Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 8, 2012

On 1 January 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.   Much has been written about the proclamation and its effect on the war and the policy for the conduct of the war.  On the day after its release, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported the following:

The President’s Emancipation Proclamation.

The important Proclamation of the President of the United States, declaring freedom to all persons held as slaves within the limits of certain designated States and parts of States, was issued yesterday, and will be found elsewhere in this morning’s Inquirer.  The Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities, are notified to recognize and maintain such freedom, and the persons liberated are enjoined to abstain from all violence, unless in necessary self defence, and are recommended to labor faithfully in the future for reasonable wages.  They are als to be received into the armed services of the United States, to garrison forts and stations, and to man vessels.

One week later, the Harrisburg Patriot lamented:

Those Flags.

We didn’t see flying yesterday any of those flags that were to be displayed as “a token of our emphatic endorsement of the President’s emancipation proclamation.”  The people of Harrisburg were probably not sufficiently impressed with the wisdom of the policy, and felt that the occasion was one rather of sorrow than rejoicing.  Before the result contemplated by that proclamation is consummated, the national banner will be dyed in blood, and thousands of those who urged on a weak-minded President to the commission of the fatal error will repent, in sackcloth and ashes, of their participation in the deed.  Instead of signaling the event by running up the starry flag, it should be half-masted as a token of the nation’s grief and sadness in anticipation of the increased strife, bitterness and bloodshed which it foreshadows.

After the war, in 1878, school children read about the Emancipation Proclamation in their school books.  In the book used in the Gratz schools and in the one-room schools of the Lykens Valley area, the Smaller School History of the United States, the author, David B. Scott, briefly reported on the the Proclamation as if it had no effect and changed nothing:

1863.

61. Emancipation of the Slaves – Plan of the Campaign. — On the first day of January, 1863, Lincoln issued his celebrated Emancipation Proclamation,  In this document he declared all slaves forever free in those States, or parts of States, then under the control of the Confederacy.  There was no change in the general plan of the campaign from that of the previous year.  The opening of the Mississippi – the capture of Richmond and the destruction of Lee’s army – the command of the sea-ports on the Atlantic Coast – were the great objects to be accomplished.

By 1918, a much more detailed analysis of the Proclamation was presented – somewhat cynical, but nevertheless comprehensive in its approach.  The School History of the United States, by Albert Bushnell Hart, was the history textbook used in the Gratz schools and the surrounding one-room schoolhouses of the Lykens Valley area in the post World War I period:

287.  Emancipation by the President (1862-1863). — In the fall of 1862 Lincoln felt that something new was needed, for things were not going well for the North.  The western troops were checked on the Mississippi river, and the eastern army was again beaten at Bull Run.  France and England seemed on the point of recognizing the Confederacy as an independent nation, and that might end the blockade.  And it was becoming hard to raise the necessary troops, though there were thousands of negroes within the Federal lines who could be made into soldiers.

Hence Lincoln drew up a Proclamation of Emancipation (September, 1862), announcing that, unless the southern people yielded, he would soon set fee all the slaves within the seceding states.  Lincoln’s own explanation was, “We had played our last card, and must change our tactics, or lose the game.”  The Proclamation of Emancipation was to apply only to those parts of the United States which were behind the Confederate lines, where the government could not reach the slaves.  It did not apply to the border states which were loyal to the Federal government.  Still slavery ceased to be of much consequence in these states, for thousands of slaves ran away and nobody would bring them back.

Between 1863 and 1865, four states prohibited slavery on their own account.  Three of them were Missouri, Maryland, and Tennessee, which were occupied in great part by Federal troops, so that the secessionists and slaveholders had little chance to protest.  The western counties of Virginia, lying between the Shenandoah Valley and the Ohio River, had long been discontented, and took this opportunity to set up a separate government for themselves.  Congress admitted them as the state of West Virginia in 1863 – the 35th state with 390,00 people -really as a punishment to the people of the main state of Virginia for joining in secession: and it was made a condition that the new state constitution should provide for emancipation.

As soon as Lincoln’s proclamation was issued, the enlistment of negro troops began, partly in the North, but mostly among refugees in the South.  In the course of the war 186,000 black soldiers were added to the army.  The war was so close that they probably turned the scale in favor of the North.

