York County theological student fought at Witmer Farm skirmish
A supply wagon of the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia hastily escapes along the Chambersburg Pike and heads toward Gettysburg while the infantry crosses muddy farm fields to the northeast as Rebel...
View ArticleCivil War Voices from York County, Pa.: Rebels raid the Ilyes farm
During the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign, more than 11,000 Confederate soldiers passed through or occupied York County, Pennsylvania, the next county east of Gettysburg and Adams County. Author James...
View ArticleOld pump and slate water box recall the Battle of Gettysburg
This old iron pump and slate water box are in the collection of the Old Line Museum in Delta, Pennsylvania, a small community in southern York County not far from the Maryland state line (“old line”)....
View ArticleYork County Soldiers: Pvt. Henry Gable of North Codorus Township
York County, Pennsylvania, borders northern Maryland, just across the Mason-Dixon Line which historically separated free states from slave states in the Eastern United States. As such, the citizens...
View ArticleShrewsbury black man was conductor on Underground Railroad
Amanda Berry Smith was perhaps the leading black female evangelist of the 19th century. Noted for her fiery passion for the Christian cause and for her compassion toward the downtrodden, Smith worked...
View ArticleUnion courier shot at Green Ridge / Brodbecks
This old log home near Brodbecks in southern York County, Pa., was the site of a shooting during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. Owner George Bair feared for his family’s safety when a stranger rode to...
View ArticlePart of old Confederate campsite at Big Mount, Pa., is now an alpaca farm
Big Mount Alpacas is a popular spot along Canal Road in Big Mount, Pennsylvania, a hamlet in western York County’s Paradise Township. During the Civil War’s Gettysburg Campaign 148 years ago, more...
View ArticleRebel lieutenant led raiding party near Locust Grove in Windsor Township
On June 29, 1863, a Confederate raiding party scoured the countryside between the York-Wrightsville Turnpike (later known as the Lincoln Highway and today’s Route 462) and E. Prospect Road (today’s...
View ArticleRemnants found of old mill once raided by Jeb Stuart’s Rebels
Jeb Stuart‘s Confederate cavalry paused on their route from Jefferson, Pennsylvania, northward to New Salem to raid area farms, mills, and merchants for horses, mules, and provisions. David B....
View ArticleIn the Footsteps of J.E.B. Stuart: Smith Road and Blue Hill School Road in...
It is the sunny morning of July 1, 1863. It is already hot, and the morning fog has burned off. For farmers in northwestern York County, Pennsylvania, this will be a day of dismay, and for some, sheer...
View ArticleSharp political differences led to rowdiness in Lower Windsor Township
In September 1863, the York Gazette reported on a political event in southeastern York County, Pa., in which “Abolition rowdies” attempted to disrupt a meeting of Democrats in Lower Windsor Township....
View ArticleThere’s money in those rafters in Spry!
York County, Pennsylvania, still retains in places vestiges of its once thriving agricultural heritage, particularly with the huge, bank barns (often painted red) which once dominated the roadsides...
View ArticleYork County’s Copperheads clashed with pro-Lincoln loyalists
This satirical cartoon from Harper’s Weekly depicts members of the pro-peace wing of the Democratic Party as copperhead snakes, a characterization made popular in the Republican press. The artist...
View ArticleConfederate officer left receipt for taking York County farmer’s mules
As the Confederate army invaded Pennsylvania in late June 1863, foraging patrols scoured the countryside for fresh horses, mules, and supplies, often paying with Confederate script. Officers were...
View ArticleYork CWRT to feature author Ron Hershner on October 15
The York Civil War Round Table will feature author Ronald L. Hershner at its monthly meeting on October 15, 2014. Mr. Hershner will present a PowerPoint talk based on his book “Letters From Home:...
View ArticleYork County Civil War soldiers: Cpl. James C. McCurdy, 130th PA
Autographed CDV photo of J. C. McCurdy from the personal collection of Cannonball blogger Scott Mingus James Christopher McCurdy moved around a lot in his long life and apparently accomplished quite a...
View ArticleDelta residents organized Sons of Veterans camp after the war
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is a longstanding fraternal order whose membership consists of direct descendants of Union soldiers who served in the Civil War. It is the legal...
View Article87th Pennsylvania reenactors planning Memoral Day event
The 87th Pennsylvania reenactment group, based in south-central Pennsylvania, honors the memory of the actual 87th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which served in the Union army from the...
View ArticleYork County History Center To Release Underground Railroad Book: The Ground...
On September 1, 2016, the York County History Center will release the first book on the Underground Railroad ever to be published in York. Surprising, considering that from the 1820s through the early...
View ArticleMore old-time donations of Civil War items to the historical society
(Glen Rock Historical Society) Cannonball reader John Hufnagle is a strong supporter of the Glen Rock Historical Society, one of the many excellent community heritage organizations to seek to preserve...
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