Civil War Blog

Posted By Jake Wynn on January 7, 2013

Website Review:

Civil War Blog; Gratz Historical Society. Gratz, Pennsylvania

by Jake Wynn

I had the pleasure of reviewing the Civil War Blog for a Public History course at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland in the fall semester of 2012. Below is an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the blog, and some areas where we may be rolling out improvements for 2013.

Having written this review before I knew I would be writing for the blog, this will surely be an interesting first piece!

[September 17, 2012]

When searching for a website to review for this assignment, I quickly passed through different websites that interested me and tried to find one that would work. However, my search bogged down fairly quickly and no website totally satisfied what I was looking for. I fell back onto prior research and realized that I had a website that would be perfect for both fulfilling this assignment, and researching my local history and the Civil War all simultaneously. The site chosen was the Civil War Blog: Gratz Historical Society. The website is devoted to further researching the people, places, and events that shaped the Civil War era within the Lykens Valley, located about twenty miles north of the capital at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While the scope of this site may be limited in terms of location and era of history, the breadth of the research into these topics well makes up for it. The usage of primary documents and the connection to the location where these documents are held also bodes well for this as a fine historical website. While it has its limitations, this site fulfills its purpose in deeply examining the influences that the war made on the people and culture of a small coal mining region in Pennsylvania.

The Gratz Historical Society began in 1977 in the small, rural farm town of Gratz, PA. The stated purpose is to “preserve and protect the history of the upper part of Dauphin County, PA. The historic society has its own website, society.gratzpa.org, as well as a museum and library. Over 300 paying members make up the society. The Civil War Research Project is a unique offshoot of this organization, focusing on the Civil War related history of this part of the county. All of the work done for this is volunteer and much of the research is conducted through Dr. Norman Gasbarro, of Philadelphia. His education and career give this site much of its authority as a source for information of this kind. An important issue to state remains, that while this site calls itself a blog, it in effect is a collection of written documentation and primary sources brought together with interpretation by an authoritative source.

The content of this website includes everything its creators describe it to be and more. The site includes information from before the war, during, and years and years after and including up to the present. The information on the site comes from a variety of primary and secondary sources, whether that is diary entries, newspaper reports, or information attained from official documentation such as census, property, or military records. The interpretation of this data, however, is the most valuable asset this site maintains. The researcher, in this case Dr. Gasbarro, does a fantastic and thorough job of connecting documents and people that the common layperson would find it difficult to do. The inclusion of primary sources and information on where to attain those documents is a key positive point in regards to the content of this site. The lack of evident bias on behalf of the author is shown through his work. A personal bias in local history could be a real issue, especially when the researcher has family ties to the past and may be involved. The contact information provided also gives the viewer the ability to contact the researcher and to question accuracy and issues with the postings. The combination of good content, authority, and a lack of bias strike as good marks for this site.

The visuals of the site are another point that succeeds. The site has numerous postings and almost all are accompanied by either photographs, maps, or the original documents that the posting describes. In the case of the photographs, the researcher places a description underneath that describes either the action in the photograph or the people, and any other significant points that may be of interest to the viewer. The same is true in the case of the maps, giving good background on the time period of the map and what exactly it is showing. The original documents are arguably the best part of this site. While people may search through the archives of the historical society, the researcher has transcribed them from the original document, giving the viewer an edge over someone reading the original document. The advantage is speed, allowing the viewer to read the document quickly, with minimal handwriting analysis. The links are also well organized, giving the viewer access to similar links as well as to the original historical society page. Tags with different places, topics, or families are located on the right side of all the pages, allowing quick, constructive browsing between pages of the viewers’ choice. A strong visual presentation, as with this site, makes for a good historical website, engrossing the user with both text and audio/visual aids.

The timeliness of this site is also a big part in the overall success with only a small critique. Updates appear every few days, continually updating with new postings and additions to previous ones. The consistent nature of the postings, paired with the additions, makes for a good site that continually adds to its content as more information is gleaned. Another part of timeliness, in this case keeping with the times, lies with the social media aspect. Here we see a little bit of a falter, with the site including Facebook, but not much else, missing out on other social media sites such as Twitter. The lack of sharing on social media prevents the site from possibly attaining more viewers and adding to its repertoire.

Lastly, the interpretation part, which I already briefly mentioned, and education opportunity remain the strongest points of this site. The invaluable analysis by an authoritative source is evident on nearly every page of this site. Deep research, with many properly cited primary and secondary sources give a brief look into the past, followed by the author’s input on the potential meaning. Also key to mention here is that within many of these postings, words are linked to other pages that the viewer may be interested in. In some cases, the researcher used words or names that may not be familiar to the viewer, but which are linked to previous stories which explain further. The many layers of detail create a web of information that is easy to use, but also quite deep. The education side may be lacking, with no curriculum’s or anything in the way of direct classroom usage. However, the information here could absolutely be used to further teach either the Civil War or local history in the classrooms of those schools in the regions and throughout the state.

All told, this site is an invaluable resource to anyone interested in the study of Civil War history within upper Dauphin County and in Pennsylvania in general. However, it does not stop there, as genealogy continues to rise, this site encourages deep research into the roots of people’s ancestry. The research values this site delivers are integral to the success of the site as a whole. The site’s authority, timeliness, and visuals create a unique experience that the viewer will not forget easily, bringing them back time and again to see what topics have been researched. While the scope of the information provided here is fairly narrow, it accomplishes its goal of researching and preserving local history. Personally, this site has already become a part of a rich local history base on which papers have already been written, and the workings of a book take shape in my mind. This resource will continue to be used by me, and should looked at as not only a source of local history information, but also a shining example of the possibilities of historic websites and blogs.

Category: Overviews, Reflections | 1 Comment »
Tags: Gratz Borough

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 6, 2013

The Gettysburg Address was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, on the afternoon of Thursday, 19 November 1863, at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The historical marker commemorating the address is along the road and just outside the entrance to the cemetery.

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS

Nearby, 19 November 1863, in dedicating the National Cemetery, Abraham Lincoln gave the address which he had written in Washington and revised after his arrival at Gettysburg the evening of 18 November.

The Abraham Lincoln Monument is located near the spot where Lincoln delivered the address and contains a tablet on front of the monument and two plaques, one on the left and one on the right.

The front tablet states:

This monument commemorates
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address,
19 November 1863.

The Address was delivered
about 300 yards from this spot
along upper Cemetery Drive.
The site is now marked by the
Soldiers’ National Monument.

Dedicated 24 Janu1ry 1912 –
Sculptor, Henry Bush-Brown.

The plaque on the left gives background information:

The several states having soldiers in the Army of the Potomac who were killed at the Battle of Gettysburg or have since died at the various hospitals which were established in the vicinity have procured grounds on a prominent part of the battlefield for a cemetery and are having the dead removed to them and properly buried.

These grounds will be consecrated and set apart to this sacred purpose on Thursday the 19th instant. It is the desire that you as Chief Executive of the nation formally set apart these grounds to their sacred use by a few appropriate remarks. It will be a source of great gratification to the many widows and orphans that have been made almost friendless by the great battle here to have you here personally and it will kindle anew in the breasts of the comrades of these brave dead who are now in the tented field that they who sleep in death on the battlefield are not forgotten by those highest in authority and they will feel that should their fate be the same their remains will not be uncared for.

From letter of invitation to Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States who on 19 November 1863 near this place delivered the address at the dedication of the cemetery.

The plaque on the right gives the words of the Gettysburg Address – which are reproduced below.  The version of the address which appears on the plaque is considered the most accurate and final version as it is from the only written copy that actually has Lincoln’s signature.

The only confirmed photo of Abraham Lincoln (circled) at Gettysburg, was taken about noon, just after Lincoln arrived and some three hours before he gave the address. To Lincoln’s right is his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

According to historians, the address was finalized at the home of David Wills on the central square in Gettysburg.  Lincoln spent the evening of 18 November 1863 at the Wills House.

Wills House, Gettysburg

Wills, a lawyer in Gettysburg in 1863, and an early law student of Republican Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, is credited with the idea of a creating a cemetery to honor those who had lost their lives in the battle.  He was given the charge by Pennsylvania’s Governor Andrew Curtin, to carry out the plan.

One of the best books on the Gettysburg Address is Garry Wills’, Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America, published in 1992 by Simon and Schuster.  Wills, a Roman Catholic intellectual, was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1934.  His works, which include histories of the church, analyses of political topics such as the Nixon presidency, the Vietnam War, and the Second Amendment, have been mostly controversial, but he has received several honors including the Pulitizer Prize.  He is now a Professor Emeritus of History at Northwestern University.  The most profound contribution of Wills’ book on the Gettysburg Address is its explanation of how it changed the way Americans see the role of their national government.

