Tombstone of the Day: Governor Andrew Curtin

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Andrew Gregg Curtin was Pennsylvania's governor during the Battle of Gettysburg.
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on June 19, 2013 at 11:45 AM, updated June 24, 2013 at 8:23 AM


By Joe Farley, Joe Farrell and Lawrence Knorr

As an industrial power and the 2nd most populous state, Pennsylvania played a key role

Andrew_Curtin.jpgAndrew Curtin became the Republican candidate for governor in 1860. He won the election and took office on January 15, 1861.

in the Civil War. Everyone knows that the Confederate invasion of the North came to an end at Gettysburg. Far fewer know that the largest of the North’s military camps was located just outside of Harrisburg. Harrisburg was the east-west junction location for the northern railroads and as a result the camp was a major military supply center. The camp was known as Camp Curtin and it was named after Pennsylvania’s Governor at the time, Andrew Gregg Curtin.

Curtin became the Republican candidate for governor in 1860. He won the election and took office on January 15, 1861. As governor, he supported President Lincoln. He became a close friend of Lincoln’s and made several trips to Washington to discuss the war effort with the president. He was instrumental in obtaining supplies and raising troops for the Union Army. He also made clear his belief that no state could secede from the union. Curtin believed that allowing a state to secede was admitting that our form of government was a failure.

142.JPGAndrew Curtin is buried in Union Cemetery in Bellefonte.

Curtin is considered to be one of the most effective of the northern governors. He became known as “The Soldier’s Friend.” He pushed the War department to adequately supply the troops in the field. He visited the army after the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. He also established a system of state schools to care for war orphans. In addition, after the Battle of Gettysburg, Curtin was the driving force behind the effort that led to the establishment of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

You can learn more about Governor Andrew Curtin and many other Civil War-era Pennsylvanians in the book Keystone Tombstones Civil War at