A final proclamation was issued January 1, 1863.  It applied to all eleven seceding states, except Tennessee and small parts of Virginia and Louisiana which were occupied by Union troops.  The South jeered at a proclamation which they said could never be carried out, and for some time it was not very popular in the North.

Lincoln came slowly to this policy of emancipation, but he felt that the time had arrived to break up the system of slavery.  He later said of himself:  “I am naturally anti-slavery.  If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong.  I cannot remember when I did not think and feel… I have no official act in mere deference to my abstract judgment and feeling on slavery…. If God now wills the removal of a great wrong, and wills also that we of the North, as well as you of the South, shall pay fairly for our complicity in that wrong, impartial history will find therein new cause to attest and revere the justice and goodness of God.”

Today, the broader interpretation of the the Emancipation Proclamation includes the perspective of the African American and the analysis of Lincoln’s move toward issuing of the proclamation tends to be more of a political and strategic nature than a moral issue.  Nevertheless, the proclamation was issued, the course of the war changed, and the eventual result was the passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution which at once, eliminated the institution of slavery from the United States.

Category: Reflections, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on The Emancipation Proclamation
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, African American, Gratz Borough

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 7, 2012

George Knorr Commits Suicide

LYKENS, 14 August 1903. — George Knorr of North Lykens, was found dead on the floor of his bed room about 2 p.m. Tuesday, the position of the body and surroundings indicating that he had died of arsenic poisoning.  He evidently knew how the poison would act upon the stomach and bowels as he had secured vessels to receive the discharges from the same, and this fact led to the belief that the poison was self-administered.

The coroner was notified of the affair who instructed his deputy, Dr. G. M. Stites of Williamstown, to hold an inquest over the remains, which he did that evening, selecting the following jury:  Cornelius Bowman, Dr. J. A. Ulsh, Amos Matter, Jacob Alvord, Newton Koppenheffer and Harvey Koppenheffer.  The facts elicited are substantially as follows:  Mr. Knorr came to town Monday morning to purchase cracked corn at the granary for his chicks, and on his way home stopped at a drug store and secured a box of Rough-on-Rats, telling the clerk that he wanted to destroy the rats which were carrying off his chicks.  He then returned home and complained of feeling unwell, shortly after which he retired, giving his wife his purse containing his quarterly pension.  Mrs. Knorr left the house about 9 a.m. and on returning at about 2 p.m. and not seeing her husband about told Mary Engle, who resides with her, to go up to his room and see if he was there, when he was found lying on the floor, dead, as above stated.  The premises were searched for the wooden box containing the balance of the poison, bus as it could not be found it is supposed that he took the fatal dose on his way home and threw the balance away, perhaps into the Wiconisco Creek, which he had to cross at the foot of Market Street.  Another fact that adds to his belief is that he acted as if intoxicated on arriving home and sat on a chair in the yard, where his swaying motions were noticed by Jacob Alvord who was passing at the time and who went to him.  The poison had already commenced its deadly work and caused a revulsion of the stomach, which, on account of Mr. Knorr being periodically addicted to the cup, was naturally attributed to intoxication, and Mr. Alvord left.  And for this same reason his wife was not alarmed when he retired, thinking he would feel better after taking a good sleep.

The verdict of the jury was arsenic poisoning.

Mr. Knorr has been a resident of this place for about 40 years, and was employed at Short Mountain Colliery up to about three years ago, since which time, on account of failing health and advanced age, he has not been able to follow any regular work.  He intended spending his remaining years in a Soldiers’ Home, and the necessary papers for his admission had been forwarded to the proper authorities, with favorable action thereon.   What led the man to self-destruction can only be attributed to a deranged mind, as he has been melancholy at intervals during the past year.  He was aged 62 years, 5 months and 6 days.  There are no children.

Mr. Knorr was a veteran of the Civil War and a pensioner at $8 per month.  His military record is good, having been enrolled as a Private in Company D, 143^rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers [143^rd Pennsylvania Infantry], 7 September 1863, and serving his country faithfully until honorably discharged at Hart Island, New York, 12 June 1865.

The funeral will take place at 2 p.m. today, Rev. L. M. Fetterolf conducting the services.  Interment in Citizens’ Cemetery.

The above story was taken from the Lykens Standard of the date indicated.

