In 1892, Colonel Frederick Hitchcock stood before a room of fellow veterans in Scranton, PA and said what needed saying — that the nation's treatment of the nearly 200,000 Black men who fought for the Union during the Civil War was "an everlasting shame." Read the full story.
What feels like a modern fight over Confederate monuments began at Gettysburg in the 1880s. In this episode of the Public History Podcast, Codie Eash shows how veterans battled over memory, treason, and power - and how the Lost Cause was challenged by US veterans from the start on America’s most famous battlefield. Read the full story.
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.
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.