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The Confederate Approach on Harrisburg: The Gettysburg Campaign's Northernmost Reaches
The little-known story of how Southern forces came close to invading the capital of Pennsylvania--includes photos.
In June 1863, Harrisburg braced for an invasion. The Confederate troops of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell steadily moved toward the Pennsylvania capital. Capturing Carlisle en route, Ewell sent forth a brigade of cavalry under Brigadier Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins. After occupying Mechanicsburg for two days, Jenkins's troops skirmished with Union militia near Harrisburg. Jenkins then reported back to Ewell that Harrisburg was vulnerable.
Ewell, however, received orders from army commander Robert E. Lee to concentrate southward--toward Gettysburg--immediately. Left in front of Harrisburg, Jenkins had to fight his way out at the Battle of Sporting Hill. The following day, Jeb Stuart's Confederate cavalry made its way to Carlisle and began the infamous shelling of its Union defenders and civilian population.
Running out of ammunition and finally making contact with Lee, Stuart also retired south toward Gettysburg. In this enlightening history, author Cooper H. Wingert traces the Confederates to the gates of Harrisburg in these northernmost actions of the Gettysburg Campaign.
In June 1863, Harrisburg braced for an invasion. The Confederate troops of Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell steadily moved toward the Pennsylvania capital. Capturing Carlisle en route, Ewell sent forth a brigade of cavalry under Brigadier Gen. Albert Gallatin Jenkins. After occupying Mechanicsburg for two days, Jenkins's troops skirmished with Union militia near Harrisburg. Jenkins then reported back to Ewell that Harrisburg was vulnerable.
Ewell, however, received orders from army commander Robert E. Lee to concentrate southward--toward Gettysburg--immediately. Left in front of Harrisburg, Jenkins had to fight his way out at the Battle of Sporting Hill. The following day, Jeb Stuart's Confederate cavalry made its way to Carlisle and began the infamous shelling of its Union defenders and civilian population.
Running out of ammunition and finally making contact with Lee, Stuart also retired south toward Gettysburg. In this enlightening history, author Cooper H. Wingert traces the Confederates to the gates of Harrisburg in these northernmost actions of the Gettysburg Campaign.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 6, 2012
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44 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 31, 2022
An excellent and well-written look at The Army of Northern Virginia’s advance into Northern Territory. This, of course, was stopped in Gettysburg and a demoralized Lee took his army back to Virginia.
This entire book takes place in my area, so I found it a fascinating local read. If you’re from the area and are interested in CW history, no doubt you will enjoy this one. The book contains lots of local geography, but I think anyone who’s really into learning about the war could enjoy it. Maps are included, as well as pictures of many of the people and places involved.it was a huge bonus to then be able to jump in the car and scope some of these places out.
Recommended to anyone interested in some of the lesser known aspects of Lee’s incursion into Pennsylvania for what was intended to be a chance to demoralize public opinion by taking Harrisburg, the Capitol city of Pennsylvania. Lucky for all the civilians in South Central PA, the Union army didn’t allow it to get that far (though they came damned close).
This entire book takes place in my area, so I found it a fascinating local read. If you’re from the area and are interested in CW history, no doubt you will enjoy this one. The book contains lots of local geography, but I think anyone who’s really into learning about the war could enjoy it. Maps are included, as well as pictures of many of the people and places involved.it was a huge bonus to then be able to jump in the car and scope some of these places out.
Recommended to anyone interested in some of the lesser known aspects of Lee’s incursion into Pennsylvania for what was intended to be a chance to demoralize public opinion by taking Harrisburg, the Capitol city of Pennsylvania. Lucky for all the civilians in South Central PA, the Union army didn’t allow it to get that far (though they came damned close).
October 17, 2019
This would be a very dry book for many, unless you are a fan of the Civil War or know the area the troop movements take place in. The Confederate Army was raiding in Pennsylvania and troops were skirmishing in Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Wrightsville all before the battle of Gettysburg. It was General Lee's plan to "take the fight to the north". Harrisburg, being a central rail hub and a Capital was an obvious gem to have if the Confederates could get it.
