Letters from War: 1861 | Ario Pardee, Sr. and the recruiting of new regiments in the summer of 1861

Posted on by Jake Wynn

New regiments, new volunteers | The Coal Region rebuilds the Union Army after Bull Run | 1861 After the disaster at Bull Run, the Union's three-year recruiting effort reached deep into the anthracite coal fields. Four new companies were forming at Mauch Chunk, a Hazleton coal operator was outfitting a regiment, and the war that everyone thought would be short was quickly escalating. Read the story.

Letters from War: 1861 | “The light of a thousand homes has gone out” – A soldier with ties to Pittston writes after Bull Run

Posted on by Jake Wynn

"What a terrible thing a battle is..." On July 21, 1861, the Civil War turned truly bloody at Bull Run. A soldier with ties to Pittston was there - among the first onto the field, and the last to leave - and wrote home to describe the retreat, the dead left behind, and the moment the war became something no one could take back. Read the full letter.