In October 1862, hundreds of Irish mineworkers in Schuylkill County did something extraordinary - and dangerous. They took up arms against the government.

In this presentation, public historian Jake Wynn explores a largely forgotten uprising in Pennsylvania’s Coal Region when draft resistance, racial grievance, labor unrest, and partisan politics collided in the middle of the Civil War. 

Centered in Cass Township and the mining villages northwest of Minersville, the rebellion saw armed mineworkers halt coal production, stop trains carrying drafted men, and challenge state and federal authority at a moment when the Union war effort hung in the balance.

Drawing from contemporary newspapers, political correspondence, and the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Wynn places the 1862 revolt within the broader story of Northern dissent, Copperhead politics, and the turbulent rise of the Molly Maguires.

This is a story of class tension and ethnic identity, of rumor and resistance, and of Coal Region communities pushed to the brink.

This event is free for SCHS members and $5 for nonmembers.

Bio: 

Jake Wynn is a public historian and tourism marketing professional. He has written extensively about the history of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region over the last 15 years, with particular interest in the Civil War era. He previously served as the Director of Interpretation at the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum. He writes online at wynninghistory.com and is a co-host on the Public History with Justin, Jake, and Molly podcast. He currently lives in Frederick, Maryland.