The 48th/150th: The 48th's Last Battle: The Attack on Fort Mahone: April 2, 1865

April 2, 2015, 7:05 am

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. . .Where Gowen Fell. . . Fort Mahone Today

 

 

Throughout the four years of the American Civil War--by rail, by foot, and on water--the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry traversed nearly 5,000 miles of ground, campaigning in several different theaters of operations, and across seven states. Along the way, the regiment had compiled an extensive service record, participating in nearly two dozen major battle actions of the war and in countless other skirmishes and lesser engagements. The 48th's record banner remains emblazoned with such sanguinary and familiar battles as "2nd Bull Run,""Antietam.""Fredericksburg,""Campbell's Station,""Siege of Knoxville,""Wilderness,""Spotsylvania,""North Anna,""Cold Harbor," and "Petersburg," among others.

 

Yet it was 150 years today--on April 2, 1865--that the regiment fought in its last battle.

 

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For the past 290 days--since mid-June 1864--the soldiers of the 48th remained in the trenches east of Petersburg. It was a severe trial for the men to endure for so long the hardships of life in the trenches, exposed to the elements, and to the constant artillery and musketry fire. It should never had lasted this long; indeed, just a few days after taking up positions east of Petersburg, the 48th embarked upon its effort at tunneling under the Confederate line. Their undertaking was remarkably successful and it should have led to the end of the siege at Petersburg. If only Meade and Grant and Burnside had handled things differently. Surely not a day went by after the bloody repulse at the Crater that the men of the 48th thought about what could of been; how they should have been at home by now; how they should have been the architects of the grand Union victory. Frustration, even anger and resentment, remained.

 

Yet with the arrival of spring in 1865, there was a sense that, at long last, the end was near. As regimental historian Oliver Bosbyshell noted, "As the spring came on all felt that decisive action would surely ensue." In early March, Lincoln had taken the Oath of Office for the second time while, further south, Sherman and his men were cutting their way through the Carolinas. And at Petersburg, Grant decided that the time had come to strike again at Robert E. Lee and his vaunted, once seemingly-invincible Army of Northern Virginia. During the final days of March and into April, Grant directed his army to extend to the left, toward Lee's right flank and rear. There was a series of running fights, skirmishes, and pitched battles, all of which ended badly for Lee; his lines were stretched far too thin--his army was on the verge of its breaking point. He knew Petersburg and Richmond must surely fall. On April 1, Union forces under Philip Sheridan and Gouverneur Warren won a marked victory at the Battle of Five Forks, inflicting nearly 3,000 casualties upon Lee's ever-dwindling army and, perhaps more importantly, opening the way to sever Lee's only remaining supply line, the Southside Railroad. When Grant learned about this, he knew the time had come; Lee would be desperate. Grant therefore decided to order an all-out assault on the Confederate lines immediately east and south of Petersburg. To carry out this assault, he called upon his Sixth and Ninth Corps.  

 

The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry formed part of General John Curtin's brigade, in Robert Potter's division, of the Ninth Army Corps, which, since the previous August had been under the command of Major General John Parke. Late on the night of April 1, Parke received orders that he was to attack. He opted to launch the attack directly from Fort Sedgwick--which the men in blue had dubbed "Fort Hell"--and directly upon the Confederate fortification known as Fort Mahone, better known as "Fort Damnation." The Confederate numbers had thinned considerably there, but their defensive line--and especially Fort Mahone--was still quite imposing and formidable. It would be a desperate and deadly struggle, with the men forced to charge across that no-man's land that separated the opposing lines of earthworks and fortifications, broken by abattis and chevaux-de-frise, in the face of a deadly storm of lead and iron. This open, deadly land between Forts Hell and Damnation the men called "purgatory."
 

 

April 2, 1865 Petersburg The 9th Corps's Attack is on far right of map (Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW)

 

 

 

On the night of April 1, the soldiers of the 48th learned of their orders. Their commander--Colonel George Washington Gowen--had been summoned that night to General Curtin's headquarters and there Curtin explained the plan to storm Fort Mahone directly to Gowen and to all of his brigade's regimental commanders. At the end of their meeting, after all arrangements were made, Curtin shook hands with each of his regimental commanders. Gowen, who had taken command of the 48th upon Henry Pleasants's departure in December 1864, was well acquainted with Curtin and as the two shook hands, Gowen reportedly told Curtin that the attack on Fort Mahone would be his last battle, that he had a sense that he would not survive the coming storm. Curtin attempted to disabuse Gowen of this idea and told him that he would place the 48th in reserve. But Gowen objected and insisted that he and his hard-fighting, veteran regiment take their designated--and rightful--place in line.

 

Meanwhile, the soldiers of the 48th were maneuvering in the darkness, eventually taking up position to the left of Fort Hell. In their haversacks they carried three days' rations, consisting mostly of sugar, coffee, and hard bread, remembered Sergeant William Wells of Company F. Although it was spring, it was still early enough in the season for the nights to be rather cold and the recent rains had turned much of the trench lines into muddy pits. And so, exposed to the chilly air and with their boots and pants damp and covered with mud, the soldiers of the 48th, having arrived at their designated jumping-off point, broke ranks and. . .waited. Surely a strange mix of foreboding and relief coursed through the regiment that night, with the usual anxiety and fear that came before any big fight but this time tempered by the thought that this might just be the battle that at last ends the war. One more battle, one more fight. . .then they could finally go home. No doubt the thought of loved ones back at home filled their thoughts as the men waited for the inevitable orders to attack. Through the darkness some of the men may have strained to see their objective, Fort Mahone, looming like a dark shadow before them, only a few hundred yards to their front. To their right, on the other side of Fort Hell were the men of Hartranft's Third Division, Ninth Corps, also awaiting the orders to advance; at the same time, to their left, further to the south and west, soldiers of the Army of the Potomac's veteran Sixth Corps were also taking up positions.

 

To better their chances, Grant decided to precede the infantry assault with all-out artillery bombardment. Throughout the night of April 1, the artillerists manning the cannons all along the Union lines east and south of Petersburg prepared for what would be a massive and memorable artillery barrage. As they wheeled their guns into position--and as the gunner's adjusted their elevating screws and got good range--an eerie silence descended upon the lines. It was already past midnight; Sunday, April 2 had dawned. Few got any sleep that night; many may have tried but the anxiety was much too pronounced. Most of the men were lost in their thoughts. For the moment, in the dark, in the trenched, all was quiet. Then, suddenly, a lone voice rang out. A soldier, described as "some irrepressible Irishman from Company C" shouted for all to hear, "Boys, we're going to early mass." This broke the tension and "caused the boys to laugh," remembered one veteran, "when they did not feel much like it."

 

It was not long after this that the artillery opened fire and it would be an experience the soldiers of the 48th would not soon forget. Joseph Gould, regimental historian, later recalled that "Orders had been issued on the night of the 1st that all batteries on the line should open their guns to cover the advance of the infantry. The roar of the signal gun at the Avery house found all the artillerymen at their posts and anxious to end the war. The bombardment grew furious as it increased along the whole line, from north of Petersburg to Hatcher's Run. The rebel guns replied with vigor, and this bombardment was the most terrific experienced on that front. The sight was one rarely seen. From hundreds of cannons, field guns and mortars came a stream of living fire as the shells screamed through the air in a semi-circle of flame, the noise was almost deafening." The men marveled at the sight, awed by the shells streaking light and flame across the dark night skies; no doubt the ground under them trembled. The bombardment was to last until 4:00 a.m., when the infantry would then charge forward. . .but at 4:00 o'clock it was still so dark that the men would not be able to see. The assault was delayed another half an hour, while the artillery barrage resumed.

 

Then, at long last, came the appointed time. . .at 4:30 a.m., orders raced their way along the soldiers in blue. The men rose to their feet, stretched their legs and quickly fell into line, taking deep breaths and wiping the sweat from their palms. Potter's division of the Ninth Corps, which would lead the attack from the left of Fort Sedgwick while Hartranft's men attacked on the right, took up position, stacked up and stretched out eighteen-regiments deep. Making their way forward, the regiment passed around the rear of Fort Sedgwick, through trenches that were muddy and, in places, nearly knee-deep with water. Making their way across the Jerusalem Plank Road, the battle lines were formed and through the misty fog of that fateful dawn, the men began their charge forward.

 

Alfred Waud Depiction of the Ninth Corps's Attack on Fort Mahone (Harpers Weekly)

 

 

Gould wrote that that morning the soldiers of the 48th were "eager to be avenged for the repulse at the explosion of the mine eight months before." Very succinctly he recorded that the men "fought like demons; and, in the teeth of the storm of grape, canister and musketry, plunged into the field and charged without flinching, until they reached the inside of the enemy lines." The fields over which they advanced were swept with a destructive fire but it took only a matter of minutes before the 48th made their way across "purgatory." Their advance was soon stalled, however, when they reached the Confederate abattis and cheaveux-de-fries immediately in front of Fort Mahone. One man, known only as "R," wrote that confusion ensued when the necessary halt was made in order to remove these obstructions and during this confused halt, "the enemy poured a destructive fire both from infantry and artillery" upon the stalled 48th. "Here the regiment was massed," recorded Sgt. Wells, "seeking a passage and forcing their way through as fast as the pioneers cut away the obstructions." The pioneers, who led the way with their axes, worked feverishly to cut through the abattis and cheaveaux-de-fries, but with each passing moment, men were falling. Sergeant Patrick Monaghan later declared that here, the "regimental front was rapidly diminishing." In the dirt and mud, in the damp mist of that early April morning, all was chaos, madness, slaughter. . .

 

Surgeon William R.D. Blackwood (center) Library of Congress

 

In the midst of this, William Robert Douglass Blackwood, the regimental surgeon, was conspicuous in his bravery. As the action raged the hottest, twenty-five-year-old Blackwood, a native of Ireland and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, made his way repeatedly to the front  to help remove severely wounded officers and soldiers from the field, all while under a heavy fire from the enemy. Thirty-two years later, in July 1897, Blackwood's most distinguished gallantry at Fort Mahone would earn him a Medal of Honor.

 

Blackwood Removing Wounded From The Field From Deeds of Valor

 

 

Meanwhile, at the front, the attack bogged down; the 48th still stalled in their advance. Alongside the regimental colors was Colonel George Gowen, waving his sword and shouting encouraging words, doing all in his power to keep the men moving forward. But it was at this moment that Gowen's premonition came to fruition. Monaghan--whose braver at Petersburg the previous summer earned him a Medal of Honor--remembered seeing Gowen lean over to talk with Sgt. Samuel Bedall, who was carrying the flag. Gowen then "straightened up" remembered Monaghan, "when a shell, hot from the mouth of one of the rebel guns of Fort Mahone, exploded in our midst." Gowen instantly fell forward, directly on his face and when Monaghan turned him over he discovered that half of Gowen's head had been blown away. Indeed, Gowen's blood and brains were splattered on the flag carried by Beddall. Along with two others, Monaghan carried Gowen's lifeless body back to the captured Confederate picket lines further to the rear.  

 

Colonel George Gowen Killed in Action April 2, 1865

 

 

In this initial charge, only a handful of soldiers actually made it to within the earthen walls of Fort Mahone. Perhaps seeing Gowen fall inspired them to keep going; either way all who did were either gunned down or captured. Most of the regiment fell back to reform. While there, General John Curtin, the brigade commander, made his way into the ranks of the reforming 48th. Exhausted, Curtin, a fellow Pennsylvania, leaned upon his sword and called out, "Let us make one more charge for the honor of the Old Keystone State!" And around him, the 48th gathered. Curtin turned to Sgt. Wells and to Corporal Howard Haas of Cressona and asked them to find the colors. Soon, Wells and Haas returned with Sergeants Beddall and William Taylor, "two of the best and most gallant men in the regiment," said Wells. With this nucleus formed, said Wells, the soldiers of the 48th, "without much regard to Company formation," soon charged back across purgatory and toward Fort Mahone. The soldiers "advanced with loud and continuous cheering to the assault, determined to avenge Colonel Gowen's untimely death. Over, around, and through the remaining obstructions with wild shouts they fly, and over the moat, already filled with dead and dying, they reached the glacis of the fort, and, muzzle to muzzle, patriot and rebel, blaze into each others faces, the guns in the fort being now useless."

 

Sergeant Samuel Beddall, one of the youngest soldiers in the regiment, carried a flag during the Attack on Fort Mahone (From Gould)

Sergeant Patrick Monaghan Removed the Lifeless Body of Gowen from the Field

Sergeant William Wells Wounded During Final Stage of Battle (From Gould)

 

 

The 48th poured up and over the walls of Fort Mahone. Nearby swept forward the 39th New Jersey Infantry. Captain John Williams of Company F was fearful the 39th's flag would be captured and so shouted out, "Forward, boys, and save the Jersey colors!" With one more determined push, the 48th swept through Fort Mahone. "Hand to hand, butt to butt, bayonet to bayonet the fight continued," said Wells. It was not long before the Confederate line broke, the men fleeing to the rear. Fort Mahone had been taken. The 9th Corps's attack, however, soon bogged down in the maze of entrenchments behind Fort Mahone. They would struggle to hold onto their foothold, for Confederate General John Gordon would spend much of the rest of that Sunday launching determined counterattacks to wrest Fort Mahone back from the boys in blue. Further to the west, however, the soldiers of the Sixth Corps enjoyed greater success in punching through and routing Lee's men from their entrenchments and later that evening, a defeated Robert E. Lee ordered an all-out evacuation of Petersburg. The ninth-month-long siege was at last over.

 

 

Modern-Day Image of the Location of Fort Mahone The Monument of the 48th Pennsylvania pictured here was placed near the spot where Gowen Fell

 

 

 

150 years ago today, on Sunday, April 2, 1865, the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry fought its last battle of the Civil War. They had succeeded in breaking into Fort Mahone and driving the Confederates from this formidable position but the regiment had paid a dear and heavy price. In the aftermath of the fight, it was recorded that eleven men--including Colonel Gowen--were killed or mortally wounded in the assault, with another fifty-three men wounded, and twenty-one either captured or missing. Several of the wounded would later succumb to their injuries, bringing the total fatality count up to sixteen.

 

 

Private Daniel Barnett Co. E Killed 150 Years Ago Today At Petersburg (Hoptak Collection)

 

 

The casualties sustained by the 48th 150 years ago today, in the regiment's final battle of the war--the Assault on Fort Mahone at Petersburg--follows:

 

Killed/Mortally Wounded: (16)

 

Colonel George Gowen

Sergeant John Homer, Co. B

Nicholas Stephens, Co. B

John Coutts, Co. B

Cpl. James Nicholson, Co. C

Aaron P. Wagner, Co. D

Daniel D. Barnett, Co. E

David McElvie, Co. F

James King, Co. H

William Donnelly, Co. H

George Uhl, Co. H

Albert Mack, Co. I

Albert Zimmerman, Co. I

Wesley Boyer, Co. I

Jacob Reichwein, Co. I

Simon Hoffman, Co. K

 

Wounded: (53)  

 

John Adams, Co. A (slightly, in foot)

1st Sgt. John Watkins, Co. B (severe, in thigh)

Sgt. Robert Campbell, Co. B (slight, in wrist)

William H. Ward, Co. B (slight, in thumb)

Robert Jones, Co. B (severe, in face)

George Seibert, Co. C (severe, in head)

Casper Groduverant, Co. C (slight, in shoulder)

Albert Kurtz, Co. C (severe, in thigh)

James F. Martin, Co. C (slight, in finger)

Paul Dehne, Co. C (slight, in hand)

Sgt. Henry Rothenberger, Co. D (severe, in eye)

Cpl. Levi Derr, Co. D (slight, in foot)
Jacob Schmidt, Co. D (severe, in head)

Edward McGuire, Co. D (slight, in finger)

Joseph Buddinger, Co. D (slight, in shoulder)

Chester Philips, Co. D (slight, in shoulder)

Thomas Wische, Co. D (slight, in head)

Cpl. William Morgan, Co. E (slight, in leg)

William James, Co. E (slight, in arm)

Robert Meredith, Co. E (severe, in right knee)

Frederick Goodwin, Co. E (severe, in right hand and neck)

Thomas Hays, Co. E  (slight, in wrist)

2nd Lt. Henry Reese, Co. F (slight, in arm)

Sgt. William Wells, Co. F (severe, in shoulder)

Cpl. John Devlin, Co. F (severe, in hand)

James Dempsey, Co. F (severe, in leg)

John Crawford, Co. F (slight, in leg)

Peter Bailey, Co. G (slight, in hand)

John Droble, Co. G (severe, in right shoulder)

Patrick Daley, Co. G (slight, in finger)

Nicholas Fers, Co. G (severe, in left thigh)

Thomas Howell, Co. G (slight, in abdomen)

Thomas Smith, Co. G (slight, in thigh)

John Wright, Co. G (severe, in thumb)

George Kane, Co. G (severe, in leg)

1st Lt. William Auman, Co. G (severe, in mouth)

Sgt. Peter Radelberger, Co. H (severe, right arm and breast)

Willoughby Lentz, Co. H (slight, in shoulder)

George E. Lewis, Co. H (slight, in thigh)

Benjamin Koller, Co. H (slight, arm)

Cpl. Henry Matthews, Co. H (slight, in arms)

2nd Lt. Thomas Silliman, Co. H (severe, in throat)

Jonathan Mowery, Co. I (severe, both thighs)

Charles C. Wagner, Co. I (severe, right leg)

Joseph Shoener, Co. I (severe, right leg)

John Road, Co. I  (severe, right leg and wrist)

Henry Goodman, Co. I  (dangerous, in face)

Benjamin Kline, Co. K (slight, in back)

Paul Snyder, Co. K (slight, in back)

Jacob Ebert, Co. K (severe, in thigh)

David Philips, Co. K (slight, in side)

Jno. Williams, Co. K (slight, in arm)

Joseph Wildermuth, Co. K (severe, right shoulder)

 

Captured/Missing In Action: (21)  

 

Sgt. Isaac Fritz, Co. B

William Reppert, Co. B

Michael Kingsley, Co. B

Lewis Kleckner, Co. B

Henry Rinker, Co. B

Daniel Hurley, Co. B

Cpl. James Hannan, Co. C

Samuel Kessler, Co. D

1st Sgt. John McElrath, Co. E

Cpl. George W. James, Co. E

Daniel McGeary, Co. E

John O'Neil, Co. E

Patrick Galligan, Co. F

Sgt. James McReynolds, Co. I

James Mullen, Co. I

Theodore Pletz, Co. I

John Oats, Co. I

Thomas J. Reed, Co. I

William Pelton, Co. K

John Marshall, Co. K

George Showers, Co. K

 

 

*Information from Joseph Gould, The Story of the Forty-Eighth, Oliver Bosbyshell, The 48th In The War, and Stu Richards, http://schuylkillcountymilitaryhistory.blogspot.com/2009/09/last-assault-of-48th-pennsylvania.html

 

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The 48th/150th: "Every Heart Was Filled to Overflowing:" The Road To Appomattox & The Surrender of Lee's Army

April 8, 2015, 2:24 am

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U.S. Soldiers Stand Atop The Earthworks at the Captured Fort Mahone April 1865 [National Archives]

150 Years Ago. . .and at long last, Petersburg, which according to Oliver Bosbyshell had been "so long invested, so hotly contested, and so stubbornly defended," had at last fallen. . .On April 3, 1865, United States soldiers entered the city and raised the American flag once more. Further to the north, Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, had also fallen. The Confederate government was on the run, as was Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Union forces were fast upon their heels and quickly closing in. On April 9, Lee surrendered at Appomattox.

 



The Appomattox Campaign [Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW]

For the past 290-some days, since mid-June, 1864, the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry had spent its days in the trenches east and south of Petersburg and had participated in a number of engagements during this long tenure. Their final struggle came on April 2, 1865, when they participated in the charge upon Fort Mahone. The regiment had done well and had fought with characteristic doggedness and determination during the assault but though they, along with several other units, were able to pierce the defenses of Fort Mahone, they had a difficult time in advancing from there and had their hands full dealing with a series of equally determined Confederate counterattacks. Further to their left, however, the army's Sixth Corps was able to complete the breakthrough. This, along with other reverses, compelled Lee to retreat. The army soon took up the chase, with the Fifth Corps and Cavalry Corps leading the way. The soldiers of the Ninth Corps also took up the march, forming the extreme right wing of the army, with little time for rest after the long investment of Petersburg and less time to mourn for their comrades who had there lost their lives. By nightfall on April 4, the 48th had arrived at Sutherland; the next day, their route of march took them past Fords and Wellville and all the way to Nottoway Court House, where they encamped for the night. April 7, the 48th had reached Farmville and there learned that the Ninth Corps was now to serve as escorts for some 8,000 Confederate prisoners, including Generals Richard Ewell, Joseph Kershaw, and Custis Lee, who had all fallen into Union at the April 6 Battle of Sailor's Creek. With their prisoners in tow, the 48th set out on the journey to Burkeville on April 8 and it was there, on the morning of April 10, that they heard for the first time the "joyful news" of Lee's surrender to Grant the previous day.

 

Capturing in words the true sentiment of the men--the elation, the relief--upon hearing of Lee's surrender is an impossibility. No doubt, for the weary veterans, longing to return home, the thought that the war was, at last, drawing to an end, that it would at last soon be over, took a while to sink in. Thoughts of the days at Fort Monroe way back in the fall of 1861 may have crossed their minds, with fond memories of those days before all the slaughter. Perhaps the long-serving veteran troops also thought back to their eight-month stay in North Carolina, or their hard campaigns in Virginia, Maryland, and East Tennessee, to the bloodshed that was 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. The men no doubt shook hands all around and embraced one another and many were the tears that were shed; shed in happiness at the thought that they would soon be heading home, and shed in sadness at the thought of so many of their friends, neighbors, and comrades who had fallen throughout the previous four years. And while it is impossible to accurately capture the feelings of the moment, regimental historian, Joseph Gould, tried when he recorded simply that "The news [of Appomattox] created the greatest enthusiasm amongst the troops. Great, strong, bearded men embraced, and, in many instances kissed each other and shouted. The bands tried to make as much noise as the men, and the greatest joy prevailed. All suffering and hardships that we had undergone were forgotten, every heart was filled to overflowing."

 

 

Artist Tom Lovell's Famed Rendering of the Surrender at Appomattox

 

The 48th/150th: Beginning the Journey Home and the Dead of Fort Mahone

April 16, 2015, 5:07 am

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Luminaries On The Graves of U.S. Soldiers at the Poplar Grove National Cemetery Several Soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania Are Buried Here [www.petersburgarea.org]

 

 

150 years ago. . .the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were encamped at Farmville, Virginia, some seventy miles west of Petersburg, and from there would soon set out on their last march, beginning a long journey back home. It was there, at Farmville, on April 10 where the men learned of the surrender of Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox.  The men rejoiced at this news; celebration and exultation was widespread. At last the end had come; all felt that soon they would be home and back again with their families. Just a few days later, however, the shocking news of Lincoln's assassination spread through their camps and it "fell like a pall" over the men, said regimental historian Oliver Bosbyshell, "causing great sorrow amongst the troops." Joseph Gould recorded that "It would be an utter impossibility to express the feelings of the soldiers of the Union Army when this news was heard. The wild exultations of the prospects of peace were quenched in shame and sorrow." The celebrations were tempered and with heavy hearts, the soldiers of the 48th marched away from Farmville on April 19 and, as Bosbyshell noted, forever "turned its back on the rebellion, and began its journey home."

The regiment covered a lot of ground. Marching more than twenty miles over each of the next four days, the 48th arrived back at its familiar haunts at Petersburg on April 23. It is not known whether some of the men took the time while there to once more visit the site of their famed tunnel or to once more see the Crater, or to cast another final glance at Fort Mahone. Their opportunity for doing so would have been limited, for the next day, the regiment will arrive at City Point.

 

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Passing through Petersburg no doubt conjured up many memories for the soldiers of the 48th, especially now that Lee had surrendered and that they now heading home. The old battlefields, the now silent, unoccupied trench lines no doubt looked different. Years down the road, some of these men would return again to Petersburg to attend the dedication of their regimental monument there; but for most of the soldiers in the 48th, this was their last visit to the battle-scarred ground. . . their last look upon the place where they had spent nearly ten months of their lives and the place where so many of their friends and comrades had fallen.

While every death was mourned, especially heartbreaking were the memories and thoughts of those who had fallen just one week prior to Appomattox, in the regiment's assault on Fort Mahone, which proved to be the 48th's final battle of the war. These were the last soldiers to fall; the last of the 48th to give their lives in this great struggle to preserve the Union and make good on all the promises of the nation. Those who had fallen at Fort Mahone were, of course, not there to celebrate Appomattox and the triumph of the United States over their rebellious adversaries.

 

In all, sixteen members of the 48th had given their lives at Fort Mahone on April 2, all young men, whose lives were cut far too short.



Colonel George W. Gowen

Among the fallen was the regimental commander, twenty-five-year-old Colonel George Washington Gowen. In describing the death of Gowen, Bosbyshell wrote: "So fell one greatly beloved--gloriously at the moment of victory, honored as few have been, mourned sadly by his men; indeed, all who knew his splendid worth and promising future were grieved." On April 15, one week after the guns had fallen silent in Virginia, the surviving officers of the 48th Pennsylvania passed the following resolutions: "Resolved, That although we bow with submission to the Divine will, which has taken him from amongst us, yet we cannot restrain an expression of the feeling of deep regret entertained by this Regiment at his death," and "Resolved, That in the death of Colonel Gowen, this Regiment has sustained a loss which can never be repaired, inasmuch, that he possessed the rare qualities of the perfect gentleman united with those of the brave and efficient officer. Ever attentive to the innumerable wants of his command, courteous to those with whom he had intercourse, and displaying to all a kindness of heart seldom to be met with in the army." 

 

The remains of George Gowen were escorted to his family's home in Philadelphia and buried at St. Luke's Episcopal Churchyard on Germantown Avenue.  

 

Sergeant John Homer had also died on April 2, the result of a wound he had sustained the day before, as the regiment was maneuvering into position for its final assault. Homer had enlisted in September 1861 into the ranks of Company B. He was nineteen at the time, a machinist from Pottsville, who stood 5'7 1/2" in height, had a Light Complexion, Blue Eyes, and Light Hair. When he and the regiment returned home of Veterans' Furlough in the winter of 1864, John Homer got married. Following this last struggle at Petersburg, John Homer's young wife was now left a widow while his remains were buried in Petersburg, where they continue to rest in the Poplar Grove National Cemetery.

 

Like Gowen and Homer, Corporal James Nicholson had also served in the 48th since the regiment was first organized late in the summer of 1861. A coal miner by profession--and no doubt one of the men who did the actual tunneling under the Confederate lines in the summer of 1864--Nicholson volunteered his services on September 11, 1861. He was twenty-four years of age when he enlisted, stood 5'6" in height and was described as having a Dark Complexion, with Blue Eyes, and Light Brown Hair. Nicholson survived four years of battles, making it through 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Knoxville, and all the many battles of the Overland Campaign, only to fall wounded on April 2 at Fort Mahone. In pain, Nicholson was removed from the field and taken to various hospitals where he lingered for three weeks. One wonders what thoughts raced through his mind while in the hospital he learned of Lee's surrender and of Lincoln's assassination. He succumbed to his wound on April 24.

 

All the other soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania who died at Fort Mahone were relative newcomers to the regiment, having entered the ranks either in 1864 or early in 1865. Eldest among them was Simon George Hoffman of Company K, a thirty-four-year-old carpenter from Auburn who, in February 1864, decided to leave his wife Catherine and five young children in order to fight for his country. During the attack on Fort Mahone, Hoffman, the loving husband and father, was shot through the forehead and instantly killed leaving Catherine a widow and leaving eleven-year-old Mary, six year-old- Rosa, four year-old Wellington, three-year-old Louis, and eight-month-old Simon without a father. Private Hoffman's remains rest in the Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg.

Twenty-six-year-old Private Jacob Reichwein also left a wife and young children behind when he, too, enlisted into the ranks of the 48th in early 1864. Reichwein was born in Germany and was a blacksmith by profession. In September 1861, while so many others were rushing off to war, Reichwein married Catherine Zimmerman and together the two made a home and raised a family in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. Their first child, James Mathias Reichwein, was born in June 1862 while their second, Catherine Victoria Reichwein, arrived on April 1, 1864. It is not known, however, whether Jacob was there when daughter Catherine was born, for a few weeks earlier, on March 8, he had enlisted his services and was mustered into service as a private in Company I, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. Reichwein was wounded during the regiment's initial attacks on Petersburg in June 1864. On April 2, 1865, just one day after Catherine Victoria's first birthday, Jacob Reichwein was shot through the head and killed while assailing Fort Mahone. His remains were buried at the 9th Corps Cemetery at Meade Station, Virginia, though they were likely later reinterred and buried in the Poplar Grove National Cemetery. Young James Mathias and Catherine Victoria Reichwein lost their father; sadly and tragically, they lost their mother less than three years later when Catherine Reichwein died at far too young an age on March 5, 1868. James, five years old, was taken in by a guardian in New Ringgold, while his four-year-old sister Catherine Victoria was taken to Tower City to be raised by another guardian.  

Private John Coutts was born in Scotland and had been in the regiment less than two months before he fell dead at Fort Mahone. On February 13, 1865, Coutts, a twenty-one-year-old laborer who stood tall at 5'11" in height, with Sandy Hair, Gray Eyes, and a Fair Complexion, entered ranks as a Private in Company B, 48th. He made his home in Pottsville after emigrating from Scotland, though he would never make it back home.

While Reichwein was born in Germany and Coutts in Scotland, Privates James King and William Donnelly, both of Company H, were natives of Ireland who at some point prior to America's sectional hostilities had set sail across the Atlantic in an effort to find a better life. Donelley, 5'5", with a Dark Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Dark Hair, had found work in the coal mines and listed "Miner" as his occupation so he, too, may have been one of the men who did the actual digging of the Petersburg Mine in the summer of '64. Donnelly entered the 48th in late March 1864 and was killed in action at Fort Mahone on April 2, 1865, along with his fellow native of the Emerald Isle James King. King it seems settled in Reading and found work as a Collier. In January 1865, the eighteen-year-old King left that new life behind when he entered the army as a private in Company H, 48th. Killed on April 2, his and Donnelly's final resting place remain unknown.

David McElvie was born in British-America, though had made his way to Pottsville at a young age. He listed his occupation as Laborer when, on March 1, 1864, the twenty-year-old McElvie enlisted into the ranks of Company F, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. McElvie stood 5'3" in height, had a Dark Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Brown Hair. Like so many others in the 48th, McElvie never made it home from Fort Mahone; there is where he, just like Coutts, Reichwein, Donnelly, and King, gave his life fighting for his adopted country all from within the ranks of the 48th.

In addition to King and Donnelly, Company H also lost eighteen-year-old George Uhl, who, like so others had enlisted in early 1864 having become old enough to serve. When the war began, Uhl was fifteen and far too young but the war would wait until he turned eighteen and on March 9, 1864, Uhl became a soldier--a private in the ranks of Company H, 48th. Surviving the storm at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor and having made it through nine months of the siege at Petersburg, Uhl, a Laborer from Pottsville who stood 5'1" in height, with a Light Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Brown Hair, was killed in action on April 2, 1865, at For Mahone.

On the very same day the Uhl became a soldier, so, too, did Albert Mack. Like Uhl, Mack was too young to serve when the war first began but in 1864, he was old enough. The records state that Mack was only seventeen when he enlisted on March 9, 1864, as Private in Company I, 48th, but perhaps he was close enough to eighteen to pass. Mack was born in Luzerne County though was working as a Moulder in Pottsville when he enlisted. He stood 5'6" in height, had a Dark Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Brown Hair. Albert Mack very quickly became a veteran, seasoned soldier campaigning through the hellish battles of 1864 but his luck ran out at Fort Mahone when he fell dead during that desperate rush.

Another Albert from the ranks of Company I, 48th, lost his life that April 2; he was Albert Zimmerman, a Farmer, born in Schuylkill County who, on March 15, 1864, volunteered to serve. He was eighteen years old at the time, standing just 5'1 1/2" in height, with a Fair Complexion, Hazel Eyes, and Brown Hair. His life ended on a Sunday, early in April, 1865, at Petersburg, Virginia. The soldier's young remains were interred in the Poplar Grove National Cemetery, where they continue to rest at Grave #1690.

Yet another young kid from Company I died at Fort Mahone; his name was Wesley Boyer and he had become a soldier late in August 1864 when at the age of eighteen he signed up to serve. He was from Pottsville and was a Laborer by trade. He stood 5'4 1/2" in height, with a Dark Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Brown Hair. It is not known as of yet where Boyer was laid to rest and whether his remains made it back home for burial in his hometown of Pottsville. It is believed that Daniel Barnett's body did make it back.



Private Daniel D. Barnett Killed in Action on 4/2/1865 [Hoptak Collection]

Daniel D. Barnett was also so very young when he left his family behind to become a soldier in the 48th. He was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, but moved with his family to Pottsville when still quite young. He had a number of sisters and a loving mother and father. Still, the eager, young Barnett was determined to do his part to preserve the Union and on February 18, 1864, he became a Private in Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. He was a Laborer, and was described as standing 5'4 1/2" in height, with a Light Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Brown Hair. Barnett lost his life at Fort Mahone, leaving his family to suffer and mourn his loss. He remains were likely conveyed back home to Pottsville where they rest alongside those of his mother and sister in the Odd Fellows' Cemetery.

Daniel Barnett's Mother, Elizabeth Barnett [Hoptak Collection]

Daniel Barnett's Sister Olympia Barnett [Hoptak Collection]



Daniel Barnett's Sister Annie Barnett [Hoptak Collection]

The Barnett Family Plot in the Odd Fellows' Cemetery, Pottsville, PA Daniel Barnett, Sr., and Elizabeth Barnett on left and Daughter Annie Barnett is on right, with cross It is possible that Daniel Barnett is buried between his mother and sister Annie

While every death was tragic, for those already discussed death came quickly. These men, like Gowen and Hoffman, were killed instantly, or died shortly after receiving their death wound. They died not knowing about Appomattox or the surrender of Lee and his army. Imagine the terrible heartache, though, the agony and the pain of those who were injured on April 2 but who lingered in hospitals for days or weeks before succumbing. Imagine them laying in a hospital bed while news of the surrender spread, while others outside cheered. Imagine the thoughts going through their minds knowing that their comrades would soon be heading home to see their families and loved ones once more while they lay in pain in a hospital far away from home, hoping they would recover to share in the joy and jubilation and to share in that happy moment of embracing a mother or father or child. For some, though, this moment would never come.

Take Aaron P. Wagner, for example, the nineteen-year-old farmer from Pottsville, who had left home to become a private soldier in Company D, 48th PA on March 3, 1864. Wagner was wounded during the 48th's final battle at Fort Mahone. Carried from the field, young Aaron Wagner would be taken either by rail or via steamer to Washington, D.C. where he would be treated for his injury at the Mt. Pleasant Hospital. He would never recover and on April 15, 1865, on the very same day President Abraham Lincoln died in the same city, Aaron Wagner breathed his last. He remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 13, Site 10485.

The Grave of Aaron Wagner, Co. D 48th PA at Arlington National Cemetery [www.findagrave.com]

And, then, finally was Nicholas Stephens/Stevens of Company B, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. When the war began, young Nicholas Stephens--born and raised in Tunkhannock, in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania--may have well wished to enlist but at that time he had a more important duty to his family. His father has passed away in August 1849, leaving his mother Hannah Stephens a widow with three children to raise and support. Having to help provide for his mother and his two siblings, Nicholas Stephens went to work wherever he could find it. He labored for a neighboring farmer and on a local canal. He was described as robust, rugged, and a hard worker. When he wasn't paid in cash for his labor, he would receive potatoes, coal, or other items from his various employers. By the time the war began in 1861, Nicholas Stephens felt his place was at home helping provide for and support his mother and younger brother Sherman, a boy described as always being in poor physical health. His sister had, by this time, married and moved away from home. When so many others with less responsibility left to fight, Nicholas Stephens remained behind. In early 1864, he was able to purchase a cow for his mother but in September of that year, he was forced into service when he was drafted. To provide cash for his mother, Nicholas sold the cow for $20 and then went off to war, promising to send home whatever pay he got. On September 29, 1864, after what was surely a tear-filled goodbye and parting from his widowed mother and younger brother, Nicholas Stephens became a Private in Company B, 48th PA. The muster roll tells us that he was twenty-one-years of age, who stood 5'6" in height, with a Dark Complexion, Dark Eyes, and Dark Hair. When asked what his occupation was, he said "Boatman." Stephens never received any pay while in service--it was always late in arriving and always months behind. But he served and on April 2 at Fort Mahone, participated in his first--and last--major battle. At some point during the assault, he received a gunshot wound to his right foot. Removed from the front, the injured young soldier was taken to a hospital where hopes were entertained for his recovery. Sadly, Nicholas Stephens passed away on April 20, 1865, almost two weeks after Appomattox and as the surviving soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were beginning on the journey back home.

The Body of Nicholas Stephens Was Buried Next To Father in the Gravel Hill Cemetery, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. His Widowed Mother Hannah Stephens would receive a pension of $8.00/month for the sacrifice of her son. [www.findagrave.com]

   

 

The 48th/150th: To Alexandria

May 1, 2015, 3:49 am

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150 years ago. . .the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were settling into a new camp, this one at Fort Lyons, near Alexandria, Virginia, the men eagerly looking forward to going home.  

 

Officers of the 48th Pennsylvania at Alexandria, VA, 1865 (From Left-to-Right: Edward Sykes, Dr. Eugene Smyser, Major Richard M. Jones, Colonel Isaac Brannan, Dr. J.B. Culver, Quartermaster Thomas Bohannon, Chaplain Levi Beckley, Adjutant M. Honsberger, Lewis Howard)

 

 

As April turned to May in 1865, the war was all but declared over. Lee had surrendered as had Joe Johnston in North Carolina; Richmond had fallen; Lincoln was dead killed Booth had been captured.  For the 48th Pennsylvania, there would be no more campaigns, no more battles. Their last march had begun on April 21, 1865, and had taken them from Farmville, Virginia, back to Petersburg and from there to City Point. After reaching City Point, the 48th boarded the steamer Starlight and set sail for Alexandria. Throughout the past four years, the regiment had become very well acquainted with traveling via steamer. . .early in the war, steamers had carried the regiment from Baltimore to Fortress Monroe and from there to Hatteras and New Bern, North Carolina, and back again to Fortress Monroe and then up to Newport News. Steamers carried the 48th from Newport News to Baltimore in early 1863 as the regiment began its journey westward to Kentucky.  But it was at City Point on April 27, 1865, that for the final time in the war the regiment would board a steamer. The journey down the James carried the steamer past Fortress Monroe, providing those who were on board and who had been there in 1861--seemingly an eternity ago--one last look at the walls of this familiar fort. Nearly four years earlier the 48th had been stationed there, spending six weeks encamped at Fort Hamilton in the fall of 1861. One wonders what thoughts passed through the minds of those few--very few--veteran soldiers of the 48th now standing aboard the Starlight who had been there at Fortress Monroe all those years ago during those more innocent days in late 1861. Those were brighter days, it must have seemed, when the rookie soldiers of the 48th were learning the rudiments of soldier life, in a camp commanded by that old tough soldier Mansfield who had long since fallen at Antietam. And though they cursed the drilling and practicing and dress parades then, they did have ample time for some rest and recreation, spending much of that time fishing and living large off oysters. As the Starlight sailed past Fortress Monroe late in April 1865, no doubt many of the 48th's veterans thought of those men--friends and comrades--who were there with them four years earlier, but whose remains now lie buried far away, in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, even Georgia. . .

 

 

Steamer Starlight (Courtesy: Florida Photographic Collection, State Library and Archives of Florida [RC04626])

 

 

It was a rather short journey from City Point to Alexandria. They arrived there on April 28. Stepping off the Starlight, the soldiers of the 48th stretched their legs and marched a short distance to Fort Lyon, where they once more went into camp.

 

 

Diagram of Fort Lyon (Library of Congress)

 

Fort Lyon (Image From Cowan's Auctions)

 

The 48th/150th: The Dead of the 48th Pennsylvania

May 30, 2015, 3:32 am

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As initially envisioned and intended, this date--May 30--was, in 1868, originally designated as Decoration Day, a day of solemn remembrance during which Americans were to pause and pay tribute to those who died fighting in defense of the United States during the Civil War. And I can think of no more fitting and proper a date than today to post and to pay tribute to those soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania who gave their last full measure of devotion during the four-year-long conflict.

 

From the late summer of 1861 until the date of the regiment's disbandment on July 17, 1865, at least 328 soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania died, whether in camp, in the hospital, in the prison pen, or on the battlefield. The number is most likely higher still, since the records for a good number of the soldiers are simply not clear nor conclusive; several are simply listed as "Not On Muster Out Roll." And thus far, I have not been able to determine all of these soldiers' fates. Also, it must be kept in mind that this figure does not include those who died after the war and still early in their life from the wounds, the disease, and the hardships of soldiering. General James Nagle, for example, the man who first organized the regiment in the summer of 1866, passed away at age 44 in August 1866 from heart disease, which his physicians determined was caused by the war. There were many others; those who died at age 25 or 30 or 35 throughout the late 1860s and 1870s. But during the conflict itself, at least 329 soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania lost their lives. This number is much higher than the one provided in the regimental history penned by Joseph Gould, which records only 236 regimental fatalities, and higher than what was initially tallied in the 1865 book Memorial to the Patriotism of Schuylkill County, which records 234 dead from the 48th. A close look at all the sources, however, reveals that at least 328 perished--and likely more. The dead of the 48th--those who died during the four-year-war--lie buried in six states: Pennsylvania, of course, but also North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia, as well as in the District of Columbia, which is a testament to all the hard campaigning the regiment endured from 1861-1865. In terms of the regiment's costliest battles, 2nd Bull Run tops the list with 40 soldiers either killed or mortally wounded. Spotsylvania comes in second. The Battles of Cold Harbor, Petersburg (June 17-18, 1864), Petersburg (April 2, 1865), Antietam, and Fredericksburg were also particularly deadly for the regiment. 1864 was the deadliest year, with 157 fatalities--nearly half of all the regiment's deaths during the war--occurring in that awful year.

 

A chronological listing of those who died from the ranks of the 48th Pennsylvania, is provided below, along with several of the photographs of those who gave their last full measure. . .   

 

 

48^thPennsylvania Civil War Deaths

1861 (8)

-William Millet, Co. H: Died: 9/7/1861; Accidentally Killed on the Railroad in Harrisburg

-Daniel Reighard, Co. C: 11/11/1861; Died at Camp Hamilton, VA

-William Miller, Co. A: Died: 11/21/1861 at Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina.

-Sergeant William T. Garrett, Co. H: Died 11/23/1861 at Fortress Monroe

-Thomas Davidson, Co. B: Died 11/28/1861 at Hatteras, North Carolina

-Lieutenant Alexander Fox, Co. D: Died: 12/1/1861 on steamer Spaulding near Fortress Monroe, VA

-William Brerton, Co. F: Died at Ft. Clark, Hatteras Inlet, NC, 12/11/1861

-Philip L. Diehl, Co. G: Died 12/23/1861, Hatteras, N.C.         

 

1862 (98)

-Thomas McAvoy, Co. C: 1/14/1862; Died at Camp Winfield, NC

-John Spreese, Co. A: Died: 1/21/1862 at New Bern, North Carolina

-Surgeon David Minis: Died at Roanoke, North Carolina, N.C., 2/14/1862, of over-exerting himself attending to the wounded

-George F. Mains, Co. K: Died 3/30/1862 at Hatteras, NC

-Andrew Spear, Co. D: Died 4/15/1862 at Newbern, NC

-Bernard West, Co. A: Died: 5/12/1862 in New Bern, North Carolina.

-Daniel Flagerty, Co. C: Died 5/28/1862 in Newbern, North Carolina

-Andrew Klock, Co. D: Died of typhoid fever 6/30/1862 at Newbern, NC

-Charles Treisbach, Co. F: Died 7/1/1862

-Addison Seaman, Co. D: Died of Disease,  7/16/1862

-Mattis Sheafer, Co. D: Died 8/4/1862; Committed Suicide on board steamer Cossack

-Abraham Ferrer, Co. B: Died August 7, 1862

-Israel Eiler, Co. B: Died August 7, 1862, in New York

-Alexander Boone, Co. I: Died in Fredericksburg, 8/11/1862

-Franklin Wetzel, Co. A: Died: 8/12/1862; Drowned in the Potomac River as the result of the sinking of the steamer West Point.

-1st Lt. George H. Gressang, Co. I: Drowned 8/12/1862 by the sinking of the steamer West Point

-Thomas G. Williams, Co. B: Drowned 8/13/1862 on the Potomac River

-John H. Leiser, Co. A: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862.

-Louis M. Reece, Co. B: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-John Weiser, Co. C: 8/29/1862; Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run

-Barney Gettler, Co. C: 8/29/1862; Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run

-Charles Miller, Co. D: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Corporal Leonard Shrishorn, Co. D: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Corporal Israel Vancannon, Co. D: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Mattis Bailey, Co. D: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Cpl. William Mackey/McKay, Co. E: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Michael Brennan, Co. E: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Hugh McFeely, Co. E: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Samuel Moyer, Co. E: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-John Becker/Baker, Co. E: Missing and Presumed Dead at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-John Haggerty, Co. F: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Michael Kilrain, Co. F: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Peter Quinn, Co. F: Supposed to have been Killed at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Thomas Kelley, Co. H: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-William Nagle, Co. H: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862.

-Samuel Petit, Co. H: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Charles F. Leiser, Co. I: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Hesgian Link, Co. I: Missing in Action at 2nd Bull Run; Supposed to have died

-Captain Henry A.M. Filber, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Sergeant Roland D. Filbert, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-David Boyer, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-David D. Dress, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-W. Fenstermacher, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-William Labenberger, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-Daniel Shanley/Stanley, Co. K: Killed in Action at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862

-James Muldowney, Co. G: Mortally Wounded 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862; Died of Wounds       

-William Hopkins, Co. F: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died: 8/31/1862 of wounds

-George Ramer, Co. A: Died in Georgetown, 9/6/1862

-Charles Knerr, Co. H: Died 9/7/1862

-Corporal George Ramer, Co. D: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died of Wounds, 9/6/1862

-Sergeant William Bambrick, Co. D: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died of Wounds, 9/12/1862

-William Smith, Co. G: Mortally Wounded 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862; Died of Wounds, 9/14/1862        

-Henry Jenkins, Co. F: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862; died in Georgetown, DC, 9/15/1862

-Cpl. John Brobst, Co. A: Mortally Wounded at Antietam, 9/17/1862.

- John Robinson, Co. B: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-Alexander Prince, Co. B: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/18/1862

-Alva F. Jeffries, Co. D: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-1st Lieutenant William Cullen, Co. E: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-John Broadbent, Co. E: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-Charles Timmons, Co. G: Killed in Action, Antietam 9/17/1862          

-Cpl. Lewis V. Focht, Co. I: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-Corporal Daniel Moser, Co. K: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-George Dentzer, Co. L: Killed in Action at Antietam, 9/17/1862

-David Stichter, Co. D: Died in Hospital at Sharpsburg, MD, 9/21/1862

-James Farrell, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died: 9/25/1862

-Benjamin Hoffman, Co. I: Wounded at South Mountain, 9/14/1862; Died of Wounds 9/25/1862;

-John Martin/Morton, Co. E: Died 9/25/1862

-John Springer, Co. A: Died: 10/9/1862 from Wounds Received in Action.

-John Sullivan, Co. D: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died of Wounds, 10/8/1862

-Cpl. Albert T. Frazier, Co. C: Died 10/14/1862 of Consumption in Alexandria, VA

-Sgt. Benjamin G. Otto, Co. A: Wounded in Action; Died of Wounds: 10/15/1862

-James Winters, Co. K: Died 10/15/1862 at Fortress Monroe, VA

-Peter Boyer, Co. K: Died in 10/22/1862 in Cressona, PA

-John J. Morrison, Co. F: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died 10/23/1862

-Corporal Patrick Handley, Co. K: Died 10/25/1862 in Washington, D.C.

-Joseph Low, Co. C: Died 10/29/1862 in Alexandria of Wounds Received in Action

-Thomas Major, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died: 10/31/1862

-Edward Daniels, Co. C: Died 11/1/1862 of Chronic Diarrhea in Alexandria

-John Farne, Co. G: Mortally Wounded 2nd Bull Run, 8/29/1862; Died of Wounds 11/8/1862              

-Edward McCabe, Co. G: Died of Disease, Washington, D.C., 11/12/1862

-Peter Burke, Co. K: Died of Typhoid Fever, 11/14/1862

-Corporal Charles C. Hinkle, Co. H: Died 11/23/1862, at Hatteras, North Carolina

-Corporal Raymond A. Jenkins, Co. H: Died 12/8/1862 in Ascension Hospital, Washington

-J.W. Heebner/Heevener, Co. D: Died of chronic diarrhea, 12/9/1862

-Elijah Knight, Co. E: Died in Annapolis, 12/12/1862

-John Ruff, Co. A: Died in Washington: 12/13/1862

-James Williams, Co. A: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg: 12/13/1862

-Cpl. Joseph B. Carter, Co. A: Mortally Wounded at Fredericksburg, 12/13/1862.

-Michael Divine, Co. B: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg, VA, 12/13/1862

-John Williams, Co. B: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg, VA, 12/13/1862

-William Hill, Co. B: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg, VA, 12/13/1862

-Cpl. Reuben Robinson, Co. B: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg, VA, 12/13/1862

-Henry Williamson, Co. D: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg, 12/13/1862

-Thomas Kinney, Co. D: Killed in Action at Fredericksburg, 12/13/1862

-Thomas Connell, Co. B: Died of Disease, 12/18/1862

-Musician Abraham Wadsworth, Co. B: Died: 12/18/1862 in Port Carbon, PA

-Henry Burnish, Co. G: Died in Pottsville, 12/20/1862, of chronic diarrhea        

-Cpl. Edward F. Schappell, Co. I: Wounded at Fredericksburg, 12/13/1862; Died in hospital of wounds, Date -Unknown

 

1863 (17)

-Corporal John H. Derr, Co. D : Mortally Wounded at Fredericksburg; Died of Wounds in Washington, 1/2/1863

-George Briggle, Co. A: Died in Philadelphia: 1/4/1863.

-Nicholas Shitehour, Co. B: Died 1/13/1863 in Washington, D.C. of chronic diarrhea

-James Bergan, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died: 1/11/1863

-Samuel Brooks, Co. B: Died 1/13/1863 near Falmouth, Virginia

-Levi Fisher, Co. I: In Hospital at Harpers Ferry, 8/16/1862; Died, 1/21/1863

-George Shertle, Co. D: Died of Disease 2/8/1863 in Washington, D.C.

-Sgt. Arthur P. Hatch, Co. C: 2/13/1863; Died in Newport News of heart disease

-Jacob H. Rumble, Co. I: Died: 4/14/1863

-Jacob Smith, Co. C: 5/3/1863; Died of diarrhea in Baltimore, MD

-Andrew Scott, Co. C: 6/27/1863; Killed in Lexington, KY

-Valentine Raush, Co. G: Drowned 6/11 or 12/1863   

-Corporal Joseph Reed, Co. H: Killed 11/16/1863 at Campbell’s Station, TN.

-Joseph Weise, Co. H: Died in Knoxville, TN, 11/21/1863

-John Sponslor/Sponsler, Co. H: Killed 11/29/1863 at Knoxville, TN

-Jonas Haldeman, Co. I: Killed in Action, Knoxville, TN, 11/29/1863

-Cpl. Charles Weaver, Co. I: Died 12/5/1863 in Knoxville, TN, of wounds received 12/3/1863

-Josiah Kramer, Co. I: Died: December 1863

 

1864 (157)

-Thomas J. Thomas, Co. F: Died of Typhoid Fever, 1/22/1864

-Patrick Brown, Co. F: Killed in a railroad accident, 1/24/1864, Paris, Kentucky

-George Livingston, Co. A: Captured; Died in Libby Prison, Richmond, VA, 2/4/1864

-James Shields, Co. E: Murdered in Silver Creek, 2/26/1864

-James W. Evans, Co. F: Died in Hospital, 3/2/1864

-John Burnhart, Co. B: Died 3/8/1864; Buried in Knoxville, Tennessee

-Isaac Arndt, Co. I: Wounded Severely in hip; left on field at Campbell's Station; and Missing in Action, 11/16/1863; Captured, Held Prisoner of War at Andersonville; Not on Muster Out Roll; PA Civil War Service Cards Lists Him As Having Died 3/16/1863 (1864?) at Canard Station, Tennessee.

- John Dietrich, Co. D: Died 3/22/1864

-Michael Wilson, Co. F: Died of "nostalgia, or home-sickness," or of chronic diarrhea, 3/24/1864, at Annapolis, MD.

-William Phillips, Co. G: Died 3/26/1864 in Pottsville

-Reuben Watt, Co. I: Died March 31, 1864, Annapolis, MD

-Thomas S. Lewis, Co. H: Died 3/31/1864 at Philadelphia

-Charles Clark, Co. G: Died: 4/6/1864 in Annapolis, Maryland

-William H. Smith, Co. D: Died in Annapolis, 4/7/1864

-Peter Litchfield, Co. F: Died 4/9/1864, Annapolis, Maryland

-Peter Zimmerman, Co. A: Died: 4/11/1864 in Annapolis, Maryland.

-John Donnelly, Co. H: Died 4/20/1864 at Annapolis, Maryland

-Edward Edwards, Co. H: Died of sunstroke, 4/23/1864 at Annapolis, Maryland

-Lewis J. Garber, Co. I: Died 4/23/1864, Annapolis, Maryland

-Valentine Frantz, Co. E: Committed Suicide, 4/28/1864

-Charles DeLong, Co. H: Died 5/4/1864 at Bristoe Station

-Jno. Burke, Co. E: Killed in Action at the Wilderness, 5/5/1864

-Lawrence Farrell, Co. E: Killed in Action at the Wilderness, 5/6/1864

-Jonathan Kauffman, Co. D: Killed in Action at the Wilderness, 5/6/1864

-David F. Thiel, Co. F: Killed in Action at the Wilderness, 5/6/1864

-Simon Moyer, Co. B: Killed in Action at the Wilderness, 5/7/1864

-Israel Manning, Co. F: Wounded at the Wilderness, 5/6/1864; Died of Wounds 5/8/1864

-Jno. T. Huntzinger, Co. A: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania: 5/12/1864

-Isaac Otto, Co. A: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864.

-Lewis M. Robinhold, Co. A: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania: 5/12/1864

-Charles A.T. St. Clair, Co. A: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania: 5/12/1864

-John Deitz, Co. B: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Frederick Knittle, Co. B: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Matthew Hume, Co. B: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Cpl. David J. Davis, Co. B: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Daniel Wary, Co. B: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Laurentus C. Moyer, Co. B: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-John Morrissey, Co. F: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Richard Williams, Co. F: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Lewis Woods, Co. F: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Jno. Powell, Co. F: Mortally Wounded at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864; Died of Wounds

-James Brennan, Co. F: Died of wounds received at Spotsylvania; Date Unknown

-2nd Lt. Henry C. Jackson, Co. G: Killed in Action Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864      

-William Williams, Co. G: Killed in Action Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864      

-Henry J. Ege, Co. I: Killed in Action, 5/12/1864, Spotsylvania, Virginia

-Jno. W. Henn, Co. K: Killed in Action at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864

-Daniel Brown, Co. C: 5/12/1864; Killed in Action at Spotsylvania

-Michael Mohan, Co. C: 5/20/1864; Died in Washington of wounds received at Spotsylvania

-Sgt. William Kissinger, Co. B: Wounded at Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864; Died of Wounds, 5/24/1864

-Joseph Chester, Co. H: Wounded: 5/15/1864; Died: 5/24/1864 of wounds received in battle

-Frederick Henry, Co. I: Wounded in Action, 5/25/1864; Supposed to have died from wounds in ambulance and buried by the wayside

-Corporal Charles Norrigan/Norrigang, Co. H: Killed in Action at North Anna Crossing, 5/26/1864

-Patrick Doolin, Co. F: Killed in Action at Bethesda Church, 5/30/1864

-Henry McCann, Co. F: Killed in Action at Armstrong Farm, 5/31/1864

-Lieutenant Samuel B. Laubenstein, Co. H: Killed at Shady Grove Church, 5/31/1864

-James Spencer, Co. G: Mortally Wounded Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864; Died of Wounds 5/31/1864

-John Cochran, Co. A: Died: 6/1864 near Cold Harbor, VA.

-David Williams, Co. E: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-James Bradley, Co. F: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-Edward G. Pugh, Co. F: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor , 6/3/1864

-William Smith, Co. F: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-Cpl. Alexander Govan, Co. G: Killed in Action Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-James Allison, Co. G: Killed in Action Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-Joseph Alexander, Co. H: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-George Dresh, Co. I: Killed in Action, 6/3/1864, Cold Harbor

-William J. Price, Co. I: Killed at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-Benjamin B. Kershner, Co. I: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-Jacob Lauby/Landy, Co. K: Killed in Action at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864

-Daniel Reedy, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Cold Harbor; Died: 6/6/1864

-John Clark, Co. I: Wounded Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864; Died of Wounds 6/8/1864

-Major Joseph A. Gilmour: Mortally Wounded in Action, 5/31/1864; Died of Wounds 6/9/1864

-Anthony Wade, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Cold Harbor; Died: 6/9/1864

-Christian Lauer, Co. B: Died 6/10/1864, of wounds received in action

-Samuel Heckman, Co. B: Died 6/12/1864, of wounds received in action

-George Airgood, Co. A: Wounded at Petersburg; Died of Wounds

-Simon Snyder, Co. A: Died: 6/16/1864 of Wounds Received in Action

-Simon Devlin, Co. F: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/16/1864

-Nathan Rich, Co. K: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/16/1864

-Andrew Wesner, Co. F: Died 6/17/1864

-George Betz, Co. A: Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-John Major, Co. E: Killed at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-Isaac Lewis, Co. F: Killed in Action at Petersburg 6/17/1864

-Horace Straub, Co. F: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-Anthony Gallagher, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-Jeff. W. Beyerley, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-George W. Morey, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-James Mulholland, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/17/1864

-Arthur Gray, Co. K: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/18/1864

-Thomas Davis, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/18/1864

-Ephraim Whetstone, Co. K: Died June 1864 from wounds received in action

-Daniel Okum, Co. D: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/21/1864

-Lewis Hessinger, Co. A: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 6/22/1864

-William Evans, Co. E: Died of Chronic Diarrhea, 6/22/1864

-Jeremiah Willoner/Willouer, Co. I: Wounded, severely, Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864; Died of Wounds 6/22/1864

-James Boner, Co. I: Wounded 5/30/1864; Died of Wounds 6/22/1864

-Abraham Gecker, Co. C: 6/23/1864; Killed in Action at Petersburg

-John Whitaker, Co. C: 6/23/1864; Killed in Action at Petersburg

-1st Lt. Curtis C. Pollock, Co. G: Mortally Wounded Petersburg 6/17/1864; Died of wounds: 6/23/1864

-William Reysons/Rasons, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, 6/17/1864; Died: 6/24/1864

-William Schwartz, Co. B: Died 6/26/1864

-Daniel J. Kehl, Co. I: Died June 26, 1864, City Point, VA

-William Simpson, Co. G: Killed in Action Petersburg 6/26/1864

-Lt. William H. Hume, Co. B: Mortally Wounded in Action, 5/31/1864 at Totopotomy Creek, VA; Died of -Wounds, 6/30/1864

-James Reagan, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, 6/17/1864; Died: 6/30/1864

-Jonas Z. Raber, Co. D: Died 7/1/1864 in Washington, D.C.

-John Armstrong, Co. G: Mortally Wounded Spotsylvania, 5/12/1864; Died of Wounds 7/1/1864

-1st Lt. Joseph Edwards, Co. I: Wounded at Petersburg, 6/17/1864; Died of Wounds 7/2/1864

-Job Hirst, Co. H: Wounded at Cold Harbor, 6/3/1864; Died 7/3/1864 of wounds received in action

-David Houser, Co. A: Died: 7/4/1864

-Henry Dorward, Co. D: Killed in Action near Petersburg, 7/5/1864

-Nelson Simon, Co. A: Died in Minersville: 7/5/1864.

-James McElrath, Co. C: 7/7/1864; Died from chronic diarrhea in Andersonville Prison

-Sgt. Thomas Tosh, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Cold Harbor; Died of Wounds: 7/7/1864

-Francis M. Stidham, Co. A: Died 7/10/1864 of Wounds Received in Action

-J. Howard Jones, Co. G: Mortally Wounded Petersburg, 6/17/1864; Died of Wounds: 7/13/1864

-Isaac Bannon/Brannan, Co. H: Killed 7/16/1864 in US General Hospital at Alexandria, VA.

-Charles Quinn, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, 6/17/1864; Died: 7/24/1864

-Lewis Beableheimer, Co. I : Wounded at Petersburg 7/24/1864; Died of Wounds, 7/26/1864

-Captain Benjamin B. Schuck, Co. I: Wounded at Petersburg, 6/25/1864; Died of Wounds, 7/27/1864;

-Lieutenant David B. Brown, Co. H: Killed at Petersburg, 8/5/1864

-Elias Zimmerman, Co. D: Died in Fairfax Seminary Hospital, 8/5/1864

-Isaac K. Beltz, Co. I: Wounded Cold Harbor 6/3/1864; Died of Wounds 8/10/1864

-Solomon Eyster, Co. D: Died 8/15/1864 in Philadelphia

-Edward Sweeney, Co. C: 8/17/1864; Died in Mount Douglass General Hospital

-Frank Boyer, Co. E: Captured at Cold Harbor; Died at Andersonville Prison, 8/17/1864

-Frank Queeny, Co. F: Died of Dropsy, 8/21/1864

-Richard Lee, Co. A: Died in Pottsville, 8/21/1864

-Edward Gallagher, Co. A: Captured; Died in Andersonville Prison, 8/21/1864 from diarrhea

-Daniel Neyer, Co. I: Died at City Point, Virginia, 8/22/1864

-William Davis, Co. H: Wounded at Cold Harbor, VA, 6/3/1864; Died of Wounds: 9/5/1864 

-Henry Reb, Co. H: Died of Paralysis 9/5/1864 on David's Island, New York

-Isaac Fetterman/Fetter, Co. H: Captured; Died in Andersonville Prison, 9/8/1864, from diarrhea

-George Lawrence, Co. G: Died 9/11/1864 at Port Carbon, PA

-William Engle, Co. B: Died at Willet's Point, New York, 9/11 or 12/1864

-William Schneider, Co. H: Died 9/12/1864, of wounds received in action

-Daniel Root, Co. B: Died in Andersonville Prison, 9/14/1864, from diarrhea

-Patrick Farrell, Co. C: 9/21/1864; Died in Washington

-John Darragh, Co. E: Killed in Action at Poplar Grove/Peebles’s Farm, 9/30/1864

-James Heiser, Co. I: Killed in Action, 9/30/1864, Pegram's Farm/Poplar Springs Church

-Lewis W. Kopp, Co. H: Died of Phthsis Pulmonalis 10/1/1864

-Joseph Cobus, Co. I: Wounded and Captured Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died of Wounds, 10/4/1864

-Daniel Boyer, Co. E: Killed at Petersburg, 10/5/1864

-Daniel M. Bankes, Co. B: Died at Annapolis, MD, 10/6/1864

-Jno. Lloyd, Co. H: Wounded 8/9/1864; Died 10/25/1864 at his home in Schuylkill County.

-David Miller, Co. F: Wounded at Pegram's Farm; Died in Annapolis, 11/6/1864

-David Miller, Co. D: Died in Annapolis, 11/6/1864

-Jacob Hammer, Co. B: Died in Salisbury Prison, NC, 11/12/1864

-Edward McGinnis, Co. E: Captured at Peebles’s Farm; Died in Salisbury Prison, 11/17/1864

-Patrick Crowe, Co. I: Captured Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died in Salisbury Prison, N.C., 11/19/1864

-Lewis Douglass, Co. I: Died: 11/22/1864

-Philip Heffron, Co. H: Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died of starvation in Salisbury Prison, 11/25/1864

-Michael Condron, Co. C: 11/29/1864; Died in Salisbury Prison, NC

-Emmanuel Fox, Co. H: Died 12/5/1864 at Baptist Church Hospital, Alexandria, VA.

-George Hartz, Co. D: Died of Wounds Received in Action at Petersburg, 12/20/1864

-Corporal John F. Dentzer, Co. K: Killed at Petersburg, 12/28/1864

-Robert Devine, Co. E: Died of Chronic Diarrhea, 12/28/1864

-Elijah DeFrehn, Co. F: Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died 12/30/1864 in Salisbury Prison, North Carolina

1865 (41)

-Jacob Wigner/Wagner, Co. B: Died 1/1/1865;

-Cpl. William Livingston, Co. C: 1/2/1865; KIA at Fort Sedgwick

-Abraham Sigmund, Co. E: Killed at Petersburg, 1/7/1865

-William D. Lloyd, Co. H: Died 1/10/1865 at Lincoln Hospital, Washington, D.C.

-Andrew Neeley, Co. C: 1/12/1865; Died in Washington of chronic diarrhea

-Samuel Schollenberger, Co. A: Captured; Died in Salisbury Prison, Salisbury, North Carolina: 1/16/1865.

-Joseph Finley/Findley, Co. F: Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died in Salisbury Prison, 1/22/1865

-Michael Welsh, Co. F: Captured 9/30/1864 at Pegram's Farm; Died in Salisbury Prison, 2/6/1865

-Charles Aurand, Co. H: Died: 2/9/1865

-William Fulton, Co. F: Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died in Salisbury Prison, 2/12/1865

-Corporal Philip Beckman, Co. D: Died in Baltimore of chronic diarrhea, 2/9/1865

-Charles Dintinger, Co. C: 2/11/1865; Died in Salisbury Prison, 11/1864

-George T. Eisenhuth, Co. H: Died of Chronic Diarrhea 2/17/1865

-Nicholas Delaney, Co. K: Killed at Petersburg, 2/23/1865

-Nicholas Gross: Died of Chronic Diarrhea, 3/12/1865, Annapolis, Maryland

-Cpl. Patrick Rogers, Co. E: Died of Disease, 3/25/1865

-1st Lieutenant Henry Graeff, Co. D: Died in Pottsville, 3/26/1865, of Disease Contracted in Confederate Prisons.

-Gilbert Graham, Co. C: 4/1/1865; Died of Wounds

-William Jenkins, Co. F: Died: 4/1/1865

-Sgt. John Homer, Co. B: Died, 4/2/1865, of wounds received in action on 4/1/1865

-Colonel George W. Gowen: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865.

-John Coutts, Co. B: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-Daniel D. Barnett, Co. E: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-David McElvie, Co. F: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-William Donnelly, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-James King, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-George Uhl, Co. H: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-Albert Mack, Co. I: Killed at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-Jacob Reichwein, Co. I :Killed at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-Albert Zimmerman, Co. I: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-Wesley Boyer, Co. I: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865.

-Simon Hoffman, Co. K: Killed in Action at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-Lewis Sterner, Co. A: Died: 4/11/1865; Buried: Odd Fellows’ Cemetery, Tamaqua, PA

-Aaron P. Wagner, Co. D: Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, 4/2/1865; Died of Wounds 4/15/1865 in Washington, D.C.

-Nicholas C. Stephens, Co. B: Died 4/20/1865, of wounds received at Petersburg 4/2/1865

-Cpl. James Nicholson, Co. C: Died: 4/24/1865 of Wounds Received at Petersburg, 4/2/1865

-James Mercer, Co. E: Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, 6/17/1864; Died: 5/21/1865

-John Frehn, Co. B: Died in Philadelphia, 6/8/1865; Veteran

-Jonathan Dress, Co. K: Died 7/5/1865 in Philadelphia, PA

-Corporal Walter P. Aims/Amos, Co. D: Died 7/12/1865 from the effects of starvation and brutality while in Confederate prison

-Charles F. Hesser, Co. D: Died 7/25/1865 in Washington, D.C.

Unknown (7)

-William Moose, Co. E: Wounded at 2nd Bull Run; Died at Home, Date Unknown

-Henry Simpson, Co. A: Killed in Battle.

-Sgt. Stafford Johnson, Co. E: Died at Home, Date Unknown

-William Atkins, Co. B: Died at home, while on furlough; Date Unknown

-Cpl. James Brennan, Co. E: Captured at Knoxville, Died at Andersonville Prison, Date Unknown

-William H. Kohler, Co. F: Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died in Salisbury Prison

- Joshua Reed, Co. G: Captured 9/30/1864 at Pegram's Farm; Held in Salisbury Prison; Died at home from effects of prison confinement.             

 

 

 

 

 

Gallery of the Dead

 

Major Joseph Gilmour Died June 1864 of Wounds   (Hoptak Collection)



James Allison Killed at Cold Harbor One of Four Brothers to Die in War (Schuylkill County in the Civil War)



George Betz Mortally Wounded at Petersburg, June 1864 (Hoptak Collection)

Lt. David Brown Killed at Petersburg August 1865 (Unknown)



Michael Condron Died in Salisbury Prison, November 1864  (Hoptak Collection)

George Dentzer Killed at Antietam (Courtesy of the Dentzer Family)

John Dentzer Killed at Petersburg, December 1864 (Courtesy of the Dentzer Family)

Lt. Joseph Edwards Killed at Petersburg, June 1864 (Hoptak Collection)

Henry Ege Killed at Spotsylvania (Courtesy of the Family)

Alexander Govan Killed at Cold Harbor (Gould)

Colonel George Gowen Killed at Petersburg, April 1865 (Gould)

Lt. William Hume Died June 1864 of Wounds (Hoptak Collection)

Lt. Henry C. Jackson Killed at Spotsylvania (Hoptak Collection)

Lt. Samuel Laubenstein Killed May 1864 (Ms. Ardith Kull/schuylkillhavenhistory.com)

Lt. Curtis Pollock Mortally Wounded at Petersburg June 1864 (Hoptak Collection)

Captain Benjamin B. Schuck Mortally Wounded August 1864 Petersburg (Patriotic Order Sons of America)

Simon Snyder Died June 1864 of Wounds (Hoptak Collection)

Charles A.T. St. Clair Killed at Spotsylvania (Hoptak Collection)

Francis Stidham Died June 1864 of Wounds (Hoptak Collection)

George Hartz Killed at Petersburg December 1864 (Patriotic Order Sons of America)

 

 

   

The 48th/150th: Off To Mexico?

July 2, 2015, 4:05 am

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150 years ago. . .the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania remained encamped at Alexandria, Virginia. Lee, Johnston, and a number of other Confederate leaders had long since surrendered their forces; Richmond had long since fallen; and Lincoln long since dead. Even the Grand Review of May 23, in which the 48th had proudly marched, seemed like a distant memory. The war was all but officially over. And so the officers and soldiers of the 48th bided their time as best they could, waiting to be discharged, the regiment mustered out, and simply longing to return home. 

 

Yet 150 years ago, there were a good number of soldiers in the regiment who were convinced that they would be retained in the service and sent off to a new, developing theater of operations: Mexico!

 

In 1862, with the United States deeply mired in its own civil war, French forces arrived in Mexico and drove Benito Juarez from power. Soon enough Maximilian I of Austria arrived and proclaimed himself Emperor. In Washington, Lincoln and the administration had spoken out loudly against this action, but with their own war to wage and to win, little was done. However, now that the Civil War was drawing to an end, some50,000 U.S. soldiers, headed by General Philip Sheridan, were assembled in Texas, in the hopes that such a strong show of strength would convince the French to leave. Ultimately the French would leave but not until the following year.

 

 

Mexico and Texas

 

With this developing situation and with the 48th remaining essentially inactive in their camps at Alexandria, it was not long before a rumor began to spread that they had been designated to be sent south and attached to Sheridan's force in Texas. Not only that, but the rumor also was that several officers of the 48th had actually petitioned the War Department to select the 48th to take part of this pending action. Soon, this rumor grew its proverbial legs and raced all throughout the camp. The enlisted men, waiting to go home, were outraged and very adamantly opposed to any such notion. So convinced were the men of the validity of this rumor that they, too, drew up a petition, one that was very quickly signed by the sergeants of each of the companies, stating that they represented the wishes of all the men. They did not want to go to Mexico. Period. They just wanted to go home. With the senior officers of the regiment entirely unaware, this petition was sent off to Harrisburg, to the attention of Governor Curtin. Not quite sure what he was supposed to do with this document, Curtin forwarded it to Headquarters, Army of the Potomac. From there, it traveled down the chain of command: to 9th Corps Headquarters, to Second Division, 9th Corps Headquarters, to brigade headquarters. . .and finally, to the attention of Colonel Isaac Brannan, the commanding officer of the 48th. Brannan had assumed command of the regiment in early April, following the death of Colonel George Gowen at Petersburg. And now, surprised, embarrassed, and angry, Brannan attempted to find out who among his soldiers was to blame for first spreading this rumor and for writing up this petition. After interviewing several of the men, it was somehow determined that it was Corporal John Cruikshank, of Company H, who was the principal culprit. For his part, Cruikshank--nicknamed "Crooky,"a 25-year-old machinist from Pottsville--neither admitted nor denied that he was. So Brannan had him arrested and, in an effort to get the truth out of him, ordered Cruikshank to be strung up by the thumbs. . .a most painful punishment. Brannan continued to press but Cruikshank remained obdurate; he would not say anything. Frustrated and embarrassed by the whole situation, Brannan ordered him released.

 

Cruikshank returned to his quarters, the culprit never positively identified, and the 48th never ordered off to Mexico. . .

 

 

Illustration of Being Tied Up By Thumbs

 



The Grave of Corporal John Cruikshank Shamokin Cemetery Whether or not he was the main culprit in the spreading of the rumor that the 48th's officers wanted the regiment to go off to Mexico, Cruikshank would never admit. The old soldier died in Shamokin in 1915 at age 75.

The 48th/150th: "Like A Savage Torrent:" The 48th Pennsylvania at Petersburg: June 17-18, 1864

June 19, 2014, 5:28 am

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Harpers' Weekly Depiction of Attacks on Petersburg, June 1864

150 Years Ago. . .the ranks of the 48th Pennsylvania had once more been bloodied following a series of assaults at Petersburg. 

A week before, Grant had ordered the army south from Cold Harbor and on the morning of June 16, the soldiers of the 48th crossed the James River and arrived in front of Petersburg later that afternoon, in time to watch soldiers of the army's Second Corps launch an unsuccessful attack against the entrenched Confederate line. Sometime around dusk, the regiment was led to the left, marching south along a creek bed until they arrived at a position directly opposite Battery No. 15, which was a well-entrenched angle in the Confederate lines. The opposing lines were very close. Sometime around 10:00 p.m. on the night of June 16, Colonel Henry Pleasants ordered the men of Companies B & G to advance across to the Confederate side of the creek to reconnoiter. Creeping forward in the darkness--regimental historian Joseph Gould later wrote that that night was "dark as pitch"--the two companies came under fire and scampered back. Yet the question remained as to whether they were fired upon by friend or by foe and it fell to two men of Company B, Sergeant Andrew Wren and Private Jacob Wigner, to go forward once more to find out. Once more they slowly crept forward in the darkness. When nearing the line of earthworks, both were grabbed and, by the collars of their uniform coats, pulled inside the Confederate lines. They were both now prisoners of war and both were soon shipped south to Andersonville Prison. It was there, six months later and still in captivity that Wigner, an 18-year-old machinist from Pottsville, died. Wren would remain a prisoner at Andersonville for the next ten months before, finally, being released in late April 1865.

While these two men ventured forth in the darkness only to become prisoners of war, the rest of the regiment settled in for the night, catching whatever sleep they could and knowing that they would most likely be called into action the next day. That next day arrived all too soon.



Map by Hal Jespersen (http://www.posix.com/CWmaps/)

At 3:00 a.m. on the morning of June 17 and in the total darkness, Colonel Henry Pleasants quietly made his way from company to company, informing each of their commanders that they would soon be launching an attack. The men were to charge with bayonets fixed and all caps removed from the guns to prevent against the men from firing. The soldiers were soon stirred awake and, according to Robert Reid of Company G, they quietly attached their bayonets, removed the caps, and even secured their tincups so there would be no rattling. "[T]hen we moved out of the works and crossed the creek. . .After getting the whole regiment over, we silently formed line; then, in utter darkness, moved to the right about one hundred yards, when, in a whisper, the command forward was given."

In his regimental history, Oliver Bosbyshell painted a vivid portrait of the morning's preparations and noted that Pleasants "informed the men of the danger before them, and directed that if any felt disinclined to make the assault, the had permission to remain where they were. There is no record or evidence of any kind that a single man of the regiment took advantage of this offer--not one stayed behind! Tin cups and coffee pots were so secured as to make no rattling sound, and directions were passed along in whispered accents. Bayonets were silently fixed. . .and the regiment moved quietly out of the old rebel works, left in front, with the stealthiness of Indians, over the creek where line of battle was formed, in utter darkness. Moving to the right, for about a hundred yards with panther-like tread, a whispered command 'forward!' was given, and the savage rush began."

The soldiers of the 48th swept across the open ground between the opposing lines; it was still dark and the only noise was that of hundreds of feet tramping down upon the dew-covered grass and dirt. Away off to the right, however, some Union troops opened fire, which drew an immediate response from the Confederate line. The darkness was illuminated with the flash of the Confederate rifles. But still, still, the soldiers of the 48th rushed on. "Directly into this fiery ribbon, belching its leaden hail through the ranks of the charging line, swept the Forty-Eighth," wrote Bosbyshell, while Reid boasted that "We went at them squarely, right into their firing line. Not one of our regiment returned a shot until we reached their works, when there was a short, sharp contest, and the line was ours. I still remember how my heart beat when starting on the charge, but it was forgotten in the glorious rush of the fight."


It was a complete surprise. Within a matter of minutes, the 48th PA crashed into the Confederate lines and captured Battery No. 15. Hundreds of Confederates were very quickly captured.

During the sharp engagement, the Irish-born Sergeant Patrick Monaghan noticed a few Confederate soldiers attempting to flee. He ran amongst them and demanded their surrender. Their hands went up and it was soon noted that one of these Confederate soldiers was attempting to retreat with the flag of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery. The flag had been captured the day before and now Monaghan of the 48th re-captured it and later it would be returned to the New York regiment. For this action, Monaghan received the Medal of Honor.

Robert Reid of the 48th would also receive a Medal of Honor for his actions during this pre-dawn attack on June 17, 1864. Sweeping forward and rushing up and over the Confederate lines, Reid wrestled away the flag of the 44th Tennessee from its regimental color bearer, capturing those colors.

Wrote Bobsyshell: "How the heart beat, and the pulse throbbed during that onslaught! If fear or dread marked the supreme moment of the attack, it was banished completely in the glorious rush of the fight! What a harvest of prisoners--they were captured by the score, disarmed, and sent to the rear."



Robert Reid

Sergeant Patrick Monaghan



The Flag of the 44th Tennessee, Captured By Reid (http://www.tennessee-scv.org/4455/)

As the skies continued to lighten another Confederate redan about 100 yards further south became visible. Confederate cannons posted there soon erupted into the flank and front of the 48th. Very soon, Colonel Pleasants organized the men for yet another attack and "like a savage torrent" the 48th charged forward. "[T]he regiment fairly tore over those hundred yards and swept through the fort irresistibly. The enemy ran in great disorder by squads and singly to their left and rear." Two Confederate Napoleons fell into the hands of the 48th and the two guns were safely hauled, by hand, to the rear.

Two cannons, two flags and two Medals of Honor, hundreds of prisoners and a good section of the Confederate line; it was a glorious victory for the 48th and for the Ninth Army Corps. All along Burnside's front, the morning attack had achieved much success. Even George Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, would recognize the success of the Ninth Corps in a note to Burnside, sent on that June 17: "It affords me great satisfaction to congratulate you and your gallant corps on the assault this morning, knowing the wearied condition of your men from the night march over twenty-two miles, and the continual movement this last night; their persistence and success is highly creditable." These words coming from Meade to Burnside was high praise, indeed.

For the actions of the 48th, Oliver Bosbyshell would later write that the attack on June 17, 1864, at Petersburg, "was probably, in all its results, the most brilliant engagement for the Forty-Eighth of any in which it participated. Praise is due to every officer, from Colonel Pleasants down, and to every many who was in this grand assault, for the splendid record the work here accomplished. .  . ."

Throughout the rest of the day on June 17 the Confederates made several attempts to regain their captured works, but each were turned back. A sometimes lively skirmish fire was kept up throughout the day. The next day, Burnside determined to strike once more, this time with his 1st and 3rd Division leading the way while the 2nd Division--which included the 48th--would advance behind in support. The fighting renewed once more in intensity on June 18 as the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac attempted to drive the Confederates from yet another line of earthworks and trenches very close to the city of Petersburg. Along the Ninth Corps front and though designated as a reserve, the soldiers of the 48th were once more brought to the front. They charged down a ravine and across a railroad cut and they made it closer to the Confederate line than any other Union force. Night settled in and to their front, just a hundred yards or so away, rose Elliott's Salient, held by a brigade of South Carolina soldiers and the gunners of Richard Pegram's Virginia Battery.

One week later, on June 25, the soldiers of the 48th would begin to dig a mine underneath this portion of the Confederate line. . . .

Trenches at Petersburg

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The soldiers of the 48th were justly proud of their actions on the Seventeenth and Eighteenth of June; indeed, Bosbyshell later described the attacks on June 17 as the regiment's most brilliant action of the war.
But the price was heavy. . .During its attacks on June 17-18, the 48th Pennsylvania lost 19 men killed or mortally wounded, 42 men wounded, and 4 men missing/captured, for a total casualty count of 65.


Killed/Mortally Wounded: (19)
Private Francis M. Stidham, Company A (MW6/18/1864; Died 7/10/1864)
Private Gilbert Graham, Company C (MW 6/18/1864; Died 4/1/1865)
Private John Major, Company E (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private William Rasons/Reysons, Company E (MY 6/17/1864; Died 6/24/1864)
Private James Reagan, Company E (MW 6/17/1864; Died 6/30/1864)
Private James Mercer, Company E (MW 6/17/1864; Died 5/21/1865)
Private Horace Straub, Company F (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private Isaac Lewis, Company F (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private Simon Devlin, Company F (KIA 6/18/1864)
Lieutenant Curtis C. Pollock, Company G (MW 6/17/1864; Died 6/23/1864)
Private Howard Jones, Company G (MW 6/17/1864; Died 7/13/1864)
Private George Morey, Company H (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private Jefferson W. Beyerle, Company H (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private James Mulholland, Company H (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private Anthony Gallagher, Company H  (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private Thomas Davis, Company H (KIA 6/18/1864)
Lieutenant Joseph Edwards, Company I (MW 6/17/1864; Died 7/2/1864)
Private Nathan Rich, Company K (KIA 6/17/1864)
Private Arthur Gray (KIA 6/18/1864)

Lieutenant Joseph Edwards, Co. I Mortally Wounded, June 17 (Hoptak Collection)

Lieutenant Curtis Pollock, Co. G Mortally Wounded, June 17, 1864 (Hoptak Collection)

Private Francis M. Stidham Killed, June 18, 1864 (Hoptak Collection)

Wounded: (42)
Private Elias Britton, Company A
Private John Holman, Company A
Private John McLean, Company A
Private John Cochran, Company A
Private William Huckey, Company A
Private John Shaffer, Company A
Private Joel Lins, Company A
Private Henry Schreyer, Company A
Private James W. Sterner, Company A
Private William Dreibelbeis, Company A
Private Joseph Dreibelbeis, Company A
Sergeant Robert Campbell, Company B
Corporal James Rider, Company B
Sergeant Henry Weiser, Company C
Lieutenant James K. Helms, Company D
Corporal Jacob Dietrich, Company D
Private Lewis Dietrich, Company D
Private Jacob D. Casper, Company D
Private Joseph Berlinger/Buddinger, Company D
Private Joseph Lindenmuth, Company D
Private Thomas Clemens, Company E
Private R.B. Thompson, Company E
Private Murt Brennan, Company F
Private Patrick Boran, Company F
Corporal Robert Wallace, Company F
Private Edward L. Shissler, Company F
Private Joshua Reed, Company G
Lieutenant David B. Brown, Company H
Private Charles Eberle, Company H
Private Lewis Aurand, Company H
Private Jonathan Dillet, Company H
Private Frank Ringer, Company I
Private William Kramer, Company I
Corporal Benjamin Williams, Company I
Private Christian Seward, Company I
Private Samuel DeFrehn, Company I
Private Jacob Reichwein, Company I
Private Charles Koch, Company I
Sergeant Thomas Irwin, Company K
Private John Gillinger, Company K
Private Oliver Schwartz, Company K
Private David Houser, Company K


Captured/Missing: (4)
Sergeant Andrew Wren, Company B
Private Jacob Wigner, Company B
Private Michael Lavell, Company F
Private William Auchenbach, Company F

Private Elias Britton, Co. A Wounded (Hoptak Collection)

Private John Cochran, Co. A Wounded (Hoptak Collection)

Lieutenant James K. Helms, Co. D Severely Wounded (Patriotic Order Sons of America)

The 48th/150th: The End

July 22, 2015, 2:43 am

≫ Next: Discovering Lt. Cullen. . .

≪ Previous: The 48th/150th: "Like A Savage Torrent:" The 48th Pennsylvania at Petersburg: June 17-18, 1864

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The Remnants of the First State Flag Presented to the 48th Pennsylvania in September 1861 (pacivilwarflags.org)

 

150 years ago today. . .on July 22, 1865, the 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry would cease to any longer exist. The regiment was disbanded, its soldiers and officers mustered out of service, its veterans returning to their homes. Having been first organized in the late summer of 1861, the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry served throughout nearly all four years of the conflict, campaigning in various theaters of the war, and seeing action in dozens of engagements and major battles. By foot, by rail, and on the water, the regiment traversed thousands of miles. . .through Virginia and North Carolina, in Maryland, and across Pennsylvania, through Ohio and across Kentucky and deep into eastern Tennessee, before returning once more to Virginia for the final twelve months of the fratricidal slaughter. Throughout the four years of the regiment's existence, more than 1,800 soldiers had served in the ranks of the 48th for varying lengths of time. . .some for a few weeks, others for all four years. Most had entered voluntarily, though there were also present in all ten of its companies a number of drafted men. At least 329 soldiers of the 48th had given their lives in the contest while hundreds of others sustained non-fatal wounds or were wracked with illness and disease. The regiment's dead were buried in no fewer than seven different states, a testament to the miles traveled and the wide extent of their service. Of course, the 48th had inscribed its name forever in the war's history by its remarkably successful tunneling operation in the summer of 1864 south and east of Petersburg, when the regiment, with little in the way of help and assistance, dug a tunnel and exploded a mine under a portion of the Confederate defensive position known as Elliot's Salient. This action had made the 48th Pennsylvania famous and still today there remains few other single regimental actions of the war that garners as much attention as the 48th's tunneling of the Petersburg Mine. 150 years ago many of the regiment's veterans no doubt still harbored disbelief and a little resentment that the higher ups had failed so miserably to capitalize on their great success. Still, though, that was in the past; a part of history. The regiment itself would soon become part of history when, 150 years ago this day, the men returned home to a hero's ovation.

 

Since April 28, 1865, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania had been encamped at Fort Lyon in Alexandria, Virginia. The war was all but officially over and the weary veterans looked forward to returning back to their families in Schuylkill County. Some had not seen home or their loved ones for well over a year. Camp life at Alexandria was dull, the monotony broken only on May 23 when the regiment paraded down the streets of Washington, D.C., in that majestic Grand Review. Following the memorable event, the 48th returned to Fort Lyon and awaited their discharge. That moment finally arrived on July 17, 1865. It was on that day--a Monday--that the soldiers who remained in the ranks of the 48th were officially mustered out of service. Just a short time later the men started for home. They traveled, most likely by rail, back to Harrisburg, the place where its ten companies were first organized in the late summer of 1861, for what must have seemed like an eternity earlier for those grizzled and tried veteran warriors who were there when the 48th was born and for when it was forever disbanded. At Harrisburg the soldiers would have to wait until all the paperwork was completed, for all of the regimental reports and muster sheets to be filled out, for the regimental officers to prepare their final reports. . .and. . .for the paymaster to arrive with their final draw of army pay. Finally, on Saturday, July 22, the soldiers boarded train cars and began the final journey home. After all the marching and all the campaigning. . .all the trips via steamer and after all the marching. . .this would be the final leg of the regiment's wartime record. Oliver Bobsyshell, formerly a lieutenant then the captain of Company G before becoming the regiment's major, beautifully described that last fifty-five-mile-long journey home in his regimental history, published more than three decades later: "Finally, on the twenty-second, every detail having been completed, the regiment started from Harrisburg for home. Oh how sweet the word to the brave fellows who had been spared through so many and great dangers. Home, blessed name, so soon to be realized! How the hearts of the men on that train throbbed as each mile carried them nearer and nearer to that sacred place! Many could have hugged the trainman when 'Reading' was shouted into the cars! And then the welcome towns of Hamburg, Port Clinton, Auburn, and Schuylkill Haven flew by--then every man on his feet ready to spring to the ground when Pottsville was reached, where great crowds roared, cheered and cried such a hearty welcome, all knew it was HOME!"

 

And, indeed, did the people of Pottsville turn out to welcome home these veteran soldiers! They were there by the many hundreds, nay, many thousands. The city and its people had been preparing for the return home of the 48th for the past week, having held special meetings and appointing delegates to officially welcome the boys back home. Banners of red, white, and blue decorated the facades of homes and businesses all throughout the city; flags were raised and a festive atmosphere permeated the streets of Schuylkill County's largest town and seat of government. Then, at last, with the crowd now thronged at the train station and gathered along the city streets, the train carrying the veteran soldiers of the 48th arrived, sometime around 3:00 p.m. They were met there by the welcoming home committee and then escorted up Centre Street amid the thunderous applause, the singing of songs, and even the firing of cannons. The first stop for these men, once they arrived in Pottsville, was the Union Hotel, where speeches were made. The veterans appreciated the kind and thoughtful words, but were no doubt straining their necks, looking about for the faces of their loved ones--their mothers, fathers, wives, children--gathered there, somewhere in the vast crowd. Finally, after a few spontaneous words, and after a few toasts to Nagle, to Sigfried, and to Pleasants, the men dispersed. Bosbyshell captured the scene: "The meetings of the wives and children, with their husbands and fathers, were in many instances touching, in all joyful. When the men reached the corner of Centre and Market, a wife or sweetheart of one of the soldiers in the ranks saw him. His eye caught hers at the same moment. Impulsively they flew with open arms toward each other, and the next moment were locked in a fond embrace. Neither, from emotion, could speak; but tears of joy trickled down their cheeks. It was a scene the sacredness of which the publicity could not destroy."

 

And so the soldiers of the 48th were back at home after so grueling and so heartbreaking an absence. The regiment itself no longer existed; it was the end of the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. And no matter how thankful they were and how happy these weary soldiers now civilians once more were to be home, it must have been a very bittersweet moment. Not there to welcome them home were the widows of those who had fallen, or the mothers and fathers who had already buried a son, or whose child now lay buried hundreds of miles away from home, in Virginia, in North Carolina, in east Tennessee, or even outside of Andersonville, Georgia. Many were the women in black dress; many were the children who would never again see their father. Indeed, many was the child who would never  meet his father. So many of the 48th's fallen had long been in the ground in nearby cemeteries, some in Pottsville, where their silent graves lay less than a mile from the triumphant scene. Many of these graves were no doubt visited that day. And all throughout the rest of Schuylkill County were other graves, the final resting places of those who succumbed to disease or who fell at such places as Antietam, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and on and on and on. What were the feelings, the thoughts, the emotions of the families of these soldiers when they learned the war was over and that the surviving veterans of the 48th were once more back home? And what were the thoughts and feelings of those surviving veteran soldiers, now once more civilians, upon returning home and seeing the graves of departed comrades and friends, and upon seeing the widows and the mothers and the children whose husband, son, father gave his life while serving in the war?

 

And what now? Now that the war was over and the men were back at home, at last, in Schuylkill County. . .How long was it before they returned to work, on the farms, in the office, or in the coal mines? How long was it before the illness and scars and wounds they sustained in the war came back to haunt them? For how many would their lives be cut short because these wartime injuries and wounds? How long was it before these civilian volunteer soldiers turned civilian once more tried to bury and suppress the scenes of carnage, the memories of the hell of war? The whole of the rest of their lives now lay before them, their soldier days were done. And the 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry was now but a reminiscence, a memory. . .part of history.

 

Record Banner of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry (pacivilwarflags.org)

 

---

Discovering Lt. Cullen. . .

April 7, 2016, 5:32 am

≫ Next: Killed At Spotsylvania: Lt. Henry Clay Jackson: Teacher Turned Soldier Turned Martyr

≪ Previous: The 48th/150th: The End

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Lieutenant William Cullen Company E, 48th Pennsylvania [Courtesy of  Catherine Siegel and Family]

In all of my years studying the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, there are few moments more thrilling for me than when I see an image or a photograph of one of the regiment's soldiers for the very first time. After all the time I have spent poring over the rosters, studying the returns and rolls, examining the casualty lists, reading the letters and accounts, I cannot help but naturally wonder what these soldiers looked like and I am always thrilled, even elated, when a photograph surfaces or is discovered that allows me to, at last, put a face to the name. Unfortunately, it really does not happen that often, or at least less often than one might suppose. During the four years of the American Civil War, approximately 1,800 soldiers served in the ranks of the 48th, some for a few months, others for all four years. Yet of this number, I have only ever seen images of about 200, or just about 11% of the entire regiment. Of course, I do keep an eye out, regularly searching through the inventories of Civil War relics/antique dealers, historical auction sites, and checking frequently on ebay and other places where, over the years, some 48th CDVs have been put up for sale. And whenever I receive an email from a descendant of a 48th soldier, I always ask in return if they have or know of a photograph of their ancestor who served in the ranks. . .

Almost all of the time the answer, unfortunately, is no. 

That was the answer I got when, in late November 2015, I received an email from a descendant of Lieutenant William Cullen, of Company E, 48th PA. Having worked at Antietam for so many years and knowing well the actions of the regiment there, I have longed searched, or I should say, waited, to see an image of Cullen. Cullen was killed there, late on the afternoon of that bloody Wednesday in mid-September 1862 when a ramrod was propelled through his chest. The grisly and ghastly nature of his death wound was recorded specifically in the regimental history authored by Oliver Bosbyshell in 1896. Writing of the regiment's stand atop a ridge line east of Otto's farm lane and of the artillery bombardment they sustained while there, Bosbyshell wrote of one particularly deadly and destructive shot: "With a bang and a splutter along came that destructive old shell, which filled [Jacob] Douty's eyes with dirt, and bruised his shoulder, tore off Sergeant [John] Seward's leg and left Sergeant [William] Trainer minus one arm, as it drove the ramrod he was just replacing into poor Cullen's breast. Cullen jumped to his feet, tore open his shirt to show his captain the wound, and then dropped dead at Winlack's feet." Yes, I knew Cullen's story fairly well. How, before the war, he was a coal miner from Silver Creek; married, with a number of small children, and rather tall; he stood nearly 6'2" in height. In April 1861, Cullen left home and family behind in answer to his country's call--he was a First Generation American. His parents, Thomas and Bridget Mary Burke Cullen, were natives of County Wexford in Ireland who had made the long journey across the Atlantic. William Cullen, their first of eventually twelve children, was born in Pennsylvania in 1829, which made him thirty-two-years of age when civil war erupted across the family's adopted land. Cullen answered his country's call, serving under Captain William Winlack as a sergeant in the Wynkoop Artillery, a militia company which became Company E, 16th Pennsylvania Infantry. The 16th was a three-month organization and upon the expiration of this term of service, Cullen assisted Winlack in recruiting a new company from around the Silver Creek area, a company that, in September 1861, became Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, a "three-years or the course of the war" regiment. Cullen was mustered into service as the company's 1st Lieutenant.  One month later, from Fortress Monroe, Virginia, Cullen wrote to his mother, explaining why he felt it right and proper to offer his services: 

Fort Monroe Headquarters
Department of V. A.
Camp Hamilton
October 23rd, 1861

Dear Mother
after a relapse of some time its with pleasing anticipation I address those lives you Brothers & Sisters hoping to find you all in good health and blessing. I enjoy myself at present dear Mother. After my return from the 3 months servise I remained at home for a few weeks but the way the Country was situated business of all descriptions. Suspended & seeing that my service to my adopted country was stile kneeded [still needed] I procured a commission of first Leutenancy under same Captain that I served under in the 3 months & again immerged into it for during the war dear mother our position is not a dangerous one as we are at present camped under the protection of the fort that is described on the map. It is the largest fort belonging (to) the government it mounts 377 guns 2, 4000 men & cost 2 million 4 hundred thousand dollars to build it dear mother, brother & sisters. I hope that my conduct through this campain may be unstained that I may gain all the hounour & esteem & hounour due to my rank & station from them that is under my command & pray that I may survive to see the Glorious Stars & Stripes Float again from the shores of the Pacific to the St. Laurance then man can Enjoy again the blessings & privileges [?] that glorious Washington established if once overturned by rebble force could never be replaced. When that happy hour shale arive that the Trumpet of peace shale echo through the land while I returned to the fond affections of a loving Wife & Children & the Tender Embrace of an aged Mother, Brother & Sisters. Dear Mother their is none of the enemy to be seen at this point they are reported to be concentrating within 25 miles of here at a place called Yorktown where Washington took Lord Cornwallice & 15 hundred men prisoners at the time of the Revolutionary war. The(y) burned down a Town called Hampton 1 mile from here about 3 months ago and have not been seen here since. I cannot say how long we will be stationed here. We are the first Pennsylvania Troops ever landed at this point. We are the 48 Regt. of P.A. voluntiers commanded by Col. James Nayle [Nagle] of Potsville. He is of appinion that we will remain here some time. I wish you to answer this letter as soon as you possible can & let me know all particulars. I wont neglect writing to you & trust I shale receive the same from you in return. Send my best respects to Frances Coyle & Wife & send my love to James, Thomas, John & Davy, Mary, Elen, Catherine & James & Jane & serve [?] 

A Large portion for your selfe from
Your Affectionate Son
Wm. Cullin

Direct to Leiut. Wm. Cullin Co. E. 48th Regt. P.A. Fort Monroe, V.A.
To Mrs. Bridget Cullin Dushore, P.A.
Sullivan Co. P.A. United States

[Letter Credit to: Monique S. Derby and http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pasulliv/sullivancountyfolk/CullenCivilWarLetters/Cullen.htm]

Less than a year after writing this, Cullen gave his life upon the fields of Antietam to help ensure that the Stars & Stripes floated once again over a united land. He was a popular officer and his death was lamented within the ranks of his company and of his regiment. Indeed, a day after the fight, on September 18, a member of Company E--most likely Private David Hamilton--authored a poem, entitled:

"Ode to William Cullen"

Attention ye brave to this mournful story, 

That I am going to pen of a soldier so brave:

Who started to reap a rich harvest of glory,

But is now lying dead in his cold narrow grave.

His name was Bill Cullen as fearless of danger

As the shining steel sword he held in his hand:

He left his fond wife to the cold hearted strangers,

While he went to fight for his dear native land.

A lieutenant he was under brave Captain Winlock

In the 48th Regiment of Schuykill's brave sons;

He never was daunted by cannon or firelocks,

But like a true soldier stood firm by his guns.

He fought at Bull Run on the first of September,

Where Burnside so valiantly beat back the foe;

The day that the rebels will ever remember,

And the Northern men look to with wonder and woe.

It was there that he seemed like an angel

Of mercy sent down from a high;

As the wounded he carried away from the danger

And cared for the poor sufferers left there to die.

But alas I must tell you in heart rendering numbers,

His sad fate at the Battle of Antietam Creek;

'Twas there he fell in deaths slumbers.

Cut down in his prime not a word could he speak.

With his sword waving high in the battle, 

While cheering his men to the action once more;

A cursed rebel shell in death dealing rattle,

Striking brave Cullen laid him in his gore.

As next morning his comrades gathered around him,

Laid him down gently in his hallow bed;

Every one dropped a true soldiers tear o'er him,

Saying, Peace to the ashes of the gallant dead. 

William Cullen's remains were later taken back to Schuylkill County where they continue to rest in St. Stephen's Cemetery in Port Carbon. . . 

The Grave of William Cullen

Ruth, the great-great-grand niece of Cullen who had contacted back in November 2015, wrote to ask if I would be willing to lead her and a number of her relatives on a tour of the battlefield of Antietam, with a particular focus on the actions of the 48th there. Of course, I responded, It would be--and was, indeed--a great honor. 

We met up at the Visitor Center at Antietam on December 27. I remember that at the outset of the tour, one of the kind gentlemen in the group named Frank told me that they had something special for me once we got to the fields where the 48th fought. And while we covered the whole battleground--from the North Woods and Cornfield to the West Woods and the Sunken Road--I was especially looking forward to leading the descendants of Lt. Cullen on a tour of where the regiment fought and where he lost his life. We parked at the Burnside Bridge and I described the actions of the 48th, who were positioned on the opposite bluff, firing at those pesky and determined Georgians holding the bridge. "And when at last the bridge was carried, the 48th," I explained, "proceeded in this direction . . ." We walked from the parking lot, along a portion of the Final Attack Trail, to a rise of ground immediately east of the Otto Farm Lane. From there, we could see Burnside's objective--the high ground, 3/4 of a mile ahead. I described the attack of Willcox's and Rodman's divisions and how, when A.P. Hill's Confederates arrived and smashed into Burnside's left flank, causing it to cave, the 48th was called forward to this point of ground to help stem the gray-and-butternut tide. It was at this spot, I explained, where the regiment suffered its highest loss. And it was there, somewhere very nearby, where that particularly "destructive old shell" came along with a bang and a splutter, tearing off legs and arms and driving Sgt. Trainer's ramrod straight through Cullen's chest. It was somewhere near here, I said, where the lieutenant--their ancestor--sprang to his feet, tore open his shirt, and fell dead at Captain Winlack's feet. After I finished, the group gathered closer to me and Frank placed an arm around me, reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out. . .

. . .an image of Lieutenant William Cullen!

I could hardly believe what I was seeing and still, today, I have a hard time attributing how this all came about to pure coincidence. As it turned out, just one week before Ruth and her family journeyed to Antietam for the tour, they found an image of Cullen on an online genealogy site, an image posted there by a relative they did not know they had. It was truly quite remarkable that just a week before they walked the ground where Cullen fell they, for the first time, saw his face. And, for me, it was an absolutely incredible moment--one I will not soon forget, when I was presented with a copy of Cullen's image by his descendants very near the spot where he gave his life while serving in the ranks of the 48th. 

Since that time, I have learned much more about Cullen from his descendants and have been in contact with that branch of the family who has the photograph, hanging on the wall of their home. For their kindness and generosity, I would like to thank Ruth, Jean, and Frank Sando, Ms. Catherine Siegel, and their families for allowing me to share this story and that amazing moment when I first discovered Lieutenant William Cullen. . . 

Killed At Spotsylvania: Lt. Henry Clay Jackson: Teacher Turned Soldier Turned Martyr

May 5, 2016, 5:18 am

≫ Next: “If I Fall On The Battlefield It Will Be For A Good Cause:” Private Thomas Major (ca. 1840-1862), Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

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Lieutenant Henry Clay Jackson (Courtesy of Ronn Palm; Museum of Civil War Images)

In 1861, twenty-four-year-old Henry Clay Jackson, from St. Clair, Pennsylvania, was looking forward to a career in the classroom. He was enrolled at the Millersville Normal School, studying to become a school teacher. But then the war came and Jackson--"From a sense of duty and not impulse"--decided to answer his country's call. He left his studies behind and entered the ranks of the Lafayette Rifles, a company recruited largely from St. Clair which soon became Company B, 14th Pennsylvania. Attached to General Robert Patterson's command, Jackson and the 14th saw no action during its three-month term of service. When his term of service with the 14th expired in late July, 1861, Jackson enlisted once more, this time to term a three-year term in the ranks of Company G, 48th Pennsylvania. 

It was not long before Jackson proved himself a natural leader and brave soldier. He was appointed as the company's Orderly Sergeant and in June 1862, was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. On August 29, 1862, at Second Bull Run, Jackson was among the scores of soldiers of the 48th to fall into enemy hands, having been cut off in an unfinished railroad embankment and caught up in a devastating Confederate counterattack. As a prisoner of war, Jackson was sent south and soon found himself confined in Richmond's Libby Prison where he remained a short time before being exchanged.  Returning to the regiment, Jackson only narrowly survived the struggle at Fredericksburg when a shell burst directly in front of him, so close that it covered his face and neck with powder. Captain Oliver Bosbyshell of Company G, who was very near to Jackson, remembered that it appeared as though the lieutenant was suffering from a case of "black small pox." At Knoxville, in late November 1863, Jackson was more badly wounded when a shell fragment tore into his thigh while he was in command of the regimental picket line. 

The Officers Of Company G in 1863 Captain Bobsyshell (seated),  Lt. Curtis Pollock (standing, left), and Jackson (Hoptak Collection)

Captured then confined in Libby, surviving a close call at Fredericksburg and a more serious wound at Knoxville, Jackson's luck ultimately ran out during the slaughter that was Spotsylvania. While lying prone in the line of battle, Jackson was struck with a ball through the neck, just above the collar bone, with the bullet coming to a stop in his chest. A number of his fellow soldiers carried the stricken lieutenant from the field, among them Sgt. William Auman--who would one day ride with Teddy Roosevelt during the Spanish-American War." Auman remembered that Jackson was lying next to him when he was hit. "When he was struck he fell against me," related Auman, "I asked him where he was hit; he whispered 'I don't know,' and then his head fell to one side and I saw that he was dying." Indeed, Jackson took his last breath while being carried to a hospital in the rear. Later buried near where he fell at Spotsylvania, the remains of Lieutenant Henry Clay Jackson were reportedly reinterred after the war and laid to rest at the National Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Virginia, though there is no known grave marker for him there.  

The loss of Jackson was deeply felt in the regiment. In his regimental history, Joseph Gould wrote that Jackson was "a noble fellow," who was "idolized by his men." Bosbyshell related that Jackson was "an able and fearless officer," while after the war, Francis Wallace bestowed further praise upon on Jackson in his work, Memorial to the Patriotism of Schuylkill County:

"Thus fell Lieutenant Jackson, faithful to every duty, and though sensible to danger and peril, yet braving them with heroic disregard of self. He had determined if his life was spared to remain in the army till the last organized force of rebellion was overthrown. Gifted with a vigorous physical organization, considerable energy, a clear and active mind, ready utterance, strict integrity, and withal modest and affectionate, his friends had high hopes of his success in a civil profession, but he was reserved by Providence to be one of the numerous martyrs in behalf of the Union, and the honor and free institutions of our country."

[Notes: Francis Wallace. Memorial to the Patriotism of Schuylkill County (Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Benjamin Bannan Publisher, 1865): pg. 529; Joseph Gould. The Story of the Forty Eighth (Philadelphia: Alfred M. Slocum, Publisher, 1908), pg. 180; Oliver Bosbyshell. The 48th in the War (Philadelphia: Avil Printing Company, 1895), pgs. 97, 150.  

“If I Fall On The Battlefield It Will Be For A Good Cause:” Private Thomas Major (ca. 1840-1862), Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

July 4, 2016, 2:23 pm

≫ Next: Remembering General James Nagle On The 150th Anniversary Of His Death

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Although I have not been posting as frequently as I once did and not even as much as I did during the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War (2011-2015), I still maintain this site/blog and keep it active largely now as a resource for those hoping to discover more about the 48^thPennsylvania Infantry Regiment and especially its soldiers. I still occasionally post stories pertaining to the regiment and I still regularly receive emails from descendants of soldiers who served in the regiment and who are hoping to discover more about their ancestor.  Of course, whenever this happens I share all I know and all I have gathered about that particular soldier over the years. It is rather rewarding to be able to tell these folks, interested in their family story genealogy, about their ancestor in the 48^th and connect them, somewhat, to that soldier. On the other hand, and every once in a great while, it is I who is contacted by a descendant who generously and graciously shares information they have about their ancestor who served in the regiment. It doesn’t happen that often; indeed, only a handful of times since I first launched this blog nine years ago. But last month I awoke one Saturday morning to discover an email in my inbox from a Mr. Brett Adams of Minnesota who came across my blog while doing some research on his Civil War ancestor: Private Thomas Major, of Company E, 48^thPennsylvania Infantry. I was absolutely thrilled by the message he sent, for not only did he include some biographical and genealogical information about Major, but he also included a photograph. Whenever I get to see an image of a 48^th PA soldier for the very first time, well, it just makes my day. Discovering images of 48^th soldiers does not happen often, or at least not as often as one might think. Indeed, of the 1,860 men who served in the regiment, I have only ever seen photographs of about 200 of them—or just over 10%. That’s it. So when I, for the very first time, get to see the face of a soldier I have known only by a name, it makes me feel a much closer connection. I responded quickly to Mr. Adams and over the next few weeks, I was amazed with the information he so willingly and so kindly sent along to me about Thomas Major and his family. Included were a number of letters—previously unknown to me, of course—written by Thomas while in service and sent to his siblings back home in Schuylkill County. Mr. Adams also sent along images of Major’s brother, sister, and brother-in-law. 

Having studied the 48^thfor so long, it was—and is—always thrilling to me when I learn more about its soldiers, and I cannot thank Mr. Adams and his family enough for their kindness and generosity in sharing their photographs and letters with me and for allowing me the honor of telling Private Thomas Major’s story here. . . .

Thomas Major Company E 48th Pennsylvania

When Thomas Major enlisted in September 1861, he was 21 years of age. He stood 5’8 ½” in height, had a Dark Complexion, Brown Eyes, and Dark Hair. His occupation was listed as Teamster and his residence simply as Schuylkill County, though the Census Records place him and his family in Blythe Township, which is east of Pottsville and west of Tamaqua.  He was the son of 43-year-old James Major and 40-year-old Maria Major. His father had been born in England and by 1860 was a foreman at a coal mine. Thomas appears to have been their eldest child; the oldest of nine. When Thomas marched off to war in the late summer of 1861, he left behind four younger brothers and four younger sisters. And he would write home frequently to his younger siblings. Along with a letter he sent home on October 18, 1861, from near Fortress Monroe, Virginia, Thomas also included a piece of President John Tyler’s piano from Hampton. Tyler, the former President who had been elected to the Confederate Congress, was, said Major, “now in the Secession War.” As was the case with most soldiers, however, Thomas soon began to admonish his siblings for not writing more often. From Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, in May 1862, for example, Thomas wrote that he was “discontented” because a mail had arrived “and all the boys had letters to read and I got none.” He was quite convinced, said the brooding young soldier, “that the folks at home had forgot that there is a Thomas Major out on Hatteras.” Nevertheless, he recorded his thoughts on army life and wrote about his efforts at getting a furlough—all to no avail. He was also sure to keep his family updated on the doings of the army. “They have taken Fort Macon and I think they will run the vessels in down there at Beaufort,” said Major in a letter dated May 1, 1862 when the 48^th formed part of Burnside’s Expedition in North Carolina. “They lost but one man and it was 10 hours fight. They took them all prisoners. They battered a hole through the walls that they could drive a team in, and they put 3 balls in the magazine. The gun boats could not get in to fight. Our forces planted mortars 3 miles from the fort and the Stars and Stripes are waving over it now.” It was not all battle-related, though. At the end of that same letter, Thomas mentioned that he and the boys in the mess “are opening oysters," which they intend to have with soup for dinner. "Don’t you wish you had a cup?” Thomas asked his brother. In another letter, this one dated May 4, Thomas recorded the elation he and his comrades felt over the fall of New Orleans—“Hip, hip, hooray, we heard of New Orleans being taken”—but that elation seemed to have been short-lived, since, said Thomas, the boys were now “getting down-hearted, afraid the war will soon be over and then they will have to go to work again.” (Not a few soldiers of the 48^th wrote about how they would rather be in the army than in the coal mines). 

In his letters, Thomas would plead with his family not to worry too much about him and in June 1862 told them that if it was his fate to "fall on the battlefield it will be for a good cause." Thomas also would do his best to still be the big brother of the family, even while hundreds of miles away from them, by urging his younger siblings to lead good, virtuous lives. In a June 9, 1862, letter from New Bern, he urged his brother “to leave thee off some of the bad habits you have—do, for a brother’s sake leave off drinking liquor, which I have seen too much of it already since I came out here.”  Apparently, drinking to excess was quite a problem in the army—at times—and Thomas saw what a ruinous habit it can be. Drinking lands men in the guard house, said Major to his brother, and in handcuffs. Thomas then quoted directly from “A Letter From A Father to His Son  on Inebrity,” that appeared in a book entitled “The Universal Letter Writer,” and published in 1811 and which surely made its way around the army camps. In part, this letter read that “Hard drinking is a vice that breaks a man’s rest, impairs his understanding, extinguishes the memory, inflames the passions, corrupts the will, lays the foundation of the worst and most dangerous distempers; prevents a person from pursuing his studies and from applying to his duties of his calling, be it what it will.”  

Certainly, Thomas was concerned about the well-being of his younger siblings and it is clear that he missed them. It seems his efforts at getting a furlough did not come to fruition and like most others, he longed for home. In a June 10, 1862, letter from New Bern, Thomas wrote that North Carolina was pretty country, but “I would like to see the old dirt banks [of Schuylkill County] again.” 

Sadly, he would not.

Thomas Major Letter From Camp Hamilton Near Fortress Monroe October 18, 1861

In July 1862, the 48^th Pennsylvania—along with most of Burnside’s force in North Carolina—were ordered to Virginia. After spending a few weeks at Newport News, they were sent via steamer to Aquia Creek and from there, the soldiers of the 48^th marched hard to catch up with General John Pope’s army then gathering in northern Virginia. They arrived in time to participate in the blood-letting that was Second Bull Run. On August 29, 1862, the 48^th Pennsylvania—as part of Nagle’s Brigade and along with the 2^nd Maryland and 6^th New Hampshire Infantries—smashed through a section of Stonewall Jackson’s line along an unfinished railroad cut. Their success was not exploited, however, and with no supports marching to their assistance, it was not long before the Confederates recovered and rallied and soon had Nagle’s men pinned down, fired upon from three sides. A devastating flank attack drove the survivors from the cut and by the time the 48^th rallied, more than 150 of its soldiers were among the killed, wounded, captured, or missing. As it turned out and in terms of numbers lost, 2^nd Bull Run would be the 48^th’s worst battle of the war.

Among the wounded was young Private Thomas Major of Company E. At some point during the battle, he was shot in the leg and remained on the field for two days before he was able to limp or crawl away to safety. He was taken to the Columbian College Hospital in Washington, D.C. for treatment. Hopes for his recovery were high and from his hospital bed, Thomas continued to write letters home. On October 11, some six weeks after his wounding, he wrote that he was “well and hearty although in bed.” “My leg is coming along nicely,” Thomas assured his sisters, or at least “as well as could be expected” and that the hospital was “about the best in Washington.” He described his experiences at 2^nd Bull Run: “About the battle, I was shot on Friday the 29^th. I laid in under the hottest of the fire for 2 days. The ball tore the ground all around me, and also my clothing was pierced a dozen times.” He also informed his sister that he had received a letter from brother George. By the fall of 1862, George Major, who was two years younger than Thomas had entered the army and was just then serving in the ranks of the nine-month 129^thPennsylvania Infantry. Thomas also passed along his regards for their neighbors back home in Blythe Township, the Gables, but ended his letter by saying he was tired. He told his sister earlier in that same letter that she should “not expect to get long letters from me while I am laying on the bed for it is very tiresome.”

There was nothing in that letter to indicate that Thomas was not recovering well; indeed, the thought was that he would soon be back home. It thus came as a shock when on October 31, Thomas Major died.

Included among the letters Mr. Adams sent along was one dated November 22, 1862, and written by a M.A. Wood, who was likely a nurse or hospital steward at Columbian College Hospital. Wood was responding to a letter he or she received from one of Thomas Major’s siblings.

Columbian College Hospital
14^th Street, Washington, D.C.
November 22, 1862

Dear Friend,

It was with much pleasure that I received your kind letter. I was truly glad to hear from you and to hear that you were all well, for I did not know but your brother's death might seriously affect your dear mother, but it was my prayer that the Lord would give you all strength to bear it. It must surely have been a cruel blow, more so on account of having all encouraging letters from him. It was very unexpected to me. I could not have felt worse to have had an own brother die. He had been here a long time and we all got very much attached to him. He was so patient and so good, not even a murmur through all his sufferings. I am very glad that it was my privilege to do what I could for him. I do not know of anything that he wanted but that he had.

It would have seemed much better and pleasanter for you to had him with you if it could have been right, but the Lord doeth all things well and doubtless you feel to say with the Psalmist "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seemeth to Him good." You spoke of giving me his picture and your mother's. You do not know how much pleased I should be to have them and yours too. I will have mine taken and send you. 

Please remember me kindly to your father, mother, brothers and sisters. I hope your other brother may be spared to you.

Please write. I shall be very much pleased to hear from at any time.

The Chaplain has looked after your brother's grave.

Yours affectionately,

M.A. Wood

P.S.  Please excuse me for not writing  before for I have not had time. - M.A.W.

Columbian College Hospital Washington, D.C. (Library of Congress)

Thomas Major answered his country’s call in the late summer of 1861, leaving behind his family in Blythe Township and marching off to war as a private in Company E, 48^th Pennsylvania Infantry. The next summer, he received a wound from which he would never recover. He bore his wound bravely, stoically, all the while composing letters home to his beloved younger siblings. His remains never made it back to those “old dirt piles” of Schuylkill County; they were, instead, buried at U.S. Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

The Worn Grave of Thomas Major U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery Washington, D.C.  (findagrave.com)

Thomas Major's younger brother, George Major, served out his nine-month term with the 129^th, seeing action at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. In the years after the war, he became Chief Burgess of Mahonoy City. On March 30, 1874, a fire spread through a home in the center of the city. Responding to the call were two rival fire companies, one predominantly Welsh, the other predominantly Irish. As was so often the case in those days of ethnic division and strife, a street brawl broke out and Burgess Major attempted to restore order by stepping between the two gangs and drawing his pistol. A shot was fired from the crowd and George Major fell dead. His death—or murder—was soon blamed on Molly Maguirism.  

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[My thanks, again, to Mr. Brett Adams and his brothers for their kindness and generosity in sending along the images and letters of Thomas Major and his family] 

Remembering General James Nagle On The 150th Anniversary Of His Death

August 22, 2016, 3:21 am

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General James Nagle Pictured Holding the Sword Presented Upon His Return Home from the Mexican War in 1848 (Library of Congress)

150 years ago. . .sometime around 4:00 o’clock on the morning of Wednesday, August 22, 1866 in his home in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and surrounded by his family. . General James Nagle died.

His name—and, indeed, his story—is not readily recognizable today, even among the more devoted students of the American Civil War.

But it should be.

James Nagle was the quintessential citizen-turned-soldier of America's past who responded repeatedly to his country’s call. He was a house and sign painter and wallpaper hanger by profession, and a family man who served on both the borough council and on the local school board. In times of war, though, James Nagle demonstrated fine leadership and total devotion to the United States and its cause. In 1840, at just eighteen years of age, he raised and organized a militia company dubbed the Pottsville Blues, which in 1842 became the Washington Artillery, and which, in 1846, marched off to war in Mexico, with a young Captain James Nagle at its helm. During the four years of America’s Civil War, Nagle helped to raise, organize, and recruit no fewer than four regiments of Pennsylvania volunteer infantry, including the famed 48^thPennsylvania which he led from the summer of 1861 until his promotion to brigade command in the spring of 1862. Promoted in rank to Brigadier General, Nagle seemed destined for higher and greater command but worsening health and particularly heart disease necessitated his resignation from the service in May 1863. Nevertheless, upon his return to home and family in Pottsville, Nagle raised and led a regiment of Emergency Militia during Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania, and the following summer recruited yet another unit—the 100-Days’ 194^th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Mustered out of service for the final time in November 1864, Nagle looked forward to happy, quiet, and peaceful days and to spending time with his wife, Elizabeth, and their six children. Another child, a daughter named Kate, would arrive in September 1865. Sadly, though, he did not have much time remaining. His health continued to deteriorate with his heart disease becoming increasingly worse as the months passed by. When he at last succumbed 150 years ago today, this man—this loving and devoted father, leading and estimable member of the community, wartime hero and dedicated soldier—was just forty-four years of age.

Word of his death spread quickly through Pottsville and a palpable sadness—a pall—fell upon the town. Flags were lowered, businesses closed. Soon official news of the General’s death was reported in the Miners’ Journal: “Sincere sorrow pervaded this community. . .when the fact of Gen. Nagle’s death became known,” recorded the Journal, “The sad event was not unexpected, for he had suffered for years from disease of the heart and liver, and during the past few weeks it was evident to his friends that he was succumbing to the attacks of adversaries too powerful for medicine to combat successfully. He died on Wednesday morning at 4 o’clock at his residence in this Borough. A brave soldier of two wars; a good citizen; an estimable man, has passed away. While the memory of his worth will remain green in the memories of this community in which so many years of his useful life were spent, his name will be inscribed with honor on the pages of his country’s history.”

Inscribed with honor, perhaps, but with the passage of 150 years the story of James Nagle and his service has certainly faded. And though he remains immortalized in bronze atop a monument at Antietam National Battlefield, James Nagle ranks today among the relatively unknown generals of the Civil War.

This is unfortunate. His story needs to be told and his service remembered. And today, 150 years after his death, seems a more than fitting and appropriate day to do so.   

Although he would make his home and find his final resting place in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, James Nagle was actually born in Reading, PA, on April 5, 1822, the first of eventually eight children born to and raised by Daniel and Mary (Rorig) Nagle. His ancestry in the United States can be traced back to the 1730s when his forebears arrived in Pennsylvania from Germany. James’s grandfather, Philip Nagle, had served in the Revolutionary War as a drummer with the 1^stPennsylvania Continental Line. The Nagle family moved around from point to point early in James’s life—to Wommelsdorf and thence to Pine Grove and finally by 1835 to Pottsville, the seat of government for Schuylkill County. As a young man, James learned the trade of his father, a cabinet maker, and also learned the trades of wallpaper hanger and housepainter. Young James Nagle also attended some years in public schools, though as an early biographical portrait described, much of his education was through the “school of experience and through continued self-effort,” going to school at night and working during the day. From an early age, James showed a strong interest in the military and, in 1840 and at just eighteen years of age, he organized a company of young Pottsville boys into a militia unit initially known as the Pottsville Blues, but which, two years later became the Washington Artillery. With the outbreak of war with Mexico, Nagle, now twenty-four, tendered the services of his company and on December 5, 1846, marched off to war. The Washington Artillery became Company B, 1^st Regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry and Nagle mustered into service as its captain. Nagle and his company, forming part of General Winfield Scott’s force, took part in the siege of Vera Cruz, and at the battles of Cerro Gordo, Lahoya, Huamantla, Puebla, and Atlixco. Upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, Nagle returned with his company to a hero’s ovation to Pottsville in the summer of 1848. In recognition of his service, the people of Pottsville presented Nagle with a beautiful sword, which was one of his most treasured possessions. He carried it even during the Civil War and, today, a bronze copy of that Mexican War presentation sword can be seen attached to the Nagle statue at Antietam.

Captain James Nagle ca. 1848-1850 (Schuylkill County in the Civil War)

In 1852, James Nagle was elected Sheriff of Schuylkill County. He continued to remain active in the state militia system and soon was appointed Brigade Inspector of Pennsylvania, with the rank of Colonel. By his early thirties, James Nagle had become a leading and very much respected member of his community. He was also a devoted husband and loving father. On December 15, 1842, James married Elizabeth Kaercher and to their union nine children would be born, seven of whom lived to maturity. While in Mexico, James had also adopted an orphaned eight-year-old boy named Emerguildo Marquis, with whom he returned and raised in his household as one of his own. During his younger days, Nagle voted Whig but then became a Republican. He supported Lincoln and was opposed to slavery and its expansion.

With his experience in the state militia and his experience leading soldiers in combat, it was only natural that Governor Andrew Curtin would call upon Nagle soon after the commencement of the Civil War. Nagle traveled to Harrisburg and helped to organize and train the many companies of volunteer soldiers pouring daily into the capital city. Curtin then commissioned Nagle colonel of the 6^thPennsylvania Infantry, a three-month unit that was raised primarily from Schuylkill and Carbon Counties. The 6^th formed part of General George Thomas’s Brigade in General Robert Patterson’s Army of the Shenandoah. The regiment saw only limited action and by late July, their three-month term of service having expired, its soldiers were on their way back home. Nagle made a very favorable impression upon this command and particularly its officers. Indeed, in October 1861, the members of the 6^th presented their former commander with a specially inscribed field glass, which, when delivered to Nagle was accompanied by a letter that spoke volumes to Nagle’s leadership and character:

Col. James Nagle,

Dear Sir:- A number of your friends, officers, and privates of the late Sixth Regiment, P.V., commanded by you during the time it was in service, desire to present the accompanying field-glass, for your acceptance, in token of our high personal esteem, and the exalted opinion we entertain of your military knowledge and capacity.

Though your characteristic modesty may shrink from any public eulogy of your conduct and services, our gratitude and admiration will not permit us to pass them by, without this tribute of affection and respect.

For many years past the military spirit and organization of Schuylkill County have been chiefly sustained by your exertions. When the Nation’s honor was to be maintained on the plains of Mexico, you with a well disciplined corps under your command, sprang to arms and hastened to the field of conflict; in Cerro Gordo’s terrific fight you stood calm and unmoved amid the leaden storm of death which fell on every side, and by your presence of mind and courage saved many gallant men from the fearful carnage.

During the long season of peace which followed the closing of that war, in your own quiet and happy home, you faithfully discharged the duties of a husband, father, and citizen, endearing yourself both to your family and the community in which you dwelt.

But now the tocsin of war sounds through the land, and her valiant sons are called to defend her against foul rebellion’s deadly blows. Speedily a regiment of your fellow citizens take the field, and confer upon you the command. During the three months we served together, though inflexibly firm and persistently industrious in the performance and requirement of every camp and field duty, yet such was the kindness of your demeanor, and your tender regard for the health, safety, and comfort of your men, that we regarded you rather as a friend and father, than a mere military commander.

And now, that you have, at the head of a Schuylkill County Regiment—Pennsylvania’s 48th—again taken the field at your country’s call and may soon be in the thickest of the most eventful battle the world has ever witnessed, on the issue of which the destiny of human freedom and progress is suspended, we present you with the accompanying glass, as well in token of our esteem and admiration, as that your eye which never dimmed with fear as it gazed upon a foe, may more readily perceive his approach and prepare for victory.

Praying that God of Battles may preserve you in the midst of danger, and return you unharmed to your family and friends, when our glorious Union shall be firmly re-established, and covered with still more illustrious renown,

We remain, yours truly,

Capt. C. Tower,

Lt.Col. Jas. J. Seibert,

Maj. John E. Wynkoop,

Capt.H.J. Hendler,

Lieut. Theo. Miller,

Lieut. D.P. Brown,

And many others. 

Nagle was no doubt touched by this kind and generous tribute and gift, but by the time he received it, he was once more in the field and in command of a new regiment, one he had raised almost entirely from Schuylkill County: the 48^th Pennsylvania Volunteers. After being discharged as commander of the 6^th Pennsylvania, Nagle was immediately commissioned by Governor Curtin to raise another regiment of volunteers, this one to serve for three years or the course of the war, whichever would come first. The regiment was raised during the months of August and September 1861 and after being formally mustered into service departed for the seat of war, being assigned first to Fortress Monroe and then to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina. While in North Carolina in the spring of 1862, the 48^thPennsylvania was attached to Ambrose Burnside’s Coastal Expedition, which, in time, became the 9^th Army Corps. When Burnside organized his forces, he made Major General Jesse Reno a divisional commander and Nagle a brigade commander in Reno’s division. Nagle would subsequently lead this brigade with great bravery and distinction at 2^nd Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg, taking a prominent part in each of these engagements. At 2^nd Manassas, Nagle’s Brigade pierced Stonewall Jackson’s Confederate line along an unfinished railroad cut; at South Mountain his men helped to secure Fox’s Gap; three days later his brigade took a leading part in the attacks upon the Burnside Bridge at Antietam; while at Fredericksburg, Nagle led his brigade in an oftentimes forgotten assault upon Marye’s Heights. All the while Nagle continually showed himself a gifted, capable leader and brave soldier. He had been promoted to the rank of brigadier general in September 1862 upon the recommendation of Reno who, on September 7 and just one week before his death at South Mountain, wrote to Lincoln:

General James Nagle (National Archives}

To His Excellency, the President of the United States:

Sir:-I have the honor to recommend Col. James Nagle, 48th Regt. Pa. Vols., for promotion as Brigadier General. Col. Nagle has served with me with fidelity and ability as commander of a Brigade, since the Battle of Newbern, and in recent battles conducted himself with gallantry, and led his command with judgment and discretion.

I have the honor to be

Very Respectfully, Your obd’t servant,

J.L. Reno

Major-General com’dg

Throughout the fall of 1862 and during the early winter of 1863, Nagle several times assumed the temporary command of the division and it seemed as though advancement in rank and in command would have been his had it not been for his poor and failing health. During the winter of 1863, Nagle began to suffer from chest pains. He sought out doctors who informed him he was afflicted with angina pectoris and who urged him to resign and return home for better chances of recovery. Nagle remained in the army for several more months before the pain became too great and he, at last, took the doctors’ advice and reluctantly and tearfully bid farewell to his command and to the army. He resigned in May 1863. Division commander Samuel Sturgis expressed his regret at accepting the resignation of one so capable and responded by penning the following note:

Head-Quarters, 2nd Div., 9th Army Corps

Dear General:

I cannot better express the pain it gave me to forward your resignation, then by giving you a copy of my endorsement upon it, viz: ‘Respectfully forwarded and approved. But I must express my deep regret at the necessity for this forwarding it. By his intelligence, energy, zeal and courage, and quiet, unassuming deportment, withal, Gen. Nagle has endeared himself to this command, and will carry with him the love and respect not only of those gallant troops he had led so often to victory, but of all who have the good fortune to know him.’

S.D. Sturgis

Brig. Gen., com’dg

After what must have been seemed a long journey back home, Nagle was no doubt pleased to be back with his wife and family once more but, shortly after his return to Pottsville, General Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania. In response to Curtin’s plea for action, Nagle once more answered the call. For the third time he would take command of a regiment of Pennsylvania Infantry, this time the 39^thPennsylvania Emergency Militia, being mustered into service once more as a colonel. Arriving in Harrisburg, Major General Darius Couch placed Nagle in brigade command but by then Lee had been turned back at Gettysburg and the 39^thP.V.M. was mustered out and disbanded. Again, Nagle returned home and was encouraged by his doctors’ assessments that his health was improving. He felt well enough that in the summer of 1864 when the call went out seeking soldiers to serve a 100-Day term of service, he once more answered and took command of the 194^th Pennsylvania Infantry. For the fourth time in three years, then, Nagle was commissioned colonel by Governor Curtin. Nagle led the 194^thto Baltimore where they were assigned to the 8^th Army Corps. There, Nagle was given command of the forces then occupying  Mankin’s Woods, and helped to guard the approaches to the city. On November 5, 1864, the 100 days having expired, James Nagle was mustered out of service, this time for the last time.

Few other soldiers, and certainly few other citizen-soldiers, did more for the United States than did James Nagle during the Civil War. Throughout his time in uniform, he had helped to raise and subsequently commander four regiments of infantry and several times held brigade command. In Mexico, he was a captain; during the Civil War, he was both a colonel and a brigadier general. And though he had no formal military training or education, James Nagle proved himself quite the capable leader and commander. He served his country well. . .and often. He also served his community well, not only as sheriff in the early 1850s but also as head of the Pottsville Borough Council and as a member of the local school board. Sadly, Nagle did not get to enjoy peace for long, once the Civil War was over. Indeed, it was not until August 20, 1866, that President Andrew Johnson declared all hostilities had ceased and the conflict officially concluded. Two days later, on his bed in Pottsville, surrounded by his wife Elizabeth and seven children—the eldest, Emma, aged 23 years and the youngest Kate, aged 11 months—General James Nagle drew his last breath and passed away at the much-too-young age of 44.

It was not a long life that he thus led but it was a full one, a useful one, and important one. Three days after his death, General James Nagle was laid to rest in Pottsville’s Presbyterian Cemetery. Thousands gathered to pay their respects and his funeral was covered in the pages of the Miners’ Journal:

The remains of Gen. Nagle were interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery on Saturday afternoon last [August 25] with military honors.

During the morning the Ringgold Band of Reading, which had volunteered to play on the occasion, the Ashland Veterans, Capt. McLaughlin, and the Cumbola Nagle Guards reached the borough to attend the funeral. At noon Capt. Binder of Philadelphia, a companion-in-arms of Gen. Nagle in the Mexican War, having been in the same Regiment, Gen. Albright of Carbon County, and Major Bertolette of Reading, also arrived to assist in playing the last sad honors to the remains of the dead soldier.

The body was viewed by hundreds before the hour of moving from the late residence of the deceased General. The corpse was attired in citizens’ dress, and rested in a coffin furnished by Mr. John Kalbach, Centre Street opposite the Union Hotel. It was made of walnut covered with black cloth, and the ornamentation was faultless, reflecting great credit on the taste of the maker. A silver plate on the lid bore the General’s name and age. The entire workmanship was the subject of much and just commendation. When the coffin was placed in the hearse it was covered with a silk national flag with a black rosette in each corner. On the top rested the sword which was presented to Gen. Nagle by the citizens of Schuylkill County, after his return from Mexico.

About 3 o’clock the cortege moved from the house in the following order, left in front:

Hydranlian Fire Company
American Hose Company
Humane Hose Company
Good Intent Fire Engine Company
Cumbola Nagle Guards
Washington Artillery Company
Ashland Veterans
Grant Zouaves, Pottsville
Ringgold Band, Reading
Soldiers Central League, Pottsville
Detachment of Soldiers in Mexican War
Who were in Gen. Nagle’s Company, bear-
Ing the old Company flag.
Officiating Clergy
Hearse
Pall Bearers—Gen. Wm. W. Duffield, Gen. Geo. C.
Wynkoop, gen. H. Pleasants, Gen. Albright,
Gen. J.A. Hennessy, Col. J.M. Wetherill
Horse and Groom
Mourners
Mounted Officers in Uniform
Gen. J.K. Sigfried and Staff

The cortege which contained about six hundred persons, moved over the following route: From house to Market Street; down market to Centre; down Centre to Mahantango; up Mahantango to Clay; down Clay to Howard Avenue; down Howard Avenue to the Cemetery.
All places of business were closed during the passage of the funeral train, and many houses along the route were clothed in mourning while flags were suspended at half mast and craped. The streets were filled with silent and mournful spectators. Minute guns were fired from Lawton’s Hill until the cortege reached the Cemetery.
The religious services at the grave were conducted by Rev. Mr. McCool, rev. Mr. Cook and Rev. Mr. Billheimer. Mr. McCool delivered an impressive discourse, in which he dwelt at length upon the life, character, and services of Gen. Nagle. It was listened to attentively by the large concourse of persons present, which must have numbered between two and three thousand.
The last military honors were paid by the Grant Zouaves who fired three vollies over the grave.
The military then returned to Centre Street, where the line was dismissed.
It was one of the largest and most imposing funerals ever seen here, the entire community evincing sincere sorrow at the loss of an estimable citizen, a brave soldier, a patriot, whose career will ever be referred to with pride by our citizens, and whose memory will be cherished while our hills endure. 

The Grave of General James Nagle Pottsville, Presbyterian Cemetery (Author Photo)

Tributes poured in, including from Governor Curtin and General John Hartranft and no doubt by many others who had served under Nagle’s command. In histories of Schuylkill County published during the late 19^thCentury, Nagle also received high praise. “General Nagle was pre-eminently a military man, and a patriot,” said one such account.“His life was permeated with a military spirit, and in this respect broadened him into a loyal and devoted citizen. . . .He is still remembered by a large number of his fellow-townsmen, and occupies a generous place in their hearts.”Another history declared that “General Nagle’s services in the Rebellion will ever be remembered with gratitude by not only the people of Schuylkill County, but by the nation at large, who owe the preservation of their liberties to the self-sacrificing devotion of men like him.’

Certainly those who served in the 48^th never forgot the “father” of their regiment. Indeed, forty years later the regimental veteran’s association met to decide upon what kind of monument they would have placed at Antietam National Battlefield. It was decided that a slightly-larger-than-life figure of General James Nagle would stand atop its base. On September 17, 1904, thirty-six surviving veterans of the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry gathered at the Antietam Battlefield to attend the dedication and witness the unveiling of this monument. In addition to commemorating their wartime service and cherishing the memory of their fallen comrades, the aged veterans who traveled to Antietam that day were there also to honor the memory of the man who organized and first led the 48th Pennsylvania, Brigadier General James Nagle.

Oliver Bosbyshell, a veteran of the 48th, commenced the dedication ceremony at Antietam by delivering a few opening remarks. After expressing his gratitude to the state of Pennsylvania for procuring the funds necessary for the construction of the monument, Bosbyshell spoke of the late General Nagle: “The man the Forty-Eighth honors by placing his statue to mark the spot it maintained in the fight, honors the Forty-Eighth in turn. The organizer and disciplinarian who brought his command to the highest point of efficiency amongst the Ninth Corps organizations, the foremost soldier of old Schuylkill County, Brigadier General James Nagle, well deserves this meed of praise bestowed upon him.” Following Bosbyshell’s brief opening remarks, the regiment’s former surgeon, Dr. William R.D. Blackwood, delivered the dedication address. He spoke of the role the 48th played in the battle of Antietam and the appropriateness of the regimental monument on the battlefield before turning his attention to General Nagle:

At this time the merited and (for ourselves) the coveted promotion of Colonel Nagle eventuated—he won his star as a Brigadier General. Never did a soldier win the distinction through a harder road—for his whole time of service this more than brave gentleman and splendid soldier devoted his every energy to the cause for which he left his home and family, and supported by his gallant men, he won imperishable fame. . . .Today we celebrate the attainment of his glory—a glory to him and to us who can never forget his leadership—may the bronze and granite which we now dedicate to his memory remain till time shall be no more on this historical field where so many of our Pennsylvania heroes gave their all to the defenses of the land they loved, and the Flag they adored.

The monument still does stand—112 years later—as does the bronze statue of James Nagle, standing silently on top. Though with the passage of time, the memory of Nagle has faded. . .but today at least, 150 years after his death, he is being remembered. 

The 48th Pennsylvania Monument at Antietam  (Author Photo)

--------------

Bibliography:

-Gould, Joseph. The Story of the Forty-Eighth. Philadelphia: Alfred M. Slocum Printer, 1908.

-Wallace, Francis. Memorial to the Patriotism of Schuylkill County. Pottsville, Pennsylvania: Benjamin Bannan Publisher, 1865.

-Wiley, Samuel T. Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia: Rush, West, and Company, 1893.

A Sad End To A Promising Life: Captain Peter Fisher, Co. D 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

October 28, 2016, 8:36 am

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Peter Fisher, pictured as a Lieutenant (U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center)

All I really ever knew about Peter Fisher was from what I gleaned from the regimental records.

I knew, for example, that he was twenty-two-years-old when he enlisted into the ranks of Company D, 48th Pennsylvania, on September 23, 1861; that he stood 5'9" in height, had a fair complexion, blue eyes, and sandy hair. I knew also what Peter Fisher looked like, for there is a photograph of him held in the collections of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. His residence was Pottsville and his occupation, a mason. He was enlisted as fifth corporal but was soon promoted to sergeant, then to lieutenant, and, ultimately to captain.

Then, abruptly, on July 21, 1864, he was dismissed from service.

I did not know why he was dismissed; the regimental records did not indicate why. . .I knew only that he had been dismissed.

Then, two weeks ago, I received an email from a descendant of Peter Fisher's and I discovered the reasons why. And not only that, but I discovered more than I ever thought I would about this young captain who had risen so rapidly through the ranks...about his inspiring and promising start and about his sad, sad ending.

He was born in Germany--specifically in the Duchy of Saxe-Meinigen--on February 8, 1839, and was the ninth child born to Johann Georg Fischer, a master butcher, and to Margaretha Eckhard Fischer. Peter would never truly get to know his father, who died in 1841 at age 45, just two years after Peter's birth. Young Peter would spend his childhood in Saxe-Meinigen but at age fifteen, he set sail for a new country--and a new life. He arrived in the United States on August 10, 1854, after a forty-nine-day voyage aboard the Bark Parkfield. In immigrating to America, young Peter Fisher was following in the proverbial footsteps of an older sister, who had made the journey across the Atlantic several years earlier with her husband and baby. At age fifteen, Fisher--who declared himself a tailor--took up residence first in Ashland, then later in Pottsville, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Six years after his arrival, on September 21, 1860, twenty-one-year-old Peter Fisher petitioned for U.S. citizenship and became an American citizen. Seven months later, this new American would volunteer his services to fight for and defend his adopted country.

Peter Fisher's Petition For U.S. Citizenship  [Courtesy Mr. Charles Achenbach]

On April 17, 1861, Peter Fisher marched off to war as a private in the Washington Artillery, a Pottsville-based militia company, which, early the next evening, arrived in the nation's capital along with four other companies of Pennsylvania volunteers. As it turned out, the 475 soldiers composing the ranks of these five Pennsylvania companies were the very first Northern volunteers to reach Washington following the outbreak of war and they would thus all become known, proudly, as First Defenders. Upon his arrival in Washington, Private Peter Fisher found himself billeted in the U.S. Capitol Building, and a short time later, he shook the hand of a grateful President Abraham Lincoln, the leader of Fisher's new nation now steering that nation through its greatest trial. Fisher and his fellow First Defenders would spend most of their three-month term-of-service quartered in an around Washington, D.C. In late July, 1861, and with their ninety-day commitment fulfilled, he and the other members of the Washington Artillery were discharged and returned home to a hero's ovation in Pottsville. But the war was a far, far way from being over and throughout Schuylkill County, volunteers continued to answer their country's call. Most of the returning members of the Washington Artillery would re-enlist that summer, this time to serve not for ninety days but for "three years or the course of the war," whichever should come first. Fisher was among those who chose to volunteer once more, and on September 23, 1861, he was mustered back into Federal service, this time as fifth corporal in the ranks of Company D, 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

He must have surely shined as a soldier and an officer both in camp and upon the field of battle, for on December 10, 1862, this twenty-two-year-old mason from Pottsville who, less than ten years earlier, had set sail for a new life in the United States, was promoted from corporal to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. The next summer, he was commissioned captain of Company D.

So then how, after such a meteoric rise through the ranks, was this man suddenly dismissed from service, late in July 1864?

As noted earlier, the regimental records do not indicate the reason, or reasons, why; they simply note that he was "dismissed." It was not unusual for volunteer officers to be dismissed; indeed, it was somewhat common. And since most of the time this occurred it usually involved either alcohol or cowardice, my natural initial assumption was that Fisher must have been dismissed for one of these reasons. But as I discovered two weeks ago, this was not the case.

As it turns out, Captain Peter Fisher was officially dismissed from the service of the United States, with loss of all pay and allowances, for "conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman, in appearing at a theater in Cincinnati, in company with a prostitute, and for absence without leave."

Those were the reasons why.

In late January 1864, Captain Peter Fisher was reported as being absent from his regiment--absent without authorized leave. At that time, the veteran soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were just then making their way back home to Schuylkill County for a much-deserved thirty-day furlough, after having spent a miserable winter encamped in the snow covered mountains of east Tennessee. Their journey home took them through Lexington and Covington, Kentucky, and presumably through Cincinnati, Ohio. The regiment had passed through the Queen City back in April, 1863, on their way westward to Kentucky and ultimately to Tennessee; now, they were retracing their steps on their way back home. But as the rest of the regiment boarded train cars and headed home, Captain Peter Fisher decided to stay. He was AWOL from January 25, 1864, until March 13, 1864, when he was arrested in that theater, in company with that prostitute. Several months later, on July 21, 1864, he was dismissed from service by way of the Adjutant General Office's Special Orders No. 244.

The circumstances surrounding Fisher's dismissal from the service were in no way unique as there were others dismissed for the same or similar reasons. What makes Fisher's story both compelling and sad, however, is what else was happening in his life during this very same time and how short a life he had yet to live following his dismissal.

It was Peter Fisher's great-great grandson, Mr. Charles Achenbach, who reached out to me several weeks ago. He was hoping to locate the grave of Captain Fisher but, unfortunately, I could not help him. I knew only that he had been buried in Pottsville's Odd Fellows' Cemetery but despite the many, many times I spent exploring that graveyard, I had never came across Fisher's grave. Over the next few days, however, Mr. Achenbach very generously shared with me his family's story, his ancestry, and some documents pertaining to Captain Peter Fisher. He is Fisher's great-great-grandson, which means, of course, that Fisher must have been a father. And, indeed, he was. He was married as well. Sometime early in the 1860s, either before the war or while Fisher was at home on leave in Pottsville, the precise date is not clear, Peter Fisher wed Anna Barbara Welsch, the daughter of a brew master and also a native of Saxe-Meiningen in Germany. And on February 6, 1864, Anna Barbara gave birth to a baby boy, Johannnes Fisher, who would go by John for the rest of his life. It is not known if Peter Fisher was present when his son John was born, for this fell during the time he was Absent Without Leave from the regiment. Perhaps he was; likely, he wasn't. It was just a month later, he was arrested in that theater in Cincinnati.

John Fisher, Mr. Achenbach's great-grandfather, was raised by his mother Anna Barbara and by her new husband, Mr. Frederick Fenno, a veteran of the 105th Pennsylvania "Wildcats, in the Fenno household, and alongside nine step-siblings. Anna Barbara married Fenno likely in 1868, and Fenno raised John as one of his own children.  Throughout this life, however, John had kept his last name of Fisher, even though he would never know his father, Captain Peter Fisher, who was dead less than five months after his dismissal from the service.

It is not clear how Fisher died. Perhaps it was due to an illness he contracted during the war. Indeed, his service records do indicate that he was in the hospital in July and August of 1862 and July and August of 1863. But whatever the cause, Captain Peter Fisher passed away on December 16, 1864; dead at the age of twenty-five.

It was, indeed, a sad end to one who's story had been so inspiring. The story of a fifteen-year-old immigrant to the United States, who grew up without a father, who nevertheless found a new life in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and who, just seven months after becoming a citizen of the United States took up arms in defense of his adopted land; the story of a young man who proved to be a good soldier, rising rapidly through the ranks from private to captain. But then, during what should have been the happiest days of his young life, everything came crashing down. . .

I am grateful that Mr. Charley Achenbach shared the story of his ancestor with me, and I thank him for providing so much of the information for this post, as well as for the photographs posted below of Anna Barbara Welsch Fisher Fenno and Johannes Fisher. I thank him also for his willingness to let me tell that story on this blog.

Mr. Achenbach's hope is to locate Captain Fisher's final resting place and his headstone in Pottsville's Odd Fellows' Cemetery, in order to get it properly marked with the words "First Defender" upon his grave, as a tribute to Fisher's service. Having learned Fisher's story, I, too, hope that he succeeds.

Anna Barbara Welsch Fisher Fenno  (1840-1912) Courtesy of Charles Achenbach

Mr. Johannes Fisher, Peter Fisher's Son (1864-1916) Courtesy of Charles Achenbach

Discovering Emerguildo Marquiz: Mexican. American. Civil War Soldier.

November 25, 2016, 5:40 am

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I first came across his name nearly twenty years ago. . . .   

It was in the late '90s and I was back at home during one of my summer breaks from college. One day, I decided to take the short, eight-mile-drive from Orwigsburg to the Free Public Library in Pottsville to see what else I could discover about the life and services of General James Nagle. I already knew much about him--or at least I thought I did. General James Nagle--the house and sign painter and wallpaper hanger who in 1840 raised a volunteer militia company which he subsequently led in the Mexican-American War; General James Nagle--who, during the Civil War, organized and commanded no fewer than four regiments of volunteer infantry--including the 48th Pennsylvania--and who led a brigade at such fierce and fiery battles of 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. General James Nagle--who survived the horrors of war only to die of heart disease at age 44 in 1866 and whose remains lie buried in Pottsville Presbyterian Cemetery. 

Yes, this part of Nagle's story I knew well; all the dates, the regiments, the orders of battle, and so on. So I went to Pottsville that day to see if I could find out more about this man--his family, perhaps, his home life. . . who he was as a person. 

Pulling up a chair in front of one of those massive microfilm reader machines,I began scanning through the records of the 1850 Census. After searching through page after page--after page--I at last found what I was looking for, in the records for Pottsville's Northwest Ward, page 322, the entry for James Nagle and his family. I studied the entries, beginning at "Head of Household" at the top and then reading down the list of those who resided in the household, There was James Nagle, of course, age 28, a painter, with real estate valued at a decent and respectable $1,800; his wife, Elizabeth Nagle, age 29, and then their three children, Emma Nagle--their first born--age 7--five-year-old George Washington Nagle, and one-year-old James Winfield Nagle. But then, to my great surprise, I came across the next name, the next entry in the Nagle family household: Emerguildo Marquiz, age 11, born in Mexico. My curiosity was certainly piqued, and I sat there in silence wondering 'just who in the world was this Emerguildo?' 

Knowing that Nagle had served in the Mexican-American War three years earlier, in 1847, as the commander of a company of Pennsylvania volunteers during General Winfield Scott's campaign from Vera Cruz to Mexico City, I naturally assumed that Nagle had essentially adopted this young child and returned with him to Pottsville where he raised him as one of the family. Naturally, though, I wanted to find out for certain. . .and this led me on a many years' long journey to discover more about  this Mexican-born boy named Emerguildo. 

1850 Census Records for James Nagle and Family (Joseph Kaercher, also residing in the home, was the younger brother of Elizabeth)

And so I searched. . .

. . .and searched. . .

. . .and searched through all the records, coming up empty most of the time.

The thought crossed my mind that perhaps Emerguildo later served in the Civil War but I knew for a fact that I had never before come across his name while studying any of the rosters for the 48th Pennsylvania. But maybe he served in one of Nagle's other regiments. 

Nagle's first command in the Civil War was the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry, a three-month regiment, which, from April to late July 1861 was assigned to General George Thomas's Brigade in General Robert Patterson's army in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. 

And there, in the ranks of the Llewellyn Rifles, which became Company G, 6th Pennsylvania, I saw it. . .not Emerguildo Marquiz, but an entry instead for an "M. Emrigeuldo." This had to be the same guy, I thought. Convinced now that he had served in the Civil War my next step was to contact the National Archives in Washington and request copies of his service records.  Several weeks later, and hopeful that I had included enough possible variations of spellings for his name, a copy of Emerguildo's file arrived at my door. The records did much more than simply confirm that he did, indeed, serve as a private in the 6th Pennsylvania, for along with his service files for the 6th were those for when he served as a bugler in the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. That was the first I discovered that Emerguildo had also served in the cavalry, and as a company bugler no less. Also in his service records was a letter written by James Nagle--I recognized his handwriting immediately. The letter was dated December 22, 1862, and by then Nagle was a a Brigadier General. "I have the honor to make application to have Emerguildo Marquis, Bugler in Captain White's Company 3rd PA Cavalry, detailed as bugler and orderly, for these Hd. Qrs.," the letter began. "He is a Mexican Boy that I brought along from Mexico. He was with me in the three months service, after that he enlisted in the Cavalry, and he is now desirous of joining me in some capacity, and I only have three mounted orderlies, and need a bugler at Head Quarters to sound the General Calls." 

Nagle's request was granted and Emerguildo became a member of General Nagle's staff. I was struck by the fact that Emerguildo was a bugler. For me, this was most interesting, for the Nagle family was very much musically-inclined. In his younger days, James Nagle was a fifer; his brother Daniel was the drummer of the militia company James had organized and led off to Mexico, and his brothers Levi and Abraham were both musicians who would serve in the regimental band of the 48th Pennsylvania! Music must then have been an important part of the Nagle family upbringing and household. 

I was thrilled with what I had discovered and especially that Emerguildo, whom Nagle had "brought along from Mexico" had served on the general's staff! I was still hoping to find out more, however, but for a long while the trail on Emerguildo went cold. 

And it remained cold for some time. 

Civil War Service "Index Card" for Emerguildo "Marqueese," 3rd PA Cavalry (Courtesy of Pennsylvania State Archives)

It was now April 2007...and nearly ten years had already passed since I first came across that name, Emerguildo Marquiz. I was working at Antietam at that time and a very special visitor arrived to meet me at the Visitor Center: Mr. John Nagle, from North Carolina, a great-great grandson of General James Nagle. John and I had been in contact via mail and email for years prior to this, but this was the first time we had ever met. He brought along with him a number of old documents: letters, diaries, et cetera, all related in some way to James Nagle and I was quite simply blown away.  

Included in the collection of paper items he had with him was Emerguildo's original discharge certificate. As I discovered, Emerguildo was discharged from the service on August 24, 1864, upon the expiration of his three-year term in the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry. The document also stated that Emerguildo has been born in Mexico, that he was twenty-six years of age, stood 5'1" in height, had a dark complexion, black eyes, and black hair. His occupation? Painter. 

A painter, just like General James Nagle.

John had also brought along a handwritten account of James Nagle's service in Mexico, penned by the general's youngest daughter Kate, which at last answered the question about just where Emerguildo came from and how he ended up in Pottsville with the Nagle family. 

"It was a long sad time for folks at home," wrote Kate, "but great rejoicing when word came that the war was over and the Army was waiting for orders to move; and greater was the joy when a telegram came saying Come to Philadelphia with the children to meet us. . . . A number of the wives of the Soldiers went to Philadelphia to meet their husbands. When they met them, they saw three persons who were not Soldiers, but little Mexican boys about 9 or 10 years of age. They were very small, dark skin, no shoes. . . .They learned to love the Soldiers, and when they broke Camp the little boys followed them (stole their way, so to speak). When they were discovered the Army was miles out of the City of Mexico. They would not go back. They were little orphans, and the Officers took charge of them and landed them at home in Pottsville. Captain [James] Nagle, Lieut. Simon Nagle, and Lieut. Frank B. Kaercher, each took a little Mexican boy to their homes. The one Captain Nagle cared for was, by name, Emerigildo Marquis, known as 'Marium.' He was treated as one of the family. He was sent to school, sent to learn a trade, Jeweler. He was away from home to work, but never forgot the family; he came home very often over the week ends. He lived to be about 45, grew up with the family. He loved Father & Mother Nagle, and the Children all loved him. He died at the Nagle home, about the year 1877."

I could hardly believe what I was reading. It felt like the end of long, long journey to be reading these words, written by General Nagle's own daughter about Emerguildo and confirming what I had initially assumed way back when I first came across Emerguildo's name: that Nagle must have brought him back from Mexico and raised him in Pottsville as one of his own; and now I knew that he must have also taught him music and the painter's trade. For me, it felt like quite the "discovery;" that I at last knew his story. Little did I know that just a few days later, I was to make yet another remarkable discovery about Emerguildo Marquiz. 

Later that same week after meeting with John Nagle at Antietam, I took a trip up to Schuylkill County to visit my family and to gather some photographs of gravestones in Pottsville's Presbyterian Cemetery for a walking tour brochure I was just then putting together.  As I wandered around the graveyard, I came across the grave sites of Daniel and Mary Nagle, General James Nagle's parents, who are buried next to two of the general's sisters, Eleanor and Elizabeth. Two of the four of these Nagle family headstones were knocked over, and a third was severely leaning. So I went home, waited for my dad to come home from work, and my sister from her classes at Lehigh University, and then, with my mom as well, we all grabbed some pry bars and shovels and headed up to the cemetery to do some repair work. We reset the stone that was leaning, lifted up and reset the two that had fallen down. But then I noticed it... at the foot of the grave of Nagle's sister's was a stone that was sunken deep into the ground. My sister started to remove the dirt and grass that was covering the stone, and soon it struck us all. 

There inscribed upon the stone and underneath years of dirt and grass was the name "Emerguildo Marquis." 

I had to sit down for a moment to process all of this. . . 

In one week, in a just a few days, rather, his story was at last told and his grave "found." It's funny how some things work out this way.

As I then learned, Emerguildo passed away in 1880 at the much-too-young age of 42. He was buried along with the rest of the Nagle family, another testimonial to the fact that he was, indeed, considered a member of the family. 

The pictures below show me and my family helping to set the stones at the graves of the Nagle family in the Presbyterian Cemetery. including Emerquildo's.

The "Before" Picture. . . (See the one at bottom right, buried in the ground?)

The Stone of Emerguildo Marquis

(Buried deep into the ground)

The "After" Picture

(The tall white monument in the background is the final resting place of General James Nagle)

And now, here we are, in November 2016. .  .All of this was nearly a decade ago--reading that account of Emerguildo, locating his grave site. Of course, I wrote about all of this back then when it occurred; for me, personally, it was such an amazing story. I thought then that it had all been told. But still, in the back of my mind, there was another piece of this puzzle missing. 

I could not help but think about what Emerguildo looked like. I naturally wondered if any photographs of Emerguildo existed and I had asked John Nagle on several occasions if he had ever seen any or if any even exist. He indicated that, yes, he believed there was a photograph. . . somewhere. He had seen it before, he was certain. 

He would first have to look and see if he could find it. . .

And then, amazingly, about two weeks ago and out of the proverbial blue. . .I received a message from John: 

He had found a picture of Emerguildo! 

The Soldier on the right is Emerguildo Marquiz; the young man on the left is General James Nagle's son, James Winfield Nagle, who was born in 1849. This photograph was likely taken between August 1861 and August 1864. Emerguildo is rather short (5'1") and appears to be holding gloves in his right hand. (Courtesy of John Nagle) After all these years. . .nearly twenty of them!...at last a photograph of Emerguildo, at last a chance to finally see what this Mexican-American Civil War soldier looked like. For someone who has spent over 25 years studying the Civil War, and especially General Nagle, the 48th Pennsylvania, and especially its soldiers, there is nothing quite like a moment like this.  To Mr. John Nagle. . .thank you!

Henry Jenkins: Born in Wales and Died in Georgetown from Wounds Received at 2nd Bull Run

December 18, 2016, 5:46 am

≫ Next: "No Greater Tribute Could Have Been Paid To This Venerable Old Veteran:" The Funeral of Thomas J. Reed, One of the Last Surviving Veterans of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

≪ Previous: Discovering Emerguildo Marquiz: Mexican. American. Civil War Soldier.

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The Likely Image of Henry Jenkins Company F, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry (Courtesy of Mr. Richard  Hammons and  Mr. RichardJenkins)

2016 has been quite the remarkable year for me in discovering new accounts and seeing new faces from the 48th Pennsylvania. It began back in January, when I had the privilege of leading descendants of Lt. William Cullen, of Company E, 48th Pennsylvania, on a tour of Antietam. When we arrived near the place where Cullen received his death wound, the family presented me with an image of Cullen, one they had only recently themselves discovered and an image I had never before seen. I told that story here. Soon after this, I received an email from a gentleman who had just acquired a large collection of over 150 letters written by Private Daniel Reedy, also of Company E, 48th Pennsylvania. The letters had been discovered during the renovation of a home in the small, Schuylkill County, town of Donaldson, and, as it turned out, the gentleman who purchased the letters had just finished reading an article of mine that appeared in the February 2016 edition of Civil War Times, which documented the discovery of a desk containing a cache of wartime documents in Silver Creek, Pennsylvania, that all belonged to Captain William Winlack of--you guessed it--Company E, 48th Pennsylvania! How remarkable that this gentleman came across a previously unknown collection of letters from one of Winlack's own soldiers. . .He very kindly allowed me to transcribe them and because of the almost incredible coincidence of this discovery, Dana Shoaf at Civil War Times asked me to write a follow up piece about the Reedy letters, which now appears in the latest (February 2017) edition of Civil War Times. It was not long after this, that I received another email, this time from a gentleman in Minnesota whose ancestor, Thomas Major, fought with the 48th; in what company? Well, yet again, it was Company E! By this point, I was beginning to think the soldiers of Company E were trying to send me some kind of message! Thomas Major was fatally wounded at 2nd Bull Run, which was, in terms of numbers lost, the worst battle of the war for the 48th but I had never before seen an image of any of the 48th's soldiers who were listed among that battle's killed or mortally wounded. That is until I received that email from the gentleman in Minnesota, who sent along not only an image of Major but also some letters and a trove of familial information that allowed me to discover so much about this soldier. That story I told in depth here. And, of course, perhaps most incredible of all was the image I at last saw of Emerguildo Marquiz, who was adopted by the 48th's organizer, James Nagle, while in Mexico, and who had served as a bugler on his staff during the Civil War. An ancestor of Nagle kindly sent me that image and I told that amazing story just a few weeks ago, which you can read here.

While I initially launched this blog (almost ten years ago!) in order to tell the story of the 48th and to pay tribute and honor to its soldiers, it is absolutely amazing how much I have learned and discovered in return. Over the years, so many descendants of soldiers in the 48th have reached out to me and very kindly shared letters, stories...and photographs of their ancestors in the 48th. 

It happened a good bit this past year, and, yes, it happened again...just last week. 

Last Thursday morning, I received an email from a Mr. Richard Jenkins, with the subject line: "Henry Jenkins 48th PA Company F." I could not help but notice that there was that little paperclip there, too, which indicated an attachment. I was thrilled when I saw that it was a photograph of a Civil War soldier, a soldier Mr. Jenkins believed to be his ancestor, Henry Jenkins of Company F, 48th Pennsylvania. I had to admit, I had never seen a hat quite like the one worn by this soldier in this photograph and very few photographs of 48th soldiers that show them wearing their frock coats. What is more, the regimental history records Jenkins as a corporal and there is nothing on the uniform of the soldier in this photograph to indicate that rank. Still, the soldier in the photograph is holding a .53 Enfield, which the 48th carried early in the war, and the name "Henry Jenkins" does appear inscribed upon the back of this image. There were a total of 70 Henry Jenkins who served in the Union army during the Civil War, yet a good number of these 70 served in either the artillery or cavalry, and there a number who served in U.S.C.T. units. Aside from the name inscribed upon the back of the image, Mr. Richard Jenkins had received the image from a relative of his and, what is more, the soldier identified as Henry bears a strong resemblance to an Elizabeth Jenkins, Henry's sister, of whom Richard had a photograph and which he sent along as a side-by-side comparison. This convinced me that despite the hat and the lack of corporal's chevrons, that this soldier identified in the photograph as "Henry Jenkins" was, indeed, most likely Henry Jenkins of Company F, 48th Pennsylvania. I asked Mr. Richard Jenkins if I could share the photograph and Jenkins's story on this blog, and not only he did he say 'yes,' but he also sent along Henry's entire pension file in order for me to better tell his story. 

A Side-by-Side Comparison of Elizabeth Jenkins Jones (1849-1928) and Henry Jenkins Helped Convince Me That The Soldier in the Image Was Most Likely the Henry Jenkins who served in the 48th   (Courtesy of Mr. Richard Jenkins)

Henry Jenkins was born at 4:50 a.m. either on the morning of March 17 or March 22 (the dates vary in the records) in the year 1842, in Cardiff, Wales, the son David and Lydia Walters Jenkins, who had been married nearly ten years earlier, on May 11, 1833, in Monmouthshire, in south east Wales. Henry had an older brother named David, who arrived in 1839, and after Henry's birth, Lydia would give birth to another child in 1844, a daughter named Hannah. In November 1849, the family grew once more with the arrival of another daughter, Elizabeth.  "Lizzie" Jenkins was born in Tamaqua, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, meaning that at some point between 1842 and her birth in 1849, the Jenkins family had immigrated from Wales to the United States.  And by the time the Jenkins's adopted country plunged into civil war, the family had moved from Tamaqua and had settled in Minersville.  

Captain Joseph Hoskings Company F, 48th Pennsylvania  (Courtesy Patriotic Order Sons of America)

In 1861, both Henry Jenkins and his older brother David were employed as coal miners, helping to support the family, which, according to the pension records, was rather destitute. Father David Jenkins was partially disabled and could not find enough work to support the family. Lydia appears to have brought in some income but is was likely the boys who were providing, in some small way, for them. Despite this (or perhaps because of this), and despite having recently arrived in America, Henry Jenkins answered his country's call on August 22, 1861, when he volunteered to serve in the company just then being recruited in Minersville by Captain Joseph Hoskings, This company would soon become Company F, of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.  Henry's older brother, David, would also answer the call though he would not enlist until mid-September, By this time, Captain Hoskings's company was at Harrisburg's Camp Curtin so David Jenkins would enlist into the ranks of Company K, 76th Pennsylvania. He would serve for just over a year, before being discharged in November 1862 upon a surgeon's certificate. 

Henry Jenkins was formally mustered into service on October 1, 1861, at Camp Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and he was mustered in as First Corporal in Company F. I have to wonder, then, if the photograph sent by Mr. Richard Jenkins was taken between then time the company reached Harrisburg and when they arrived near Fortress Monroe, to be mustered in. If so, that might explain why there are no corporal's stripes upon his sleeves. Regardless, when he was mustered into service, Henry Jenkins was nineteen years old, and was described as having a "dark" complexion, hazel eyes, and "dark" hair. He stood 5'4" in height and was, by occupation, a miner. He served faithfully and well in the ranks of Company F, journeying with the regiment from Fortress Monroe, to Hatteras Island, NC, to New Bern, NC, and back to Virginia where, as part of Reno's Division, of the 9th Corps, they joined up with General John Pope's army just then gathering in northern Virginia and preparing for a showdown with Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. It was during this showdown, which occurred near the old Bull Run battlefield, that Henry Jenkins fell, mortally wounded. On August 29, the 48th Pennsylvania--forming part of Nagle's 9th Corps brigade--attacked a portion of Confederate General "Stonewall" Jackson's line along an unfinished railroad cut in a smoke-filled woodlot. Nagle's men achieved success in driving Jackson's men from their position, but lack of any kind of support enabled the Confederates to rally and soon drive Nagle's men from the cut. During this savage action, the 48th lost over 150 of its soldiers. Among the wounded was Henry Jenkins; he had received a gun shot wound to the groin. Carried from the field, Jenkins was taken to the Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, D.C., where on either September 15 or 16 (again, the records vary) he passed away at just twenty years of age, having given his life to the cause of the United States. His remains were buried at the U.S. Soldiers' Home Cemetery (today the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home Cemetery) in Washington, D.C.  

The Union Hotel Hospital in Georgetown, where Henry Jenkins Died (Library of Congress)

The Grave of Henry Jenkins at the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.  (www.findagrave.com)

Following his death, Henry's mother Lydia successfully applied for a pension and would receive $8.00 a month until her own passing, which came in October 1880. Following the death of his wife, Henry's father, now almost entirely disabled and residing with his daughter and son-in-law in Williamstown, Pennsylvania, would receive Henry's pension. 

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My thanks to Mr. Richard Jenkins for sending along the photograph as well as the pension files, where much of the above information was gathered. Other information came from the regimental history penned by Joseph Gould. 

A Magnified Look At The Likely Face of Henry Jenkins Company F, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

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"No Greater Tribute Could Have Been Paid To This Venerable Old Veteran:" The Funeral of Thomas J. Reed, One of the Last Surviving Veterans of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

February 14, 2017, 5:38 am

≫ Next: 5,507 Miles: The Civil War Experiences and Diaries of Captain Francis D. Koch, Company I, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

≪ Previous: Henry Jenkins: Born in Wales and Died in Georgetown from Wounds Received at 2nd Bull Run

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A Horse-Drawn Hearse Carries The Remains of Civil War Veteran Thomas Reed Around the Square in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania July 1938 (Courtesy of Mr. Bob Fisher)

Thomas J. Reed was among the last surviving veterans of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. Indeed, of the more than 1,800 men who served in the regiment, Reed outlived all but a small handful. The regiment's last surviving soldier was Charles Washington Horn, who passed away in the summer of 1941 at the age of 94. Reed, who incidentally served alongside Horn in the ranks of Company I, passed away three years earlier, in July 1938 at his home in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania. I grew up in Orwigsburg and whenever I walked around the cemeteries in my hometown, I was sure to visit the grave and pay my respects to Thomas Reed, whose remains were interred in the Salem Evangelical Cemetery along Franklin Street. Even as a young kid I had a hard time believing that Reed--a Civil War soldier--had lived that long. 1938, after all, was just forty years before I was born and just one year before the movie The Wizard of Oz came out, as well as Gone With The Wind. My dad's parents were in their late twenties that year, while my mom's parents were in middle school. It didn't seem that long ago. . .but, indeed, it was so, and seeing the date 1938 on Reed's grave always served to remind me just how recent an event the American Civil War was--and still is. 

Private Thomas Reed Company I, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry (Courtesy of Mr. Ronn Palm and the Museum of Civil War Images)

Reed was born in Orwigsburg ninety-two years earlier, on January 26, 1847, the son of  Elijah and Anna Linder Reed. His obituary in 1938 maintained that Reed had enlisted upon the outbreak of war in April 1861--at the age of 14!--and that he had survived 23 "major" battles. The regimental records, however, reflect that Reed instead entered the service on the much more believable date on February 11, 1864, just a few weeks after his seventeenth birthday. Upon his enlistment, Reed stood 5'5" in height, had a Light Complexion, and Brown Hair. He gave his occupation as Farmer. Young Private Reed did see horrific combat during his seventeen months in the uniform of the 48th, at such places as the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Cold Harbor, and during the hellish nine-month siege of Petersburg. Records indicate that he was, in fact, wounded at Cold Harbor and that he had been captured by the Confederate forces at Petersburg, during the regiment's final battle of the war on April 2, 1865. He must have been rather quickly liberated soon after capture for he was back with the regiment when it was disbanded and the soldiers sent home in July 1865. 

Having survived the conflict and his life really just getting started, Reed first made his way to Chicago and thence to Missouri for a time before returning to his native Schuylkill County, settling in Girardville where he married Mary Jane Hendricks. Reed would soon find his way back to his native Orwigsburg, however, where he assumed ownership of Moyer's Hardware Store, a position he held until his retirement at age 75. Still, he remained busy as a both a storekeeper and a tinsmith in his retirement and was an active member of his community, holding various offices in Orwigsburg. He had hoped to attend the the 75th Anniversary Ceremony in Gettysburg in early July 1938, but his health was poor and rapidly failing. The end came on July 23 of that year, a Saturday. He left behind a son, Guy Thomas Reed, two daughters--Anna Jane Reed Miller and Amy Reed Zimmerman--nine grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. 

Thomas Reed's Obituary in the Pottsville Republican

Thomas Reed lived a long and a full life and the people of Orwigsburg determined to pay full and just homage to this long-living Civil War veteran. A viewing was held on the evening of Tuesday of July 26, in his home of Market Street in Orwigsburg with an honor guard standing by. "[W]ith beautiful flowers surrounding his casket," reported the Pottsville Republican "the aged veteran received the tribute of hundreds of townspeople." The funeral was held the next day--Wednesday July 27. Reverend Darlington Kulp of Reading and Reverend C.E. Huegel, pastor of St, Paul's Lutheran Church in Orwigsburg, conducted the services at Reed's home. Following the services, the flag-draped casket containing the earthly remains of Reed was removed from his home and placed atop a horse-drawn caisson. And thence commenced a fitting funeral procession through the town of Orwigsburg and around the town's square. After passing around the square, the procession continued south of Liberty Street and then west on Independence to the Salem Evangelical Cemetery. Veterans from community belonging to the Joseph Morrison Post No. 2198 of the V.F.W.--likely veterans of the Spanish-American War or the Great War--served as the pall bearers as well as the guard of honor, color bearers, and color guard. The Orwigsburg Community Band played the funeral march through town and also played "softly" during the grave services. Business in town was suspended for part of the day to allow the people of Orwisgburg to view the funeral and pay their final respects to Thomas J. Reed. "Full Military Honors" were paid to Reed, declared the Pottsville Republican. "Had he fallen in battle no greater tribute could have been paid to this venerable old veteran." 

Several years ago, Mr. Bob Fisher of Orwigsburg shared with my mom and me the following photographs that were taken of Reed's Funeral through the streets of my hometown of Orwigsburg. Certainly anyone from Orwigsburg today or from Schuylkill County, for that matter, can instantly and immediately recognize the town square. Truly, though, these photographs are quite remarkable. After all, when was the last time you saw pictures of the funeral of a Civil War veteran? Especially photographs that also show a glimpse of America in the immediate pre-World War II years? The images of the funeral of Thomas Reed--one of the last surviving veterans of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry--make it very clear that America's Civil War was truly not that long ago. 

(Thank You to Mr. Fisher for sharing these photographs) 

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The Grave of Thomas Reed in the Salem Evangelical Cemetery, Orwigsburg (www.findagrave.com)

5,507 Miles: The Civil War Experiences and Diaries of Captain Francis D. Koch, Company I, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

March 8, 2017, 5:40 am

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Captain Francis D. Koch and his wife Mattie (Courtesy of Ronn Palm/Museum of Civil War Images)

Oliver Bosbyshell remembered quite vividly the moment when Francis Koch was shot. 

It was at the Battle of Fredericksburg, on December 13, 1862, and more than thirty years later, in his history of the 48th Pennsylvania, Bosbsyshell was sure to include a mention of it, so vivid an impression did it sear into his mind. In discussing the regiment's actions that Saturday at Fredericksburg Bosbyshell wrote of what he labeled as the "rather singular circumstance" of seeing Koch struck down. He recalled that as the fighting was winding down, he saw Koch and Captain Henry Pleasants standing next to one another, talking, when, in a flash, a minie ball struck Koch in the chest, "and came out his back passing through the rolled blanket he had slung over his shoulder." Serving all four years and rising to the rank of major himself, Bosbyshell saw many a man shot down on many a different field. But what made this one different, at least as Bosbyshell explained, was the fact that his eyes at that very moment had "just happened to rest upon the exact spot where the bullet made its egress from the blanket," and he remembered with perfect clarity seeing the "separation of fibers [of the blanket] as the bullet passed out," before he even knew or realized that Koch had been hit. It was a serious wound, for sure, though not a mortal one. 

"Fortunately," concluded Bosbyshell, "the bullet did not end Koch's life." 

That life had begun twenty years earlier, in the summer of 1842, near McKeansburg, Pennsylvania, in the rich agricultural districts of southeastern Schuylkill County. His early childhood was seemingly spent on the family farm, for in the spring of 1861, when he responded to his country's call and volunteered to fight, he listed his occupation as "Farmer," though by then his place of residence was Auburn, some ten miles south and west of McKeansburg. The United States had been rent asunder by civil war, and Koch, like so many others his age, decided to leave his home and family and take up arms in defense of the country. He served first in Company F, 5th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, having enlisted on April 20, 1861, less than a week after President Abraham Lincoln's first call-to-arms. The 5th was a three-month unit and in late July, it was mustered out of service. Koch, for his part, had entered as a private but was discharged as a sergeant. One month after returning home and just a few days before his nineteenth birthday, Francis Koch enlisted once more, this time signing up under Captain John Porter, whose company would soon become Company I, 48th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He was mustered in as a sergeant and, physically, was described as having a Light Complexion, Blue Eyes, and Brown Hair. At 5'10" in height, he stood among the tallest soldiers in the entire regiment. 

Koch served with Company I, 48th Pennsylvania, until the regiment's discharge in the summer of 1865. He remained a sergeant for most of that time, but on March 16, 1864, with the regiment being recruited back up to full strength and just prior to the outset of the bloody spring campaign in Virginia, he was promoted from Sergeant to Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant. Surviving the horrors that was the Wildnerness, and the hell that was Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg, Koch was ultimately promoted to captain following the death of Benjamin B. Schuck in the trenches of Petersburg. 

On December 1 of that year, the soldiers of Company I presented Koch with a "very handsome sword, sash, and belt." A ceremony was held, and Private Charles Wagner, selected by the members of the company to formally present the gifts to the flattered captain, spoke  "Sir: I have been selected by the members of Co. I to present to you, in their behalf, this sword, sash and belt, and however I may feel my utter incompetency to fulfill the task assigned me I still know that perhaps no one feels more the deep responsibility resting upon me, in giving vent and free expressions of the entire sentiments of the company, which is honored by your commanding; yes, we are proud to say our commander, and we have long as we do now, looked on you with pride, knowing you by long experience, to be well tried and trustworthy. And when such a feeling exists you can feel well satisfied that whenever duty calls we will follow." 

Captain Koch was touched by the sentiments and responded that he was perfectly surprised by the occasion. "A sword as a token of your respect is far more than I ever expected; I am at a loss for words to express myself in a manner no doubt that you expect me to respond. I feel that I am incapable to delivering an oration at a time like this, on such an occasion being entirely unprepared; however, I hope that I may be prepared at a time more trying than this, when I may not lack the courage as your commander, to lead you forth in battle to brave every danger, be it ever so great, that you may achieve a glorious victory, in conquering your enemy, whereby we would connect that link so long broken. I trust that in studying to promote your honor, I may insure my own, and never bring the gray hairs of your doting parents with sorrow to their graves by a disgraceful or cowardly act of mine, which would give you a reason in after years to curse the hour you honored me with this sword, the esteem and respect of noblemen, tried and true soldiers. I am well pleased to learn from the expression of those who I have the honor of addressing, that you are satisfied with what you have done in presenting me with this gift, which I fully appreciate. My greatest pleasure is in knowing that its donors are safe and contended, and that I have done my duty as your commander, in caring for your welfare, and that of our country. For this honor you have bestowed upon me in presenting this sword, sash and belt, accept my fervent thanks with that only hope that I may never sheath it disgraced.” Following Koch's remarks, the company gave three cheers for its "noble commander." Captain Francis D. Koch remained in command of Company I through the duration of the war and on July 17, 1865, was mustered out of service. 

Francis Koch's Handmade 9th Corps Badge

Koch had taken ill in mid-September 1862 and was sent to Harwood Hospital to recover. While recuperating, it appears that he was able and well enough to serve as a nurse in the hospital, no doubt helping to relieve the sufferings of those who fell at Second Bull and at Antietam. By early December he had returned to the 48th only to be shot down and seriously wounded at Fredericksburg, as related by Bosbyshell. The bullet that wounded Koch, though, did not enter his chest as Bosbyshell assumed. Rather, it struck his left clavicle, fracturing it, then passed diagonally downward, exiting his back near the 2nd dorsal vertebra and grazing the spine. On its way out, the bullet tore through the blanket slung across his back, which Bosbyshell so vividly remembered. Taken first to a field hospital, Koch eventually found himself back in a D.C. hospital before going home to Auburn to better recuperate under the care of the family physician. 

After the war, Koch settled down to family life. On January 17, 1865, having taken leave from the army, he married Martha Jane Huff, whom he referred to lovingly at Mattie. The couple would have four children survive to adulthood: Allen, (b. 1868), Howard (b, 1873), Benjamin (b. 1875), and George (b. 1875). Sadly, the couple's only daughter, Minnie (b. 1870) died in childhood. Departing Schuylkill County for presumably better opportunity, the Koch family moved to the suburbs of Philadelphia, settling first in Manayunk and then finding a more permanent home in Conshohocken. It was there where Francis and Mattie celebrated their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary in 1915 and it was there, two years later, on December 5, 1917, where Francis Koch passed away at age 75. 

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The Diaries and Journals of Francis D. Koch  (Hoptak Collection)

A number of years ago, I was fortunate enough to come into possession of items that once belonged to Captain Koch, including his 9th Corps badge, the diaries he kept during the conflict, as well as other journals and papers he kept afterward. Included among the collection was a clipping from the Miners' Journal of December 14, 1864, which related the presentation of the sword he received from his company. Among his post-war items, is a small booklet--or journal--that he used to begin writing what seemed to be a history of the 48th Pennsylvania. He wrote a Preface, including an overview of the regiment's service record, as well as rosters of each of the ten companies. There was no real narrative, though, so I am not sure if Koch just never did get around to completing it. Nevertheless, in the back of this little journal are a number of pages that list nothing but the regiment's "Arrivals and Departures" and "Distances" traveled throughout his time in uniform. At the end, Koch tallied up that he and the regiment had covered no fewer that 5,507 miles. 

Below are a few pages of this journal: 

Departures and Arrivals--1861-1862

Distances Traveled (1863)

Total Miles Covered By 48th Pennsylvania

The diaries Captain Koch during the war are also largely incomplete; the entries for many months, for example, are empty. When he did record his thoughts, they were rather short and to-the-point, which was common, especially since the diaries themselves were so small and did not permit for much text. His entries covering the Fredericksburg Campaign do include a rather abrupt mention of his injury:  

Thursday, December 11, 1862:

Today our men shelled and took FredericksburgVirginia

Friday, December 12, 1862:

This morning we entered Fredericksburg we were under shell all day

Tonight we are in town

Saturday, December 13, 1862:

This morning we went into battle. I fired 45 rounds and then fell with a shot in the shoulder. 

The most thorough and most descriptive of all of Koch's diary entries pertain to the opening of the 1864 Overland Campaign, particularly May 1864, which was a devastatingly bloody month for the 48th. During this time, Koch served as the company's First Lieutenant and did his best to record his impressions and thoughts of this sanguinary month. But then, again abruptly, the entries stop on May 20, and are not resumed. 

Below are the transcribed entries for the spring of 1864 from Koch's diary, published here for the first time, and using Koch's own spelling. They recount the regiment's activities and actions from its camp at Annapolis, Maryland, through the Wilderness, to the blood-stained fields of Spotsylvania, Virginia.  

April 27^th 1864

This morning we formed line at 10 A.M. and marched a ½ of a mile and rested but afterwards made a right start. Gen Burnside rode through the camp of the corps this morning and was cheered by thousands as he rode on. Lt. Helms’ Mess and ours formed one this morning. We arrived at Fairfax this evening at 6 P.M. and encamped for the night. I noticed the colored troops out drilling as we passed their camp. I nearly pittied them having to march all day and drill in the dark after they camp. In the evening Lt. Helms, Capt. Schuck and myself went to town to the sutlers, and returned to camp by abt. 11 P.M. There are 1500 troops stationed here under command of Brig Gen Tyler

Army of the Potomac

April 28, 1864

This morning we left camp at 6 A.M. Just before leaving Camp we received a mail which contained three letters for me, one from Sister Hattie, one from Kate M. Huff, her Cart de Visit enclosed, & one from My Dear Mattie.

April 29^th 1864

This morning we struck tents at 7 A.M. formed line marched a few paces stacked arms, and rested. While we were resting I sat down along side of an empty Cracker box and on the top of it wrote a letter to Dear Mattie. I was relieved on Guard this morning by Lieut. Joseph Edwards.

We fooled around here for nearly all day and _____ succeeded in getting a camping ground in top of a high hill near Bristoe Station. The Reserve Corps was all moved to the front and we relieved them to guard the rail road from here to Exander [Alexandria?] Virginia. The Reserves were not pleased by the movement.

Bristoe Station VA

April 30^th 1864

This morning I succeeded in sending away the letter to Mattie that I wrote yesterday. This morning Capt. went on Picket duty and every thing was left in my hands to fix up, I was as busy as a bee all day writing and making out our pay Rolls. We were mustered by Col. H.C. Pleasants at 3 P.M. every thing passed off very nicely. The weather has been very nice during the forenoon but in the afternoon it rained every now & then. Troops are passing here every day on the cars to the front. This evening I received a notice the Private Lewis Garber of our Company died in Div No. 2 U.S. General Hospital Annapolis MD on the 23^rd past of typhoid fever.

Bristoe’s Station

May 1^st, 1864

This has been a beautiful day. We had an inspection of company this morning and Services by the Chaplain at 2 P.M. at dress parade we had a prayer by the Chaplain.

In the evening Lt. Edwards, Capt. Bosbyshell, Doc Blackwood several others and myself met at Doc’s tent to organize a choir we sang several pieces very well and all passed the evening amusing ourselves very much. Trains have been passing all day with troops going to the front to reinforce Gen Grant.

May 2^nd, 1864

Bristoe Station

This morning I received two letters, one from Brother Jerry and one from Cousin man Reed. I wrote a letter to Sister Hattie and one to the Miners’ Journal in regard to the deaths of two of our men. In the evening it began to rain and storm still continues. 9 P.M. I retire

May 3^rd, 1864

B. Station

This morning we have clear but cold weather. I took the company out on drill this morning. When I came in the Capt handed me a letter from My Dear Mattie which could not well be more interesting than it was. I answered it immediately writing her a letter of 8 Pages.

This afternoon we had Company or rather Regimental drill by Col. Pleasants. I was in command of Co. K. I got along very well. This afternoon and evening we were busey all the time at packing up our things ready to leave. During the day we received marching orders to be ready to move if called on. The men received Six days’ Rations this afternoon. 3 Day to be coocked in haversack, and 3 in knapsacks.

May 4^th,1864

Camp In The Field

This morning we left camp at 9 A.M. and moved pretty briskly. We had a very hard march during the day. We marched 14 miles. The weather was beautiful it was pretty warm but a nice cool breeze continued to blow the whole day long. This morning Col. J.K. Sigfried bid the Regt. farewell. He made a short speech after which we gave him three Hearty cheers. We regret to part with such a noble commander as he has been. He takes command of colored Brigade in the 4^thDivision of our Corps (9^th) Before leaving I received two letters from Brother Allen the other from My Dear Mattie. God bless her noble heart and make her a future a happy one. I wrote two letters to day. One to Brother Jerry to other to Cousin Man Reed. We sleep under the Guide off an Almighty Providence to night.

On the march during the day I made good use of my time by reading the Travels & Adventures of Capt. GrantSpeekes [?] which was indeed very interesting. The Army of the Potomac in front is said to have mooved at midnight last night across the RapidanRiver. Success to Grant & his Command.

May 5^th, 1864

This morning we left camp at 5 ½ A.M. and marched pretty fast during the day until 6 P.M.  We have marched over the Rappahannock and RappidanRivers and now encamp for the night in the woods on this side of the RappidanRiver about 4 miles. We cross the River at Jamimaks [?] Bridge but on a pontoon we constructed and layed across. The enemy are not far from us this Evening when we stopped to encamp our artillery was engaged then pretty hot with the enemy. We came about 15 miles today.

May 6^th, 1864

Camp in the Front

During the last night we were not allowed to make a bed but were obliged to lay down with out anything to lay on or cover us with. I did not get any sleep by the orders we had to obey. This morning we left at 3 O’clockmarched about 2 miles and then found ourselves in the midst of ___ enemy but in their front. I was sent out on our right with 150 men to form a line of skirmishers to watch any flank moovements the enemy would undertake to make. I soon came in contact with the Picket line of the enemy I ordered my men to forward at once. They did so. The enemy charging on us at two different times but I repulsed them on bouth _________. We drove them about 4 hundred yards and kept then at bay from daylight this morning untill 3 P.M. when I was relieved by the 1^stMichigan Sharpshooters. I then marched over 2 miles ere I got to may Regt. I joined it while under a heavy fire of infantry. The fighting has been very hard on all sides and the loss very heavy. Our Regt. is now on Picket line on the left 9 P.M. We lost Gen. Wadsworth today. He was shot through the head. Thomas Yerks, Co. G, 51^stN.Y.V. wounded today in both legs.

May 7^th, 1864

Still on Picket on this Morning at a place called the Wilderness via 5 miles Chancellorsville & 15 miles from Fredericksburg. We remained on Picket till 4 P.M.when we were relieved by the 2^nd Brig of the 2^nd Division and then we marched out into the open field where we lay until 7 P.M. During the day we were skirmishing with the Enemy in front of us continually. Yesterday our Regt. charged the enemy in the two day fight we lost 4 men killed and 7 wounded. The loss in bouth armies was very heavey during the day we flanked the enemy on the left and in all it is supposed we beat them. The Enemy have been Retreating all day. In the forenoon they charged on Old Benjamins Battery which resulted in very heavey loss on their Side. Benjamin paid them the same compliment he did at Knoxville, Tennessee, November 29^th 1863. I presume they will not be apt to forget him supported by the 9^th Army Corps. The enemy’s force is said to have been 80,000 men on the 5^th Inst. & Commanded by Generals A.P. Hill, Longstreet, Ewell, and the Great Gen. Lee. Today I read while at leizure the Life of Minnie the Child of the Wreck. 

May 8^th, 1864

Camp at Chancellorsville

This morning we left the Wilderness and marched to this camp where we encamped once more for the night. The first time for the last three nights it was quiet. A curiosity to sleep in a tent once more. About 4 A.M. I was ordered (after we had marched 5 miles and stopped to Camp) to go two miles further on with a detail from each Company to draw 4 days rations and cook them which was all done very nicely and in the Evening brought up to the Regt. Col. Pleasants formed the Regt into a Square and told us that the Enemy were in full retreat towards Richmond as fast as they could travel and two corps of ours driving them like forty.

May 9^th, 1864

Camp Near Fredericksburg

This morning we ran around untill 9 A.M. when we formed line & Stacked arms for about an hour. The order came then to march and we were Soon on the road. We marched back & forwards untill dark then pulled out at double quick for about 2 miles to catch up with the other troops. We marched untill 12 Oclock and then Camped for the night. The day has been a beautifull one. The 2^nd& 5^th Corps have been fighting all day near Spottilvania Courthouse. we Camped within 3 miles South East of Fredericksburg for the night. About 6 P.M. we passed the 2^nd provisional Regt. of the 112^th Pa. V. Artillery and Camped. I met 3 good Friends, David Blair, James Reed, & M. Huff all of Pottsgrove & vicinity. The latter is an Uncle to Mattie J. Huff. Gen. Sedgwick is reported to have been killed this morning by a ball from the Enemy.

May 10^th, 1864

In the morning the Sun is very warm. We lay still in camp until 3 P.M.when we again packed up our things and soon formed line after which we received orders to forward and we did forward for about 6 miles and finnally found ourselves on the extreme left in line of Battle and under a very heavey fire of Shell from the Enemy. We are now laying on the advance on Picket line.

May 11^th, 1864

Still in front throwing up intrenchments this morning right in front of the Enemy. We held this post untill dusk and then we fell back for about 1 ½ miles and at 8 P.M. we advanced forward again and lay in other intrenchments within about ½ miles of those we made. Col.Pleasants Send me out on the advance with a detail to find a line of Battle and Skirmishers of ours reported in front. I advanced a ¼ of a mile but could not find any thing. I then formed a line of Skirmishers or rather a Picket line which I held until 1 Oclock in the morning when I was relieved by a detail of the 14^th N.Y. heavey artillary. I fell back to the Regt. 4 wounded in the Regt to day. Missing to day W.F. Scheerer.

May 12^th, 1864

At 4 A.M. our whole division mooved forward and drove the Enemy about a mile. We lay in line of Battle fighting the Enemy untill 2 P.M. when our Regt. and the 17^thVermont charged the enemy but were repulsed with a heavey loss and were obliged to fall back about halfway where we Soon threw up Rifle Pits and Kept ___ position under a heavey fire, during the day our loss was 26 killed 88 wounded and 19 missing out of Regt. Lt. Jackson of Co. G was among the killed our Company had one Killed an 9 wounded and 5 missing. I got through very safe to day. I had my sword strap shot off. About 100 of the Enemy came in and gave themselves up. We whipped the Enemy pretty well during the day their loss is much heavier than ours. The 2^nd Corps drove the Enemy on our Right capturing 8000 prisoners and 13 pieces of artillary. Among the Prisoners was Gens Steuart & Johnson. William Henn was wounded through the right breast very seriously afterward shot himself. Simon Hoffman wounded in Ankle. Henry Shultz wounded in right side and Arm, all from Auburn, All members of Co. K

Casualties of Co.I

Killed H.J. Ege

Wounded D. Klase, F. Boner, C. Lindemuth, J. Brown, C.W. Horn, Wm. Tyson, J. Ongstadt, M. Dooley, C. Delong, W. Knittle

May 13^th, 1864

We are still laying in front this morning in our intrenchments and are determined to hold our ground. During last night the enemy tryed our line on the extreme left but were repulsed about about 1 Oclock. To day they charged on the 36^th Mass Vol. but were repulsed with a very loss. We have been skirmishing with the enemy all day long. No regular engagement was brought on during the day. We had three men wounded in the Regt. to day. During to night the Rebs charged our left 4 times in Succession and were repulsed every time without severe loss.

Missing since the 6^th

B. McArdle & W.F. Bierley

May 14^th, 1864

Our Regt is still in the intrenchments in front keeping up a continual Skirmish fire with the Enemy all day. We lost no men to day. Lt. Schnerr returned to day from Washington. He reports Richmond in our possession. The 2^ndCorps came from off the right to reinforce us to day. They are now laying in mass in our rear. This Evening Capt. Frank Leib came over to See us this evening. He belongs to the 116^th PA V. Irish Brigade of the 2^ndCorps. He reports the Orderly Sergt of Capt. Wellington Jones Company wounded. Kline is his name a school teacher from Auburn.

2^nd Lt. Frank Sterner of the 51^st Pa V. was killed on the 12^th inst.

May 15^th, 1864

We are still laying in the intrenchments in front. During the forenoon the 2^nd Corps moved to the front on our right and intrenched themselves. It still continues to rain. This is now the 5^th day that it has been raining bouth day & night, during which time we have been exposed to it all times and as wet as drowned cats, laying in the mud without any blankets or shelter of any kind untill this evening we built up a barricade (The Captain and I) and by good luck favoring us we got hold of several gum blankets and one piece of tent with which we made a shelter and a bed for the night. About noon to day the enemy fired several shells into and over us without effect. Our Artillary soon answered them and in short all was quiet accept an occasional Shot from the intrenchments. One man of Co. H was wounded through the neck this Afternoon. I sent a short note to my Dear Mattie this afternoon.

May 16^th, 1864

This morning Gen Burnside had all the troops wakened in the Rifle Pitts at 3 ½ Oclock, to be prepared for an attack from the Enemy. Lt. Col. Pleasants reduced Theodore Pletz to the Ranks this morning for absenting himself from the Battlefield without Authority. Corp. James McReynolds was promoted in his place to the Rank of 5^th Sergt. This forenoon I sent a word or about 15 words to Mattie and in the Afternoon I wrote a pretty long letter to Hattie and one to Father. During the afternoon Lt. Col. Pleasants read orders from Gen Grant or rather official dispatches viz. that 24700 reinforcements were on they way to join us from Washington City by way of Aquia Creek, further that Gen Butler has taken the outer works of Fort Darling and our Cavalry force under Gen Scheridan has taken the outer works of Richmond whipped Steuart cavalry and cut the communication off from Lee’s Army from Linchburg western Virginia. Gen Thomas has whipped the enemy and drove them beyond Daltonwhich is in Georgia.

May 17^th, 1864

We are still in our old place. Things have been pretty quiet all day. The re-enforcements came up today. Two regiments were engaged on our right for a short time this evening.  Sgt. Allebach wounded slightly in head to day.

May 18^th, 1864

This morning at 2 A.M. we were relieved by the 58^thMass Vol. and our Regt moved further ahead and held a line there until 2 P.M. when we received orders to fall back relieve the 58^th Regt and take our old position. We did so in good order. One division of the 2^nd Corps mooved forward and attacked the enemy. They drove the Enemy and took their front line of intrenchments but could not go and further it being too hot in front of the Enemy’s batterys for us. They are very strongly fortified. Our forces Captured 500 Prisoners, but fell back to their former positions. John Huntzinger from Auburn died yesterday of a wound received on the 12^th. Christian Seward wounded slightly in the head to day. Sergt. McReynolds with his Pioneirs buried in front of our Pitts (43) Rebels they have been laying dead Since the 12^th inst. and have turned perfectly black. A Colonel was among them.

Lt. Col. Pleasants threatened to send Lt. Sticter to the rear under Guard for Allowing a man near him to ___ ship within 15 yards of the Rifle Pitts this Afternoon.

May 19^th, 1864

I received three letters to day. One of the 8^th inst. from Mattie and one from the 12^th Inst from Mattie the other was dated the 3^rd inst and from Cousin M.C. Deibert. This mail I received about 4 P.M. and at 6 P.M.I received three more. One dated the 1^st one the 3^rd inst. bouth from My Dear Friend Mattie the third I opened was dated 1^stAlso and was from Mary Conrad ____ ____ She had inclosed which I think a very good Copy of the original.

This morning at One Oclock our Corps left our Rifle Pitts and marched untill 3 Oclock toward the left during which time we marched about 4 miles and then layed down in a clear field and slept untill 6 in the morning when we fell in and stacked arms until 9 A.M. when we again moved off to the left a mile or more and rested there until 6 P.M. when we the right wing were sent out on Picket Guard we relieved the 14^thDelaware Regt. and the 170^th New York. Bouth Regts belong to the 2^ndCorps, 3^rd division.

Our position is rather a critical one the line runs about 3 miles west of the corps to the Ny River and we had no reserve to fall back on. In the early part of the evening Gen Eual tryed to capture our wagon train with his corps but we happened to be on hand with three Brigades of the 5^th Corps under Gen Birney who fought Johnny for a short time and gave them a complete whipping and drove them off again.

May 20, 1864

Camp on the

[Here the Diary ends]    

The Civil War Letters of Private Daniel E. Reedy: Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

March 28, 2017, 4:34 am

≫ Next: A Springtime of Slaughter: The 48th Pennsylvania During The Overland Campaign: May 5-June 3, 1864

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Sometimes really strange things happen. . .

Early last year--during those cold, cold late winter days of 2016--I received an email from a Mr. Thomas Golden who had read an article of mine published in February 2016 issue of Civil War Times. The article told of the discovery of a cache of documents, muster rolls, requisitions, and so on, once belonging to Captain William Winlack, the commanding officer of Company E, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. The Winlack papers had quite literally been rescued from a dump heap; discovered inside an old wooden table-top desk during the demolition of a dilapidated building in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. I told of this remarkable discovery in that article, entitled Treasure in a Coal Patch Town. Mr. Golden read the article with much interest and reached out to me because he had himself just recently come into possession of a collection of Civil War letters. . .

A Sampling of Reedy's Letters

. . . and not just any collection of Civil War letters but the letters of a soldier who just so happened to serve in Captain Winlack's Company E, 48th Pennsylvania. 

Like I said. . .sometimes strange things happen. So strange it is difficult to attribute it simply and purely to coincidence. 

I could hardly believe the email I was reading. Of the more than two million soldiers who served in Union blue, I thought, this gentleman just so happened to come into possession of letters written by one who served in Winlack's Company E, 48th PA. In my article on Winlack I stated my wonder about what else could possibly be out there...what other treasures that are tucked away in attics or in shoe boxes under beds. As it turned out, I did not have long to wait for an answer, for here were letters--over 100 of them--never before published that were discovered, said Mr. Golden, by an acquaintance who was remodeling a home in Donaldson, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. 

The letters were written by Private Daniel Emmanuel Reedy, a twenty-year-old laborer from Donaldson who, in December 1861, volunteered his services. He was mustered into Company E and served for the next two-and-a-half years with the 48th Pennsylvania, campaigning in North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Reedy was captured in August 1862 just prior to the 2nd Battle of Bull Run and confined briefly at Libby Prison. Exchanged, he returned to the 48th in time to participate in the Battle of Fredericksburg. Reedy next traveled with the regiment out west, first to Lexington, Kentucky, and then the mountains of eastern Tennessee. Returning to Virginia prior to the commencement of the bloody Overland Campaign, Reedy survived the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and North Anna, but fell mortally wounded--pierced by at least seven bullets--on June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor. 

Mr. Golden very kindly allowed me to transcribe Reedy's many letters, which, of course, allowed me the opportunity to discover more not only about this young man from Donaldson but also more about the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry itself. Included with Reedy's letters was his 1864 diary, which contained a number of images. Unfortunately, none of the images were identified. There was one image, however, of a soldier wearing the uniform of a private--the others were officers, both commissioned and non-commissioned. I could not say for sure, of course, but if any of the soldiers shown in the images was Reedy, then it was likely the soldier in the private's uniform. 

