Why the New Birth of Freedom Council?

When Keystone Area and York-Adams Area Councils joined together as one on April 1, 2010, selecting a name for the newly-created council figured to be a daunting challenge. It was. Even with the benefit of nearly 100 different suggested names to consider, finding just the right name that would have both meaning and reflect all parts of the Council area proved to be quite difficult. There just didn’t seem to be that one special geographic feature or landmark, or singular event, that would bring together the entire Council. As work continued, though, what became apparent was that there was indeed a common thread that binds almost all of our communities together, and that was the important historical role that our area has played in the creation of our nation and in affirming the principles that define us today as a people. There were many critical events in United States history that took place right here, practically in our own backyards.

Forbes Trail

During the French and Indian War, a critical objective of British and colonial authorities was to expel the French from the “gateway to the west,” as the river junction of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers was known (modern day Pittsburgh is located there). A failed attempt from Virginia by British forces in 1755 under General Braddock was a low point in the conflict. In 1758, starting in Carlisle, Cumberland County, though, British Brigadier General John Forbes led an expedition west, creating a route that became known as Forbes Road, which stretched about 200 miles to the Forks of the Ohio. Forbes constructed forts at regular intervals along the new road and established supply lines between the forts. Unable to stop the British and colonial force, the French burnt Fort Duquesne and forever abandoned the forks. The capture of the forks was one of the turning points of the war and the Forbes Road proved to be one of the most enduring legacies of the French and Indian War. It effectively opened settlement of western Pennsylvania and the Mississippi River valley as boats could begin the trip west at Pittsburgh and journey all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. The road made communication and trade easier between the eastern and western portions of the colony, and provided an important route west for settlers going to the Ohio Country, and it all started in Carlisle.

Articles of Confederation

In the fall of 1777, as the British occupied Philadelphia during the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress moved to York, where the body met until June 1778 before returning to Philadelphia. While in residence in York, representatives of the 13 colonies completed work on the Articles of Confederation for ratification by the states, which outlined the first form of national government as the United States. With this creation of a federal government, York effectively became the first capital of the United States.

Whiskey Rebellion

In September 1794, President George Washington became the only sitting U.S. president to personally command troops in the field when he led 13,000 men that had gathered at Carlisle to march west through the Allegheny Mountains to Bedford to confront frontier residents refusing to pay a tax on distilled spirits as ordered by Congress. In the end, the successful suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion helped to confirm the supremacy of Federal law in the early United States and the right of Congress to levy and collect taxes on a nationwide basis.

Underground Railroad

During the pre-Civil War days, the Underground Railroad, a network of “safe houses” and secret routes to allow slaves from Southern states to escape to freedom in the North, ran throughout our area. William Goodridge, a freed slave and successful businessman in York, was one of the Underground Railroad’s champions. History cannot say with any certainty just how many slaves hoping for freedom traveled through our area via the Railroad, but its impact was an important one.

American Civil War

With the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, our region once again figured prominently in a major conflict. Harrisburg was the location of Camp Curtin, the largest Union camp during the war. Approximately 300,000 Union troops passed through Camp Curtin en route to deployments elsewhere. Camp Curtin was also a significant supply distribution center thanks to its proximity to rail transportation. Due to its importance to the Union war effort, Harrisburg was twice targeted for attack by the Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during its two invasions. In 1862, Lee planned to capture Harrisburg, but was prevented from doing so by the Battle of Antietam and his subsequent retreat into Virginia. Lee’s second attempt came during the summer of 1863, as two full divisions planned to attack Harrisburg from the southwest through Cumberland County, while a third division planned to cross the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville and attack Harrisburg from the rear.  Marching up through Franklin County, Confederate forces under General Ewell occupied Carlisle for several day while awaiting the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia. During the occupation, elements of the army marched east almost to the banks of the Susquehanna but, following brief skirmishes near Oyster Point and Sporting Hill, the army turned south with orders to link up with General Lee at the road junction of Gettysburg.

In the days immediately preceding the Battle of Gettysburg, other Union and Confederate troops would fight brief, but key strategic battles throughout our area. In Wrightsville, Confederate troops sought to cross the Susquehanna River but were denied the use of the Wrightsville-Columbia Bridge for planned attacks in the future on Harrisburg, Lancaster and Philadelphia when the bridge’s defenders burned it down, rather than allow confederate troops to control this vital river crossing. Engagements at both Carlisle and Hanover were not major ones, but were of strategic importance because the encounters delayed Confederate cavalry, under the command of General J.E.B. Stuart, from linking up with Lee at Gettysburg, forcing Lee to be without “his eyes and ears” into the afternoon of the second day of fighting. And, as historians have well chronicled, the Battle of Gettysburg altered the course of the war in the Union’s favor, ending the Confederacy’s last major foray north. As many as 51,000 men died in this brutal three-day conflict.

Confederate troops also occupied Chambersburg on three different occasions. On July 30, 1864, more than a year after the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General John McCausland demanded a ransom of $500,000 in U.S. currency or $100,000 in gold. When the town’s residents refused to pay, nearly the entire town was burned to the ground by the Confederate army. “Remember Chambersburg” soon became a Union battle cry.

President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

The Gettysburg Address is a speech by President Abraham Lincoln delivered on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Soliders’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, four and a half months after the decisive Battle of Gettysburg. Lincoln’s carefully crafted address, secondary to other presentations that day, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history. As we considered how to weave together the many historic events that have happened in our area, we drew inspiration from Lincoln’s words spoken that day.  You can listen to President Lincoln’s address in the presentation below.

In just over two minutes, President Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence back in 1776 and redefined the Civil War as a struggle not merely for the Union, but as an opportunity for a “new birth of freedom” to emerge from the conflict that would bring true equality to all its citizens and that would reinvigorate a unified nation of, for, and by the people.

Our History and Our Opportunity

As the Boy Scouts of America enters its second century, the selection of the name “New Birth of Freedom” is particularly appropriate for our area. It honors not only the historical importance of our region, but also captures the essence of that spirit and hope that dwells in all of us.