Cashtown Inn (Near Gettysburg)

Cashtown Inn

:CSA1stNat: Located along the old Lincoln Highway or Chambersburg Pike in the town of Cashtown several miles west of Gettysburg, the brick Cashtown Inn served as a meeting place for Generals Robert E. Lee and A. P. Hill on July 1, 1863.


LANDMARK PROFILE
  • Also Known As:
    • Jacob Mickley's Inn (Civil War Era)
  • Battlefield: Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania (8 miles west of the town of Gettysburg)
  • Location: 1325 Old Route 30, Cashtown, Pennsylvania
    • Originally Chambersburg Turnpike
    • Part of "Lincoln Highway"
  • Current Owners: Privately Owned by Jack and Maria Paladino
  • Map Coordinates: +39° 53' 4.68", -77° 21' 37.73" / 39.884702830741574, -77.3603809433523
  • Structure Used In 1863 As:
    • Campaign Headquarters of Confederate Generals A. P. Hill, John D. Imboden, and Henry Heth
    • Field Hospital for battlefield wounded.
  • Admission: Operating as a Restaurant, Bed & Breakfast
LANDMARK DETAILS
  • Opened As: A Stable and an Inn, was open at this site as early as 1797 as a stage coach stop along the Gettysburg to Chambersburg turnpike
  • Structure Built: between 1813 and 1815
  • Inn Owners/Keepers: (Dates are close approximations in some cases)
    • 1797-1854: Peter Marck
    • 1854-1864: Jacob Mickley
    • 1864-1890: Daniel & Mary Heintzelman
    • 1891-1986: History incomplete, but during this period...
      • From 1913-1924, the Old Inn was used as a Civic League Library run by Emma J. Schwartz, with Elizabeth Diehl as the President of the league, including 34 registered members in 1913, with about 450 books available to borrow.
      • One owner considered turning building into single occupant apartments, before the Inn was sold and restored.
    • 1987-1996: Charles & Carol Buckley
    • 1996-2005: Dennis & Elaine Hoover
    • 2006-Current: Jack & Maria Paladino
  • Occupant at the Time of Battle:
    • Innkeeper Jacob Mickley
  • Remarks: "...More Confederate soldiers likely passed through the front door of the Cashtown Inn, than any other building north of Richmond.”
LANDMARK HISTORY
At this site an Inn was built in 1797 and got its name from Peter Marck, the first innkeeper, who would only accept cash. The crossroads it sat near would eventually bear the same name, Cashtown.​
Peter Mark probably constructed the brick building known as the Cashtown Inn between 1804 and 1806. In 1813, a new road was built between Chambersburg and Gettysburg, and the enterprising Mark applied for a tavern license in 1815 and originally had four rooms available. He operated a tavern here for the next three decades. Henry Mickley bought the building in 1854, and his son Jacob Mickley ran the establishment during the Civil War.​
During the Gettysburg Campaign, the inn became the headquarters for many Confederate officers and staff, including Generals A. P. Hill, John D. Imboden, and Henry Heth.​
To an unwary observer who stood in front of Cashtown Inn on June 29 of that year, it must have looked as if the whole Rebel army had emerged from the rough, forested ridgeline when the van of Lt. Gen. A.P. Hill's Third Corps suddenly swung into view. Their crimson banners swayed with the liquid motion of marching soldiers, who were dressed in ragged butternut and gray. A gentle breeze carried with it the noise of rattling mess tins, the clanking of swords and bayonets, and the cheerful bantering of confident veterans on parade.​
To Cashtown Innkeeper Jacob Mickley, who witnessed the spectacle, it appeared as if “the entire force under Lee...passed within twenty feet of my barroom.”​
The basement also served as a field hospital during the battle, and it is said that so many amputations were performed, that the limbs piled up outside blocked any sunlight from coming in the cellar window.​
Henry Mickley sold the inn to Daniel and Mary Heintzelman in 1864, and they operated it until 1890. More than ninety years later, after passing through the hands of many owners, the Cashtown Inn was restored. Today, the historic tavern continues to serve travelers and visitors to south-central Pennsylvania.​

