Norman Gasbarro | May 30, 2011
In the front of Section 1- North, of Gratz Union Cemetery, Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, is the final resting place for three unnamed Civil War soldiers. Over time, the cemetery records have been lost as to the names of the veterans who are are buried in this plot. It was here that the G.A.R. […]
Norman Gasbarro | May 29, 2011
A previous post entitled Gratz Area Veterans Monument, was presented here in November 2010 and discussed the memorial that is located in front of the Gratz Community Center on Center Street in Gratz, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. One face of that monument, the side that looks east, was not mentioned. The east side is the face […]
Norman Gasbarro | May 5, 2011
Today is Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May), a holiday that had its origins during the American Civil War. It commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over the French forces of Napoleon III at the Battle of Puebla. The holiday was actually created by Mexicans living in California who supported the cause of Mexican freedom. Ironically, […]
Norman Gasbarro | May 1, 2011
In July of 1863, President Lincoln issued a proclamation ordering a draft to raise five hundred thousand men for the Union army. It was the first compulsory draft in American history. The draft was intended to encourage enlistment, but in many cases it had the opposite effect. Federal troops had to be called out in […]
Norman Gasbarro | April 29, 2011
Christopher Gist, an immigrant from England around 1682, settled in the Baltimore area of Maryland in 1891. His marriage to Edith Cromwell had connected him to one of the prominent lines of English descent, that of Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector. The son of this marriage, Richard Gist (1684-1741), was the father of western explorer […]
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