USA > Pennsylvania > Delaware County > A history of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and its people; Volume II > Part 20
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53
Two Hundred Thirteenth Regiment .- This regiment was recruited, as was the 198th, under the auspices of the Union League Association of Philadel- phia, and was organized March 2, 1865. On the 4th it was ordered to Annap- olis, Maryland, where it was assigned to duty in guarding Camp Parole, part of it being ordered to Frederick City to protect the lines of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. In April it was stationed at Washington, where it remained guarding the northern defenses of the city until November 18, 1865, when it was mustered out of service.
Delaware County Militia .- The northern invasion by Gen. Lee, begun September 5, 1862, aroused in Pennsylvania almost as much excitement as had the first announcement of war. It was believed that Lee in his advance through Maryland would gather many hitherto inactive sympathizers with the Southern cause to his standard, and, thus strengthened, march northward in invincihle array, carrying everything before him and leaving in his wake such dreary desolation as had followed in the path of many a Union army in the south. In consequence of these forebodings, Gov. Curtin, of Pennsyl- vania, on September 4, 1862. ordered more military organizations to he formed, and a week later called 50,000 of the state militia to the field. The old
543
DELAWARE COUNTY
state had responded nobly indeed when the danger was far from her door, but now that the enemy was at hand her exhausted supply of men seemed to be magically renewed, and company after company of militia was organized. William Frick, at that time a leading business man of Chester, within a few hours after the call was issued, hastened to Harrisburg to tender his services to the state in any capacity in which he might be used. Gov. Curtin imme- diately appointed him colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Militia, but he declined pleading that his knowledge of military tactics and movements was too im- perfect to permit of the proper handling of so large a body of men, but upon the Governor insisting that he should at least be major of the organization, he was mustered into service in that capacity.
Sunday, as a day for religious services, was not observed in Delaware county on September 14, 1862, and it is believed that the Recording Angel will pardon the oversight, for all day preparations for sending the companies to the front were being made. On Monday, May 15, a company was fully re- cruited at Media, with Hon. J. M. Broomall as captain, which after being mustered in, left the following day for Harrisburg. The same day the Ches- ter Guards, commanded by Captain William R. Thatcher, and the Mechanic Rifles, of Chester, Captain Jonathan Kershaw, left for the state capital. The two latter companies were equipped partly by the borough, which appropriated $1500 by public subscription. In Upper Darby, the Darby Rangers, Captain Charles A. Litzenberg; a company from Thornbury and Edgemont, under Captain James Wilcox ; the Delaware County Guards of Concord and Aston, Captain John H. Barton; and the Upland Guards, Captain James Kirkman, were also dispatched to designated rendezvous. The last named organization had recruited so many men from the mills at Upland that the factories of that place were compelled to close, as every able bodied operator had left for the front. The blankets for the militia were supplied by Samuel Bancroft, of Upper Providence, who declined to receive any compensation whatever. While it is impossible in this work to pay tribute to all of the citizens of the county who either by their services or financial assistance served the Union cause, it is fitting at this point to say that nowhere in the state was there a more spon- taneous answer to appeals for financial aid, and that on September Ist, 1862, Delaware county had sent more men to the front, in proportion to its popula- tion, than any other county in the state. The troops from this section were, after arriving in Harrisburg, assigned to various regiments and hastened to Camp McClure, at Chambersburg. The leaders seriously considered, just be- fore the battle of Antietam, sending militia over the border line into Maryland and advancing them as far as Hagerstown, that they might be within support- ing distance of Hagerstown. The companies were informed of this plan and told that if the move was made, none but volunteers would be taken for- ward. Again the Delaware county contingents responded bravely, less than a dozen signifying their intention of remaining behind. However, after the Union victory of September 17, 1862, when Lee retreated across the Potomac, the crisis having passed, the militia was relieved from further field service. Al-
544
DELAWARE COUNTY
though never in actual battle, the value of the moral support thus rendered to the Union cause was inestimable, for besides the encouragement it offered to the leaders of the regular army, it had its effect upon foreign nations, who, had the outcome been different, or had the North suffered invasion with in- difference, might have recognized the Confederate government.
Emergency Troops .- Hooker's defeat at Chancellorsville in May, 1863, once more aroused the hopes of the Confederate leaders that a bold, quick in- vasion of the northern states might terminate the war and compel the north to submit to terms of southern dictation. Gov. Curtin, who had all through the war kept in close touch with its every move, saw the threatening danger and began preparations to check its advance. Therefore, on June 12th, he issued proclamation asking the people of Pennsylvania to cooperate with him in raising a home force for the protection of the state. The mass of the peo- ple had been deceived so many times by threatened Confederate invasion, that the Governor's plan met with little favor and much opposition. It became so evident, however, that such was the intention of the enemy, that on June 15, 1863, President Lincoln called for 100,000 militia from four states, Pennsyl- vania's quota being placed at 50,000 men. A short time before midnight on the 15th, a Confederate force occupied Chambersburg. On Monday, June 15th, authentic information was received that Lee had invaded Pennsylvania, and for a second time since the initial call for volunteers, Delaware county was plunged into wildest excitement. In Chester a meeting was immediately held and a company recruited, the Chester and Linwood Guards consolidating, and many of the citizens, fully awake to the gravity of the situation, hastened to Philadelphia, these uniting with military organizations. In the Crozer United States Hospital at Upland, eighty convalescent Union soldiers and several men from Bancroft's Mills in Nether Providence, formed a company, with Lieutenant Frank Brown, of the 12th New Jersey, as commanding officer, and departed for Harrisburg the next day. On Wednesday they were ordered to return, transportation having been refused them at Philadelphia on the ground that they were in no fit physical condition to endure the rigors of a campaign.
At Media, conditions were much the same as at Chester. On Wednes- day, the 17th, messengers were sent in all directions to summon the people. and the court house bell rang out a general alarm, so that at noon a vast as- semblage gathered in the court-room, and steps at once taken for the enroll- ment of companies. That evening a company collected by Judge M. Broomall started for Harrisburg, Dr. D. A. Vernon and nearly every member of the Delaware County American staff volunteered and went to the front. The fol- lowing day the Delaware county companies of the 124th Regiment, mustered out a month previously, again offered their services and left that night for the capital of the state, Company B, Captain Woodcock, and Company D, Captain Yarnall. The ranks not being filled, Lieutenant Buckley remained at Media to collect the recruits, following on Monday, the 21st, with a number of men. Captain James Wilcox, with a company from Glenn Mills, and Captain Benjamin Brooks, with a company from Radnor, left for Harrisburg on the
545
DELAWARE COUNTY
17th. John C. Beatty, of Springfield, suspended operations at his edge tool works that his employees might enlist. When the news was received at Darby on Monday, a strawberry festival was being held, which was immediately turned into a meeting and a full company organized. While the company was being recruited at the one end of the grounds, subscriptions were sought at the other for the support of the families of those who would enlist. The troops went to the front the following Wednesday morning, commanded by Captain Charles Andrews. At Lenni, thirty men joined the Media company, and on Wednesday a meeting was held at Black Horse, in Middletown, where a number of men enlisted. At Chester about fifty colored men volunteered to raise a company of their race, an offer which was not accepted.
The real seriousness of the condition of affairs was brought home to the public when on the afternoon of June 26th, Gordon's brigade of Early's divi- sion of Lee's army, occupied Gettysburg and moved onward toward Hanover and York. On that day Gov. Curtin issued a proclamation calling 60,000 mili- tia to the field for forty days. Wild rumors filled the air, growing with each repetition, and none so wild but that it found ready ears to listen and willing lips to pass it on. On Sunday, the 28th, it was reported at Media that a Con- federate force was marching toward Philadelphia, having come as far as Ox- ford already. Intense excitement and anxiety prevailed. By the discharge of cannon and the pealing of bells the townspeople were called to assemble. H. Jones Brooke was chairman of the meeting, with B. F. Baker secretary, Charles R. Williamson and Frederick Fairlamb collected $2300 to be used in the payment of bounties to induce enlistment and, when the people gathered, the fund was largely increased, Mr. Fairlamb pledging $1000 beyond the amount he had already contributed, if it were necessary. The greatest con- sternation prevailed after the report of the Confederate advance. Plate and valuables were packed for instant flight, and the money in the vaults of the Chester bank was collected and carted away by the officers of that institution to Philadelphia in order that it might be transported to New York. In Ches- ter. on Monday, June 29th, a meeting of the citizens was held in the town hall, and, council being assembled, appropriated $10,000 for the maintenance of the families of volunteers. In answer to a call for additional men, in an hour eighty men enrolled under Captain William Frick. The store of George Bak- er was compelled to close for the reason that he and all in his employment en- listed in the ranks. Next day the company left for Harrisburg, its ranks swollen to over a hundred men. At Upland, on Monday morning, the 29th, the people gathered by common impulse, and in a trice a company of seventy- two was recruited, with George K. Crozer as captain. On Wednesday it went to Philadelphia, where it was attached to the 45th Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Militia (First Union League Regiment), Col. Frank Wheeler, and en- camped for a day or two at the Falls of the Schuylkill. The regiment was soon ordered to Shippensburg, then to Greencastle, near the Maryland line, and after the retreat of Lee was stationed at Pottsville, returning home Satur- day. August 22, 1863, having served longer than any other Delaware county
36
546
DELAWARE COUNTY
company of militia. At Rockdale and Lenni a company of fifty men was re- cruited in addition to the number already raised, and on Tuesday, July 2, was forwarded to the state capital. In fifteen days after President Lincoln's call on Pennsylvania of June 15, more than Delaware county's quota were on their way to Harrisburg. Over one thousand militiamen had been gathered to meet this new emergency.
