The Gettysburg Network
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The Gettysburg Network
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Five major roads lead to Gettysburg … and all American history leads to it and flows from it. Posts written by prize-winning short story writer and history enthusiast.

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The Black Horse Tavern may have been Gettysburg’s most popular watering hole. On July 2, it saw massive troop movements and then became the temporary resting place of 33 Confederate dead.
July 16, 2025 at 11:03 AM
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A local newspaper called Ed McPherson a gentleman! Scholar! Orator! Of course, he owned the newspaper, which helped propel him into public office.

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Ed McPherson: Gentleman! Orator! Scholar! - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Today, most people know the name Ed McPherson from McPherson Ridge, the site of heavy fighting on Day 1 of the Battle of Gettysburg. But Edward McPherson was
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April 29, 2025 at 1:32 AM
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In 2002, Elizabeth Thorn was immortalized with a statue that paid tribute to her and those like her who suffered and sacrificed on the home front. Here is her story.

gettysburgciviliannetwork.com/2025/03/24/e...
Elizabeth Thorn: The Pregnant Grave Digger of Gettysburg - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
In her waning years, Elizabeth Thorn wrote for the Gettysburg Compiler an account of her experiences at the Battle of Gettysburg. Her husband, Peter, had
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March 24, 2025 at 11:05 AM
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Aunt Polly Culp was a well-known and loved figure around town. In her eighties, she had to become a Civil War nurse.

gettysburgciviliannetwork.com/2025/03/14/a...
Aunt Polly Culp: Gettysburg’s Beloved Figure of the Civil War Era - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Elizabeth Culp, known to the locals as Aunt Polly Culp (no, we don't know why), was intertwined in most of the major families of Gettysburg and familiar to
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March 18, 2025 at 2:10 AM
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David Culp was Wesley and William’s first cousin. At the Battle of Second Winchester, David was captured and brought face to face with his cousin.

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David Culp: A Life Shaped by Gettysburg and the Civil War - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
David Culp was born in Gettysburg in 1830, a son of Adams County who would see his hometown transformed by war. A plasterer by trade, Culp’s work helped shape
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March 3, 2025 at 9:26 PM
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When Wesley Culp joined the Stonewall Brigade, he put himself on a collision course with his friends, cousins, and brother William.

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William Culp, Older Brother of Wesley Culp - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
The second-most recognized Culp in history is Wesley's brother William Culp. The two cannot be separated because they have come to be emblematic of "brother
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March 3, 2025 at 9:25 PM
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William H. Bedford died quietly in the Adams County Almshouse in his sixties. At just 18 years old, he was wounded in action in the ferocious fighting at The Battle of the Crater.

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The Battle of the Crater: William Bedford's Valor - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
William Bedford was born in Maryland, the son of Sylvester and Agnes (Williams) Bedford. Though records indicate he was likely living in Frederick County in
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February 23, 2025 at 7:30 PM
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Eliza Armstrong died quietly at approximately 100 years old in the Adams County Almshouse. Who was she?

gettysburgciviliannetwork.com/2025/02/19/t...
The Mystery of Eliza Armstrong's Age and Legacy - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
On January 9, 1907, the Gettysburg Compiler noted the passing of Eliza Armstrong, a black woman then residing at the Adams County Almshouse. As with similar
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February 19, 2025 at 3:55 PM
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Private William Burley is a man that history has all but erased. Sadly, there are hundreds of thousands more like him.

#BlackHistoryMonth

gettysburgciviliannetwork.com/2025/02/17/t...
The Anonymity of History: Remembering William Burley - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
You don't know William Burley. Neither do I. On Presidents' Day, we have nearly innumerable sources to draw from in contemplating the lives and impacts of
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February 17, 2025 at 1:16 PM
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Joseph Craig’s short life saw extreme ups and downs: a large family, poverty, combat and a severe wound, a criminal conviction, and some moments of true heroism.

#BlackHistoryMonth

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Exploring Joseph Craig's Remarkable Journey - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Joseph Craig's life was short---just 39 years---but included a large family he grew up with, his own marriage and children, and enough hair-raising incidents
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February 10, 2025 at 8:56 PM
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Born into slavery on the Gorsuch plantation in Baltimore, Owen Robinson was renowned in Gettysburg for his large family, fresh oysters, and ice cream.

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Owen Robinson: From Enslaved to Entrepreneur - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
The roots of Owen Robinson may well be found in the pages of this will from the late 1700s. Wealthy plantation owner Thomas Barton Gorsuch carefully laid out
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February 9, 2025 at 6:47 PM
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Francis Jacobs joined the USCT at age 50. He had whip scars on his back and stiff arthritic fingers but fought anyway. Why? Allegedly, he was born free in western PA. But was he really born free?

#BlackHistoryMonth

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Francis Jackson: Enslaved to Soldier in Pennsylvania - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
When Francis Jackson went to war, he was 50 years old with whip scars on his back and gnarled, arthritic hands from his long days as a laborer and, likely, a
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February 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
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The oldest family in Gettysburg is the Stanton family, and Harriet Ciata Stanton was their rock.