——————————

This is the the 76th post in a continuing series on the Battle of Gettysburg and the first on this blog in 2013, the 150th anniversary of the battle.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on The Gettysburg Address
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Curtin, Cemetery, Monument

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 5, 2013

A listing of the December 2012 posts on The Civil War Blog with direct links:

The Brothers of John A. Sipe in the Civil War

The Brothers Thomas Vanaman, George Vanaman and David Vanaman

Christmas Presents During the Civil War

The Husbands of the Sisters of John A. Sipe – Monroe Chronister and Hiram M. Jacobs

November 2012 Posts

Two Pennsylvania Democrats Who Voted for the 13th Amendment

Harrisburg Mayor’s Ancestor Served in Civil War

Peter E. Bowen – Laborer, Carpenter and Railroad Clerk

Daniel S. Feidt of Millersburg – 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry

The Nash Farm Battlefield, Henry County, Georgia

Kilpatrick’s Raid at Nash Farm, Henry County, Georgia

William C. Armor – Historian and Bookseller

Thomas McDowell Jones – Drummer Boy and Newspaperman

Cavalry Action at Lovejoy’s Station, Georgia

The New York and New Jersey Monuments at Andersonville, Georgia

Some Views of Andersonville and Andersonville National Cemetery

Christmas Decorations during the Civil War

The Crook Family of Clark’s Ferry

Grant Park and the Atlanta Cyclorama

Jeannie Gourlay and the Lincoln Flag

The Lincoln Flag Hoax

Jeannie Gourlay – Bibliography

The Great Locomotive Chase

Christmas Bells

George H. Durrie – Rural Winter Scenes

Best of 2012 – Popular Names of the Civil War

Best of 2012 – Pennsylvania Connections to the Lincoln Assassination

Best of 2012 – Pennsylvania Medal of Honor Memorial

Best of 2012 – The Royal Ancestry of President Abraham Lincoln

Best of 2012 – Inventions of the 1860s

Best of 2012 – Tower City, Porter and Rush Township Civil War Veterans

Category: Overviews | Comments Off on December 2012 Posts
Tags: Table of Contenta

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 4, 2013

John Arnts, or John Arntz, as he was also known, was a Civil War soldier from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who had ties to Dauphin County through his son who was a creamery owner in Elizabethville and Gratz.

John Arnts was born on 30 September 1828 and died on 7 December 1897.

On 8 August 1864, at Lancaster, Lancaster County, John Arnts enrolled in the 79th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private, and was mustered in at that place on the same date.  He then joined his regiment which was involved in the Atlanta Campaign, taking part in the Battle at Jonesboro on 1 September 1864, through the remaining Georgia battles and skirmishes and then the regiment moved into North Carolina.  After Johnston’s surrender the regiment moved through Richmond to the vicinity of Washington and was finally mustered out near Alexandria, Virginia, 12 July 1865.

Information from the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card notes that John Arnts was 5 foot, 6-1/2 inches tall, had a fair complexion, sandy hair, and hazel eyes.  He was a laborer who was residing in Lancaster County, but noted that he was born in Tioga County, New York,.  His birthplace cannot be confirmed with other records (see below).

After the Civil War, John Arnts lived in Lancaster County (1870) where he worked as a farm laborer.  In 1890, he was living in Harrisburg, where he complained that his suffering from diarrhea was a result of his Civil War service.  On 15 July 1890, he applied for an invalid pension, which he eventually received and collected until his death in 1897, whereupon his widow, Barbara, applied and collected until her death.

A biographical sketch of Jacob Arnts, son of John Arnts, appeared in the Commemorative Biographical Encyclopedia of Dauphin County, which was published by J. M. Runk Company in 1896.  Included in the sketch was information about John Arnts.  [Note: Click on book title for free download].

Jacob Arnts, creameryman, Elizabethville, Pennsylvania, was born in Bainbridge, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 13 January 1858, son of John Arnts and Barbara Arnts.  The grandfather, Garret Arnts, was a lumberman and died in the lumber regions.  The father was born in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and is a day laborer.  He was reared in Bainbridge, Lancaster County, where he resides at the present time in the enjoyment of good health.  His children are:  Lizzie Arnts, Mrs. Sears of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;  Mahata Arnts, Mrs. Eners, York Pennsylvania; Jacob Arnts; Garret Arnts, merchant in Lebanon; Harry Arnts, cigar maker, York, Pennsylvania; Samina Arnts, Mrs. Addick, residing near Harrisburg.  In politics, the father is a Republican, and entered the army in 1861 and served until the close of the war.

Jacob received his education in the common schools of his native place.  At the age of twelve he began work as a farm hand and used his earnings for the support of the family.  He was married in Mt. Joy, Lancaster County, 9 October 1881, to Miss Labina Fack, who is a native of Lancaster County, and was born in 1862.  Their children are:  Norman F. Arnts; Elsie Arnts; Clara Arnts; and Howard Arnts.

Mr. Arnts first settled on a farm near Mt. Joy, and worked by the day for two years, when he went to Lancaster and was engaged in a creamery for one year; at the end of which time he returned to Mt. Joy.  He next went to Bird-in-Hand, Lancaster County, and worked in a creamery for five years.  From here he moved to Millerstown, Perry County, where he established a creamery, which he operated for some time, then came to Elizabethville and began business with Messrs. Mitis and Speck.  Firm continued thus for three years when Mr. Speck sold his interest to Arnts and Mittis, under which name the firm now does business.  in 1892, a branch creamery was started at Gratz.  In politics, Mr. Arnts is a Republican and has never sought any office.

