Greencastle, PA

Col. William H. Davison, Antrim Township, Pennsylvania, born November 2, 1836 and died September 8, 1875, Co. B, 126^th Pennsylvania Volunteers – In the display case are the certificates for his commission as a captain signed on August 20, 1862 by Governor Andrew Curtin, and his commission to colonel that was signed by Governor John W. Geary in 1870.  A 4” x 6” photo of Captain Davison and his Civil War identification tag are above the commission documents.  Civil War ID tags were not issued by the government at that time.  Each man made his own tag.  Identification tags from the Civil War are very rare.  The dress coat, sash, saber, canteen, and signed enlistment oath of Davison are displayed in the large parlor - #13.

Davison was in charge of collecting volunteers from Antrim Township, which along with the volunteers from Fulton County, comprised Co. B, which was under the command of James C. Austin, Antrim Township, a part of the 126^th Pennsylvania Volunteers.  Davison was commissioned Captain when the company mustered in at Harrisburg.

In February 1863 Davison was appointed the Assistant Inspector General on the Staff of General E. B. Tyler, at which time he detached until the muster out of the regiment.

Davison was at the battles of both Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville.

He was highly spoken of by his commanding officer, Gen. E. B. Tyler who was quoted as saying in his report about the participation of his brigade in the battle of Chancellorsville, “The officers of my Staff, Captains H. C. Ranney and William H. Davison, Lieutenants Deihl and Tyler, rendered me every assistance in their power under an incessant fire.” 

In 1860, William H. Davison, Gen. David Detrich, and the Rev. Mr. Emerson began a steam saw mill and sash, door, and blind factory.  One year later in 1861, James C. Austin bought out the business interests of Detrich and Emerson.  Davison and Austin continued the mill and sash factory until the following year when in 1862, J. B. Crowell bought out Austin.  At that time Crowell added his grain drill and hay rake business to the mill and sash company.  For eight more years Crowell and Davison continued the partnership until it was dissolved in 1870.  Jacob Deardorff and Crowell bought out Davison’s interest at that time.

Davison was in ill health at the end of the Civil War and died in 1875 at the age of 39.  Davison was married twice.  His first wife was Sarah Patton and they had one child, Edward E.  With his second wife, Florence Rowe, he had five children – Elizabeth, Jane Robinson, Watson Rowe, Sarah Agnes, and Nellie.

Watson Rowe Davison was an attorney and became a Franklin County judge.  He built the house at 501 East Baltimore Street, Greencastle, which is now known as White Hall.

The Davison archival document with Geary’s signature increases the Brumbaugh Collection of Pennsylvania Governors’ Signatures to 50. The museum now has almost 50% of the signatures of the 101 men who so far have served as governor of Pennsylvania.

The Davison collection is a recent gift from William Davison Elden, Waynesboro, William H. Davison’s great-grandson.

Corporal William H. Rihl, a 1963 centennial commemorative coin. Rihl was born in Philadelphia in 1843, Co. C., 1^st New York (Lincoln) Cavalry Regiment.  He was a gardener.  On July 19, 1861, at the age of 18, he enlisted, for three years in the company organized by Capt. W. H. Boyd. He was 5’ 6 ¼” tall with dark hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion.  The cavalry company organized by Boyd was one of the first companies of that branch recruited for the Civil War. This company was eventually attached to the First New York (Lincoln) Cavalry Regiment.  The 1^st New York was the first authorized regiment to be raised for the Civil War. Rihl was the first Union Soldier killed north of the Mason-Dixon Line in a skirmish on June 22, 1863 on the Fleming Farm in Antrim Township, just north of Greencastle along the Carlisle Pike (Route 11).

Jasper McLanahan, Antrim Township, great-grandfather of Dorothy Crunkleton Statler, Greencastle. A tin type photograph of Jasper and his Civil War canteen.

