interested in first ladies that want to do that research because they are very fascinating people. they are they are the first. and the witnesses to some really important things in our in our history. so that is my closing thoughts. well, thank you. and i can tell you that all of us here looking forward to your book. and thank you, liz and sharon and chris for really a wonderfuand introduce speaker st mingus senior. he's going to talk about the wrightsville bridge. george scott is a historian multiple winning author having written or co-written more than 30 books on the american civil

war and the underground railroad. he's also written numerous articles on gettysburg magazine, four other historical journals he has appeared on c-span c-span, three pcm and other tv networks. mingus writes a blog on civil war history of york county, pennsylvania, and received the heritage profile award from the york county history center for his contributions to local civil war history. let's welcome mr. scott mingus. come back me to the summer 1863. it's gettysburg pennsylvania. confederate troops are coming from the west. there's more confederates under djerba lee robert rhodes people like that to north there's union cavalry fronting union infantry they attack prissy maids. the union forces retreat and

retreat and retreat. the confederates at the high ground. we're not talking the battle of gettysburg we're not talking about what if stonewall jackson was a gettysburg? we're talking about a battle that many of you may not be aware of. the first battle of gettysburg. how many of you aware? there were two battles of gettysburg, one on june 26, 1863. another one you might have heard of on july 1st, 1863, over thousand monuments of gettysburg. the second battle. we're going to talk about the first battle with monuments on the battlefield. two, the june 26, fighting at gettysburg. it was part of jubal early expedition, a little picnic in

pensive genius. one of his men would call it, well, let's talk about their goal for jubal. he was the wrightsville bridge campbell wrightsville columbia. here's was a quick geography lesson. this is south central pennsylvania. gettysburg, of course, is the bottom left. we're all familiar with that. we're all familiar with gettysburg, of course, key to the south central pennsylvania to understand the gettysburg campaign is the geography. harris works on the right side of the river. if you're a yankee, think god harrisburg's on the right side of the river. if harrisburg is on the left side of the river, we might be saying, y'all, too, and you can count that. but harrisburg's on the right side of the river. so here's your quick geography lesson is the susquehanna river divides principally union two, almost two states. those on the east side eagle stance. those on the west side are steelers fans. and so you tend to get

dichotomy, but is the key. there's all these railroads that are running through there and without using the up top here in harrisburg you have two railroad well two branches, a railroad bridge and another bridge followed me down the river to wrightsville and columbia. there's another bridge there going on down the river nothing else from harrisburg to connell, maryland, at the time of the civil one bridge, one bridge south of harrisburg. and so the whole gettysburg campaign in pennsylvania at least, can be summed up pretty easily to protect the river, if a yankee take the river crossings, if you're a confederate. so that's what's going to look like. railroads dominate the region, but the real key to the region's economy is the world's longest covered. it is longer than jersey's bridge.

it's 5006 and 29 state law. it's the longest covered, built on earth. at a point in time, you can see us magnificent structure in the 1841 drawing, but it gives you an idea of how the mountains are that high notes, a little bit of exaggeration. but the bridge is an incredibly interesting structure. it's built in 1812. it's knocked down by ice in the early 1830s, it's rebuilt 500 yards downstream using almost all of the original pine and oak from the 1812 bridge. it's on piers are 15 feet above the flood level. so in theory, an ice storm is an ice and the social handle will never destroy bridge again. it's the lifeblood of the pennsylvania turnpike. there is no i-76 back then. now the pennsylvania, now known as route 30 and ralph for 62, the pennsylvania turnpike use

this bridge, though it's a critical bridge for the economy of the region it's also had a military back in 1862. there were a lot ofoncerns the confederates and dating pennsylvania as we know we heard from brad night the antietam campaign the original aim was pennsylvania. and so throughout. september october 1862 timeframe there are so many people in harrisburg and the politicians, news men, etc. that are so concerned about bridges. member to bridges in harrisburg one at wrightsville a couple more bridges north of harrisburg but they're kind of out of the play so we're really focusing on the two bridges that harrisburg and the big one at wrightsville. how are we going to protect harrisburg if robert e lee a run into pennsylvania? well, as we know from brad's discussion, he's going to get started. antietam. but in october of 1862, what people may not realize is jeff stewart comes to pennsylvania.

he will get within six miles of gettysburg within six miles of gettysburg in october 62 before he finally turns around heads back to virginia. that raid in october of 62 scares the bejesus out of everybody in pennsylvania and. so you look they start thinking about how are we going to either protect these bridges or destroy them because last thing we need is jeb stuart, somebody else, bobby lee, whoever marching into harrisburg or heaven forbid, marching on philadelphia. we've got to have some way of stopping this. so in october 1862, as jeb stuart's runng amok in franklin county counties over lancaster is committed to safety, that is their self-appointed, if you will businessmen and civic leaders are just have to come up with plan to defend the river crossings they instruct columbia's chief burgess t defend their bridges or quote

unquote render impassable that either chopping holes in the deck or finding some other way to, destroying a span, or at least bridges. this bridge, by the way has 22 spans, each one of which is more than 200 feet wide. so there's plenty of opportunity to try to stop the confederates of the coming through this way. but you know, that was back in october. but everything's calmed down in pennsylvania since. of 62. we pennsylvania i've been hearing since the start of the war or rebels are coming or rebels are coming like an old children's story. you remember called chicken little people stop believing that the rebels were coming. yes, door was here. no big deal. stewart left, no big problems. they're not coming back. those of us know the civil war know. yes, they are coming back.

of course they are so robert e lee much like the slide brad showed about october about 62. he's got many of the same goals. he's not nearly as worried about foign intervention to this point. the war, but this whole idea of winning and slaughter t northern soil is probably even more paramount now. and one of the reasons why sas pennsylvania is so important to this is that northern soil, but it's copper head country, manheim township, southwestern york county hutton, 74 votes for john c breckinridge for president of the united states in 1862 for abraham lincoln. we're talking about an area, pennsylvania, that decidedly ravens country in today's world. this is baltimore fans for particularly southern york

county, lancaster county, southern adams county, southern franklin county. it's ravens country. it's always been baltimore centric and with that the politics of this region are very much democrat in nature. southerners know this. so part of the reason for a victory. it's not just to win a northern soil, it's to win on copper, northern soil. if you can, so that there is this to accelerate cries for peace. everything else is kind, saying, get the war out of virginia, etc. divert attention from vicksburg that. wasn't in the play. in 1862, the united war under ambrose burnside will be withdrawn. there, their way to mississippi to join us. grant they're going to be turned around as this campaign starts and they're actually going to be back in cincinnati ohio as the campaign really unfolds. now, we're going to talk a lot about guy.

please bat, old man joe early. early commands a, division of about 6600 men, infantry, calvary artillery. he's got his cavalry this robert e lee has no eyes and ears while his troops kind of had a pennsylvania, got plenty of calvary with them. richard you'll get an entire brigade job always got a battalion and parts of the 17th virginia as well. he's got four brigades of infantry as well as the calvary john gordon, harry hays, louisiana extra, billy smith's virginian and isaac hayes, his last full month of life are famous, of course, at gettysburg for tell father. i died with my face to the enemy. this is the troops. these are really good by and large, they've had quite a bit of success. much of the war. this is gordon. we saw a picture of them earlier. john gordon is in command, the

key brigade and jubal early division. we're going to talk a lot about today as brad mentioned, these shot six times they anti them or five times in antietam he gets promoted to brigadier general right before the chancellorsville fight where he took command. alexander lyon's brigade that is five or six regiments from throughout georgia. they're all midsized regiments, hundred, 300 men or so. gordon's pretty good star of the war. that's john gordon to start there on the left it is daniel boone impersonation and it's halloween. he's wearing his daniel costume. but he actually did go war looking like, you know, a son of davy crockett or something. but there he is gordon and his men are going to on june 3rd, a class division, earliest division, allegheny johnson's men arting to pull out as what we know as a gettysburg campaigns kicking off in the first week all these are going

be heading towards culpeper where on june 9th there's a small little calvary engagement might have heard of called brandy station, of course. so you've got troops floating around on this way. the government, washington still have a clue. what is bob lee now? they're setting it in washington. the lee's going to western west virginia. west will become a state on june 20. it's not a state at this point on june 7th, but there's a lot of concern. that's where lee's eventually i am from southern ohio. i grew up in central ohio, went to school, miami of ohio and we buckeyes in those days thought that they're coming to columbus there was plenty of that. they're going to philadelphia, maybe harrisburg, perhaps looking fatter to go on to baltimore, washington. that's what the war department

course worries about constantly. nobody is 100% sure what's on at this particular stage of the early campaign. most importantly, fighting hooker can't fight. he's got to guard the roads to washington. can't be doing anything aggressive and. so the union army just kind of set back the problem this with a confession dirt heading to pennsylvania. the nobody knew for sure that's where they were going. there's absolutely no way in the world joe hooker's army of the potomac can catch robert e lee can't do it. so you've got a major problem in our governor. republican by name of andrew craig curtain has called for help from washington. he sends the former assistant secretary of war thomas scott, one of the vice presidents of the pennsylvania railroad on a train down washington to plead with the war department. stanton and with lincoln, we need troops sent the

pennsylvania now they're coming and. typical of the war department response by sending one man. we're going to send a general away. i don't think governor kirk's message was heard. we men not man. but they're going to end up with a major general darius couch. of course, believe it or not is related to my wife's family. she's part of the couch family. they are going to send couch up to harrisburg. he's got 57 united states regulars in harrisburg. he's got 70,000 confederates coming on the way. that's a problem. so his job is defend the river. remember that map i showed you earlier to defend river, defend the bridges or burn them if necessary but not his one and only major task.

no armed can federate. they cross the circle here. that's real easy to say. a little more difficult when bobby lee and robert rhodes and joe borelli and george pickett and all of these guys are on their way, buddy. he's got this idea, a joke. i got to defend the river. that's a huge problem. and then on june 12th, the confetti and tensions get a little clearer. here comes the entire confederate second corps under lieutenant general richard stoddard. you're into the shenandoah valley and they're not going south. they're not going east out of the valley. washington, they are heading towards winchester. winchester, the key to the valley. here they come for three days. union troops try to stop y'all's corps in and around winchester virginia. it's an ugly situation for the union forces.

robert no. roy in command of this unit is a political general with some experience in the valley in 1862, but he's a problem in 1863. his men are totally smashed. he will lose than 4000 prisoners of war on the third day of second wind. chester making it the largest percent, lost by the united states army since that date, until corregidor in world war tell it's a disaster. and now the road to pennsylvania is wide after second wind, chester now roy's entire division to the wind. but i want to call yo attention just over on the right, you'll see again, the two orange circles, the wrightsville bridge edge man from the 87th pennsylvania raid york and adams county walk from winchester, virginia, back to

pennsylvania after the battle, they will spread the word that the confederates are common opponents. they're clearly on the road here and stuff and. you see, the division is just totally they're all oh by the way, gerald, bill roy himself takes the train at. harpers ferry goes to baltimore and to convince his commanding officer, like brad nye, a graduate of miami university in ohio. robert, check that. it's all well with the world and finds out he's under arrest. it's not quite well for the world, but this is the problem you got people streaming into pennsylvania in your panic stricken you got to wait wagon train no worries wagon train is moving as fast as it can through the region, creating even more panic. the area and everybody is like, when are the rebels coming? one can realizing that if harrisburg is th target and again he's not convinced yet he calls for 100,000 volunteers,

25,000 from ohio because again the governor of ohio still thinks it's going to a problem there. i got ancestors signed up. ohio pulls 25,000 men,ulfills quota in west virginia, 25,000 men are requested from the provisional government. 25,000 men show up. that leaves 50 for those math majors in the room. so we've got 100,000. we're accounted 25 in ohio, 25 in west virginia. we need 50. and pennsylvania, the sky is falling, chicken little, we've been hearing about stupid confederate invasions for the whole war. they're not coming. we don't need to join the army. i got crops to bring in. i got other things to do. i most certainly don't need to be flitting around the countryside, you know, playing soldier when the only things ever going to happen. 50,000 volunteer is needed in

parts asia and we are going to get. 7000 showing up, 70,000, that's all. governor kirton can get. charles castle. and it's pretty typical charlie castle and shows up with 17 m in the streets of harrisburg and charlie carson's men are wearing strange looking clothing they have white trousers go down to their knees. there wearing silk stockings. they're carrying old flintlock rifles are marching in military formation. but it's kind of a weird looking formation. they're playing music that certainly sounds marshall but it's it's familiar, but it doesn't quite match what all these recruits throughout the civil war been doing at camp curtin everything just looks a little strange. oh, and they're carrying a flag with 13 stars and a circle

charlie carson is 68 years old. he's the youngest man in the group this is a company from the pennsylvania infantry war of 1812 record institute. they will become the only unit in the civil war i know of to get a pension from the war of 1812 and the american civil war. oh, by the way the flag. charlie carson's dad carried that flag as george washington's personal bodyguard at brandywine. and the american. you got an american revolution flag. you got war of 18 1275 year old veterans walking around the streets of harrisburg trying to protect the town because we can't get 50,000 young boys and men we get coal miners

government employees every high school in the state wants out of school there. everybody shows up except men. and that's what pennsylvania needed. but let's talk about the river. with only 7000 volunteers, governor curtin, gerald couch know they got a problem they're going to have to play the river almost like a football team. you play your home field advantage and the home field advantage for the department of softball, hannah is the susquehanna itself it's the whitest, longest, most non navigable river in pennsylvania region. it's fact then was fast moving relatively shallow incredibly rocky didn't have solid bottoms as brad pointed out when you needed a good source solid substrate for ford we don't have that we a shallow river that you don't dare walk across at all by

the way it's been raining and the rivers now under ten feet of water have not got across with the ford anyway. oh, by the way, singular one ford south of harrisburg as well. so that's it. this barrier to confederate movement has been a barrier to the pioneers west, and now it's going to be a barrier to anybody heading east. there's the defenses is what couch comes up with. i'm going to guard gettysburg. that's the railhead gaddis railroad. gettysburg railroad ran into hanover where matt the hanover branch railroad went out to hanover that the northern central railway ran from baltimore to elmira, new york on up spur, went to wrightsville, the bridge of wrightsville, and on to philadelphia. on the east side of the river is the pennsylvania river railroad. on the west side north and central, and at harrisburg it connects the cumberland valley railroad. so this is that railroad network the u.s. government has decided where that's going to slow. bobby down to buy time fighting

joe. this is whole concept of the defensive is sacker flies five counties in south central sacrifice them all to save harrisburg. that's what everybody is going to have happened at that point in time gerald couch since that's established standard june 15th as matters look now all south of the susquehanna will be swept. june 15th. he tells the secretary of war they're coming a spark all of his intelligence, all of his spies say they're to harrisburg, of course, and wheeling the newspaper morning trumpets confederates definitely coming to charleston. oh, no. but hey, whatever. so here's your emergency militia, 7000 boys, they appear camp curtin t north side of harrisburg. they're getting three days of training and theysk for 100 volunteers who are the best shots they can't find 100 people have ever fired a rifle, let

alone thbe shots. this is a problem, folks. so the republican governor of pennsylvania has to swallow his pride in contact the democrat governors, new jersey and new york and ask, please come help me. why? because by pennsylvania's constitution the commonwealth cannot standing militia the only time the commonwealth pennsylvania at least at that point in time before creation of the national guard, the only thing they could do was create troops in the event of a quote, eminent threat to the commonwealth. okay, 70,000 confederates might be called an imminent threat. so we're going to need people to come here to do that. but he swallows his pride because york and new jersey have standing pre-war militia, really good militias or really bad in some cases. but they got militia. and so these new and new jersey boys are hot, rushed trains, and

they're going to be sent harrisburg as soon as possible to try to defend this area. they're going to take three of the southern pennsylvania regiments. we're going to send one to where i live, york county. i'm going to send the 26 to gettysburg to guard the railhead and the 27th volunteer militia. by the way, heavily laden with coal miners who want the summer off from coal mines. they're going go to colombia to guard that bridge. june 15th through the 19th. here comes another great confederate beard, not just billy mahone. this is albert jacob's former states congressman shows up and this is a giant raid he's out looking for horses, as far as we can tell, than 67,000 pennsylvania horses are going to be taken by the confederate army during the gettysburg campaign, 67,000 horses and cattle horses and cows combined. it's a massive supply raid. so they're going to take

chambersburg and all of a sudden check in a little is here. and so now in harrisburg charlie carson and they 70 boys in the war of 1812 say boys they will join with numbers of people of harrisburg to start building earthworks so the fence the two bridges in harrisburg pretty important thing they're out there pick and shovel and these average age 75 gentlemen they are there with the pick and shovel they're doing their fine job earning their pensions. so they're going to get a little fineob in downtown gettysburg. there also reaction we need to guard gettysburg. of course, there's a gunamed major granville holler who was best friend before the wars. one sam grant from fort yakima in the washington territory. how are who are then the headquarters guard for george mcclellan at the battle of the antietam is back home in york, recovering from illness.

he takes charge of south central pennsylvania under couches leadership and he the college boys from gettysburg he gets some first soldiers from philadel it arrive or he's doing whatever he can but it's much at that point in time during to the 22nd here comes albert jenkins back and here comes the 26 pennsylvania volunteer on a train from harrisburg. and the train hits, a cow, an old woman's cow. it's one description there, six miles from gettysburg. these men decide not march to gettysburg. they decide to butcher what's left of the cow they have a feast and invite young women of gettysburg to walk or come out with their dads carriage to their militia campsite at swift run and have a party. and they that and one of these militia boys in his diary night

writes this has been the greatest night of my. we stake pretty girl, a nice romantic moonlight creek side lou al everybody's happy this is fantastic i being a soldier this is so everybody's excited this is really, really stuff and orders come to the colonel, the regiment. william jennings sends your best 100 men into the mountains west of gettysburg to block the road. he sends 100 guys. some of them have guns. now, don't know how use them, but they're going march to gettysburg and try to fan the south mountain gaps from the oncoming troubles. whatever i can to get away from what's going on, i'm just gonna split. and so you get refugee is byhe

thousands stream and oh by the way for weird reason somebody counts the number that are black. i don't know, it's a toll bridge, but apparently if you're a black person you had to get a different than if you're a white person. so we know 1800 blacks and thousands whites across the river harrisburg. okay, well, that's all good. well and good, but what these refugees bring is a sense of panic. the rebels are clearly coming to pennsylvania. they're right behind us. they're on their way. they're not going ohio. they're n going to west virginia. they're not going to baltimore. washington andh're coming here harrisburg. and so everybody is just panic stricken. the commonwealth of pennsylvania takes all the important papers. ben franklin's stuff, etc., and they put them in two rail cars and show up in the philadelphia fire just to get everything out of harrison burg. they can just in case there's pitched battle being fought

there. and i love this quote anywhere else by the way, her husband is general at vicksburg under us grt thomas welsh will die during the vicksburg campaign of disease, but his wife is back and colbia, i guess there was never time a colombia was in such a state of excitement as the last ten days last week, all week. oves of horses, mules, cattle and teams of all descriptions kept passing through town, ming from adams and york counties, going a great many of them. they did not know where. just get out of dodge. we don't care where we're going. get me across that river. because again, eindset is get me that river. oh, by the way, there's your tolls. this is t cheap. the way if you got 100 head of cattle with you and maybe a few dozen sheep, this gets expensive. remember the chicken little canoe is pennsylvania's been

crossing toll bridges every time the rumors been spreading, the rebels are coming since the start of the war. and now they're oh, gdness, we got to cross that bridge again. i got 60 horses and 45 cows and six sheep and know thiss adding up and. the wives are getting upset. you men are always running off playinarmy, taking everything away. the farm. why are you doing this? and y're costing us my butter and egg money crossing that infernal bridge. and so they're. wellwe need an alternative. don't know what we're going to do, but they start thinking about how not to cross the river. in the meantime, this is the only the way a known photograph taken of the wrightsville bridge before the civil war oth right side. see there, that's a tow car for the canal boats because of pennsylvania's geography. the canal came down from harrisburg in lancaster county,

on the east side of the river, and wrighville had to switch to the west side of the river go down through york county, 45 miles to have it a grace, maryland. and the ly way to connect the two canals is to use the bridge. and you dammed up the river and you had a long long leath straps and the canal would be pulled by mule teams or oxen or conestoga or perch or a morgan horses across the bridg mile in quarter long bridge. that's a lot of time to get canal ats back and forth. this is also a railroad bridge. they, as i mentioned earlier, the central railway connects with pennsylvania railroad on the other side. and so to protect this bridge, going to bng all the college boys, lancaster counties to colleges franklin and marshall miller's mill, and they're going to construct rifle pits to try to protect this. in the meantime, everything's going across. there's a key numberf valves and horses are set across this

bridge. do you know that number appears in t newspaper? and somebody's reading the newspaper here over near reads in the chambersburg repository. his name is richard. all your nose. there's a thousand horses in lancaster. more importantly, jim morelli knows that. tell. this would have been a diagram on what the defenses would have looked like. they are earthworks much like, you know, typical 1863 earthworks. nothing like your surrounded. by 1864 but the college boys doing the best they can trying to defend again the world's longest covered bridge at that point. and on june 22nd, all pretense goes away. hair comes in two parallel columns robert rhodes, allegheny johnson jim morelli. albert gallatin. jenkins and their boss.

richard, your there's no doubt we're not going to watch it and we're not going anywhere but harrisburg. here we come and lee gives this famous i don't what stonewall jackson what it did with this order but i do know what richard started did with it. if pennsylvania means it and what does he do, he lays plans to capture harrisburg, he's going to send two thirds of his men up today's around he's going to send jubal all his division out today's route through gettysburg on the way to york to go get the bridge at wrightsville in columbia. so here's his orders. it gives the job early. go see york york that and now the largest city between baltimore and harrisburg destroy that northern central railway that connects harrisburg to baltimore. all, by the way, destroy the susquehanna bridge and be in

position. march to dillsburg for all you who think robert e lee intended to a gettysburg because the road network read the official reports, read the officers reports. the concentration point is dillsburg in northwestern york county, not gettysburg, at least early on in the campaign. so early, supposed to to dillsburg ap hill gets orders to send his corps to dillsburg. more importantly, jeff is told to find the flank the army in his famous near the susquehanna river and he knows they're supposed to be at dillsburg so friday, june 26th, 1.3 inches of rain, a fallen. it's been a horrible, horrible weather wise. the roads are a flaming mess. this is a really bad situation. and yet that's the day that richard says on the harrisburg. and so they go on to harrisburg

following the way, all, by the way, at gettysburg, not supposed to be anything there. this is quiet little, sleepy little country town. no problem. operator 11 out route 30, we're going for the bridges, two bridges at harrisburg, big bridge at wrightsville on the way to encounters tommy lee jones. oh, sorry, gary stevens here. thaddeus stevens in recites the burn. thaddeus stevens stevens iron works puts 200 black men, most of them former slaves enslaved in maryland. he's going to burn their houses down, going to burn down everything except thadde stevens blacksmith shop, which he's going to use, of course, for worley's men. so johgordon, elijah white's calvary are going to advance from cashed out early and french

are advancing for a moment. burge and now here they go. oh by the way, remember those who had the picnic when they finally walked the six miles to gettysburg? they're there in the morning. oh, they're going to leave gettysburg a lot faster than they came a lot faster. their camp here comes, jubal early and my original description of the fighting a gettysburg there on ridges of gettysburg yankee calvary followed by yankee infantry and they run like the wind as soon as the confederates arrive. gunfighters two of the four mining it's next time you're against work go go find the four monuments of the june 26 fighting that monument right there. you've all driven past right there opposite john burns house location, right at the intersection of where federal point hotel is and the chambersburg pike veers off that statue, not to the battle of gettysburg that's the 26th

volunteer militia and the june 26 fighting on the right. another monument you probably have went by and thought of that. it's the front of a junkyard junkyard not far from the first shot marker. this is the first shot of the june 26 fighting marker marking where the union camp there's all of fighting going on west of gettysburg where the commissary guard and most of the men in gettysburg, the militia calvary, they hand over everybody heads towards york, leaving behind what's left of the infantry regiment. 743 men, 26 pennsylvania volunteer militia, three days of training, most of them never fired a shot their lives. and now desperately fleeing gettysburg, trying to get away as a larger white goes rolling in to get it here. if you want to build a buy a

coke pad next time home with your civil war buddies. you now know the name of the very first confederate officer arrive in gettysburg and take the town. it's elijah white, lieutenant colonel, 35th battalion, virginia cavalry takes gettysburg on june 26, 1863, at 2 p.m. elijah white will ride to cemetery hill. they've got the hill, folks. john buford is beloved ground is in possession of the confederates states army on june 26th. some military ridge, nobody there. seminary ridge, confederate taft is a big except nobody about gettysburg. on june 26th. nobody really cares rebels you know what they care about. they find the whiskey not not

all across town. this is in summer. horace. and the rye whiskey crop is good this year. and rebels find the whiskey and they start imbibing. that's elijah white. there are the -- stuart type hat. i don't know if maybe mr. gallon took a little bit of creative liberties there, but there he is, george washington sandow dies the first union soldier to die at gettysburg dies on june 26th. down on pipe. there's number three of the four monuments to june 26 fighting. that's the monument 21st, pennsylvania calvary, which did not exist during the battle of gettysburg. but their precursor bells, adams county calvary did. and george washington said. a newlywed is gunned by elijah white's men and he dies. but what about the 26? they're still trying to leave gettysburg and near the intersection of golden ville road and table rock road, three

and a half miles north of gettysburg. the regiment is in bad trouble. they're fighting the 17th virginia calvary under jenkins brigade, who are mounted infantry, and they're fighting with the enfield rifles and these poor outmatched militia men who don't know how to use guns start folding a wet tent. hundred 75 of them are going to be captured right here and around the whitmer fire. joe borelli, by the way, is going to address these men. and i quote. what are you doing out here playing soldiers? you might get hurt. you should go home to your mama's. can you picture old, irascible, moody, angry jabs, arch, hipster, cherub, all totally berating these poor kids. one of the prisoners of war just the night before had written it's the greatest day of my life. now he's scared to rebels take

his shoes. oh, rebel's taken shoes are gettysburg you're not supplies of shoes at gettysburg. the shoes at gettysburg are the of the state militia and. they're going to capture the militia and take their shoes. here's to right down here. there's john borden earlier and gordon my neighbor, bravo chanel painted this great shot. this is, again aut 4:00 now on friday, june 26. thatob comes into gettysburg. gettysburg now totally under the control of joe borelli. he's going to do wherever he wants. ttysburg. what he wants to do is leave. heoe't need to. and gettysburg, it's an imperative that on his way to the targetridge. wrightsville, saturday, june 27th. the confederate army marches out of gettysburg, a little dreaming

they might one day remember the name of this town. what was that arno, remember? oh, you all remember on july 1st? what little town was they lay by? and one man, charles shack offered. so south louisiana infantry louisiana tiger dies of alcohol poisoning on a farm near where the peace memorial is today. eternal flame one confederate left in garrison how everybody else leaves because it galls not gettysburg. we're not concentrating there. the goal is the bridges. the goal is to go for harrisburg, give it a shot. so on saturday, june 27th, i got a cross from adams county in new york county. we're going for the world's longest covered bridge at wrightsville, where the coal, the 27th pennsvania western is going try to stop them.

but as they go through this area, they start running into pennsylvania. civilians making weird hands gestures and mosof them are german. they're copperhead is most of them they are speaking in broken english. one phrase, peace, peace. and they're holding up of paper in the air that nobody quite knows what in world these guys are doing. are they local? are they strange? you know, most of these confederates i've never seen a pensive in a german farmer until they went north of the mason-dixon line. what's these folks? well, what's with folks is the fact that for the sweep foucon for new york's city have come all throughout south central pennsylvania and for only $1 ll sell you a membership card to the knights of the golden circle. and outside lincoln proud

confederates. some of the group that has a ready audience in south central pennsylvania ready audience. they tell you didn't voteor lincoln déja. you don't your wife doe't want you crossing that brid anymore with all your horses? it's getting expensive, isn't it? yo horn. and so johann responds. yeah, racheloesn'tike this. and so yo horn pays the buck for the ticket. and they assure him that when confederates arrive, not if. when the confederates arrive, they will protect property, their con men for new york city, they do know joe borelli. they do not know robert e lee or jeb stuart. they know green. yeah, we know gold and silver dollars. we're all set. it doesn't take very long for people to confederate army to realize you got a yelling peace.

peace, waving this piece of paper in the and making these. strange hand gestures you all know go to their farm why the cows are still the sheep still there the horses are still there why because they're trusting in a $1 ticket in the july 17th. i think edition of the new york herald this continent bragg to a newspaper reporter, we w thousands of tickets in south ntral parts of haa. most notable late in the doors of york county. that's two townships in the heart of copperhead country and southwest and joe borel even writes these things we're all new to us. and the purchase of these mysteries that badlyold.

yeah got a bridge in brooklyn that hasn't been yet. oh i'll sell that to you. so and i love this great quote. this is joe trudell, 35th battalion of virginia calvary. we get the old dutch and pennsylvania. our army left a mark everywhere went horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, spring owls and suffered a like they cry peace, peace most beautifully wherever went. jeb stuart writes about the tickets in pennsylvania so. harry thompson has louisiana tigers. there's all kinds of accounts of this. why joe white's going to raid hanover junction is going to tear apart turntable there. that's the tracks to the left to gettysburg, tracks to the right. go to york. that's that intersection talked about earlier. they're going to chase 20th pennsylvania militia, bunch of guys from philadelphia who have zero military experi by and large mostly government workers.

they're caught exchange regiment but aren't the corn exchange regiment that we think of these guys are mostly employees of the corn and they don't know wt doing. it's so bad that the young 26 year old quaker businessman by th name arthur farquhage in this carriage and rides out west to find his college roommate, fitzhugh lee. oh, i'm sorry. william henry rooney lee can't find him. but back during the antietam campaign of 1862, he had both rooney and sincere lee, and he told them, don't come york. and if you do, don't burn my factory. please. why? because he's supplying steel plows to the lee family, among other people. before the war. so he writes out, trying to find fits your way. instead, he finds john gordon on today's 30 and he says all right i'm going to surrender york i'm

here on behalf of the women and children to which gordon's like fortunately told me might meet you. he pulls a map and circled on the map is the pennsylvania agricultural works. recognize this place, sir? yeah. my factory. yeah. now you shut up. i've got to tell you, these are the eyes you want. you want to sort of the town we're going to into your town tomorrow morning. by the way, my commander, joe worley's, to be coming in till we're going to want $100,000 in cash. we're going to want three days supplies. we're going to want 2000 pairs of shoes and boots. we're going to want whatever else my commander tells you we want. now leave this poor, frightened 26 year old, cocky quaker gets an offer thanks. that's a speed record with a buggy going down route 30 into downtown york and city council.

what he did and they say you didn't have the authority to do that. so now the mayor and city council have to get in their carriage and they got to go back out and find john gordon and formally surrender town a second time, huh? okay. so early he decides that, you know, this militia so bad we just ran out of gettysburg. i'm going to improvise. yeah, i'm still going to take york. going to still going to ransom. i'm still going to destroy the railroad, but i'm not going to burn the bridge and i'm not going to dillsburg on going on my own to seize that. i'm going to go into lancaster county. there's a thousand horses. i'm going put the louisiana tigers on those thousand horses and we're going to ride into harrisburg from its own defensive rear. i don't this is pure speculation, but i think, you know, we talk about jeff stewart glory hunting at pennsylvania. i'll give you a here's the glory how pennsylvania you know hey if i capture maybe i can be the

next of the confederacy not bob ley speculation. i don't know. i know what's a joe walsh's head? all know is that once a sucks it is and i'm going to take harrisburg i'm going to take harrisburg. okay. he admits this after the war. oh, it's kind of interesting so. sunday, june 26. here they all come heading towards there. and look, by the way there's a calvary patrol going to secure dillsburg. why? because that's where everybody thinks they're supposed to all but this oops on this night, june eighth, john gordon is going to march to the river sava, 34 miles to the west. george pickett at chambersburg richard, your robert rods, they're all up at carlisle robert e lee army is scattered throughout south central pennsylvania and right in the middle, where they're not

supposed to be, is the fifth and sixth. michigan of the army of the potomac. we all know june 28 from the movie gettysburg, where they began the spy. and on june 28, riding in telling longstreet, i got to see general lee. and he tells them the yankees have, a new commander, and they're moving a lot faster than everybody thought. men are in they're actually, you know, cross of the mason-dixon line. yes, they are. robert e lee a menzies orders. we're to cash down and idlers bert. why? because i got to protect now the roads, the gettysburg. but that's june 28 while this is going on that morning here comes again our buddies here who are involved on a famous black horse they arrive and that's the only known sketch that i've ever seen done by an iowa nurse of the confederate army entering a town. lori miller york sketch society

leaders water watercolors. the final version. but there's gordon and early on. oh, by the way, one last thing bristol city. what are the five iroquois women york have been told the confederates are going to pick a town, burn it to the ground. one lady in york sees the pioneers scream names and faints. what does she scream? my god, coming to bury us, not realizing a pioneer course not there to bury civilians. it's to take down the barricade. so you guys are put in the streets of the town. but she misinterprets certain things. they're going to kill us. oh, my goodness. this is horrible. well, john gordon is down market street, 10 to 12 year old girl. so says marianne small, as we say in new york, girls name handsome, all care roses. with the complete plans of the

wrightsville defenses. by the way, here's our friend and a larger one right there. one guy again. oh, he was worried that dale gallant did his homework. he saw this sketch from 1863 and realized the larger white really did look like jeb stuart. guess there's john gordon there in the center. oh, by the way, that's the mayor of york hollering a line from one horse, let's get fatter. it's a real subtle art there. all right. so there's york surrendering on giant 28. now they're going to to wrightsville and go get the bridge. remember i said i's protected by coal miners, right. are kind of the 27th pennsylvania volunteer militia is the 129th pennsylvania recently discharged the army the potomac under a double medal of honor citation award. jacob c frick from pottsville, pennsylvania.

yeah, this is the state militia. these guys know how to shoot, and they've shot plenty of confederates in their day. you know, this is not usual farm boys or charlie old men. this is a recently discharged regiment from the army of the potomac, the best militia troops, pennsylvania can put on the field. and wherever they put them right in front of the branch to try to protect that vital crossing under an extremely talented colonel who's involved in petersburg with helping, planning something called a crater here, petersburg frack will working with mike potter was the other guy's name will not help major haller, the former headquarters guard decides. we're going to drop the bridge with artillery. he's got two cannons. it doesn't artillery shells. that's a problem. easy fire a gun when nothing is going to come out. other end so he decides are i can't do that we're going to

mine bridge we're going to bore holes that i put in gunpowder and blow a section of the bridge to smithereens. it's a railroad bridge, folks. a little charge gunpowder. it's going to blow the roof off and maybe rattle the deck and. scare the bejesus out of people in york, columbia and wrightsville but it's not going to do anything else. and father aside, what if we set a section on fire this bridge was built 1812 folks 51 year old timber you're not going to set a section fire, particularly when a wind's storm blows and at the same time a nor'easter comes in. now the columbia bridge is on fire, all, by the way, abundant offenders of right through 37 free black. gettysburg. scott, john burns, we got 57 black is also the aliens home

