On the morning of May 4, 1861, Sergeant Charles Cyphers stepped out of his tent at Camp Slifer near Chambersburg and found five inches of fresh snow on the ground. He picked up his pen and wrote home — and what he captured is a vivid snapshot of soldiers waiting, wondering, and trying to stay warm. Read the full letter.
“If you could but see our outfit, methinks that you would not want to be a soldier.” Writing from Camp Slifer in April 1861, Sergeant Charles Cyphers described the long hours, rough conditions, and early realities of army life just miles from the Mason-Dixon line - where the Civil War was escalating.
“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.
On March 16, I’ll be in Columbia, Maryland for Historians on Tap: Luck of the Irish. We'll be sharing stories about Irish history in Maryland and Virginia. Join us for drinks, history, and stories that still resonate. Read more and register for free.
This Public History podcast episode explores the story of a marriage between two rising political families that exploded into one of the most sensational scandals of the 1840s. Beneath the spectacle lies a revealing story about gender, power, and reputation in antebellum America. Listen to the Full Story.
On the blood-soaked fields of Antietam, a captain from Scranton, PA wrote home of the horrors of a Civil War battlefield and the fall of the regiment’s colonel. Bullets tore through bodies, faces masked in smoke and dust, boys became veterans in minutes. This firsthand letter from the 132nd Pennsylvania brings the battle almost unbearably close, in raw detail. Read the full story.
At just 18, Private James Kaercher left Pennsylvania’s Coal Region to fight for the Union at the Battle of South Mountain. A Confederate bullet cut short his service, leading to a five-month struggle before his passing. Read his story.
Near Frederick, MD, I stumbled upon Engine No. 85, a 1928 Vulcan Iron Works tank locomotive that once haulted stone and anthracite in the Coal Region until 1964. Now lovingly restored as “Mack,” it steams on excursions - bringing Coal Region history back to life. Read more of the story.
On Saturday June 14, I was asked to give remarks about the history and context of the American flag over the last 250 years of history. These are the words I shared in historic Mullinix Park in Frederick, Maryland.
Volunteer soldier Gilliard Dock recorded an encounter with a very grump US Army general during the Battle of Antietam.