Although Camp Curtain, in Harrisburg, was the largest induction camp for the Union Army the Confederates were swirling around the area. The Union crossed the Susquehanna River and build fortifications on the hills over looking Harrisburg to take the high ground from the Confederates. The skirmishes all happened west of that area.
Being from the Harrisburg area and knowing all the towns to the west it was interesting to read the troop movements and skirmishes that happened where there are shopping malls today. It was fascinating to read about the communications from scouts and the reaction and movements of the troops on both sides. The Union trying to protect Harrisburg all the while chasing the Confederates.
The book was short and an easy read however, as mentioned, if you don't know the area or are not a student of Civil War battles and troop movements this might be a dry read that you could struggle to get through.
Although Camp Curtain, in Harrisburg, was the largest induction camp for the Union Army the Confederates were swirling around the area. The Union crossed the Susquehanna River and build fortifications on the hills over looking Harrisburg to take the high ground from the Confederates. The skirmishes all happened west of that area.
Being from the Harrisburg area and knowing all the towns to the west it was interesting to read the troop movements and skirmishes that happened where there are shopping malls today. It was fascinating to read about the communications from scouts and the reaction and movements of the troops on both sides. The Union trying to protect Harrisburg all the while chasing the Confederates.
The book was short and an easy read however, as mentioned, if you don't know the area or are not a student of Civil War battles and troop movements this might be a dry read that you could struggle to get through.
December 27, 2023
When you live in an area that was witness to history, your imagination runs wild with questions like were lives lost in my back yard? I have lived in Southcentral Pa. for most of my adult life. I have read about and written about boys from this area walking to the defense of Baltimore during the war of 1812 and the Civil War battles that were fought on the streets and fields of most of the towns in this area.
My hometown of Hanover, Pa. held up Jeb Stewart’s search for General Lee for two days, and as I like to tell people those two days may have been the difference maker at the Battle in Gettysburg. I have a few bullets in the walls of my house from the fighting right outside my front door in August of 1863. Therefore, the confederate approach to Harrisburg was not considered a foreign battlefield, it was a battle that took place locally and we have the evidence all around us two hundred years later.
Wingert and Scott Mingus are those special people who make the study of the Civil war their life’s work. I have attended classes taught by these men, and the first thing that strikes you is how do they retain all those details; do they have photographic memories? I have been told that to become a battlefield guide at Gettysburg you must pass a stringent test concerning all the details of this epic battle. It is said that a score on this test of 95% does not make you a competitor for this employment, WoW!
The minute details of The Southern Armies Northern campaign in 1863 are brilliantly laid out with very readable prose including pictures and maps. The reader feels present in the events and has empathy for his fellow citizens. While going about their daily lives they follow the slow advance of the Southern army into the heart of Pa. Newspapers chronicled the advance towards Harrisburg and each family had to make decisions about staying, fighting, or leaving and if you left where would you go? and what would you have to come back to! The story of the Confederate movements and the impact on the local citizens and economy is dramatic. Letters home from soldiers and testimony from farmers and other locals fill in the blank spaces of the story and reveal what life is like when an invading army comes to town.
The mighty Susquehanna River on its way to the Chesapeake Bay passes Harrisburg on the west side of the city. This constant flow over the millennium has carved out high ground on the west shore. Wingert using primary sources, letters home and pictures describing the engineering efforts to create the defenses looking south and west as preparation for a Confederate attack on the city.
The confederate General Jenkins is sent out in from of Ewell’s advancing army. Their mission is to search out the areas of vulnerability in the defenses of Harrisburg. Jenkins forces slowly but effectively move towards the Capital City of Pennsylvania through Chambersburg, Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, and Camp Hill and then they stop! Orders come from General Lee to General Early that his army must immediately proceed southwest to Gettysburg, we all know what this means, an epic battle is about to take place there. But where does this leave Harrisburg and the amassed union troops defending the city?
