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Summary:
Philadelphia mayor Alexander Henry calls out the home guard as Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia is expected to invade Pennsylvania. This huge broadside (24” x 37 ¾”) prints a statement by Henry requiring Brigadier General A. J. Pleasonton, Commander of the Home Guard, to order out his units, with a reciprocal statement by Pleasonton. [Gettysburg Campaign: Philadelphia]. Broadside, “Defence of the City of Philadelphia,” Philadelphia: King & Baird, June 16, 1863. 24” x 37 ¾” Inventory# 20814 $8,500. Historical Background:
Four days earlier, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew G. Curtin had confirmed rumors that the state was threatened by a “large rebel force.” Curtin issued a call-to-arms, summoning all able-bodied Pennsylvanians to enlist for the defense of their “own homes, firesides, and property” in a new corps that was being organized by the War Department.
By the time this broadside was issued, Lee’s forces had already advanced to Martinsburg, West Virginia. As they moved into Pennsylvania, his three infantry corps ranged broadly so as to gather provisions from the countryside. Richard Ewell’s II Corps pressed toward the state capital of Harrisburg (107 miles from Philadelphia).
On June 28, Confederate General Jubal Early seized York, Pa., the largest northern city to fall to the Confederacy. Flush with success, Lee was surprised to hear that night from a rebel spy that Lincoln had fired Joseph Hooker and replaced him with George Meade, and that the federals were advancing northward at a swift pace. This news compelled Lee to temporarily abandon any plans to strike eastward towards the major cities. Instead, he ordered a rapid concentration of troops at the crossroads hamlet of Gettysburg. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought on July 1-3, 1863, and Lee’s army began its retreat from Pennsylvania on July 5th.
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