USA > Pennsylvania > Westmoreland County > History of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, Vol. I > Part 32
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In order to appreciate the work done by our Westmoreland soldiers it is necessary to consider a few matters not patent on the bare narration of the incidents of the war. The Union soldiers who fought in Mexico were largely brought up in states south of Pennsylvania, and consequently were somewhat accustomed to the hot climate. As a result of this they suffered much less from the blazing sun of the tropics than the northern soldiers did, It must also be remembered that from Vera Cruz to Mexico they were marching through a hostile country, and much of the time had no base of supplies with which the rear of the army could communicate. They were compelled during much of this long and weary march to subsist entirely on what they carried with them and on what they could procure from the surrounding country. They were in a country the topography of which was entirely unknown to them, while around them skirted hungry and desperate guerrillas who required most constant vigilance on the part of those who would protect themselves or their property. Nor were there any railroads nor navigable streams upon which they could transport their army. The route from Vera Cruz to Mexico lay over mountains, through deep valleys and across malarial swamps, all of which told with peculiar severity on the northern troops. Much of the road was cut through a wilderness renowned for its density.
Simon H. Drum, who was killed at the great gate of the City of Mexico, on September- 13, 1847, was born in Greensburg, and was the son of Simon Drum, one of the pioneers of the town. He was a brother to Richard C. Drum, late adjutant-general of the United States army. In the Mexican war he was captain of the Fourth United States Artillery. The charge at Con- treras, whereby he recovered the two cannon taken at Buena Vista, was one of the most daring in the whole war. At some distance before them and within the enemy's lines, he saw and recognized the guns, and at once gave the order that they must be taken at all hazards. This was accordingly done by a number of his men whom he led in the charge. They ran forward regardless of the consequences, and quickly overpowered the Mexicans who were in charge of them. They brought them safely within army lines, and they were never captured again. During the battle of Cherubusco, Drum's battery kept up a constant and destructive fire all day.
At the hour of his death most of his men had been cut down, and he was. unable to move his guns on this account. Near by him, in the archies of an aqueduct, lay many of the Westmoreland Guards. Drum had known most
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
of them in boyhood, and many of them had been schoolmates with him. He accordingly appealed to them for help. At his call a band of Westmoreland soldiers ran forward and moved the cannon to a place where they would be more effectual, but they left the dead body of the brave Captain Drum in the rear. He was born June 8, 1807, and was graduated from West Point in July, 1829. He served in the Black Hawk war, and was for three years an officer in the artillery of the Regular Army. In 1846 he entered the service in the war with Mexico. He came under General Scott at Vera Cruz, and was with the army till his death the day before the great city was taken. In battle he was always distinguished for his coolness and his bravery. In the battles of Cerro Gordo and Contreras his gallantry reflected great credit upon himself and upon his native county.
Richard H. J. Johnston, generally called "Dick" Johnston, was killed the same day. He entered the army at the breaking out of the war as a private, and was shortly appointed a lieutenant by the President. He had two brothers in the war. He escaped through all the battles of the campaign, and also the sickness to which most of the soldiers were subjected-all this, only to be cut down at the last, when in view of the city. He was a son of Alexander John- ston, of Kingston House, the old stone mansion on the pike near Kingston Sta- tion, on the Ligonier Valley railroad.
Andrew Ross was a member of the Westmoreland bar. He was born in Allegheny township, was graduated at Union College in New York, and was admitted to the bar. Shortly after this lie enlisted in the Mexican war service, and served through the campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico, but had con- tracted a sickness from the great heat, and died on a ship while homeward bound. His body was cast overboard into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. James Kerr was a student at law when he entered the Guards. He was taken sick at New Orleans, and never reached Vera Cruz, dying on March 1Ith. George May, of Youngstown ; James M. Hartford, of Stewartsville, and Lewis Meyers, of Carlisle. were also members of the company, and all died at Vera Cruz before the march began. Lieutenant Murry lost his health in the campaign between Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. After the battle at the latter place he started home to regain his health, but died before he reached here. His remains were sent home and were buried at Long Run churchyard. The drummer, A. J. Forney, died on his way home at Louisville, Kentucky. Andrew R. Huston was detailed to care for yellow fever patients at Vera Cruz. While thus engaged he contracted the disease and soon died himself. William A. Campbell reached home in a greatly debilitated health, and died shortly after. Robert McGinley, of Salem township, a brave young man of much promise, died and was buried in Mexico. Sergeant James McLaughlin, son of Randall McLaughlin, of Greensburg, participated in all the battles from Vera Cruz to Mexico. His health was badly broken and he returned home but never regained it. He died March 30, 1848.
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
There were six Westmorelanders who were not in the Greensburg com- pany, but with the Duquesne Grays, First Regiment. They were John C. Gilchrist, killed October 12, 1847; James Keenan, Jr., promoted to second lieu- tenant of the Eleventh Infantry; Richard C. Drum, also promoted to second lieutenant of the Eleventh Infantry; Joseph Spencer, and Henry Bates, both died at Puerto, Mexico ; and William Burns, of whom there is no return.
The largest part of the Greensburg company who lived to return home came up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers and reached Pittsburgh on the morning of July II, 1848. Great arrangements were made to welcome them at Greens- burg and in the county generally. People came from all sections to attend a public meeting called to perfect the preparations for a grand welcome. When the boat arrived at the wharf in Pittsburgh a delegation of Westmorelanders was on hand to meet them. "A host of warm hearts from Old Westmoreland," says a Pittsburgh paper, "were soon on the steamer. Fathers, sons, wives and sweethearts were found in happy communion." "They were escorted to their quarters by a number of our citizens and by the Westmoreland friends. We got a fair look at them. They were the best looking fellows that have yet re- turned. This is the opinion of all. Captain Johnston, as well as his men, de- serves great credit for the really good appearance they made." The com- mittee brought them to Greensburg, after which they were feted and feasted wherever they went. Ball rooms were opened, banquets were spread, and both young and old, but particularly the young women, vied with each other in doing honor to the returned soldiers. Captain Johnston lived at Kingston House, near Youngstown, and great preparations were made there to receive him and his soldiers, several of whom were from that neighborhood. The old town was hung with garlands, flags and streamers, and across the street were several triumphal arches of evergreens.
CHAPTER XXI
Railroads.
Westmoreland county is abundantly supplied with railroads. Nearly the one- sixth of the Pennsylvania road between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia lies within its bounds. It was the first railroad across the county, built in the early days of railroad making, and it has been a prominent factor in the development of our industries. From the earliest history to the present time the problem of trans- portation has taxed the resources and the ingenuity of mankind. In our state, as we have seen, it was a tedious journey from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. First came pack-horses, and these in time were supplanted by wagons and stage- coaches. The best stage-coach time from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia did not vary much from fifty-six hours. With the building of the railroad the time was at once reduced to twelve hours, and even this has since been greatly shortened.
