Step back to July 1, 1938, as aging Civil War veterans from Pennsylvania returned to Gettysburg’s battlefield for its 75th anniversary—a poignant final gathering that bridged living history and an uneasy world on the brink of another war. A moving testament to our fading links to the past. Read the full story.
Step back to June 21, 1888, when over 200 veterans of the 96th Pennsylvania returned to Gettysburg to unveil their regimental monument. Hear veteran Henry Royer’s stirring keynote about sacrifice, brotherhood, and the war’s true cause - slavery. His speech was a moving tribute to comrades both living and fallen. Read the full story.
In 1929, Schuylkill County author Joseph H. Zerbe lamented how living recollections of the Civil War were slipping away as veterans passed on. He feared younger generations, detached from personal stories and tangible reminders, might lose connection to their county’s important Civil War legacy. Read the full story and essay.
In this Monday Dispatch, I'm revisiting my transformative 2015 internship at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park - where battlefield interpretation, the Charleston massacre, and rising Confederate flag debates reshaped my career. Discover how that summer defined my career path and the future of Civil War memory. Read the full reflection.
The aging veterans who were the first to arrive at the US Capitol in April 1861 pledged their loyalty to the Union once more as America entered World War I.
Parades, speeches, and way too much alcohol characterize how Schuylkill County marked the one year anniversary of the Civil War's end.
In 1905, outraged Union veterans in Port Carbon, Pennsylvania came together to take down a confederate battle flag.
Schuylkill County Civil War veterans took a stand against the construction of a Robert E. Lee monument at Gettysburg in 1903.
And a plea to consider what the Confederate battle flag meant to the local soldiers who fought and died in the Civil War.