Category Archives: Civil War Law

The Honorable Andrew Gregg Curtin, Pennsylvania’s Civil War-Era Governor

Andrew Gregg Curtin, Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, circa 1860 (public domain).

“In this locality his very name is a tower of strength — and either in or out of politics, amid the exciting scenes and contests of his profession or in the reciprocity of the amenities and courtesies of society, Col. Curtin commands the respect of his fellows, and never fails to win the confidence of the people with whom he comes in contact. There are always men who seem to be born leaders, and he is one of them. He wins by intuition, as much by the grace of his learning, as by the fiery zeal of his nature. As a lawyer, he is keen, sagacious, and when full[y] engaged in a cause, irresistible in his efforts…. His zeal and devotion to the system of Common School Education, the present arrangement of which is owing to his energies … is as near perfection as possible.” — The Alleghenian, September 29, 1859

 

Known as “the Soldier’s Friend,” Andrew Gregg Curtin (1815-1894) was the fifteenth governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. “His influence had much to do with the first nomination for president of Abraham Lincoln,” according to The New York Times.

He was also revered as a friend by many Pennsylvanians, not only for the genuine compassion he showed to children who had been orphaned during the American Civil War, but for his leadership in improving public education for all children statewide.

FORMATIVE YEARS

Born on April 22, 1815, in the Borough of Bellefonte, the County Seat of Centre County in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Andrew Gregg Curtin (1815-1894) was the eldest child of Roland Curtin (1764-1830), an emigrant from Ireland who became an iron industry pioneer in Pennsylvania, and his second wife, Jean Gregg (1791-1854), a daughter of Andrew Gregg, the former president pro tempore of the United States Senate.

Andrew G. Curtin was also the big brother of multiple Bellfonte-born siblings — Constans Curtin (1817-1895), who was born on March 6, 1817 and never married; Martha Maria Curtin (1819-1880), who was born on August 29, 1819 and would later wed William Irwin, M.D.; Ellen Honora Curtin (1822-1851), who was born on June 11, 1822 and would later wed William H. Allen, M.D.; Margery Gregg Curtin (1823-1885), who was born on December 23, 1823 and would later wed Thomas R. Reynolds (1824-1888); Nancy Jane Curtin (1828-1900), who was born on May 4, 1828 and would later wed D. D. Clarke, M.D.; and Julia G. Curtin (1831-1919), who was born on October 3, 1831 and never married.

Educated initially at a private school in Bellefonte, and via attendance with his parents and siblings at Presbyterian Church services, Andrew Curtin was subsequently enrolled at a preparatory school in the city of Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania prior to attending the Milton Academy in Milton, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

* Note: According to historian Herbert C. Bell, the Milton Academy was highly regarded:

“In 1815 Joseph D. Biles established an English school at the Broadway school house, adding Latin and Greek to his curriculum in the following year. This gained for his school the name of ‘The Milton Academy,’ thus for the first time applied to an educational institution at this place. In 1817 it numbered among its students John F. Wolfinger, for many years a member of the Northumberland county bar, Samuel Pollock, and James Pollock, afterward Governor of Pennsylvania. But this school did not long continue, and other pedagogues succeeded Biles….

“The Milton Academy, the leading educational institution of the West Branch valley during the period of its existence, originated with the Rev. George Junkin, pastor of the Presbyterian church and the moving spirit in many public enterprises of a moral and educational character. Through his efforts a stock company was formed, composed of Samuel Hepburn, Joseph Rhoads, William H. Sanderson, Samuel Teas, Sarah Pollock, and others, by whom a plain, one-story brick building was erected at a cost of four hundred dollars at the brow of the hill on the north side of Broadway, and a short distance to the east of the frame school building previously mentioned. The entrance was on the western side, and from its elevated location the academy commanded a view of the town, the river, and the valley. The interior was divided into two rooms by a narrow entrance hall. The apartment on the north was the smaller of the two; it was occupied by the students in Latin and Greek, the higher mathematics, rhetoric, etc., while the other room was set apart for those who had not advanced beyond the ordinary English branches. A small cupola surmounted the building, but the necessary appendage of a bell was never provided.

“The first principal of the academy … was the Rev. David Kirkpatrick. He was employed as a teacher of the classics at Oxford, Chester county, Pennsylvania, when Mr. Junkin formed his acquaintance and prevailed on him to change the field of his labors; he accordingly came to Milton, and on the second Monday of May, 1822, opened a classical school at a frame building that occupied the site of Dr. James McCleery’s residence on Front street. In the following October he removed his school to the academy building, where he taught until November, 1834, assisted at different times by a Mr. Mayne, Thomas C. Hambly, and others. Among his students were many who subsequently acquired honorable rank in the legal and medical professions, and as clergymen, teachers, civil engineers, etc.”

After completing his education at the Milton Academy, Andrew Curtin studied law with his mother’s cousin, William W. Potter, prior to enrolling formally in the law department at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Dickinson in 1837, he began practicing law in his hometown of Bellefonte. Focused primarily on criminal law during his work days, he spent a significant portion of his free time as a volunteer for the Whig Party.

Married to Katharine Irvine Wilson on May 30, 1844, Andrew Curtin settled with her in Centre County, where they then welcomed the births of: Mary Wilson Curtin (1845-1927), who was born in Potters Bank on March 7, 1845, and would later wed George Fairlamb Harris, M.D. (1843-1911); Jane Gregg Curtin (1847-1893), who was born in Bellefonte on January 17, 1847, and would later wed William Henry Sage (1844-1924); Martha Irvine Curtin (1848-1935), who was born on March 22, 1848, and would later wed Commander Kidder Randolph Breese (1831-1881); William Wilson Curtin (1851-1936), who was born in Bellefonte on March 27, 1851, and would later wed Harriet Fuller Harding (1853-1935); and Myron Stanley Curtin (1854-1857), who was born in Bellefonte on October 9, 1854.

On January 19, 1855, Andrew Curtin was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor James Pollock (1810-1890) as the secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — a post that he held until January 20, 1858. During that time, he also served in an ex officio capacity as the commonwealth’s superintendent of public instruction. According to historians at the Pennsylvania & Historical Museum Commission (PHMC), it was during that period of his public service career that he “started the state system of teacher training in ‘normal’ schools.” The New York Times would later credit him with reforming the “entire management” of Pennsylvania’s system of public education. “It was Mr. Curtin who secured, among many other innovations, the adoption of the prevailing system [in 1894] of County Superintendents of Schools in Pennsylvania.”

Sadly, during that same time, he and his wife suffered a terrible loss when their youngest child, Myron, died at the age of two on January 13, 1857. They then welcomed the birth of daughter, Katharine Irvine Wilson Curtin (1859-1930), who was born in Bellefonte on May 2, 1859, and would later wed Moses Dewitt Burnett, Jr. (1854-1920).

ELECTED GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s State Capitol Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, circa 1870s (James Laughery Paul, Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphan Schools, 1876, public domain; click to enlarge).

In 1860, according to PHMC historians, Andrew G. Curtin “helped persuade Pennsylvania’s delegates at the National Republican Convention to abandon the nomination of his political nemesis, Pennsylvania Senator Simon Cameron, [for the office of president of the United States] and instead cast their votes in-favor of [Abraham] Lincoln, making Pennsylvania a key swing state in his successful nomination. That fall, Curtin won Pennsylvania’s 1860 gubernatorial election, becoming the first Republican to hold this office.”

Inaugurated on January 15, 1861, Governor Andrew Curtin began his first term as the nation’s secession crisis was deepening. South Carolina had seceded from the United States on December 20, 1860, followed by Mississippi on January 9, 1861, Florida on January 10th, and Alabama on January 11th. (Georgia then seceded on January 19th, followed by Louisiana on January 26th and Texas on February 1st.)

Working with the Pennsylvania Legislature to prepare for the possibility of a full-blown civil war, he began to bring many of the militia units that had been operating in cities and towns across the commonwealth under the organizational umbrella of the Military Department of Pennsylvania, and then secured appropriations that would eventually fund the purchase and distribution of weapons, ammunition, uniforms, food and other supplies to the more than three hundred thousand Pennsylvanians who would ultimately serve in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

On March 14, 1861, he signed legislation repealing the tonnage tax on Pennsylvania’s railroad companies, “which helped the Pennsylvania Railroad become the nation’s largest transport system,” according to PHMC historians. That change, which was initially criticized by many newspapers statewide, would ultimately prove to be a critical, pro-Union incentive for those same companies over the next several months and years, as they transported Pennsylvanians and other men from the Mid-Atlantic Region to military training facilities and then on to Union Army encampments in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. According to The New York Times:

“In the lower house of the Legislature a bill was instantly introduced investing the Governor with power to raise and equip troops, and appropriating $500,000 for this purpose. In forty-eight hours the bill became a law. Its authority was used by the Governor so promptly that when the President issued his call for 75,000 men for 100 days the Pennsylvania soldiers were the first to reach the capital. The Governor foresaw that the war would be long, called an extra session of the Legislature, asked for authority to raise not less than fifteen nor more than thirty regiments, enlisted for three years, or until the end of the war, and obtained all that he requested and an appropriation of $3,500,000. The reserves equipped with this fund saved the capital of the United States from capture after the battle of Bull Run.”

Among the military units that were created by Governor Curtin during his first months in office was the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which was established on August 5, 1861 and would later make history as the only regiment from Pennsylvania to take part in the Union’s 1864 Red River Campaign across Louisiana.

As the civil war raged into a second year, he presided over “The Loyal War Governors’ Conference” at the Logan House Hotel in Altoona, Blair County (September 1862). Its participants subsequently urged President Lincoln to remove Union General George B. McClellan from his position as the commander of the Army of the Potomac — a recommendation that Lincoln accepted.

A gifted writer and celebrated orator, Governor Curtin also delivered the first of his Thanksgiving Addresses in 1862. Re-elected in 1863, he then continued to lead the commonwealth’s prosecution of the war by securing funding to support the recruitment, training, transportation, and medical and spiritual care of Union soldiers and sailors from Pennsylvania. According to historian and biographer Rebecca Gifford Albright, “Among Andrew Curtin’s most admirable qualities what that of compassion…. Curtin insisted that all letters from soldiers be answered, either by himself or by his personal secretary. On many occasions, the Governor visited camp hospitals to talk with the wounded or to present them with some recognition of their sacrifices. In addition, Curtin heard countless pleas from wounded soldiers and their families and took what steps he could to relieve their anxieties.” He also “established the practice of bringing Pennsylvania war dead home for burial.”

Through it all, he tried to maintain a measure of normalcy as a husband and father. On October 19, 1865, he and his wife welcomed the birth of Bessie Elliott Curtin (1865-1866), who was born in Bellefonte. Sadly, she died in infancy at their family home on July 1, 1866.

HONORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Camp Curtin

Camp Curtin (Harper’s Weekly, 1861, public domain).

Three days after the fall of Fort Sumter to Confederate States Army troops in mid-April 1861, a new military recruiting and training camp was opened just north of the State Capitol building in the city of Harrisburg in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Situated on eighty acres of land that had previously been used for Dauphin County’s Agricultural Fairgrounds, “The camp was between Reels Lane on the north, the Pennsylvania Railroad tracks on the east, Maclay Street on the south and Fifth Street on the west,” according to volunteers at the Camp Curtin Historical Society, and was initially named “Camp Union.”

“Harrisburg’s location on major railroad lines running east and west, and north and south made it the ideal location for moving men and supplies to the armies in the field. In addition to Pennsylvania regiments, troops from Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Wisconsin and the Regular Army used Camp Curtin.”

