CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 35 
Catholic Church. The Rev. Alexander McGill of the 
Second Church seems to have been his preferred minister. 
A very important element in the life at Carlisle was 
furnished by the United States Military Post. This was 
situated about half a mile northeast of the town but 
within the Borough limits. 
The Barracks were built in 1777. The labor was 
furnished by Hessian prisoners captured at Trenton. 
They could accommodate two thousand men. About 
1839 a school of cavalry practice was established there, 
and the building handsomely refitted under the direction 
of Captain E. V. Sumner, then commanding the post. A 
military band was stationed there and on festive occasions 
entertained the town with its music, in processions or 
on the public square. 
In the list of town officials for 1841, the name of William 
M. Biddle occurs as one of the two street commissioners. 
Miss Baird records: 
“Carlisle in the old days had a much larger and gayer 
society than now. Beside my great-grandmother’s clan 
(as I think I may call it) who were comparatively new- 
comers, there were many pleasant families then residing 
in the town or on farms near it, some of whom had settled 
there during the early pioneer period. There were many 
parties and social entertainments. Indeed the place 
seemed of much greater social importance than its size 
warranted. It was, however, not only the county town, 
but was also a college town and a garrison town. This 
latter factor brought many officers, frequently with their 
families, to reside there for longer or shorter periods. 
It was also the day of small towns, socially speaking, as 
railways had not yet centralized society in the larger 
towns and cities as much as is now the case.” 
