“It is almost impossible to form a word, on account of the noise and confusion caused by about 800 men around me…” Just days into his service in April 1861, a Pottsville, PA ironworker-turned-officer found himself swept into the chaos of war—writing from a crowded Philadelphia camp as soldiers drilled, trains moved south, and the Union rushed to hold itself together. Read the full story.
Before they marched off to fight in the Civil War in April 1861, Irish immigrant soldiers in Pottsville, PA gathered inside St. Patrick’s Church for Mass. Father Patrick Nugent spoke to them, "urging their stalwart defense and maintenance of our national Government..." Read the Full Story.
“With many regrets at leaving our families and friends behind us, we still had the consolation to know that we have enlisted our lives and honors in the most noble cause…” In April 1861, as volunteers poured into Camp Curtin, a Schuylkill County printer-turned-soldier captured the surge of patriotism, noise, and uncertainty at the very start of the Civil War - writing his letter on a tin pan between drills as his war began. Read the full story.
“He goes warmed by a spirit of true patriotism.” In April 1861, a 19-year-old printer from Pittston put down his tools and marched off to war. His letters from Camp Curtin in Harrisburg capture the excitement, uncertainty, and raw emotion of the Civil War’s opening days. Read the full story and the start of a new "Letters from War" series.
Built in 1851, the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad depot on East Union Street is Pottsville's oldest surviving railroad building — and it has a Civil War history worth exploring. Watch the new video.
“There is but one feeling expressed, and that is, the government must be sustained.” That line appeared in a letter written from Eckley, Pennsylvania just days after the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861. In the Coal Region, the news sparked a surge of patriotism as young men began volunteering for the US Army. Read the Full Story and Letter.
On a recent drive through Pottsville, I pulled off the road for a quick photo—and ended up staring at one of the city’s oldest surviving witnesses to history. It’s the last remnant of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad’s original passenger depot: a brick head house built in 1851. One important moment in American history still hangs over the place. Read the full story.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. vividly depicts restless minds, repeated headlines, and the shock of war in a powerful essay from the dawn of the Civil War. Discover his profound insights into life’s upheaval when a nation stands on the brink. Read the full story.
In the decades after the Civil War, Pottsville, Pennsylvania celebrated "First Defenders Day," April 18th, as one of its most important holidays. On that day in 1861, citizen soldiers from Schuylkill County were among the Pennsylvanians racing to protect the nation's capital from possible rebel attack in the first days of the Civil War. Union … Continue reading Pottsville, PA celebrated “First Defenders Day” as a tribute to its Civil War veterans
Pittston responds to the astonishing news that Southern militia forces fired upon a Federal garrison in April 1861. The Civil War had begun.