#BlackHistoryMonth

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Harriet Ciata Stanton: A Legacy in Gettysburg - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Harriet Ciata Stanton's ties go back to the founding of Gettysburg, and her descendants were still in Gettysburg at least through the early 2000s (and may
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February 4, 2025 at 2:03 PM
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As we continue #BlackHistoryMonth, meet Lloyd Francis Asbury Watts, USCT veteran, ordained deacon, and pioneer of education in Gettysburg.

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Lloyd Watts: Pioneer of Black Education in Gettysburg - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Lloyd Watts was a pioneer that history has mostly forgotten principally because his deeds were in the furtherance of education rather than battlefield glory.
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February 3, 2025 at 3:14 PM
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Black history in Gettysburg is often told reductively with a focus on Basil Biggs, the Underground Railroad, the National Cemetery, and the Lincoln Cemetery. We kick off Black History Month with a hero you’ve never heard of with more to follow.

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Exploring the Unique Family History of Isaac Buckmaster - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Spend a bit of time looking at the 1850 Census record that captured Private Isaac Buckmaster, 8th USCT, and his parents and siblings. What do you see?
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February 2, 2025 at 3:03 PM
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For Black History Month, I will post a daily primary source about a Black resident of 18th-century Massachusetts.

1. Miss Betty Cooper, who was considered male by her enslavers, but was “well known” enough that they did not publish any physical description when she self-emancipated in 1771.
an old newspaper item, browned with age Massachusetts Gazette, 15 Apr 1771 @MHS RAN away from his Master John Sober, Esq; on Monday the 8th of April Inst. a Negro Man Servant, named Cato, formerly owned by Mr. William Cooper of Boston, and well known by the Name of Miss Betty Cooper; -- Whoever takes up said Negro, and will bring him to the Subscriber shall have TWELVE DOLLARS Reward, and all necessary Charges Paid.
February 1, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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Julia Eyster Jacobs and her daughter Mary Julia were powerful women from compelling families who sacrificed greatly for their faith.

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Julia Eyster Jacobs: A Legacy of Faith and Family - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
These days, no ink is spilled on Julia Eyster Jacobs, wife of Dr. Michael Jacobs. Likewise, little has been said or written in decades about their daughter,
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January 31, 2025 at 3:50 PM
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Fifty-one years old when he was mortally wounded on the Rose farm, Private Samuel Cox was no ordinary enlisted man. In fact, he might have been the walking embodiment of “the cause.”

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The Life of Private Samuel N. Cox: A Confederate Story - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Private Samuel N. Cox was no ordinary Confederate private. Nearly everyone around him was single, but Private Cox was well into his second marriage. The few
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January 30, 2025 at 3:26 PM
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Like his father, Reverend Henry Jacobs was a keen observer and writer, able to contextualize the small within the giant changes of the day.

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Memories of Gettysburg: Reverend Henry Eyster Jacobs and the Changing Landscape - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Reverend Henry Eyster Jacobs took after his father, Dr. Michael Jacobs. He followed him into the Lutheran clergy; he was a teacher, a writer, and a keen
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January 29, 2025 at 4:06 PM
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He was far more than a man interested in weather—Michael Jacobs was a theologian, teacher, mathematician, and author of the first book about The Battle of Gettysburg.

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Dr. Michael Jacobs: Far More than Gettysburg's Unsung Weatherman - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
At the conclusion of July 3, 1863, Dr. Michael Jacobs noted dryly in his weather record, "The thunder seemed tame, after the artillery firing of the
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January 28, 2025 at 4:31 PM
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#NeverForget
auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · Jan 27
Auschwitz was at the end of a long process. It did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred was gradually developed by humans. From ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.
A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.
January 28, 2025 at 1:32 PM
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Dr. Michael Jacobs went down in history for recording the weather conditions before, during, and after The Battle of Gettysburg. Without his older brother, he probably never goes to Gettysburg in the first place.

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Who Was Reverend David Jacobs? - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Casual students of Gettysburg frequently know the name Dr. Michael Jacobs. Lesser known by far is his brother Reverend David Jacobs, but it is the latter's
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January 27, 2025 at 3:19 PM
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They descended from patriots who fought in the Revolution and the War of 1812. Their father was active in state politics, and they grew up on a prosperous farm in Alabama. Twins James and John did everything together, including enlist. At Culp’s Hill, they parted ways forever.
January 24, 2025 at 1:09 PM
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Hailed later in life as a “founding” Gettysburg settler, Dr. J. Lawrence Hill was a prominent dentist, temperance supporter, and county education board member.

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The Life and Legacy of Dr. J. Lawrence Hill - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
Dr. J. Lawrence Hill was a nineteenth-century man. Almost every man of the era had to diversify economically---farmers kept woodlots to sell wood, pigs to
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January 23, 2025 at 3:13 PM
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Keziah Kuff lived through the Battle then seemed to live almost forever … thanks to chewing tobacco, according to her!

But was her story true?

gettysburgciviliannetwork.com/2025/01/21/t...
The Life and Legend of Keziah Elizabeth Thomas Kuff - The Gettysburg Network of 1863
On July 1, 1926, sixty-three years to the day of the start of the Battle of Gettysburg, Keziah Elizabeth Thomas Kuff passed away. She was hailed as the oldest
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January 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM