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Pocopson
Township – Historical Diaries
Many of our young residents were very aware of
the Civil War and its potential impact on our community. They
received information from newspapers, from neighbors and by going into
West Chester. Jennie Sellers, a 17 year old from Locust Grove
discussed the war in her diary.
Jennie Sellers 1861
- January 2 – Papa says there is a good bit of
excitement about West Chester on account of the evacuation of Fort
Moultre ( in South Carolina) by Major Anderson. He has retired to Fort
Sumter.
- January 10 – Papa went down to the shop for our
paper (The Jeffersonian). It is full of news. There was a vessel
sailed for Sumter. It was “The Star of the West”, but they fired on her
and she had to retreat.
- March 1- Mr. Lincoln, the president-elect has
arrived in Washington. He is the guest of Senator Seward until the 4th
of March. The Southern states have elected Jefferson Davis for their
president. He was inaugurated the 18th of February at noon
at Montgomery, Alabama. He made a very good speech at Capitol Hill.
Lincoln says the seceding of the South as an artificial show, and says
he don’t know anything about the tariff question. He thinks it would be
best not to pass a new tariff law and that it had better lay over for
future consideration. The Republicans have made a proposition before
the governor of Pennsylvania to arm the militia, thus putting a tax on
the people of half a million more than is necessary.
- April 14. There is a good deal of news this week
in the papers. It states that the war has probably commenced at South
Carolina. There are seven thousand men there now, that is of the
South. Two thousand from Indiana. It is reported in the Philadelphia
press that they have made a breech in the southeast side of Fort Sumter
and silenced two of Anderson’s guns. That the war was commenced on the
sixth day about two o’clock in the morning. It has been reported that a
Spanish fleet has been filled out to take Mexico.
- April 15. The war is still going on at last
account. Papa brought home word from the sale. Said to be the latest
news. That Major Anderson has made an unconditional surrender. That
the President has sent out his Proclamation from the Southern men to lay
down their arms within twenty days. If not, he will send down 75,000
men to force them.
- April 22 – It is reported that a Southern division
crossed the Susquehanna last night and was going to burn Oxford. This
morning they were then going to march on to West Chester and take
Hickman. They had a fight in Wilmington yesterday. They tore up the
railroad and we heard that they were going to blow up Dupont’s Powder
Works, that Dupont’s had telegraphed to Philadelphia for troops. While
I write this, we can hear the canons and the drums.
- April 26 – There was word came into West Chester
this afternoon before we came out that President Jeff Davis had
telegraphed President Lincoln for him to remove all the women and
children from Washington for he was going to take the Capitol on
Saturday.
- December 25 – There has been a great fire at
Charlestown S.C. Fortress Monroe, December 13, 1861. A telegraphic
dispatch to the Norfolk Day Book of today from Charleston S.C. states
that a fire broke out in that place on Wednesday night which was
supposed to be the work of an incendiary, and at the date of the last
dispatch, five o’clock on Thursday afternoon, the conflagration was
still raging. Assistance was sent for to August December 14th.
Dispatches from Fortress Monroe state that passenger by the flag of
truce boat from Norfolk bring accounts of negro insurrection at
Charleston, and that half the city is in ashes. The Richmond Examiner
states that a large portion of Richmond is in ashes. The account states
that the plot was disclosed by the body servant of a military officer,
who said that the negroes of the city were to be joined by large bands
of negroes from the country, who were to come in armed at night. He
said that the Lash factory had been fired by a free negro whom he
designated and who had been arrested. A small quantity of arms had been
found under the floor of a negro cabin…. In other negro cabins, knives
and hatchets were found secreted. The greatest consternation
prevailed. Families were closing and barring their windows. Another
account states that negro insurrections broke out in the interior of
South Carolina two days before the fire and are still raging unchecked.
But this last report is not well authenticated.
Edward J. Marshall
1861
- April 19 – The National Guard of West Chester have
offered their services to Governor Curtin. They leave for Harrisburg on
second day. 78 recruits left West Chester today.
- April 22 Monday – There was a meeting there (
Unionville) tonight for the purpose of organizing a company to be called
the Home Guards to protect the townships of East And West Marlborough,
Newlin and Pocopson from any marauding bands that may come from the
Confederate States. Pap and I got back at 11 o’clock.
For more information on these diaries or other
activities of the Pocopson Township Historical Committee, please contact
Sarah Mims at 610-793-5152.
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