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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

Obituary of Major John W. Simpson

Major John W. Simpson was an African American Civil War veteran from Philadelphia who settled in Harrisburg after the war.  He died on 6 April 1899 and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Harrisburg.  The Harrisburg Patriot commemorated his life with a lengthy obituary: MAJOR J. W. SIMPSON Prominent Colored Citizen of This City Passes […]

Additions to Veterans’ List – W, Y and Z

Veterans of the Civil War identified as having some connection to the Lykens Valley area and included in the Civil War Research Project was last updated 19 April 2012.  In a series of posts continuing intermittently until concluding in mid-June, a brief sketch of each of the new names added since then will be presented.  […]

Additions to Veterans’ List – H

Veterans of the Civil War identified as having some connection to the Lykens Valley area and included in the Civil War Research Project was last updated 19 April 2012.  In a series of posts continuing intermittently until concluding in mid-June, a brief sketch of each of the new names added since then will be presented.  […]

John Peter Crabb – Gratz Native Was Harrisburg G.A.R. Post Commander

John Peter Crabb was born in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, in October 1843, the son of Peter Crabb and his wife Mary Magdalena Crabb.  The Peter Crabb family arrived in Gratz in the early part of the 19th century and purchased land from Simon Gratz.  John Peter Crabb, like his father, was a skilled blacksmith.  […]

The 2nd Company G of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry

The history of the 103rd Pennsylvania Infantry explains why replacement companies had to be recruited in 1864 and 1865.  From the Lykens Valley area around Gratz, Company G of the 103rd Pensylvania  Infantry was formed in March of 1865 and sent south to Roanoke Island, North Carolina.  Their experiences there were unlike other companies that […]