“I saw an awful sight” | A Coal Region soldier at South Mountain and Antietam

Posted on by Jake Wynn

Ten days after Antietam, a young soldier from Wiconisco Township, PA sat down to put it into words for his father back home. Private Joseph Workman of the 96th Pennsylvania had just walked the battlefield days earlier. "I saw an awful sight," he wrote. "We had to move away from there on account of the stink." His letter, recently digitized by the Library of Congress, provides insights into what he witnessed at the Battle of South Mountain as well. Read the full story.

A story from the building of the Northern Central Railroad in Central Pennsylvania | 1850s

Posted on by Jake Wynn

Discover the dramatic story of teenage Henry Keiser, who hauled explosive powder through rugged terrain - and survived a life-threatening cattle stampede. Get a firsthand look at the dangers behind building this crucial rail line along the Susquehanna. Read the full story.

A Bloody Day in the Life of a Civil War Soldier | YouTube Short Documentary

Posted on by Jake Wynn
A painting of the Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania Court House on May 12, 1864 - Civil War

Step into May 1864 through the eyes of Henry Keiser, a Pennsylvania corporal facing brutal combat during the Civil War. This short student documentary brings his vivid diary to life, revealing the raw realities of the Civil War in a way you won’t forget. Read the full story and watch the video.

Sergeant Henry Keiser | A Pennsylvania soldier at Appomattox Court House

Posted on by Jake Wynn

On April 9, 1865, Sergeant Henry Keiser of Wiconisco Township, PA, recorded in his diary the moment he and his fellow soldiers learned of General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, marking the end of their service in the Civil War. After surviving brutal battles from Gettysburg to Cedar Creek, Keiser returned home to Pennsylvania, where he lived until 1933, remembered as a dedicated soldier and community member. Read the full story.

A Pennsylvania Civil War soldier documents the 1864 election

Posted on by Jake Wynn

In October and November 1864, Pennsylvania soldiers, including Sergeant Henry Keiser of Lykens, cast their votes for president from their army camps near the front lines. This pivotal moment in the Civil War helped secure Abraham Lincoln’s re-election, ensuring his policies of emancipation and Union victory would continue. Explore this firsthand account of wartime voting - the first "absentee" voting in Pennsylvania history. Read the full story.

A Civil War soldier learns of his brother’s death from typhoid fever | 1863

Posted on by Jake Wynn

George Keiser died of typhoid fever in 1863. He was 17 and had just returned from service in the Pennsylvania militia during the Civil War.

Four Christmases – Holiday excerpts from Henry Keiser’s Civil War diary

Posted on by Jake Wynn

Four diary entries from the Civil War document the evolution of holiday experiences of a soldier from Pennsylvania's Coal Region.

Henry Keiser’s ‘reminisicences’ of Lykens and Wiconisco before the Civil War

Posted on by Jake Wynn

In May 1927, Henry Keiser described the Coal Region towns where he grew up as they looked in the 1850s.