York Civil War Roundtable

March 20, 2024 – Scott Mingus, Sr. – “The Role of the Railroads in the Gettysburg Campaign”

This program will be on-line only (on Zoom and Facebook).

For Zoom link: Click Here

Most of the focus on the July 1863 Battle of Gettysburg is on troop movements, combat, personalities, and battlefield terrain. However, many battlefield buffs do not realize the importance of the railroads of south-central Pennsylvania and Western Maryland in the campaign. Confederate raiding parties early on destroyed vital railroad bridges on the Baltimore & Ohio, Cumberland Valley Railroad, and the Northern Central Railway, three key Union supply routes. They also threatened the Western Maryland and other nearby lines. As the battle progressed, the Union Army established a large supply base at Westminster, Maryland, and the US Military Railroad, using the tracks and assets of the WMRR, began shipping enormous amounts of food, ammunition, and supplies into Westminster. Outgoing trains carried wounded men to hospitals and prisoners of war south to Baltimore’s Fort McHenry or east to Fort Delaware. Scott Mingus, the author of six books on railroad history, will discuss the importance of the railroads in the campaign.

The York Civil War Round Table is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote, interpret, preserve, and protect the Civil War heritage of York County, Pennsylvania, through the education and exchange of information with its members and the general public. Membership is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about the American Civil War.

Founded as the White Rose Civil War Round Table, the York CWRT holds monthly meetings the third Wednesday of every month except December at 7:00 p.m. in the Meeting Hall of the York County History Center’s Historical Society Museum at 250 East Market Street in York, Pennsylvania. Each meeting features a guest speaker talking about a Civil War topic of local or national interest. Meetings are FREE and open to the public.  For upcoming programs, please visit the Cannonball webpage http://www.yorkblog.com/cannonball/york-cwrt/.