- Department of the Susquehanna
-
The Department of the Susquehanna was a military department created by the United States War Department during the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Its goal was to protect the state capital and the southern portions of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and to deny the Confederate army passage across the vital Susquehanna River.
Gettysburg Campaign
On June 9, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, responding to Robert E. Lee's impending invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania, called for 100,000 volunteers from Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio to help repel the invasion, with only about 33,000 recruits answering his call. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton ordered the creation of two military departments, the Departments of the Susequehanna and Monongahela, to organize these militia and defend the state of Pennsylvania. The Department of the Susquehanna consisted of all troops east of Johnstown and the Laurel Highlands, and it was initially headquartered at Chambersburg. It was placed under the command of Major General Darius N. Couch, who had formerly commanded II Corps, Army of the Potomac.
As the Confederates entered the Cumberland Valley, Couch moved his headquarters to Harrisburg. Militia from New York and New Jersey arrived in the capital to provide manpower while the newly raised Pennsylvania emergency militia drilled at Camp Curtin. New York troops serving under the Department of the Susquehanna were first engaged in a skirmish with Confederate cavalry under Albert G. Jenkins at Greencastle on June 20, losing one man killed (considered the first casualty of the Gettysburg Campaign on Northern soil). The New Yorkers eventually retired to Harrisburg, allowing Jenkins to occupy Chambersburg.
Couch ordered that no Confederate unit was to be allowed to cross the Susquehanna River. He authorized the construction of earthworks and fortifications near Lemoyne to defend Harrisburg and its river bridges. He assigned William F. "Baldy" Smith to defend the state capital. Couch designated his aide-de-camp, Major Granville O. Haller, as the sector commander to defend Adams and York counties, with regional headquarters in Gettysburg. Couch sent out three regiments of state emergency militia to Haller's assistance, with the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia (P.V.M.) sent to Gettysburg, the 20th P.V.M. to York County, and the 27th P.V.M. to Columbia to defend the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, a vital crossing over the Susquehanna.
On June 26, 1863, advancing Confederates under Jubal Early and John Brown Gordon routed Haller's militia at Gettysburg and occupied the borough. Haller retired to York, which surrendered on June 28, becoming the largest Northern town to fall during the Civil War. Prior to the Confederate occupation, Haller removed his troops to Wrightsville, where in obedience to Couch's orders, Haller ordered the covered bridge burned to prevent Confederate passage into Lancaster County.
The troops of the department assigned to General Smith took part in skirmishes against elements of Richard S. Ewell's corps in Cumberland County at Sporting Hill on June 30 and against J.E.B. Stuart at Carlisle on July 1. Couch dispatched Smith's men, along with many of Haller's, to help George G. Meade pursue Robert E. Lee's retreating Army of Northern Virginia. The Department of the Susquehanna remained operational following the conclusion of the campaign, although many of the militia were sent home.
Subsequent actions
With the threat repelled, Couch moved his headquarters back to Chambersburg, and the department played an administrative role the rest of the year, providing militia to help cleanup the Gettysburg Battlefield and assisting in the military preparations for the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery and Lincoln's visit, which resulted in the Gettysburg Address.
In January 1864, Couch responded with troops to rumors that a band of disgruntled constituents planned to prevent the inauguration of Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin. In March, with rumors rife of yet another raid, Couch made preparations to again defend the state. However, it was not until late July when the Confederates again arrived in Pennsylvania, when John McCausland raided and burned Chambersburg. Couch was again engaged in sending out 100-day volunteers, militia and Federal troops to repel the enemy. In September, the department dispatched troops to various locations to help oversee the military draft.
The following month, the department again responded to a threatened Confederate border raid. Philip H. Sheridan's subsequent victories in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 finally removed any further threats. The Department of the Susquehanna remained in existence until December 1, 1864, when it was merged with the Department of the Monongahela into the Department of Pennsylvania.
References
- Boatner III, Lt. Col. Mark Mayo, The Civil War Dictionary. New York: Van Rees Press, 1959.
- U.S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 volumes in 4 series. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, 1880-1901.
Union Army FormationsIndependent
Departments- Department of the East: District of Central New York, District of Massachusetts, District of Western New York
- Department of the Pacific: District of Arizona, District of Humboldt, District of Oregon, District of California, District of Southern California, District of Utah
- Department of the Potomac
- Department of the South: District of Florida, District of Hilton Head, District of North Carolina, District of Savannah, Northern District (Charleston)
- Department of Virginia and North Carolina: District of Eastern Virginia, District of North Carolina
Middle
Military
Division- Middle Department: Department of Rappahannock, Department of Shenandoah, Mountain Department, District of Baltimore, District of Eastern Shore
- Department of Pennsylvania: Department of the Monongahela, Department of the Susquehanna
- Department of Washington: District of Alexandria, District of Saint Mary's, District of Washington, District of Annapolis
- Department of West Virginia: District of Harper's Ferry, Kanawha District
Military
Division of the
Mississippi- Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of the Mississippi
- Department of the Cumberland: District of the Etowah, District of Middle Tennessee, District of Northern Alabama, District of West Tennessee
- Department of the Ohio: District of East Tennessee, Department of Kentucky, District of Cairo, District of Western Kentucky
- Northern Department: District of Indiana, District of Illinois, District of Michigan
Military
Division of
West
Mississippi- Department of Arkansas: District of Eastern Arkansas, District of the Frontier, District of Little Rock
- Department of the Gulf: District of Baton Rouge and Port Hudson, District of Carrollton, District of Key West and Tortugas, District of La Fourche, District of West Florida and South Alabama
- Department of Kansas: District of Colorado (military), District of Nebraska, District of North Kansas, District of South Kansas, District of Upper Arkansas
- Department of Missouri: District of Central Missouri, District of North Missouri, District of Rolla, District of Saint Louis, District of Southwest Missouri
- Department of New Mexico: District of Arizona
- Department of the Northwest: District of Iowa, District of Minnesota, District of Wisconsin
Union Armies Army of Arkansas · Army of the Border · Army of the Cumberland · Army of the Frontier · Army of Georgia · Army of the Gulf · Army of the James · Army of Kentucky · Army of the Mississippi · Army of the Ohio · Army of the Potomac · Army of the Shenandoah · Army of the Southwest · Army of the Tennessee · Army of Virginia · Army of West Mississippi · Army of West Virginia ·
Union Army Corps I Corps · II Corps · III Corps · IV Corps · V Corps · VI Corps · VII Corps · VIII Corps · IX Corps · X Corps · XI Corps · XII Corps · XIII Corps · XIV Corps · XV Corps · XVI Corps · XVII Corps · XVIII Corps · XIX Corps · XX Corps · XXI Corps · XXII Corps · XXIII Corps · XXIV Corps · XXV Corps · Cavalry Corps ·
Campaigns & Battles Fights & Skirmishes Cities and Counties Units & People Departments (Monongahela, Susquehanna) · Regiments (Category) · 126th Pennsylvania Infantry · 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy ArtilleryPosts & Hospitals Camp Letterman · Fort Mifflin · Camp Curtin · Camp Scott · Camp Union · Camp William Penn · Carlisle Barracks · Mower Hospital · Satterlee Hospital · York HospitalManufacturers Civil War Museums and
historic sitesCivil War and Underground Railroad Museum · National Civil War Museum
Gettysburg Battlefield · Gettysburg National Cemetery · Gettysburg Museum and Visitor CenterMonuments and Memorials North Carolina Monument · The Pennsylvania State Memorial · Smith Memorial Arch · 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry MonumentCategories:- History of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania in the American Civil War
- Union Army departments
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.