USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History, government and geography of Carbon County, Pennsylvania > Part 11
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Early in the morning, she told her husband that she was going to the mill five miles away. When she reached the mill she left her sack to be filled and then hurried on.
The mill was at what is now Frankford, and with the permis- sion to pass the lines which she could easily get from the British officers who knew her, she had but little trouble. Luckily she had not gone very far beyond the mill when she met Colonel Craig, whom she knew and could trust. She told him her secret and hurried back to the mill for her flour.
The British carried out their plans as far as they could and marched off in the darkness. When they came to Whitemarsh
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they did not find Washington and his men napping, but ready to receive them. The army had been strongly fortified, and loaded cannon were mounted in front of it, ready to give the British a greater surprise and a warmer welcome than they had expected. They feared to make an attack, and marched back to Philadelphia disappointed and disgusted, as they said, "like a pack of fools."
The British wondered long and inquired much as to how their plans had been found out by the Americans. Of course, Washington and Colonel Craig, of Carbon County, were the only people who knew, and they never told until the war was over. "I know," said one of the officers to Lydia, "that you could not possibly have heard what we planned; for I had to call you twice to let us out." She knew better, but said nothing.
One other Revolutionary hero who must not be forgotten is Peter Nothstein. He enlisted at the age of seventeen years and served during the entire war. He was with General Sullivan in the battle of Long Island and escaped being captured by the British under General Clinton only by swimming across one of the inlets of Long Island Sound with his flint lock musket strapped across his back. He fought under Washington at the battle of Brandywine, and served in many other important battles of the war. When the struggle was over, he returned and settled near Normal Square, Mahoning Township, where he died in 1797, aged 37 years. His body was buried in a family plot near his dwelling, public cemeteries at that time being unknown. His grave is marked with a neat headstone, erected by his friends in recent years, and is fittingly remembered annually on Memorial Day by a tribute of flowers.
CARBON COUNTY IN THE MEXICAN WAR, 1845.
The Stockton Artillerists of Mauch Chunk had been an organ- ized body of soldiers before the war began. At its opening they offered their services to Governor Shunk and were accepted. The friends of the company collected the sum of $1,500 for them. The ladies of Mauch Chunk, within three days after the notice, provided them with three hundred flannel shirts and a number of other articles of practical use.
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OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
The company started for Pittsburg on December 24, 1847, in conveyances furnished by themselves. A large number of citizens accompanied them. On arriving at Tamaqua, they were met by a deputy countermanding their acceptance. After a general discussion it was decided that they would proceed to Philadelphia and offer their services to the President.
They went by way of Pottsville, accompanied by Hon. Asa Packer, thence by way of Baltimore to Cumberland; crossed the Alleghany Mountains in stage coaches to Brownsville, and from there they went by boat to Pittsburg. Judge Packer very liber- ally assisted in paying the transportation charges. He spent more than $900 for this purpose, and this money was never re- funded by the government.
They numbered eighty-four in all. When they reached New Orleans, they pitched their tents on Jackson's famous battleground. They had hardly succeeded in having their arrangements for the camp completed, when one night at one o'clock they found fifteen inches of water all over their camping ground. There was no other shelter nearby, so they had to endure the water until they were ordered into a transport ship called "Ocean," which took them to higher ground on Lobos Island. They were on the island for three weeks when they started for Vera Cruz.
They performed their first war service on March 9, 1848. At this time the thermometer was one hundred and nine degrees. They took part in nearly all the engagements between Vera Cruz and the city of Mexico. Twenty-three of their number found their graves along this route. Not one-half of their number returned to their homes. Those who did come back, came by boat to Pittsburg, where they were honorably discharged. They came to Mauch Chunk, July 28, 1848, having received special ovations as they came through Easton, Bethlehem, and Allentown.
CARBON COUNTY IN THE REBELLION, 1861-1865.
