During the Civil War, Columbia's strategic position made it a valuable target for a Southern army seeking to disrupt Northern communications and supply lines. Railroads connected Columbia with Philadelphia, York, and Harrisburg, while canal transportation linked the community with both the Chesapeake Bay and Pennsylvania's interior. The Pennsylvania Railroad had three routes radiating from Columbia: one from Lancaster after originating in Philadelphia as part of a combined railroad-canal system running from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, one crossing the mile-long covered bridge over the Susquehanna River to Wrightsville on its way to York, and one running adjacent to the Susquehanna River from Middletown to Columbia. The bridge was torched on June 28, 1863, to prevent the Confederate from crossing into Lancaster County and on to Harrisburg and possibly Philadelphia. During the war, a trainload of Confederate prisoners bound for a Federal prison camp in New Jersey was delayed in Columbia for several hours, and the women of the town brought food and clean clothing to help relieve the suffering Southern soldiers.