No record has been located to show that John Arnts served in the army from 1861 as is stated in the biographical sketch.  The only record of service he claimed was for the 79th Pennsylvania Infantry, which, according to the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Index Card, he joined on 8 August 1864.  Further confirmation of the 1864 service date is found in the Register of Pennsylvania Volunteers, available at the Pennsylvania Archives.

Click on document to enlarge.

Localhistorians have long speculated as to the history and location of the branch creamery in Gratz that was started by Jacob Arnts.  The following items give some clue:

From the Patriot, 20 May 1891:  “At a meeting of dairymen at Pottstown measures were taken to prosecute violators of the oleomargerine law and money was raised by creamery men and farmers to protect their interests.”

A national debate was taking place at this time between the dairy industry and the makers of oleomargerine.  Dairymen saw the oleo makers as a threat to their existence and they relied on government regulation and licensing to protect the dairy interests.  Whether this debate had anything to do with the success or failure of the venture at Gratz is not known.  See:  New York Times, 9 December 1886.

From the Patriot, 2 March 1892: “Messrs. Mattis, Arnts, and Speck are starting two branch creameries, one three-quarters of a mile below Gratz on a piece of ground leased from Jonas Hawk, and the other near Killinger.”

From the Patriot,  7 April 1892: “Messrs. Mattis, Arndt & Speck will open their branch creamery below Gratz this week.  E. Hartman, a son-in-law of Charles T. Mattis, will have charge of the branch.”

According to information in A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz Pennsylvania, the creamery apparently failed within a short time of its establishment.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: Elizabethville, Gratz Borough

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on January 3, 2013

The White House of the Confederacy is located at 1201 Clay Street in Richmond, Virginia.

Historical Markers

SA 50

WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY

Built in 1818 as the residence of Dr. John Brockenbrough, this National Historic Landmark is best known as the executive mansion for the Confederate States of America, 1861-1865.  President Jefferson Davis and his family lived here until Confederate forces evacuated Richmond on 2 April 1865.  After serving five years at the headquarters of Federal Occupation troops, the house became one of Richmond’s first public schools.  In 1890, the Confederate Memorial Literary Society saved the mansion from destruction and between 1896 and 1876 used it as the Confederate Museum.  The society restored the house to its wartime appearance and reopened it to the public in 1988.

THE WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY  has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark.  Under the provision of the Historic Sites Act of 21 August 1935 this site possesses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States.  U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1963.

PRESIDENT’S MANSION

WHITE HOUSE OF THE CONFEDERACY

This house was the executive mansion of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family from August 1861 until 2 April 1865.  A West Point graduate, former U.S. senator from Mississippi, and former U.S. secretary of war, Davis was the Confederacy’s only president.  He worked long hours here, meeting with Confederate civilian and military leaders.  on 14 April 1862, he held a council of war here with Secretary of War George W. Randolph, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, Gen. Robert E. Lee, and other officers to discuss the Confederacy’s defense against Union Gen. George B. McClellan‘s advancing army.

More often, the house was the site of official receptions and unofficial parties.  One observer declared Confederate First Lady Varina Davis “to be a woman of a warm heart and impetuous tongue, witty and caustic, with a sensitive nature underlying all; a devoted wife and mother and a most gracious mistress of a salon.”

The Davises’ young family enlivened the White House.  “Statesmen passing through the halls on their way to the discussion of weighty things were likely to hear the ringing laughter of the care-free and happy Davis children issuing from somewhere above the stairs or gardens,” remembered a family friend.  Two Davis children, William and Varina Anne, were born in this house; one, Joseph, died here from a fall on 30 Apr 1864.

On 4 April 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visited here ten days before his assassination and less than 48 hours after Davis departed.  Here, Lincoln began meeting with prominent Virginians to discuss the state’s reconstruction.

Historical Photographs

The above photograph is from the Library of Congress and shows the White House of the Confederacy as it appeared during the Civil War.

No known photograph exists of Lincoln at the White House of the Confederacy, but several drawings have been found:

The building housed a large collection of Confederate artifacts until the new Museum of the Confederacy was built and opened adjacent to the White House in 1976.

The Gardens

The gardens of the White House of the Confederacy are on the south side of the building which is referred to as the “south portico.”  In the Library of Congress photograph below, Union Gen. Edward O. C. Ord and his staff pose on the steps in 1865.

The White House Garden is faithfully maintained through the generosity of the President Davis Chapter United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Category: Museums, Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: Abraham Lincoln