That same day (April 18, 1861), Major Joseph Knipe, “a native of Mount Joy, a veteran of the Mexican War … raised the American flag over the new camp and proposed that it be named after the governor,” according to Tom Huntington, author of Pennsylvania Civil War Trails — a recommendation that was quickly adopted. More than three thousand regular and volunteer Union Army soldiers would ultimately be enrolled, mustered in, trained, mustered out, and/or honorably discharged at Camp Curtin between the spring of 1861 and early January 1866, making it the largest military facility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and one of the largest in the nation during the American Civil War.

Soldiers’ Orphan Schools

The Tressler Orphans’ Home in Loysville, Pennsylvania, depicted here circa 1876, was founded in 1865 as part of the Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphan Schools (John Laughery Paul, Pennsylvania’s Soldiers’ Orphan Schools, 1876, public domain; click to enlarge).

One of Governor Curtin’s most important initiatives was one that outlived him by many years — the creation of a system of schools for the thousands of Pennsylvania children whose fathers had died while serving with Union military units during the American Civil War (or had died, post-war, as a direct result of their service to the nation). Known as the Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphan Schools, this system was approved by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature in 1864, which read as follows:

“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in General Assembly met, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That the Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania be and is hereby authorized to accept the sum of fifty thousand dollars donated by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, for the education and maintenance of destitute orphan children of deceased soldiers and sailors, and appropriate the same in such manner as he may deem best calculated to accomplish the object designed by said donation; the accounts of said disbursements to be settled, in the usual manner, by the Auditor General and the Governor, and make report of the same to the next Legislature.

On June 16, 1864, Governor Curtin appointed The Honorable Thomas L. Burrowes, L.L.D., as superintendent of soldiers’ orphans, and directed him to create a plan for the new school system. Dr. Burrowes, who had previously served as the ex officio superintendent of Pennsylvania’s common school system during his tenure as secretary of the commonwealth under Governor Joseph Ritter, was able to quickly complete that new plan, and submitted it to Governor Curtin on June 27 of that same year (1864). In addition to establishing the criteria for determining a child’s eligibility for orphans’ school enrollment, that plan defined the application procedures for the mother or guardian of an eligible child, the responsibilities of each orphans’ school (to house, clothe, feed, educate, and provide medical and spiritual care to each child enrolled), and the recordkeeping and reporting procedures.

Governor Curtin then dedicated a significant portion of his final years in office to securing a staggering amount of funding for the orphans’ school system from the Pennsylvania Legislature (four hundred thousand dollars), and also worked with Dr. Burrowes on refining the system’s admissions and operating procedures.

POST-GUBERNATORIAL LIFE

The residence of Pennsylvania’s Civil War-era governor, Andrew Gregg Curtin, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, circa 1890s (public domain).

Having completed his second term as governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on January 15, 1867, Andrew Gregg Curtin chose to remain active in public service. Appointed by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant as the United States’ minister to Russia in 1869, he held that post until 1872. From 1872-1873, he served as a delegate to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention, the product of which was Pennsylvania’s updated constitution (1874), which, among other things, declared that:

  • “All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property and reputation, and of pursuing their own happiness…; and that
  • “Elections shall be free and equal; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage….”

Elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Congress in 1880, Andrew Gregg Curtin served three terms, from March 4, 1881 to March 3, 1887, during which time he chaired the U.S. House of Representatives’ committees on Foreign Affairs (1883-1885) and Banking and Currency (1885-1887). Eschewing a fourth term, he retired to Bellefonte.

By 1889, the Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphans School system that he had played such a key role in creating had grown into a network of forty-four separate educational institutions. A businessman involved with the First National Bank of Bellefonte, who had invested in the Bald Eagle Valley Railroad, his net worth during the latter part of his life was estimated at a quarter of a million dollars (the equivalent of more than nine million U.S. dollars in 2026). According to The New York Times:

“He lived at Bellefonte, in his stone house which has the air of a castle, among the books of his library.  He was tall, slim, and straight…. His eyes were dark gray, his hair was silvery, and when he went to Washington his affability attracted around him a circle of eminent men, to whom he related his career and innumerable stories.”

Illness, Death, Funeral and Interment

The Lewisburg Chronicle in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania paid tribute to former Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin on its October 13, 1894 front page (public domain).

Ailing during the final years of his life, Andrew Gregg Curtin died at the age of seventy-nine, at his home in Bellefonte, at 5 a.m. on October 7, 1894, and was immediately eulogized by government officials and in newspapers nationwide. According to The New York Times, “Gov. Pattison issued a proclamation tonight in which he announced ex-Gov. Curtin’s death. After reviewing his distinguished services to his State and country, the proclamation concludes as follows:

‘In honor of his memory and in recognition of his eminent public service, I invoke for his bereaved family the sympathy of the people of Pennsylvania, and I recommend and order that on the day of his funeral the flags upon the public buildings be displayed at half mast and that the several departments of the State Government within executive control be closed upon that day.’”

Both private and public funeral services were then held for Governor Curtin on October 10, 1894. According to The Semi-Weekly New Era of Lancaster, Pennsylvania:

“Private services [were] held at his late home, after which the body [was] taken in charge by Post 89, G.A.R., of [Bellefonte], for burial under the ceremonies of war. Detachments of the Pennsylvania National Guard [acted] as escort to the Post. The pallbearers [were] Col. A. K. McClure and John Scott, of Philadelphia; ex-Governor James A. Beaver, General Daniel H. Hastings, Edward C. Humes and Judge Austin O. Furst, of Bellefonte; Hon. John Dean, of Hollidaysburg, Judge of the Supreme Court; Hon. Wm. A. Wallace, of Clearfield, and Wm. B. Mann, of Philadelphia.”

The monument at the grave of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin (Bellefonte Union Cemetery, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, public domain).

In addition, the Pennsylvania National Guard’s “Second Brigade Band, Sheridan Troop, Battery B, Companies A, B, C, and G, of the Fifth Regiment, and A, B, D, G, and H, of the Twelfth Regiment” acted “as a funeral escort at the Curtin obsequies.” The Pennsylvania National Guard was also ordered to fire “seventeen minute guns … at the State Arsenal on the day of the funeral” — a funeral that merited coast to coast news coverage. According to The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

“This town [Bellefonte, Pennsylvania was] draped in mourning today in honor of the memory of Andrew Gregg Curtin, who was laid to rest this afternoon. This morning a memorial meeting was held in the courthouse, a great number of distinguished men being present. Touching addresses were made by Gov. Pattison, A. K. McClure, of Philadelphia, Gen. Gobin [the final commanding officer of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and a future lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania] and others. At 12 o’clock the ex-governor’s body was borne from the family residence to the courthouse, where it remained until 1:30, thousands of people viewing the remains while they lay in state. The body was then taken back to the Gregg mansion [sic], where at 2 o’clock the funeral services were held.

Following those tributes, The Honorable Andrew Gregg Curtin was laid to eternal rest at the Union Cemetery in his beloved hometown of Bellefonte.

 

Sources:

  1. Albright, Rebecca Gifford. “The Civil War Career of Andrew Gregg Curtin, Governor of Pennsylvania,” serialized in The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine, vols. 47 and 48, 1964-1965. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
  2. “Andrew Curtin Dead: Pennsylvania’s Great War Governor Passes Away: His Invaluable Services to His State and Nation — Idolized by the Soldiers and Loved By All the People — Proclamation By Governor Pattison — Burial With Military Honors.” Meriden, Connecticut: The Meriden Daily Journal, October 8, 1894.
  3. “Andrew G. Curtin Historical Marker, in “Explore PA History.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, retrieved online August 4, 2026.
  4. “Andrew Gregg Curtin (1817-1894)” (alumus, class of 1937), in “Encyclopedia.” Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Archives & Special Collections, Dickinson College, retrieved online August 4, 2026.
  5. “Andrew Gregg Curtin Dead: The Illustrious ‘War Governor’ Passes Peacefully Away at His Home in Bellefonte.” Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: The Lewisburg Chronicle, October 13, 1894.
  6. Annual Reports of the Pennsylvania Commission of Soldiers’ Orphans Schools, 1870-1918. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  7. “Another War Governor Gone: Andrew G. Curtin Passes Away at His Pennsylvania Home.” New York, New York: The New York Times, October 8, 1894.
  8. “Appointments by the Governor” (appointment by Governor James Pollock of Andrew G. Curtin as secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania). Lewisburg, Pennsylvania: The Lewisburg Chronicle, January 19, 1855.
  9. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1865-5, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
  10. “Biographical Sketch of Andrew G. Curtin! Next Governor of Pennsylvania.” Towanda, Pennsylvania: The Bradford Reporter, September 20, 1860.
  11. Bordewich, Fergus M. “Fort Sumter: The Civil War Begins,” in Smithsonian Magazine, 2011. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian.
  12. “Camp Curtin Historical Marker,” in ExplorePAhistory.com. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, retrieved online July 25, 2022.
  13. “Curtin, Andrew Gregg,” in “History, Art & Archives.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. House of Representatives, retrieved online August 2, 2026.
  14. “Curtin, Andrew Gregg,” in “House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College.” Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, retrieved online August 2026.
  15. “For the Repository and Transcript: A List of the Governors, Deputy Governors, Presidents, and Vice Presidents of Pennsylvania” (mentions Andrew G. Curtin’s tenure as secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania). Chambersburg, Pennsylvania: Franklin Repository and Transcript, December 1, 1858.
  16. “Funeral Arrangements and Pallbearers” and “Special Order to the National Guard,” in “Andrew G. Curtin Dead: The Famous War Governor at Rest.” Lancaster, Pennsylvania: The Semi-Weekly New Era, October 10, 1894.
  17. “Funeral of Andrew Gregg Curtin.” Seattle, Washington: The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, October 11, 1894.
  18. “Gov. Andrew Gregg Curtin,” in “Database of Former Governors: Pennsylvania.” Washington, D.C.: National Governors Association, retrieved online August 2, 2026.
  19. “Gov. Curtin and the Militia System of the State.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Post, April 12, 1861.
  20. “Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin,” in “Pennsylvania Governors.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, retrieved online August 1, 2026.
  21. “Governor Curtin Has Signed the Bill for the Repeal of the Tonnage Tax.” York, Pennsylvania: The Wrightsville Star, March 14, 1861.
  22. Grodzins, Dean and David Moss. “The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy,” in When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, from Ancient Athens to the Present Day (chapter 3). New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2024.
  23. “History of Camp Curtin.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Camp Curtin Historical Society, retrieved online July 25, 2022.
  24. “Hon. Andrew G. Curtin,” in “Personal.” Ebensburg, Pennsylvania: The Alleghenian, September 29, 1859.
  25. Huntington, Tom. Pennsylvania Civil War Trails: The Guide to Battle Sites, Monuments, Museums and Towns, pp. 65-66. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 2007; Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 2007.
  26. Miller, William J. The Training of an Army: Camp Curtin and the North’s Civil War. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: White Mane Publishing, 1990.
  27. Paul, James Laughery. Pennsylvania’s Soldiers’ Orphans Schools, Giving a Brief Account of the Origin of the Late Civil War, the Rise and Progress of the Orphan System, and Legislative Enactments Relating Thereto. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Claxton, Remson & Haffelfinger, 1876; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Lane S. Hart, 1877.
  28. Schmidt, Lewis G. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
  29. Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, vol. 4. Westport, Connecticut: Meckler Books, 1978.
  30. The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, vol. 2. New York, New York: James T. White & Company, 1895.

 

Juneteenth — Forever a Day to Remember

Union soldiers were depicted reading the Emancipation Proclamation to an enslaved family in 1864 by artist Lucius Stebbins (public domain).

