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John Schneider laid out the village called Schneidershtettle (Snydertown), named in his honor, on a tract
of 360 acres in 1818. Later the town became known as Uniontown, presumably because the
main roads and trails converged here at the "Gap" connecting the Lykens and
Mahantango Valleys. Uniontown was officially incorporated as a borough in 1864, however, a
Uniontown in Fayette County caused post-office confusion, and the town was renamed
after a General Pillow in 1965.
It is probably safe to say that few residents of the area are aware of
how or why this name change came to be, or even after whom the town took it's name. We'll
attempt to answer those questions here.
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Gideon Johnson
Pillow was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, on June 8, 1806. He graduated from the
University of Nashville in 1827; and became a successful lawyer in Columbia, Tennessee,
with future President James K. Polk . He was a delegate to the National Democratic
convention of 1844, and aided largely in securing the nomination of his neighbor
James Polk, for the presidency In July, 1846, and subsequently received an
appointment as brigadier general of volunteers, and later major general, from
then-President Polk. Serving in the Mexican War, Pillow led a division in Gen. Winfield
Scott's army, and was wounded twice. He ran unsuccessfully for Vice President in 1852 and
1856. Although he opposed secession, he joined the Confederacy when Tennessee seceded. A
brigadier general in the Confederate service as of July 9, 1861, he led a division at
Belmont, Missouri in November of 1861 and took part in the fighting at Fort Donelson in
February of 1862. |
| At Fort Donelson,
when hopelessly surrounded by Union forces, senior ranking General Gideon J. Pillow and
Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd passed on command to lesser ranking Brig. Gen. Simon B. Buckner,
who was pre-arranged to surrender the fort and garrison to General Grant. Before the
surrender, Floyd embarked his Virginia troops upon steamers and carried them off. General
Pillow along with a number of officers and entourage crossed to the opposite side of the
Cumberland and and escaped to Clarksville. Buckner surrendered to Grant unconditionally as
planned, and was taken prisoner with his remaining men. At Decatur, AL, General Pillow was
immediately relived from duty. He did, however, subsequently lead a brigade at Stone's
River in the Southwest under Beauregard, and still later was made chief of conscripts in
the Western department. . After that, most of his assignments were administrative. Once
the Civil War ended, Pillow joined former Tennessee governor, Isham G. Harris, with intent
to establish a thriving law practice. |
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After the close of the war Pillow found himself in some serious
financial difficulty, brought on by yet another questionable decision he made as a General.
During the war he had ordered the seizure and sale of the coal and other assets of a
Pittsburgh company. The coal was sold and the proceeds turned over to the State, and
everything received for the coal and other property of the company was used by the
Confederacy for military purposes. After the war, the the Pittsburgh Company sued the
Confederacy and The General personally for $125,000 damages, which resulted in a judgment
against him for $38,500, an almost unfathomable debt in 1865. The outcome of the trial was
no doubt influenced by the fact that Pillow was a moderate, well connected Tennessee
politician with strong links to Washington, but who accepted the appointment of Brigadier
General in the Confederate Army. Although a new trial was granted, the general's claims as
a belligerent were disallowed. His State was unable to come to his aid, and he was
compelled to declare bankruptcy. General Pillow said that the loss of his property gave
him "less anguish than the humiliation of bankruptcy." He attempted the
cultivation of his farm in Maury county and of his plantation in Arkansas, but labored
under many discouraging circumstances. He died in Lee county, Ark., October 6, 1878
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