The Gazette: Episode 1 – The War Begins

Pittston responds to the astonishing news that Southern militia forces fired upon a Federal garrison in April 1861. The Civil War had begun.

The Gazette: Prologue – The Looming Crisis

The first full episode of "The Gazette" examines the coming of the Civil War and the founding of Pittston's newspaper in the 1850s.

When Schuylkill County soldiers raced to defend the Capitol in April 1861… and unfortunate modern parallels

In April 1861, soldiers from Pennsylvania's Coal Region raced to defend the US Capitol. 160 years later, some of those scenes repeated themselves.

A Pottsville minister’s letter to President-elect Abraham Lincoln – January 1861

Samuel F. Colt served as the minister at Pottsville's Second Presbyterian Church when he wrote his letter on behalf of Senator Simon Cameron.

Thanksgiving Day in Schuylkill County – 1864

A detailed description of how Schuylkill County celebrated Thanksgiving as the Civil War reached its climax.

Stone-throwing and gunfire: A riot at a political meeting in Northeastern Pennsylvania in 1860

In the late summer and autumn of 1860, the looming election sparked heated political rhetoric, marches in support of political causes, and whispered talk of a coming civil war. These feelings manifest themselves in a violent skirmish between Republicans and Democrats on the streets of a Wayne County community on September 28, 1860. The fight in Hawley, which started … Continue reading Stone-throwing and gunfire: A riot at a political meeting in Northeastern Pennsylvania in 1860

A racist conspiracy theory found root in Schuylkill County in 1862

Some white residents of Schuylkill County believed former slaves were going replace them in the coal mines during the Civil War.