In the 1870 and 1900 censuses, George Knorr reported his occupation as coal miner.  In 1870, his father-in-law, Andrew Dieter (also known as Andrew Dietrich) was living in the household.  Elizabeth was a direct descendant of Lenhart Dietrich whose Dietrich descendants were noted in a previous post.  George and Elizabeth had an adopted daughter “Katie” who is mentioned in 1900 census but is not mentioned in the obituary.

George Knorr was drafted into the 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, as a Private and mustered in at Harrisburg, 7 September 1863.  He served until discharge on 12 June 1863.  He was 22 years old at the time he was drafted.  Not much other information about him is found on his Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card at the Pennsylvania Archives.

George Knorr applied for and received a pension for his Civil War service.  Despite the nature of his death, his widow Elizabeth [Dietrich] Knorr was able to receive the pension until she died.  The application for admission to the Soldiers’ Home has not yet been located.  It is possible that there is a copy of it in the pension file at the National Archives.

George Knorr was buried in the Lykens Citizens’ Cemetery on South Second Street, Lykens, Dauphin Count.

In recognition of his Civil War service, he is noted on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument – however, as George Knarr.

The Pension Index Card for George Knorr is from Ancestry.com.

More information is sought on George Knorr.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: Dietrich family, Knorr family, Lykens Borough, Wiconisco

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 6, 2012

In prior posts on the actions of Laura Keene immediately after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the story of her rushing up to the State Box with a pitcher of water and then cradling Lincoln’s head in her lap was examined.  There is no contemporaneous evidence that this actually happened, but there are many who believe that it did happen and the “bloody dress” of Laura Keene which resulted from this alleged act is one of the most sacred relics of the assassination.  The story of what happened to that dress, known as Laura’s Act III costume for the performance of Our American Cousin, has never been clearly told.  First, few historians and writers on the assassination have attempted a discussion on whether she actually entered the State Box.  Many accept the story as fact – without consulting any physical evidence – and by accepting stories that were reported without regard to the context in which the stories were told.

Proving the authentication of an artifact involves documenting a clear and convincing chain of custody of that artifact as well as an understanding of whether the individuals involved in the chain of custody had an opportunity to corrupt or distort evidence along the way.

In prior posts on this blog an attempt was made to establish where Laura Keene was standing at the moment the shot was fired, possible paths she could or could not have traveled to enter the State Box, and alternative actions she may have taken – including being immediately removed from the theatre by her manager John Lutz.  There is no known record that she was ever arrested in Washington (or even questioned) and the actions of those working on her behalf – John Lutz in particular – have never been thoroughly researched.  Laura Keene needed a great amount of assistance to get all her belongings out of Ford’s Theatre, to get those belongings (and those in her troupe as well as their belongings) to the Old Baltimore and Ohio Train Station in Washington and to board the train heading north.  In Baltimore, a transfer had to be made at another train station so she could board the Northern Central train to Harrisburg.

For those who believe the story of the “bloody dress,” the “chain of custody” must include Laura’s continuous possession of that dress from the moment of the assassination at least until the dress got to Cincinnati.  There is one exception to this as has already been pointed out here – the “bloody cuff” which is now at the Smithsonian (Museum of American History) – was supposedly given to John Lutz when he reportedly saw Laura at the Metropolitan Hotel on the day after the assassination – a story told by a relative of John’s many years later.  There is every reason to assume that if the transfer of the cuff was made to Lutz, that John Lutz, who was traveling with Laura and her party out of Washington, had the cuff with him.  There is also every reason to assume that Laura Keene had the Act III dress with her, fully in her possession, as she had all her other costumes and props (including her piano) on her trip out of Washington.

Today’s post looks at the journey from Baltimore to Harrisburg.  The assumption here is that the evening train was taken out of Washington.  That assumption is based on the morning arrival time in Harrisburg that was reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer when Laura and her travel party were arrested in Harrisburg.

Darkness comes early in April in the Washington area and it was already nightfall when the early-evening Baltimore and Ohio train headed out of the city toward Baltimore.

Camden Station, Baltimore

After a ride of about one hour, the train from Washington arrived in Baltimore at Camden Station (pictured above).  John Lutz made the arrangements to move Keene’s party to Calvert Station where they would board the Northern Central train heading north.  This was all done under the cover of darkness.

