Wayne County’s population on the 1860 census was 33,586. By the end of the Civil War, 2,189 Wayne County men had served in Pennsylvania regiments, with another 300 or so in regiments from New York, New Jersey and elsewhere. The percentage of volunteers to total borough or township population ranged from a low of 1.2% in Oregon and Mt. Pleasant Townships to a high of 9.3% in Prompton. The most astounding township was Manchester, which sent 75 volunteers—7.6% of its total population—to the Union Army. Many Civil War survivors, including these nine unidentified veterans from Wayne County, gathered at Gettysburg in July 1913 to remember the battle that turned the tide in that tragic war. Confederate veterans were also invited and, as President Woodrow Wilson said in his July 4 address, “We have found one another again as brothers and comrades in arms, enemies no longer, generous friends rather, our battles long past, the quarrel forgotten—except that we shall not forget the splendid valor.”

From the collection of the Wayne County Historical Society, 810 Main St., Honesdale, PA, open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday through April 9, and Wednesday through Saturday April 16 through December.