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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

The Hegins Draft Riot

| 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 […]

Henry Keiser at Gettysburg

| July 3, 2013

While much in the way of the daily record in the area covered by this blog is lost, we are very lucky to have one great record of nearly the entire war. Henry Keiser, of Lykens, PA, served in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment throughout the Civil War. He and the regiment saw some of […]

Seminary Ridge Museum: Gettysburg, PA

| June 27, 2013

Located on the grounds of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the Seminary Ridge Museum is destined to become another part of the community devoted to commemorating the battle that once took place there. High atop the western flank of the town of Gettysburg lies the Museum, its majestic brick architecture topped with a […]

Fort Couch: Lemoyne, PA

| June 24, 2013

Fort Couch — Remains of breastworks built in June 1863 to oppose an expected attack on Harrisburg by Confederate troops. Site then known as Hummels Heights. Fort was named for Gen. Couch, Commander, Eastern Pennsylvania Military District. On a rainy day in late March, I had the opportunity to visit the remains of Fort Couch, […]

Charles Coffin’s Pennsylvania Campaign

| June 23, 2013

The following comes from Charles Coffin’s book The Boys of ’61, which told of his experiences in the different armies of the Civil War. He was the war correspondent for the Boston Journal during the Civil War. Here is a chapter that tells specifically of his time in Pennsylvania and Maryland as the Confederates entered the North […]