Pvt. Samuel W. North, Mercersburg, Co. C, 126^th Pennsylvania Volunteers.  North was a prolific writer of letters to his brother and father while serving in the Civil War.  Of his 16 letters in the museum’s collection, which were written between the months of August 1862 and May 1863, two are in the display case. The letters are part of the Greencastle Civil War Round Table collection now owned by Allison-Antrim Museum. The North letters are transcribed in Ted Alexander’s 126^th Pennsylvania Volunteers on pages 109 – 113, 117 – 131, 142 – 146.

4^th Sgt. Simon W. Rupley, Greencastle and other native sons, Co. K, 126^th Pennsylvania Volunteers, died from wounds received in action May 3, 1863 near Chancellorsville.

Dateline: Greencastle, End of May 1863 NATIVE SONS KILLED AT CHANCELLORSVILLE Mr. Jacob Pensinger received, but two days ago, a letter dated May 7 from Captain Andrew R. Davison, Co K, Pennsylvania 126^th Regiment, which informed him of Simon Rupley’s death, his brother-in-law. “He was severely wounded in the action near Chancerllorsville about 11 O.C. a.m. on the 3^rd of May and died on the evening of that day in the Hospital of our division. In him we have lost one of the best soldiers in the company and Greencastle certainly one of its best citizens.”  Capt. Davison also wrote news that George Missavy died of wounds he received that same day.  Good news was written that David Pensinger, Jacob’s brother, escaped unhurt.  Those wounded in action were John Gilmore, severely wounded in the forehead but survived; John Robison, Wm. F. Rupert, Scott K. Snively, Jac. Unger and John Beamisderfer were all slightly wounded.  From Co. K, W. H. Snively is missing and supposedly being held as a prisoner.  Jonathan Bowman from Co. B is also missing. 

Capt. Davison wrote asking Jacob to inform Rebecca Rupley, Simon’s wife, of these sad events.

Dateline: Greencastle, May 1866 RE-INTERMENT SERVICES HELD  The remains of Simon Rupley, who died of wounds received at the Battle of Chancellorsville, were exhumed from his burial site near the battlefield.  Isaiah Ilginfritz. veteran of the Civil War and comrade of Rupley, knew of his burial place and returned to Chancellorsville to recover the remains and escort them back home to Greencastle. Sgt. Simon Rupley was buried in the Reformed Church graveyard on May 17 last week.

                                                         (Article from Allison-Antrim Annals, May 2003)

Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper dated April 15, 1865 – April 28, 1865 – The newspapers, in great detail, describe the events following Lincoln’s assassination. The accounts parallel the type of coverage given after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. There is a map of the D.C. area, a description of the Ford Theater and its layout, a map of the area where Booth was killed and under what circumstances, pen and ink drawings of the casket (with great detail given to the symbolic mourning decorations), drawings of the casket laying in-state in Independence Hall, the route that Lincoln’s mourning train took so that our nation could pay their respects and mourn their loss, and a picture of the black-draped, rider-less horse.  The banner headline that carried throughout the period was “A Nation Mourns Its Loss,” reminiscent of the Kennedy assassination and September 11^th banner headlines.

Notice the lack of black borders on the April 15 newspaper, which was the day of the assassination, compared to the very heavy black borders on April 16.  A quick scan of all the newspapers shows the narrowing of the black borders over the almost two-week span of coverage, eventually returning to the regular column lines.

Captain Hezekiah Easton, leader of Battery A, 1^st Pennsylvania Artillery, Fort Loudon, Franklin County.  Battery A was comprised entirely of Franklin Countians. Easton was killed in action at Gaines Mill on June 27, 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign to capture Richmond. From when War Passed This Way, page 72, “As advancing Confederates called for the battery to surrender, Easton cried, “No. We never surrender.”  The volley that followed killed him,…” 

Easton was a builder in the Greencastle-Antrim area and amassed a great fortune.  A competitor in town bought out his bank notes requiring Easton to use all his cash on hand to pay the called-in bank notes which left him broke.  It did not take very long for him to recover from the setback and by the time the Civil War began, he was again prosperous. 

Easton was an ancestor of Percy Snyder of Greencastle and Shirley (Mrs.    Frank) Bittner of Waynesboro.  The photocopy of the photograph was attained by Shirley Bittner when she and her husband visited the Gaines Mill museum and discovered a photograph of Easton hanging on a wall. The museum made a copy of the photograph for the Bittner’s.

Colonel Benjamin Franklin Winger, Antrim Township, son of Joseph Winger (postmaster of Claylick), 2^nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, 112^th Regiment, Inspector General for 1^st Brigade Defenses North of the Potomac.  Winger was responsible for the recruitment of volunteers from this area for this regiment in the fall 1862.  He and his unit were responsible for heading the reconstruction of south central Virginia after the war. 

Winger represented Franklin County in the Pa. House of Representatives in 1868. He was admitted to the bar on March 12, 1871. In 1876 Winger established a weekly newspaper, the Greencastle Press, after leaving the Valley Echo.  His residence in town was the building on the southwest corner of the square.  The main entrance was from the South Carlisle Street side that has a little portico. The building is the location of the oldest business location in town which was built in 1812 by John McLanahan. For a while, Winger owned the property in Antrim Township that is now commonly known as Tayamentasachta.

Dr. Henry G. Chritzman, Welsh Run, Assistant Surgeon, 126^th Pennsylvania Volunteers.  As a member of the State Legislature in 1887, Chritzman introduced a bill to appropriate $500 for the memorial fund to erect the granite memorial for Corporal Rihl.  The monument was dedicated on June 22, 1887.  The saber, canteens, saddle bags, and buckles are on loan from Patricia Chritzman Klepser, great-granddaughter of Dr. Chritzman.

Bound Book of WWI Stars and Stripes newspapers

US World War Grave Marker 1917 – 1918, Notice that it just says “World War” as WWII was many years in the future.

Arthur James Fair, Greencastle, born June 14, 1896 and died October 19, 1967.  It is known from the caduceus insignia pin on the left collar lapel that Fair was in the medical corp. The US Army pin is on the right lapel.  The items displayed are almost an entire issue of clothing for a WWI serviceman. There are no boots, helmet, or gas mask.

Reverend Ralph Geiman officiated at Fair’s funeral service on October 22, 1967.  The text of the sermon was taken from St. John 16:20.  Fair is buried in the Cedar Hill Cemetery.

United States flag that draped the casket of Arthur J. Fair
(above)

WWII Scrapbooks on loan from Isabelle Barnes and one book about the 398^th Bomb Group and crew of WWII, which includes information about their 31 missions.  This book is one of a kind and is a gift to AAMI from William Cole, Greencastle, the tail gunner of the crew.  Cole was 17 when he enlisted and shortly turned 18.  He operated two machine guns in the tail of the plane.  He narrowly escaped death on one mission when flack hit the bases of the machine guns leaving a hole in the plane. He promised himself if he ever survived all of his missions, he would never go up in an airplane again, once he returned home, and…he hasn’t!

Col. Lorraine Pensinger Phillips, originally of Greencastle, received her nurses training at Jefferson Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She was in the United States Nurses Corps, an adjunct to the Medical Corps during World War II.  On display is an Army Nurse's Military Blouse with a Middle East Patch - 1942, a green Army Eisenhower Jacket, a blue woman's Air Force Eisenhower flight jacket with blue slacks – 1942, and a Jefferson Hospital Nurses Cape, Philadelphia, Pa. – 1929, a USAF pocketbook, and a photograph of the 38^th General Hospital (Jefferson Hospital Unit, Philadelphia) at Camp Bowie, Texas, prepared to go overseas July 3, 1942. 

Ramer Shrader, Greencastle, WWII Army, Eisenhower-style jacket   Shrader was a highly decorated serviceman.  Some of his medals and service souvenirs are in the box. The far right green ribbon and medal commemorates Shrader’s participation in the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign. The red, white, and green ribbon (Italy’s flag colors) with the copper colored medal signifies Shrader participated in the Allied Entrance into Rome on June 4, 1944.  The medal just below that one without a ribbon is for the Allied Armies entrance into Naples on October 1, 1943.

Staff Sgt. William Kline, Australian WWII army hat

Lt. William Max Izer, Greencastle, Army, Quartermaster in the Supply Corp, Quartermaster jacket with the patch indicating he served in the European Theater.  His officer’s Garrison-style hat accompanies the jacket.

Magazine photos of the sinking of the Lexington, the ship upon which Harry D. Ziegler, Greencastle, lost his life during WWII.  The Greencastle VFW post is named after Ziegler.

Frank L. Carbaugh 373 American Legion Auxiliary overseas caps

Handkerchief – red, white, and blue During WWII there wasn’t much extra money to spend on anything beyond necessities.  One affordable nicety was a hankie such as this patriotic one which showed support for the war and yet was inexpensive enough to be given as a little gift.

Richard Frederick Coble, born December 1, 1923, died August 29, 2000, everyday white uniform with leggings and caps.  Wide pants legs insured easy removal if the sailors went overboard.

Pre-WWII Navy shirt, the red band around the left armhole indicates that it was worn by a man who worked below deck in either the engine room or the fire room.  A gift from Harold A. Stine, formerly of Greencastle

Glenn C. Stine, Antrim Township, Photograph of him in his WWII Navy uniform

Lois Elliott Harrell, Greencastle, Navy nurse summer weight blouse with medal, and her Naval officer’s guidebook

Ship’s Cook, 2^nd Class Glen L. Cump, Antrim Township, Navy blues – Glen volunteered at the age of 29 and was in the service for 22 months, entering the Navy on March 10, 1944.  He served on one of the Navy’s smallest seagoing vessel, a Landing Craft Infantry vessel.  He was in Okinawa, Manila, Guam, and Indo China, where they evacuated Chinese nationalists.  When he left his duties on the LCI to head back home, he spent that first day, Thanksgiving, in Hong Kong. It was during this time that the LCI on which he had spent all of his service time was fired upon for the first time.   Glen found himself in Pearl Harbor on Christmas Day 1945 and arrived back in Greencastle on January 9, 1946.  Glen only saw one person from this area while he was overseas, and that was while he was in Okinawa.  That person was Bob Kyle who was a member of the Sunday School class which Glen taught.

Steve Miller, Post-Viet Nam War, Greencastle, was the first Greencastle-Antrim graduate to be admitted to West Point. He attended the Academy from 1974 - 1978.  On exhibit is Miller’s U.S. Military Academy's Full-dress Cadet uniform.

Harold M. Zimmerman, Sr., Greencastle was drafted in February 1943 and discharged in December 1945.  He served 2 ½ years.  He was in the United States Army Air Force stationed in India for his full term of duty during WW II.  The red, white, and blue patch indicates he served in the China-Burma-India Theater.  He was a member of the Military Police - a unit of 100 men, which was attached to the 10^th Air Force.  Their duties were to guard the air bases, guard the Japanese prisoners, transport prisoners, and do local town patrol.

Charles A. Fetterhoff, Sr., Greencastle-Antrim, WWII Army coat. He served three years (two bars on the sleeve for each year served). The patch indicates he served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater.  He received a Good Conduct medal and one Bronze Star.

Unknown soldier, enlisted man’s Garrison-style hat

Myriale Stover, WWII Army officer’s dress over coat

Wilbur Glen Sell, Greencastle, Air Force dress blues, circa 1951.  Sell retired from the United States Air Force in September 1957 after 21 1/2 years of service.  During his career he was stationed at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C.; Pyote AFB, Texas; Deming AFB, New Mexico; Berlin Air Lift, Fassberg, Germany; Chanute AFB, Illinois; Castle AFB. California; Yokota AFB, Japan; McCord AFB, Washington.  On display is a circa 1951 Air Force, Korean era dress blues uniform.

Green Pennsylvania American Legion overseas cap, 1958

Staff Sgt. William Kline, Greencastle, highly decorated U. S. Army career serviceman.  The uniform is post WWII although he served during the Second World War.  Kline received many medals including one for marksmanship and five Bronze Stars.