“The people are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” — Major-General Gordon Granger, United States Army, Galveston Texas, June 19, 1865

 

With those words, the United States of America took another step forward in the effort to completely eradicate the savage practice of chattel slavery across the nation. It was on that date that Union Major-General Gordon Granger, commanding officer of the United States’ District of Texas, began to inform African American men, women and children who were still being held in bondage across Texas (despite President Abraham Lincoln’s announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 and despite the Confederacy’s surrender in Virginia on April 9, 1865) that the people who had enslaved and brutalized them no longer had any power over them.

That same day, Major-General Granger also served notice to enslavers across Texas that their days of treating other human beings as their personal property were over. He did so by publishing General Orders, No. 3 in newspapers statewide. Not as forceful as it should have been, because its wording discouraged many newly-freed people from truly escaping from their enslavers while also effectively encouraging those enslavers to continue their efforts to dominate and subjugate the same people they had long exploited (as poorly-paid “employees”), his directive was still forceful enough to move the United States forward in its long struggle to become a fairer and more just nation:

Headquarters, District of Texas,
Galveston, Texas, June 19, 1865.

General Orders, No. 3.

The people are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free. This involves an absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property, between former masters and slaves, and the connection heretofore existing between them, becomes that between employer and hired labor. — The Freedmen are advised to remain at their present homes, and work for wages. They are informed that they will not be allowed to collect at military posts; and that they will not be supported in idleness either there or elsewhere.

By order of
Major-General Granger (Signed,)
F. W. Emery, Maj. and A. A. G.

Around that same time, a reporter for The New York Tribune described the atmosphere in and around the city where Major-General Granger was headquartered:

Galveston is a city of dogs and desolation. It is hard to tell which a stranger would be soonest impressed with — the multiplicity of the canine or the poverty and degradation of the human species.

…. No other Southern city of its prominence and local importance is so utterly insignificant and God-forsaken in appearance. It is desolation desolated, for before the war it was a parched and barren land. There is no shady park, and but one pleasant ride. The trees are stunted and scraggy like the people…. 

Loyalty does not manifest itself. There are loud professions. There are bitter and, I doubt not, sincere cursings of Davis and Kirby Smith. There are more welcomes to our presence, and especially to our greenbacks. But true loyalty — that prefers the United States to Texas; that venerates Washington above Houston; that loves freedom more than Slavery — is an exceedingly rare pearl in Galveston. I know how hard it is to distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit, but I am forced to believe the statement made to me a few days since by one who was well acquainted in every part of the State.

I asked him what he thought of the Amnesty Proclamation. He replied, “If it is carried out strictly, with its exceptions, not a wealthy man in Texas can escape, for all have aided and voluntarily assisted the Rebellion.”

THE LONE STAR CONFEDERACY

Even now, while Union soldiers patrol the streets, and a powerful fleet is anchored off the city, these narrow-minded and impoverished people cling to the idea of State independence. They want to fly the “Lone Star” flag once more, to subdivide their country into four States or more, and to become a recognized power in the world. Hireling editors and selfish leaders have actually made the masses believe that Texas came into the Union with the promise that she could go out again next year if she chose to do so….

THE SLAVES

There are many more slaves in Texas than there were before the war, but the institution is waning even here….

Aiding with Reconstruction

It is worth noting that, during the Union’s 1864 Red River Campaign, a small group of 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantrymen actually became eyewitnesses to what life was like in Texas during the American Civil War. While their perspectives would have been somewhat limited, because they were actually watching events unfold while they were being force marched to Camp Ford near Tyler, Texas, and were then confined there as prisoners of war (POWs), they encountered both impoverished Texans and the brutality of chattel enslavement — compelled to watch helplessly as Confederate civilians and soldiers terrorized enslaved Black men, women and children while forcing them to perform back-breaking work.

Although a significant number of the seventeen 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers who were imprisoned at Camp Ford died there from starvation, disease and harsh treatment, most managed to survive — many of whom were subsequently given medical care by Union Army physicians and then honorably discharged on surgeons’ certificates of disability because their bodies and minds were no longer fit for duty.

But some actually recovered, returned to duty with the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers and continued to serve with the regiment — by trying to help communities in Georgia and South Carolina rebuild as they returned to the Union. First Sergeant James Crownover, Corporal James Downs, Sergeant John Garber Miller, and Private William J. Smith were among the former Camp Ford POWs who traveled with their fellow 47th Pennsylvanians to Savannah, Georgia and to Charleston, South Carolina for provost and Reconstruction Era-related duties during that same summer of 1865 when enslaved people in Texas were being informed that they were finally free. Also traveling with the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers to Georgia and South Carolina were nine formerly enslaved Black men who had enlisted in the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in 1862 (in South Carolina) and in 1864 (in Louisiana): Aaron Bullard (later known as “Aaron French“), James Bullard, John Bullard, Bristor Gethers, John Hamilton (later known as “Hamilton Blanchard“), Thomas Haywood, Abraham Jassum, Edward Jassum, and Samuel Jones.

Likely unaware of Major-General Gordon Granger’s emancipation announcement when it was first published on June 19, 1865, they eventually learned about what had happened that day as word spread beyond the borders of Texas. All nine ultimately survived the war, and went on to forge new lives for themselves as Freedmen. One even went on to become a delegate to a Republican Party convention during his post-war years.

Meanwhile, that important date would come and go every year across the nation. Remembered and commemorated as “Juneteenth” in Texas initially, and then in Louisiana and other states, as community elders, church leaders and educators taught new generations about the Emancipation Days of 1863 and 1865, June 19th was finally declared as an official federal holiday when the United States of America’s Juneteenth National Independence Day Act was signed into law on June 17, 2021.

 

Sources:

  1. “Blacks Celebrate Their Day of Independence.” Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Associated Press Wire Service, June 1975; Pascagoula, Mississippi: Mississippi Press Register, June 22, 1975; and Greenwood, South Carolina: The Index-Journal, June 20, 1975.
  2. Carson, Kelly. “Juneteenth Parade Salutes Miss Lillie.” Hattiesburg, Mississippi: Hattiesburg American, December 14, 1989.
  3. Carter, Kevin L. “Blacks’ Juneteenth Here from Texas Roots.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, June 15, 1987.
  4. “Celebrating June-Teenth.” Lake Charles, Louisiana: The American-Press, June 19, 1917.
  5. “From Texas: Galveston Occupied by Colored Troops — Dreariness and Desolation of the City — Questionable Loyalty of the People — The Lone Star Confederacy Again — The Reign of Terror” and “The Slaves Declared Free — The Acts of the Governor and Legislature Void — Public Property to Be Returned.” New York, New York: The New York Tribune, July 7, 1865.
  6. “From Texas: Granger in Command — His General Orders — Sheridan in Texas — Weitzel’s Command to Disembark at Brazos.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Daily Post, July 8, 1865.
  7. “General Granger’s Order on Personal Equality in Texas.” Wheeling, West Virginia: The Wheeling Daily Register, July 8, 1865.
  8. “General Orders, No. 3” (announcement by Union Major-General G. Granger that “all slaves are free”). Galveston, Texas: The Galveston Daily News, June 21, 1865.
  9. “Grambling Slates Juneteenth Holiday.” Monroe, Louisiana: Monroe News-Star, June 17, 1976.
  10. Jackson, Anna and Katherine Schaeffer. “More Than Half of States Will Recognize Juneteenth as a Legal Holiday in 2026.” Washington, D.C.: Pew Research Center, June 11, 2026.
  11. Juneteenth, in “Swimming Hero Will Be Heard.” Greenville, South Carolina: The Greenville News, August 15, 1937.
  12. “‘Juneteenth’ a Big Day in This Section on Last Tuesday.” Jena, Louisiana: The Jena Times, June 21, 1934.
  13. “‘Juneteenth’ Committee,” in “Emancipation Celebration.” San Antonio, Texas: The Daily Light, May 16, 1893.
  14. “Juneteenth Is Here Again: Celebration of Negro Freedom Will Extend Over Period of Two Days.” Houston, Texas: The Houston Chronicle, June 19, 1910.
  15. “‘Juneteenth’ Is Marked By B.B.Q.” Opelousas, Louisiana: Daily World, June 20, 1948.
  16. Maraniss, David. “Juneteenth Celebration Makes Comeback in Texas.” Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post, June 1990; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 24, 1990.
  17. “Our American Story — Juneteenth.” Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, retrieved online June 15, 2026.
  18. Pradarits, Rick. “Black Mayors Ask Holiday Off.” Houston, Texas: United Press International Wire Service, May 1980; and Shreveport, Louisiana: The Times, May 21, 1980.
  19. “Public Law 117 – 17- Juneteenth National Independence Day Act,” in “GovInfo.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office, retrieved online June 15, 2026.
  20. Ramsey, Sonya Y. “Juneteenth Recalls Black Heritage.” Rosslyn, Virginia: Gannett News Service, June 1988; and Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana: The Times, June 15, 1988.
  21. “The Colored Citizens Make Further Arrangements for Their Emancipation Celebration.” Houston, Texas: Houston Daily Post, April 23, 1901.
  22. “The Emancipation Proclamation,” in “Featured Documents.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, retrieved online June 15, 2026.

 

Making History in May: Guarding the Key Conspirators in the Lincoln Assassination Plot

Brevet Major-General John Frederick Hartranft, governor and commanding officer of the Washington Arsenal military prison in Washington, D.C., July 7, 1865 (excerpted from original public domain photo of Hartranft and staff, U.S. Library of Congress).

On May 10, 1865, a group of soldiers from the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry concluded another of their regiment’s history-making assignments — guarding the individuals who were instrumental in planning and carrying out the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Present-day historians know this to be true thanks to this brief note that was written by Brevet Major-General John Frederick Hartranft, the commanding officer of the United States military prison where those conspirators were held in the days leading up to their trial:

Hd. Qrs. Mil. Prison
Wash. Arsenal May 11th 1865.

Major Gen’l. Hancock
Com’dg. Mid. Mil. Div.
Gen’l,

I have the honor to report that 10.25 a.m. yesterday, Lt. Col. J. M. Clough, 18th N.H. reported with 450 muskets, for four days duty relieving the 47th Pa. Vols.

At 11.45, the prisoners on trial were taken into Court, in compliance with the orders of the same. At 1 P.M. the Court ordered the prisoners returned to their cells, which was done.

At 1.10 P.M. dinner was served to the prisoners in the usual manner.

At 1.30 in compliance with your orders Marshal McPhail was admitted to see the prisoner in 161, his hood having been previously removed; he remained with him until 2.35, immediately after which his hood was replaced and the door locked.

At 3.45 P.M. Mr. George L. Crawford in accordance with your instructions, was permitted to have an interview with prisoner in 209. I was present during the same, and heard all that was said. The conversation was in regard to the property of the prisoner in Philadelphia. At 4.25 the hood was replaced and the cell locked.

At 6 P.M. Supper was furnished the prisoners and at the same time Dr. Porter and myself made inspections of all the cells and prisoners.

At 6 P.M. in accordance with your instructions, Mr. Stone, Counsel for Dr. Mudd, was permitted to visit his client. The interview took place in the presence of Lt. Col. McCall but not in his hearing.

At 6.35 the interview closed, and the door was again locked.

At 7 this A.M. breakfast was served to the prisoners in the usual manner. At 7.15, Dr. Porter and myself made Inspections of all the cells and prisoners.

I would respectfully recommend that the prisoner in 190 be removed to cell 165.

All passes admitting persons during the last 24 hours are herewith enclosed.

