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.
“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.
In Episode 3 of "The Gazette," explore letters from new recruits in the US Army, flag-waving in Pittston, and the state of war in May 1861.
Pittston responds to the astonishing news that Southern militia forces fired upon a Federal garrison in April 1861. The Civil War had begun.
The story of Washington Rifle Company of Lykens, Pennsylvania as the nation marched to war in 1861.