The Magical History Tour

In June of 1863, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan and his group of Cavalrymen began an 1,100-mile raid that would bring Confederate troops within 40 miles of Pittsburgh. Morgan’s Raid was meant to coincide with the Confederate Vicksburg and Gettysburg campaigns. Morgan and his 2,460 handpicked cavalrymen rode out from Sparta, Tennessee through Kentucky where…

Alexander Kelly was born in Conemaugh, Pennsylvania in 1840 to a free black family, when his parents passed, Kelly was just 10 years old. He and his siblings were sent to live with their aunt and uncle, who lived along the Conemaugh River in a small African-American community, most of whom worked in the coal…

If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to support my ability to travel to history events and historic sites. I hope you will consider supporting my blog on Patreon. The link is below. Magical History Tour Patreon

When you read about the American Revolution, you likely see the contributions of the Continental Congress, the Sons of Liberty or General George Washington. While there were many men who contributed to the patriot cause, the stories of the women who helped win the revolution are rarely told. Cokie Roberts, noted historian and journalist for…

(Note: In this article I refer to the states as colonies for a couple reasons. First, although there was a Continental Congress, the individual colonies for the most part saw themselves as British subjects and fell under the representation of the colonial governments. Second, the individual colonies had not established what would happen once the…

In an attempt to lay claim to the Ohio Country, the French had created alliances and established forts throughout what is now Western Pennsylvania and Western New York. The British Crown and its representatives in the American colonies did not like this incursion on the territory that they believed was rightly British. On December 12th,…

In November of 1862, Major General Ambrose Burnside became the Commander of the Army of the Potomac. Burnside’s plan was to make his presence known right away with a decisive campaign against General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Burnside’s plan was to move units to the south of the Rappahanock River to keep…

Another noted abolitionist in the Pittsburgh Area was Jane Grey Swisshelm. Swisshelm was a writer who submitted poems, stories and essays to local newspapers. When local newspapers refused to print her writings because they supported social reforms, Swisshelm started her own newspaper called the Pittsburgh Saturday Visitor. Her newspaper quickly reached a circulation of 6,000…

In Pittsburgh, the land where the former Civic Arena was being often referred to as the Lower Hill. In the Early 1800’s this area was called Arthursville. Arthursville was a racially mixed area, essentially a suburb of Pittsburgh at the time, and a popular place for middle class free African-Americans to settle. It was also…

Well before the southern states seceded, before the Republican party existed in the United States, the citizens of Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania were fighting to end Slavery in the United States. The heavy presence of Quakers and their belief system led Pennsylvania to pass “The Gradual Abolition of Slavery Act” in 1780. The law stated…