The women’s groups of Franklin County, Pennsylvania met on Memorial Day in 1868 and agreed they wanted to honor their men for serving in the Union Army during the Civil War by building them an appropriate monument in the county seat, Chambersburg. This would not have seemed that unusual at the time in other large cities throughout the North, except for one fact: Chambersburg had been burned by Confederates under Jubal Early in 1864. In fact, approximately two-thirds of the town had been burned to the ground on July 30, 1864.
Until 1864, both Union and Confederate generals had ordered their men to avoid the needless destruction of civilian property. However, that was changing by the summer of 1864. Union General David Hunter had ordered the destruction of the Virginia Military Institute in the Shenandoah Valley as well as the home of leading secessionist and former Virginia governor John Letcher in June. In July, Hunter burned three more homes belonging to wealthy Virginians. In retaliation, Jubal Early burned the home of Montgomery Blair, Postmaster General of the United States, after his raid on Washington, D.C. in July of 1864.
Early in the morning of July 30, Confederate cavalrymen arrived in Chambersburg and demanded $100,000 in gold as ransom to avoid the city being set on fire. That is about $2.5 million dollars in today’s money. Money was not handed over and the city was burned. Approximately 550 buildings were burned that day by the Confederates. This was in a city of just over 5,200 people.
After this great loss in property, you could see why it was a surprise that Chambersburg would be the site of a new monument. The city’s fund were near-exhausted trying to rebuild its destroyed infrastructure, and business had not returned to its pre-war level. However, within ten years a massive monument was built which focused on memorializing those who went off to war and which brought beauty to the small city. The monument was dedicated in 1878, ten years after it was proposed.
The primary element of the monument was a fountain which reaches upward twenty-six feet in height. A finial at the top sprays water that tumbles down into five basins, with the water ending in a thirty foot wide pool at ground level.
The fountain is where Main St. (Route 11) and the Lincoln Way (Route 30) intersect in the center of the city.
Around the fountain are eight cast-iron “cannons”
While the ornamental “cannons” lend a military air to the display, the fountain itself is both memorializing and fun. For example, at the base are four cherubs riding on four dolphins, with sprays of water coming out of the mouths of the marine mammals.
On October 10, 1862, J.E.B. Stuart and his Confederate cavalry occupied the city. This was after the Confederates had been defeated at Antietam just forty miles south on September 16, 1862. This became known as “Stuart’s Second Ride Around McClellan.” The raid was an embarrassment to the Union Army because even after a well-publicized victory in September, it still could not contain the Confederate cavalry.
Stuart burned railroad property and captured guns, horses, and supplies for use by the Army of Northern Virginia. He also reportedly kidnapped eight African American civilians.
The principal dedication plaque says that 5,000 men of Franklin County served in the Union forces. It also lists nearly two dozen units which had men from the county.
Unlike many other Civil War monuments which are hardly noticed by locals, this fountain is clearly appreciated by residents. The water flowing over its elements attracts attention. Children came by to look at the creatures enjoying the water while I there. Teens stopped by to take selfies. Older people, like me, liked the spraying water cooling our faces.
The different design elements, for example the swans spitting out water, get noticed, and the very good condition of the fountain make it a site that residents are proud of.
The flower baskets around the fountain are very well-maintained and add even more color to the already colorful downtown (call “The Diamond”) where the fountain is located.
You probably noticed a lot of 19th Century structures behind the fountain. Almost none of them existed at the time of the Civil War. Those pre-war buildings fell to the Confederate arsonists i 1864. The buildings in the background have dates identifying them as having gone up during Reconstruction. Some even have cornerstone saying they were put up in 1865.
Just so that later-day Rebels don’t lay the city waste again, there is a lone soldier facing South guarding the memorial. The statue and the fountain went through major restoration just a few years ago after a drunk driver crashed into the memorial in 2021. After two years of repairs, the monument was reopened again in 2023. Luckily, the city’s residents turned out in large numbers to see the fountain restored.
The fountain and the statue of a soldier were designed by J.W. Fiske of New York. If you go to visit this site, it looks as much like it did in 1878 as it has at any time in the past one hundred years. The fountain works impeccably, the basin has been restored, and the brass pieces loo as though they were forged last year!
The soldier is at parade rest. His uniform looks well-cared for. I was particularly impressed by his musket, which showed great detail.
While a large number of local men were in the United States army during the Civil War, there were no U.S. troops in Chambersburg when it was attacked. Those who had been nearby had been sent to Washington to block Early’s Raid.
The statue of the private shows a great deal of detail, including the footwear of the soldier.
The musket and its strap also are much more detailed than I see at most small-city monuments.
Interestingly, while the tablet says it is erected in the memory of local men who fought for the Union, it also refers to Robert E. Lee and A.P. Hill meeting in “The Diamond” to discuss their next moves in the Gettysburg Campaign.
There is a large and highly polished monument recalling the burning of the city. You can see me reflected on the stone.
After the fountain was restored in 1981, a marker was placed.
During the Gettysburg Campaign Confederate cavalry under Albert Jenkins occupied the city. The cavalry burned warehouses and railroad property. From June 24–28, 1863 a large number of Confederate troops passed through the city and Robert E. Lee established his headquarters at a farm nearby. A marker says that Lee and General A.P. Hill met in “The Diamond”, the current square where the fountain is located, on June 26, 1863.
Some historians believe that Jubal Early may have targeted Chambersburg because the city offered refuge to escaped African Americans on the Underground Railroad.
John Brown stayed in Chambersburg while assembling his forces for taking over Harpers Ferry.
The 1864 “Burning of Chambersburg” began with the Confederate showing up outside the city on July 30, 1864. Several hundred Confederates filled the square where the fountain now stands and announced that they wanted to speak with the leaders of the city. The courthouse on the square rang its bells to assemble the people. General John McCausland’s staff-officer, Captain Fitzhugh, read an order from General Early. The order said that Chambersburg needed to turn over to the Confederates $100,000 worth of gold currency or $500,000 in paper currency to the Confederates or the city would be burned by the Confederates in retaliation for six to eight buildings burned by Union soldiers in Virginia. The citizens of Chambersburg said that such funds were not available. The banks had sent their assets north when they heard that Confederates had crossed the Potomac. The people also said that it was unfair to burn a whole city in retaliation for the burning of six to eight houses in Virginia. A short while later, the Confederates used kerosene to start fires throughout the town.
Chambersburg after the fire.
The Confederates broke into the houses, ordered the civilians to leave, and then scattered kindling and kerosene in the houses and set them on fire. The courthouse, bank, town hall, two churches, all hotels and most business establishments were also consumed in the fires. As the raiders were setting fires, citizens said they looted the houses and businesses they entered.
Citizens were particularly upset that the burning of the city was authorized by a corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. Such outrages against civilians had occurred in areas where Confederate guerrillas were presumed to be the perpetrators, but not as ordered by a general in Lee’s army.
After many of the buildings in the city were burned to the ground, citizens of Chambersburg began discussing who was at fault. General Couch had a company of cavalry and some artillery at Mercersburg not far from Chambersburg. This force was often blamed for not stopping the invasion, but it was clearly too small to put up much opposition. There had been Pennsylvania troops nearby, but they had been called to Washington to defend against Early’s march on Washington.
Another force of Union troops was at Greencastle, ten miles from Chambersburg. These men were under the command of General Averill. He received a message from Couch during the night when the Confederates appeared outside of Chambersburg, but he decided to wait until morning to respond. Many of the citizens of Chambersburg blamed Averill for not responding fast enough to the news that the Confederates were attacking.
On the other hand, some out-of-town newspapers blamed the citizens of Chambersburg for not protecting the city. By the time of the attack, there were fewer than 2,000 people living in Chambersburg and many of the military-aged men were in Union services and so far from the town in Washington or Virginia. Most of the people in the city were women, children, and old men.
The city holds a commemoration every year at the end of July to recall the burning of the city.
One of the first buildings to be rebuilt was the courthouse right across from the fountain. Its cornerstone was laid in 1865, just a year after the fire. Here is a photo taken of the ruins.
The pillars from the ruin were used for the 1865 courthouse, which still stands.
“The Diamond” in the middle of Chambersburg with the fountain set in the middle of it!
The view from the courthouse.
In all, Chambersburg was occupied three times during the Civil War, once during Antietam Campaign, once during the Gettysburg Campaign, and finally during Early’s Raid on Washington. It played a role in the Underground Railroad and it was a staging area for John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry.
All color photos taken by Pat Young.
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Source:
The Burning of Chambersburg Pa. (1864)
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