Camp Curtin
Harrisburg’s relationship to the Civil War is a complicated one.
The city was targeted, but never invaded. It played a vital role as a logistics and training center, but never saw battle itself. Today, Civil War buffs and tourists flock to Gettysburg, but usually bypass Harrisburg.
This month, the city’s story will be in focus during the first annual Civil War Days, a widespread historic celebration touching on many aspects of Harrisburg’s important place in the war, particularly in the Battle of Gettysburg.
“A National Civil War Museum was built (in Harrisburg) 15 years ago and a lot of people said, ‘Why?’” noted Joe Benish, a member of the event’s organizing committee, noting the need for public education.
The three-day extravaganza overflows with events, including a Civil War narrative cruise on the Susquehanna, a re-enactors’ encampment at the National Civil War Museum and historic site bus tours.
Civil War Days is the brainchild of Gary Crowell, event chairman and a Civil War history enthusiast since relocating to Harrisburg from California in 1969. Although he initially focused his interest on Gettysburg, he eventually realized that Harrisburg, too, played a significant role in the events that led to the battle on July 1 to 3, 1863.
“I found out that (Confederate Gen. Robert E.) Lee came into Harrisburg three days before Gettysburg,” Crowell said. “Then I thought, we should just dedicate a whole weekend about this for the whole community.”
To publicize the events, organizers have coined the slogan, “Before Gettysburg, Lee headed for Harrisburg. So why don’t you?”
Cooper Wingert, already a prolific author of 10 Civil War books at age 17, said it was an easy choice for him to join the gala’s organizing committee that’s comprised of a dozen local Civil War enthusiasts.
“Gary had the best plan ever,” the East Pennsboro High School senior explained.
Wingert, who begins studies this fall at Dickinson College, said Lee’s initial plan before Gettysburg was to burn and cripple Harrisburg, which was the capital of the second-most populous state in the North.
On June 28, 1863, Gen. Richard S. Ewell and 1,500 Confederates were based in Carlisle in anticipation of a Harrisburg attack. On the same day, Gen. Albert Jenkins and 1,200 members of the Virginia Calvary arrived in Mechanicsburg, ready for a fight.
On June 29, Confederates became engaged in battle with the Union militia at Oyster Point at 31st and Market streets in Camp Hill. The next day, the Skirmish of Sporting Hill occurred at the Carlisle Pike and Sporting Hill Road in Mechanicsburg, the northernmost town to surrender to Gen. Jenkins’ troops.
The South’s next goal was to overtake Fort Washington, a Union fortification site on Lemoyne’s heights, and Fort Couch, situated about a half-mile west. The Confederates, though, were ordered to leave for Gettysburg due to encroaching Northern troops.
“(The Confederates) were only a couple of minutes away from attacking Fort Washington,” Wingert said, which could have marked a Battle of Harrisburg instead of Gettysburg’s famous fight.
Harrisburg also played a notable part in the Underground Railroad, a network that helped slaves escape from the South, Wingert noted. President Abraham Lincoln was no stranger to Harrisburg, either. In 1861, the president-elect was welcomed with a citywide celebration. In 1865, Lincoln’s funeral train stopped in Harrisburg, as well, and his body lay in state at the Capitol building.
Civil War Days kicks off on Friday, June 17, with “Breakfast with Mr. Lincoln” at the Hilton Harrisburg, followed by a historic Harrisburg bus tour, a bus tour of historic Civil War sites on the West Shore and a Civil War narrative cruise on the Pride of the Susquehanna.
Friday also offers Civil War dance demonstrations, a Civil War social at the Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center, a Civil War artist and author gathering, and the re-enactor encampment at the National Civil War Museum.
Several panel presentations take place on Saturday, including “Harrisburg’s Black Community,” “Camp Curtin,” “Lee’s Second Invasion of Pennsylvania” and “Abolitionist John Brown—PA and Harrisburg Connections.” A historic Harrisburg walking tour also is available on Saturday, and the re-enactor encampment continues at the museum.
On Sunday, June 19, a Civil War commemorative church service will feature Negro spirituals and other songs of the era, and the re-enactor encampment concludes. A Civil War tour of the historic Harrisburg Cemetery also is available that day.
David Morrison, acting executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association, hopes that the weekend will help people not only understand Civil War-era Harrisburg, but modern-day Harrisburg, as well.
“If people have a stronger understanding of Harrisburg’s history, it leads to a greater understanding of what makes this town tick,” he said.
Civil War Days takes place June 17 to 19 at locations throughout the Harrisburg area. Many events are open to the public at no cost, but some require advance registration and a small fee. More information is available on Facebook: Civil War Days in Harrisburg.
