"For several years, our friend Mr. Yuengling has been engaged in digging into the hill back of his old establishment in Mahantongo Street..." This 1846 article from the "Miners' Journal" newspaper in Pottsville, PA reports on update to D.G. Yuengling's Eagle Brewery. Read the story.
"My duties compelling me to remain below, I had little opportunity of observing the progress of the fight, and was... in a disagreeable state of suspense." Surgeon Robert Weber of Pottsville, PA experienced the Battle of Port Royal Sound on November 7, 1861 aboard the USS Unadilla. He described the battle and its aftermath in a letter to his parents in Schuylkill County. Read the full letter.
“On the 7th of this month we re-planted the glorious stars and stripes upon the soil of rebellious South Carolina, the very hot-bed of Secession..." US Marine Simon Bassler wrote home to the Miners' Journal to describe the Battle of Port Royal Sound on November 7, 1861. The young captain's clerk from Schuylkill Haven participated in the battle aboard the USS Susquehanna. Read the full letter.
In November 1864, Schuylkill County mine superintendent Gilliard Dock took up his pen and journaled about his daily routine at the coal mine just north of Pine Grove, PA. Dock was active in his journal that fall, writing about politics, the prospects for his mining operation, and the chaotic state of American politics in the fourth year of the Civil War. Read the full story.
“A fearful ride we had of it. God preserve me from ever having another like it.” In November 1861, Colonel Benjamin C. Christ and the 50th Pennsylvania sailed with a vast Union fleet into a hurricane off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. In a letter to his wife, Christ described how he and his soldiers fought to keep their ship afloat in the raging seas. Read his letter.
John Gillespie came home from the 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry in June 1865, months after the Civil War ended. On Halloween night, he was shot on the streets of Tamaqua. He died twelve days later. Read the full story.
"It is truly wonderful that we had no lives lost in our company," wrote Sergeant James Silliman of Pottsville, PA in October 1861. His unit, Company A, 28th Pennsylvania, had fought hard with Confederate soldiers near Harpers Ferry, Virginia on October 16, 1861. Read his letter.
"We hope our borough council will pass an ordinance provided for the lighting of the streets upon every dark night..." This 1846 article highlights the dangers of walking around Pottsville, PA during the night-time hours when the street lights were left unlit. Read the full story.
"No arrests were made." In October 1861, the Miners' Journal of Pottsville, PA reported on a brawl at the Betz tavern in turbulent Minersville Street of the city on Election Night. Read the full story.
In a letter written in October 1861, Captain Oliver Bosbyshell of Pottsville, PA described the arrival of the 48th Pennsylvania at Fort Monroe in Virginia. Bosbyshell described the camp, the regiment's drill, and the events happening around the important Union base on the Cheseapeake Bay. Read the full letter.