Slowly, it dawns on the protecters of Harrisburg that the Confederate advance on Harrisburg has stopped. The Union troops came out of their defenses and moved south and west searching for the Confederate army, but they were gone.
This book was a delight! The research is impeccable, it is professionally written with pictures and maps. I recommend it to any Civil War enthusiast and particularly those who can relate to the region and its involvement in the Civil War.
My hometown of Hanover, Pa. held up Jeb Stewart’s search for General Lee for two days, and as I like to tell people those two days may have been the difference maker at the Battle in Gettysburg. I have a few bullets in the walls of my house from the fighting right outside my front door in August of 1863. Therefore, the confederate approach to Harrisburg was not considered a foreign battlefield, it was a battle that took place locally and we have the evidence all around us two hundred years later.
Wingert and Scott Mingus are those special people who make the study of the Civil war their life’s work. I have attended classes taught by these men, and the first thing that strikes you is how do they retain all those details; do they have photographic memories? I have been told that to become a battlefield guide at Gettysburg you must pass a stringent test concerning all the details of this epic battle. It is said that a score on this test of 95% does not make you a competitor for this employment, WoW!
The minute details of The Southern Armies Northern campaign in 1863 are brilliantly laid out with very readable prose including pictures and maps. The reader feels present in the events and has empathy for his fellow citizens. While going about their daily lives they follow the slow advance of the Southern army into the heart of Pa. Newspapers chronicled the advance towards Harrisburg and each family had to make decisions about staying, fighting, or leaving and if you left where would you go? and what would you have to come back to! The story of the Confederate movements and the impact on the local citizens and economy is dramatic. Letters home from soldiers and testimony from farmers and other locals fill in the blank spaces of the story and reveal what life is like when an invading army comes to town.
The mighty Susquehanna River on its way to the Chesapeake Bay passes Harrisburg on the west side of the city. This constant flow over the millennium has carved out high ground on the west shore. Wingert using primary sources, letters home and pictures describing the engineering efforts to create the defenses looking south and west as preparation for a Confederate attack on the city.
The confederate General Jenkins is sent out in from of Ewell’s advancing army. Their mission is to search out the areas of vulnerability in the defenses of Harrisburg. Jenkins forces slowly but effectively move towards the Capital City of Pennsylvania through Chambersburg, Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, and Camp Hill and then they stop! Orders come from General Lee to General Early that his army must immediately proceed southwest to Gettysburg, we all know what this means, an epic battle is about to take place there. But where does this leave Harrisburg and the amassed union troops defending the city?
Slowly, it dawns on the protecters of Harrisburg that the Confederate advance on Harrisburg has stopped. The Union troops came out of their defenses and moved south and west searching for the Confederate army, but they were gone.
This book was a delight! The research is impeccable, it is professionally written with pictures and maps. I recommend it to any Civil War enthusiast and particularly those who can relate to the region and its involvement in the Civil War.
October 11, 2021
This is a very good study of a small part of the Gettysburg Campaign. Wingert focuses solely on Confederates in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, and Federal efforts to defend that county. It is well worth the read.
March 5, 2023
A must read book for anyone from/living in the Cumberland Valley! Driving through downtown Carlisle will definitely not be the same knowing how much happened there on July 1, 1863.
March 18, 2023
Great book, I'm going to say it has sparked an interest in this part of the Civil War that Im just beginning to discover. Living in the area it should be easy to learn more
August 23, 2023
Great particulars and well-written. Pretty much loved it. But not for everyone - you've got to want ALL the details.
March 16, 2013
Written by a high school student. I have to say I'm impressed. Good use of primary sources and some pretty decent anecdotes relevant to his topic. Now if I could get my students to write research papers like this... I'm a "map-Nazi", always could use more.
July 4, 2013
Cooper Wingert did an impressive job detailing the Confederate approach on Harrisburg during the Gettysburg campaign. There were a lot of great details pulled from various sources to create this book, and it opens the door to increased understanding of the battle and of Pennsylvania history.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews