July 1, 1863, The Beginning Of After For Gettysburg Citizens

December, 1863. Still much battle news in The Adams Sentinel. McConaughy continually ran letters he received on the battle. Gee whiz. Clipped this one because George Sharpe was involved- one of my favorites. Remember McConaughy built the hotel he tried to use quite quickly for tourists post battle- opening in 1869 with a ' reunion ' to which officers only were invited. Poorly attended- harshly criticized on several points. ( Not a fan so perhaps am not a terrific spokesperson on his activities )

letter frm sharp 1.JPG
letter frm sharp 2.JPG

letter frm sharp 3.JPG
letter frm sharp 4.JPG



Same paper, John Burn's pension rushed through at the speed of oil lamps.
burns pension adams sent dec 1863.JPG


George Arnold's farm went up for sale- there's a stream of these. Guessing the hit many citizens took at a result of the battle forced sales where owners wished otherwise. The government was appallingly skimpy with claims- it was beyond shocking. All the churches in town for instance, ruined beyond easy repair caring for wounded, received 500 dollars to split among them.
armold farm for sale dec 1863.JPG
 
As a matter of fact, the barn was a topic during our discussion. Before speaking with him I had thought that it was the original barn but he said that the current barn was NOT the original that was part of the homestead at the time of the battle.

If I remember what he told me correctly, the old barn was actually in a different location on the property (it was originally a much larger farmstead and also included the land across the street from the house) but at some time in the late 1800's it was destroyed. When it was later rebuilt it was put in it's current location because there wasn't much left of the original farmstead as it had been parceled out and sold off long before. Now, the property only includes what is located inside of the fence line.

Wouldn't it be cool to somehow find out if that young Confederate had later bought some of the land from the Baylys when they started selling it off?

Now that I know the house is the Bayly house, I look closely whenever I pass by, @Warren, and I've noticed that the house is in three sections, all apparently about the same size. Did you and the owner happen to discuss whether later additions also existed at the time of the battle?
 
Unfortunately, no. We only discussed the barn not being the original and he had brought that up after I asked about it having a block-and-tackle arm extending from the house-side of the barn. We may have gotten around to talking about the house if we had spoken longer-he wanted to get the grass cut, LOL.
 
JPk huson thank you for all the great work you keep doing on this for I look forward to more and appreciate I find your posts always interesting. It's nice the way you shine a light on that time.
 
JPk huson thank you for all the great work you keep doing on this for I look forward to more and appreciate I find your posts always interesting. It's nice the way you shine a light on that time.


That is very kind of you. It's this forum, forcing you to stretch if you insist on being smitten with History, that's all. Gettysburg- biggest myth being ' North and South had a battle, Pickett's Charge happened, everyone went home, The End '. Then you read accounts of the family sitting at their kitchen table discussing what kind of man they thought lost the hand they're all looking at- picked up in a field. Like it was normal. A human hand.

Something more than huge or just massive changed Gettysburg- comprehensively, forever. First tourists arrived July 4th, 1863, while it was still a hot battlefield. Citizens now had tourists, homes, streets and fields filled with dead and wounded and two armies to absorb.

Probably posted this before.
ap every house august paper.JPG

Guy named Crouse had begun a rumor, wildly unfounded and despicable, Gettysburg citizens were unhelpful. Can't remember, may have a thread on the topic.
 
One of our members who is a Gettysburg resident asked that we keep track of ' civilian ' stories and threads- as mentioned earlier. Tom Elmore gave us the Warren Family's story, thought it good to link here.

Link and teaser!

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/david-and-elizabeth-warren-with-their-family-at-gettysburg.134544/


David and Elizabeth Warren with their Family at Gettysburg

“ David and Elizabeth Warren lived with their seven children (three boys and four girls, ranging in ages from 17 to 3) on a property at the north edge of town, between Carlisle and N. Washington Streets (closer to the latter), on the south side of North Street, and abutting the railroad tracks that terminated near their home. The owners of the house were listed as Samuel and Phillip Small. A small barn on the property held their sole horse, named Fanny. Looking northward, they enjoyed a fairly unobstructed view across the fields and buildings of Pennsylvania College.”
 
Someone mentioned being interested in Gettysburg citizens, thought I'd bump this. One of our members , a Gettysburg ' local ' asked we have this thread- there are links to other forums ( Ladies Tea :giggle:) where Gettysburg civilian stories are highlighted, too.

19 dearddorf barn.jpg

@LoyaltyOfDogs , didn't we see one of your fellow citizens post a photo recently with this in the background? ( photo from Public Access, Hathitrust )
 
Someone mentioned being interested in Gettysburg citizens, thought I'd bump this. One of our members , a Gettysburg ' local ' asked we have this thread- there are links to other forums ( Ladies Tea :giggle:) where Gettysburg civilian stories are highlighted, too.

