The tension mounts in the North as U.S. General Robert E. Lee remains largely unopposed in his invasive foray. In the South, hopes are high that the invasion might be the turning point of the war that forces the United States to seek peace with the Confederacy.
Today York, Pennsylvania is the focus of the invading rebels commanded by Gen. Jubal Early, who occupy the city unopposed and then send troops east to Wrightsville in order to secure the bridge over the Susquehanna River. Area militia forces, however, perceive the plans of the Confederates and burn the bridge, halting the rebel advance. This proves to be the furthest point North that Confederate troops reach during the war.
Within a few days, Jubal’s forces are called back to the small town of Gettysburg.
As in each day of this seemingly never-ending war, Baptists bear arms in defense of both North and South. White Baptists of the South rejoice in Lee’s string of spring and summer successes, while many Baptists of the North, along with other northerners, worry that if Lee is not soon turned back, the prospect of freeing Southern slaves may grow dim.
Source: Wrightsville, Pennsylvania in the Civil War, Civil War Traveler website (link)
