I am listening to Allen Guelzo's book, Gettysburg, the Last Invasion in my car. I may have uncovered interesting tidbit about the York County Fairgrounds for those of you, who like myself, are avid readers of Civil War history.
In the last week of June 1863, as the Army of Northern Virginia invaded Pennsylvania, Lee's 2nd Corps, under Richard Ewell, was leading the way for an attack on Harrisburg. Rhodes and Johnson's division were taking the direct route in the Cumberland Valley for Harrisburg, while Early's division after passing through Gettysburg, headed directly east for York with the intent to capture the railroad bridge in Wrightsville to cross the Susquehanna to Columbia and assault Harrisburg from the rear (while the rest of the 2nd Corps assaulted it directly).
The dialogue reads that when Early's division captured York, 2 of its brigades bivouacked in the town center. Then, mention was made that Hayes' brigade made camp in the County Fairgrounds, 2 miles from downtown.
How about that? 2 miles from downtown could put it at the current location. Obviously, I have to do some research to see if it is the same spot.....but I thought that was neat.
What happened next is well known to all of us. Lee received word that Army of the Potomac was concentrating and moving up to the Pennsylvania line. Lee recalled Ewell's Corps from the attack on Harrisburg to concentrate his army at Gettysburg......where he collided with the Union Army under Meade on July 1-3.
Peter