The Light of Parnell

From the original press sheet from 1916

“The Light of Parnell  is a border tale of Southern Pennsylvania,
dealing with certain phases of the Civil War and the events
immediately preceding it.

The historic details are correct and based
largely upon actual experiences.”

“The book abounds in exciting descriptions of border raids and
daring exploits of scouts and spies; and contains an
impressive sketch of Colonel Mosby, who has recently died…

Moses Preston, a Manumitted slave, one of the central characters,
is a psychological study, involving some interesting phases
of the race problems.”
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The story is a tale largely set in the area around Parnell Nob,
called Mount Parnell in the book,
located in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
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Notes from “In the Valley of Shadows : A Closer Look
at Franklin in the 1850’s – African American Lives”

In the years prior to the Civil War, Franklin County, PA was home
to 1,788 African Americans. It has the 5th highest number of black
residents in all of Pennsylvania. They had probably not run away,
since they would have been vulnerable to capture so close to the
Mason-Dixon Line. Most likely they bought or received their freedom
and then moved to free soil close to families and friends still in slavery.

Montgomery Township, home of the town of Mercersburg, accounted
for the largest concentration of black Franklin citizens : nearly 400.
Mercersburg, with its black population, reportedly worked as a point
on the Underground Railroad. They ushered runaway slaves into the
mountains  in “Little Africa”, an enclave about 2 miles west of Mercersburg.