"Back at the Gap" BACK AT THE GAP Major General Frank H. Smoker, Jr. (USAF, Retired) In 1880’s, Guard trained at Gretna Sixth in a series Looking back at some of the early history of the area surrounding Indiantown Gap, it is easy to see why residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have always considered military prestige and readiness to be valuable legacies of their heritage. This rationalization later prompted the Commonwealth to create a training site at Mount Gretna for its National Guard units which leads us to another chapter in this report. In 1885 the 28th Division of the Pennsylvania National Guard leased 120 acres of land at Mt Gretna for a summer encampment area. This area later became known as the Pennsylvania State Military Reservation at Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania, located about 15 miles south of Indiantown Gap. Adjutant Milton Gherst of the Eighth Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guard, headed a delegation which visited Mt. Gretna on 2 June 1885 with the purpose of inspecting the area and rendering a report on its suitability as an encampment site for the Third Regiment of the PNG. Based upon a favorable report, General J. P. S. Gobin, the Third Regiment’s Commanding General, ordered the Brigade to encamp at Mt. Gretna for the week starting 25 July. During my research, I found valuable information about the early days of the Mt. Gretna encampment in a 1990 publication, “Mt. Gretna, A Coleman Legacy”, by Jack Bittner (a renown historian, especially concerning Mt. Gretna), and I am indebted to Mr. Bittner for his knowledge and information. For example, on 30 November 1885, General Gobin submitted an official report on this encampment that includes the following remarks. “In preparing for the annual encampment, I selected ground at Mt Gretna, Lebanon County … it was an elevated plateau, the ground of a dry, sandy loam not readily affected by wet weather, a perfectly pure air, an abundance of mountain spring water, excellent railroad facilities, and at a sufficient distance from any town to remove, to a great extent, the temptations incident to camp life when located near a town. I ordered the various organizations to report to Camp Sigfried not later than 7:00 AM, July 25. I am authorized by Mr. Robert H. Coleman to offer the State a rifle range … at Mt. Gretna for infantry and artillery practice.” General Gobin’s report concluded, “ The efforts of Mr. Coleman, the owner of Mt. Gretna, to provide for the accommodation of the command entitle him to the thanks of myself and all interested in the success of the encampment.” Under the direction of Robert H. Coleman, the owner of the land at Mt. Gretna where the Pennsylvania Guard was to hold its annual training, at his own expense, ordered that the 120 acre area be cleared and put into “first class condition”. The open area of the camp is known to this day as “Soldier’s Field” where inspections, parades and reviews for dignitaries were held daily. In June 1885, Mr. Coleman built a reservoir by forming a dam across the Conewago Creek, thus creating a small lake about one-quarter mile west of the camp, and extended water pipes throughout the area. Expansion of the encampment continued through 1887. By mid-July 1887, 150 men were at work clearing and preparing for the PNG encampment, that year for 9,000 troops. The first encampment two years earlier had been limited to 3,000 troops. Following an established custom, the camp was named after a favorite military figure. In 1885 it had been named “Camp Sigfried”, in honor of General Joshua K. Sigfried, former Third Brigade commander, and in 1886 “Camp Gobin” for the Third Brigade’s commanding general. In 1887, under command of Major General John Hartranft, it was “Camp Winfield Scott Hancock” from August 6 - 13. Governor James A. Beaver visited during this encampment. General Phil Sheridan of Civil War fame reviewed the Pennsylvania Division. His popularity resulted in over 25,000 visitors present. In 1889, the camp was named for General Sheridan. The following year 1890, the encampment was named in honor of 28th Division Commander John F. Hartranft, also a Civil War veteran. The highlight of the encampment was a visit on July 24 of President Benjamin Harrison, the only president ever to visit Mt. Gretna. On 15 February 1898, the U. S. battleship Maine was blown up in Havana harbor, and 260 sailors were killed. The United States blockaded Cuba on 22 April in aid of independent forces, and declared war on Spain on 24 April. Following the national call to arms for the Spanish-American war, Camp Daniel H. Hastings, named for the Adjutant General of Pennsylvania , opened at Mt. Gretna on 29 April 1898 to prepare for mustering the troops in the Pennsylvania National Guard. Enrollment of volunteers for federal service occurred 3 to 5 May, and it was reported that over 90 percent, or 7,739 Guardsmen, had volunteered. During May, the members of the Governor’s Troop in camp at Mt. Gretna, began the erection of a monument to commemorate their stay at Camp Hastings in preparation for the service in the war against Spain. This monument was dedicated on Memorial Day that year, but unfortunately, in 1909, workmen building a new hotel, knowing nothing of the historic value of this monument, tore it down and used the stones in the walls of the large building being built nearby. A year later, a bronze tablet was placed upon a new monument, containing the names of the officers and enlisted men who served throughout the war with Spain, thus marking the camp site of the Governor’s Troop, Pennsylvania Cavalry. In 1916, another tablet was placed upon this new monument. This tablet , made of bronze metal recovered from the Battleship Maine, and shows in base relief the Maine as she lay in the Havana harbor, and the bust of a woman, who holds in her extended hand a palm leaf, indicative of Peace, in her other hand, she holds a shield of the USA. The tablet bears the inscription “In Memoriam U.S.S. Maine, Destroyed in Havana Harbor, February 15, 1889.” Because of the generous and patriotic citizens of Mt. Gretna including Mr. Bittner, this monument was restored in 1984 and still stands today in its site above the lake, looking just as it did almost a century ago. In my next column, I’ll continue to describe the development of Mt. Gretna Military Reservation. -- 30 -- Published in the Lebanon Daily News on 28 January 2004 © 2004 Frank H. Smoker, Jr. All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of the author.   Go "Back at the Gap" Index