Charley: The Youngest Soldier to Die in the American Civil War (virtual)

Learn the story of Charley King, West Chester native and the youngest soldier to die in the American Civil War. Author Brendan J. Lyons will join the Chester County History Center to talk about Charley’s life, the historical resources used to make the narrative of the book, his connection to Charley in the construction of the monument in Greenmount cemetery, and the writing process itself. This event is great for lovers of Civil War history and local stories, as well as anyone interested in research and writing.

About the Speaker: Brendan Lyons grew up in Downingtown, PA, and studied history education at Villanova University. He has lived and worked in the Philadelphia area his entire life, giving him an unshakable love for the area and its history. He now lives in Hatboro with his wife and two children. Brendan first learned of Charley King’s story in 2004 as a Boy Scout in East Brandywine, PA. One of his troop’s scoutmasters introduced Charley’s story to the troop. Though Charley was known to be the youngest soldier to die in the Civil War, his burial place was unknown and there was no monument in existence to honor his bravery and sacrifice. At the suggestion of Scout Leader Bob McGonigal and because of his fascination with American history, Brendan took up the cause of funding and building a monument to Charley for his Eagle Scout project.

Admission is Pay as You Wish – Register Here! Your donation is greatly appreciated. All proceeds benefit the development of future programming and the preservation of the History Center and its collections. The History Center is home to over 750,000 manuscripts, 100,000 photographs, and 70,000 artifacts. Your donation helps us to preserve and share those resources.

Presentation is via Zoom, and will be recorded and available for 7 days for all registered participants. We will email out a Zoom link the day of the presentation, and email a link to the recording within 48 hours. Note: the Zoom link emailed out the day of the presentation only takes you to the live presentation; the link emailed out the day after will contain the recorded version.

This presentation is made possible by the generous support of the Haverford Trust Company.