Calvert Station, Baltimore

After getting everyone and all the luggage from Camden Station to Calvert Station (pictured above) of the Northern Central Railroad, John Lutz purchased the required tickets and made sure all were on board and that the luggage was properly placed on the train.

Click on map to enlarge.

The route the “bloody dress” would now take to Harrisburg would be the exact same route that so many soldiers had taken to go to and from the war front, that supplies had shipped on, and that escaping African Americans would use to find their way north to freedom.  It was also the route by which many Confederate prisoners were sent north to Elmira (New York) Prison Camp.  And, it was the same route that was taken by Confederate spies on their way to Canada.  Now it was Laura Keene‘s route of escape from what had been the most disastrous event of her career.

The train proceeded out of Baltimore and headed north in Maryland passing through or stopping at Woodberry, Melvale, Lutherville, Cockeysville, Phoenix, Glencoe, Monkton, White Hall and Parkton before crossing into Pennsylvania.  In Pennsylvania, the communities of Glen Rock and Smyser went by before the reaching city of York, which had been under Confederate hands briefly at the time of the Battle of Gettysburg.  At York, the train may have stopped long enough for Laura Keene and her party to step out onto the platform and go into the station where food could be purchased and something to drink could be obtained.  Perhaps it was here that someone recognized her.  Perhaps she looked suspicious.  Everyone surely had heard of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and anyone coming out of Washington would be curiously examined.  Perhaps there were military personnel at the station who telegraphed ahead to the Provost Marshal at Harrisburg to order her arrest.

Then the train chugged on to Harrisburg – first through the communities of York Haven and Goldsboro – finally crossing the Susquehanna River and arriving at the Harrisburg Station.  Keene and her travel party were taken from the train and arrested.  See:  Laura Keene Arrested at Harrisburg.  All of Keene’s luggage was taken from the train and it would have been the responsibility of John Lutz to make sure that the tickets were purchased and that the luggage was placed on the train heading to Pittsburgh.  With the arrest of Laura Keene and her party, Lutz was busy trying to secure their release.  It was not known where Keene, Hawk, and Dyott were held while under arrest.  And, it is not known where in the station the luggage was kept – the trunks which contained all of Laura’s costumes – including the “bloody dress” from Act III of Our American Cousin and Laura’s piano!.  The news articles suggest that the time in Harrisburg was at least overnight and may have been more than 24 hours.  There are no reports of any lost luggage, so it has to be assumed that whatever was packed in Washington was still in the trunks when the party left on the train for Cincinnati.

Harrisburg’s Civil War Era Railroad Station is shown above.  It was here that Laura Keene, Harry Hawk, John Dyott and John Lutz were removed from the Northern Central Railroad train arriving from Baltimore in the morning and were arrested. And it was here that Keene’s party re-boarded the train – after their release, this time on the Pennsylvania Railroad line headed west to Pittsburgh.  According to the map shown below, the train headed north out of Harrisburg, crossed the river south of the Borough of Halifax, and headed west to Pittsburgh (follow the blue line toward Lewistown).

Click on map to enlarge.

There were still several legs of the journey to go and it would be some time before Laura Keene safely arrived in Cincinnati. The next post in this series will discuss what happened after Laura Keene arrived in Cincinnati and speculate on the route she took from Pittsburgh.

Curiously though, the route of the “bloody dress” until Harrisburg – supposedly “stained” with the blood of the martyred Abraham Lincoln, followed the exact same path that the body of Abraham Lincoln would follow only days later.  This imagery has not yet been seized upon by assassination writers, but if it is, it was presented here first, so proper credit is appreciated by those who wish to use it.  It was in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, that the blood and body took separate paths.

Map cuts are from a large Civil War era railroad map of the United States.  Pictures of the railroad stations are from Wikipedia and are in the public domain because their copyright has expired.  For more information on the Harrisburg Station, click here.

