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

"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.

A Luzerne County newspaper’s editorial about Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia | April 1865

"The rebellion of American slavery against American freedom has just been beaten and crushed..."

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.