BPA S01E05: The Burning of Chambersburg, Civil War

On July 30th, 1864 a Confederate force under the command of Brigadier General John McCausland captured the city of Chambersburg, PA. A year after the terrible bloodletting at Gettysburg, this time the Southern Rebels returned seeking revenge for union depredations in Virginia. After ransoming the town for $500,000, the Confederate General torched the city filled with noncombatants. The Burning of Chambersburg remains as a shocking reminder of the brutal reality of the American Civil War, and a seminal moment in the conflict. On this episode our guests are former NPS Historian Ted Alexander and Pulitzer Prize nominee Jeffrey Wert...spared no expense.