November 2006, Volume 9, Issue 6
From the President’s Desk
On
September 25, 2006, Allison-Antrim Museum received, on behalf of the
Greencastle-Antrim community, an original oil painting depicting the Dolly
Harris and Gen. George Pickett incident, by nationally renowned Civil War
artist, Ron Lesser. “Attention to detail, a devotion to strong and dramatic
compositions, coupled with a unique creative vision sets a Ron Lesser painting
apart.” F&M Bank commissioned Lesser to do a commemorative painting in
recognition of the opening of a F&M branch bank in Greencastle. Allison-Antrim
Museum’s board of directors thanks F&M for donating the original painting to the
museum and is honored to have the painting hanging in the museum for all to
see. Numbered prints were given to Antrim Township, the Borough of Greencastle,
the Greencastle-Antrim School District, the Besore Library, and the senior
citizens’ center. Note cards, in packages of five, will be given to the museum
to sell, with all of the profits going to the AAMI.
I was first approached at the end of 2005 about gathering any historical information AAMI might have about the June 1863 incident. Once into the research, there seemed to be more unanswered questions than answered, serious doubts expressed by the Pickett Society that the incident even happened (based upon questionable actions of Pickett’s wife, Sallie) and conflicting stories printed in Greencastle’s newspapers some years after the June 1863 incident.
I compiled the following, with the help of When War Passed This Way by William P. Conrad and Ted Alexander; Greencastle 1858 and 1868 maps; photocopies of newspaper articles (collected by the family) from Richard Lesher, great-great-grandson of Dolly Harris Lesher; and Cedar Grove Cemetery records. Although there are no personal letters or diaries written by Dolly, one part of the Lesher family oral history, says that Dolly concealed a dagger under the flag.
Frances M. Harris, daughter of a Greencastle cabinet maker, John Harris, was likely born about November 2, 1845. She lived with her family in a weatherboard house, on the lot just south of 45 North Carlisle Street, where the annex to the Susquehanna Bank (formerly the Citizens Bank) is now located. According to the 1858 and 1868 maps of Greencastle, the house sat back a fair distance from the street, probably about 30 to 40 feet. This is in stark comparison to all the other houses and buildings of 1858 and 1868, and which, to this day, are still situated along the sidewalk.
Frances’ childhood nickname was Dolly. There are no known records of what her family life was like, but it was possibly very similar to that of their neighbors. Current events, including topics printed in The Pilot, were probably discussed each day during the Civil War, perhaps around the dinner table. Maybe that’s why Dolly, at about the age of 17, was so impassioned and very brave; so passionate that she was empowered with the courage to express her feelings toward Gen. George E. Pickett and his men, as they marched through Greencastle in late June on the 26th and 27th, 1863.
It was about June 15, 1863, when Confederate Rebel troops, in mass, started to march across the Mason-Dixon Line for the first time and touched the homeland soil of citizens in Antrim Township and Greencastle. By the end of June, the citizens of Antrim and Greencastle had watched, from their farms, homes and the sidewalks, for days on end, as the Confederates made their way to Gettysburg. They marched; they rode horses; they drove wagons, all the while plundering food, supplies, livestock, and animal feed from township farms and homes and businesses in town. Could it be that Dolly was just plain infuriated with all the ravaging that had taken place over almost two weeks’ time? Or, was it a combination of both her patriotism and her anger that prompted her actions and the event, on the dirt road of North Carlisle Street?
As Pickett’s troops, preceded by the General and his staff, marched through town on North Carlisle Street, the following account was given in the Public Opinion newspaper’s obituary account for Dolly Harris. For whatever reason, only known to Dolly, herself, “Dolly Harris…rushed to the street in front of the leader of the southern band, waved the stars and stripes in his face and roundly denounced the troopers as traitors to their country, cut throats, and plunderers.” Aware that his men could very well retaliate physically, Pickett rose in his stirrups, removed his hat and saluted the courageous young lady and the flag, thereby quelling an uprising in the street. Following suit, Pickett’s men also saluted young Dolly, and as the division’s band passed by, it “serenaded” Dolly by playing Dixie.
It was more than 20 years later, at the Gettysburg Reunion in 1887, that the flag-waving girl incident was first mentioned in a speech made by Col. William Aylett, of Pickett’s division. Aylett said, “Why the bravest woman I ever saw was a Pennsylvania girl who defied Pickett’s whole division as we marched through the little town called Greencastle. She had a United States flag as an apron which she defiantly waved up and down as our columns passed by her and dared us to take it from her.”
At this point, the Harrisburg Telegram picked up on Aylett’s story. The assigned reporter was to investigate and find out who this young girl was. The reporter tracked down Robert E. Garrett of Baltimore, who during the Civil War was an officer in the Fourth Alabama regiment, which was part of Pickett’s division. He remembered the flag-waving girl as “dark haired with a dark complexion.” Garrett was even able to identify her home on North Carlisle Street.
John Boyd was a southern friend of the Harris family; and during the Northern invasion, he was a member of Company K of the Fifty-Seventh Virginia Volunteers. Receiving permission from his commander, General Armistead, Boyd left camp (which was south of town) to visit the Harrises overnight, and then joined his unit the next morning. The Harrisburg Telegram’s reporter didn’t just talk to Boyd, but interviewed him under the circumstances of an affidavit, dated September 17, 1887. Before he rejoined Company K the next day, Boyd remembered the following: “An earlier officer had told her (Dolly) to take off the flag apron. Dolly replied, ‘Not for you or any of your men.’ He raised his hat and passed on.” Boyd continued, “The next I remember well was General Pickett and his staff. As they passed, Dolly waved the stars and stripes at them. General Pickett saluted her and the boys all along the line gave her one of the old rebel yells.”
The Harrisburg Telegram did not stop there. Two more affidavits were acquired in September 1887 – one from Dolly’s mother and one from Dolly herself. Both of their accounts agreed with that of Col. Aylett and John Boyd’s.
Controversy arose when, in the October 15, 1891 issue of Greencastle’s Valley Echo, Charles W. Gaff, editor, published an account of the flag-waving girl incident. In both the article and a poem, he identified the girl not as Dolly Harris but as Sadie Smith, a girl who lived about one block north of Dolly Harris on North Carlisle Street. However, the preponderance of evidence gathered by the Harrisburg Telegram, leads one to conclude that Dolly Harris was, indeed, the flag-waving girl on that late June day in 1863.
To be taken into consideration is the posthumous publication of the personal letters written during the war by Pickett to his beloved fiancée, LaSalle “Sallie” Corbell, who he later married. Contradicting the newspaper-printed content of the letters, though, is the Pickett Society, which takes great exception to the letters, claiming that Sallie embellished the letters before giving them to Samuel S. McClure, who secured the rights from Sallie, to publish the letters in his magazine, McClure’s Magazine, beginning in 1893. The society has long questioned whether the incident ever happened. Did she run out on her porch or to the sidewalk? It is only in Pickett’s letter that it is mentioned that Dolly ran out onto the porch of her “vine bowered” home to wave the flag.
One needs to look at all the claims and sort out the discrepancies. How many individual accounts are consistent with each other? How many are not?
Dolly married John R. Lesher, a Civil War veteran and GAR member. She and her husband lived in Waynesboro, where they raised four sons and two daughters. In her adult years, Frances’ nickname was Fannie(y). In about 1898, the Leshers moved to Chambersburg.
Frances “Dolly” Harris Lesher died suddenly on Saturday, February 17, 1906 of a heart attack, while helping Mrs. Simon at her ice cream parlor on Memorial Square in Chambersburg. She was a member of the Methodist church and was buried (according to cemetery records) on February 19, 1906, with full military honors, in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Chambersburg. The military ceremony was led by the officers of Chambersburg’s Col. Peter B. Housum Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. Dolly Harris is the only woman from Franklin County who was considered to be a Civil War heroine and was the only woman buried with military honors!
Bonnie A. Shockey
top
Annual Membership Renewal
The board of directors thanks all of you, those of you who renewed and all of AAMI’s new members, for your support during the 2006 – 2007 membership year. Included in this newsletter mailing is your annual membership card. If perhaps you have forgotten to renew, one last reminder application form has been included for your convenience. We truly appreciate your past patronage and look forward to seeing your name on the renewal list.
Images of America Greencastle-Antrim Revisited
Can anyone identify this barn? Where is it located or where was it
located? It was a very big barn, larger even than the Shook barn on Grant Shook
Road. It is a photograph from one of George F. Ziegler’s glass plate negatives,
taken circa 1895, and we would like to include it in the next Images of
America Greencastle-Antrim Revisited, but first we need to have information
about it. If you know anything about this barn, please contact Ken or me at
717.597.9325.
Barn
Watch the newspapers for information on the arrival of the timbers and the official barn raising.
Teaching American History
On October 14, a continuing
education class on “The Industrial History of Franklin County during the
Progressive Era – 1890 – 1920” was held and attended by 12 teachers from the
school districts in Franklin County. The class was the result of a Teaching
American History 
Federal grant
proposal which was submitted by Bonnie about a year ago. The presenters
included Janet Pollard and Will Pananes from Chambersburg, Bill Helfrick from
Waynesboro, and Bonnie from Greencastle. After the three-hour morning session,
all participants toured Allison-Antrim Museum and then drove to Waynesboro to
tour the Waynesboro Area Industrial Heritage Trust Museum. Through educating
the teachers about Franklin County’s local history, it is hoped that they will
then incorporate the local history into their lesson plans when they teach the
national and state history of the Progressive Era to their students. When
students can identify through local history, the study of history becomes more
personal.
November/December Open House Exhibit
Trains and toys will be the subject of the holiday exhibit. The Carl family train and toys will be on exhibit as well as the boyhood toys of Jim Craig. Other trains on display will include trains belonging to the families of Pam Ott, Mary Jo Sprankle, and James Craig Jr. During the Heritage Christmas open house days, the museum house will be decorated with fresh magnolia and boxwood greens and an old fashioned cedar Christmas tree, decorated in the style reminiscent of the Civil War era. During the Friday evening open house (weather permitting), luminaries will guide the visitors’ way to the boxwood entrance, entertainment will be provided, and light refreshments will be served. Bonnie will be attired in a reproduction Civil War era dress, such as the lady of the house, Martha Irwin, may have worn. See Calendar of Events for dates and times.
Annual Holiday Meeting
The date will be determined according to the speaker’s schedule. Both will be announced via your monthly postcard and press releases. The dinner will be held at Mrs. Gibble’s Restaurant, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
What’s Been Happening
- On September 15, a tour of the museum was given to 45 members of the Franklin County Historical Society – Kittochtinny.
- On September 21, Bonnie attended a workshop in Harrisburg on how to create professional looking display signs in-house.
- Bonnie attended the board meeting of the Pennsylvania Federation of Museums and Historical Organizations and Ken, as photographer, and Bonnie attended the annual awards banquet of the PFMHO on September 25, in Lancaster.
Recent Donations
- A $5,000 donation was given in memory of Harold M. Zimmerman Sr., as well as a $5,000 donation in memory of Katherine R. Carl by AAMI charter member, Jean Zimmerman.
- A $500 donation in honor of H. Martin “Marty” Zimmerman III was given in addition to a $500 donation in honor of Evan Zimmerman by Jean Zimmerman. Marty has been a docent for AAMI since sixth grade and Evan just became a volunteer this past summer. Both young men are grandsons of Jean Zimmerman
A portion of the donations will
be deposited in an endowment fund
and the rest will be put toward the re-upholstery of a 19th century
Empire sofa.
Recent Acquisitions
- A photograph of the Greencastle Packing plant; May 8, 1971 public sale notice at W.R. Sellers stock farm; one advertising piece – mother-of-pearl handled pen knife; one each photograph of circa 1920 Greencastle Elementary School class photo, H.R. Walck grain cradle shop, H.R. Walck driving wagon load of cradles, “Doc” Minnich driving the milk wagon with Colonel the horse, circa 1920s GHS band in front of school, four women employees of Greencastle Packing plant in uniforms, and Minnich’s Mill at Worleytown; one Belle’s Dry Goods Store cardboard “church” fan; one H.R. Walck business card.
- One vintage photograph of the Greencastle Citizens Band and one seal used by George Frederick (G. Fred) Ziegler II while he was Justice of the Peace. A gift from Sandy Parks Didio and Don Didio of Marnie and Mo’s.
- Five black and white photographs taken by the late Jarvis Henson. One of the photographs was taken on the northeast corner of the square during WWII when a woman of notoriety came to town to encourage the buying of war bonds. Gifts from AAMI members Frank and Louise Mowen.
- One hard-bound copy of the “Zarger-Zarker Genealogy.” A gift from Ed Zarger.
- From Greencastle’s Town Hall, the --- frosted windows, circa 1913, from the northeast corner storefront (which at one time was a drug store) that had imprinted upon them: SODA, CIGARS, KODAK; Gifts from Kevin McDermott, the owner of the Town Hall at the time of the fire.
- One early 1900s, black “plain” bonnet, which belonged to Katherine Steiner, the grandmother of and a gift from AAMI member Julie Craig.
- Circa 1920, one pastel and two oil paintings by Kathryn Leiter Schaff, the mother of/and from AAMI member Fred Schaff.