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Civil War Blog

A project of PA Historian

Frederick E. Stees – P.O.S. of A. National Secretary

A monument at the St. John Lutheran Cemetery at Pine Grove, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, recognizes Frederick Eckert Stees for serving as the National Secretary of the Patriotic Order of the Sons of America [P.O.S. of A.].  Stees died on 19 April 1905. The inscription on the monument reads: Erected by the National Camp Patriotic Order […]

The Ku Klux Klan in Pennsylvania – More Sources of Information

This post will identify and review two additional, readily-available print sources of information on the Ku Klan Klan in Pennsylvania in the 20th Century. This 20th Century iteration of the Klan was a re-incarnation of the first Klan that came about after the Civil War to deny rights to Freedmen by using terror and intimidation. […]

Ku Klux Klan Briefs from the West Schuylkill Herald

The post today includes a number of brief articles or news reports on the activities of the Ku Klux Klan, most too short for a post of their own.  All of the following are from the West Schuylkill Herald, Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania: ___________________________________ From the West Schuylkill Herald, 15 September 1922: General Pershing […]

Ku Klux Klan Cross Burning at Tower City, 1923

  From West Schuylkill Herald, 28 December 1923, came the first open evidence of the establishment of the Ku Klux Klan at Tower City, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania: KU KLUX KLAN BURNS CROSS AT TOWER CITY WEDNESDAY Wednesday night about 8:30, following a loud explosion, a burning cross was plainly visible on the mountain side north […]

Hugo Black Confesses to Ku Klux Klan Membership, 1937

The story of the the nomination and confirmation of Sen. Hugo L. Black, Alabama, to the U. S. Supreme Court in 1937, was widely reported in the national and local press.  Black’s association with and membership in the Ku Klux Klan was of great concern to most Americans. Three interesting articles appeared in the West […]