforgettable. Long trenches being dug in
A old Civil War fife used during the defense of Wrightsville PA during the Gettysburg Campaign was in Altoona in the 1930s. Its current location is unknown.
The Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 killed more than 50 million people. It impacted York County, including killing some Civil War vets.
Lebanon Cemetery on N. George St. in York PA contains the graves of several black US soldiers, including Sgt. Joseph Howard, 5th Mass Colored Cavalry.
York County’s Democratic congressman, Joseph Bailey, voted against recruiting black soldiers. He later supported President Lincoln’s war efforts.
Dr. Israel H. Betz in 1907 wrote his memories of the Fishing Creek Valley region in northeastern York County PA during the Civil War.
York Countian Edward Fisher of the 130th Pennsylvania described the horrors of the battle of Antietam in which his good friend Richard Smith perished.
Peter Tsouras has written a fascinating book on Maj. Gen. George H. Sharpe and the Creation of American Military Intelligence in the Civil War.
Frank Eich, who died in 1942, was the last Civil War veteran living in the city of York PA. He wished he was young enough to fight Hitler in WW2.