In proportion to her population this county furnished more men during this war than any other county in the state. It is
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probable that there is no locality of equal size in the world any- where that has sent a larger percentage of its able bodied men to fight at one time. The record of the men sent compares favorably with men sent by other counties, and no men from anywhere surpassed the representatives of this county in bravery or endur- ance.
Three full companies were sent to Harrisburg within twenty- four hours after Lincoln made his first call for men. These com- panies were made a part of the Sixth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. Hardly had these three companies left, when another full company was raised for three years which was attached to the famous "Bucktail Rifles." When the time of the men who had enlisted for three months had expired, two more companies were formed, and there were besides men enough scattered through the various divisions of the Pennsylvania troops to make another company.
On the call for troops in 1862, two more whole companies were formed, and each time that the state was threatened with invasion, a large number of additional men volunteered to take part in driving back the enemy.
J. D. Laciar says :
"The record of the Carbon County soldiers commands the admiration of the country. From the beginning to the end of the war, our soldiers were in the front. In West Virginia, at Falling Waters, from the battle at Dranesville, in 1861, to the surrender of Johnson's army in 1865, there was scarcely a battle fought but witnessed the fall of some brave Carbon County soldier. On the Peninsula, where fell Miller, Conner, Abbott, and a host of others; at Chancellorsville, where the noble Chapman sealed his devotion to his country with his heart's blood; at Bull Run, where the brave Hydeman died, fighting to the last; at South Mountain, where Bitterling cheered on his command with his last breath; at Mine Run, where we lamented the loss of Phillips; at Spottsylvania and Richmond, where fell Hawk, Ginder, Hoover, McGee, and Peters, as well as a host of others; in the last battle with Lee's army, where fell Bond, who had served from the very first call; at Gettysburg, Antietam, Fred- ericksburg, and a hundred other battlefields, where such men as
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OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Major Harkness, Captains Conner, Shields, Pryor, Mclaughlin, Abbott, March, Bieber, Patton, and a thousand other Carbon County soldiers bled and won imperishable renown, in the struggles in the southwest, and in the long and fatiguing march of Sherman's army from Atlanta to the sea, in which many of the men from Carbon County bled and died.
"While we point with sorrow to the long lists of the dead, we mourn with a pride, which only such a long list can inspire, to the fact that five-eighths of the men sent out of the county to the battlefield were either wounded or killed. Such a record speaks volumes for their bravery and their heroic fighting. Their record for health and endurance is equally as good. The grand record of the war shows that twice as many soldiers died of disease as were killed in battle. Three times as many of the Carbon County soldiers were killed in battle as died of sickness. The county furnished thirty-nine lieutenants, of whom seven were killed and twenty wounded; twenty-eight captains, of whom five were killed, sixteen wounded, and one died of sickness; three majors, of whom one was killed and one was wounded; three lieutenant- colonels, of whom one was killed and one was wounded; one brevet colonel, who was wounded; three colonels, of whom one was killed; and one brevet brigadier general. This makes a total of seventy-eight officers, of which number fifteen were killed, thirty-nine wounded, and one died of disease. Nor is it only the record of the officers that furnishes such an unmistakable record of bravery and endurance. The men in the ranks from the county have a record equally as grand; these records will stand for all time as a noble monument to the patriotism of little Carbon.
"Though the remains of the loved ones rest peacefully in the dust of the numerous battlefields; though we deeply mourn the loss of so many of the noblest youths of the county; though fathers and mothers cherish the memory of their fallen sons; and widows the loss of slain husbands, we have the proud conscious- ness that during a period of danger such as few nations experience we were true to the trust placed upon us by the founders of this great nation. During the Great Rebellion the people of Carbon County did their whole duty."