Prior posts on the importance of the Civil War-era Harrisburg Station and the importance of Harrisburg as the “crossroads of the Union” are:  Underground Railroad in Pennsylvania, Harrisburg – Old Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Harrisburg – Crossroads of the Union, and Camp Curtin – Historical Perspective.  For other posts on this blog on the topic of “Railroads,” click here.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Baltimore to Harrisburg – The Bloody Dress of Laura Keene
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Halifax, Lincoln Assassination, Railroad

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 5, 2012

The journey of Laura Keene from the stage at Ford’s Theatre on the night of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln to Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, where she was arrested and held by the Provost Marshal, continues in today’s post.  The last post on this topic was on 22 February 2012, when her flight from Washington was arranged.  To get out of Washington, she had to arrive safely at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station north of the Capitol and board the train – with her entourage – which consisted of actors Harry Hawk and John Dyott  – and a large amount of baggage – which included all her clothing, stage and travel items as well as those items belonging to the male actors.  This was all arranged by her manager, John Lutz, who was also “posing” as her husband.  Lutz had made the arrangements to get Harry Hawk released from jail and had somehow secured passes for the group to travel out of Washington.

How much baggage the group was carrying is a matter of speculation, but biographer Ben Graf Henneke, stated that Laura herself had at least nine trunks:

Lutz saw to it that Laura had the finest matched set of leather luggage family influence could provide…. Laura would have had more [than nine trunks]…. To her luggage she added a piano: one of her indulgences was the purchase of a Chickering upright.  The initial cost, if she paid the advertised price was $500.  It must have cost her many times that over the years as she had it moved with her from one town to the next. (page 185).

Laura had planned to play her piano to accompany the audience in the singing of “Honor to the Soldiers,” originally to be performed for Gen. Grant who was to be the guest of the Lincoln’s at Ford’s Theatre.  But Grant didn’t appear and the play was cut short before the song was sung for Abraham Lincoln and the many soldiers who were attending the performance.  The piano was one of Laura’s possessions that Lutz had to arrange to be moved out of the locked theatre.  Payment had to be made to the appropriate people to get all of Laura’s possessions to the train station on time for their hoped-for departure.

Keene's Chickering Piano.

Lutz also had to arrange to purchase the tickets for the train trip and secure the necessary approvals so the party could leave Washington.  Since she was scheduled to appear in Cincinnati on Monday evening, it makes sense that Lutz worked extra hard to get everything completed for the Saturday evening train.  If that were not possible, the party could have have left as late as Sunday evening – but that would mean they would not arrive in Cincinnati in time for the Monday performance.  All indications are that Laura insisted that the group leave by Saturday night.

The available connections to Cincinnati for the days immediately following the assassination are still being researched.   There were several possible routes and all of the routes involved multiple connections over several railroads.  The first stage of all these routes was from Washington to Baltimore.  There was only one train station in Washington for a northern departure from the city – and that was the Old Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station, previously mentioned.  One thing that needs to be noted is that virtually no cities had “union” stations – meaning each railroad serving a city had its own train depot, usually in a different part of the city.  While different railroads cooperated with each other in coordinating trains for the ease of passengers in making connections, getting from one station to another was the responsibility of the traveler.  Tickets had to be purchased on arrival at the station where the next departure would take place, and often when the arriving train was late, the traveler had to wait for the next available train, sometimes not until the next day, so accommodations had to be obtained at one of the hotels near the station.

Click on map to enlarge.

In Baltimore in 1865, there were three major railroad stations – the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Depot (“From Washington” on the above map), Northern Central Railroad (or Susquehanna) Depot (“To Harrisburg” on the above map), and the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad Depot (“To Philadelphia” on the above map).  A street railway with horse-drawn cars connected these stations.  But street railways were not equipped to carry much more than than what the passenger himself/herself could carry, so in Baltimore, John Lutz had the additional task of arranging for transport of Laura’s nine or more trunks, plus her piano, and the baggage of Harry Hawk and John Dyott – all to the next railroad station, where he then made arrangements to purchase the tickets for the group and to have the items loaded into a baggage car on the waiting train.

The unpleasantness of train travel is described by Henneke:

Laura’s troupe was not big enough to fill a single car; therefore she was thrust into cars with others who couldn’t be intimidated by her imperious sniffs at “tobacco!” or be bullied by her fastidious withdrawing of the hems of her garments.  Day coaches in America were awash with chewing tobacco spittle.  The experienced traveler learned never to put anything under his seat.  The men sat either with their feet on the empty chair ahead, or their knees pushed into the back of the chair ahead if it were occupied.  Women wrapped their skirts around them and brought boxes or bricks or some object that would lift their feet above high tide…. “No decent person could venture to wade through the stream of saliva floating thereon…. (page 184)

Filth was a commonplace of the times…. Locomotives burned wood or coal and there was a constant shower of sparks, ash, soot, clinkers and dust falling on the cars…. (page 185)

There is no reason to suppose that the train trip on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Washington to Baltimore was any different than that described by Henneke.  Other writers described similar conditions.  If Laura wanted to flee Washington, she had to accept what was available.

