Soldiers to Governors: Pennsylvania's Civil War Veterans Who Became State Leaders (review)

Richard Saylor, a reference archivist for the Pennsylvania State Archives, has written a lavishly illustrated book about six Civil War veterans who went on to serve as Republican governors of Pennsylvania. This handsome volume is based on the extensive collection of Civil War-era artifacts and manuscripts held by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), and one of the book's stated purposes is to bring awareness to the "tremendous breadth and depth" of that collection (vi). It does that admirably, but Saylor reaches for a more ambitious goal. In chronicling the lives and careers of John W. Geary, John F. Hartranft, Henry M. Hoyt, James A. Beaver, William A. Stone, and Samuel W. Pennypacker, Saylor hopes to demonstrate how the seminal experience of the Civil War shaped their actions in the political arena between 1867 and 1907. He places them in a larger context and describes how the shared bond of military service informed their relationship with so many of their constituents, leading to support for veterans issues ranging from pensions and soldiers' homes to orphan schools and compensation for wartime property damages. Major General John White Geary was the first to ride into office on the crest of Republican loyalty, waving the bloody shirt and announcing, "I vote as I fight" (27). That slogan neatly summarizes the postwar election trends in the Keystone State. Democrats were tainted by their ties to the party of slavery and rebellion. Republican victories were Union victories. That was clearly evident on the national political stage as well, where Republicans dominated the presidency until the 1884 election of Grover Cleveland, who won despite having paid a substitute to take his place in the war.

Despite Saylor's efforts to add scholarly substance to the book, it is first and foremost a large-format book filled with wonderful photographs—160 of them—and this is primarily what makes the work valuable. Visual materials from the museum and archives collection are artfully arranged and effectively used to illustrate the narrative. The text that summarizes each man's life and career is concise and well written, though one might quibble that lengthy quotations of letters and speeches have taken the place of incisive interpretation and context. The overall impression given is that of a book-length version of a museum exhibition that conveys the reader or viewer through the theme of how the war affected the governors' "vision and beliefs" (ix). In that respect, it is exceedingly well done, but it is what it is. Paradoxically, the book's high qualities are also reflections of its limitations. Saylor effectively uses the sources of the PHMC—with which he is undoubtedly on very intimate terms—but he does not go beyond those materials in his efforts to make his case. As a result, the context of the narrative is not always in sharp focus.

For example, in Saylor's description of Governor Hartranft's actions during the nationwide railway workers strike in 1877, we learn that Hartranft ordered out the National Guard and requested the aid of federal troops and that he ordered and condoned the firing on rioters and unarmed crowds. Hartranft took personal command of a joint force of militia and federal troops, traveled to Pittsburg, and broke the back of the strike. The end result of these actions in Saylor's view is that Hartranft thus recognized the "inadequacies of the Commonwealth's militia system" (58). He is silent on the larger issue of class conflict and working-class discontent that marked this period, where moneyed citizens advocated the use of state power to squash labor activism.

However, this is not meant to be a criticism of the work on the basis of its being less than what it purports to be; it is merely meant to describe what it is. It is a well-written overview of the subject, and it provides succinct...