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In the fall of 1862 the great Mahoning Mountain, covered with moving green, rose like a mountain wall to shelter the valley that seemed to be lying peacefully by its side. At its foot a peaceful stream rolled its current around rugged, moss-covered rocks, or glided peacefully through its blossom-covered meadows. The stream's music was constantly mingling with the sweet bird songs which rang out above it, and the happy voices of children as it sparkled on its way in the sunshine and danced in its course to join the army of drops in the ocean. In this valley, by the side of this stream, since the days of the Moravian Massacre, boys and girls had their homes. Here they breathed the pure air of the mountains, climbed the trees and rocks on its rugged sides, and helped with the fruit, the grain, and the hay in the fruitful fields and the sweet scented meadows. Here these children grew to manhood and womanhood, learning from honest, industrious parents the noble lessons of struggle and labor. In this sequestered dale these sons and daughters of the soil lived on terms of equality with each other. Each one respected his neighbors and conceded to all the right to happiness and freedom. All were as intelligent and honest as they were robust and hardy. From the very air they seemed to breathe the spirit of freedom which characterized the Swiss in the days of Huss and of Wycliffe. The surroundings seemed to inspire the desire for liberty, for service, and for reli- gious worship which the Moravians had tried to instil into the Indians.
Murmurings, from time to time, of the wrongs inflicted upon the slaves of the south by their masters, were heard through the valley. On the lawn of what is known as Arner's School there were many discussions as to the probable Slaveholders' Rebellion. These discussions were generally long and earnest; they always ended by declarations that it was the duty of men to stand man- fully by the flag and maintain the union, no matter how great would be the sacrifice.
When Lincoln's call for troops finally came, thirty-seven soldier pupils of this school volunteered their service; sixty-six volunteered from this one small district alone; and two hundred from the entire county. In a number of instances the father
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OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
and all of the sons offered their services and their lives, if neces sary, in the defense of liberty and the equal rights of man.
Any community may well be proud of such a record. It is believed that no other district of equal area and population can show anything to compare with it. It is a showing that is alone and without an example in our history. No response to their country's call, when her very life was at stake, has ever been made more liberally or more nearly unanimous. The devotion and sacrifice of the mothers and sisters was almost as great. When the twenty-seven school soldiers left there was a "Breaking of Home Ties" sadder even than that which is illustrated in the picture so named. How great was the loss to the homes or the sorrow of the women, was realized only as one by one of these soldier boys was brought back. To many of these bereaved homes the following letter which is probably the finest that has ever been penned would have brought consolation :
"DEAR MADAM :
"I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle. I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I can not refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the republic they died to save. I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have so costly a sacrifice on the altar of freedom.
"Yours sincerely and respectfully, "A. LINCOLN."
THE MAHONING CELEBRATION.
For many years after the war Sergeant J. F. Kressley was desirous of doing something to appropriately commemorate the tragic death of his schoolmate and boon companion, Sergeant Oliver F. Musselman, Co. F., 132nd Regiment, P. V. Inf., who
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gave his life for his country on the battlefield of Antietam. After many years of planning, he conceived the idea of placing a memo- rial tablet in his memory upon the walls of the school room in which they had been boys together. After consulting with his comrades, friends, and schoolmates, it was finally agreed to include upon the tablet the names of all the soldier pupils of the school. A copy of the tablet is here included. It consists of solid , brass, engraved and enameled, and mounted on a Flemish oak frame.
