It was a year before Gettysburg. Gen. Robert E. Lee had once again defeated the Union army.
His next plans were to invade Pennsylvania and destroy an important bridge west of Harrisburg.
The Union forces intercepted Lee's army at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Md. One Union general anticipated this as "the battle that will decide the fate of the Republic."
Some Northern politicians were already pushing for an end to the war, even if it meant dissolving the Union into two separate countries. Lee thought an invasion might tip the scale.
At Antietam, over 70,000 Union soldiers were engaged. Maj. Ario Pardee, son of Hazleton's millionaire coal mine owner, commanded the 28th Regiment of Pennsylvania, which originally had 1,000 volunteers. This included Hazleton's Company A, a diverse group of 100 volunteers consisting of mule drivers, miners, merchants and a millionaire; farmers, clerks, laborers, and schoolteachers; college graduates born in the United States, and Irish and German immigrants. Each soldier had a story, but many are forgotten.
On Saturday and Sunday, at the 150th anniversary, re-enactors for the 28th Regiment (Company C of Bucks County) participated in Antietam's Living History encampment to retell the story of the 28th.
Part of the story includes the valor of a young Irish immigrant, Patrick McShea.
At age 12, McShea moved to Audenried with his family after surviving the Irish potato famine. He worked as a mule driver and then, at age 18, moved to Kelayres as a coal laborer.
When the Civil War started, people feared that the country would become like Europe, a divided land with constant wars. McShea volunteered.
The Antietam battle started at 5:30 a.m. (Sept. 17, 1862) and initial regiments were to take the high ground a mile away. After almost reaching the goal, they were driven back with heavy casualties.
At 7:30 a.m., the 28th and other regiments were called into action against Stonewall Jackson's Confederates. The 28th went forward into a maelstrom of bullets and cannon. It was the fiercest battle of the war to that point. With all the blinding smoke and noise, each regiment knew to look for their flag. Therefore, one way to minimize a foe's impact was to capture their flag.
After intense fighting, the 28th had their opponents on the run. Something prompted 19-year-old Patrick McShea not to shoot, but to run 20 yards after the flag bearer. As they wrestled and got twisted in the flag, both sides began shooting, not realizing one of their own was in the flag.
Finally, McShea got the flag. This was one small part in a huge battle, but McShea's courage and determination inspired his fellow soldiers.
The Union won by a slim margin, but the impact was enormous. President Abraham Lincoln already had a draft of the Emancipation Proclamation but was advised against issuing it while the Union army was defeated. With the victory, Lincoln issued it.
According to an official report on the 28th, "One and all, officers and men, could not possibly have fought with more determination." (See http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=355.)
However, in May 1863, Lt. James Silliman recommended that Pvt. McShea receive a Medal of Honor for "gallant and meritorious conduct at the battles of Antietam and Chancellorsville â¦ where he displayed his usual courage" (letter in the Pennsylvania Historical Society).
For reasons unknown, McShea never actually received a medal, but he fought in all the battles with the 28th and rose to the rank of sergeant. After their three years expired, most re-enlisted.
When Gen. William T. Sherman was told to end the war and march to the sea, the 28th continued its commitment.
Just before Christmas 1864 and just before the sea, McShea was captured and marched to a stockade prison. In Treatment of Prisoners of War by the Rebel Authorities, Library of Congress, House Report No. 45, Sgt. McShea related his experience among 7,000 prisoners:
"I had no shelter for seven days. Then they let us build (a) shelter of pine tree tops covered with dirt. The prisoners burrowed caves in the ground, and we lived in them like rabbits. They gave us neither blanket nor clothing.
"Our food in the prison pen was one pint of unbolted corn meal a day, no meat ... and two tablespoons full of Carolina stock peas about three times a week. We cooked the meal and beans in half a canteen, over a fireâ¦. We broke the canteen so as to make a kind of cup of it.
"I was there about 11 weeks ... I do not think I could have lived one week longer. ... My parents did not know me when I got home, I was so thin."
After the war, McShea returned to Kelayres as a coal laborer, married, and started a family.
His former general became governor of Pennsylvania and offered him a post at Harrisburg, but McShea declined, staying in the mines. Eventually, he moved to McAdoo.
Company A never forgot its fellow soldiers. Each May, for Decoration Day, residents donated flowers. After a large parade, the veterans divided and walked to every cemetery in the surrounding towns to remember their comrades. McShea participated in a committee to ensure that each soldier had a headstone.
In 1885, Eckley B. Coxe and the veterans planned the monument and a ceremony in Memorial Park. Special trains brought visitors and seven generals from all over the state. An estimated 20,000 spectators watched the unveiling ceremony and parade. That evening, 4,000 crammed into a huge tent strung with electric lights, and the veterans once again told their part in the story of how they "saved the nation in the war for the Union."
McShea never received a Medal of Honor, but when he died at age 59, the Hazleton Standard-Speaker spoke highly of his life:
"Patrick McShea, one of the most respected citizens of (Hazleton's) South Side, died at his homeâ¦. As a citizen, he was useful and worked for the best interests of the communityâ¦.
"He was modest about his war record and it was a hard matter to get him to say much, as he considered he only did his duty, but he did a great deal for his country." (May 19, 1900)
"The funeral was the largest seen on this side for many years. ... Many veterans preceded the casket. The concourse of people which followed was the largest seen here for many years and was made up of some of the most prominent people of the region. The road side was lined with people and flags were displayed at half mast. â¦ When the casket was lowered into the grave, three volleys were fired and the bugle call soundedâ¦." (May 21, 1900)
Year after year, local groups still decorate Hazleton's Memorial Park and grave sites.
This September 2012, pause for a moment at Hazleton's Civil War monument: the word Antietam is engraved in stone. Take a moment to remember the 200 total who served so gallantly and who helped to preserve the Union.
Descendents of Sgt. Patrick McShea continue to gather research and are hoping to find the photograph of him holding the flag.