I usually check my email just once a day, almost always early in the morning. While most days the only messages I receive are from stores or companies offering some kind of special savings deal, every now and then I am pleasantly surprised to discover an email from a descendant of a soldier who served in the 48th Pennsylvania. Even better is when they share an image of their soldier-ancestor. This happened just a few days ago when I received a message from a descendant of Corporal Richard C. Ryan, of Company C, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.  

This is his story. Sadly, it had a tragic ending. 

Richard C. Ryan was born in Ireland on May 10, 1842. Upon immigrating to the United States--and like many others who came from Ireland--young Ryan found work mining coal in Schuylkill County. He was not quite twenty-two years old when, on March 1, 1864, he was mustered into the ranks of Company C, 48th Pennsylvania, taking up arms in defense of his adopted country. In height, he stood 5'6 1/2"; had a "Dark" Complexion, with grey eyes and black hair. Ryan served with the 48th throughout the hard fighting of 1864; from the tangled chaos of the Wilderness to the sun baked trenches of Petersburg. It is likely that because of his background as an experienced miner he took part in the tunneling of the Petersburg Mine, an endeavor performed not by all the soldiers in the 48th, but only by those who were experienced coal miners. Ryan must have impressed his superiors, for on May 21, 1865, he was promoted from private to corporal. Honorably mustered out of service when the regiment disbanded on July 17, 1865, Corporal Richard Ryan returned home. 

During the post-war years, Ryan took up residence in the borough of Mount Carmel in Northumberland County. There, he was actively involved in veterans' affairs and in local politics. He also married and in the early 1880s, his wife Mary gave birth to at least three children: Catherine (b. 1880); Anna May (b. 1882); and Richard (b. 1884). 

Sadly, these children would grow up without their father. 

Not known are the reasons why he did it, but on February 24, 1885, Richard Ryan--this Civil War veteran, active in local affairs, and young father of three--took his own life. He was only 42 years old. 

As reported in the local papers, Ryan drank five drachms of laudanum. He lingered for several hours before finally succumbing to the lethal overdose of this opiate that was widely prescribed, provided, and used by Civil War soldiers and veterans. His remains were laid to rest in Saint Mary's Cemetery, Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. 

*Thank you to Lori Ryan for sharing the image of her Civil War ancestor and for allowing me to tell his story. 

The Grave of Joseph Gilmour Major, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Presbyterian Cemetery, Pottsville * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  *

It is easily one of my favorite places. . . 

A quiet, hillside cemetery in Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.I have walked the uneven and ascending ground there among the silent, and in some places broken stones many a time. And to this day, whenever I make a visit to Schuylkill County to spend some time with my family, I try my best to make a stop at this historic graveyard, if only for a few minutes. 

Once inside the Presbyterian Cemetery at Tenth and Howard Streets in Pottsville, one is simply surrounded by history; Civil War history in particular. And once inside, one can imagine this as once a beautiful, Civil War-era graveyard. With a little imagination, one can see the horse-drawn hearses entering the gates, with mourners dressed in black lined along the brick walkways as the community turned out to honor its dead. You might even imagine the military salutes fired over some of the graves. 

Buried within the Presbyterian Cemetery are some of Schuylkill County's most noteworthy Civil War heroes. Brigadier General James Nagle is laid to rest there. In 1842, Nagle organized the Washington Artillerists, a militia company he would captain during the War with Mexico from 1846-1848. During the American Civil War, Nagle raised and commanded no less than four regiments of Pennsylvania Volunteers, including the famed 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. Nagle also commanded a brigade in the thickest of the fights at 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg.  The strain for this service took a toll and in August 1866, Nagle died at the age of 44. The funeral held for him at the Presbyterian Cemetery was one of the largest ever witnessed in the city of Pottsville. 

The Grave of General James Nagle

Robert Ramsey, who served on the staff of Major General George Thomas--the "Rock" of Chickamauga--is also interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery. Ramsey served faithfully and well throughout the conflict, but died of laryngeal phthsis at the much-too-young age of 38 in 1876.

