The Man Who Grew Up in His Great-Grandfather's Civil War Shadow with Bill Eshenbaugh

Unity in Identity · May 28, 2026 · 50m

Bill Eshenbaugh shares how researching his Pennsylvania farm’s 1800s origins led him to his Civil War ancestors—great-grandfather Andrew and grandfather William Dixon Eschenbach—who served in Pennsylvania cavalry units in the Shenandoah Valley. He reflects on the toughness of soldiers and families who kept farms running with little communication, scarce rations, disease, and battlefield injuries, and explores uncertain motivations for enlistment. Bill describes growing up in the same house his grandfather built, the relentless manual labor of farm life, and how decades of genealogy work, a…