View attachment 148551
@LoyaltyOfDogs , didn't we see one of your fellow citizens post a photo recently with this in the background? ( photo from Public Access, Hathitrust )

Thanks, @JPK Huson 1863, I had somehow missed the earlier post with the barn picture. I'll have to search it and get caught up.
 
Excerpts from a 1930 newspaper interview with Mary Wiseman Hindman, who witnessed the battle as a 17-year-old: http://iowawatch.org/2017/10/28/bul...ed-family-cow-at-gettysburg-during-civil-war/


That is an awesome addition, thank you! This is awful but I'm not so much smitten by Lee as by her mother having died from drinking bad water? I keep bumping into these things- the water and wells in Gettysburg were so ruined by rotting animals ( we'll leave it at animals ) that you couldn't get drinking water. One of the Christian Commission ( I think ) men mentions it? And a citizen, maybe- can't remember and need to begin a file. Now I will! The wells were dry anyway from being so tapped so you'd imagine, as they filled naturally, had no clear water to dilute or make the ground water fresh again. Love to know civilian deaths from this, those poor people!
 
OH! While I'm here, @LoyaltyOfDogs , 'nother civilian death toll I cannot find more on but have two so far. Accientally found it while looking into Carrie Sheades. Her sister died from being poisoned by chemicals used when packing dead soldiers, to send them home. I think one of the Powers girls did, too? It must have been a ' thing ', and tracked down what was used to embalm but unsure that's it. With how awful a shambles the town was, cannot imagine one, more tragic cause of death was remarkable so can't find much- but looking! If you see anything, let me know, please?
 
OH! While I'm here, @LoyaltyOfDogs , 'nother civilian death toll I cannot find more on but have two so far. Accientally found it while looking into Carrie Sheades. Her sister died from being poisoned by chemicals used when packing dead soldiers, to send them home. I think one of the Powers girls did, too? It must have been a ' thing ', and tracked down what was used to embalm but unsure that's it. With how awful a shambles the town was, cannot imagine one, more tragic cause of death was remarkable so can't find much- but looking! If you see anything, let me know, please?

How grim. Thanks for posting this, @JPK Huson 1863. I was unaware of Miss Sheads' and Miss Powers' deaths. If I see anything further I'll add it. How many other civilians, I wonder, died from causes related to the battle? How many instances were there of children killed playing with unexploded shells, and farmers who died after plowing up shells in their fields? Did 1860's America have a term for "collateral damage?"
 
Quite a number of civilians must have written their accounts of the battle and its aftermath. Besides those of Tillie Pierce, Sarah Broadhead, and other writers whose reminiscences are well-known, apparently many others have yet to be widely published. The Adams County Historical Society and its volunteers are working to make them accessible. According to one of their Facebook posts, the Historical Society alone has more than 100, which they say is the largest collection of civilian accounts of the battle. I enjoyed this interview with a volunteer who is transcribing them.
 
How grim. Thanks for posting this, @JPK Huson 1863. I was unaware of Miss Sheads' and Miss Powers' deaths. If I see anything further I'll add it. How many other civilians, I wonder, died from causes related to the battle? How many instances were there of children killed playing with unexploded shells, and farmers who died after plowing up shells in their fields? Did 1860's America have a term for "collateral damage?"


Have quite a few clippings where children ( and adults ) were killed by unexploded shells, post battle- just looked through them last night thinking it would be good, to compile them. OH goodness. One of the experts may have done it - hope so! We non-experts out here could get lost. Seem to be a lot of reports.
 
Have quite a few clippings where children ( and adults ) were killed by unexploded shells, post battle- just looked through them last night thinking it would be good, to compile them. OH goodness. One of the experts may have done it - hope so! We non-experts out here could get lost. Seem to be a lot of reports.

I haven't run across a catalog of these deaths, but, as you say, some historian probably has collected them. The battle continued claiming civilian casualties for many years afterward. I recall seeing a newspaper report of a Gettysburg boy being killed by a shell in the 1930s.
 
I haven't run across a catalog of these deaths, but, as you say, some historian probably has collected them. The battle continued claiming civilian casualties for many years afterward. I recall seeing a newspaper report of a Gettysburg boy being killed by a shell in the 1930s.


Whoa, in the 1930's? Poor boy! We'd suffered an entire, ' new ' war by then, too. That is crazy! You would think that would be a huge story! You know, the last casualty of shots fired from the battle? I'll look for it, and add it here.
 
Found William G. Williams' book DAYS OF DARKNESS the Gettysburg Civilians a fascinating account of (as the cover states) Real people. True stories. The astonishing narrative reconstructed from eyewitness accounts of the most important battle in American history.

I have "Days of Darkness" and have read it many times over the years. I prefer diaries and personal stories from the people who lived history. 'Real People and true stories.' Much more interesting than the historical accounts.
 
Back
Top