Medal of Honor recipient Jacob Frick, Colonel of the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry, who in late June 1863 ordered the burning of the Wrightsville Bridge during the Gettysburg Campaign, is laid to rest in the Presbyterian Cemetery, as are the remains of Major Lewis Martin, of the 96th Pennsylvania, and Joseph Gilmour, of the 48th Pennsylvania, both of whom died in combat during the Civil War; the former during the Battle of Crampton's Gap, and the latter at Armstrong Farm, near Cold Harbor, Virginia. 

There are so many more stories to tell of those interred in the Presbyterian Cemetery, but the pressing story of today is the condition of the cemetery. Sadly, it has fallen into disrepair, despite the best efforts of Presbyterian Church leaders and members.  And now, they are calling for help. Money is needed to help in the maintenance and upkeep of the Cemetery, especially $1,500.00 that is needed to remove a dead tree. 

I think we can easily raise that much. . . In fact, I think we can do so much more! 

Let's show that we still care and that we still remember and honor those who served.  Let us work together to raise the money needed, and then some. As Tom Shay, a friend of mine and fellow Schuylkill County Civil War historian, so eloquently explained: "You can tell a lot about a community by how they treat their dead, how well they upkeep their cemeteries, and respect the ground on which loved ones stood and mourned the deceased. The care and preservation of the Presbyterian Cemetery is an ongoing challenge to ensure its continuous upkeep and protection. We are always seeking help from caring people who realize the wonderful history that is contained in the stories that the stones can tell."

DONATE TODAY

For additional information on the effort to remove this tree and to help maintain the historic Presbyterian Cemetery, watch this news report from WNEP-16, and this one from PA NewsReport. 

The tree that needs to be removed. .  .

Colorized Image of Major Joseph Gilmour 48th PA

In addition to animating historic photographs, My Heritage also colorizes images from the past. For several years now, adding color to old black-and-white or sepia-toned Civil War CDVs or tintypes has become increasingly ever more popular. While the verdict on this technology seems evenly split between those who like it and those who do not, I thought I would create an account and upload some photographs of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers from my collection to better see what these soldiers may have looked like in person. I also uploaded a photograph of Nicholas "Nick" Biddle of Pottsville, who, when marching off to war with the First Defenders in April 1861, shed some of the first blood of the American Civil War. 

When done well, colorizing historic photographs can be a powerful teaching tool in that it can better humanize, if you will, people from the past. There are many who simply cannot envision past events in anything other than black-and-white or sepia tones. When not done well, however,. . .they are simply not done well. 

I uploaded many images of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers; not all of them "worked" in the colorization process. But some did. The colorized images below I found compelling, especially the ones of Gilmour, Maidenfort, and Biddle. The stories of several of these soldiers can be found by clicking on their names. 

Anyway, here they are for your perusal. . . 

What are your thoughts on these? 

(The historic images are either from the Library of Congress or my personal collection; the colorized images were colorized by www.myheritage.com) 

Brigadier General James Nagle
Organizer and First Commander, 48th PA

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

Unidentified Private
Company G 

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

Corporal Samuel Stichter
Company D 

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

Private Charles Lindenmuth 
Company I

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

Commissioned Officers
Company G 

(Captain Oliver Bosbyshell, seated; Lt. Curtis Pollock, standing left;
Lt. Henry Clay Jackson, standing right)

Although it does not happen all too often, every now and then, I get to see a "new" face of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. A few weeks ago, was one of those "every now and then" moments. Checking my email, I was happy to see an email from a Great-Great-Great Grandson of Henry W. Krater, a corporal who served for the duration of the conflict in Company I. Krater was a lifelong resident of my small hometown of Orwigsburg. Because of this, and in addition to knowing his name from the regimental rosters, I many-a-time visited his gravesite in St. John's Church Cemetery, just a few blocks away from the house where I grew up. And now, after so many years, I got to see photographs of the man taken during and after the Civil War, to finally put a face to the name. 

