Francis W. Hughes Copperhead Blames Dana Troop For Breaking a Cemetery Monument. 1863

The Hughes Monument Apparently the Dove was on top. As you can plainly see something is now completely broken off.


In the August 22, 1863 issue of the Miners Journal an article appeared in reference to the Hon. F.W. Hughes, the “Notorious Copperhead of Pottsville” Apparently he was blaming members of the Dana Troop of cavalry for the act. it stated:
Hon. F.W. Hughes offers a reward of $200 “for the discovery of sufficient evidence to lead to the arrest and conviction of the miscreant or miscreants, who mutilated the ornamental part of the monument erected over the remains of a member of his family, in the burial lot of Mount Laurel Cemetery, Pottsville.”
The fracture bears evidence that the outrage was committed quite recently. How very a low a man or set of men must be sunk in the depths of degradation, who will deliberately invade the last resting place of the dead, to mutilate the monument erected to their memory. Shame on the miscreants.
Copperhead Organ of Saturday Last .



The Miners Journal Reply.
“How very low a man or set of men” in or out of the columns of a newspaper, “must be sunk in the depths of degradation” to endeavor for the sake of mere partisan capital, to impute an act of sacrilege where it is evident to every one who examined the monument, none was ever intended or attempted. As we have already said plainly, if we really thought that any one had intentionally broken the wing of the dove of Mr. Hughes’s monument, there are no terms of condemnation of such an act which we would not employ. But after examination we are convinced that the delicate piece of marble was broken off accidentally, and are assured by several ladies, who often visit the Cemetery, among them a relative of Mr. Hughes, that so far from it being of recent occurrence, they observed several months since it was broken. This fact should be stated in justice to the Dana Troop whose camp is in proximity to the cemetery, not a man of whom we firmly believe, would tarnish his honor by being concerned in any disreputable act, much less in one so base as that charged above.

I went up to Mount Laurel or known today as Charles Baber Cemetery and photographed the Hughes Plot. Take a look for yourself.