The District

Pennsylvania's 18th District

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Let Freedom Ring

7/3/13

Dear Friend,

On Thursday, July 4th, towns large and small all over our country will mark America's 237th birthday with parades, picnics, and fireworks.

I’ll have the chance to visit communities throughout the 18th congressional district for celebrations this weekend, and will undoubtedly see how so many of us continue to cherish our country and appreciate the freedoms that prior generations gave their lives for. That patriotism and passion for liberty helped expel the British from the colonies, secured victory in two world wars, and preserved the Union when America was “a house divided.”

This Independence Day holiday, we remember the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It would become the bloodiest battle ever on United States soil, with 51,000 combined casualties. In our region, you can still hear the echoes of the battle that some historians say turned the tide and bolstered the resolve of the American public to see the war through another two years.

In June 1863, as General Robert E. Lee’s men were making their way through northern Virginia, the atmosphere in Pittsburgh was tense. Locals worried about a potential attack because the region was the center of Union manufacturing, with Fort Pitt Foundry and Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville producing the bulk of Union artillery and weaponry. Fortifications were hastily built around the city by able-bodied men to defend against a surprise invasion by the rebels.

In addition to supplying materiel, Southwestern Pennsylvania was also supplying men of courage. Westmoreland County sent more units to support the war than any other part of the Commonwealth. In Greene County, two young men named James Purman and James Pipes were traveling to local farmsteads by wagon, waving a flag and singing patriotic songs to sign up volunteers for the army.

At Gettysburg, both men were shot while helping a wounded soldier to safety. Purman and Pipes earned the Medal of Honor for their bravery (read more about their story here), and this weekend in Gettysburg, local Civil War reenactors will pay tribute to the sacrifice of Lt. Purman, Sgt. Pipes, and the “Greene County Rifles” unit as members of the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, Company A.

Then, as now, men and women across the region are willing to do whatever is necessary so that a “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” This Independence Day, we remember the sacrifices at Gettysburg and contributions by everyday Southwestern Pennsylvanians that helped to win the Civil War and set our great nation on a path to its new birth of freedom.

Happy Fourth of July, and God Bless America.

  • Office Locations

    Office Name Location Image Map URL
    Washington DC 2332 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
    Washington, DC 20515
    Phone: (202) 225-2301
    Fax: (202) 225-1844    		 http://goo.gl/maps/mskhT
    Mt. Lebanon Office
    504 Washington Road
    Pittsburgh, PA 15228
    Phone: (412) 344-5583
    Fax: (412) 429-5092    		 http://goo.gl/maps/wSZBo
    Greensburg Office
    2040 Frederickson Place
    Greensburg, PA 15601
    Phone: (724) 850-7312
    Fax: (724) 850-7315    		 http://goo.gl/maps/sR2hU
           
           

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    repName Tim Murphy  
    helpWithFedAgencyAddress District Office
    504 Washington Road
    Pittsburgh, PA 15228    		  
    district 18th District of Pennsylvania  
    academyUSCitizenDate July 1, 2012  
    academyAgeDate July 1, 2012  
    academyApplicationDueDate October 20, 2012  
    repStateABBR PA  
    repDistrict 18  
    repState Pennsylvania  
    repDistrictText 18th  
    repPhoto  
    SponsoredBills Sponsored Bills  
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