Chambersburg, Pennsylvania

=== Civil War Legacy ===

==== Accusations of war crimes ====

[[File:Jubal Early disguised as a farmer, 1865.jpg|thumb|right|Accused war criminal, General Early, disguised as a farmer, while escaping to Mexico, 1865.]]
Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early was accused of war crimes for ordering Chambersburg burned. The actual burning divided two of his cavalry commanders, because when Maryland-born Gen. Bradley Johnson saw the behavior of Gen. McCausland's troops in Chambersburg, he refused to participate in a similar burning at Cumberland and Hancock, Maryland not far to the south, so both those towns survived despite likewise not paying ransoms.<ref>Douglas Southall Freeman, Lee's Lieutenants (abridged 1-volume version edited by Stephen W. Sears) (Scribner 1998) p. 745</ref> Union cavalry under Brig. Gen. [[William W. Averell]], although initially misdirected toward Baltimore and thus late to arrive to prevent the atrocities, also pursued the Confederates, who sustained several defeats and lost most of the [[Shenandoah Valley]] by November. Furthermore, when the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered on April 9, 1865, Early escaped to Texas by horseback, where he hoped to find a Confederate force still holding out.  He proceeded to Mexico, and from there, sailed to [[Cuba]] and [[Canada]]. Living in [[Toronto]], he wrote his [[memoir]], ''A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence, in the Confederate States of America'', which focused on his Valley Campaign and was published in 1867.

==== Chambersburg's Reconstruction ====

A combination of state and private funding rebuilt Chambersburg. However, many new buildings were erected quickly and not initially built to the original standards. It took more than 30 years to fully restore the town's housing stock to pre-Civil War standards. As discussed further below, Chambersburg was the site of one of the 69 schools established by Pennsylvania to educate children orphaned by the war, and which remained when all other such were closed decades later. Known as "[[The Scotland School for Veterans Children]]" after the 1890s, it remained open until 2010 and graduated more than 10,000 children during its lifetime.

==== Memorialization of Civil War ====
[[Image:Diamondviewfolder20a.gif|thumb|right|250px| "Fountain, Memorial Square, Chambersburg, Pa." 1921 post card.]]
Since people from Chambersburg had relatives on both sides during the war, and the war devastated the town, the town event also became a part of the town's identity. On July 17, 1878, 15,000 people attended dedication of Memorial Fountain in the town's center, which honors the Civil War soldiers, and later Chambersburg's fighters in other wars. A statue of a Union soldier stands next to the fountain, facing south to guard against the return of southern raiders.

To this day, the Civil War burning of Chambersburg remains a part of the town's historic identity and yearly memorial events are held, especially near July 30.

Chambersburg has also recently been the subject of study on how people have historically perceived and responded to war tragedies.{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}