The 1864 Diary of Daniel E. Reedy Contained in the diary were the following unidentified images. . .

Unidentified Private Is this an image of Daniel Reedy? It is likely but we cannot know for sure. . .

Unidentified Officer

Unidentified Sergeant

Unidentified Officer

The letters, the diary and the photographs, are incredible and their discovery yet another remarkable find--especially considering that my article on Winlack had just, literally, been published when Mr. Golden came into possession of these items, and considering further that Reedy just so happened to have served under Winlack's command! The letters are in great condition, clearly passed down with love and care until tucked away at some point, only to be later discovered during the renovation of that home in Donaldson. Amazingly and interestingly enough, all the envelopes were also kept and preserved, which is something one does not often see. 

I wrote to Dana Shoaf, editor of Civil War Times, about this amazingly coincidental discovery and he asked me to do a follow up story, which appeared in the February 2017 issue. The article, entitled Repulsing the Rebs in Fine Style told of the discovery of these letters and of Reedy's service record, including his horrific death at Cold Harbor. Believing all the letters needed to be seen and published, however, I asked Mr. Golden just last week if I can post them on my blog. He very generously and very kindly agreed. 

I am thus proud to say that the complete collection of Daniel Reedy's Civil War letters--over 100 in all, chronicling his experienced from December 1861 to May 1864--are now available as a Page on this blog. The link to the letters can be found under the blog's title banner on the home page or by clicking here.

I cannot thank Mr. Golden enough for allowing me to publish Reedy's letters, though he did very rightly request that they not be used for any commercial reason or for any publication without first getting his permission. 

A Springtime of Slaughter: The 48th Pennsylvania During The Overland Campaign: May 5-June 3, 1864

May 9, 2017, 3:21 am

≫ Next: The Civil War Sacrifice of the Brobst Family: Simon and Salome & John and Sarah

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It's early May. . .and 154 years ago, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry were in the midst of what would prove to be their bloodiest campaign of the war. In the thirty-two days between May 3 and June 3, the regiment participated in some of the war's most savage battles, from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania to Cold Harbor, and during that time lost over 200 of its soldiers, killed, wounded, or captured. 

A chronological accounting of the regiment's actions during this Overland Campaign follows, with a focus on the stories of the lives lost. Much of what follows is a combination of posts I made three years ago, during the Sesquicentennial commemoration of the war, but I thought it appropriate to post again with some edits and updates. . .

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Tuesday, May 3, 1864 was the last quiet day. Grant's plans were set. The Union armies--east and west--were ready. But no one in blue or gray could have predicted nor have been fully prepared for the sheer savagery that was about to unfold. In the west, Sherman readied for a drive against Joe Johnston's Army of Tennessee and toward Atlanta while in the east, George Meade, with Grant looming over his shoulder, made the final preparations for a march against Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Grant's plan was simple: win the war, no matter the cost.



Flag of the 9th Corps (From the Smithsonian Collections)

For the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania--forming part of the 1st Brigade/2nd Division/9th Army Corps--May 3, 1864, found them guarding the lines of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad near Bristoe Station. The past three years had witnessed the regiment campaigning and fighting under Burnside on North Carolina's sandy shores, under Pope at 2nd Manassas, under McClellan at South Mountain and Antietam, and under Burnside again at Fredericksburg and in both Kentucky and East Tennessee. 

Now, in the spring of '64, they were back with the Army of the Potomac, preparing to embark upon another campaign. On May 4, 1864, that campaign commenced when Meade led his army across the Rapidan River.  

May 5, 1864. . .Thursday

Much of the Army of the Potomac was already south of the Rapidan River by the time Burnside's Ninth Corps crossed. As the 48th Pennsylvania made its way across, the advance elements of the two armies had already made contact to the west, in the thick Virginia wilderness. . .



(Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW)

While the 48th was not heavily engaged on that Thursday, May 5, a detail of 200 men broke away from the regiment, under orders to act as skirmishers on the army's far right flank. Captain Joseph Hoskings, of Minersville, was designated to lead this skirmish force. He afterward penned an account of their experiences that day in the tangled underbrush and thick trees that was the Wilderness:

Captain Joseph Hosking, Company F (Courtesy Patriotic Order Sons of America)

"After crossing the Rapidan, a detail of 200 men was made and put under my command: Lt. Pollock, of G, and Lt. Eveland of A; Sergeant Al Huckey, of Company A, with a full complement of non-commissioned officers. The names of all but a few [of these 200] have escaped my memory. I recall Bob Reid and Clay Evans, Sandy Govan, David Thiel and Adam Hendley. We left the regiment and moved to our right, and in a very short time came into contact with a line of the enemy's skirmishers; they gave us a volley and their peculiar yell, expecting to start us on the back track; but, instead, we advanced and drove them out of the woods; and, on reaching the open field, we came to a halt. The enemy fell back to a rail fence, some fifty yards to our front, and there we held them until relieved by a Michigan regiment. We then moved to the rear and buried David Thiel, who had been killed in the advance. We then joined the main body of the regiment."

Private David Thiel was the first soldier of the 48th Pennsylvania to lose his life during the Overland Campaign. Sadly, he was also one of the youngest--and newest--soldiers in the regiment. Thiel was born in Northumberland County and was a shoemaker by trade--or at least he was training to become one, for, in February 1864, when he decided to leave his home and family to enlist in the ranks of the 48th, he was only seventeen years old. Thiel was mustered into service on February 24, 1864, as a private in Company F, 48th PA. He stood 5'6 1/4" in height, had a Light Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Brown Hair. Thiel had been a soldier for just 72 days when he was struck down and killed in the Virginia Wilderness on May 5, 1864. . . .

May 6, 1864. . .Friday

With the rest of the Ninth Corps, the 48th Pennsylvania marched toward Spotswood Tavern where the regiment went into bivouac. Only that detail of some 200 soldiers of the 48th--under the command of Captain Joseph Hoskings--had thus far witnessed in the Wilderness when they were detached from the regiment and sent to the army's far right flank, where they skirmished with Confederate troops. After burying the remains of Private Thiel, Hoskings's contingent rejoined the 48th at their bivouac site. Heavier action awaited the 48th the following day.



Alfred Waud Depiction of the Battle of the Wilderness

In his regimental history, Oliver Bosbyshell recounted that it was "very early" on the morning of Friday, May 6, 1864, when the regiment advanced past the Old Wilderness Tavern and toward Parker's Store. While advancing, the soldiers of the 48th were deployed as skirmishers to cover the flanks of the brigade column as it winded its way to the front. After driving back some gray-and-butternut clad skirmishers, the regiment crossed a stream then fell back into line with the brigade. In line of battle, the 48th Pennsylvania advanced until they came under fire. "[T]he enemy was found," said Bosbyshell, "on the opposite side of an open field, drawn up in considerable force, and supplied with a battery." The two sides exchanged brisk volleys while the Confederate battery dropped shot and shell into the trees. The regiment crept forward to the edge of the woods but there, division commander Robert Potter received orders to pull back, turn left, and form up on the right of General Winfield Hancock's Second Corps, which was engaged near the Plank Road. (See Map Below) It was difficult for the men to make their way through the thick trees and underbrush. "This movement was made through a dense wood, almost impenetrable" explained Bosbyshell, "owing to the tangled underbrush." Finally reaching their newly-assigned position, the regiment once more formed into line on Hancock's right then moved forward to the attack. "[T]he attack was made where it was utterly impossible to see anything from the thickness of the woods. The enemy was posted on the opposite side of a swampy raving behind entrenchments. Sharp firing at very close range ensued, following by a savage charge, which brought the boys into the enemy's rifle pits in some places." Any success, however, was fleeting and soon, the regiment fell back, only to again charge forward. Some more ground was gained but, said Bosbyshell, "the enemy retained possession of their lines."

(Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW)

A lively firefight in the dense, thick woods was kept up until nightfall. When the fighting subsided, the 48th was sent forward, once more as a skirmish force, covering the entire division's front.

The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry was more seriously engaged on May 6 at the Wilderness than they were the previous day, and the casualties were heavier. Because of the relentless nature of the fighting that still lay ahead of the regiment, casualty reports from this period are sketchy and sometimes incomplete.

The following, however, were among those of the 48th who fell on May 6, 1864. . .

Killed/Mortally Wounded (5):
Private Daniel Brown, Company C
Private Jonathan Kauffman, Company D
Private Lawrence Farrell, Company E (Buried Fredericksburg National Cemetery).
Private Israel Manning, Company F (wounded May 6; died May 8 in Fredericksburg)
Private Benjamin McArdel, Company I

Wounded (6):
2nd Lieutenant William Clark, Company C, Left Hand (slight)
Sergeant Jonas Geiger, Company C, Leg
Corporal Samuel Clemens, Company E, Hand (slight)
Private John Becker, Company G, Foot
Private Adam Hendley, Company G, Neck (slight)
Private Samuel Fryberger, Company H

May 7-8, 1864. . .Saturday/Sunday

The Wilderness. . .

Daylight on the morning of Saturday, May 7, revealed that the Confederates had abandoned their lines directly to the front of the 48th. A skirmish force was sent forward and few Confederate prisoners were rounded up, but no substantial enemy line was discovered. It was a quiet day, a relatively quiet day, at least. "On the 7th but little hard fighting was done as we were moving about all day for position," recorded regimental historian Joseph Gould, who added that in the thick Virginia wilderness "It was hard to determine just how our army was fronting and the lines running." Soldiers were marching back toward Fredericksburg; others back to Chancellorsville. Meanwhile, said Gould, "the woods were still burning from the effects of yesterday's fighting, and many of the wounded were burned to death ere they could be removed." The dead were buried and the wounded were placed on wagons, heading back toward Fredericksburg. When it was determined that there was no real danger to their front, the soldiers of the 48th helped to build and strengthen earthworks, and even though they were exposed to the fire of Confederate sharpshooters, the records show no injuries or deaths in the regiment on May 7.

A little after 12:00 noon on May 7, the regiment was pulled from its position and directed to a position between the Wilderness Tavern and the Spotswood House. It later marched east toward Chancellorsville and went into bivouac on the "old battlefield."

It remained there throughout the day on May 8. It soon would become clear to the soldiers that despite the heavy losses in the Wilderness, there would be no turning back.

By the morning of May 7, and after two days of slaughter in the thick Virginia wilderness, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had determined that instead of the army falling back to lick its wounds, that it would side-step to the left, move to the south and, hopefully, get in between Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate capital of Richmond. That way, he reasoned, Lee could be drawn out in the open and forced to attack. His immediate objective was the crossroads village of Spotsylvania Court House. So, on the morning of May 7, with the Wilderness still aflame, Grant famously directed army commander George Meade to “Make all preparations during the day for a night march” to Spotsylvania.

Gouverneur Warren’s Fifth Corps led the way. Moving on a parallel track further to west, however, was Confederate General Richard Anderson’s First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. Anderson’s men won the race to Spotsylvania and Grant’s way south was once more blocked. The stage was now set for a sanguinary two-week struggle at Spotsylvania.  Tens of thousands in blue and gray would fall. For the 48^th Pennsylvania, the upcoming butchery at Spotsylvania would prove to be one of their worst battles of the war, in terms of numbers lost. In the upcoming days--and especially on May 12--scores of 48th PA soldiers would be killed or mortally wounded, dozens more would be injured.

From The Wilderness To Spotsylvania (150spotsylvania.com)

For the moment, however, the soldiers of the 48^th remained encamped on a portion of the old Chancellorsville battlefield through Sunday, May 8. It was not until the afternoon of Monday, May 9, before the regiment marched away from Chancellorsville, leaving the burning embers of the Wilderness behind. Further ahead, elements of the Union Fifth and Sixth Corps had already become engaged with Confederate forces, along the Brock Road and atop Laurel Hill near Spotsylvania.

Piece-by-piece—corps by corps and division by division—the opposing armies arrived and took up their new battle formations.

On May 9, the 48th and the Ninth Corps arrived near Alsop’s House. The march continued through May 10 and May 11, as Burnside positioned his corps on the army’s far left, crossing, recrossing, and again crossing the Ny River and approaching to within a half mile of the Spotsylvania Court House, taking up a position to the left of Winfield Hancock’s Second Corps.

Grant attacked on May 10. He planned to strike again on the morning of May 12, and the 48th would be called into action.

Spotysylvania Court House (NPS)

The rain fell heavily on the night of May 11, 1864 as the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac moved about in the wet darkness, taking up their assigned positions and preparing themselves for the morning attack. Soldiers of Hancock’s 2^nd Corps stood poised to assault the Confederate “Mule Shoe” salient; to their left went the soldiers of Burnside’s 9^th Corps. 

They were to strike the east side of that Mule Shoe while Hancock struck it head-on.

May 12, 1864, was a Thursday.

The morning, said Oliver Bosbyshell of the 48^th PA, was “an exceedingly foggy one.” The men were up early—very early. The regiments composing the Second Division of the 9^th Corps were formed up in two lines of battle. In the front line were the regiments of the Second Brigade; behind them, constituting the second line, went the soldiers of the First Brigade, including those of the 48^th Pennsylvania.

The men readied themselves as best they could for the attack; taking deep breaths, grabbing a quick bit to eat, wiping the dew from their muskets. . .and thinking of their loved ones back home in Schuylkill County. But no matter how well and how much they calmed their nerves and prepared for the attack, no one could have known just how deadly this day would become and just how many of those loved ones back home would, that day, lose a son, a husband, a brother, a father. . .

At 4:00 a.m., through the fog and through the trees, the soldiers of the Second Division stepped forward. Within half an hour they came under skirmish fire and by 5:00 a.m., said Bosbyshell, “the engagement became very hot.”

Kurz & Allison Depiction of the Battle of Spotsylvania

In front, soldiers of the 17^th Vermont slugged it out with Confederate soldiers from Georgia and North Carolina. The Granite State men were holding a position on top the crest of a hill. In front of this hillside was an open field and a swamp, through which ran a creek. On the opposite side of this creek, the ground rose once more and on top this second hill was the main Confederate line, the gray-and-butternut-clad soldiers well-positioned in their earthworks. To the left extended a thick woods, which ran beyond the swamp and toward the Confederate lines.

The 48^th Pennsylvania were in a reserve position on the second line, watching as the fighting continued to intensify to their front. Then the fateful orders came. Captain Gilbert McKibben of divisional commander Robert Potter’s staff galloped up to Colonel Henry Pleasants and personally directed the regiment forward, directing them to form up in line of battle. The Vermont men were running low on ammunition and soldiers were needed to relieve them on the front.

"The fog lifting," wrote Bosbyshell, "a party of rebels was discovered occupying the fork formed by the banks of the stream." Colonel John Curtin, commanding the brigade, ordered the 48th to advance and the men swept past the flank of the Vermonters and were able to cut off the Confederates' retreat. Several dozen men of the 13th Georgia fell into the Pennsylvanians' hands as prisoners of war. The rest of that regiment was "badly situated and fought desperately to resist the attack," admitted Bosbyshell, but the 48th "steadily maintained its position under a destructive fire of musketry and artillery." Additional Confederate troops soon arrived and the morning fight in the lifting fog was growing "exceedingly lively." But the opposing fire would soon begin to slacken and one man of the 48th yelled out that the Confederates were trying to surrender. Pleasants responded by ordering his men to "Continue firing!" Then, in a wave, the Confederates threw down their arms and ran into the 48th's lines. The regiment captured 200 Confederate soldiers and had caused heavy loss, but their success of that morning would be tempered by heavy losses of their own later on that morning.

Bosbyshell did not write much about the late morning attack, noting only that the regiment "made another assault in the afternoon [it was around 11:00 a.m.], charging forward to the swamp, but being unsupported moved by the flank into the woods, around on to the crest of the hill occupying its former position." Regimental historian Joseph Gould also spoke but briefly on this struggle. However, It was during this second assault, which was made under "a most disastrous fire," that the regiment sustained its heaviest loss. When the smoke lifted and the shooting stopped, 128 soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were either dead or wounded.

May 12, 1864 Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW

Among the slain was Lieutenant Henry Clay Jackson of Company G. He was a school teacher from St. Clair who had earned the love and respect of every man in the company; "an able and fearless officer," wrote Bosbyshell. Jackson had been captured at 2nd Bull Run, wounded at Fredericksburg, and wounded again at Knoxville. But on May 12, a bullet tore into his neck and within a matter of minutes he drew his last, painful breath.

Lewis Woods of Company F was also among those mortally wounded on May 12. Joseph Gould remembered paying a visit to a field hospital in the wake of the battle and there he was pained to discover Woods, whom he described as "a big, noble-hearted fellow," laying there in a cow stable "with his brains oozing from a ghastly bullet hole in his head.""As I took the gallant fellow's hand and asked him if he recognized me, his only reply was a smile," said Gould. It was at that moment that Gould's mind raced back to the previous year when the regiment was traveling via steamer from Newport News to Baltimore. Woods had fallen asleep on the deck and Gould, "in a moment of boyish deviltry," clipped off half of his mustache. Now, Gould watched as Woods's life ended in that bloody cow stable near Spotsylvania Court House.

Sergeant William Wells, also of Company F, remembered that just prior to the charge across the swampy ground, John Morrisey approached him and bade him goodbye. Asked why he said that, Morrisey replied that "I shall be killed today.""I chided him, and tried to cheer him up," said Wells, "then suggested that he remain out of the fight. . . .He indignantly refused, and said, 'I have never yet shirked my duty, and will not do it now. After I am dead, write to my sister, Mary, and tell her I died facing the enemy.'" Wells remembered that as soon as the assault began he saw Morrisey shot through the forehead and instantly killed. Later, Wells and a few comrades "dug a hole with the bayonet; wrapped [Morrisey] in his blanket and buried him. Then, upon a piece of cracker-box, we wrote, with a charred stick, his name, company and regiment." One year later, Wells was himself wounded outside Petersburg and was taken to a hospital in Chestnut Hill, PA. As a post-script and as a strange coincidence, while there Wells was visited by Mary Morrisey who was presumably a nurse at that hospital. "[F]inding my name among the new arrivals," said Wells, Mary "visited me, and I delivered [her brother's] dying message to her. She was a poor servant girl in the City of Philadelphia," related Wells, "but I shall never forget her distress."

From just these few examples above, it is clear that the fight at Spotsylvania and its terrible toll left indelible impressions upon the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania. It would prove one their worst battles of the war, at least in terms of numbers lost. The 48th sustained a higher number of casualties at 2nd Bull Run, but many of the 152 soldiers the regiment lost there on August 29, 1862, were either missing-in-action or captured and they would soon return to the regiment. At Spotsylvania, the regiment's casualties totaled 128 soldiers killed, wounded, and missing.

That night, the survivors did their best to recover from the savage contest. They built entrenchments and there, settled in for the night, mourning those lost. They would remain in these works for the next five days.

A listing of the regiment's casualties at Spotsylvania follows. . . .

Killed and Mortally Wounded: (25) 

--Louis M. Robinhold, Company A
--Isaac Otto, Company A
--John J. Huntzinger, Company A
--Charles A.T. St. Clair, Company A
--Sgt. William Kissinger, Company B
--Cpl. David Davis, Company B
--Matthew Hume, Company B
--Frederick Knittle, Company B
--Laurentus C. Moyer, Company B
--Daniel Wary, Company B
--John Deitz, Company B
--Michael Mohan, Company C (Died 5/20/1864)
--Cpl. John Powell, Company F (Died 5/26/1864)
--John Morrisey, Company F
--Lewis Woods, Company F
--Richard Williams, Company F
--Andrew Wessman, Company F
--Lt. Henry Clay Jackson, Company G
--James Spencer, Company G (Died 5/31/1864)
--John Armstrong, Company G 9Died 7/1/1864)
--William Williams, Company G
--Abraham Benscoter, Company H
--Joseph Chester, Company H (Died 5/24/1864)
--Henry J. Ege, Company I
--John W. Henn, Company K

Wounded: (92)

--Sgt. Albert C. Huckey, Co. A, Arm
--Cpl. Charles Brandenburg, Co. A, Knee
--Cpl. Jacob Honsberger, Co. A, Head (slight)
--Morgan Leiser, Co. A, Arm
--Benjamin F.C. Dreibelbeis, Co. A, Arm (slight)
--Charles Hillegas, Co. A, Back
--Sgt. Thomas Williams, Co. B, Concussion by Shell
--Gottleib Shauffler, Co. B, Wrist
--David Deitz, Co. B, Foot
--John Brown, Co. B, Head
--Henry Shoppell
--William Neeley, Co. C, Left Leg
--William J. Haines, Co. C, Side
--Murt Brennan, Co. C
--James Coakley, Co. C
--2nd Lt. Henry Stichter, Co. D, Back
--Sgt. Henry Rothenberger, Co. D, Shoulder
--Cpl. Edward Lenhart, Co. D, Arm
--James Deitrick, Co. D, Thigh and Hand (severe)
--Botto Otto, Co. D, Leg, Arm, and Toe
--Perry L. Strausser, Co. D, Right Hand
--George S. Beisel, Co. D, Leg
--William F. Moyer, Co. D, Shoulder
--John Kohler, Co. D, Chin
--Jonas Miller, Co. D, Arm
--Joseph Zeigler, Co. D, Shoulder
--Patrick Cooligan, Co. D, Head (slight)
--Andrew Knittle, Co. D, Leg
--Gustavus H. Miller, Co. D, Leg
--Henry Moyer, Co. D, Side
--Sgt. John McElrath, Co. E, Head
--Cpl. William J. Morgan, Co. E
--James McLaughlin, Co. E, Right Arm
--George W. Schaeffer, Co. E
--David Williams, Co. E, Foot (slight)
--W. Simmons, Co. E, Arm
--George W. James, Co. E, Leg
--W.C. James, Co. E, Arm
--James Meighan, Co. E, Thumb
--Robert Penman, Co. E, Arm
--Sgt. Richard Hopkins, Co. F, Hand (slight)
--William E. Taylor, Co. F, Hand
--Anthony Carroll, Co. F, Leg
--William S. Wright, Co. F
--James Brennan, Co. F, Abdomen
--Henry Holsey, Co. F, Leg
--William H. Kohler, Co. F, Back
--John Eddy, Co. F, Head
--Jno. T. Reese, Co. F, Arm
--John Crawford, Co. F, Head
--Augustus H. Whitman, Co. F, Leg
--Sgt. Richard M. Jones, Co. G, Head (slight)
--Cpl. George Farne, Co. G, Hand
--Patrick Cunningham, Co. G,
--M. Berger, Co. G, Left Arm
--Clay W. Evans, Co. G, Hand
--Patrick Grant, Co. G, Arm
--William Maurer, Co. G, Shoulder
--John Kautter, Co. G, Hand
--Patrick Savage, Co. G, Arm
--William Huber, Co. H, Arm
--Benjamin Koller, Co. H, Arm (slight)
--John Klineginna, Co. H, Eye
--Daniel Ohnmacht, Co. H, Arm (slight)
--Albert Davis, Co. H, Thigh
--John Stevenson, Co. H, Groin
--Michael Melarkee, Co. H, Right Shoulder
--Daniel Cooke, Co. H, Foot
--John Cruikshank, Co. H, Hand
--Michael O'Brien, Co. H
--Charles Focht, Co. H
--John Olewine, Co. H, Hand
--Joseph Edwards, Co. H, Finger
--Thomas Palmer, Co. H, Leg
--Sgt. Luke Swain, Co. I, Concussion of Shell, Arms and Legs
--Sgt. Jacob Ongstadt, Co. I, Head (slight)
--Cpl. Daniel Klase, Co. I, Thigh
--Cpl. Wesley Knittle, Co. I, Hip
--Charles Lindenmuth, Co. I, Face
--Francis Boner, Co. I, Leg
--Charles W. Horn, Co. I, Both Legs and Hand
--M. Dooley, Co. I, Both Legs
--W. Tyson, Co. I, Concussion, Head
--Charles DeLong, Co. I, Hip
--Cpl. George Weaver, Co. K, Breast
--David R. Dress, Co. K
--Elias Fenstermaker, Co. K, Finger
--Thomas Fogarty, Co. K, Finger
--Henry Schulze, Co. K, Body
--Franklin Ely, Co. K, Foot
--Simon Hoffman, Co. K, Foot
--Andrew Webber, Co. K, Breast

Missing In Action: (11)

--George Seibert, Co. C
--Edward Ebert, Co. D
--John D. Weikel, Co. D
--William Gottschall, Co. E
--George Kramer, Co. F
--Harrison Bright, Co. H--Returned 6/6/1864
--Michael Scott, Co. H
--Lewis Aurand, Co. H--Returned 6/6/1864
--James Wentzell, Co. H
--W.B. Beyerle, Co. I
--W.B. Shearer, Co. I




The war had changed. Instead of a battle fought once every few weeks, now it was every single day. . .and the casualties attested to this new, relentless form of combat.

Numbers vary but approximately 30,000 men fell dead, wounded, or went listed as missing-in-action during the two-week struggle at Spotsylvania. The deadliest day, however, was May 12.

May 12 was an especially destructive day in the ranks of the 48th Pennsylvania as 129 of its soldiers became casualties that Thursday. Twenty-five of them were either killed outright or struck down, fatally injured. 

Private Charles A.T. St. Clair (Hoptak Collection)

Louis M. Robinhold was 30-years-old when he enlisted as a private in the ranks of Company A, 48th PA, in February 1864. He was a blacksmith by trade, had a Dark Complexion, Hazel Eyes, and Dark Hair. At 6'3" in height, Robinhold was among the tallest men in the regiment, while at 4'11", Private Charles Abel T. St. Clair was, perhaps, the shortest man in the entire regiment. He, too, enlisted into the ranks of Company A in February 1864 at age 19. St. Clair listed his occupation as "Laborer." On May 12, Robinhold and St. Clair were both killed-in-action. So, too, was Private Isaac Otto of Company A. He was a boatman from Port Clinton and, as opposed to Robinhold and St. Clair, Otto had been serving in the 48th since the summer of '61, when he enlisted as a private at the age of 20. John Huntzinger, a 23-year-old carpenter from Auburn was also with the regiment throughout its first three years. He stood 5'10", and was described as having a Dark Complexion, Dark Hair, and Dark Eyes. (Some accounts have Huntzinger being killed in action on May 16, and his body taken back home to Schuylkill County for burial in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, Pottsville).  William Kissinger was a painter from Schuylkill Haven who stood 5'4" in height, with a Dark Complexion, Dark Eyes, and Dark Hair. He was 21 years of age when he volunteered to serve in the summer of 1861 and by the time the regiment arrived at Spotsylvania, he was a sergeant in Company B. Kissinger received a fatal wound on May 12, though he lingered for nearly two more weeks before succumbing to the injury on May 24. Kissinger's remains today rest at Grave 2191 at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.





Sgt. William Kissinger's Headstone, Fredericksburg National Cemetery (findagrave.com)

One of the more colorful soldiers in the regiment was Corporal David J. Davis, of Company B. He was known as "Dye" Davis and according to Major James Wren, Dye Davis was frequently confined to the regimental guard house for various infractions. At Antietam, after the regiment had crossed the Burnside Bridge, Davis was scolded for pilfering the haversacks of dead Confederate soldiers, looking for a bite to eat. When asked if he plans to eat the food of a dead man, Davis replied, "Damn 'em, man. The rebel is dead, but his Johnny Cakes are not dead!" Davis was a coal miner from St. Clair who was among the older soldiers in the regiment, having enlisted at the age of 34 in 1861. He stood 5'3", had a Light Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Light Hair. Dye Davis was killed in action on May 12. Like Davis, Matthew Hume  was also a coal miner from St. Clair, Pennsylvania. And, like Davis, Matthew Hume was among the oldest soldiers in the regiment. Indeed, when he volunteered in the summer of '61, Hume was 44 years of age. He had a Light Complexion, Blue Eyes, and Dark Hair. Hume was killed also on May 12, 1864.

Spotsylvania was especially rough on Company B, 48th PA, for, in addition to Kissinger, Davis, and Hume, the Company also lost Frederick Knittle--a laborer from Schuylkill Haven, who had enlisted in 1861 at age 24. Knittle had been wounded at Antietam in September 1862 but he returned to the regiment, only to fall at Spotsylvania on May 12. Included also among the killed in Company B were Laurentus C. Moyer, Daniel Wary, and John Deitz. Moyer, like Knittle, was a Laborer from Schuylkill Haven and when the war began, the 18-year-old Moyer decided to enlist. In the winter of 1863-1864, Laurentus Moyer re-enlisted, committed to serving another three-year term or until the war was finished, whichever came first. On May 12, Moyer was killed in action. Privates Wary and Deitz had just entered the ranks of the 48th Pennsylvania in the late winter of 1864 and had only been in the uniform of the 48th a few weeks before their deaths at Spotsylvania. Daniel Wary was a 20-year-old shoemaker from North Manheim Township who stood 5'6 1/2" in height with a Light Complexion, Hazel Eyes, and Brown Hair. John Deitz was 22 years of age when he enlisted in March 1864. Deitz had been born in Germany but was now trying to carve out a life for himself as a Laborer in Pottsville. At Spotsylvania, Deitz died while fighting in defense of his adopted country.



Private Michael Mohan's Final Resting Place Arlington National Cemetery (findagrave.com)

So, too, did Private Michael Mohan of Company C. Mohan was 23-years-old when he enlisted into the ranks of the 48th Pennsylvania on  March 9, 1864. He stood 5'4 1/2" in height, had a Fair Complexion, Blue Eyes, and Brown Hair. Like so many in Company C, Mohan was a coal miner and a native of Ireland. Struck down and wounded on May 12 at Spotsylvania, the Irish-born Private Mohan died eight days later, on May 20, 1864. Mohan today lies buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 27, Site 199.

Like Company B, Company F--recruited principally from Minersville and its surrounding townships, also suffered heavily in terms of numbers lost at Spotsylvania. Corporal John Powell was from Minersville and was a coal miner by occupation. He had enlisted in the summer of '61 and the age of 21. He stood 5'6" in height and had a Light Complexion, "Bluish" Eyes, and Light Hair. Powell had fallen wounded at 2nd Bull Run on August 29, 1862, but decided to re-enlist in the winter of 1864. He was wounded again at Spotsylvania on May 12; this time, however, he would not recover. He died on May 26. John Morrissey had a premonition of his death and had let it be known to William Wells just prior to the 48th's attack on May 12. Wells noticed that Private Morrissey was among the first killed that foggy May morning, shot through the forehead. Morrissey was a Laborer from Minersville who volunteered in the summer of 1861 at the age of 22; he stood just 5'2" in height, with a Light Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Dark Hair. Richard Williams was also from Minersville and, like Powell and so many others in the regiment, he was a coal miner.  Williams enlisted in August 1861 at the age of 26; he stood 5'9 1/2" in height, and had a Light Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Sandy Hair. He was killed in action on May 12.

Regimental historian Joseph Gould described Lewis Woods as a "big, noble-hearted fellow." Woods was 27-years-old when he enlisted in August 1861 and he did stand at 6'0" in height. He was a farmer from Crawford County who, somehow, ended up in the ranks of Company F, 48th PA. His eyes were grey, his complexion "light" and hair sandy. He sported a mustache, for, the previous year Gould, in a moment of "boyish deviltry" had cut off half of it while Woods was fast asleep. Gould wrote that he regretted doing this as he watched as Woods's brains "oozed out" and as his life slipped away while lying in a cow stable in an ad hoc field hospital.

Company F also lost Private Andrew Wessman, who had volunteered just five weeks earlier, in early April, 1864. The Pottsville native was only 18 years old when he signed up to fight and die, if necessary, in defense of the nation.

Lt. Henry Clay Jackson, Co. G (Hoptak Collection)

"Lieut. Jackson was a noble fellow, and idolized by his men," wrote Joseph Gould, "his loss was deeply felt." Robert Reid of Company G echoed Gould's sentiment when he wrote of the death of Henry Clay Jackson. "Among the many killed" at Spotsylvania, said Reid, "none was more deeply regretted than Lieut. Henry Jackson." In his own regimental history, Oliver Bosbyshell, who had served alongside Jackson from the very start, wrote that the lieutenant was an "able and fearless officer, much liked in the regiment." Jackson was a school-teacher from St. Clair. He was 24-years old when the war began and stood 5'7 1/2" in height. He rose steadily in rank and, along the way, happened to find himself among the casualties at most of the regiment's battles. He was captured (and later exchanged) at 2nd Bull Run, wounded at Fredericksburg, and wounded again at Knoxville. On May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania, Lieutenant Jackson was advancing next to Sgt. William Auman of Company G. "He was struck in the neck by a rifle ball," related Auman. "I helped to carry him out. He died while we were carrying him to the hospital. When he was struck he fell against me. I asked him where he was hit; he whispered, 'I don't know,' and then his head fell to one side, and I saw that he was dying. He never spoke again." In the 1865 publication Memorial to the Patriotism of Schuylkill County, the editors included biographical sketches of many of the county's prominent Civil War soldiers. Among those highlighted was Lt. Jackson and in speaking of his death, it was written: "Thus fell Lieutenant Jackson, faithful to every duty, and though sensible of danger and perils, yet braving them with heroic disregard of self. He had determined if life were spared to remain in the army till the last organized force of the rebellion was overthrown. Gifted with a vigorous physical organization, considerable energy, a clear and active mind, ready utterance, strict integrity, and withal modest and affectionate, his friends had high hopes of his success in a civil profession, but he was reserved by Providence to be one of the numerous martyrs in behalf of the preservation of the Union, and the honor and free institutions of our country." Lt. Jackson's final resting place remains in the Fredericksburg National Cemetery.