For those who believe that Laura Keene cradled Lincoln’s head in her lap in the State Box at Ford’s Theatre, the dress she wore that night – bloodied as it were if the story is to be believed – was in one of the many trunks that John Lutz had to arrange to move out of the city.  Laura would not have been wearing a stage costume to travel in.  So, the “bloody dress” moved from Washington to Baltimore along with Keene’s traveling group as it fled the city.

The possible description of the dress has been previously noted.  While the dress in its entirety has been lost, there are some fabric swatches, supposedly from the “bloody dress,” that have survived, as well as a white, detachable cuff which is currently in the collection of the Smithsonian (Museum of American History).  The only known photograph of Laura Keene in what appears to be a dress with white cuffs (perhaps detachable), is shown below.  No one knows where or when the photograph was taken – or if the dress remotely resembles the Act III dress from Our American Cousin. Henneke offers the picture in speculation (p. 211).

For Laura Keene to get to Cincinnati, Ohio, she had three basic choices in Baltimore:  (1) She could travel west from Baltimore via the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, through Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia, and thence into Ohio where she would have to make connections to Cincinnati.  This is the blue line on the map below.  (2) She could travel north and east to Philadelphia where she could then take the Pennsylvania Railroad west to Pittsburgh, and from there, make connections to the Ohio trains to Cincinnati.  (3) She could go directly north on the Northern Central Railroad to Harrisburg, where she could make connections with the Pennsylvania Railroad to Pittsburgh, and from there, connections to Cincinnati.  This third option had the advantage of arriving and departing at the same station in Harrisburg, which she would not have had in Philadelphia.  It it not known why she chose this round-about way, in that the Baltimore and Ohio route appears to be the most direct.  It could be that she was leaving her escape options open by taking the route to Harrisburg.  By staying on the train at Harrisburg, she did have to option of fleeing to Canada if necessary.  There were other choices for more northern routes into Ohio – well out of the way – but she could have traveled to Elmira, New York, and had multiple choices there as well.  No one knew the extent of the problems that she would face if John Wilkes Booth was or was not captured.  Her arrest and detention at Harrisburg confirmed the uncertainty of the situation – particularly in her case – and underscored the manner in which she fled Washington – with few knowing who got paid off and for what purpose.

Click on map to enlarge.

The next post in this series will describe the travel from the railroad stations in Baltimore to the railroad station in Harrisburg.

“Keene’s Chickering piano” shown is believed to be her piano (Henneke, page 185) as was displayed at the Chickering Historical Piano Exhibit.  The piano was destroyed by fire.  The railroad map cut is taken from a map of U.S. railroads at the time of the Civil War.   The Baltimore street map was cut from a Civil War-era guidebook whose copyright has expired.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 4 Comments »
Tags: Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln Assassination, Railroad

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 4, 2012

The post today looks at additional information discovered from research about the Lykens G.A.R. Monument.  The criteria for inclusion of names on the monument is presented as well as some discussion of the work of Henry Keiser in  finalizing plans for the monument’s erection.  The last post describing the monument was presented as part of the “Best of 2011” series which appeared during the last week of 2011.  That “Best of” post included an updated and corrected lists of names on the monument.

The following article appeared in the Lykens Standard, Friday, 13 March 1925.

AFFAIRS FOR MEMORIAL SHAPING NICELY

 Since the publication of the list etc., concerning the bronze memorial Tablet to be erected by the Women’s Relief Corps for the “Boys in Blue” the Standard is in receipt of the following information from authoritative source, which we are asked to publish:

Names to be Added to Published List: 

Corporal

George W. SHEESLEY

Private

John BIRD

Henry BORDNER

Steve CRUMY

Frank DUNANE * *

Jacob FERREE

Albert L. GRACE

John HALEY

David ISRAEL

Fred L. KNILEY (Died in Rebel Prison)

Peter LEHMAN

Elias MINNICK * *

Harry MATTER

Edward MYERS

John POWELL (Died in Rebel Prison)

Simon ROMBERGER

Jonas P. REIGLE

John SHOMPER (Died in Rebel Prison)

Names to be Struck Off List Published: 

Adam C. LONG, reason:  no enlistment

David HAWK, reason:  no enlistment

Henry HEILNER, reason:  no enlistment, contract Government surgeon.

