Dive into a rarely told piece of Civil War history, where doctors, nurses, and volunteers fought to keep the Thanksgiving spirit alive for wounded soldiers. Discover how these hospital celebrations offered hope and normalcy amid the chaos of conflict. Read the full story.
Netflix’s Death by Lightning tackles Garfield’s brief presidency, his assassination, and Charles Guiteau’s madness. In this episode of the Public History podcast, we offer our review and take a look at the history behind this series about the 20th President of the United States and the man who killed him. Listen to the episode.
Netflix’s upcoming miniseries Death by Lightning takes on one of America’s most tragic presidential stories—the 1881 assassination of James A. Garfield and the medical blunders that doomed him. Starring Michael Shannon, Nick Offerman, and Matthew Macfadyen and based on Candace Millard’s Destiny of the Republic, this one hits close to home for me. 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.
In July 1864, Union and Confederate troops clashed near Frederick, Maryland, at the Battle of Monocacy. In 2021, I recorded a series of videos at Monocacy National Battlefield highlighting the medical story of the battle in partnership with historians and park rangers for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. Watch the videos and learn more of the story.
Amid a smallpox epidemic in Schuylkill County, a newspaper editor threw up their hands at those who refused to be vaccinated, despite very real danger.
An October 1918 PSA from the Pennsylvania state government told residents how to avoid pandemic influenza, or if necessary, how to treat it.
As the 1918 pandemic reached its peak in Scranton, PA, the city's newsboys had a fascination with face masks.
In 1910, an epidemic of scarlet fever spun out of control in the Coal Region community of Lykens and left a trail of bodies in its wake.
A caustic letter by a Schuylkill County native in Seattle complained of mask requirement in the city. But their letter missed the mark.