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Civil War trail could highlight Cumberland County
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Civil War re-enactors prepare to fire a cannon at last weekend's dedication of a monument to Confederate Brig. Gen. Albert Jenkins along Trindle Road east of Mechanicsburg. (Karissa Zimmer/Special to The Sentinel)
State and local groups are studying the feasibility of implementing a Civil War heritage trail through Cumberland and neighboring counties.
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is having preliminary talks with the tourism office of the Department of Community and Economic Development, PHMC spokeswoman Jane Crawford says. The agencies are exploring several avenues of state and federal funding for a trail system on Pennsylvania's war experience and involvement.
PHMC could have a "package" together sometime this summer outlining its proposal, Crawford says. "We're in the discussion and think stage right now."
She adds the state is looking for community involvement and input.
July 13 meeting planned
Retired Army colonel Michael Perry, the director of the Army Heritage Center Foundation, says a Civil War trail could be a branch of a military history trail from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
The foundation is lobbying the state to develop a develop such a statewide trail, which is to feature historic sites along the turnpike and highlight the critical role Pennsylvania has played.
Perry says the mid-state could act as a hub in the system, offering insight into the full experience of not only the Civil War but the Revolution and French and Indian War.
This could build public awareness of how the 1863 Rebel invasion involved more than just the Battle of Gettysburg but action in Carlisle and the West Shore, he says.
The foundation is organizing a July 13 meeting of local officials to identify potential sites to include on a Civil War trail before reporting to the state, Perry says.
Representatives at this meeting will include Linda Witmer, the executive director of the Cumberland County Historical Society, and Larry Keener-Farley, the president of the Camp Curtin Historical Society.
Perry would like the effort to eventually look beyond the battle and movement of troops to sites related to logistics, transportation and the Underground Railroad.
For now, Witmer says, the state is putting out feelers to gauge interest. She thinks the historical society would want to get involved and share research material.
The society is working with Dickinson College to develop a Web page on the Civil War, she says. "A trail would be a great project."
Keener-Farley says his group would be interested to see what the state has in mind and very happy to coordinate a Civil War trail with other groups and individuals.
Generals not forgotten
Last weekend Camp Curtin Historical Society and Harrisburg Civil War Roundtable sponsored the dedication of two monuments to opposing generals in the Rebel invasion of June and July, 1863.
A monument to Confederate Brig. Gen. Albert Jenkins was unveiled at the Rupp House, 5115 E. Trindle Road, Hampden Township. He was in command of a cavalry brigade sent to scout Union defenses on the West Shore.
Just a few miles away, at Fort Couch in Lemoyne, a monument was raised in honor of Union Maj. Gen. Darius Couch. The earthworks remain from the fort, erected in June 1863 as Gen. Robert E. Lee's army invaded Pennsylvania.
The twin ceremonies were meant to raise public awareness of events leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, Keener-Farley says. "History does not just happen in a faraway place. It can happen in your own backyard."
He adds the South's real objective in the 1863 campaign was to seize Harrisburg, a vital transportation and supply hub for the Union. The capture of a Northern capital would have been a great psychological victory and morale boost.
The original plan was to stage a two-prong attack on Harrisburg from the west and south, but Union forces reacted too quickly, prompting Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee to consolidate his army at a centralized point.
"It was just happenstance the battle was fought in Gettysburg," Keener-Farley says, adding to fully understand that battle one has to understand how and why the armies gathered there.
For a trail to work, groups first would have to identify and prioritize which historic sites to mark and then make the public aware of the locations, he says.
In 2000, the Camp Curtin Historical Society created its own Civil War heritage trail with stops in Harrisburg, eastern Cumberland County and western Dauphin County, Keener-Farley says.
That same year, the group started to raise money for the monuments — which are also meant to rally public support for a future plan to put up wayside markers at other historic sites.
Virginia trail cited
As Keener-Farley sees it, a Civil War trail could trace the Confederate Army as it moved through Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York counties. It also should include minor sites in Dauphin, Lancaster and Perry counties.
Michael Ripton of Hampden Township, a retired PHMC employee whose career spans four decades and includes a stint as administrative director for 60 museums and historic sites in Pennsylvania, says Virginia has an extensive Civil War trail system with roadside markers, a tour guide in a newspaper format and a standard logo for easy identification.
He says it would make sense to continue that system into Pennsylvania to save money in operating costs.
He adds cooperation and a strong will to follow through is key to establishing a trail. "Having 50 outfits doing the same thing is just ludicrous."
Ripton has found investments always seem to follow the will of the people. He says one of the best examples is the revitalization of Erie over the past 20 years, spurred on by efforts to reconstruct the U.S. Brig Niagara from the War of 1812.
Keener-Farley agrees cooperation would be needed to coordinate the trail with the wishes of municipalities and individuals who own land on which historic sites are located.
Keener-Farley mentioned the Rupp House as a perfect example. Attorney John Fenstermacher could have demolished the old building when he purchased it for his law practice.
Instead, future generations will always be grateful that Fenstermacher saved a piece of American history, Keener-Farley says.
"We cannot march into the future without a firm base in history," state Sen. Pat Vance said at the dedication ceremonies last weekend. "Tourism is the second largest industry in the commonwealth with 600,000 employees and $37 billion in revenue."
