Although I have been up to my ears in other work, I have come across a fine blog by a man whose reputation was already known to me. This is the well-regarded John Stuart "Stu" Richards, an outstanding regional historian. This particular blog deals with life in the anthracite region, specifically Schuylkill County --right next to my native Carbon County, on which I was lucky enough to publish a history.
The blog is Coal Region History Chronicles, http://coalregionhistorychronicles.blogspot.com/. It is rich in information, including pictures. (The reason I don't have pix yet is that I don't know how to deal with the technology--but I am working on the problem.)
Those of you with any background on anthracite region history know that, like Carbon County, Schuylkill was profoundly involved in the Mollie Maguires tragedy. You may also know that, during the Civil War, Schuykill County was pretty much in a state of rebellion against the Union. On the other hand, miners from the county took the lead in what is known as the Petersburg Mine, an ill- fated attempt to tunnel under the Confederate lines at the Battle of Petersburg. These miners were soldiers in the Union Army. The whole story of the Civil War, and Pennsylvania's reaction to it, is a complex one; and particularly in the anthracite coal region. Since the nation is about to enter a Civil War commemoration period, it's worth learning about. Stu says his other blog is about the military history of Schuykill County. I'll look it up and report back to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment