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Despite the fact that most people from my area voted Democratic when it came to
elections, they generally supported the union cause. Like most everyone across
the North, West Pikeland residents saw the Civil War as a struggle to protect
their homes and families as much as a struggle to protect the union.
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Union support took a variety of forms. In late 1861, the wives and daughters of some
of the most prominent men gathered at the Pikeland Seminary to form the “West Pikeland
Soldiers' Aid Society.” One of many soldiers' aid organizations across the North,
these women elected officers and collected $50, mittens, stockings and other supplies to
send to the camps and front lines where their fathers, sons, brothers and husbands
served the Union Army.
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Enos Christman, a printer from West Chester was a Captain in the
33rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K (“Exton Guards”) spoke at the Friends of
the Union meeting in Chester Springs in 1862. Carte-de-visite by R. T. West,
West Chester, PA. Chester County Historical Society, West Chester, PA.
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Through other gatherings, many residents of our area showed their support of their
soldiers. In July of 1861, a grand flag raising ceremony was held in Chester Springs
to support the Union cause. Next year, in August of 1862, local men organized the
“Friends of the Union” in Chester Springs to promote the war effort. During this
ceremony, a number of noted speakers addressed the audience. Attendees participated
by singing patriotic songs and signing a number of resolutions in support of the Union.
Later in the war, a local "Committee of Vigilance" in the township promoted loyalty to
the Union cause.
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“Oh may that cuss Jeff Davis float
On open sea, in open boat
In Iceland cold without a coat
Glory Hallelujah”
-Stanza from a poem said to have been found in the pack of a dead Union soldier.
John Himes copied it into the back of his diary. |
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