>> good afternoon. i am peter karmanos, jr. director of the civil institute here at gettysburg college. it is my pleasure to welcome nelson.kate she is a writer, historian, and cultural critic. she has taught at multiple in situations like cal state fullerton, harvard, and most recently at brown university. she is now based in lincoln,

massachusetts. she writes regularly for the "new york times union blog, for isvil war times," and she the author of a very important book called "ruined nations." she has a piece in "weirding the war." she brings a much-needed cultural perspective to the study of civil war, the marriage between military history and cultural history. it has been a long time coming. i think she is at the very forefront of that scholarship, and you will get to see her thinking unfold in her new blog, which will be released in a few weeks, yes? , and of in a few weeks course what megan is really dedicated to come and if anybody can pull it off, it will be her

-- she is trying to make civil war history hip. [laughter] and i think you are going to do it. today she is going to speak -- "ruins of revenge of revenge: the burning of chambersburg." >> thank you so much. thank you for coming to this session, and thanks to pete and the rest of the staff. i was here two years ago talking about ruined bodies, so i thought i would come back. again and talk about ruined buildings. my goal is to get pete too like blogs. we will have to get a report from him after a couple of months. we will see if he is an avid reader. so the wheat harvest had just begun, and the farmers were

uneasy. twice before they had endured raids as they carted their bounty and from the field. the enemy had taken her horses, and their wagons, in addition to their grain. rumors of rebels on the borders of spread around the town. they had to be vigilant. in the cruel dart of a late summer, citizen sentries fell , ak into chambersburg bustling town at a crossroads in south-central pennsylvania. the rumored rebels were approaching. m and soonoke cal the central town was built with confederates. a demand was made. a ransom. the citizens could not pay it. within 20 minutes, the town was on fire in a dozen places. families fled from houses with only the clothing on their backs. the sick and the old were carried from the towns into the field. center was all over, the of chambersburg had become a mass of crumbling walls, stacks of chimneys, and smoking embers.

a time in which warfare was understood to be a contest between armies in the field, not a series of actions, how could this happen? and why did both confederate and union troops take aim at torchingcities, commercial buildings, warehouses, stable, and homes during the american civil war? well, they did this for many reasons. some of which has to do with military strategy, and some of which has to do with the nature of american urbanization. in the united states, urban centers developed in such a way that they included both centers of civic life, so county courthouse, city halls, and centers of production, factories and warehouses. and because the american civil war was a political and an economic conflict in addition to a military conflict, american ,owns and cities invited attack

thus the major campaigns of the union armies between 1861 and 1865 were focused on reaching, taking, and sometimes destroying the urban centers. the target of some towns and cities for their production capacities and others for their strategic locations. others simply happen to be any the wrong place at the wrong time, they certainly path of armies. most urban ruination was targeted, focusing on the manufacturing and business district, but of course fire cannot be controlled. fredericksburg, charleston, morebia, and atlanta lost than one third of their buildings both commercial and domestic as a result of union military strategies and occupation. confederate soldiers did their own share of burning. sometimes they destroyed their own cities as a defensive strategy. hampton, virginia, arts of

atlanta, and most of richmond's business district got the torch as the confederates evacuated the cities, retreating before overwhelmingly large union army. the thought was that they would destroy their own war material before the union's inventing armies could get at it. the confederates also burned some towns and cities in the offensive maneuvers. during the 1862 and 1863 campaigns into maryland and pennsylvania, during cavalry raids on southern union is towns, and during guerrilla campaigns in the border region. the burning of chambersburg, pennsylvania on july 30, 1864 was one such often active disruption. it is an unusual at the mistress of this warped time practice for several reasons. first, it was a northern town in a northern and not a border state. second, the conversations about the smoking ruins of chambersburg shifted the

discussion of civilized warfare, pitting northern civilians against northern military and government officials rather than pitching union soldiers against confederate civilians. third, chambersburg ruins example of id debates about retaliation as a legitimate military strategy. fourth, they illuminate the ways that disruption commanded the assignment of responsibility in wartime. so at the time of its burning, chambersburg was celebrating its centennial. although european immigrants, most of them irish, german, or scott iris had been living in cumberland valley in the colony of pennsylvania since the 1730's . the town's founder, benjamin chambers, did not lay out the streets until july 1764. chambersburg grew slowly but steadily, held by its location, as you can see on this map on the right export military road,

which connected and others. its population burgeoned after the cumberland valley railroad opened its chambersburg line collecting hagerstown, maryland with the state capital at harrisburg. the city go the status of a travel hub and lyrical sensor for the construction of hotels, taverns, and a courthouse in the antebellum period. a significantly large german population also had several breweries and distilleries. nicknamedss district the diamonds due to the shape of the town's central square, were lined with two-story to three-story rate and frame structures housing both businesses and apartments. he mentions of chambersburg's business leaders and adjacent streets.

1860, there were 800 buildings in chambersburg. 5255 people living there. of 1864, however, chambersburg had experienced more than 50% population decline due to the deployment of soldiers and the evacuation of residents during the confederate and pains of 1862 and 1863. ,t the time of the burning there were about 2500 people living in the town. during that summer with the army of northern virginia union general david hunter attended to subdue the shenandoah valley, confederate general robert e lee went to deal with hunter and hopefully divert some of grant's troops from washington, d.c. to combat this threat. were at my katie myers talk in a session before

about early,u know and you know a lot about him and his campaigns during this period , and if you like to know more about his maneuverings, you can catch dr. meyer in the hallway and the siege her with questions. early men moved quickly and managed to surprise the soldiers garrison and washington, d.c. destroying buildings as they went. hunter had returned to these shenandoah and what early called warfare,ite mode of burning the homes of prominent confederates. as he noted in his memoir, early came to the conclusion that we had stood this mode of warfare long enough, and on july 26, he brigadesd two under charles mccausland.

$100,000d mccausland in gold or $500,000 in u.s. currency at the compensation for the destruction of the house is named, those belonging to prominent confederates, including a relative of lee's, and their contents. this ransom demand, if successful, would provide much-needed currencies to provide for confederate troops, whose own dollars were by this time almost worthless. early had successfully rested both money and supplies from a number of towns in maryland before this. hagerstown, fredericks, middletown, and bones grow with this strategy. was unsuccessful, early's orders ready with two lady town in ashes in retaliation for the burning of both houses and others in virginia as well as the town that had been burned in southern states. mccausland and his men reached chambersburg on the morning of

july 30 post up after establishing a battery on the hillside outside of town, the confederates through a few shells that were meant according j scottnia calvaryman moore, to intimidate rather than harm. i doubt the president thought that way. meanwhile, the eighth virginia alvarez dismounted and began to pour through the streets and alleys, converging at the diamond, which moore admitted was the objective. as chambersburg residents left their homes, mccausland and his general writerly's order allowed and asked that the city council assembled to discuss the rent the money.ollect the town citizens, moore wrote, seem to think that they were jesting. and they asked the time to consider. there are different reports of how much time they were given. moore claims it was one hour,

mccausland argues it was six hours, several residents for that they were allowed no time at all. cities,her towns and fredericksburg, virginia most notably, this issue of notification before siege or destruction, became a matter of real controversy and a suggest that an 18 city tour, the matter of fair warning in hard war against civilians was still in dispute. but chambersburg's leaders were not asking for time in order to gather funds. at a first room or a confederates in the areas, the city's merchants and bankers had sent all of their merchandise and money northward. the city council could not have paid the ransom if they had wanted to. rather in asking for several hours to discuss it, chambersburg leaders were stalling for time. they hoped the union forces in the area would come to their aid . mccausland saw this tactic for what it was an almost immediately formed a detail in order to be meant to set fire to the town at different locations. the flames spread quickly

despite the relatively calm day. moore was impressed with the conflagration, which in his view was one of "surpassing range grr and terror." the columns of black smoke rose up to the skies. writing in twisting themselves into when thousand fantastic shape. many observers noticed how the fire created its own weather. whirlwinds of fire lifted clothing and wood and bricks and furniture into the air and hurled them across the city. within two hours, most of the buildings in the diamond were destroyed, as were many of the houses of prominent civilians that lined the surrounding streets. we do not have images of the fire itself. first of all, it is difficult in this period to take photographs of anything moving quickly, and also no photographers were really there, no one was

expecting this to happen, no artists were on hand to the picnic, however, photographers flocked to the city over the ,ext few weeks as did tourists and the photographer is created photographic views to sell to a wider public and to national newspapers and magazines for reproduction as illustrations. they produced to kind of ruined images. one kind, the kind pictured here in this slide, which were landscapes of ruins images. sort of long views of entire blocks or in this case in the top image a view from a prospect , probably from a church tower, where you can see the entire city and you can see the ruins. views,so produced street so the photographers are standing in the streets, giving you a view of the ruins. it was quite popular to stand at the corner of streets and take

ruined quarter graphs -- and take ruins photographs. we have so many autographs of urban ruins because urban ruins are very photogenic. the reason for this is because they don't move, right, so their sharp angles become quite clear in these photographs in this point, which necessitated a longer exposure time. also, almost all photographers took photographs of ruins from angles so that you could see the spaces, you could see the lack theoofs, you could see chart up walls, and this is a very leasing prospect and angle from which to do any kind of landscape image. we also have pictures, so here of a stunningture stereographic the northwest corner of the public square. you can see how this building no longer exists. it is just a single wall. the other effect of these images

had even though the captain gives you a kind of address, they are disorienting in nature. you know where you are, but it looks so different from the town as it looked only a couple of hours before that it creates a sort of disconcerting notion of chaos in the viewer. also quite popular or what i call ruined portraits. individual holdings that have been destroyed, that had been significant before the destruction as a single buildings. the most popular berlin in chambersburg was the -- the most popular ruin in chambersburg was the ruin of the courthouse, and its most important civic building, but part of the reason that this was such a popular image also was because the columns are left standing, and they really evoke the ruins of greece and make that connection

with historical empires and distraction. the bank of china resort was also a popular photograph it -- the bank of chambersburg was also a popular photographic subject. so these photographs began to be reduced and harper's weekly got into the game, and they purchased many of these and created illustrations out of them, and they published a group of three illustrations in their august 20 issue, so less than three weeks after the fire, depicting the ruins of timbers berg including both street views like this one of main street and also individual portrait like this at the bank and the franklin hotel and then the town hall. so these images really help us spread the news of chambersburg, especially across the north and help northerners really visually access the destruction. they were appealing, they were

visually appealing, but they were also emotionally and intellectually shocking to those who look to these images or visited the ruins themselves mostly because of this contrast that i already mentioned about what that building was before and then when it had become. as a viewer, you are invited to sort of contemplate the process of destruction when you look at an image like this. the residents of chambersburg had a very different relationship to these ruins of course because these buildings were theirs. they were also riveted and shocked, but they acted very quickly in response to the destruction. a civilian committee was formed formed comprised of chambersburg residents who property had not been destroyed. 559 of the town was the 800 buildings had been burned. 270 residences and laces of

-- and they produce a map of the burns district for publication, which often accounts ofprinted timbers were. it was all about the numbers in the property values. it was not just buildings that were destroyed but portraits, keepsakes.families lying among the rubble of his home with every domestic memorial. these were not mere objects, items purchased and is laid and disconnected from those who own them, they were the domestic and social ties that bound the members of committees and their families together. chambersburg was a ruin of

revenge. it was chosen, targeted for destruction in a deliberate and focused act of military retaliation. but why chambersburg? why would they select this town for union depredations in virginia ? atre were several theories this time. perhaps many storehouses bent on destroying the union war machine, or maybe early had remembered that the town was a stop on the underground railroad . this is why the abolitionist john brown established a supply depot there and met with frederick douglass to discuss the harpers ferry plan in 1859. some argued chambersburg was just one of several towns in the region that is received visits from early and threats of demand for money and surprisppls the reason chambersburg was burned with that they did not

comply. others have argued that the decision was rooted in previous insurance. after all, the confederates had been in chambersburg twice before. in october 1862, confederate albury visited -- confederate calvary visited town and one of their famous or circumvented of the union army. they burned buildings belonging to the warehouse and a store house containing more material. they returned this time with robert e lee. in late june 1863, 60,000 confederate soldiers began to leeert in chambersburg, and established his headquarters there. he town escaped large-scale thisraction at point much due to lee's 73. menake war only upon armed and that no greater disgrace should befall an army and

through it our people bandy perpetration of the barbarous outrages amongst the unarmed and the ones and some destruction of private property. also, they did not have time for looting and burning. they departed within days to meet union troops at gettysburg. after such close calls in the first two years of the war, chambersburg residents did not know what to think in the summer of 1864. some believe that the town was destined for distraction. into a kindlapsed of apathy. was -- it was geographical destiny. became a target because it was the nearest and the most accessible place of important for us to get to.

so let's go back to this map here. chambersburg sits in the cradle of the cumberland valley, which extends from central pennsylvania to maryland. south of the potomac, the cumberland becomes the shenandoah, one of the major battleground of the war. confederates had control of the e valley for the first three years, and the user of the corner from which to threaten washington, d.c. into lunch invasions of the union from 1862 and 1863. it was a small city on a well use and familiar transportation corridor and southern franklin county, the most exposed on the southern pennsylvania border. i am paraphrasing here to chambersburg. i did not selected as having more merit or claim than others, but because it's that within the limits of the country cover by my command and was brought more

immediately to my attention. so in other words, early chose chambersburg because it was there. the more controversial issue then the choice of chambersburg was the motivation for burning the city itself. beenerners had never adverse to destroying towns and cities as long as they were northern towns and cities. tennessee confederate andy maybe of example advocated the use hard work tactics. in a letter to her friend in may be1861, i only pray god may with us, she wrote, to give us strength to conquer them, to exterminate them, to lay waste to every northern city, town, and village, to destroy them utterly. words of a teenage girl. jefferson davis echoed ma

mie's sentiments in stevenson, alabama, vowing that we will foode for the torch carries our armies will sub union towards -- armies. union forces made toward southern crops, but we can destroy what years of industry and millions of dollars to build. it was common throughout the south from the war's earliest days and it only increased as the war progressed. as the hills, valleys, and low ends of the south were trampled, cutover, and burned out during long-term and hard work campaigns on both sides, southern civilians became and callsly insistent for an invasion of the north and retaliation in kind. but what of the laws of warfare?

except the military theories provided very little guidance and a lot of wiggle room in this regard. retaliation also referred to as were the rules frequently adopted in operations of war. the unions lieber code of 1863, for example, argued that although retaliation was the sternest feature of war, the law of war can no more wholly dispense with retaliation than can be law of the nation. was considered a legitimate justification for military action in two ways. first, it was considered a just response to barbarous outrages on the part of the enemy. outrages, these constituted not only destruction of property but also savaged attacks on southern white women. i had also seen delicate ladies who had been wondered and

rendered desolate by the acts of our most atrocious enemies, and while they did not call for it, expressions ofd their features while narrating their misfortunes, there was a new appeal to every manly sentiment of my bosom for manly retribution. as a war measure, retaliation, which was seen as something slightly different from just pure revenge, was seen as a thoughtful and considered act of attractive retribution. this is where things really get wild. soldiers could engage in retaliation if they believe the fromould prevent the enemy executing barbarous outrages in the future. so any officer or soldier on either side of the conflict could justify destruction as necessary and just retribution

for previous asked by the enemy or as a bran preemptive strike against future possible acts. i can see how this might provoke some confusion, and also a never ending cycle of vengeance. really very clearly saw the burning of chambersburg as justified retaliation in both of these occasions. he made sure to point out that the policy pursued on former occasions had been lenient, and he had restrained his officers and soldiers from pillaging in previous trips northward, but now hunter's acts were so destructive that they demanded a response. act, a localed the newspaper reported, but

they also believed that it would open the eyes of other towns at the north to the necessity of urging the adoption of different policies. here was a slightly different argument. in orere either exulted ignored the towns. editors, partly from a language of all the concerns of the enemy. there was no universal feeling on the subject. the burning would jolt northerners out of apathy. , we have lit ablaze

that will arrest the view of the northern people and illustrate -- distraction of home ted's homesteads and towns. many northerners protested against the burning and argued the distraction of an entire outlined.ity as it was itself an excessive act of violence, a monstrosity. as henry argued in 1864, it might not be possible for egregious acts. cases, a larger body could he held responsible.

a city, army or entire community is sometimes punished for the illegal act of its rulers. southerners looked with scorn upon the protests after the earning. how they raise this vandalism. and those who have been the most outspoken advocates of the and suffering inhabitants. wished that they have not stooped to the level of the area, they had the areas that it before as hypocrites and cowards. out northerners pointed that it was thought the news who are hypocrites. they noticed the ruins are evidence of the tender theifully fast mercy of

rebels who boasted so loudly. was a vengeful at inherently contradict three. they have their own goal of preemptive violence through act of revenge. use this to justify and sometimes fueled their actions ofinst civilians in the fall 1864. he pursued them, catching up to them in virginia. many contend they yelled remember chambersburg and surrender your villains of a shot. appeal,n further consider their actions to be part of the cycle of vengeance.

they left it november 1864 and consider that this is generally paid for. is harvard these vengeance is. in regard to the failings of region which -- revenge so natural to the human heart, i have been gratifyingly disappointed. idealistic vision was the moral rightness after the destruction was realistic, it is unclear. that they spent very little time contemplating revenge. this is not because they lack the person on whom to focus the vengeful thoughts.

william sherman and wade they never once denied responsibility for the burning of chambersburg. they were quite over about the reasons for burning the town. responsibility and a calm, firm manner. alone amfor this act i responsible. this.ficers were simply they see no reason to regret it. lavishesidents of the attention on barbaric acts of the lynching and now the interestingly, neither early or confederate

soldiers were narrative of the infant and and says it provoked a debate that added a new twist, focusing on northern military personnel and the citizens of chambersburg themselves. had hoped it would bring union soldiers to their aid. the residence of the order lands rderlands had been without military protection. general couch was a camp with a battery and force of men. what 2500 here the theyion was, why did

permit us to burn chambersburg? chambersburg residents have the same question. they collected their neighbors ublishedand they p timeand spent considerable pondering this question, usually under the heading "who is responsible?" they focus on the union army and the state of pennsylvania. the responsibility of this encouraging, this rest undeniably with the military authority. more specifically, much blame has been thrown upon general couch.

he only have between 100 and 200 men. the rest of his command ironically's have been sent to washington, d.c. a few weeks before to defend against this. or they have been transferred by request in greencastle. too many residents when they could have heard about this, this proved he was not accountable. he could not have defended the town. it would have meant certain death or capture. in a move that helped to clear his name, he's sent for urgent messages warning him of the

confederate and requesting order. at the edge of town. let me know what you intend doing. to why theygiers as never responded to the messages. to thomas barnard was traveling with union telegraph officers that night, the first because never delivered they cannot locate avril. after receiving the third message, he went off on his own. he found avril asleep by the sides of the fence. the response was less than her railway. without the slightest manifestation of interests or in

the peril to which it was six those, he merely said i will be there in the morning. many residents concluded that if he had only awakened fully from and moved toward chambersburg, the town would have been saved. he did not. later that morning he found himself and his men flanked by the confederate and chose to places demands between the enemy and baltimore rather than coming to the aid. they finally made it around or he clock in the afternoon. then pursued the man to the potomac. all they concluded that it is clearly possible that they could protect pennsylvania from being infested with rebels, many

residents argued that the lack of action made him the delinquent, the one who could and should have saved us. war, theime of stalled. they are making slow progress. find all of their own generals with the state of pennsylvania they felt had left them defenseless? that they were building a case for compensation. the confederate government would not compensate them for their losses nor would the union army which had ari establish a policy that claims growing out for military necessity were disallowed. hadresidents believed they

a good case to claim compensation from the state of the pain you given the responsibility of the state. it prevented any possible protection. committee and publishing the accounts did all of that. they intended to use it as evidence. fabulous thatis this amounted to about $780,000. over 900.ttle they responded to claims beginning in february 1856 the legislature passed an act.

when noticed if they noted the irony given the exact amount to abandon. over the next five years, the state reviewed assessments and for damagesthis one 700a little over six the dollars. anotherropriated $300,000 for compensation. by the late 1880's residents were still arguing that pennsylvania should pay another 800,000 -- $800,000 to the citizens. state to duty of the protect the citizens here if they fail they should make good any losses to protect them. citizens are not in it just

for the money. he also compiled all these accounts and publish the letters and blame the union army and the state of pennsylvania in order to protect their own reputation. thatted on the first page his description of the terrible calamity was direct did in part at those who are ready either from ignorance or something worse to misrepresent the facts in the case. he was referring to journalists. they have blamed the citizens of the cities themselves. chambersburg residents argued they were unpatriotic, at the edit, could actually mean, cowardly.

suchresponded to inspections with outrage and their 1864 issue. they argue the heartlessness exhibited by some of the new subsequent and the stress of our citizens is without a parallel. they even went so far as to blame the editors individually for advocating hard work policies and provoking confederate retaliation. such a pernicious policy is now bearing bitter fruit. these accusations turned or really friendly papers into enemy, treating an internal war of words. is auld also note this note for the confederate to solve this as an object lesson.

will turn against all hard for policy. much of the criticism from new york was rooted in the belief that a city the size of chambersburg should have been able to protect itself. they defended against this argument by noting they had sent a large number to fight in union regiment. there are really only a few men of military age in the town when he arrived. furthermore, these men had no uniforms. they killed him on the spot as guerrillas. the big-city papers have also resized the residence for refusing to pay the ransom.

saved their cities from distraction. in their defense, they argued the the banks had removed money at the first sign of the confederates were on the way. determined they had not to contribute one are having to the maintenance of the curse of rebellion. pay thee the refusal to destruction of chambersburg as a comp card as a strategy to undermine the economic health of the confederacy. a patriotic act. this became paramount in the days after the burning. a flood of letters and pamphlets part of ared were second wave of indignities they suffered in the summer of 1864. first, they found many of the most important economic and

political structures destroyed by clinical incendiaries. then they had their decisions of question in a time of crisis. john, a northern journalist to toward the mid-1866 was initially shocked to see the skeletons of houses burned by the rebels, the empty eye sockets of their windows staring with their jagged jaws. he quickly got over this aversion and solve them as a sign of future strength. there is no loss without gain. be greatlyg will benefited by the fire. let it you so. we shall build better a new.

positivemuch of this rhetoric. the city's residents must give to the chart homes and dismal ruins around us, chambersburg don't. read this must be replaced, the shops must resound with the anvil and the chisel. they have the same duties today as they had a month ago. these must be restored. the editors of a rival newspaper were not encouraging. thishey are to live winter, god only knows. in a word, all the necessities of life. most of all without a roof to

shelter them from the tilting of the storm. where people will only realize what they have lost and what hard times are when cool winter comes. those residents who lost the property did make it through the first winter. with philanthropic donations they did rebuild much of the town and fairly quickly. still remained. they set to work almost immediately and reconstructed 18t of this between 1854 and 54. so may different carpenters were at work doing this. all of the buildings have a different kind of flair. just filled by one person. you can see 10 different

architectural styles. they rebuilt the franklin county courthouse, the most popular of the ruined images using the and walls inmns 1865. the columns have been replied to hear. ofis a seamless integration ruins and new architecture. there is a plaque noting the earning of the building. that is the only way you would really know if you did not know the history when looking at this particular building. unclear how many buildings were destroyed in the civil war. the vast majority were rebuilt -- were literally rebuilt out of the rubble. it seems reasonable that many would have been. they have a lot of bricks sitting around.

they could rebuild. i suspect this is what it happened in most southern towns and cities. they solve these reconstruction effort as a memorial to the burning. when they wrote -- rebuilt he bangs, they replaced a break from fort sumter somewhere in the structure. it remains a matter of debate. relics have turned up and are now displayed at the chambersburg heritage center like this charred timber and warped teapot which sit alongside an original first account.f the we have all of these relic is produced by the fire. it the town came together.

this was raised by the ladies of the town while the money was raised by war veterans. they are defending it against any troubles that mike ross the border. a tablet across the road dedicated in 1893 and adjust the date of the town's founding. this is the valuation of the property damage.

it overwhelms the founding of any other significant moment in the history. they will watch with horror as the town is set aflame. they will be in. period- they will be in dress. he will be betrayed by an amateur actor. it's a big courtesy of a laser light show. i was informed that they did a practice run at this a couple of days ago. a couple of residents call the fire department. so the memory of the burning and

doors in chambersburg. they were absorbed into architecture and memorialized in stone and falling water. all of it a part of the civil war memory. reminder of how central this was to the experience and reject jury for in 1864 and how much we need to remember it. thank you. >> i think we have an abundant time for questions. >> was money taken out of the bank before we burned it? >> the money was removed. did they burn churches?

