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The Mysterious Story of Ida Millberry in Gettysburg
An odd headline in Gettysburg popped in 1905 related to Ida Millberry who was buried in the Lincoln Cemetery. Ida was not a longtime resident of Gettysburg but had come north from Maryland to live with her daughter there. The article, in many ways, is sort of mindblowing. None of us really wants to be…
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The Mathews-Biggs Family Legacy in Gettysburg
The Mathews family of Biglerville and the Biggs family of Gettysburg had a strong pre-war bond. At least one source suggested that Edward Mathews and Basil Biggs might have family connections in Maryland. Biggs was known to bring travelers on the Underground Railroad to Edward Mathews who hid them among Quaker friends in Biglerville before…
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The Life of Abraham Brian: A Forgotten Legacy
Today, the name Abraham Brian will be memorialized for as long as the United States exists. Brian’s former house sits near the apex of the Union line that bore the brunt of Pickett’s Charge—explanatory signs from the National Park Service tell you that Brian was a free black man living with his family in this…
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The Life and Death of Sergeant Major David Huff
Sergeant Major David Huff of the 17th Georgia Infantry was a member of field and staff—people who worked with the commanding officers to convey messages, organize supplies, monitor positions, disburse pay, and tend to other duties necessary to move troops. It was not a safe position but not the most dangerous either. On July 2…
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Captain Mark Kerns and Benjamin Franklin Carter at Second Manassas
You may now be familiar with Lt. Col. Benjamin Franklin Carter and his former body servant Henry Johnson. Of course, Captain Mark Kerns of the US First Artillery figures prominently in the story without having been given the same historical attention. So who was this man that Lt. Col. Carter respected so much as to…
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How Charles Hoffman and the Fahnestocks Connect to the Jennie Wade/Wesley Culp Tragedies
One of the best-known human interest stories of Gettysburg is the tragic friendship triangle of Jennie Wade, Wesley Culp, and Jack Skelly. In the span of two weeks, the lifelong friends would all die—Jack for the Union while fighting against his friend, Wes as a Confederate fighting in his hometown, and Jennie baking bread between…
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Remembering Sarah Plank: A Civil War Nurse
When Sarah Plank finally passed away in 1926, she was eighty-five and had outlived her husband, John Edward Plank, and three of her twelve children. With that in mind, take some time to consider her obituary. Consider what takes up the most real estate on the page and what is absent. At the time of…
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Uncovering the Life of Maggie Palm: A Gettysburg Hero
When you begin to search out the history of black citizens in Gettysburg, you inevitably come to Basil Biggs and then to Maggie Palm. In the pre-war and war years, residents often called her Maggie Blue Coat for the blue military uniform coat she wore while helping runaways on the Underground Railroad. You will certainly…
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The Tragic Fate of John J. Walthall in the Civil War
Where men, guns, horses, and gunpowder are we are bound to see instances of tragic luck. John J. Walthall appears to be just such an instance. How rare was his end? In 1837 a little-read article by S.D. Poisson articulated a distribution pattern for highly unlikely but still occasional events. This application was later used…
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The Legacy of Lincoln Cemetery in Gettysburg
One of the lasting monuments to Basil Biggs and his commitment to equality is the Lincoln Cemetery in Gettysburg. Biggs worked with a local group of black men to form the Sons of Goodwill, which raised funds for the creation of the cemetery. Its original mission was to be a resting place for veterans of…