"For the residents of the Gettysburg area, however, the impact of the  
Confederate invasion continued. Both sides had wrecked farms and  
fields... In July 1864 Confederate forces invaded Pennsylvania one  
last time. Outraged at the burning and looting of farms in the  
Shenandoah Valley, a brigade of 2000 soldiers passed... into Franklin  
County and set fire to the town of Chambersburg... Rebels had  
occupied the city in October 1862 and again in June of 1863, soon  
before the battle of Gettysburg. On both occasion Southern troops had  
behaved reasonably well, although they had burned military supplies  
and railroad equipment during Jeb Stuart's raid of 1862... Earlier  
that summer, [Union] General Hunter had allowed his troops to loot  
and burn private property in the Valley... [General] Early decided  
Chambersburg would be the object of his retribution. [He] gave its  
residents a chance to hand over $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in  
currency to compensate the people of the Valley for the loss of their  
homes... [the city could not pay and was looted and] 550 buildings  
went up in flames... the Masonic hall was spared when an officer who  
was a Mason posted guards to prevent its burning. A Colonel of the 21  
Virginia Cavalry refused to obey the order... Other Confederates  
tried to help frantic citizens retrieve household goods before their  
homes were burned... only one civilian was  
killed..." [exploreahistory.com]

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I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days.

--Daniel Boone

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