Pottsville in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
In Memory of the First Defenders and Nicholas Biddle
Photographed by Frederick Bothwell, December 2019
1. Marker is mounted on Southwest face of monument plinth
First man to shed blood in the Civil War April 18,1861
Erected 1951 by Erected by the Citizens of Pottsville.
Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is April 18, 1861.
Location. 40° 41.04′ N, 76° 11.934′ W. Memorial is in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in Schuylkill County. It is on West Market Street (Pennsylvania Route 209) 0 miles west of North 5th Street, in the median. The marker is affixed to the Southwest face of a monument in the median strip of West Market Street. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Pottsville PA 17901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Coal Region. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, in Appalachia, and specifically in Northern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At
this page online
More about this memorial. The monument has four bronze military figures around its plinth and a column surmounted by a draped female figure with a sheathed sword in the left hand, holding an olive wreath aloft in the right hand.
Regarding In Memory of the First Defenders and Nicholas Biddle. According to other sources, the first U.S. casualty at the outbreak of hostilities was Daniel Hough, an Irish immigrant soldier who died at Fort Sumpter on April 14, 1861, four days before Nicholas Biddle, who was injured during a civil disturbance at a train station in Baltimore several days later.
Also see . . .
1. Nicholas Biddle; The Civil War's First Blood.
Library of Congress
2. Nick Biddle,
of Pottsville, Pa., the first man wounded in the great American Rebellion, "Baltimore, April 18, 1861"
Photo by W. R. Mortimer
Photo by W. R. Mortimer
2. First Casualty of the Civil War Disputed. Irish Central website entry (Submitted on December 31, 2019, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas.)
Additional keywords. Claimed Historic First, Historical dispute
Photographed by Frederick Bothwell, December 2019
3. Inscription Below First Defenders Marker
"Love, honor, renown, and lasting remembrance for those who fought for freedom and an imperiled country. May posterity profit by their example. DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO PATRIA MORI" ("It is sweet and proper to die for one's country" is a line from the Odes of the Roman poet Horace.)
Photographed by Frederick Bothwell, December 2019
4. Pottsville Civil War Monument
The monument and the figure atop the column face northeast. The Defenders/Biddle marker is mounted on the southwest face of the plinth. The four uniformed figures atop the plinth represent an Infantry soldier with a rifle, a Cavalryman with a saber, an Artilleryman with a ramrod, and a sailor with a sailor hat.
Photographed by Frederick Bothwell, December 2019
5. Medallion On Base Of Monument
This medallion is mounted on the northeast face of the base.
The Mebane Greeting Card Co., Wilkes-Barre, PA.
6. Early Postcard (ca 1930-1945)
Image found in online collection of Boston Public Library, Print Department. There appears to be a large marker on the northeast face of the monument which is now missing.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 31, 2019, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,311 times since then and 107 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 31, 2019, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. 2. submitted on January 20, 2021, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on December 31, 2019, by Frederick Bothwell of Georgetown, Texas. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