The building of the Pennsylvania was one of the first railroad projects in America. On March 31, 1823, our legislature incorporated a company to build a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia, a town situated on the Susque- hanna river in Lancaster county. The distance was about eighty miles. It was not built for some years afterwards, but its agitation helped to prepare the public mind, and thus contributed greatly to its ultimate success. Among its incorporators were Horace Binney and Stephen Girard of Philadelphia. John Stevens, of New Jersey, was the leading spirit in the enterprise. At that time the majority of our people had no faith in railroads. They truly regarded ag- riculture as the basis of all wealth, and reasoned that steam transportation would injure the sale of oats, horses, etc. But New York in 1826 had com- pleted the Erie canal, which connected the Northern Lakes with New York city, and our Pennsylvania legislators were bright enough to see that some- thing must be done or the western trade would all go that way to the sea- board. The Erie canal was already carrying seventy million dollars worth of western products to the East each year. In 1828, therefore, the canal commis- sioners were directed to complete a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia within two years, and to examine a route over the Allegheny mountains with the ultimate purpose of thus reaching the navigable waters of the Ohio river
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
at Pittsburgh. The Erie canal was a sad blow to Philadelphia and to our state in general, for it stimulated the New York trade at the expense of Penn- sylvania. Our state therefore appropriated two millions of dollars for the project of opening a way between the Ohio river and Philadelphia. It was a large sum for that day, but the legislature was equal to the emergency. They continued the charter of the Bank of Pennsylvania for eighteen years on an agreement that the bank would lend the state four millions of dollars at five and one-half per centum interest. This money all went into canals and rail- roads between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. With it was built the Columbia road and also the Portage railroad across the Allegheny mountains. Thus they triumphed over a most serious barrier between the East and West. Under the circumstances the "Old Portage Road" has not been surpassed by railroad building in America. It consisted of eleven levels or grade lines, and ten in- clined planes. The cars were pulled over the levels by locomotives, and were pulled up the incline planes by wire ropes attached to stationary engines at the tops. It was operated for twenty years, and was the wonder of America. From Johnstown going east, the five inclines, with an aggregate length of 9670 feet, raised the train 800 feet ; the five inclines on the eastern slope of the moun- tains, with an aggregate length of 13,499 feet, lowered it 1202 feet. The levels between the inclines were constructed so as to gradually raise or lower the train, that is, they were not quite level. Thus, by means of these two railroads and the canals, they opened up a continuous line of travel and transportation from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh as early as 1834. The line consisted of a railroad from Philadelphia to Columbia, eighty-two miles; then came the canal, 172 miles long, reaching from Columbia to Hollidaysburg; then the Portage road from Hollidaysburg to Johnstown, thirty-six miles; and a canal from Johns- town across the northern part of Westmoreland county to Pittsburgh, a distance of 104 miles, making in all 394 miles. Freight, of course, had to be handled with every transfer, and its transportation was slow and expensive. The state had expended about fourteen million dollars on the project, and never realized, anything of value from it by the way of dividends. But it was of untold bene- fit to the country through which it passed, and by the development of our re- sources, the state was in the end an abundant gainer.
Almost as soon as this route was finished, a project was set on foot and agitated to construct a railroad all the way, that is, to supplant the canals with railroads. On March 6, 1838, a general convention was held in Harrisburg to urge the building of the road to Pittsburgh. Delegates were present from twenty-nine counties, and a good many from Ohio. Thus the matter was agi- tated, and not long after Mr. Charles L. Schlatter was appointed by the canal commissioners to survey and determine the best route upon which to build a railroad to the west. In 1840 he reported three routes which he had surveyed, one of which followed the Juniata and, crossing the mountains, passed down the Conemaugh. This was thought to be the best route. It was he and his survey which first demonstrated conclusively that the Allegheny mountains
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
could be crossed without using inclined planes. The project did not assume a tangible shape till 1846, when, on April 13, the act incorporating the Penn- sylvania Railroad Company was passed by our legislature. On February 25, 1847, Governor Francis R. Shunk granted a charter to the company, and work was soon begun at both ends, that is at Pittsburgh and at Harrisburg, the grading of fifteen miles east of the former city being let on the 22d day of July. On September 17, 1850, the road was opened to Hollidaysburg, where it con- nected with the Portage road across the mountains. In August, 1851, twenty- one miles west from Johnstown were finished, and this, with the part built east from Pittsburgh, left a gap of only about twenty-eight miles to complete the entire road. The year following this gap was closed up, and on December 10, 1852, the cars began to run through from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh. The Portage road was still used by which to cross the mountain, but by February 15, 1854, the road over the mountains was finished, and trains passed through from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia without using the inclined planes.
The Allegheny mountains had for twenty-five years been considered an insurmountable barrier. Its completion was of great advantage to Westmore- land county and its industries. Otherwise we should not so long have dwelt on its construction. A great deal of credit for its construction is due our early representatives and senators in the legislature. They were men of much more than average ability and influence in public affairs. Those who represented Westmoreland were vigilant in looking after the interests of their county, and managed to have it included in all the great railroad and canal building schemes undertaken by the commonwealth.