WAYSIDE MARKER TEXT

(Top Sidebar)
After a stunning victory at Chancellorsville in May 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia through Maryland into Pennsylvania, marching east to threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. The Army of the Potomac marched north from the capital, searching for Lee. On July 1-3, the armies collided at Gettysburg in one of the pivotal battles of the Civil War. Three days later, after a bloody defeat, the Confederates began retracing their steps to Virginia.​
You are standing where Gen. Robert E. Lee and Gen. A.P. Hill stood on the morning of July 1, 1863, as they listened to the sounds of a growing battle in the distance, a few miles east, near Gettysburg. There, two Confederate infantry brigades clashed with two Union cavalry brigades and, because the armies were marching toward each other, the fighting intensified as additional troops arrived. Soon, the rest of Hill's corps hurried forward to join the fray.​
This was not the first time that Confederates had marched past the Cashtown Inn. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart had led his cavalrymen past this spot in October 1862 while on a raid. On this day, however, as tavernkeeper Jacob Mickley later wrote, "The entire rebel force under General Lee came down the Chambersburg Pike, passing within twenty feet of my bar room dore [sic]." With thousands of hungry and thirsty Confederates marching by, it is no wonder that Mickley lost by his own account at wagon, a horse, a steer, 50 chickens, 100 apple trees, and 480 gallons of whiskey and brandy - more than $2,000 in damages.​

(Right Sidebar)
Peter Mark probably constructed the brick building known as the Cashtown Inn between 1804 and 1806. In 1813, a new road was built between Chambersburg and Gettysburg, and the enterprising Mark applied for a tavern license in 1815. He operated a tavern here for the next three decades. Henry Mickley bought the building in 1854, and his son Jacob Mickley ran the establishment during the Civil War. He sold the inn to Daniel and Mary Heintzelman in 1864, and they operated it until 1890. More than ninety years later, after passing through the hands of many owners, the Cashtown Inn was restored. Today, the historic tavern continues to serve travelers and visitors to south-central Pennsylvania.​
Erected 2009 by Civil War Trails.​


ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

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Civic League Library Era, Tipton Photo

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© Michael Kendra, April 18, 2009

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Wayside Marker, © Michael Kendra, April 18, 2009

ADDITIONAL READING
RELATED LINKS
citation information The following information is provided for citations.
Article Title:
Cashtown Inn (Near Gettysburg)
Article Subject:
Civil War Monuments, Structures, & Other Points of Interest
Author:
Mike Kendra, @CivilWarTalk
Website Name:
CivilWarTalk.com
URL:
https://civilwartalk.com/threads/cashtown-inn-near-gettysburg.185367/
Publisher:
CivilWarTalk, LLC
Original Published Date:
June 1, 2021

links to state and national monuments, and nearby landmarks Located at Gettysburg National Military Park, in Adams County, Pennsylvania (rev.6/1/21)
National Monuments
Eternal Light Peace Memorial Friend to Friend Masonic Memorial High Water Mark
Lincoln Speech Memorial Soldiers' National Monument
U.S. State Monuments
DE IN MD NY NY Auxiliary PA VT U.S. Regulars
C.S. State Monuments
AL AK DE FL GA LA MD MS NC SC TN TX VA
Union Regimentals
CT DE IL IN ME MD MA MI MN
NH NJ NY OH PA RI VT WV WI U.S. Regulars
Landmarks
Black Horse Tavern Cashtown Inn Alexander Dobbin House Evergreen Cemetery Gatehouse Jennie Wade House
Lutheran Theological Seminary McAllister's Mill Railroad Station
Thompson House David Wills House
Farms: Codori Bliss Brian
Daniel Schaefer Hummelbaugh Klingle Lady Leister McLean McPherson
Rogers Rose Rummel Sherfy Slyder Snyder Taney Trostle George Weikert Wentz
Points of Interest
New Museum & Visitor Center Benner's Hill Cemetery Hill Copse of Trees Culp's Hill
Devil's Den Peach Orchard Little Round Top
Big Round Top Sachs Covered Bridge
Spangler's Spring East Cavalry Field Soldiers' National Cemetery National Cemetery Annex

Gone But Not Forgotten: Old Museum, Visitor Center, & Electric Map Old Cyclorama National Tower
 
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The Cashtown Inn made a cameo appearance in the movie Gettysburg. Tons of soil was hauled in and spread over the modern pavement for the filming. A few hours later it all had to be swept up and carted away. The scene took up less than two minutes of screen time.
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One of two mute and very brief appearances of A. P. Hill took place here (below in the red shirt, conferring with Gen. Lee). Actor William Sanderson shot several scenes in the role, all of which ended up on the cutting room floor.
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I was in Gettysburg last week but did not have enough time to see every thing.
 
Wife and I stayed there in August 2019, for our 40th anniversary. Very enjoyable several nights and the innkeeper made superb breakfasts (and coffee,).
 
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