y June of 1864, Chambersburg was used to living the Civil War. Since the beginning of the war, the town had grown into a distinct home front society. Chambersburg residents, like those in every town, had watched as their sons, husbands, brothers, and fathers left to serve in the military. In the absence of so many men, women had assumed new roles in the town's society. The organizations they joined and the activities in which they participated changed after the onset of war. Churches, as well, shifted their focus to address war and home front issues, instructing people how to maintain their strength and determination in the face of the war's uncertainty. Agriculture and business reflected the impact of the war as well, surging, as Chambersburg became a center for wartime production and transportation. All of these changes signaled the establishment of a home front society, one which supported and acknowledged the war's presence, but also allowed people in Chambersburg to live relatively normal day to day lives. Like those one the homefront all over the country, they were at home, not on the battlefield.

Twice, though, those lines became less clear when Confederates invaded Chambersburg. In 1862, Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart, and in 1863 Generals Albert Jenkins and Robert E. Lee took over the town, making Chambersburg one of the few Northern towns ever occupied by Confederate troops. Their presence in town brought the war more directly into the lives of Chambersburg citizens. For the most part, though, residents were left unharmed in these first two raids, and they recovered fairly quickly.

In June of 1864 this home front society was well-established. With the memory of two invasions, the absence of so many men, and the changed face of daily life, Chambersburg was certainly affected by the Civil War, but there was no real panic. Life on the home front proceeded as usual. June represents this home front, how it developed, and how looked just before it was changed completely by the burning the next month.