Public meetings were held in Greensburg, one as early as April 19, 1836, to express the desire of the people to have the railroad pass through Westmore- land and through Greensburg. Such agitation was not unnecessary, nor were they without reason. Schlatter was then surveying, and from his examinations reported a route south of the present location, and which would have passed only through the southern part of the county. This route had moreover been reported as a feasible one by Hother Hage, a distinguished engineer, some years prior to Schlatter's survey. This was called the southern route. But Schlatter also reported a third route, called the northern route, which passed up the Susquehanna and down the Allegheny to Pittsburgh. While this route was longer than either of the others, it had one advantage which appealed to all, viz. : by a short branch to the northwest Lake Erie, with all the commerce on the northern lakes then passing through New York, could be reached, and doubtless this commerce could be diverted and drawn over the proposed Penn- sylvania Railroad. The survey of the road through our county was made by Charles De Hass, and it was he who in January, 1837, first reported in favor of the route passing through Greensburg.
The grading of the road near Greensburg began in 1849. The tunnel at Greensburg and the immense fills east and west, made it one of the most diffi- cult and expensive sections west of the Allegheny mountains. The contractor
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
was Michael Malone. The section west of Greensburg, which included the old Radebaugh tunnel, was let by contract to Richard McGrann, Jr. Charles McCausland was contractor for the next section eastward, including the "cut" near the old fair grounds. It required about three years to complete the work near Greensburg on account of the heavy fills, etc., above referred to. All the earth for these fills was hauled there in carts. A strike occurred in November, 1850, the report of which shows something of the wages paid laborers em- ployed on the work. When the days began to shorten with approaching winter, the contractors reduced the wages from one dollar per day to 871/2 cents per day, and a general strike was inaugurated. As is usual in such cases, the men went to work again after a week's idleness, at the reduced rates.
The first locomotive which entered Westmoreland county came from the West, that is from Pittsburgh. It had been made in the East, and taken to Pittsburgh in pieces on canal boats. It arrived at Radebaugh's near Greens- burg, on Monday, July 5, 1852. Its coming had been widely heralded, and men and women came from all sections of the county to witness the unpre- cedented event. Most of them had never seen a locomotive before, and many a level headed visitor studied it with deep and curious interest trying to dis- cover the secret of its hidden strength. On Thursday, July 15, 1852, trains began to run regularly from Radebaugh's to Pittsburgh and return. The daily train left the "station" at 6 o'clock a. m., and reached Pittsburgh twenty- nine miles, in two hours. It returned again in the evening, leaving Pittsburgh at 6:30, and reaching Radebaugh's at 8 o'clock. The fare each way was eighty cents.
A few months after, on November 29, was the eventful day for Greens- burg, so far as railroad building was concerned. It will be understood that the train from Pittsburgh stopped at Radebaugh's two miles west of Greensburg, because the immense fill immediately west of Greensburg was not completed. On November 29, it had been finished, and the locomotive passed over it and through the tunnel and over the embankments east of the tunnel. It passed over them very slowly, going over them several times, perhaps each time with more assurance and speed, to test thie solidity of the massive piles of earth and stone. Later in the day a train passed over the entire length of the road through the county. It was a great event. For almost a generation they had been talking about and projecting it. Now, at last, it was a reality. Citizens of all ages, men, women and children, gathered at the stations or along the line, to see this wonder of the nineteenth century. Not alone was the railroad a curiosity among the people of the rural sections when it first made its ap- pearance. Though poorly equipped and only in embryonic form of what we have today, travel by railroad was the marvel of the age.
The celebrated abolitionist, Joshua R. Giddings, of Ohio, one of the ablest lawyers and statesmen of his day, when on his way to Washington, in No- vember, 1838, to assume the duties of his long and noted career in Congress, took his first ride on a railroad. The experience was so remarkable to him
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
that he made the following note of it in his journal. Its uniqueness entitles it to a prominent place in any railroad literature.