Corporal Henry W. Krater Company I, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry (Courtesy of Mr. Mike Wynosky)

Post-War Image of Henry W. Krater (Courtesy of Mike Wynosky)

The Grave of Henry W. Krater (left) and his wife, Catherine, who preceded him in death by eleven years. St. John's Cemetery, Orwigsburg (Image from findagrave.com)

Colorized Image of Major Joseph Gilmour 48th PA

In addition to animating historic photographs, My Heritage also colorizes images from the past. For several years now, adding color to old black-and-white or sepia-toned Civil War CDVs or tintypes has become increasingly ever more popular. While the verdict on this technology seems evenly split between those who like it and those who do not, I thought I would create an account and upload some photographs of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers from my collection to better see what these soldiers may have looked like in person. I also uploaded a photograph of Nicholas "Nick" Biddle of Pottsville, who, when marching off to war with the First Defenders in April 1861, shed some of the first blood of the American Civil War. 

When done well, colorizing historic photographs can be a powerful teaching tool in that it can better humanize, if you will, people from the past. There are many who simply cannot envision past events in anything other than black-and-white or sepia tones. When not done well, however,. . .they are simply not done well. 

I uploaded many images of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers; not all of them "worked" in the colorization process. But some did. The colorized images below I found compelling, especially the ones of Gilmour, Maidenfort, and Biddle. The stories of several of these soldiers can be found by clicking on their names. 

Anyway, here they are for your perusal. . . 

What are your thoughts on these? 

(The historic images are either from the Library of Congress or my personal collection; the colorized images were colorized by www.myheritage.com) 

Brigadier General James Nagle
Organizer and First Commander, 48th PA

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

Unidentified Private
Company G 

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

Corporal Samuel Stichter
Company D 

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

Private Charles Lindenmuth 
Company I

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

Commissioned Officers
Company G 

(Captain Oliver Bosbyshell, seated; Lt. Curtis Pollock, standing left;
Lt. Henry Clay Jackson, standing right)

I was only at Saint Luke's Episcopal Graveyard in Germantown, Pennsylvania, once, and this was many, many years ago. 

I was there to locate the grave of George Washington Gowen, the 48th Pennsylvania's fourth commanding officer, following James Nagle, Joshua Sigfried, and Henry Pleasants. 

I thought I located it. . .but wasn't entirely sure. I found a plot for the "Gowen" family, at least, and I thought I saw the headstone for George but, again, I could not be certain. 

Surely, I thought, for someone born into a very prominent family and for a colonel who was killed in action leading his regiment into battle, George Gowen would have a large and easily recognizable headstone. But such was not the case. 

As it turns out, his grave marker had fallen into great disrepair and was hardly recognizable. 

This is why I was so happy, several weeks ago, to see that Frank Jastrzembski, founder of Shrouded Veterans, and working with Saint Luke's Episcopal Church in Germantown, saw to it that Colonel Gowen get a new headstone.

It was late summer, 1889, and Rebecca Focht was worried. 

She hadn't seen, nor even heard from her son, Charles, for several months, and was anxious to know not only where he was but especially the condition of his health. She had learned that he may have been admitted to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., which was, at that time, called the Government Hospital for the Insane. Established by Dorothea Dix in 1852 and located in southeastern D.C. on high ground overlooking the Anacostia River, it was the country's first federally-funded mental hospital. 

Learning of Mrs. Focht's situation, a relative of Levi Nagle reached out to him, and asked if he could determine whether her son, Charles Focht, was, indeed, being treated at St. Elizabeth's. Levi Nagle and Charles Focht had served together in the 48th Pennsylvania during the Civil War, more than twenty-five years earlier; in fact, it was Levi's brother, James Nagle, who had organized and first led the regiment in 1861.Now, Nagle was living in Washington, D.C., working for the pensions bureau, and he agreed to help. 

In late August 1889, Levi Nagle set out on a visit to St. Elizabeth's, accompanied by Francis B. Wallace, a friend from Pottsville, former newspaper man, and fellow veteran, whom Nagle asked to come along. 

Several days later, Wallace penned an account of their trip and informed readers in Pottsville of the sad case of Corporal Charles Focht. 

"The drive to the institution (some three miles) was very pleasant," wrote Wallace. "The day was all that one could wish. . . .The streets of Washington, as you know, are uniformly broad--the avenues being from 140 to 160 feet in width and paved in asphalt. They are kept scrupulously clean, so that a pedestrian can cross at any point. In fact we have no crossing. We need none. The people here habitually walk in the streets, especially in the evening, preferring them to the sidewalks." Crossing the Anacostia River near the Navy Yard, "we were soon ascending the hill, on the summit of which stands St. Elizabeth, surrounded by many acres of well-kept grounds, and commanding a fine view of Washington and the Potomac, with Arlington and its sixteen thousand of patriotic dead, in the distance on the Virginia shore." 

Nagle and Wallace arrived at the front gate and informed the gatekeeper of the purpose their visit. The gatekeeper next directed the two to a Dr. Stack, whom they soon located. At that time, wrote Wallace, there were about 1,500 patients, which he wrote, were "in all stages of dementia, from the harmless imbecile to the raving maniac." They found Dr. Stack to be a gentlemen of "great courtesy and kindliness of manner." When they inquired of Charles Focht, they discovered that he was, at that time, walking the grounds of the institution. Stack summoned an attendant to locate Focht, and as the three waited, the doctor informed Wallace and Nagle that Focht had been admitted six months earlier, in March 1889, having been sent there from the National Soldiers' Home in Dayton, Ohio, where he had been residing. Focht, the doctor reported, had been suffering from a "softening of the brain"that had brought on seizures and convulsions. He had already suffered two convulsions since he arrived in March. Sadly and rather matter-of-factly, Dr. Stack told Nagle and Wallace that there was nothing that can be done for Focht and that he was "likely to die at any time in the near future when attacked by one of these convulsions caused by the disease." 

Soon, there was Corporal Focht, likely brought in by wheelchair. Wallace wrote of their greeting and the shock and sorrow he felt: "In a short time we met and shook hands with the unfortunate veteran. Poor fellow! as he stood up, soldier-like and erect to receive us, yet as gentle in his manner as a child, and as a faint smile illumined his manly and still handsome face, my memory reverted to the time, nearly thirty years ago, when I saw him standing in the ranks of his regiment, before it left for the front, as fine a specimen of manhood as his command contained. And now how changed! Not so much physically, although he had aged, but mentally, caused no doubt, in great measure by the sufferings he had endured during the war." 

Charles Focht was nineteen years old when, on September 19, 1861, he was mustered into service in the ranks of Company H, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. He stood 5'10" in height, had a Dark Complexion, with Dark Eyes, and Brown Hair; by occupation he was a Laborer and his residence was Pottsville. Focht served with the regiment throughout the entirety of the war, having reenlisted in January 1864, and being mustered out of service with the regiment on July 17, 1865. He was wounded in action at Spotsylvania, on May 12, 1864. 

Wallace, in his letter, shared his frustration and even anger at Focht's sad situation. "And this man who gave the best years of his young life to his country, who on the 12th of May, 1864, laid on the bloody battle-field of Spotsylvania Court House, with a rebel bullet inside his body," wrote Wallace, "and who is now an inmate of an insane asylum, receives from the Government he helped to save the munificent sum in the shape of a pension of TWO DOLLARS a month. And this man has a poor, old, dependent mother who will no doubt soon follow that son to the grave."  Wallace pleaded for better care and treatment for Focht who was "a thoroughly good soldier, and always a worthy, honorable man."(1) 

It is not known whether Wallace's appeal had any effect but, at the very least, Mrs. Rebecca Focht got confirmation about the whereabouts of her son. 

Seven months later, Charles Focht was dead. 

He died on March 7, 1890, at age 47 or 48. News of his death was printed in the Pottsville Republican with a note that Focht was "a brave soldier during the war."(2)  

The remains of Charles Focht were laid to rest in the East Cemetery of St. Elizabeth's Hospital. 

More on the history of St. Elizabeth's can be found here and here.

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Notes: 

(1) "The Case of Charles Focht," by F.B. Wallace, Pottsville Republican, August 29, 1889, page 1.

(2) Pottsville Republican, March 8, 1890, page 4.