I have the honor to be
Very Respectfully
Your Obt. Servt.
Bvt. Maj. Genl. and
Gov. and Comdr. Mil. Prison

* Note: The conspirator who was identified only as “prisoner 161” in Major-General Hartranft’s entry regarding the visit to the prison at 1:30 p.m. by Marshal McPhail was George Atzerodt, according to historians Edward Steers, Jr. and Harold Holzer, who worked with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration to publish a book containing correspondence that Hartranft wrote during his tenure as the head of the military prison where Atzerodt was being held, along with his fellow conspirators Samuel Arnold (cell 170), David Herold (cell 205), Dr. Samuel Mudd (cell 176), Michael O’Laughlen (cell 181), Lewis Payne/Lewis Powell (cell 195), Edman Spangler (cell 190 and then cell 184), and Mary Surratt (cell 157 and then cell 200). Also imprisoned there at that time were suspected conspirator John Celestino (cell 209) and Willie Jett (cell 211), the Confederate soldier who had accompanied Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth and David Herold as they crossed the Rappahannock River to evade capture by Union troops, and had then also secured lodging for Booth at the farm of Richard Garrett in Virginia.

Researchers for 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers: One Civil War Regiment’s Story are currently working to confirm the nature of and exact start and end dates for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry’s guard duty assignment at the Washington Arsenal military prison in Washington, D.C., as well as which companies of the regiment may have been involved. Their current theory (based on the first sentence of Major-General Hartranft’s May 11, 1865 letter shown above) is that as many as four hundred and fifty men from the 47th Pennsylvania may have been stationed at the Washington Arsenal for a four-day period between May 6-9, 1865. If so, then those 47th Pennsylvanians would have been on guard duty somewhere on the grounds of, or near, that prison on the day when Major-General Hartranft personally visited the cells of each of the key conspirators and read the official charges against them (May 8, 1865) and on the day when the key conspirators appeared before the military tribunal and were each asked whether or not he or she wanted to have an attorney advise and represent them — to which each said yes (May 9). The next morning, as the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were being released from their duties and replaced by men from the 18th New Hampshire, Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Samuel Mudd, Michael O’Laughlen, Lewis Powell (also known as Lewis Payne), Edman Spangler (also known as Ned Spangler), and Mary Surratt stood in front of the military tribunal at the Washington Arsenal, listening as the charges against them were read out loud in open court during their formal arraignment.

 

Sources:

  1. “Assassination Conspirators Tried, Convicted & Executed,” in Civil War on the Western Border: Border War Timeline. Kansas City, Missouri: Kansas City Public Library, 2013-2015.
  2. “Executive Order — General Court-Martial Orders: 356” (the legal charges filed in May 1865 against the key conspirators in the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln), in The American Presidency Project. Santa Barbara, California: University of California, Santa Barbara, retrieved online May 10, 2026.
  3. Steers, Jr., Edward and Harold Holzer, editors. The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators: Their Confinement and Execution, as Recorded in the Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University Press in Association with the U.S. National Archives, Washington, D.C., 2009.
  4. “The Trial of the Conspirators,” in Lincoln’s Assassination: Investigating the Assassination. Washington, D.C.: Ford’s Theatre, retrieved online May 10, 2026.

 

A Significant Confederate Threat to Black Union Soldiers and Their White Commanders (May 1, 1863)

Cover page of The Statutes at Large of the Confederate States of America, Passed at the Third Session of the First Congress, 1863 (Richmond, Virginia: R. M. Smith, Printer to Congress, 1863, public domain; click to enlarge).

During its legislative session on May 1, 1863, the Confederate Congress enacted several pieces of legislation prior to approving additional new resolutions. The most important, perhaps (from the perspective of historians and students engaged in research about the American Civil War), was resolution number five in which leaders of the Confederacy made clear their intent to re-enslave or execute Black Union soldiers if and when they were captured by Confederate troops — and to also execute their White commanding officers should any of those officers be captured by Confederate troops. The text of that resolution read as follows:

Resolved, by the Congress of the Confederate States of America, in response to the message of the President, transmitted to Congress at the commencement of the present session, that in the opinion of Congress the commissioned officers of the enemy ought not to be delivered to the authorities of the respective States, as suggested in the said message; but all captives taken by the confederate forces ought to be dealt with and disposed of by the confederate government.

Sec. 2. That, in the judgment of Congress, the Proclamations of the President of the United States, dated respectively September twenty-second, eighteen hundred and sixty-two, and January first, eighteen hundred and sixty-three, and the other measures of the Government of the United States and of its authorities, commanders and forces, designed or tending to emancipate slaves in the confederate States, or to abduct such slaves, or to incite them to insurrection, or to employ negroes in war against the confederate States, or to overthrow the institution of African slavery and bring on a servile war in these States, would, if successful, produce atrocious consequences, and they are inconsistent with the spirit of those usages which in modern warfare prevail among civilized nations; they may, therefore, be properly and lawfully repressed by retaliation.

Sec. 3. That in every case wherein, during the present war, any violation of the laws or usages of war among civilized nations shall be, or has been, done and perpetrated by those acting under the authority of the Government of the United States, on the persons or property of citizens of the confederate States, or of those under the protection or in the land or naval service of the confederate States, or of any State of the Confederacy, the President of the confederate States is hereby authorized to cause full and complete retaliation to be made for every such violation, in such manner and to such extent as he may think proper.

Sec. 4. That every white person, being a commissioned officer, or acting as such, who, during the present war, shall command negroes or mulattoes in arms against the confederate States, or who shall arm, train, organize, or prepare negroes or mulattoes for military service against the confederate States, or who shall voluntarily aid negroes or mulattoes in any military enterprise, attack, or conflict in such service, shall be deemed as inciting servile insurrection, and shall, if captured, be put to death, or be otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.

Sec 5. Every person, being a commissioned officer, or acting as such in the service of the enemy, who shall, during the present war, excite, attempt to excite or cause to be excited servile insurrection, or who shall incite or cause to be incited a slave to rebel, shall, if captured, be put to death, or be otherwise punished at the discretion of the court.

Sec 6. Every person charged with an offence punishable under the preceding resolutions shall, during the present war, be tried before the military court attached to the army or corps by the troops of which he shall have been captured, or by such other military court as the President may direct, and in such manner and under such regulations as the President shall prescribe, and, after conviction, the President may commute the punishment in such manner and on such terms as he may deem proper.

Sec. 7. All negroes and mulattoes who shall be engaged in war or taken in arms against the confederate States, or shall give aid or comfort to the enemies of the Confederate States, shall, when captured in the Confederate States, be delivered to the authorities of the State or States in which they shall be captured, to be dealt with according to the present or future laws of such State or States.

Approved May 1, 1863.

 

Sources:

  1. “Act Passed by the Rebel Congress: No. 74: Joint Resolution on the Subject of Retaliation.” St. Louis, Missouri: Daily Missouri Republican, June 5, 1863.
  2. “Acts Passed by the Rebel Congress: No. 74.” New York, New York: New York Herald, May 31, 1863.
  3. “Joint Resolutions on the Subject of Retaliation,” in “Acts Passed by the Confederate Congress [No. 74],” in “Late and Interesting News from the South — The Spirit and Tone of Rebel Journals.” Lafayette, Indiana: The Lafayette Weekly Argus, June 11, 1863.
  4. “Joint Resolutions on the Subject of Retaliation,” in “Latest News from the South.” Baltimore, Maryland: The Sun, June 2, 1863.
  5. “No. 5: Joint Resolution on the Subject of Retaliation” (approved on May 1, 1863), in “Resolutions ” in “The Statutes at Large of the Confederate States of America, Passed at the Third Session of the First Congress; 1863. Carefully Collated with the Originals at Richmond,” in “Documenting the American South.” Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, retrieved online April 24, 2026.
  6. “Rebel Law of Retaliation.” Keokuk, Iowa: The Gate City, June 18, 1863.
  7. “Rebel Law of Retaliation.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Daily Pittsburgh Gazette, June 5, 1863.
  8. “Rebel Law of Retaliation” and “Gen. Hunter’s Letter to Jeff. Davis.” Indiana, Pennsylvania: Weekly Register, June 9, 1863.
  9. “Rebel Retaliation.” Kansas City, Missouri: The Journal of Commerce, June 11, 1863.
  10. “Retaliation Upon the Enemy: Report of the Judiciary Committee of the Confederate Senate — The Action of Congress.” Richmond, Virginia: The Richmond Whig, May 15, 1863.
  11. “The Retaliatory Act, Confederate Congress, May 1, 1863,” in “House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College.” Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, retrieved online April 24, 2026.
  12. “The Retaliatory Code.” Washington, D.C.: Daily National Intelligencer, June 5, 1863.

 

Telegraphing the News — From President Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination to His Assassin’s Capture

Telegram announcing the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, sent by Henry Harrison Atwater at the U.S. Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. on 15 April 1865 at 1:30 a.m. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, public domain; click to enlarge).

They are fleeting glimpses into a nation reeling from the death of a beloved hero. Viewed in chronological sequence, they take readers from the utter shock experienced by stunned government employees through the stages of grief as they tried to carry out their expected duties while also coming to terms with their own emotions about what was unfolding through the chaos and confusion around them.

They were the telegrams, logbook entries, military orders, dispatches from executives of the United States government to their subordinates who were stationed throughout the U.S. and across the globe, and other documents that were hurriedly created during the immediate and ongoing aftermath of the assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln, and they are illuminating, heartbreaking and, at times, infuriating — particularly as their intensity builds with each update regarding the dramatic hunt for, and capture of, the perpetrator and facilitators of one the most vile acts in American history.

Henry Harrison Atwater

Among the briefest but most powerful of the telegraph messages that were dispatched during the first hours after President Lincoln was shot at Ford’s Theatre were those transmitted by Washington Navy Yard telegrapher Henry Harrison Atwater:

  • War Dept. Apr. 14 (186)5. Comd Parker. An attempt has been made this P.M. to assassinate the President & Secy of State – The parties may escape or attempt to escept [sic] down the Potomac [unclear] J.H. Taylor, Chf Staff
  • War Dept. Washington. Apr 15th (186)5. 1.05 a.m. Brig Gen. Barnes Pt. Lookout. Stop all vessels going down the river & hold all persons on them till further orders and [sic] attempt has been made tonigh [sic] to assassinate the President & secy of state hold all persons leaving Washington H.W. Halleck Maj Gen Chf Staff 
  • Navy Yard Washington Apr 15th (186)5 1.15 a.m. Comdr Parker. An attempt has this evening been made to assinate [sic] the President and Sec’y Seward The President was shot through the head and Secy seward [sic] had his throat cut in his own house Both are in a very dangerous condition. No further particulars There is great excitement here T.H. Eastman Lt Comdr U.S. Pot. Flotilla
  • War Dept Apr 15 (186)5 8 a.m. H.H. Atwater President died at seven twenty two (7.22) this a.m. Maynard Operator
  • War Dept April 15th 2.20 p.m. (186)5. Comd J.B. Montgomery Navy Yard If the military authorities arrest the murderer of the President and take him to the yard put him on a monitor & anchor her in the stream with strong guard on vessel – wharf – and in yard Call upon Comdt Marine Corps for guard – Have vessel immediately prepared ready to receive him at any hour day or night with necessary instructions he will be heavily ironed and so guarded as to prevent escape or injury to himself Gideon Welles Secy Navy

Atwater, when interviewed half a century later for the May 1, 1915 edition of the journal, Telephone and Telegraph Age, explained how he came to be the person who transmitted those crucial messages:

I was not in the theatre on the evening of April 14, 1865, but was in my room at the Navy Yard, where I was stationed, when about eleven p.m. I was called up by Mr. Maynard at the War Department Office and informed that President Lincoln had been shot at Ford’s Theatre. I ran to give the information to Commodore Montgomery at his house, and met the Commodore as he was entering the yard and conveyed the information. He replied: — “I guess that is a mistake, for I have just come from uptown and heard nothing of it.” I told him it had just occurred, and returned to my quarters.

Edwin Stanton

U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, circa 1862-1865 (Matthew Brady, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of War Edward Stanton was penning the following messages for telegraphic transmission by his subordinates:

  • War Department, April 15, 1865 – 1:30 a.m.
    Major-General Dix,
    New York:
    Last evening, about 10:30 p.m., at Ford’s Theater, the President, while sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Miss Harris, and Major Rathbone, was shot by an assassin . . . The pistol-ball entered the back of the President’s head, and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound is mortal. The President has been insensible ever since it was inflicted, and is now dying.
  • War Department, April 15, 1865 – 2:35 a.m.
    Investigation strongly indicates J. Wilkes Booth as the assassin of the President.

Roughly five hours later, on April 15, 1865, Secretary Stanton conveyed the news that:

  • Abraham Lincoln died this morning at 22 minutes after 7 o’clock.

Stanton then began to write, rewrite and send announcements about the president’s death to senior officials of the federal government, which carried instructions that kept the federal government running during the transfer of power to the new president Andrew Johnson. Unable to employ the Transatlantic telegraph to quickly alert U.S. Department of State staff who were serving overseas at that time (because the transatlantic cable was still inoperable), Stanton was compelled to use the nineteenth-century version of “snail mail” when he sent this dispatch of April 15, 1865 by ship to Charles Francis Adams, the U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom:

Recd. 26 April, 1865
Charles Francis Adams
United States Minister, London
Washington, DC 15 April, 1865

Sir.

It has become my distressing duty to announce to you that last night His Excellency Abraham Lincoln President of The United States, was assassinated, about the hour of half past 10 o’clock, in his private box at Ford’s Theatre, in this city. The President about eight o’clock accompanied Mrs. Lincoln to the theatre. Another lady and gentleman were with them in the box. About half past ten during a pause in the performance, the assassin entered the box, the door of which was unguarded, hastily approached the President from behind, and discharged a pistol at his head. The bullet entered the back of his head, and penetrated nearly through. The assassin then leaped from the box upon the stage, brandishing a large knife or dagger, and exclaiming “Sic semper tyrannis!” and escaped in the rear of the theatre. Immediately upon the discharge the President fell to the floor insensible, and continued in that state until 20 minutes past 7 o’clock this morning when he breathed his last. About the same time the murder was being committed at the Theatre another assassin presented himself at the door of Mr. Seward’s residence, gained admission by representing he had a prescription from Mr. Seward’s physicians which he was directed to see administered and hurried up to the third story chamber where Mr. Seward was lying. He here discovered Mr. Frederick Seward, struck him over the head, inflicting several wounds, and fracturing the skull in two places, inflicting, it is feared mortal wounds. He then rushed into the room where Mr. Seward was in bed, attended by a young daughter and a male nurse. The male attendant was stabbed through the lungs, and it is believed will die. The assassin then struck Mr. Seward with a knife or dagger twice in the throat and twice in the face, inflicting terrible wounds. By this time Major Seward, eldest son of the Secretary, and another attendant reached the room, and rushed to the rescue of the Secretary; they were also wounded in the conflict, and the assassin escaped. No artery or important blood vessel was severed by any of the wounds inflicted upon him, but he was for a long time insensible from the loss of blood. Some hope of his possible recovery is entertained. Immediately upon the death of the President notice was given to Vice President Johnson, who happened to be in the City, and upon whom the office of President now devolves. He will take the office and assume the functions of President to-day. The murderer of the President has been discovered, and evidence obtained that these horrible crimes were committed in execution of conspiracy deliberately planned and set on foot by rebels on pretence of avenging the South and aiding the rebel cause; but it is hoped that the perpetrators will be caught.

The feeling occasioned by these atrocious crimes is so great, sudden, and overwhelming that I cannot at present do more than communicate them to you. At the earliest moment yesterday the late President called a Cabinet meeting, at which General Grant was present. He was more cheerful and happy than I had ever seen him, rejoiced at the near prospect of firm and durable peace at home and abroad, manifested in a marked degree the kindness and humanity of his disposition, and the tender and forgiving spirit that so eminently distinguished him. Public notice had been given that he and General Grant, would be present at the Theatre, and the opportunity of adding the Lieutenant General to the number of victims to be murdered was no doubt seized for the fitting occasion of executing the plans that appear to have been in preparation for some weeks, but General Grant was compelled to be absent, and thus escaped the designs upon him. It is needless for me to say anything in regard to the influence which this atrocious murder of the President may exercise upon the affairs of this country, but I will only add that, horrible as are the atrocities that have been resorted to by the enemies of the country, they are not likely in any degree to impair the public spirit, or postpone the complete and final overthrow of the rebellion. In profound grief for the events, which it has become my duty to communicate to you,

I have the honor to be
Very respectfully
Your obt. Servant
Edwin M. Stanton

Metropolitan Police, Washington, D.C.

In addition, a supervising police officer at the city of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department headquarters penned this ten-line entry in the department’s logbook:

At this hour the melancholy intelligence of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, President of the U.S, at Fords Theater was brought to this office, and the information obtained from the following persons goes to show that the assassin is a man named J. Wilks [sic] Booth. Secretary Seward & both his sons & servant were attacked at the same hour by a man supposed to be J____ Serratt. Assign to the Force.

The hunt for the conspirators had begun.

 

Sources:

  1. Brown, J. Willard, A.M. The Signal Corps, U.S.A. in the War of the Rebellion. Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Veteran Signal Corps Association, 1896.
  2. “Exhibit: Lincoln Assassination Report.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, retrieved online April 15, 1865.
  3. Kauffman, Michael W. American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies. New York, New York: Random House, 2004.
  4. Langbart, David. “Reporting the Death of the President, 1865,” in The Text Message. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, April 15, 2015.
  5. “The Assassin’s Escape: Following John Wilkes Booth.” Washington, D.C.: Ford’s Theatre, retrieved online April 15, 1865.

 

Remembering the Red River Campaign Prisoners of War on National POW/MIA Recognition Day

This POW/MIA Recognition Flag designed by Newt Heisley was formally recognized by U.S. House of Representatives Resolution No. 467 on September 21, 1990 (public domain).

During the Army of the United States’ 1864 Red River Campaign across Louisiana in the American Civil War, multiple members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry were declared as “Missing in Action” (MIA) — largely due to the confusion caused by a series of engagements with the enemy in which Union soldiers were repeatedly required to retreat, regroup and resume the fight as they faced down wave after wave of Confederate troops attempting to outflank and perform end runs around the outer edges of Union Army lines.

Each time the cannon smoke began to clear from those battles, many of those MIA members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry found their way back to the regiment, carrying word to senior officers of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers that members of the regiment had been captured by Confederate troops. By mid-May of 1864, it was clear that at least twenty-three 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were being held as prisoners of war (POWs) by the Confederate States Army.

Regimental leaders would later learn that many of those men had been force marched roughly one hundred and fifty miles to Camp Ford, which was located outside of Tyler, Texas and would become the largest Confederate POW camp west of the Mississippi River by the summer of 1864. Once there, they were starved, given minimal to no medical care for any wounds they had sustained, exposed to extreme variations in temperature and weather, due to inadequate shelter, and sickened by dysentery and other diseases that were spread by living in the cramped, overcrowded conditions that became increasingly unsanitary, due to the placement of latrine facilities near water supplies meant for drinking or bathing. As their days dragged on, their treatment by Confederate soldiers grew more and more harsh. According to representatives of the Smith County Historical Society who have been working on documenting the history of Camp Ford:

On April 8th and 9th 1864 at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, Louisiana, Confederate forces captured more than 2,000 Union soldiers, who were quickly marched to Tyler…. The existing stockade did not have sufficient area to house them, and an emergency enlargement was undertaken. Local slaves were again impressed, the north and east wall was dug up and the logs cut in half, and the top ten feet of the logs of the south and west walls were cut off. The resulting half logs gave sufficient timber to quadruple the area of the stockade, and it was expanded to about eleven acres.

With additional battles in Arkansas and Louisiana, the prison population had grown to around 5,000 by mid-June. Hard-pressed CS officials had no ability to provide shelter for the new prisoners, and their suffering was intense. The number of tools was inadequate, and many men could only dig holes in the ground for shelter. Rations were often insufficient and the death rate soared…. Of 316 total deaths at the camp, 232 occurred between July and November 1864….

At least three 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers are confirmed to have died while imprisoned at Camp Ford. Another member of the regiment was later removed from that prison and moved to Andersonville, the most notorious of all American Civil War POW camps. Two others died as POWs who were confined to a Confederate hospital.

In recognition of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, which is observed on the third Friday each September in the United States of America, we pay tribute to those twenty-three brave souls.

DeSoto and Sabine Parishes (Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, Louisiana)

Possibly wounded in action during the Battle of Pleasant Hill, Privates Solomon Powell and Jonathan Wantz of Company D were captured during that battle on April 9, 1864. Private Powell died either that same day or on June 7, 1864, while still being held by Confederate troops as a POW at Pleasant Hill. Private Wantz also died while still being held as a POW at Pleasant Hill; his death was reported as having occurred on June 17, 1864. Their exact burial locations remain unidentified.

Confederate Hospital (Shreveport, Louisiana)

G Company Private Joseph Clewell — who had only been a member of the 47th Pennsylvania since mid-November 1863, fell ill sometime after being captured by Confederate troops during one of the 47th Pennsylvania’s Red River Campaign engagements in the spring of 1864. Suffering from chronic diarrhea due to the poor water quality and unsanitary living conditions that he endured while being held as a POW, he was subsequently confined to the Confederate States Army Hospital No. 59 in Shreveport, Louisiana sometime in May or early June. Held at that hospital as a POW, his health continued to decline until he died there on June 18, 1864, according to the U.S. Army’s Registers of Deaths of Volunteer Soldiers. His exact burial location also remains unidentified.

This illustration presented a rosier view of life at Camp Ford, the largest Confederate Army prison camp west of the Mississippi River, than was the actual situation for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers confined there (Harper’s Weekly, March 4, 1865, public domain).

Camp Ford or Camp Groce (Texas)

The 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers confirmed to have been released from Camp Ford or Camp Groce in Texas during a series of prisoner exchanges between the Army of the United States and the Confederate States Army were:

  • Private Charles Frances Brown, Bugler of Company D and Regimental Band No. 2 (date of release: July 22, 1864; discharged after receiving medical treatment; re-enlisted with the 7th New York Volunteers in October 1864);
  • Private Charles Buss/Bress of Company D (fell ill with dysentery while confined as a POW at Camp Ford and developed chronic diarrhea and severe hemorrhoids — conditions that would plague him for the remainder of his life, date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment and was honorably discharged from a Union Army medical facility in Philadelphia in May 1865);
  • Private Ephraim Clouser of Company D (captured after being shot in the right knee, date of release: November 25, 1864; placed on Union Army sick rolls after being diagnosed as being too traumatized to remain on duty, he was transferred to the Union Army’s Jefferson Barracks Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, then to a Union Army hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio and then to the Union Army’s general hospital in York, Pennsylvania, where he remained until the end of the war; still suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the war, he was declared by the Pennsylvania court system to be unable to care for himself, and was confined to the Harrisburg State Hospital for the remainder of his life);
  • Sergeant James Crownover of Company D (captured after being shot in the right shoulder, date of release: November 25, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Private James Downs of Company D (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment and returned to duty; possibly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), he fell from a window of the Brookville Memorial Home in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania in 1921);
  • Private Conrad P. Holman, of Company C (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Corporal James Huff of Company E (captured after being wounded, date of release: August 29, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty; captured by Confederate troops during the Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia on October 19, 1864, was transported and force marched to North Carolina, where he was held as a POW at the Salisbury Prison Camp until his death there from starvation and harsh treatment on March 5, 1865; he was subsequently buried somewhere on the POW camp grounds in an unmarked mass trench grave of Union soldiers);
  • Private John Lewis Jones of Company F (captured after being wounded, date of release: September 24, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Private Edward Mathews of Company C (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Private Adam Maul/Moll/Moul of Company C (captured on May 3, 1864, while away from his regiment’s encampment in Alexandria, Louisiana — possibly while assigned to duties related to the construction of Bailey’s Dam, date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and was assigned to detached duty at Hilton Head, South Carolina on January 3, 1865, but was reportedly not given discharge paperwork by his regiment; his exact burial location remains unidentified);
  • Private John W. McNew of Company C (captured after being wounded, date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Corporal John Garber Miller of Company D (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Private Samuel W. Miller of Company C (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty);
  • Private John Wesley Smith of Company C (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty;
  • Private William J. Smith of Company D (date of release: July 22, 1864; received medical treatment, recovered and returned to duty; and
  • Private Benjamin F. Wieand/Weiand of Companies B and D (captured after being wounded; received medical treatment after his release from captivity and was honorably discharged on July 21, 1865.

