Book Reviews

in various army hospitals and serving in the Whirlwind Walk: Architecture and Urban 22nd Regiment of the Veteran Reserve Corps, Spaces in Downtown Pittsburgh where he performed various tasks, including By Pittsburgh History & guarding enemy POWs. Landmarks Foundation In The Civil War Diaries & Army Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Convalescence Saga of Farmboy Ephraim Miner, Foundation, second edition 2011 Miner’s life is recounted by author and great- 94 pp., color photos, map great grandnephew Mark A. Miner, who Reviewed by Lauren Uhl employs a variety of primary and secondary This lightweight, source material, including Private Miner’s handy guidebook is a diary, which commences on January 1, 1864. great introduction to The first 50 pages of the book provide an downtown Pittsburgh. Drawing on their more overview of Miner’s pre-war life in Somerset comprehensive architectural survey books, County, where he was a farmer, and his service PHLF put together a walking tour that takes in the 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry. The you from Grant Street, through the heart of balance of the book consists of a transcription downtown, to Point State Park. Each stop is of Ephraim’s diary, and a chapter on his post- given basic information—address, date of war life, which ended at age 83 in 1921. construction, architect—followed by a brief The diary entries, written from hospitals history and building description. where Miner was a patient, and from duty Well at This Time: The Civil War: While some architectural descriptions stations while serving in the 22nd Regiment, Diaries & Army Convalescence Saga of can be deadly to read, these mercifully are Veteran Reserve Corps, consist primarily of light-handed and light-hearted. The book Farmboy Ephraim Miner of the 142nd short descriptions of his efforts to regain his directs your attention to interesting or unusual Pennsylvania Infantry Troops and the health, of guard duty, and of army friends he building details, highlights careers of national 22nd Veterans Reserve Corps encounters from time to time, especially men and local architects, and covers recent historic By Mark A. Miner from his old regiment, the 142nd Pennsylvania. preservation projects. Also included are (Beaver, PA: Minerd.com Publishing, 2011) Given that the diary was kept by Miner while fascinating tidbits of information. Did you 128 pp., softcover $24.95 away from the front, one will not find stirring know that the Oakmont Country Club was Reviewed by David Neville accounts of battle, but entries that describe the formed in the Granite Building where H.C. day-to-day life of a young man who continued The events of December 13, 1862, would forever Fownes had his office? Or that McCreery’s to serve his country despite being hobbled by remain in the memory of Ephraim Miner. A Department Store had a special “Craftsman’s illness and a battle injury. private in Company C, 142nd Pennsylvania Room” to display Stickley furniture, textiles, This book will definitely appeal to readers Volunteer Infantry, Miner would taste combat and accessories? interested in Pennsylvania Infantry troops and for the first and only time that day at the Battle The appendix has lists of Green buildings, of the role Somerset County residents played in of Fredericksburg, Virginia: his eardrums were a bibliography for those who want to read the American Civil War. shattered by cannon blasts as his regiment more on Pittsburgh’s architectural history, and withdrew from the battlefield. Safely back in don’t-miss museums and tourist attractions David Neville is a military historian and camp after the fighting ended, Miner found he near downtown. PHLF packed a lot of publisher of Military Images magazine and had difficulty hearing; his health further eroded co-author of the forthcoming The Civil War in interesting, easy-to-read information in a small when in the inclement weather following the Pennsylvania: A Photographic History. package. It’s a perfect little introduction for battle his feet became frozen. Unfit for duty, natives and newcomers alike. Miner spent the next 30 months convalescing Lauren Uhl is Museum Project Manager and co-author of Pittsburgh’s Strip District Look for more reviews at http://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/secondary.aspx?id=340 (Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, 2003). Italian Americans: Buildings of Pennsylvania: NEW FOR Bridges to Italy, Philadelphia and Eastern SPRING: Bonds to America Pennsylvania

58 western pennsylvania history | spring 2012 Senator John Heinz History Center Board of Trustees*

Civil War Voices from York County, Pa.: Own Words,” contains longer excerpts of Robert J. Cindrich, Chairman Beverlynn Elliott, Vice Chair Remembering the Rebellion and the primary source material not used elsewhere. Joe W. Trotter, Jr., Ph.D., Vice Chair Gettysburg Campaign Thematic organization may have been Paul O’Neill, Jr., Treasurer Sigo Falk, Secretary By Scott L. Mingus, Sr., more effective, addressing enlistment and Andrew E. Masich, President & CEO, and James McClure. patriotic spirit, women, African-Americans Senator John Heinz History Center*

