GREENCASTLE– The Allison-Antrim Museum will host a speaker meeting on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. in the German Bank Barn. The speaker will be John Hoptak, Historian and Training Specialist at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Hoptak will give a PowerPoint presentation on the 54th Mass and 55th Mass, Black regiments raised before the U.S. Colored Troops regiments were established.
Many of the men in these regiments were from Mercersburg and Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is believed that Zion Union Cemetery in Mercersburg has at least 38 men of the 54th buried there, making it the largest known burial site for this regiment.
Hoptak is the author of two books on the Civil War: “The Battle of South Mountain” and “Confrontation at Gettysburg.” Both books will be available for sale at the event.
The event is free and open to the public. The museum is located at 365 South Ridge Avenue, Greencastle, Pennsylvania 17225. The facility is wheelchair accessible.
