AREA HISTORY:  Confederate Invasion, Paradise Township, York County, PA

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History of York County, Pennsylvania.  John Gibson, Historical Editor.
Chicago: F. A. Battey Publishing Co., 1886.
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THE CONFEDERATE INVASION – Page 686

The most notable events in the history of Paradise and Jackson, occurred during 
the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863, when during the night of the 
27th of June, Gen. Early, the commander of the division which led the advance of 
Gen. Lee’s Southern army, encamped for the night in the former township, and 
Gen. Gordon’s brigade in the latter.  Gen. Gordon was since a United States 
senator from his native State, Georgia, and now a railroad magnate of the South.  
Gen. Early, now at an advanced age, is living at Lynchburg, Va.  In private 
letters to the writer, dated Lynchburg, March 5 and June 4, 1885, among many 
other facts he gave the following information, which will doubtless be read with 
interest:

The night before my force reached the town of York, the place where I stayed, 
was at the house of a German widow (Mrs. Zinn, the house is now owned by George 
W. Trimmer), about three and a half miles east of East Berlin.  I had reached 
there on the afternoon of June 27, on my way across the South Mountains on the 
road from Mummasburg, via Hunterstown, Newchester, Hampton and East Berlin.  I 
moved on that road with my main force, while Gen. Gordon with his brigade had 
moved east on the pike from Gettysburg to York.  He camped four miles south of 
me along the pike.  When I had placed the different parts of my command in the 
positions they were to occupy for the night, having no camp equipage or baggage 
wagons, I looked out for a place for myself and staff to stay.  Near the road 
was a cornfield into which I directed my detachment of cavalry to turn their 
horses.  Not far distant, I saw a large barn, but failed to observe a 
correspondingly large farm house.  My troops were not a little astonished at the 
large Pennsylvania barns of your prosperous farmers.  I did not stay with that 
farmer over night.  He could not speak a word of English, at least he would not 
for me, possibly he was scared so badly that he could not speak.  I therefore 
gave up the idea of quartering with him, and rode on a little farther, where I 
found quite a decent looking brick house with a porch in front, and several 
rooms to the house.  As I rode up, the woman who owned the house came out to the 
gate in great trepidation, exclaiming in broken English, “Are you goin’ to 
destroy us, are you goin’ to take all that we’ve got?”  I told her, “No madam, 
and to give you the best protection possible I will stay with you, with my staff 
and no one shall trouble you.”  I directed my staff to take possession, stating 
that the porch would do for sleeping.  I then rode southeast four miles with a 
small escort to give Gordon final instructions about entering York the next day, 
and did not return until 9 o’clock P.M.  My staff had eaten supper.  The old 
lady who was now calmed of all her fears, had reserved supper for me, and I 
found it a very plentiful one, with about fifteen varieties of food – meats, 
vegetables, coffee and milk.  While I was eating the old lady was very 
talkative.  A good and clean bed was given me, and I rested for the night.  A 
battalion of cavalry under Lieut. Col. White had been sent by me along the 
railroad from Gettysburg to Hanover, and from thence to Hanover Junction to burn 
all the bridges, and to go from thence to York.  I then proceeded on the morning 
of the 28th of June toward Weigelstown, and at that point, sent a small regiment 
of cavalry (the Seventeenth Virginia) under the command of Col. French, to the 
mouth of the Conewago Creek to burn the railroad bridges there.

Gen. Gordon’s brigade entered York first on the pike, and later I entered the 
place myself from the north, on the road from Harrisburg, having two brigades in 
camp north of the town near some mills.

The bridge across the Susquehanna, between Wrightsville and Columbia, was 
destroyed by the Federal force there, on the approach of Gordon’s brigade which 
I had sent there on the 28th to seize it.

On the 29th, in examining the depot, car factories and railroad depot at York, to 
see if they could be burned without setting fire to private houses, and while 
discussing with your mayor and others about my requisition on York for $100,000, 
I was unexpectedly approached by a messenger bearing a dispatch from Gen. Ewell, 
who had gone to Carlisle with the rest of the corps, containing the information 
that the Federal army had crossed the Potomac, and was moving north.  The 
message ordered me to retrace my steps to join the army of Gen. Lee.  I told the 
gentlemen around me that I would see them in the morning concerning my demands 
on the town, well knowing that they would not see me in the morning, as I 
intended to move my force by night.  I left the town before sunrise the next day 
with my troops, and you all know where we went.  I did not send a message to 
Gen. Stuart ordering him to attack Gen. Kilpatrick at Hanover.  Gen. Stuart 
ranked me, and I could not have ordered him.  Before we crossed the Potomac, we 
had been ordered by the commanding general to co-operate in the event of our 
coming together, but I had received no information from him and did not know on 
that day where he was.  Kilpatrick did not impede my progress toward Gettysburg.  
At East Berlin a small squad of Federal cavalry was seen an pursued by my 
cavalry, but it soon made its escape.  While in East Berlin (as I retreated 
westward through that town, north of the pike) I received a message from Col. 
White, whom I had sent from York toward Gettysburg, on the pike, with his 
battalion, that a force of Federal cavalry had been in Abbottstown, and that it 
was the advance of Kilpatrick’s cavalry.  This is all the force I heard of until 
I reached the vicinity of Gettysburg.

Gen. Gordon on his way to York on the night of the 27th of June, encamped east of 
Farmers Postoffice, now a village of twenty houses, on the turnpike, a few miles 
east of Abbottstown.  He remained over night at the house of Jacob S. Altland, 
on the north side of the pike, and slept that night in a feather bed.  His staff 
officers had a tent close to this house.  Near by twelve cannon were planted.  
He arrived at that point at 8 P.M.  A large number of valuable horses were taken 
from the surrounding country.  Early the next morning, between 5 and 6 o’clock, 
the brigade began the march down the pike to York.  Gen. Gordon himself rode to 
York on one of the “borrowed” horses.  It was a fine animal belonging to Samuel 
L. Roth, a Mennonite preacher.  This horse, we believe was afterward recovered.

The squad of soldiers that passed back over the pike on the 30th, when near the 
former camping ground of Gordon’s brigade, hearing the booming of the cannon at 
the engagement then taking place at Hanover, planted cannon on Henry Ramer’s 
farm, in Jackson Township, expecting the arrival of the Union troops.  Scouts 
soon returned reporting there were none near, and they then proceeded to join 
Early at East Berlin.