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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

Death and Funeral of John E. Nace

This obituary appeared in the Harrisburg Evening News, 12 June 1924: JOHN E. NACE John E. Nace, 89 years old, of Halifax, who for the past two months had been living with his son, O. C. Nace, 22 North Harrisburg Street, Steelton, died this morning.  Besides his son, he is survived by two brothers, David […]

Was Henry B. Hoffman Excused from Military Service Because of a Diseased Eye?

A family story, oft repeated but without any proof, was that Henry B. Hoffman of Millersburg was excused from Civil War military service because of a “diseased eye.”  Instead, he supposedly served on the staff of Gov. James Pollock at the rank of Colonel. An additional feature of this family story is that he served […]

Two Men Named George Hinkle

Two men named George Hinkle, both associated with the Lykens Valley area of Pennsylvania, saw Civil War service.  They can be differentiated by their middle initial and regiment/company of service.  It does not appear that they are closely related, although additional research could prove otherwise. George W. Hinkle (1843-1878) George W. Hinkle is buried at […]

Cornelius A. Hochlander – Emergency Man from Wiconisco

Cornelius A. Hochlander is named on the Lykens G.A.R. Memorial as a Private who joined the Heilner Post in Lykens after it was organized. Hochlander, who is sometimes found in the records as Hocklander, was born in November 1844, the son of George Hochlander, a shoemaker, and Mary Adaline Hochlander.  The family is found in […]

Simon Gratz and the Spy Capture Incident South of Harrisburg, July 1863

Three Harrisburg Men Capture Confederate Spy in the River Col. Demming and Simon Gratz Who Caught “Rebel” Will Meet on Fiftieth Anniversary of Event According to Samuel Bates, an incident occurred on the Susquehanna River, south of Harrisburg, on 2 July 1863, while the Battle of Gettysburg was taking place, in which three Union men […]