Jake Wynn | July 5, 2013
Nestled in the upper end of the Lykens Valley, Hegins was a sleepy, little farming community in the spring of 1863. The war had taken many of its men off to war, leaving behind families struggling to support their farms. Then there was those men who stayed behind, for one reason or another. Among these […]
Norman Gasbarro | October 7, 2011
As previously reported on this blog, the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, was a drafted militia unit whose Captain was Benjamin J. Evitts of the Lykens Valley. An examination of the roll of this company reveals an interesting, unexplained phenomenon. Of the 98 draftees who reported to Camp Curtin near Harrisburg in the early days […]
Norman Gasbarro | January 26, 2011
Charlemagne Tower (1809-1889) was the founder of Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. A biography of him appears in A Centennial History of Tower City and Porter Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. As noted in the previous post, his name was omitted from the list of Civil War veterans although the biography states he did have Civil […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 7, 2010
Not everyone supported the draft. One case that was noted in a Philadelphia Inquirer article on 25 October 1862 was a group of law resisters in the coal mining area of Schuylkill County referred to as “The Collieries.” Exactly where the group was located in Schuylkill County was not known, but they were allegedly responsible […]
Norman Gasbarro | December 6, 2010
At the start of the Civil War in April, 1861, there was great enthusiasm and support in many places in the north. President Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 volunteers was answered and it appeared that these men would be sufficient to end the rebellion quickly; life could then go on as before. After the shocking […]
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