George A. Minnich was a true leader
The story that I bring to you today involves the Grand Army of the Republic, Housum Post No. 309 of Chambersburg and a true leader of our community, George A. Minnich.
When the Civil War ended in 1865, it was time for Reconstruction and healing to begin in our country. At this time, veterans formed various local and state organizations, but none as influential as the Grand Army of the Republic.
This new organization was founded by Dr. Benjamin F. Stephenson on April 6, 1866, at Decatur, Illinois, on the principles of fraternity, charity and loyalty.
From the very beginning, hundreds of posts were organized throughout the United States, predominately in the North. The veterans' experiences during the war turned this organization into an early advocate for the rights and benefits of those who faithfully served their country.
Some of the monumental tasks that were pursued including advocating for the voting rights of Black veterans, promoting patriotism, the need to make Memorial Day a National Holiday, and to intensify lobbying in Congress to establish veterans pensions.
Membership in 1890 had swelled to nearly a half million people, and many commemorative and monument ceremonies were held to honor all who had defended the Union.
The G.A.R. was organized as departments at the state level. Locally, it was known as a “post,” with members wearing military style uniforms. The members also had intense political influence in the late 1800s, as their support helped elect Ulysses S. Grant , Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley as president.
The G.A.R. held national encampments each year from 1866 until the last one in 1949 at Indianapolis. The last living member of the G.A.R. was Albert Woolson from Duluth, Minn., who died in 1956 at the age of 106.
When was Chambersburg's Grand Army of the Republic post formed?
Chambersburg veterans organized their G.A.R. post Feb. 21, 1883. There were 34 charter members, with George A. Minnich being one of them. The meetings were held Tuesdays, and the name post was known as the G.A.R. Col. Peter B. Housum Post No. 309.
The members of the Housum Post learned that the membership of the Baptist church on West Queen Street near Water Street, along the Western Maryland Railroad, planned to relocate. The move was planned because of safety issues for pedestrians and the excessive noise during services from trains constantly passing.
On April 2, 1894, the former church property was deeded to the Housum Post 309. In front of the post, there was an ornate wooden arch and a Civil War field cannon for display.
Who were Housum and Minnich?
If you're wondering where the namesake of post came from, Peter B. Housum was born Sept. 21, 1824, in Berks County, Pa. He and his family moved to Franklin County not long after.
Housum partnered with Theodore B. Wood in Chambersburg in 1857 forming Wood & Housum. The young Housum was a skilled millwright, designer and builder of machinery.
During the Civil War, Housum served as a captain in the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry, and in 1862, he joined the 77th Pennsylvania Regiment as a lieutenant colonel. Housum had seen action in Kentucky and Tennessee, and it was during the Battle of Stone River on the morning of Dec. 31, 1862, that he was wounded. He died the evening of Jan. 1, 1863.
But what about Minnich? He was born Aug. 21, 1844, in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and at the age of 6, his family moved to Chambersburg. There, the young man attended public school.
In October 1862, Minnich was heading to Harrisburg to enlist in the Union Army, but he was taken prisoner by Confederate forces under Gen. Albert Jenkins just north of Chambersburg. Minnich was directed to go to a nearby farm house to get horses, but was able to escape and returned home.
As I read his original discharge papers, it states that he enlisted as a private in the 21st Regiment, Pennsylvania Cavalry 182nd Volunteers, Company D, under command of Capt. James Patton on Jan. 26, 1864, at age 19. He served three years during the war, but was discharged on July 8, 1865, at Lynchburg, Va.
Minnich was present at the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, to witness the surrender of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Before his military service, Minnich had learned carpentry with Samuel Seibert of Chambersburg, and after the Civil War, he returned home to begin his own carpentry business by purchasing the former Washabaugh Brewery on West King Street, next to the Conococheague Creek.
On Dec. 1, 1868, he married Anna McIntire. They had nine children, the first born in 1871 and the last dying in 1984. When Minnich opened his business, he also operated a planing mill with the latest machinery to accommodate the ever-growing demands of his contracting business.
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Over the years, George A. Minnich & Son General Contractors did a lot of work involving some of the larger businesses in Chambersburg, not to mention many homes built and remodeled by his firm. During the mid-1890s, he also served two terms as a Chambersburg Town Council member representing the Fourth Ward.
George was a faithful member of Housum Post 309 and held various positions over the years. He was able to attend many of the meetings held by the state and national G.A.R. The Chambersburg post was always kept in good repair, but things were about to change. The Housum Post building was parallel to the Western Maryland Railroad, which was built through Chambersburg in 1881.
With this in mind, the members of the Housum Post on Dec. 23, 1909, sent a letter the railroad company about water drainage into their property. In the letter, the Housum Post trustees called attention to the unfavorable conditions related to drainage off Water Street, along the post building to the creek.
"You will remember that we called your attention to this problem last Summer but nothing was done by you to correct the issue and now we make this last appeal," the letter reads. "Your company has no right to turn the water into our basement as every time there is a heavy rain, the water can't properly drain as the pipes are too small, and often times the pipes become clogged and the water can't flow through it at all, and the result is the pipe dams up and flows into our basement.
"In order to protect ourselves we have gone to considerable expense to try and keep the water out of our building," the letter continues. "The adjustment we ask for will cost the railroad very little money. The trustees of the Housum Post recommend that on the West side of the track you should take the drain pipes away that run to the creek and cement the gutter the entire length of the hall straight to the creek on the East side of the railroad track."
The letter goes on to say that the trustees of the veterans' organization "can't conceive that any company could do an injustice to the property of the Old Soldiers, the defenders of our country."
The letter was signed by trustees Samuel Monath, D.B. Nace, and George A. Minnich.
Minnich, being an active member of the Housum Post, had been selected by the members as chairman of the Memorial Day program in May 1911. He and his committee were also responsible for decorating the graves of veterans in the Chambersburg area.
In the spring of 1923, Minnich was diagnosed with a heart ailment. He was attending a G.A.R. meeting April 24, 1923, at a residence on North Second Street in Chambersburg. The chaplain had just concluded the prayer when George A. Minnich took his last breath and died in his chair.
Aside from the G.A.R., Minnich was a member of Falling Spring Presbyterian Church, Hope Hose Co. No. 4 and a number of other fraternal organizations. He was buried in Cedar Grove Cemetery on North Franklin Street in Chambersburg. In life he was appreciated, and in death he is remembered.
M.L. “Mike” Marotte III is an author and historian who writes about the history of Franklin County. Read more of him at www.vintagefranklincountypa.com.
This article originally appeared on Chambersburg Public Opinion: Chambersburg's George A. Minnich a veteran, public servant
