Oh, oh! There was evidently an earthquake just south of Emmitsburg sometime between June 27th, 1863 and June 30th, 1863! Take a look at the Tom's Creek area in HPSCG #294 and then HPSCG #78. Prior to the event Tom's Creek lazily makes its way eastward as a gentle stream with fords at the crossings. Three days later, after the quake, Tom's Creek has turned into a full fledged creek and the good, industrious citizens of Emmitsburg have rushed out and quickly built some bridges for the crossings. There are also some new landforms pushed upwards here and there, providing excellent artillery positions where none were before.
These are just the first sketchy reports of the changes. There may be more, dependent upon the size of the quake! Our cartographers are scratching their heads and trying to figure out if the Rebs had anything to do with this!
General Jos. C. Meyer
Commander, Army of the Tennessee
Union Army Chief of Staff