Orrtanna, PA: Colecraft and emancipation, politics and opposition, Industries, 2011. conscription, the invasion of York County, and Arthur L. Baldwin 191 pages. Softcover, Susie Barbour experiences of York soldiers. David E. Barensfeld $14.95. The text portrays the personal exertions, Charles W. Bitzer Reviewed by Dr. Robert divisions, and pathos of wartime – stories of Nadine E. Bognar Sandow Commissioner J. Bracken Burns, Sr. families divided by war, the grief of loved ones Steven H. Cohen over the dead, and unvarnished descriptions of The Honorable Jay Costa, Jr. Civil War Voices Charles J. Dougherty, Ph.D. from York County, Pa. commemorates the glassy eyed corpses on battlefields. Readers will The Honorable Brian L. Ellis be fascinated to learn that Union soldiers as well The Honorable D. Mike Fisher experiences and anguish of York County The Honorable Rich Fitzgerald people during the war. Citizens and institutions as their enemy caused numerous depredations of Shawn Fox civilian food, property, and livestock during the Kathleen Gallagher collaborated in presenting the events and Alvaro Garcia-Tunon impact of the war through personal and Gettysburg campaign. A suggestion would be to Stan Geier indicate areas raided by soldiers upon the map. Laurence Glasco, Ph.D. communal “voices.” It demonstrates interest Chuck Hammel in the local history of the Civil War at its Several themes are well developed. The Matthew Harbaugh most extensive section covers the Gettysburg Franco Harris sesquicentennial anniversary. Donald J. Heberle The introduction contextualizes York campaign where we see its devastation and Torence M. Hunt as a prosperous agricultural “border county” dislocations on local people. Interactions William M. Lambert between civilians and the enemy are Gerald F. MacCleary of considerable Pennsylvania-German James C. Martin, Esq. population. Roads, railroads, and canals highlighted. Many families later filed damage Tom McMillan claims for losses, attesting to the widespread Sandy Mellon linked York’s farmers, merchants, and small- Ralph J. Papa scale manufacturers with larger markets in impact of the invasion. These files captured Robert N. Peirce, Jr., Esq. details that would otherwise have gone Jack B. Piatt eastern Pennsylvania and southward into The Honorable John R. Pippy Maryland. Politically, the county leaned unrecorded. Abundant soldiers’ letters and Paul M. Pohl reports suggest the authors’ primary interest The Honorable Luke Ravenstahl** Democratic and contained “a fair number Art Rooney II of Southern sympathizers” attributed to the with military events and war support. Dan D. Sandman Some historical themes are weaker, Lynne Schmidt region’s southern ties. (10). Despite this, the Carol Semple Thompson authors stress the county’s “strong” military including the attitudes of Pennsylvania The Honorable Matthew Smith Germans and York women toward the war, Margaret Snavely contributions, including more than 13,000 Stephen R. Tritch soldiers. racial attitudes, and politics and opposition. In H. Woodruff Turner, Esq. fairness, these were not the authors’ concerns. Mike Wagner The narrative is chronological (antebellum Dennis A. Watson period to postwar years). The greatest portion The goal was to explain to general readers Bruce Wiegand Dennis Yablonsky is the Gettysburg Campaign, highlighting how “the war left an indelible impression York’s victimization as an invaded territory. in the hearts and minds and bodies of York Emeritus & Honorary Trustees Brief personal vignettes are interwoven into countians” (153). The authors present the Robert Barensfeld “voices” of the Civil War generation in their John F. Bitzer, Jr. larger national events. Quotations gleaned Frank V. Cahouet own words, preserved by their descendants. Joseph Calihan from letters, diaries, newspapers, memoirs, John P. Davis, Jr. records, and even oral history questionnaires Teresa Heinz** enliven the narrative. Readers glimpse both life Robert M. Sandow, Associate Professor of history Maxwell King at Lock Haven University, is the author of William C. King at home and “in the field.” Robert B. Knutson** Deserter Country: Civil War Opposition in the Though arranged chronologically, the The Honorable Frank J. Lucchino Pennsylvania Appalachians (Fordham University David McCullough focus shifts back and forth from home front Press, 2009). Martin G. McGuinn to battlefield. A reader unfamiliar with county The Honorable Tim Murphy Ambassador Dan Rooney geography will likely consult the provided map frequently. A concluding chapter, “In Their * Legally: Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania ** Honorary Trustee

western pennsylvania history | spring 2012 59