There are two types of markers. This type is vertical and is double-sided, featuring two different historical interpretives or signs of history. They are very colorful and parked out in front of historical, Civil War locations. This one is located out front of the old courthouse along the Lincoln Highway (East Market Street). The other, more common type are the the ones that lay flat, like a table supported by a metal, bracketed stand. Those types are single sided. A disproportionate amount of these markers and historical interpretives are found on the Lincoln Highway. Many of them have also been recently installed.
This one is a foot from the yellow-striped curb, street side, attached to the brick sidewalk, next to the more conventional concrete curb. This marker was erected in 2009 and is included in the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails marker series. In absolutely, no possible way, not even remotely, is this Civil War trails series have ANYTHING to do with the official Civil War Trails program seen in the southern states.
The two sides of the sign of history reads:
From the Front of the MarkerFaced with the impossible task of defending an essentially unarmed city against the six thousand battle hardened troops of General Jubal Early, the citizens of York met with the Confederates and negotiated surrender, in and act which was controversial then and remains so today. On June 28th, Confederate General John Brown Gordon' brigade (whose soldiers said their commander's oratory could make them "storm hell" and "put fight into a whipped chicken,") lowered the town's Union flag. Cassandra Small, the 34 year old daughter of a prominent York businessman, wrote in a letter concerning the town's occupation that "men who don't often weep wept then."
York the town that had once served as the de facto capital of the nation during the American Revolutionary War, was not the prize of the Confederacy. Elsewhere in York County, Confederate troops led by General J.E.B. Stuart encountered Union forces at Hanover. General George Armstrong Custer, the "boy general," helped stop the Confederate advance there and delayed four thousand troops headed for Gettysburg, a force come think could have changed the outcome of the battle, and perhaps the war.
From the back of the marker.One of the great debates of our country's history and legacy is what scholars call "the two civil wars": the first a matter of campaigns, generals and troop movements and the second focusing of the ways the great conflict affected the daily rhythms of life on farms and in communities.
Regardless, Gettysburg was the site of the largest battle ever fought on American soil and it involved a great deal of resources of one single famous town.
In six counties near Gettysburg, civilians and militia answered the first call to arms and bravely endured relentless threats and the destruction of their property. Here, women raised funds to support the war and nursed tens of thousands of wounded soldiers left behind from the battles fought in the orchards and fields. Interestingly, part of the battle was owned by Freeman, Abraham Brien.
Although a number of Gettysburg area black man joined to volunteer militias or USCT regiments during the war, no black veteran was interred in Soldiers' National Cemetery until 1884. Still, free men and freed men enlisted to fight for their own rights, and children sacrificed their security, sometimes their lives. Their combined efforts provided the turning point for the Union cause.
The Pennsylvania Civil War Trails lets you discover the Civil War where it happened. Immersing yourself in the real-life stories with roadtrips and high-resolution photography, you'll experience firsthand the people, places, and events that shaped our Civil War heritage.