The 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers confirmed to have died on the grounds of Camp Ford were:

  • Private Samuel M. Kern of Company D (date of death: June 12, 1864);
  • Private Frederick Smith of Company I (date of death: May 4, 1864); and
  • Private John Weiss, Company F (captured after being severely wounded, he was initially confined to Camp Ford, but was then transferred to a “Rebel hospital” for treatment of his wounds, according to regimental records; died at that Confederate hospital on July 15, 1864).

The burial locations of Privates Samuel Kern, Frederick Smith and John Weiss remain unidentified. (The Confederate hospital where Private John Weiss died may have been the Confederate Army Hospital No. 59 in Shreveport, Louisiana — the same Confederate hospital where G Company Private Joseph Clewell died on June 18, 1864.)

Issuing Rations at the Andersonville POW Camp, August 17, 1864 (view from Main Gate, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

Andersonville (Fort Sumter, Georgia)

According to an article in the April 12, 1911 edition of the Reading Eagle, Private Ben Zellner of the 47th Pennsylvania’s Company K had also begun his imprisonment as a POW at Camp Ford, but was later transported to Georgia, where he was confined to Andersonville, the most notorious Confederate prison camp of them all.

Benjamin Zellner, who was one of the youngest soldiers during the Civil War, was captured by the Confederates at Pleasant Hill, La., April 8, 1864. He was a member of Co. K, 47th Regiment, with Gen. Banks’ army on the Red River expedition. Comrade Zellner was wounded in a charge to the left of the lines and fell on the field. The Union forces being driven back, he, with a number of others was captured. After being kept at Pleasant Hill two weeks, they were removed to Mansfield, La., on a Saturday night and kept over night [sic] in the Court House until Sunday morning. Thence they were removed to Shreveport, La., and again kept in the Court House. From thence they were marched 110 miles to Unionville prison at Tyler, Tex…. The 47th was the only Penn’a Regiment to participate in the Red River campaign.

Although POW records from Camp Ford that are maintained by the Smith County Historical Society note that a “Ben Cellner” was released in that camp’s July 22, 1864 prisoner exchange with the Union Army, interviews by several different newspaper reporters of Zellner in his later life contradict those records. According to Zellner and the Reading Eagle, he had been transported to Camp Sumter near Anderson, Georgia sometime in May or June 1864:

In about a month [after arriving at Camp Ford in Texas, following their 8 April capture in Louisiana] 300 or 400 of the strongest were brought back to Shreveport and then transported down the Red River to an old station and marched four days, when they were taken by train to Andersonville….

At the time of Private Zellner’s internment, Andersonville was under the command of Henry Wirz, who would later be convicted of war crimes for his brutal treatment of Union prisoners. According to the September 21, 1864 edition of The Soldiers’ Journal:

Those Union prisoners recently released from Camp Sumter, at Andersonville, Ga., have made affidavit of the condition of the 35,000 prisoners confined there. The horrors of their imprisonment, plainly and unaffectedly narrated, have no parallel outside of Taeping or Malay annals. Twenty-five acres of human beings – so closely packed that locomotion is made obsolete, compelled to drink from sewers, and to eat raw meat like cannibals – are dwelling under vigilant espionage, hopeless, helpless, and Godless. Some are lunatic, and others have become desperately wicked; all are living, loathing, naked, starved fellow-men.

Reportedly held as a POW for six months and fourteen days, according to the March 26, 1915 edition of The Allentown Leader, Zellner was freed from captivity during a Union and Confederate army prisoner exchange in September 1864 (per a report in the April 12, 1911 edition of the Reading Eagle). The April 8, 1911 Allentown Leader noted that, after this prisoner exchange, which took place “along the James River,” he was then sent with a number of his fellow former POWs “to Washington, to Fortress Monroe, to New York and home.” Following a period of recovery, he then returned to service with his regiment just in time to participate in a key portion of Union Major-General Phillip Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign.

Read their stories. Remember their names. Honor their individual sacrifices.

 

Sources:

  1. “47 Years Today Since Rebels Caught Him: This Is a Memorable Anniversary for Comrade Ben Zellner.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, April 8, 1911.
  2. Allentown’s Youngest Civil War Veteran (profile of Private Ben Zellner). Reading, Pennsylvania: Reading Eagle, April 12, 1911.
  3. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
  4. “Camp Ford,” in “Texas Beyond History.” Austin, Texas: Texas Archaeological Research Laboratory, University of Texas at Austin, retrieved online January 24, 2025.
  5. Camp Ford Prison Records (47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 1864). Tyler, Texas: Smith County Historical Society.
  6. “Camp Sumter,” in “Editorial Jottings.” Washington, D.C.: The Soldiers’ Journal, September 21, 1864.
  7. Civil War Muster Rolls (47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
  8. Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866 (47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
  9. Gilbert, Randal B. A New Look at Camp Ford, Tyler, Texas: The Largest Confederate Prison Camp West of the Mississippi River, 3rd Edition. Tyler, Texas: The Smith County Historical Society, 2010.
  10. “His Glorious Record as a Soldier: Fought at Gettysburg, Red River and Shenandoah Valley and Besides Enduring the Horrors of Andersonville, Carries Bullet to This Day.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, March 26, 1917.
  11. Horwitz, Tony. “Did Civil War Soldiers Have PTSD?“, in Smithsonian Magazine, January 2015. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
  12. Lawrence, F. Lee. “Camp Ford,” in “Hand Book of Texas.” Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association, retrieved online January 24, 2025.
  13. “Newport: Special Correspondence” (notice documenting Ephraim Clouser’s confinement for mental illness and later death at the asylum in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Daily Independent, March 18, 1899.
  14. “POW/MIA Recognition Day.” Indianapolis, Indiana: The American Legion National Headquarters, retrieved online September 19, 2025.
  15. Registers of Deaths of Volunteers. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 1864-1865.
  16. Schmidt, Lewis. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
  17. Simmons, G. W. “Camp Ford, Texas” (sketch, Harper’s Weekly, March 4, 1865; retrieved June 9, 2015, via University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, crediting Star of the Republic Museum, Washington, Texas).
  18. Slattery, Joe. “Confederate Soldiers Who Died at the Confederate General Hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana,” in The Genie, vol. 37, no. 1 (First Quarter, 2003), p. 12. Shreveport, Louisiana: Ark-La-Tex Genealogical Association.
  19. “The Exchange of Prisoners; The Cartel Agreed Upon by Gen. Dix for the United States, and Gen. Hill for the Rebels,” in “Supplementary Articles.” New York, New York: The New York Times, October 6, 1862.
  20. Thoms, Alston V., principal investigator and editor, and David O. Brown, Patricia A. Clabaugh, J. Philip Dering, et. al., contributing authors. Uncovering Camp Ford: Archaeological Interpretations of a Confederate Prisoner-of-War Camp in East Texas. College Station, Texas: Center for Ecological Archaelogy, Department of Anthropology, Texas A & M University.
  21. “Union Army Deaths in Shreveport 1864-1865.” Shreveport, Louisiana: Sons of Union Veterans, Brig. Gen. Joseph Bailey Camp No. 5, retrieved April 29, 2021.
  22. “Up in Perry” (notice of Ephraim Clouser’s arrest and sanity hearing). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Telegraph, September 22, 1892.
  23. Wharton, Henry D. Letters from the Sunbury Guards, 1861-1866. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: Sunbury American.

 

 

Reconstruction and Diplomacy: The 47th Pennsylvania in Georgia (Summer 1865)

War-damaged houses in Savannah, Georgia, 1865 (Sam Cooley, U.S. Army, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

Stationed in Savannah, Georgia since June 7, 1865, the soldiers still serving with the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry that first summer after the American Civil War were assigned to provost duties — as peacekeepers, public information specialists and public works officials, during what has since become known as the Presidential Reconstruction Era (1865-1867) of American History.

Commanded by Colonel John Peter Shindel Gobin, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles William Abbott and Major Levi Stuber, multiple members of the regiment were literally involved in the re-construction of small southern towns and larger cities, helping to shore up war-damaged structures that could be restored — and in tearing down others that were deemed too dangerous for civilians to leave standing.

John Young Shindel, M.D., assistant surgeon, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1865 (public domain).

It was hazardous work, according to John Young Shindel, M.D., an assistant regimental surgeon who had joined the medical staff of the 47th Pennsylvania earlier that same year. On Wednesday, June 18, 1865, he noted that:

10 o’clock wall fell in and buried 15 or 20 men. 6 or 7 were taken out some dead. Zellner Co. K badly hurt. Sent him to Hosp. Capt. Hoffman, Chief of Police, seriously hurt. In P.M. was with Capt. Hoffman.

The 47th Pennsylvanian mentioned by Dr. Young was Private Ben Zellner, who had survived repeated battle wounds and confinement as a prisoner of war (POW) at two Confederate States Army prison camps, only to nearly lose his life while assigned to police duty during peacetime. According to Private Zellner’s 1896 account of that 1865 accident, his jawbone had been broken during the wall’s collapse “and he sustained 11 scalp wounds”; as a result, he “lost the sight of his left eye and the hearing of his left ear.”

The 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry’s Regimental Band performed in concert for James Johnson, provincial governor of the State of Georgia, at the Pulaski Hotel in Savannah on June 30, 1865 (Pulaski Hotel, Savannah, Georgia, circa 1906, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

Meanwhile, other 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were being transformed into diplomats. Officers and enlisted members of the regiment, for example, helped to facilitate a warm welcome for James Johnson, the provisional governor of Georgia, during his official visit to Savannah in early July. According to the Charleston Daily Courier, Governor Johnson (who had been appointed to his gubernatorial post by U.S. President Andrew Johnson (but was not related to the president), had been invited to Savannah by members of the city council “to address the citizens … at some suitable place.” In that invitation, council members also suggested that “military and naval commanders of the United States army and navy at this post and their respective staffs be respectfully invited to attend said meeting.” Johnson subsequently accepted the invitation and made the trip to Savannah in late June. The night of his arrival (June 30), “the fine band of the 47th Pennsylvania Regiment, Eugene Walter, Leader, serenaded the Governor at the Pulaski House.”

Several patriotic airs were played, and as soon as practicable the Governor appeared on one of the balconies, in response to repeated calls. He was loudly welcomed. He made no elaborate speech, but addressed the immense assembly substantially as follows:

“Fellow-Citizens — I thank you for the consideration, on your part, which has occasioned this demonstration. I know that you have called on me as the Provisional Governor of the State of Georgia, and in the discharge of the high duties now incumbent upon me, I promise you to act to the best of my ability. I know that you will not expect, on this occasion, any very full remarks. Hoping to meet you hereafter, and then to have an opportunity to explain my sentiments and position, I will bid you good night.”

This brief address was received with loud cheers by the crowd, and the band then played several other appropriate airs.

Joseph Eugene Walter, Regimental Band, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers, circa 1861.

On July 1, the Savannah Republican newspaper published a more detailed description of that evening’s events:

Last evening, through the exertions of a few citizens, an impromptu call was made upon Gov. Johnson at the Pulaski by a delegation of loyal men, accompanied by the fine band of the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, now stationed in this city. The object of the call was simply to manifest the joy of the people at the return of a loyal civil magistrate, who, in a measure, holds the future destiny of Georgia in his hands, and to pay the Governor the compliment of a serenade. After the band had performed several appropriate pieces of music, loud calls and cheers were given for the Governor, who at length appeared, and in a few brief remarks thanked the assemblage for their demonstrations of respect, and informed them that, being wearied with traveling he begged to be excused from making any formal speech. Before bidding the crowd good night, the Governor informed them that it would be his pleasure to address the people tonight at the Theatre, where he would state his position and give his views on the state of the country. Upon retiring, the crowd applauded and cheered the Governor lustily, while Johnson square was ablaze with the discharge of fire works, the shooting of rockets, roman candles, and the illumination of blue lights, gave the scene a very brilliant appearance and made the vicinity of Savannah lively for one hour. At a late hour the crowd quietly dispersed to their homes, well pleased with the impromptu ovation to the Governor. Governor Johnson was afterwards introduced to a large number of army officers, each of whom expresses the wish that the day was near when bayonets would not be necessary to maintain order in Georgia. The Governor, who is a most unostentatious gentleman, spoke very encouragingly of the future, and shook hands with all who were introduced.

The thanks of our citizens are due Colonel Gobin, of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers, for the services of his excellent band, whose presence made the hasty reception a success. The Colonel has very kindly offered the use of his band for the meeting this evening at the theatre, and we may expect a brilliant gathering of the masses tonight at 8 o’clock.

James Johnson, provisional governor of the State of Georgia, 1865 (Lawton B. Evans, A History of Georgia for Use in Schools, 1898, public domain).

On Saturday evening (July 1), Governor Johnson fulfilled his promise. During a lengthy address, he spoke about cooperation and the rule of law, the true meaning of citizenship and the path forward following the nationwide eradication of chattel slavery. The crowd, which had been attentive throughout his speech, gave him a robust round of applause, and peacefully dispersed, according to subsequent newspaper reports. The festivities, which continued into the next week, also included a “Grand Review of the Garrison,” which was held in Savannah on Monday afternoon, July 3. According to the Savannah Republican:

The review of the entire garrison by Major General H. W. Birge, on Monday afternoon, was certainly one of the finest military pageants that we have witnessed since the departure of Gen. Sherman’s army. For perfection of military movements, neatness of appearance and true soldierly bearing on the part of privates as well as officers, won encomiums from the vast crowd of spectators who witnessed the review. We don’t blame Gen. Birge to feel proud of such a noble body of gallant men as he has the honor to command, and we are fortunate in having so excellent a command garrisoning our city.

The following composes the troops that participated in the review:

Brigadier General Joseph D. Fessenden, commanding 1st Division.

1st Brigade, 1st Division, Col. L. Peck commanding. — 90th New York, Lt. Col. Schamman; 173d New York, Lt. Col. Holbrook; 160th New York, Lt. Col. Blanchard; 47th Pennsylvania, Col. Gobin.

2d Brigade, Col. H. Day commanding. — 131st New York, Capt. Tilosting commanding; 128th New York, Capt. _____ ; 14th New Hampshire, Lt. Col. Mastern.

3d Brigade, 2d Division, Col. Graham commanding. — 22d Iowa, Lt. Col. _____ ; 24th Iowa, Lt. Col. Wright; 28th Iowa, Lt. Col. Wilson.

4th Brigade, Brevet Brig. Gen. E. P. Davis commanding. — 153d _____ , Lt. Col. Loughlin; 30th Maine, Col. Hubbard; 12th Connecticut, Lt. Col. Lewis; 26th Massachusetts, Lt. Col. Chapman; 75th New York, Lt. Col. York; 103rd U.S.C.T., Major Manning.

Civil conversation, community concerts and displays of kindness toward strangers were indeed replacing bayonets — becoming the most powerful tools ever wielded by the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers as they helped to rescue their nation from disunion.

 

Sources:

  1. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1865-1, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
  2. “Comrade Zellner’s Birthday” (includes description of Private Benjamin F. Zellner’s injury in 1865 while serving with the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers during the Reconstruction Era). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, March 27, 1896.
  3. Evans, Lawton B. A History of Georgia for Use in Schools, p. 304. New York, New York: Universal Publishing Company, 1898.
  4. Foner, Eric. “Reconstruction.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service, retrieved online July 1, 2025.
  5. “Governor Johnson’s Patriotic Address: A Stirring Appeal to Georgians.” Savannah, Georgia: Savannah Republican, July 6, 2025.
  6. “House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College.” Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College, accessed July 1, 2025.
  7. “James Johnson,” in New Georgia Encyclopedia. Atlanta, Georgia: Georgia Humanities, retrieved online July 1, 2025.
  8. “Savannah Intelligence.” Charleston, South Carolina: Charleston Daily Courier, July 4, 1865.
  9. “Serenade to Our New Governor: The Pulaski House and Johnson Square Radiant with Fireworks: Remarks of the Governor: Music and Pyrotechnics.” Savannah, Georgia: Savannah Republican, July 1, 1865.
  10. Shindel, John Young. Diary and Personal Letters, 1865-1866. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Personal Collection of Lewis Schmidt.
  11. Wharton, Henry D. Letters from the Sunbury Guards, 1865. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: Sunbury American, 1865-1866.
  12. “The Grand Review of the Garrison.” Savannah, Georgia: Savannah Republican, July 6, 1865.
  13. “The History of the Forty-Seventh Regt. P. V.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Lehigh Register, July 20, 1870.

 

Camp Brightwood, Washington, D.C. (Mid-April – June 2, 1865)

Unidentified Union infantry regiment, Camp Brightwood, Washington, D.C., circa 1865 (public domain; click to enlarge).

Marched closer to the nation’s capital in the wake of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in mid-April 1865, the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers were directed to proceed to the Brightwood district in the northwestern section of Washington, D.C. and erect their Sibley tents at the Union Army duty station known as Camp Brightwood.

Their new job was to prevent Confederate States Army troops and their sympathizers from reigniting the flames of civil war that had just been stamped out weeks earlier.

According to historians at Cultural Tourism DC, Brightwood was “one of Washington, DC’s early communities and the site of the only Civil War battle to take place within the District of Columbia” — the Battle of Fort Stevens.

This crossroads community developed from the Seventh Street Turnpike, today’s Georgia Avenue, and Military Road. Its earliest days included a pre-Civil War settlement of free African Americans…. Eventually Brightwood boasted a popular race track, country estates, and sturdy suburban housing. In 1861 the area was known as Brighton, but once it was large enough to merit a U.S. Post Office, the name was changed to Brightwood to distinguish it from Brighton, Maryland.

Also, according to Cultural Tourism historians, Camp Brightwood was established on the grounds of “Emery Place, the summer estate of Matthew Gault Emery,” who had “made a fortune in stone-cutting, including the cornerstone for the Washington Monument,” which was laid in 1848.

During the Civil War (1861-1865), Captain Emery led the local militia. His hilltop became a signal station where soldiers used flags or torches to communicate with nearby Fort DeRussy or the distant Capitol. Soldiers of the 35th New York Volunteers created Camp Brightwood here. During the Battle of Fort Stevens in July 1864, Camp Brightwood was a transfer point for the wounded.

By late April of 1865, it was home to multiple Union Army regiments, including the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers.

Guarding the Lincoln Assassination Conspirators

Washington Arsenal Penitentiary, Washington, D.C., 1865 (Joseph Hanshew, public domain; click to enlarge).

Sometime after their arrival at Camp Brightwood during that fateful spring of 1865, a group of 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers were given a new assignment — guard duty at the Washington Arsenal and its prison facility, where eight people were being held in connection with their involvement in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. They had been arrested between April 17 and 26.

The key conspirators involved in President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination (Benn Pitman, The Assassination of President Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators,” 1865, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

While researchers for 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers: One Civil War Regiment’s Story have not yet determined the exact start date of the 47th Pennsylvania’s guard duties at the Washington Arsenal Penitentiary, they are now able to offer a better estimate — thanks to the work of Lincoln scholars Edward Steers, Jr. and Harold Holzer, who published documents written by Union Major-General John Frederick Hartranft, the Pennsylvanian appointed by U.S. President Andrew Johnson on May 1, 1865 “to command the military prison at the Washington Arsenal, where the U.S. government had just incarerated the seven men and one woman accused of complicity in the shooting.” Included in the Steers-Holzer compilation is a letter from Major-General Hartranft, governor and commander of the “Washington Arsenal Military Prison,” to Major-General Winfield S. Hancock, commanding officer of the United States Middle Military Division, which was dated May 11, 1865. Hartranft began by informing Hancock that “at 10:25 yesterday [May 10, 1865], Lt. Col. J. M. Clough, 18th N. H. reported with 450 muskets, for four days duty, relieving the 47th Pa. Vols.” He then went on to describe the duties performed by 18th New Hampshire Volunteers at the Washington Arsenal on May 10:

At 11:45, the prisoners on trial were taken into Court, in compliance with the orders of the same. At 1 P.M. the Court ordered the prisoners returned to their cells, which was done.

At 1:10 P.M. dinner was served to the prisoners in the usual manner.

At 1:30 in compliance with your orders Marshal McPhail was admitted to see the prisoner in 161 [Atzerodt], his hood having been previously removed; he remained with him until 2.35, immediately after which his hood was replaced and the door locked.

At 3:45 P.M. Mr. George L. Crawford in accordance with your instructions, was permitted to have an interview with prisoner in 209. I was present during the same, and heard all that was said. The conversation was in regard to the property of the prisoner in Philadelphia. At 4:25 the hood was replaced and the cell locked.

At 6 P.M. Supper was furnished the prisoners and at the same time Dr. Porter and myself made inspections of all the cells and prisoners.

At 6 P.M. in accordance with your instructions, Mr. Stone, counsel for Dr. Mudd, was permitted to visit his client. The interview took place in the presence of Lt. Col. McCall but not in his hearing.

At 6:35 the interview closed, and the door was again locked.

At 7 this A.M. breakfast was served to the prisoners in the usual manner. At 7:15, Dr. Porter and myself made Inspections of all the cells and prisoners.

I would respectfully recommend that the prisoner in 190 be removed to cell 165.

All passes admitting persons during the last 24 hours are here with enclosed.

As a result, researchers for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers’ project postulate that:

  1. As many as four hundred and fifty 47th Pennylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantrymen may have been stationed at the Washington Arsenal between May 6-10, 1865; and
  2. At least some of those 47th Pennsylvanians may very well have interacted with the key Lincoln assassination conspirators (Samuel Bland Arnold, George A. Atzerodt, David E. Herold, Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd, Michael O’Laughlen, Lewis Thornton Powell/Lewis Payne, Edman Spangler/Ned Spangler, and Mary Elizabeth Surratt) — interactions which likely took place while those eight prisoners were confined at the Washington Arsenal prison; on the way to and from the courtroom, where they were being tried for conspiring to assassinate President Lincoln; inside that courtroom during trial proceedings; and possibly also at other sites related to their confinement and trial.

Although the duties performed between by 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers between May 6-9 would not have been exactly the same as those performed by the New Hampshire soldiers on May 10, they may very well have been similar — meaning that at least some 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers may have been involved in locking and unlocking the doors of the conspirators’ cells, escorting the conspirators into the courtroom of their military trial (which began on May 9, 1865), standing guard over the conspirators during their trial to prevent their escape, escorting them from the courtroom, and interacting with them in their cells by:

  • Bringing meals to them;
  • Removing and replacing the hoods that covered their heads so that they could interact with their lawyers and other visitors;
  • Verifying the legitimacy of passes held by would-be visitors and denying or granting access to those visitors as appropriate;
  • Escorting visitors to and from their cells; and
  • Monitoring their visits with anyone granted entry to their cells.

With their guard assignment completed by the morning of May 10, 1865, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers who were serving on detached duty at the Washington Arsenal were marched back to Camp Brightwood, where they would remain until their next assignment — participating in the Union’s Grand Review of the National Armies on May 23, 1865.

19th Corps, Army of the United States, Grand Review of the National Armies, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C., May 23, 1865 (Matthew Brady, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

The Grandest of the Grand Reviews

The 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry was just one group of the more than one hundred and forty-five thousand Union military men who marched from Capitol Hill through the streets of Washington, D.C. during a two-day spectacle designed to celebrate the end of the American Civil War and heal Americans’ heartbreak in the wake of President Lincoln’s assassination. Held from May 23-24, 1865, it was a sight that had never been seen before — and one that would likely never be seen anywhere in the United States of America ever again. The first day’s parade alone lasted six hours.

Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant, leaning forward, President Andrew Johnson to his left, Grand Review of the National Armies, Washington, D.C., May 23, 1865 (U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

According to The New York Times, the 47th Pennsylvanians were positioned behind the parade’s third division, as part of the Nineteenth Army Corps (XIX Corps) in Dwight’s Division. Marching with the precision for which they had become renowned, they passed in front of a review stand which sheltered U.S. President Andrew Johnson, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant. The division directly behind the 47th Pennsylvanians in that day’s line of march included other officers and general staff of the Army of the United States and regiments commanded by American Civil War icon Brigadier-General Joshua L. Chamberlain, one of the most beloved heroes from the tide-turning Battle of Gettysburg.

Rev. William DeWitt Clinton Rodrock, chaplain, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers (courtesy of Robert Champlin, used with permission).

Afterward, 47th Pennsylvania Chaplain William DeWitt Clinton Rodrock summed up the experience in a report penned at Camp Brightwood on May 31:

The wise king of the Scriptures speaks of a sorrow that pervades the human heart “in the midst of laughter.” The truthfulness of this Divine philosophy is a matter of daily experience. Our most joyous seasons are intermingled with a sadness that often challenges definition. Every garden has its sepulchre. Every draft of sweet has its ingredient of bitter. This fact has never been so fully realized as this month. With the mighty army of brave soldiers congregated and reviewed in Washington and the … expressions of deep regret that Abraham Lincoln is not here to have witnessed the great pageant of the 23rd and 24th inst. have been universal. Not the splendid victories which our brave soldiers have won — not the pleasing prospect that they are “homeward bound” — not the consolatory thought that the reins of government have fallen into the hands of so good a man as Andrew Johnson — have served to restrain these utterances of grief and sorrow. Had it been God’s will to spare Mr. Lincoln’s life, what an eclat his presence would have imparted to the mighty pageant.

But as He willed otherwise and “doeth all things well,” it is ours to learn the great lesson of the hour.

Rebuilding a Shattered Nation

Ruins of Charleston, South Carolina as seen from the Circular Church, 1865 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, public domain).

As the cheers of the Grand Review crowds faded, the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers resumed life at Camp Brightwood, with many assuming that their days of wearing “Union Blue” were finally coming to an end. But that assumption proved to be an incorrect one when the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers received word that they were being reassigned. Ordered to pack their belongings in late May 1865, they would be heading back to America’s Deep South — this time to assist with Reconstruction duties in Georgia and South Carolina, beginning the first week in June.

 

Sources:

  1. “Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Library of Congress, retrieved online May 21, 2025.
  2. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
  3. “Battleground National Cemetery: Battleround to Community — Brightwood Heritage Trail,” “Fort Stevens” and “Mayor Emery and the Union Army.” United States: Historical Marker Database, retrieved online May 20, 2025.
  4. “Battleground to Community: Brightwood Heritage Trail.” Washington, D.C.: Cultural Tourism DC, 2008.
  5. “Grand Military Review: Streets Crowded with Spectators: Sherman Greeted with Deafening Cheers.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Daily Post, May 25, 1865.
  6. “Grant” (television mini-series). New York, New York: History Channel Education, 2020.
  7. “Our Heroes! The Grand Review at Washington. Honor to the Brave. Immense Outpouring of the People. The Troops Reviewed by Gen. Grant.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Daily Telegraph, May 23, 1865.
  8. Pitman, Benn. The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the Trial of the Conspirators. Cincinnati, Ohio and New York, New York: Moore, Wilstach & Boldwin, 1865.
  9. “Reconstruction: An Overview.” Washington, D.C.: American Battlefield Trust, November 28, 2023.
  10. “Review of the Armies; Propitious Weather and a Splendid Spectacle. Nearly a Hundred Thousand Veterans in the Lines.” New York, New York: The New York Times, May 24, 1865, front page.
  11. Rodrock, Rev. William D. C. Chaplain’s Reports (47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, 1865). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
  12. Schmidt, Lewis. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
  13. “Serenade to General Grant” (performance for Lieutenant-General Ulysses S. Grant by the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers’ Regimental Band), in “Washington.” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Inquirer, May 22, 1865.
  14. Steers, Edward Jr. and Harold Holzer. The Lincoln Assassination Conspirators: Their Confinement and Execution, as Recorded in the Letterbook of John Frederick Hartranft. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2009.
  15. “The Final March: Grand Review of the Armies.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service, retrieved online May 20, 2025.
  16. “The Grand Review: A Grand Spectacle Witnessed.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Daily Post, May 24, 1865.
  17. “The Grand Review: Immense Crowds in Washington: Fine Appearance of the Troops: Their Enthusiastic Reception.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Daily Telegraph, May 24, 1865; and West Chester, Pennsylvania: The Record, May 17, 1865.
  18. “The Grand Review: The City Crowded with Visitors: Order of Corps, Divisions, Brigades and Regiments.” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Daily Constitutional Union, May 23, 1865.
  19. “The History of the Forty-Seventh Regt. P. V.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Lehigh Register, 20 July 1870.
  20. “The Lincoln Conspirators,” in “Ford’s Theatre.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service, retrieved online May 21, 2025.

 

April 15th: A Date of Decision and Death for President Abraham Lincoln

This 1865 photograph of President Abraham Lincoln by Alexander Gardner is believed by historians to be the final photo taken of Lincoln (1865, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain).

There were multiple key moments in the life of the man who would become the sixteenth president of the United States of America. Some, like the deaths of his mother and sister, would dramatically alter the trajectory of his life; others, like his decision to embark upon a life of public service, would reshape the future of a nation.

But his actions on one particular date, during two entirely different years, did both.

So pivotal in history, that particular date’s annual arrival still stops average Americans in their tracks each year, prompting them to reflect on the legacy of that one man — and the question, “What if?”

That man was U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and that date is April 15.

Lincoln’s Call for Seventy-Five Thousand Volunteers (April 15, 1861)

Proclamation issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, calling for seventy-five thousand state militia troops to bring an end to the secession of, and insurrection by, eleven of fifteen southern slaveholding states, April 15, 1861 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, public domain; click to enlarge).

In response to the fall of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina to Confederate States troops on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in which he called for seventy-five thousand men across the United States to risk their lives to defend the nation’s capital and bring a swift end to the secession crisis and insurrection initiated by eleven of fifteen southern slave holding states. That proclamation, which was issued on April 15, 1861 read as follows:

By the President of the United States.

A Proclamation.

Whereas the laws of the United States have been, for some time past, and now are, opposed, and the execution thereof obstructed, in the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the Marshals by law:

Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed.

The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the State authorities through the War Department.

I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of popular Government, and to redress wrongs already long enough endured.

I deem it proper to say that the first service assigned to the forces hereby called forth will probably be to repossess the forts, places, and property which have been seized from the Union; and in every event the utmost care will be observed, consistently with the objects aforesaid, to avoid any devastation, any destruction of or interference with property, or any disturbance of peaceful citizens in any part of the country.

And I hereby command the persons composing the combinations aforesaid to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within twenty days from this date.

Deeming that the present condition of public affairs presents an extraordinary occasion, I do hereby, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution, convene both Houses of Congress.

Senators and Representatives are therefore summoned to assemble at their respective Chambers, at 12 o’clock, noon, on Thursday, the fourth day of July next, then and there to consider and determine such measures as, in their wisdom, the public safety and interest may seem to demand.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand, and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the city of Washington, this fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-fifth.

Abraham Lincoln

By the President: William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

Four years later, on the exact same date, President Abraham would draw his last breath.

Lincoln’s Death from an Assassin’s Bullet (April 15, 1865)

President Abraham Lincoln on his deathbed at the Petersen House in Washington, D.C., April 15, 1865 (Harper’s Weekly, 1865, public domain; click to enlarge).

Mortally wounded by a shot to his head, which was fired by an assassin and Confederate sympathizer while President Abraham Lincoln was watching a performance of the popular stage play, Our American Cousin, at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the evening of Good Friday, April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was initially examined on site in the presidential box, by fellow theatre attendee and physician Charles Leale, before being carried downstairs by Union Army soldiers and taken across Tenth Street — and into a room at the Petersen boarding house, where he was then gently lowered onto the bed of Willie Clark.

As additional physicians arrived and assessed the president’s condition, a decision was made to make him as comfortable as possible, when it was determined that he would likely not survive the night.

A remarkably strong man, even as he waged his toughest battle, President Lincoln managed to hang onto until the following morning, drawing his final ragged breath at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865 — and leaving the work of national healing and Reconstruction in far less capable hands.

One hundred and sixty years later, Americans still wonder, “Would we be a better nation if Lincoln had survived?”

 

Sources:

  1. “A Proclamation by the President of the United States, April 15, 1861.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, retrieved online April 15, 2025.
  2. “Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination,” in “History Channel: Civil War.” New York, New York: A&E Television Networks, February 27, 2025.
  3. “Eric Foner: Reconstruction and the Constitution” (video). Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Humanities Festival, 2019.
  4. “Lincoln’s Death,” in “Lincoln Assassination.” Washington, D.C.: Ford’s Theatre, retrieved online December 1, 2024.
  5. “The Petersen House.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service, December 1, 2024.

 

Black History Month: Ratification of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution (February 3, 1870)

The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which ensured voting access for all American male citizens, regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude, was passed by the United States Congress on February 26, 1869 and ratified on February 3, 1870 (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, public domain; click to enlarge).

Passed by the United States Congress on February 26, 1869, the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution granted Voting Rights to African American men. That amendment was officially ratified on February 3, 1870.

Text of the 15th Amendment

Fortieth Congress of the United States of America;

At the third Session, Begun and held at the city of Washington, on Monday, the seventh day of December, one thousand eight hundred sixty-eight.

A RESOLUTION

Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both houses concurring) that the following article be proposed to the legislature of the several States as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States which, when ratified by three-fourths of said legislatures shall be valid as part of the Constitution, namely:

Article XV.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude–

Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

 

“The Fifteenth Amendment and Its Results” (G. F. Kahl for E. Sachse & Co., lithographer, circa 1870, U.S. Library of Congress, public domain; click to enlarge).

 

Sources:

  1. “15th Amendment to the United States Constitution: Voting Rights (1870),” in “Milestone Documents.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, retrieved online February 3, 2025.
  2. “The Fifteenth Amendment and Its Results.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Library of Congress, retrieved online February 3, 2025.