"At eleven o'clock about one hundred and twenty passengers, seated in three cars, carrying from forty to sixty passengers each, started upon the Baltimore and Ohio Rail- road for Washington. The cars are well carpeted and the seats cushioned. We had also a stove in each car which rendered them comfortably warm. Thus seated, some convers- ing in groups, others reading newsapers, and some, from loss of sleep in traveling, sleep- ing in their seats, we were swept along at the rate of fifteen miles per hour. At the usual time our candles were lighted and we presented the appearance of three drawing rooms filled with guests traveling by land. At about seven o'clock we arrived at Wash- ington City. The moment we stopped we were surrounded on every side with runners, porters, hackmen and servants, one calling to know if you would go to Gadsby's, another if you would go to Brown's, another if you would take a hack, etc. They are a source of great annoyance, which the police ought to prevent."
The Pennsylvania Railroad enters Westmoreland county at its most eastern point, in St. Clair township, passing through that township through the bor- ough of New Florence ; thence through Fairfield township, by the banks of the Conemaugh river, through Lockport and Bolivar; thence into Derry township to Branch, where it takes a southwestwardly course through Derry township, passing through Millwood, Derry, Bradenville, and Latrobe, where it crosses the Loyalhanna, and passes west across Unity township; thence in a west- wardly direction through Hempfield township, passing through Greensburg, Grapeville, Jeannette, Penn Station, Manor, Irwin, and Larimer, in North Huntingdon township; thence northwest, passing out of Westmoreland county west of Trafford City, in North Huntingdon township.
The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad enters the county at the northwest part of Rostraver township, and traverses the western part of the township close to the Monongahela river, passing through the borough of Monessen, leaving the county at the southwest corner of Rostraver township.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad enters the county in the southwest portion of South Huntingdon township, and runs northward along the Youghiogheny river, passing the borough of West Newton; thence through the western part of Sewickley township, leaving the county north of Robbins Station, in North Huntingdon township.
The South-West Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad begins at Greens- burg, running southwest through Hempfield township; thence southeast through East Huntingdon township, passing the towns of Youngwood, New Stanton, Hunker, Ruffsdale, Tarr, Alverton, etc., to Scottdale.
The Sewickley Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad leaves the South-West Branch at Youngwood, running southwest through Hempfield and Mt. Pleas- ant townships to Unity and Tranger. Branches run also to Mammoth, in Mt. Pleasant township, to Humphries and Klondike in Unity township, and to the Hecklas.
The Hempfield Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad begins at South
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HISTORY OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY.
Greensburg, and runs north, and thence southwest through a rich coal field to Arona, in Sewickley township. It also connects with the main line of the Pennsylvania at Radebaugh and Irwin.
The Youghiogheny Railroad, with one terminus at Irwin, extending south through North Huntingdon township; thence through Sewickley township, in- tersecting the Baltimore & Ohio at Lock No. 4, in the southwest part of Se- wickley township.
The Unity Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad leaves the main line at Latrobe, runs southward through Unity township, to Baggley and Lippincott.
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad has a branch extending from near Scott- dale passing through the southern part of East Huntingdon township, passing Bridgeport and Mt. Pleasant, extending to the Standard Mines of Mt. Pleasant township.
The Pennsylvania Railroad has a branch extending through East Hunting- don township from Scottdale to Mt. Pleasant.
The Ligonier Valley Railroad has one of its termini at Latrobe, extending southeast through Derry township along the banks of the Loyalhanna, through Ligonier township to Ligonier, a distance of ten miles.
The Turtle Creek branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad leaves the main line at Trafford City, passing northwest through North Huntingdon, Penn and Franklin townships, to Murryville; thence east through Franklin township to Export and New Salem.
The Allegheny Valley Railroad enters the county at the southwest part of Burrell township, passing north to Parnassus, New Kensington and Arnold, being close to the Allegheny river, passes northeast through Lower Burrell and Allegheny township to Lucesco.
The West Penn Railroad enters Westmoreland county at the northern part of Allegheny township, passes southeast along the Kiskiminetas river, with stations at Hyde Park, and Vandergrift, and through the northern part of Washington township in a southeasterly course, through Bell township to Avonmore.
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