In the meantime the Army of the Potomac was advancing steadily to meet Lee, who, learning of their approach, summoned his widely spread forces to concentrate at Gettysburg. Here he awaited the Union army. and while the militia waited for orders at Harrisburg, the armies of the north and of the south met death in a grapple at Gettysburg, and there men's bodies were strewn over the fields in more careless profusion than seed had been formerly strewn, and were watered by their blood as plentifully as spring showers mois- tened the crops in peaceful days. Here the battle was fought that dwarfed the slaughters of the Old World, that made Agincourt, Waterloo and Marathon seem but as a skirmishing of picket lines, and here the whole tide of the war turned in favor of the north, while the gallant southern soldiers, defeated in body but unconquered in spirit, retreated, to fight for two years with a courage that was admirable, for a lost cause.
The militia companies from Delaware county were distributed as follows : Company C (Captain Broomall), Company F (Captain Woodcock). Com- pany G (Captain Bunting), Company A (Captain Andrews), and Company I (Captain Platt, Captain Yarnall having been appointed lieutenant-colonel ;. were assigned to the 20th Regiment, and stationed for a time at Huntingdon. Company G (Captain Brooke ) was assigned to the 28th Regiment. Company A (Captain Frick), and Company F (Captain Huddleson), joined the 37th and were at Harrisburg. Carlisle, Shippensburg, and on the Maryland line : while Company F (Captain Black), was assigned to the 47th, Col. Wicker- sham, and was stationed at Williamsport, afterwards at Reading, and later in the mining regions of Schuylkill county, where outbreaks were feared. . \11 the companies from Delaware county returned between the ist and 5th of August, excepting Captain Crozer's, which, as has been said, was kept in ser- vice three weeks longer.
'In addition to the service of Delaware county companies in the regi- ments named, there were many men from Delaware county, who entered and served in other Pennsylvania regiments and in regiments from other states. Ten physicians from the county served as surgeons in army and navy, and Delaware countians served in the 6th California, 48th Illinois, 6th New Jer- sey, 43rd Pennsylvania ( Ist Artillery ), 64th Pennsylvania (4th Cavalry), 65th Pennsylvania (5th Cavalry), 66th Pennsylvania, 17th Pennsylvania (6th Cavalry, Rush's Lancers ), 71st Pennsylvania ( California three years service ), 72nd Pennsylvania, 77th Pennsylvania (Baxter's Zouaves). 88th Pennsyl- vania. Soth Pennsylvania. 95th Pennsylvania, goth Pennsylvania. 113th Penn- sylvania, 118th Pennsylvania. 16ist Pennsylvania, 18ist Pennsylvania. Ser-
547
DELAWARE COUNTY
vice in these regiments was arduous and many of their killed and wounded were men from Delaware county.
As soon as the government announced that colored men would be re- cruited, a number of men of that color, living in Delaware county, enlisted, although no colored company was enlisted from the county. The colored sol- diers served in the regular United States army in the 3rd, 6th, 13th, 32nd, 177th regiments, and in the 54th Massachusetts. Drafts were made in several of the townships in Delaware county, the last time the fatal wheel turning being April 7, 1865. The men who were drafted in Upper and Lower Chi- chester responded and the greater part of them were held for service. On April 13, Secretary Stanton ordered all enlistments and drafting discontinued in every part of the country, and on April 25 the drafted men of Delawat ; county were ordered to return to their homes.
