On the eve of the 1864 election, thousands jammed Pittston, PA for a Union rally - bands, parades, a cannon, and a “perfect jam” on the streets. Cheers for Lincoln, a speaker's biting wit, and street violence with pistols and brick-bats flying. Read the full story.
On Election Night 1864, politics turned deadly in Tremont, PA. After Schuylkill County voters re-elected Congressman Myer Strouse, a band of Irish mineworkers—calling themselves the “Bloody 69th”—paraded through town. Hours later, 25-year-old George W. Thompson was beaten to death. No one was ever tried. This is the Coal Region’s volatile Civil War era—press bias, ethnic tension, and justice denied—told through one forgotten murder. Read the full story.