Private John Armstrong's Grave Arlington National Cemetery, Section 13, Site 6611 (findagrave.com)

Among those who served under Jackson in Company were Privates John Armstrong, James Spencer, and William Williams. And like their 2nd Lieutenant, each was fated to lose his life at Spotsylvania. Armstrong was a 29-year-old private who had entered Company G in early March 1864. Though born in California, Armstrong was, at the outbreak of war, a coal miner from Pottsville who stood 5'5 1/2" in height and who had a "Medium" Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Brown Hair. Wounded on May 12, Armstrong struggled to hold onto life before passing away in a Washington, D.C. hospital on July 1. Like fellow 48th soldier Michael Mohan, Armstrong's remains were laid to rest in the Arlington National Cemetery. James Spencer also died in a Washington, D.C. hospital, a victim to the wound he received at Spotsylvania. He was ten years younger than Armstrong when he volunteered to serve in Company G, 48th PA. The 19-year-old was studying to become an engineer in Pottsville when he decided to leave that behind and answer his country's call. He passed away on May 31, 1864 and was buried at the Alexandria National Cemetery in Plot A-816-62. Like Spencer, William Williams, also of Pottsville, was also 19-years-old when he signed up to fight with Company G, 48th PA. He stood 5'7", had a Light Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Dark Hair. He was killed-in-action at Spotsylvania on May 12.

Private James Spencer's Headstone Alexandria National Cemetery (findagrave.com)

Pottsville, the seat of Schuylkill County and largest city in the county, lost a number of its sons at Spotsylvania. In addition to those already mentioned, the city also listed Abraham Benscoter and Joseph Chester among those they lost as a result of the May 12 action at Spotsylvania. Chester was 36-years-old when he enlisted on March 3, 1864. He was born in England but was a practicing engineer in Pottsville when the war broke out, standing at 5'9" in height, with a Light Complexion, Grey Eyes, and Light Hair. While some sources list his date of wounding at May 15, Chester died of his injuries on May 24, 1864. Like Chester, young Abraham Benscoter enlisted into the ranks of Company H, 48th PA, on March 3, 1864, at the age of 18. He was among the shorter soldiers in the regiment, standing at just 5'1 1/2" in height. By occupation, he was a "Laborer." He was a soldier for just 71 days before falling dead at Spotsylvania on May 12 1864.

The Possible Grave of Private Joseph Chester The U.S. Soldier's and Airmen's Home National Cemetery (findagrave.com)



The Grave of Pvt. Abraham Benscoter, Co. H, 48th PA  Fredericksburg National Cemetery, Grave #529 (findagrave.com)

Private Henry J. Ege, Company I (From Ege Family Collection)

Private Henry J. Ege was also just 18 years of age when he decided to leave his family and his Orwigsburg home behind to march off to war with Company I, 48th Pennsylvania, in March 1864. And like Benscoter, Ege was a soldier for just over two months before being killed in action at Spotsylvania. His remains were buried on the field by his comrades, but shortly after the end of the war, Ege's family traveled down to Virginia, claimed his son's remains, and brought them back to Orwigsburg, where they are still at rest today. Read more about the life and death of Private Ege here.

Private Ege's Grave in Orwigsburg, PA

Death did not discriminate. We have seen the young and the old fall; the native born and the foreign born. Private John W. Henn was born in Prussia and in 1864, when he entered the service he was 44 years of age. He was a boat builder, though not from Schuylkill County. Instead, he had made Norristown, PA, his home. For whatever reason, Henn enlisted to fight and on May 12, he became Company K's only fatality at Spotsylvania.

"Amid sharp and incessant skirmishing, during the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth [of May] the trenches and batteries were strengthened and improved in every way possible," wrote regimental historian Oliver Bosbyshell. "A strong demonstration to feel the enemy was made on the sixteenth, resulting in northing more than the development of a large force on his part. Skirmish firing was incessant, making life at the front most unhappy."

With little activity and while dodging Confederate skirmishers' bullets--and after burying their own dead and succoring their wounded--many of the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania who had survived the storms at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania wrote letters home, reporting the regiment's actions and identifying the casualties. Several of the men wrote to the Miners' Journal of Pottsville, Schuylkill County's leading newspaper.

Among those who wrote to the Journal were Sergeant William Auman of Company G and Colonel Henry Pleasants. Their reports, as reprinted in Joseph Gould's regimental history, follow:

May 15, 1864
Spotsylvania C.H.

To The Editors of the Miners' Journal:

This is the tenth day of the fighting, and from present appearances it will last for some days yet. The 48th has been under fire for seven days, and were severely engaged twice. At the Battle of the Wilderness, we were engaged and lost three killed and twelve wounded. On the 12th, we had a hard fight on the ground we now occupy. Our regiment was in the thickest of the fight and lost heavily. Lieut. Henry Jackson was killed beside me. He was struck in the neck by a musket ball. I helped to carry him out. He died while we were carrying him to the hospital. When he was struck he fell against me. I asked him where he was hit; he whispered, "I don't know," and then his head fell to one side, and I saw that he was dying. He never spoke again. The loss in the regiment in that day's fight was one-hundred-thirty-seven, killed, wounded and missing.

We drove the enemy a mile, when we met the 13th Georgia Regiment. We completely annihilated that regiment, taking many prisoners and killing and wounding nearly all the rest. We then charged on the rebel works, but not being supported by the regiment on our right, and being exposed to a terrible cross-fire from the lines of rifle pits and a battery, we were compelled to retire to the left into a wood. Here the left of the regiment was run close to the enemy's earthworks, and a number of our men were shot. We fell back, formed line, and took position on the same ground we were on before we charged. Here we put up breastworks and have been fighting ever since. While I am writing, the bullets are whistling over my head, but as long as we do not expose ourselves, we are quite safe.

Yours, etc

Wm. Auman

Soldiers' Graves on the Spotsylvania Battlefield (Fredericksburg-Spotsylvania National Military Park: npsfrsp.wordpress.com)

Spottsylvania C.H., May 15th, 1864

Editor Miners' Journal:

Dear Sir: I send you a list of the casualties in the 48th P.V. from the 6th of May to this date. In the Battle of the Wilderness the regiment was hotly engaged on the 6th and skirmished in front on the 7th. On the 6th, 350 men, including nearly all the veterans, skirmished all day on the right, and the rest of the regiment moved with the main portion of the 9th Corps, and were hotly engaged in the centre. The rebel army having fallen back, the 9th Corps was moved to Chancellorsville on the 8th. The 48th was not again engaged until the 12th, when our division advanced toward Spottsylvania on the evening of the 11th, but the battle was not begun until the morning of the 12th. We fought all day, and our regiment having caught three Georgia regiments in a little hollow, with rising ground behind them, which prevented them from retreating, completely annihilated them. We took over two hundred prisoners. One squad of them, which I sent to the rear under Lieut. Bowen, amounted to forty-eight. Afterwards all the troops of the division were ordered to charge, and the 48th advanced in excelled style through an open, marshy ground under heavy fire, but the troops on both flanks giving way, the regiment was moved by the left flank into a ravine in the woods and shielded from the destructive fire of the enemy. Our loss has been heavy, but the 48th has behaved well, and in the action of the 12th, owing to our position on the brow of the hill, five rebels were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners for every man lost by us. Since the 12th, a few men have been wounded by sharpshooters and we still remain on the front line. We have to mourn the loss of many brave men, and one of the best and bravest officers is Lieutenant Henry Jackson.

Yours, etc

Henry Pleasants



 On May 21, 1864, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania left Spotsylvania behind, though the memories of the sanguine fields there would never drift far from the memories of those who survived the bloodshed.  The regiment turned left. . .and continued moving south; after nearly four weeks of unimaginable loss and steady, sustained, and heavy combat, General Grant decided to "keep moving on," attempting once more to place the Army of the Potomac between Lee's still fleet-footed but ever-dwindling Army of Northern Virginia and Richmond.

All through the day and all through the night of May 21, the weary, seasoned soldiers marched, with no doubt the memories of so many of their comrades left behind--buried in the Virginia soil--on their minds. The long march continued on May 22, the men under orders to "march fast." The following day, on May 23, the soldiers heard the sounds of yet another battle ahead, along the banks of the North Anna River. The fighting continued on May 24. That day, the blue-clad soldiers of the 48th crossed the river at Chesterfield Bridge and later assaulted the Confederate defensive lines, "but every attempt to dislodge them," said regimental historian Joseph Gould, "was futile." Oliver Bosbyshell noted that the regiment crossed the bridge under a "heavy artillery fire" then took up a position to the right of Gershom Mott's brigade, of General David Birney's Second Corps division. "A sharp skirmish" ensued, noted Bosbyshell, with "the line moving up well to the enemy." There, the regiment quickly built a strong line of entrenchments, something they had become quite expert at doing. Behind these entrenchments, the 48th continued sparring with Confederate soldiers--equally well-protected--on May 25. 

Still more marching and more fighting lay ahead of 48th during the next few days. On May 26, Potter's Division of the 9th Corps moved forward once more. . and sustained heavy loss. In the moonlight, sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 o'clock, the regiment departed its line, turned around and back-tracked six miles. That day, the regiment lost Corporal Charles Norrigan of Company H, killed in action. Norrigan, a laborer from Pottsville, had served in the 48th since the summer of 1861, when at age 19 he volunteered to serve his country.

Charles Norrigan/Norrigang

[Courtesy of Ronn Palm, Museum of Civil War Images] 

The regiment then turned south once more, and continued marching all day on May 27, still trying to side-step around Lee's army. With little rest and little to eat, the 48th once more took up its line of march on May 28 when the regiment crossed the Pamunkey River. Resistance continued to build as the regiment continued its march south, heading onward toward Richmond. Lee was parrying every one of Grant's thrusts. A sharp little fight erupted on both May 30 and May 31, 1864, near the Totopotomy Creek, at a place called the Armstrong Farm.

After crossing the Totopotomy, the 48th advanced and steadily drove back the Confederate skirmishers, all the way to their main line of defense. "This was, " boasted Bosbyshell, "a short, sharp skirmish most brilliantly executed." The push resumed on May 31 and the regiment advanced facross three-quarters of a mile of the "most difficult ground yet encountered." Just as it was the day before, the advance on that final day of May was well-made and well-executed but it was extremely costly, for it cost the regiment three of its best officers, all to Confederate sharpshooter bullets.

Lt. Samuel B. Laubenstein (Courtesy of Ms. Ardith Kull & schuyllkillhavenhistory.com)

During the advance on that fateful May 31,1864, Lieutenant Samuel B. Laubenstein of Company H was shot and instantly killed. Laubenstein had served in the regiment since the summer of 1861 when he had enlisted at the age of 22. He stood 5'8 1/4" in height and was, by occupation, a clerk. He listed his residence as Pottsville, though his remains were sent back to what was, presumably, his family's home in Schuylkill Haven where they were laid to rest in the Union Cemetery.

The Grave of Laubenstein in the Union Cemetery Schuylkill Haven



Lt. William Hume (Hoptak Collection)

Lieutenant William H. Hume was also quite young when he enlisted in the summer of 1861; just 20 years of age. Like Laubenstein, Hume was also a clerk, though he called St. Clair his home. He was shot in the arm during the advance on May 31. The wound may not have appeared dangerous but, as Oliver Bosbyshell recorded, "the trying work of the campaign had so reduced his system that he failed to recover from the shock of the wound" and he would succumb to this wound within a matter of days. Hume's body was sent back home to Schuylkill County for burial and they continue to rest today in the Odd Fellow's Cemetery in Pottsville. "These were good officers," reflected Bosbyshell, who "had proven themselves worthy on many fields of battle."

The Grave of Lt. William Hume Odd Fellows' Cemetery, Pottsville.

While the soldiers of Companies H and B mourned the loss of Laubenstein and Hume, the officers with whom they were most well-acquainted, the entire regiment was shocked and saddened by the loss of its major, Joseph A. Gilmour, who was, said Joseph Gould, "an excellent officer, quiet, unassuming, and as brave as man could be." He was, in short, " a perfect soldier." Oliver Bosbyshell echoed Gould's sentiments when he wrote that Gilmour was "beloved by all who knew his manly worth, one of the first men to offer his services to the government, and one who had from that hour given his entire time in the defense of the nation."



Major Joseph Gilmour (From Gould, The Story of the Forty-Eighth)

Born on June 30, 1834, in Nova Scotia, Joseph Gilmour was the son of Scottish parents who subsequently settled in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. With the outbreak of civil war in April 1861, Gilmour was quick to volunteer his service, and as a private in the Washington Artillery militia unit, entered the nation's capital less than one week after the firing on Fort Sumter. When Gilmour's three-month term of service expired in July 1861, he was selected by Colonel James Nagle to raise a company of infantry, which would form part of the 48th Pennsylvania Volunteers. On September 19, 1861, Gilmour was once again mustered into service, this time as the captain of Company H, 48th P.V.I. He was 27 years of age, and was among the tallest soldiers in the regiment at 5'11". His complexion was listed as dark; his eye color blue, and his hair gray. By occupation, Gilmour was a hatter. Gilmour served with the regiment from the start, rising to the rank of major in July 1863. It was 150 years ago, on that fateful May 31, 1864, and while nearly within sight of the spires and steeples of Richmond, Gilmour was shot in the left knee. It was a painful wound; the kneecap shattered. In a field hospital behind the lines, Surgeon Theodore Christ amputated Gilmour's left leg. From there, he was borne via wagon to White House, Va., then via steamer to the Seminary Hospital in Georgetown, D.C., where he breathed his last on June 9, 1864. Three days later, Gilmour's remains were buried in Pottsville's Presbyterian Cemetery and the occasion, said Bosbyshell, "was marked by a great outpouring of the people, who loved and honored the dead hero."

The Grave of Joseph Gilmour Presbyterian Cemetery, Pottsville

Francis Wallace, in his tribute to soldiers from Schuylkill County, recorded that Gilmour lay his "bright life on the altar of his country--a martyr to the cause nearest and dearest to his generous heart." A First Defender with the Washington Artillery, Gilmour subsequently led Company H of the 48th at Newbern, 2nd Bull Run, Antietam and during the siege of Knoxville, while at the rank of major, he commanded the entire regiment "with coolness, excellent judgment, and consummate ability." After his death on June 9, said Wallace, the "body of the dead hero was brought to Pottsville and interred on Sunday afternoon, June 12, 1864, with Masonic ceremonies and military honors. The funeral was one of the largest ever witnessed in Pottsville--a tribute of love for the man. The last moments of Major Gilmour were attended by Chaplain W.H. Keith, who ministered to the departing soul with brotherly affection. After death he had the body embalmed and dressed in uniform. The flowers placed on the lamented Major's breast by the kind hand of the Minister of God, were yet fresh when the coffin reached Pottsville, and formed a band of sympathy between the unknown friend who had placed them there and the relatives and friends of the deceased."



Portrait of Gilmour on his Tombstone. . .

It was perfectly evident that as May turned to June the slaughter would continue and once more the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania would find themselves in the midst of heavy battle-action, on a blood-stained field, this time at an obscure Virginia crossroads northeast of Richmond named Cold Harbor. Already during the past month, since crossing the Rapidan on May 4 to its crossing of the Totopotomoy on May 30, the regiment had lost nearly 200 soldiers.

On that June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor, another 68 were destined to fall. . .

"On To Richmond" (Harpers Weekly)

Long after the war, Sergeants Alexander Reid and  William Wells, respectively of Companies G and F remembered well the carnage of Cold Harbor:

        Reid: "Skirmishing and artillery firing took place daily, and on the 3rd of June we were very actively engaged at Shady Grove Church. It rained a little the night before, and after a breakfast of coffee and hardtack we dried our blankets at the fire, and at seven o'clock in the morning had formed in line of battle, Company E being deployed as skirmishers to the front. The ground over which we had to advance was a clear field, and at once we were ordered to advance, guide centre, the skirmishers in our front. The crossed the gully which intervened between us and the enemy; we followed closely after; and, as the skirmishers arose on the high ground again, they met those of the enemy, drove them back on their entrenched line of battle and took a few prisoners out of an old log house, who had not had time to get away. Before we got into action we could Winlack's heroes, the skirmishers dropping fast from the destructive fire of the enemy. Company E falling back into line, we were ordered to halt and commence firing, the enemy being about eighty yards to our front, behind a line of breastworks, with a battery. Things soon became lively for all hands.

        "In addition to the heavy infantry firing from the enemy, we were subjected to a galling fire of grape and canister. We threw up a line of breastworks in a very short time, and occupied them the rest of the day. The following morning, June 4th, Companies G and F were ordered by Colonel Pleasants to the enemy's line, which, on reaching, we found evacuated, and saw nothing but some new-made graves, many dead battery horses and a limber chest, left by the enemy. We advanced as skirmishers for a mile beyond, and found nothing but one lonesome straggler in a farm house, and then returned to the regiment."

         Wells: "We had fallen back from Armstrong's Farm, where Major Gilmour had been wounded on May 31st, in accordance with Grant's inevitable movement, 'from right to left,' and on June 2nd, stacked arms in a large open field, near a fine country mansion, standing back some distance from a well-defined country road. Batteries, baggage wagons and ambulances were parked back of, and around, the mansion, while General Officers, probably Grant and Meade, and their staffs, unmounted, stood around. If I remember rightly, a violent storm, accompanied by much lightning and thunder, burst upon us early in the afternoon. In the midst of this, a heavy discharge of shot and shell poured into us from the woods beyond the road, showing that the enemy had followed our line of march, and had opened upon us with the intention of surprising and stampeding the entire combination, troops, batteries, ambulances, wagons, etc., but they were soon undeceived, for, as if by magic, everything became active. The horses had not been detached from the guns, wagons, nor ambulances; therefore, it was the work of a few moments for the latter to move to the rear, and the former to the front. Mounted officers flew over the field from right to left, muskets were unstacked, and the troops were moved rapidly to the front: a rapid transformation from peace to horrid war, as the entire surroundings evidently indicated as much surprise to general officers as to the men. It seemed but a few moments before we were lying along the road, some firing and others, with the small intrenching shovels, bayonets, tincups, anything that could remove dirt, throwing up intrenchments, for the troops had learned their value by sad experience, while our batteries in the rear literally filled the woods with bursting shells. The enemy evidently failed in their object, for they soon gave up their attack, but not before we had a strong work erected. The next day, the 3rd, the entire line was advanced, as the enemy had fallen back to a strong line of works erected during the night. . . .

      ". . . .in no other engagement of the 48th did they expend more ammunition than in this battle; besides, our line was so close to that of the enemy's battery that we were subjected to the bursting of our own shells; so much so, that our batteries were compelled to move their position further to the right, where the fire enfiladed the enemy guns but one had been destroyed, and, to finish the job, a gun was drawn by hand around the right of the 48th and soon dismounted this one. With nightfall the battle ceased. In one company of the 45th Pennsylvania, on our left, all the officers had fallen, a corporal alone being left in command. The 48th in this fight was on the extreme right of the army. Advancing on the 4th, thirty-nine dead horses and the dismounted battery, together with several hundred small arms, were found behind the rebel works; while the dead, wounded and dying, lay thick around. The enemy had fled during the night, evidently in haste, though they had tried to remove their disabled guns by hand. To increase the efficiency of their works, they had placed many of their dead on top, the commander of the battery among them. Our fire must have been very effective, for the trees in the woods behind them showed our firing to have been very low."



Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW

In a letter to editors of Miners' Journal, Colonel Henry Pleasants recorded that, once more, the regiment had been engaged in a heavy fight and that they had suffered severely. He also boasted however, with a bit of exaggeration, that the Confederates to their front had retreated and, "judging from the number of dead and quantity of arms left behind on the field, their loss in our immediate front must have been over one thousand. We exploded one of their caissons; another was left behind, and over thirty artillery horses lie dead in front of the 48th."

In his report, Pleasants also included a list of the killed and wounded, the names of those who fell 150 years ago. . . from June 1-June 3, 1864:

Killed/Mortally Wounded: (16)

*George Betz: Company A (Died June 7, 1864)
*David Williams: Company E
*Sgt. Thomas Tosh: Company E (Died July 7, 1864)
*Daniel Reedy: Company E (Died June 6, 1864)
*James Bradley: Company F
*Edward Pugh: Company F
*William Smith: Company F
*Corporal Alexander Govan: Company G
*James Allison: Company G
*Joseph Alexander: Company H
*John Clark: Company I (Died June 8, 1864)
*William J. Price: Company I
*Benjamin B. Kershner: Company I
*Jeremiah Willouer: Company I (Died June 22, 1864)
*George Dresh: Company I
*Jacob Lauby: Company K


Wounded: (51)  


*William Koch: Company A
*John Hegg: Company A
*Simon Snyder: Company A
*Elias Lins: Company A
*Corp. Monroe Heckman: Company A
*James D. Ash: Company A
*Samuel Eckroth: Company A
*Isreal Britton: Company A
*Sgt. Samuel Strauch: Company B
*Sgt. Robert Campbell: Company B
*1st Lt. Charles Loeser: Company C
*2nd Lt. William Clark: Company C
*Patrick Farrell: Company C
*John Dolan: Company C
*Thomas Boyle: Company C
*Daniel Boyer: Company E
*John Clemens: Company E
*Robert Beverage: Company E
*Patrick Brennan: Company E
*Charles Quinn: Company E
*Albert Cummings: Company E
*Sgt. James Easton: Company F
*Cpl. Robert D. Paden: Company F
*George H. Jones: Company F
*Jacob Kuhns: Company F
*William E. Duffy: Company F
*Cyrus Haines: Company F
*James Hoult: Company F
*Sgt. Charles F. Kuentzler: Company G
*Cpl. John Hatton: Company G
*William Martin: Company G
*John C. Benedict: Company H
*Sgt. Henry Bernsteel: Company H
*Cpl. Henry C. Matthews: Company H
*Cpl. William A. Lloyd: Company H
*Joseph Hayes: Company H
*Anthony O'Donnell: Company H
*James Welsh: Company H
*William Davis: Company H
*Edward Metz: Company H
*1st Sgt. Oliver A.J. Davis: Company I
*Sgt. Jacob Ongstadt: Company I
*Cpl. E.C. Kehl: Company I
*Peter Keller: Company I
*William Owens: Company I
*John H. Cooper: Company I
*William Kramer: Company I
*H.W. Haas: Company K
*Milton Nagle: Company K
*William G. Keiser: Company K
*Thomas Hudson: Company K

  

Currier and Ives Depiction of the Battle of Cold Harbor. . .

 "A heavy rain storm during the night made every one most uncomfortable," wrote regimental historian Oliver Bosbyshell of the night of June 2-3, 1864. By the morning, the rain had ended and the soldiers, before forming up into line, attempted to dry their clothing and blankets by their wood fires. Then, the orders came. . .Colonel John Curtin was to lead his brigade into the fight and storm the Confederate lines to his front. The soldiers of the 48th, many with damp clothes and hurriedly swallowing whatever pieces of hardtack may have been left in their haversacks, fell into line of battle, on the far right of Curtin's line; indeed, the regiment was on the extreme right flank of the entire Union army. The attack, boasted Bosbyshell, "was made with great vigor, and the enemy' skirmishers were driven across the creek, and some prisoners were captured. The advance continued over the creek--the enemy was routed out of houses and outbuildings, as well as some breastworks that were within a few yards of the road running to Shady Grove and Cold Harbor." This, as the soldiers of the 48th were about to discover, was the main line of the Confederate army. Harry Heth's Confederates lay to their front and a "rebel battery" that was, said Bosbyshell, "exceedingly annoying." The soldiers readied themselves for the general advance. . .

Captain William Winlack Company E

. . . .It began at 7:00 a.m. Company E--Captain William Winlack's company--led the way as skirmishers. Swiftly the company swept across a cleared field, with the main body of the regiment following closely behind. "The skirmishers pushed rapidly on through a deep gully, with the regiment in close touch, and as the high ground was reached, the enemy's skirmishers were encountered. Company E's boys went at them with a will, and savagely drove them back on their entrenched lines." Then, the Confederates let loose a staggering volley; a "destructive fire" and many Company E men fell to the ground. They fell back behind the rest of the regiment, still advancing, and this is when "the engagement became general and severe." Advancing to within 80 yards of the Confederate position, the men hastily threw up some entrenchments while continuing to keep up a continuous fire. All the way, the Confederate battery belched forth its shot and shell. "The howling and shrieking of the grape and canister poured into the regiment made up a regular 'inferno,' causing the very flesh to creep with horror!"

The Confederate line was too strong and the casualties too heavy to continue the assault. Orders went out, suspending further offensive operations. The soldiers held on, as best they could, in their new line of defensive works.

Corporal Alexander Govan Company G Killed at Cold Harbor

The following morning, June 4, Colonel Pleasants directed Companies G and F to advance. Creeping forward over the scarred landscape, the soldiers of these two companies reached the Confederate earthworks, only to find them deserted. "A number of new-made graves, eight or ten dead battery horses, and a limber chest marked the abandoned line. The advance was continued for a mile beyond--a straggling Johnny was found in a farm house and brought back to the regiment a prisoner. The appearance inside of, and around the position occupied by the rebels, indicated a severe drubbing and evidenced great loss."

Yet the 48th sustained a heavy drubbing as well, particularly in the ranks of Company E, and as the survivors dug in yet again and secured yet another position, some began burying their dead comrades.

Others wrote letters home, including Lt. Curtis Pollock, of Company G, who wrote the following to his mother, Emily Pollock, in far-away Pottsville. . .

  

  

On the Skirmish Lin about 10

miles from Richmond

June 4 1864

 My Dear Ma

          I was very much pleased to receive your letters, the one of the 20th a few days ago and the one of the 27th yesterday. We had another severe engagement yesterday and lost pretty heavily. Alex Govan and James Alison were killed. Both were hit in the head and killed almost instantly. Sergt. C.F. Kuentzler was wounded severely in the arm. John Hutton was struck on the back of the fingers and cut a little. He will be back to the Company today. William Martin was struck in the ankle and bruised pretty badly. The loss in the Regt. is 10 killed and 42 wounded I do not know anything new and have no idea what is going on. The Rebs we were fighting yesterday left again last night and we are now out as skirmishers but there are no Rebels in front of us. John Hodgson is well and quite anxious to hear from home. He has not had a letter for some time. [Edward] Flanagan and [John] Humble are all right. I had a ball cut a piece out of the top of my hat yesterday and knocked it about ten feet from me. It is the nearest I have ever had a ball come to me. Hoping you are all well, I remain

Your Affectionate Son

C.C.P.

With Much Love To All

Sadly, Pollock's luck would soon run out. Thirteen days later, he would be struck down and mortally wounded some twenty miles south of Richmond and during yet another bloody campaign, this one aimed at Petersburg. 





The Civil War Sacrifice of the Brobst Family: Simon and Salome & John and Sarah

May 28, 2017, 6:41 am

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This Memorial Day, as we pause to honor the nation's fallen and pay tribute to those who gave their lives so that this country may live, it is only appropriate, I think, that we also pause to consider the families of those honored dead, who also paid so dear a price upon that altar of freedom. Consider for a moment all the millions of mothers and fathers who, over the years, lost sons and daughters in our nation's conflicts, and also the men and women who may have lost a spouse, as well as the far too many children who lost their father or mother. 

Consider the story and the sacrifice of the Brobst family, and specifically people like Salome Brobst who, within just three weeks in the late summer of 1862, lost both her husband and a son during the American Civil War, and that of Salome's daughter-in-law Sarah and her children, who lost their husband and their father. 

The Grave of Salome Kunkle Brobst (1816-1869) Jerusalem Salem Cemetery, Stony Run, PA  (www.findagrave.com)

Salome Kunkle was born in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on March 5, 1816, In the summer of 1837, Salome married Simon Brobst, who was four years her junior at just seventeen years of age. The next year, Salome gave birth to the couple's first child, a son they named John.   

John Brobst was born on June 17, 1838. He went to work at a young age--indeed, by the age of 12, he was a laborer--and, just like his father, he married while still quite young. He was, in fact, just nineteen years of age when he wed twenty-one-year-old Sarah Fink in 1857. The couple soon were raising children of their own: a daughter, Ellen, was born in February 1858, a son Benjamin in March 1860, and another son, whom Sarah named John, was born on April 18, 1862. By then, however, John Brobst, the father, was out serving his country and was just then hundreds of miles away from home. 

Upon the outbreak of civil war in the spring of 1861, John Brobst was a twenty-three-year-old farmer, residing with his family in Upper Bern Township, Berks County. The census of 1860 reveals that he was doing reasonably well, with the family's real estate valued at $400.00 and personal property at $50.00. Despite this, and despite the young children at home, John felt an obligation to serve his country, and when the call went out for volunteers, he was quick to respond.  On August 9, 1861, he journeyed to nearby Port Clinton, in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, to enlist his services. He enrolled under Captain Daniel Kaufman to serve in what would become Company A, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, and the next month, was mustered into service as a Corporal. He stood 5'9" in height, had a Dark Complexion, Dark Hair, and Grey Eyes. Bidding farewell to his children and his wife, Sarah, by now pregnant with the couple's third child, John Brobst set off for war. 

Captain Daniel B. Kaufman Company A, 48th PA Infantry (Hoptak Collection)

John's father, Simon, would also soon depart for war. In October 1861, forty-one-year-old Simon Brobst said farewell to his wife Salome as well to his children. He had also volunteered to fight though he would enlist into Company G, 96th Pennsylvania Infantry. While his son John soon found himself stationed first at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, and then Hatteras, North Carolina, with the 48th, Simon would be on his way to Washington, D.C., where the 96th would ultimately be attached to the hard-fighting Sixth Corps, Army of the Potomac. 

From Camp Hamilton, near Fortress Monroe, in October 1861, Corporal John Brobst would write to Sarah, to let her know that he liked "this playing soldier very well so far," even though lying on the sometimes wet and soft ground took some getting used to. He would also write of the soldiers of the 48th tearing down some of the homes in nearby Hampton in order to secure fire wood for camp, and of the looting that was done to some of the property belonging to former U.S. President-turned-secessionist John Tyler. A pianoforte once belonging to Tyler, said Brobst, valued at some $800.00 was "smashed all to pieces." 

November 27, 1861 Letter From John Brobst to Sarah Brobst (Courtesy of Linda Moyer)

John would write regularly to Sarah while he was away at war. First from Fortress Monroe and then from what he labeled "This Sandy Island," Hatteras, North Carolina. Like so many others, he sent money home to help support his family, though he would caution Sarah not to spend any more than what was necessary. And like so many others, he complained that she did not write to him nearly enough. He oftentimes requested that Sarah send along some boots, gloves, and some tobacco, since what they had at Hatteras was "so bad that we cant chew it and so dear that we can hardly afford to buy it." Of course, there was a war going on, and John wrote to discuss Burnside's very successful expedition against Roanoke Island and Newbern. John's company--Company A--was among the six companies of the 48th sent from Hatteras to participate in the battle against Newbern but because their steamer, the George Peabody, got stuck on a sandbar, they arrived too late. But the scenes of the battlefield left a vivid impression on John. "Dear Wife you cannot imagine the scene of the battle ground," he wrote, "at one place you could see an arm at another a leg and at another a head severed from the body I saw eleven dead rebels lying side by side all shot in the head or breast. . . ."  

In May, 1862, some very good news arrived. John learned that "God had given" him and Sarah "the gift of a little son." Sarah had presumably written and requested that John bestow a name upon the baby boy. But John demurred; names, he said, are "not that important." He left it to her and she would name the boy John, after his father.

In his letters home, John wrote about his desire to visit home and we can only imagine how much more he wanted to get there to see his newborn son. 

Sadly, he would never get the chance. 

On August 29, 1862, Corporal John Brobst was shot through the right breast at the Second Battle of Bull Run, becoming one of the more than 150 soldiers of the 48th who became a casualty of war that terrible day. In the chaos and confusion of battle, John was left behind upon the battlefield and captured by Confederate soldiers. Likely because of the severity of his wound, however, John Brobst was immediately discharged. He was soon taken to the Georgetown Hospital where, on September 12, 1862, he drew his last breath. His final thoughts, no doubt, on his wife Sarah and his three young children. 

While the news of John's death must have been a staggering blow to Sarah and her children, we can also imagine the heartache felt by his mother, Salome, who, at the time of John's death, was still grieving the loss of her husband, Simon. 

It is not known whether John was ever aware of it, but his father Simon Brobst, who was serving in the 96th Pennsylvania, had died of disease in a hospital in Philadelphia, on August 24, 1862, less than a week before John's mortal wounding at Second Bull Run. Simon's remains were interred at the Philadelphia National Cemetery, while John's were laid to rest, most likely, at the U.S. Soldiers and Airmen's National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. 

Although Inscribed Jno. Brobert, this is the likely final resting place of John Brobst at the  U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's National Cemetery, Washington, D.C.  (www.findagrave,com)

Within just three weeks in the late summer of 1862, then, forty-six-year-old Salome Kunkel Brobst lost both her husband Simon and her son, John. The loss may have been too heavy to bear, for she was dead just seven years later, passing away at age fifty-three in May 1869. 

Sarah Brobst, John's widow, also passed away quite young; she died at age forty-nine on September 21, 1885, Her remains were laid to rest in the Port Clinton Cemetery. 

This Memorial Day it is, of course, our duty--our obligation--to pay tribute to the fallen soldiers. But let us also remember all those they left behind and reflect upon the sacrifices they paid as well so that this nation might live. 

[My thanks go to Mr. Steven Lamm and Ms. Linda Moyer. Linda, a descendant of John Brobst, very generously shared John's letters with me as well as some biographical information. John Brobst's transcribed letters can be located here.