SEPTEMBER
12, 1908
THIS TABLET IS ERECTED BY CLASSMATES AND FRIENDS IN MEM- ORY OF FORMER PUPILS OF THIS SCHOOL WHO RENDERED HEROIC SERVICE FOR OUR COUNTRY AND FLAG DURING THE CIVIL WAR
x OLIVER F. MUSSELMAN
x OTTO STERMER
x JOSEPH EAMES
X JOHN MILLER
x JOHN CALLAHAN
x WILLIAM NOTHSTEIN
HENRY SNYDER
JOSIAH MUSSELMAN
WM. H. FULTON
DANIEL KRESSLEY
JOSEPH ACKERMAN
STEPHEN FENSTERMACHER
SAMUEL EBERTS
PETER EBERTS
WILLIAM STERMER
DAVID EBERTS
NATHAN STERMER
WILLIAM EBERTS
D. W. C. HENLINE
HENRY ZELLNER
THOMAS MUSSELMAN
JACOB STRAUSS
JACOB NOTHSTEIN
AARON B. MILLER
DANIEL HOUSER
MOSES NEYER
THOMAS STRAUSS
AARON SNYDER
REUBEN REINSMITH
ELIAS S. HOPPES
ROBERT SINYARD
JOHN H. ARNER
WILLIAM SENDEL
JAMES F. KRESSLEY
AMMON FRITZ
JOSEPH FULTON, teacher JAMES W. SWANK, teacher
x Killed in Battle or Died of Wounds
The unveiling took place on the 12th of September, 1908. A local society, the Deutsche Gesellschaft, presented, raised, and floated a flag on the same occasion. Dr. Thomas M. Balliet, the
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OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
well-known educator of New York University, and Hon. E. M. Mulhearn, of Mauch Chunk, delivered dedication addresses. The address presenting the flag was made by the Rev. Charles F. Freeman, of Summit Hill, and the address of acceptance was made by County Superintendent James J. Bevan. It is to be hoped that the tablet and what it stands for will ever be dear to the children who will hereafter attend this school; and that the loyal example of the soldier boys of Mahoning will ever furnish inspiration for the love of God, of country, and of our flag to all who will in the future breathe the free mountain air of Carbon County.
A monument has been erected in memory of the soldiers of Carbon County. It stands by the side of the court house at Mauch Chunk. On one of its sides may be read these appropri- ate and touching words :
On fame's eternal camping ground, Their silent tents are spread; And glory guards with solemn rounds The bivouac of the dead.
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CHAPTER IX.
THE SCHOOLS.
The first school in the county was conducted at Gnadenhutten by the Moravians who were loyal friends of education. The log building, one story high, was built on the Mission Grounds about 1820, and contained two rooms, one for school and one for church purposes. The school was conducted for many years during the winter months by a board of trustees belonging to the church, or until about 1840, when the free school system was accepted by Mahoning Township. What took place in Lehighton took place in nearly every settlement of the county. The church usually made provision for the spiritual and mental welfare of the children.
There were also individual teachers who had schools in their homes, or in such buildings as could be procured in which children were taught to read, write, and cipher. The language of the school was more often German than English. An example of such a school may be found by reading "Christopher Dock" in the "Stories of Pennsylvania."
In 1834 was passed the act which provided for the education of all the children of the Commonwealth at the expense of the public treasury. This was one of the most important acts that the Pennsylvania Legislature ever enacted. The Constitution adopted in 1790 provided that the Legislature "shall provide for the establishment of schools through the state in such a manner that the poor may be taught gratis." An act to provide for the education of all the children of the state was passed in 1802 and approved in 1804. According to this law those who were able to pay were required to do so. In 1809 the act of 1804 was again amended, and other changes were made from time to time. For thirty years the people had labored to establish a good school system, yet in 1833 less than 24,000 children attended the schools of the state at public expense, most of which were taught by
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OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
incompetent teachers. These schools were called "pauper schools," and were shunned by the rich and poor, since the children were classified as pay and pauper scholars.
THE FREE SCHOOL ACT OF 1834.
A society favoring the establishment of free schools was formed in Philadelphia in 1827. Correspondence was opened with the leading men of every county, statistics were collected, and a unity of effort was secured. In 1834 a law was passed which made the schools free to all.
This Act of 1834 inaugurated a new era in the education of the county. It provided that a tax should be levied on all taxable property and inhabitants; that townships and towns should constitute school districts; and that the managing of the schools should be left to six directors elected by the people. The legisla- ture was authorized to appropriate funds, annually, from the state treasury to aid the work of education.
In many districts the law was not accepted. Many of the people valued free education as they valued free speech and free worship. The settlers of the county usually did as was done in Lehighton: built the log schoolhouse aside of the log church. They loved education, they favored free schools, but they dis- trusted state control.
The Germans and the Catholics believed that the school should be under the care of Christian denominations. The Germans also believed that the state control would exclude the German language from the schools.