guard unit they're given guns by the militia men and they're out defending the river civilian clothing. here's the bridge on fire when shifts now the entire bridge is on fire. 6 hours later, the bridge is going to be gone. but that wind is now blowing from the east back across the river into the town's now on fire. and you got a problem the confederates, you know, lobby yards rolling mills. there's a big, big, big fire going on. how does john gordon react? he orders colonel clement evans of the 35th, 31st georgia to form a bucket brigade and to put the fire out. oh, by the way, nobody's got buckets, but now the town's on fire. suddenly everybody's got a bucket. you can't save the bridge or direct. say the town. he works long into the night. and yeah, they managed to save wrightsville at the cost of the

world's longest covered bridge. thousand 629 feet of flames burning into the night. here's the canal there's climate evans they're going to manage to save wrightsville. oh, the way anybody ever seen movie glory. remember, they were one of the early scenes and glory shows, the 54th and 55th massive cheers. it's the infantry burning in the town of dairy in georgia. you know the scene right that morning in york, john reads a message from a yankee newspaper. black men have burned your town of derry and georgia. the section of wrightsville that, they say, is the black section of wrightsville. so john gordon's men save the houses of the men who burned their houses down later. so when the confederates find that out, they some of them want to come back to wrightsville,

finish the job, just burned to the ground. they never do. monday, june 29th. bridge is gone. oh, by way, now everybody is going to start preparing to head back to the west. well, that night, mary jane rolled 28 has called john gordon. she's the mayor's daughter. i want thank you for ving my to. you please come back in the morning with staff and i will feed you breakfast. she back now? remember, i he got a map of the wrightsville bridge francis and bouquet of red roses in york. he said it was, quote unquote written, in a woman's flowery handwriting. and he's now in the middle copperhead country and he thinks he's found a spy. mrs. wall and, mrs. riewoldt, very quickly remindsimou're not in raven's country. this is eagles country. you know i'm aligned, philelphia. i'm aligned with the u.s. government, not with baltimore.

she mouse off to an enemy enter. and i love this quote. i must tell you, however that what maya said and maya perumal, my husband, is a soldier in the union army and my constant prayer to heaven is that our cause, the cause of lincoln, my tribe, the union based saved wolf some wars. shwould have been shot on the spot instead. john gordon, who goes on to become a bestselling, goes across america giving book tours, and he talks about the heroine, the susquehanna river. and i quote, although they and my beloved mother and my of my sainted mother and beloved we, the bravest woman in the united states is that woman in wrightille chair that cuts the mouth off tool and instead of killing her. he so amused by it, he later write, i the rest of the women of america had that kind of gumption. yeah okay there's the bridge

it's all gone. it's all burned totally history. oh by the like jim morelli is in middle york he wants a 100,000 bucks that john gordon promised them. he goes door to door collects. $8,610 and that's the actual receipt given new york pennsylvania for 28,610 bucks. he asks for 100 years later, he writes to the mayor of york and i quote, my dear, back during war, i visited your fair city. i asked for $100,000. you only gave me 28,000. i want the rest of my money with interest or i'm turning your fair city into a collection agency sign j esquire attorney a law lynchburg, virginia joe borelli goes to his grave thinking york still owes money. three years ago, on behalf the york civil war roundtable, one of my friends who was speaking

at the lynchburg civil war roundtable went to his grave with a ten penny nail and it on bill up with a dollar bill and a note. dear, gentle, early. this is the last book you will ever get from pennsylvania. all right, bridge is gone now. everybody's concentrated. it's joe. why joe not? dillsburg. i got a fine job early. he's not joyriding. he's trying obey orders by ada. no everybody's gone to gettysburg. all those roads leading back to gettysburg. oh, by the way, jubilee. it's one more note for the city of york. i should have burned your town to the ground. you know, you've been doing that in the south. you've been burning our town south, but we're gentlemen don't do that kind of thing like you yankees do. we don't do that are gentlemen. we all were shot up, burned your town down. maybe the next time i come, i might. 1864 under whose order the john mcardle burned

chambersburg. joe worley? yep. job his revenge on chambersburg a year later so i first everybody's ballin all by the way here's where it fitzhugh lee john campbell and jeff stewart go on to dillsburg just like they're supposed to and else is there he goes on to carlisle. trying to find work your ferry finds baldy smith oops that's a problem battle goes on at gettysburg gordon is going to lose 500 of his 1800 men who had dropped defend wrightsville mary the arms who form that bucket brigade at wrightsville all are chopped off after the battle. 500 men of gordon's brigade go down at gettysburg. one final slide, final impact york is captured. ransom 400 horses jim morelli takes telegraph service of course down a bridge is gone. a civilian exodus all the way

to. little children die at wrightsville because their dad goes souvenir hunting, pulls a shell from the rear. about all wrightsville, puts it back in there and it rolls into the bls up. the only two fatalities on that, i can tell in before well before jennie wade happened in wrightsville. thank you so very much for your time and attention today. i appreciate. and now the next time somebody age up, stewart's joyriding knowing one, the next time somebody, the first confederates and gettysburg. were harris men on there? no they weren't. there was a white and john gordon behind them. so hopefully you've learned some things. we have time for a couple of questions or are we all set or we need to go, oh, we got to go. sorry about that, guys. anyway, books are out there.

feel free to see me. have great day. thank you very much.

we are very pleased to have the author of the brand new president garfield for radical unifier published just