Credit Marks for Wounds:

The following should have been given marks for “Wounded”:

Moses NUTT *

William MARKS *

Beneville HOYER *

Jerry McCOY *

Correction of Names Listed:

Jacob McCOY instead of Jacob M. McCoy

William H. MORGAN instead of William D. Morgan

Henry KEISER instead of Henry W. Keiser

John H. PRIMM instead of Jerry H. Primm

How Former Residents Feel About It:

The following letters turned in to the STANDARD gives the sentiment of two former residents who contributed to the fund and shows that Lykens is still the heart home of those who once resided here.  The contributions totaling $11.00 were turned over to Mrs. Daisy Long , Lykens, Pa., and added to the Memorial Fund.  The letters:

——————————

Philadelphia, Mar. 10, 1925

Dear Mr. Coles:

I see in the “Standard” they are going to commemorate the old soldiers of Lykens and vicinity with a bronze tablet.  I will consider it a privilege if you will accept the enclosed check for that purpose.  ($10.00)

Reading down the list I find many, many names of men – real men – who were my sincere friends.  I shall not attempt to name them, with the exception of Dr. Henry K. Myers, Captain of Company E. N. O. P., of which I was, at his appointment, made Company’s clerk, and Captain J. B. McCoy, who continued me in that position; scarcely inferior to that of the commissioner officers.  It was Captain Myers who took me from the mines and made me Assistant Postmaster in Lykens, from which position I secured my real start in life.  Surely, the ground around the old armory, while not holy, is, at least, sacred to their memory and the other splendid men on the Honor Roll.

Believe me.

Yours sincerely,

John W. Schell

—————————–

Harrisburg, March 8, 1925

Mrs. Daisy Long, Lykens, Pa.

Enclosed please find a dollar which I would like to add as my mite to the fund which the ladies’ Auxiliary are raising for the Bronze Tablet to be erected in honor of the soldiers of Lykens and vicinity who served during the Civil War.  This is a commendable move indeed.  When I read the list in the Standard of those from Lykens and vicinity who served so gallantly and unselfishly in that time of the Nation’s greatest need, it made me feel proud of my native town once more.

Very truly yours,

J. W. BITTERMAN

***********

Mr. Henry Keiser who is in general charge of collection of names, etc., for information concerning the tablet gave the STANDARD the following information when asked about the tablet this week:

“A general misunderstanding seems to prevail concerning the names that are to be placed on this tablet.  I have received letters from every section of the county and some from the west end of Schuylkill County asking that lists they furnished be included on the tablet.  The tablet is not being erected to publish the names to the memory of Civil War veterans from all these sections, but is being placed for the memory of those men who were members of the local G.A.R. and those from Lykens, Wiconisco and immediate vicinity who enlisted at Lykens in the crisis, and only these according to the plans and regulations are entitled to have their names on the tablet being erected by the Women’s Relief Corps.

What is interesting to note from this article is that Dr. Henry Heilner, for whom the Heilner Post G.A.R. of Lykens and Wiconisco was named, would not be included on the monument as a “veteran” of the war.  Dr. Heilner did not “enlist” and was not “drafted”, but was a “contracted government surgeon” therefore not considered a “veteran” worthy of inclusion on the monument erected by the G.A.R. post that bears his name.

Information for this post was transcribed by Sally Reiner of the Lykens-Wiconisco Historical Society from news articles in her collection.  The new historical society in the Lykens Valley area is finalizing plans to move into the old G.A.R. building in Lykens where it will have its headquarters for meetings, house its collections and exhibits, and have a research library.  Anyone interested in participating in the activities of the Lykens-Wiconisco Historical Society can contact Sally via her e-mail.

Category: Memorials, Research, Stories | Comments Off on Lykens G.A.R. Monument Update of 1925
Tags: G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Wiconisco