In 1835 a powerful effort was made to repeal the free school act of 1834. A bill repealing the law was passed by the Senate and the next day (April 11, 1835) was discussed in the House. Hon. Thaddeus Stevens, a member from Adams County, made the speech which won the victory for free schools. Governor George Wolfe, the unflinching friend of the free schools, promised to use the veto power if necessary to keep the law in force, and so sacrificed his popularity with his political friends. Governor Wolfe was followed as Governor by Joseph Ritner, a Pennsyl-
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vanian German, who was a firm advocate of the free school law. He resolved that the law should be enforced, and it was.
Some of the arguments for the free education of all of the children were that such education would create idleness, vice, and crime; and that the money required would bankrupt the state. On the day for the opening of the final battle between those favoring free education and those opposed to it, the chaplain in his opening prayer besought Almighty God "to lay bare his strong right arm and save the state from the poverty and bank- ruptcy which were sure to follow if the people were to have their property wrested from them for the free education of all the children."
Thaddeus Stevens was born on the fourth of April, 1792, in Caledonia County, Vt. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in 1814, and the same year removed to York, Pa., where he became a teacher in an academy. While thus employed he gave his leisure to the study of law. In 1816 he removed to Gettysburg, and was admitted to the bar at that place. He soon rose to the head of his profession, which position he retained through life. He was a member of the legislature from 1833 to 1837 and again in 1841; was a member of the Pennsylvania Constitutional con- vention in 1836, and Canal Commissioner in 1838. In 1841 he removed to Lancaster, where he afterward resided. He was first elected to Congress in 1848 and again in 1850. After an interval of six years he was again sent to Congress, and was kept there by the repeated votes of his constituents until death. When the Rebellion broke out, Mr. Stevens was among the boldest and ablest statesmen who sustained the government in those days of great trial. He was an earnest and consistent friend of the colored race, an ardent lover of liberty, a defender of the poor. During the last ten years of his life he was the leading spirit in the national legislature. For nearly a year before his death he was unable to walk to the Hall of the House, but was daily carried on a chair to his seat by two men. Notwithstanding his services in the National Congress, he ever regarded his successful defense of free schools in Pennsylvania as the greatest achievement in his life. He died in Washington, D. C., at midnight, between the eleventh and twelfth of August, 1868.
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OF CARBON COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
According to the Act of 1836, its adoption was left to the option of each district. This option was repealed in 1849, when the provisions of the law were extended to every district in the state. It was not until 1854, however, that the officers were clothed with the authority necessary to enforce the law. Sub- divisions of the school districts were then abolished, school officers were given a power to collect taxes, to levy a "building tax," and to locate schoolhouses. Geography, grammar, and such higher branches as directors might prescribe, were added to the school course. The school term was increased from three to four months.
During the 1908-'09 term of the county high schools, two were ranked as first grade, four as second grade, and four as third grade. Seventy-nine of the teachers who taught in the county schools during the same term had provisional certificates, eight had professional, twenty-eight had permanent, and seven were college graduates. Nineteen educational gatherings of various kinds were held during the year, and twenty-two examinations for pupils in the eighth grade were given.
The schools of the county are growing in number and excel- lence. Since the early free school days, the length of the term has been extended until now the minimum will soon be made eight months; free textbooks have been supplied by the school authorities; township and borough high schools have been estab- lished, supervised, maintained in part by the state; and though a new set of school laws which had been drawn up by an educa- tional commission were vetoed by the governor, a new code has been prepared which will, no doubt, soon become a law, and bring some needed changes. During the school term of 1908-'09 there were in use in the county two hundred and ninety-seven school rooms and ninety-four school buildings.
THE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT.
On the first Tuesday in May of every fourth year the school directors of the county meet to elect the County Superintendent. To elect requires a majority of the whole number of directors
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present. The party elected must be a person of literary and scientific acquirements and have skill and experience in teaching. The efficiency of the schools of any county depends to a very large extent upon the ability and energy of its superintendent. He should be above the promptings of political tricksters, and his educational training should have included much more than any of his teachers is expected to teach.
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