The Navy .- It is extremely difficult to treat the subject of the naval rep- resentatives of Delaware county who took part in the Civil War, with any de- gree of thoroughness, for the reason that enlistments in the navy were not made, as in the army, in bodies. An entire company was not assigned to one ship, probably but a few from the same county seeing service on the same vessel. It will, therefore, be impossible to mention the numerous enlistments, but only to give a brief sketch of the county's sons who have gained a degree of prominence in the service. The most noted family in the county whose name appears in naval warfare annals of the United States, is the Porter fan- ily, those remarkable sea captains-Commodore David, the father; William David, Admiral David D. and Lieutenant Henry Ogden, his sons. The county likewise claims credit for Admiral Farragut, the hero of Mobile and New Orleans, who resided in Chester at the time of his appointment, and who was there educated.
The most noted of Porters to serve in the navy was Admiral David 1). Porter, who is said to have been born in Philadelphia in 1813, but in a letter regarding the date stone on the Porter (Lloyd) house in Chester, he speaks of Chester as his birthplace. His boyhood was spent in Chester, and in 1829 he entered the United States navy as midshipman. He took part in the Mexi- can war, was in command of the Powhattan, of the Gulf Squadron, in 1861. He commanded the mortar boat fleet in the attack on the forts defending New Orleans in 1862, and did valiant service on the Mississippi and Red rivers in 1863 and 1864. He was a conspicuous figure at the siege of Vicksburg, and was there created a rear-admiral. In 1864 he was in command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and rendered most important service at Fort Fisher, in January, 1865. In 1866 he was created vice-admiral, and in 1876 admiral. His father, Captain David Porter. was one of the brightest orna- ments of the early United States navy, and in the Essex, which he rendered famous in a battle with two British war vessels off the coast of Chili, he cap- tured many prizes during the war with England, 1812-1814.
William David, brother of Admiral David D. Porter, was also a noted naval commander in the Civil War, and was so badly scalded by escaping
548
DELAWARE COUNTY
steam that he ultimately died of its effects, May 1, 1864. This was in the at- tacks on Forts Henry and Donelson. Later, though in feeble health, he ran the batteries between Cairo and New Orleans, took part in the attack on Vicksburg, destroyed the dreaded ram "Arkansas," near Baton Rouge, and as- sisted in the attack on Port Hudson.
Theodoric Porter, another brother of the admiral, was killed in a skirm- ish with the Mexicans, April 18, 1846. It is said that he stayed out of camp the night before the battle of Palo Alto, and that his body was found the next morning, with several dead Mexicans lying around him.
Another brother, Henry Ogden Porter, was acting lieutenant in the navy during the Civil War, and fought his vessel, the gunboat "Hatteras," off Mo- bile, in an engagement with the "Alabama," until she sank, her flag proudly flying as she disappeared beneath the wave. He was rescued and died near Washington about 1870,
Another brother, Hamilton, was lieutenant in the navy, died of yellow fever, August 10, 1844. These Porter boys lived in Chester, and after the marriage of David Porter to Evelina, daughter of Major William Anderson, they lived in the historic old Lloyd house in Chester, purchased by Major An- derson and conveyed to David Porter, February 24, 1816. After the Por- ters ceased to use it as a residence, it passed through a variety of tenants un- til 1862, when it was leased to Prof. Jackson, a manufacturer of fireworks. On Friday morning, February 17, 1882, fire was discovered in the kitchen of the old building, and later an explosion of powder stored in the building, kill- ing eighteen and wounding fifty-seven persons.
Commodore Pierce Crosby, of Chester, entered the navy June 5, 1838, as midshipman, and at the outbreak of the Civil War held the rank of lien- tenant. He was employed in Chesapeake Bay and the sounds of Carolina, and was complimented by Gen. Butler for his conduct at the capture of Forts Hat- teras and Clark. In April, 1862, he was in command of the gunboat "Pinola," and during the night of the 23rd that vessel and the "Itasca" led the fleet when Farragut determined to run by Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and broke through the barrier of chains stretched across the Mississippi at these forts. He was at the capture of New Orleans, April 25, 1862, and when Farragut and his fleet ran the batteries at Vicksburg, June 30, and returned July 15, the same year, Crosby, in command of his vessel, shared in the glory of that daring deed. On September 13, 1862, he was promoted to captain, and dur- ing the year 1863-64, did effective service in command of the "Florida" and "Keystone State." Rear Admiral Thatcher, in his dispatches of April 12 to the Navy Department, said, "I am much indebted to Commodore Crosby, who has been untiring in freeing the Blakeley river of torpedoes, having succeeded in removing one hundred and fifty. A service demanding coolness, judgment and perseverance." In the year 1872 he was in command of the frigate "Powhattan," and in 1877 was ordered to the navy yard at League Island, re- taining command there until 1881.
Commodore DeHaven Manley, son of Charles D. Manley, entered the.
549
DELAWARE COUNTY
United States navy September 25, 1856, and rose step by step until he reached the rank of commander April 5, 1874.
Captain Henry Clay Cochran was appointed second lieutenant in the Marine Corps, and passed the examination August 29, 1861, but his youth pre- vented his being at once commissioned. He served as master's mate until March 10, 1863, when he was commissioned second lieutenant. On October 20, 1865, he was promoted first heutenant. During the war he was in active 'service under Admirals Goldsborough, Dupont, Farragut, Porter and Lee, in the Atlantic Gulf and Mississippi squadrons.
CASUALTIES TO DELAWARE COUNTIANS.
Twenty-sixth Regiment .- Company K-John F. Mekins, capt., killed at Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862; George W. Rosevelt, sergt., wounded, loss of leg, at Gettysburg; Samuel P. Morris, sergt., died of wounds, Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; Nathan R. Van Horn, corp., killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; James L. Gelsten, corp., killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; Isaac Bird, corp., died of wounds, Spottsylvania C. H., May 15, 1864; Henry Abbott, wounded at Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862; Lewis Bail, wounded at Spottsylvania, May 15, 1864; George Brannon, wounded at Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862; Lewis Bail, died at Andersonville, June 19, 1864, grave 2180; James T. Bell, died of wounds, Spottsylvania, May 15, 1864; John Derlin, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; Constantine Fuget, wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; Brinton Fryer, wounded at Fair Oaks, June 23, 1862; James Gleason, died of wounds, Spottsylvania C. H, May 15, 1864; William Hayes, wounded at Spottsylvania, May 10, 1864: James Higgens, killed at Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862; John McClem, died at Yorktown, Va., April 21, 1862; Samuel Pullen, wounded at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; William Phillips, wounded at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863; Andrew Phillips, died of wounds, Spottsylvania C. H., May 15, 1864; William Rambo, wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863 ; George Roan, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; Charles Shut, died at Washington, D. C., May 23, 1864, buried in Military Asylum Cemetery ; Benjamin F. Sutch, wounded at Spottsylvania, May 15, 1864; Francis Scott, wounded at Bull Run, Aug. 29, 1862; Henry Smith, died at Andersonville, Aug. 20, 1864; George Toner, wounded at Mine Run, Nov. 27, 1863; George Wood, killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; James Welsh, died of wounds, Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863.
Thirtieth Regiment (First Reserves) .- Company A-Edward Blaine, wounded at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.
Company C-John H. Taylor, 2nd lient., killed at South Mountain, Sept. 14. 1862; George McAffee, corp., wounded at Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862; Harry Hobaugh, died Oct. 30, 1861; R. Mills, died May 31, 1864, of wounds; Thomas McGarvey, died May 31, 1864, of wound; James Polloc, died Nov. 10, 1862, of wounds; J. T. Schofield, killed at Bethesda Church, May 30, 1864: William H. Taylor, wounded at South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862; Alfred G. Webh, killed at Fredericksburg, Dec. 13, 1862; Solomon Wesler, killed at Spottsylvania C. H., Dec. 13, 1864.
Company F-Charles F. Sheaff, Ist sergt., died Aug., 1862: John Fitzgerald, sergt., died Dec. 22, 1863; Henry Briggs, wounded at Antietam, Sept. 17. 1862; Isaiah Budd, died at Gettysburg, Aug. 1, 1863; Henry Bailey, killed at Mechanicsville, June 26. 1862; James Clark, wounded June 30, 1862; Charles W. Cheetham, killed at Charles City Cross Roads, June 30. 1862; James Glass, killed accidentally, Camp Pierpont, Va., Nov., 1861; James Gorman, killed at Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862; John Howard, died of wounds, Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862; Jolin Kilroy, killed at Bull Run, Aug. 30, 1862; Haines J. Kernes, died at Harrison's Landing. Aug. 13, 1862; Michael Maklem, killed at Spott- sylvania C. H., May 12, 1864: Joseph Mills, died at Baltimore, July Io, 1864: John McDade, wounded at South Mountain, Sept. 14, 1862: James Oakes, wounded at An-
550
DELAWARE COUNTY
tietam, Sept. 17. 1862; John C. Roberts, died in military prison, date unknown; John Stewart, killed accidentally, at Camp Pierpont, Va., Nov., 1861; Edward Smith, killed at Mechanicsville, June 26, 1862; James Wyatt, killed at Charles City Cross Roads, June 30, 1862.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.