>> i believe so. they set fires all around the time without respect and anything. they're the fires red. i think somewhere saved. >> you have ancestors from during this time rain. do they have any sort of relics that were not in the areas that were not part of the fires? >> that is a really great question. i would imagine so. would behose would be

at the historical society. of items.all kinds certainly after the burning. they have at the distraction. they have survived the destruction. i imagine there are other states that are untouched. there are bodies. this is about the photographs

that were taken to the building. fantastic. i inc. so. is is photogenic quality. represent the aftermath. the photographs of them are taken from similar kinds of defenses. you can see the scope of the destruction.

i do not have a side of it. i'm sure you are familiar with this is a body at the end that is in turn. is one of the photographer missed with the body. it shows they are the bodies of men. it is the same effect in the buildings. if you are supposed to take these for fun, it might look there. you have to take it from the side to show there is nothing else there. connectionslot of between the aesthetic qualities of bodies and buildings.

>> i to questions. mobilize the militia at all. now that are about 20,000 of them in harrisburg. provoked the same response. work that ishard being waste or mercenary work since these were requested? .hat is to questions >> those are great questions. clearly they were not there in the moment. they were not dispatch. it could be they had been deferred it -- diverted. be a great question for katie. she might know how those forces againstether and moved

them in that way. can you expand? it goes back to naval forces. it is more of a vengeance. it was a plan for profit. it was meant as a punishment. if they didn't take, then this instruction what happened. that is true. the townd have looted

and taken everything and wagons and horses and anything they thought perhaps they could sell for money. to say it is either money or destruction, that does have mercenary quality to it. hardware.t twist of that is very useful. >> it sounds like the town revived very quickly momentarily. was there any relaxing one toward the protections? it was certainly resentment they kept. they cap filing claims. this aroundducing the anniversaries which is very positive. i am not sure if that translated

politically if certain officials were ousted or if this was the state military power. in their lack of support for the town. as a great watch them. a question about the rebuilding? >> i have a question about the rebuilding of the state legislature. they gave i've hundred thousand dollars to do so. this was estimated about one and three-quarter million between the buildings and the population. i assume the rest of the money must come from the local all. that is an awful lot of money in six years to be able to rebuild the whole thing. did they have that kind of money? they got that first slug of

money divvied up depending on claims and percentages. each person who own property got a certain amount of a stone that based on the committees read port. they would use that. if it was not enough they had to supplement using other funds. part that was held by the fact that they had sent it away. if anyone had any valuables that they could catch in or draw upon, when it came back ache of possibly use that. there were philanthropic organizations that were sending were helping. also i think what we see in the wake of the destruction here is that some of the rebuilding was a tie the shoddy, right? the quality may not have been quite reproduced to the same

extent. especially in the first year. a roof needed to put over their head, they put a roof over their head cleared. >> question. would this have succeeded? what would have been the aftermath of that destruction? >> i do not know. counterfactuals are fun to think about because we can use about all the different possibilities. what gettysburg would have done in response to that threat. it is interesting. it was in the line of fire. ?hy go

i think it would have really depended on how many residents were in the town and if they had any money available and if they're going to play ball. or they would have been more successful in getting soldiers to come to their aid. given the reputation of it. out allrobably spit different kinds of possibilities. what do we know about injuries? >> there were injuries from old that were fleeing away. there are minor injuries. i do not think there were any reports. there was enough time to get people out.

they had known that the rebels were on the border. because these had come in and told everyone that they were here, because they take it a couple useful couple of shells thrown into the city, they were able to get out in time. morganville, new jersey. in view of the concept of retaliation, was it used planning?gic >> the middle part? >> be strategic planning for sherman's march? sherman actually directly talked about chambers for? -- chambersburg? question for be a

he he was written about the march and the destruction on that march. sherman had developed that hard war policy and that approach using destruction as a punishment. he had developed that really early on. clearly saw it. this was a very rare example. and saw the march itself revengeructions as for but it was