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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election of 1866 – The Defeat of a White Supremacist

| September 16, 2016

The Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Election of 1866 pitted a Union General and war hero, John W. Geary, against a avowed racist and white supremacist, Heister Clymer.  Geary headed the Republican or Union ticket and Clymer headed the Democratic or Copperhead ticket. Unlike the Presidential Election of 1860, official vote totals by townships and boroughs were available […]

William Lesher – “This Man in War Four Years”

| September 15, 2016

In the 1890 Census for Mable, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, a William Leasure was named for his service in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H, as a Private, with the added comment, “This man in war four years.”  The dates given for his service were, 18 April 1861 through 16 April 1864.  However, in searching the […]

Sarah Klinger – Civil War Widow Bludgeoned to Death in 1906 (Part 1)

| September 14, 2016

Through the pages of newspapers of the time, this horrendous murder story will be told.  Sarah Ann [Reed] Klinger, a widow of a Civil War veteran and a pensioner, was brutally murdered in her home near Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, on 21 November 1906. Jacob Klinger was born on 3 April 1843 in Lower Mahantongo […]

Christian Lauer of Tremont – Died from Wounds at Cold Harbor, 1864

| September 13, 2016

Christian Lauer, a 34 year old blacksmith and German immigrant from Tremont, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, enrolled in the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private, at Pottsville, on 10 June 1864.  At the time he joined the regiment, he left a wife, Sarah Isabella [Harden] Lauer, and four minor children at their home in […]

Baptisms at the Artz Church During the Civil War

| September 12, 2016

The St. Paul United Church of Christ is located in Sacramento, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  It is also known as the “Artz Church.”    During the Civil War it was a union church serving both Lutheran and Reformed congregations. A transcription of the church records, which cover the period from 1839 to 1912, was made in […]