06/09/2026
On Tuesday, June 9, 1863, US and Confederate cavalry clashed at the Battle of Brandy Station in Virginia. Little more than 200 miles away, in Pittsburgh, city residents anticipated a Confederate invasion.
Just a few days later, on June 15, Rhoda Ogden Breed wrote to her son Henry, who was serving with the Army of the Potomac in Company F, 155th Pennsylvania Infantry. She described the scene:
“A meeting had been held Tuesday evening about the rebels coming here — that they were at Chambersburg — and this morning all the factories and boundaries and works of all kinds were stopped to have them men work on fortifications. And they are now at work on Heron’s Hill and out at Turtle Creek. I will send you what is in the Gazette about it. For my part, I can’t feel afraid but I think we should be prepared to give them a suitable reception...”
Image: Fort McKeever on the heights above Allegheny City (Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh)