USA > Pennsylvania > Beaver County > History of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and its centennial celebration, Volume I > Part 53
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Wolf, Isaac
Wright, Richard
Captain David Clark's company of the same regiment, and for the same period, was recruited in the section north of the Ohio and west of the Big Beaver rivers, with headquarters at Darlington: Captain, David Clark; lieutenant, James Dunlap; ensign, Archibald Stewart; sergeants, James Davidson, John McCandless, John Imbrie, Andrew Reed; corporals, David Tid- ball, Francis Johnson, John Edgar, John Curry; privates :
Adams, Asa
Boal, Daniel
Allsworth, Benjamin
Bond, James
Boies, David Clelland, John
Aughenbaugh, P. Beer, John
Carson, John
1 This roster is from the Adjutant-General's office, Harrisburg, Pa. It is not complete, but is the best that could be had at this late date. Additional items will be found in the Centennial address of Hon. Warren S. Dungan. (See our volume ii., Centennial Section.)
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History of Beaver County
Cannon, Michael
McMinn, Thomas
Campbell, Matthew
Malone, Emley
Ross, James Russel, Robert Reed, John
Crum, Isaac
Miller, Samuel
Courtney, Jacob
Moore, William, Sr.
Shingledecker, Michael
Chambers, John
Swaggers, George
Caldwell, William
Mccullough, James McCready, Hugh Moore, Andrew Moore, William Miller, Robert
Stephenson, D. Suman, John
Duff, William
Stinginger, George
Dunlap, John
McCready, Daniel
Stephenson, John
Elder, John
McCarter, James
Severs, Charles
Filland, Thomas
McCaskey, William
Sample, John Truesdale, James
Hatfield, Adam
Marquis, Robert
Vance, John
Hannah, Samuel
McCaskey, John
Woods, Andrew
Hughes, John
Moore, John
White, John
Hunter, James
Mckibben, James
White, Nicholas
Hope, Adam
McKeehan, John
White, Nathaniel
Hopper, Robert
Marshall, J.
Wickershaw, Adam
Kagler, Henry
Nesbit, Francis
Wilson, William Warner, Henry
Losier, Peter
Pitcher, Mitchell
Witherspoon, John
Laughlin, James
Ruggle, Jacob
Young, Philip
Leslie, James
Reed, William
Young, William
Leslie, George
Reed, Robert
Morrison, James
Reeve, Archibald
Captain Wilson Caldoo's (sometimes Kildoo or Kidoo) com- pany was recruited east of the Big Beaver Creek and mainly in Shenango, Slippery-rock, and North Sewickley townships, now in Lawrence County: Captain, Wilson Caldoo; lieutenant, Alexander Clemens; ensign, Robert Catty; sergeants, Thomas Caldoo, David Sadder, William McMurray, Thomas Walton; corporals, John Tidball, Adam Marshinner [Mershimer], John Whan, William McKim; privates:
Brown, John
Egbert, Isaac
Jolley, Levan
Blair, Samuel
Foster, Thomas
Joseph, Patrick
Brittain, John
Flynn, Thomas
Lackey, Robert
Baldwin, Samuel
Frew, James
Moore, John
Custard, Joseph
Fox, Michael
McKey, William
Clark, David Connor, John
Harris, Samuel
Mattocks, William
- Carothers, William
Henry, James Hannah, Thomas
Miller, John
Cline, Henry
Miller, William
Davidson, Patrick
McDowell, William
Davidson, Andrew
Jackson, William Jackson, James
Newton, Sabine
Stacey, John
Cooglar, Benjamin
Dixon, William
Hoge, William
Marquis, James
Losier, Stophel
Parks, Samuel
Grass, Robert Miller, William
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History of Beaver County
Pollock, Samuel
Sample, Samuel
Wright, Samuel
Regley, Seth
Vingder, Elias
Ward, William
Robinson, Joseph
Wilson, William
Ward, Jesse
Seward, Abner
White, John
Wallace, John
Stackman, James
Whan, Ephraim
Wallace, Samuel
Captain Robert Leiper's company, 138th Regiment, was re- cruited on the "South Side." Captain, Robert Leiper; lieu- tenant, John Warnock; ensign, Joseph Calhoun; sergeants, David Wilson, Henry Davis, Noah Potts, Erastus Rudd; cor- porals, Joseph Brown, Aaron Sutton, Thomas Barnes, Thomas Potts; privates:
Allen, Solomon
Henry, Hays
Reed, Alex.
Applegate, David
Hamilton, James
Richmond, John
Brunton, Thomas
Latter, William
Seeley, Samuel
Barnes, Thomas Lewis, John
Stone, Jackson
Brown, George
Leiper, William
Smith, John, Jr.
Butler, George
McElhaney, Robert
Smith, John
Beal, William
McCray, James
Shane, Cornelius
Creegthon, John
McHenry, Charles
Santel, Alpha
Crain, Adonijah
McCune, William
Smith, James
Douglas, Nathaniel
Moore, Robert
Shively, Jacob
Ferguson, Hans
Nelson, John Odell, John
Vincent, Thomas
Gilliland, John
Parkinson, James
Withrow, Thomas
Hamilton, James
Patterson, Guy
Wood, Silas
Hannah, Alex.
Reed, William
Wilson, James
The roll of this company is certified by William McCune, lieutenant, and in the receipt roll for the period from February 23d to March 23d he is reported as lieutenant.
Captain William Calhoun's company, 138th Regiment, was recruited on the "South Side." Captain, William Calhoun; lieutenant, Thomas Hartford; ensign, Benjamin Laughlin; ser- geants, Thomas Sevaney, Daniel Heckathorn, Adam Gibb, Robert Neilson, Patrick Caughey; corporals, Jonathan Grim- shaw, Andrew Hayes, William McCullough, James Allison; privates :
Allison, James
Clear, George
Farrat, William
Bear, Charles
Cunnington, Clifford
Foush, Michael Ford, Eli
Butler, Abiah
Caughey, Patrick
Baker, George
Douglass, John
Hodge, William
Carson, William
Decker, Daniel
Hall, James
Dungan, David D.
McCure, Thomas
Thomasburg, John Veasey, Elisha
Grimes, James
Hovington, Zenas
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History of Beaver County
Hartford, Thomas
Langfit, James
Sevaney, John
Hight, Aaron
Mercer, Nottingham
Snyder, Jacob S. Shafer, Anthony
Hamilton, John
McCauley, Hugh
Jamison, William
Miller, Samuel
Sands, Andrew
Justice, Joseph
Mccullough, William
Kinners, James
Myers, George
Swaney, Thomas Swaney, Thomas Thompson, Benj.
Lockhart, Hiram
Neilson, Robert
Lockhart, Allen
Neilson, William
Thompson, James
Laughlin, Wilson
Patten, Robert
Woods, William
Laird, William
Patten, James
Weitzell, Henry
Laird, John
Patten, William
Willoughby, Charles
Laughlin, Benjamin
Skillen, Hugh
Wilson, William
After the first month's service Thomas Hartford was pro- moted from private to be lieutenant, Patrick Caughey to be sergeant, and James Allison to be corporal.
Captain Thomas Henry's company, 138th Regiment, was recruited in and around Beaver. Its term of service was from January 12, 1814, to the 21st of March following. Captain, Thomas Henry; lieutenant, Samuel Ramsey; ensign, James McMilton; sergeants, William Joseph, David Warnock, John Minnis, Gasper Snooks; corporals, Ahiman Stibes, John Bell, Solomon Mains, John Shanks; privates:
Alexander, John
Everhart, John
McMillan, John
Alexander, William
Embrie, Robert
Oldtrain, Absalom
Bennet, Robert
Freed, Jacob
Riddle, James
Bennet, Solomon
Ferguson, Robert
Riddle, James, Jr.
Borin, James Bond, Hugh
Feree, John
Reno, Lewis
Bradley, John
Feree, Jesse
Ramsey, Samuel
Beam, Jacob
Gardner, William
Smith, William
Beggs, John
Gardner, Thomas
Sloan, James
Caldwell, John
Grim, Michael
Small, Thomas
Craig, Archibald
Graham, William
Scott, Isaac
Champion, George
Imbrie, Robert
Scott, John Stairs, John
Davis, Samuel Davis, John
King, John Kennedy, Matthew Lacock, Atlas E.
Stairs, Robert
Daugherty, Edward
Maratta, Caleb
Trask, Rufus
Dunbar, Samuel
McConaughey, Edward Wolf, John
Davidson, John
McGarvey, James
Daugherty, Daniel
Moor, James
Thompson, John
Champion, Joseph
Ferguson, James
Reno, Benjamin
Captain Armstrong Drennan's company, First Battalion, 26th Regiment, was recruited from all the sections of the county
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History of Beaver County
north of the Ohio River, and served from February 16th until March 22, 1814. Captain, Armstrong Drennan; lieutenant, Jacob Cline; ensign, Stephen Clark; sergeants, John Johnston, James Fowler, Robert Johnston, Michael Nye; corporals, David Drennan, James Hamilton, John McConnel, George Sanford; privates :
Anderson, Robert
Hageman, Stephen
Pierce, John
Aughenbaugh, George
Herron, William
Powell, Samuel
Adams, David
Hamill, John
Percival, Jacob
Adam, Alexander
Inman, Basil
Pedan, James
Aughenbaugh, John
Jackson, James
Pedan, Hugh
Allsworth, John S.
Justice, John
Rayl, Nathaniel
Bridgeman, John
Jackson, Matthew
Robinson, Joseph
Bales, Charles
Justice, Ross
Regal, Abraham
Boggs, Robert
Justice, Matthew
Reed, Joseph
Boylen, Aaron
Lippy, William
Smith, George Scott, William
Courtney, Nicholas
Murphy, John
Slentz, Philip Sheerer, John
Cheney, John
McFarland, John
Cobren, John
McFarland, Robert
Cannon, Joshua
McClelland, William
Coleman, John
Miller, James
Cook, Benjamin
Marshall, John
Stewart, George
Cook, John
McCarter, Daniel
Vankirk, William
Downing, Samuel
McCready, John
Vanata, James
Dickson, Matthew
McCollough, James
Daugherty, Edward
McCollough, William
Vanata, Thomas Welsh, Andrew Webster, Samuel Wiley, William
Dawson, Thomas Early, William Freed, Peter
McGowen, Robert McCaughty, Robert McMinn, Robert
Wallace, Benjamin Wells, John
Graham, Frederick
Niblock, Joseph
Hamilton, Hugh
Harkin, William
Nicholson, Francis Ness, William
Whittenberger, Adam Whittenberger, George Wiley, John
Harbinson, James
Nesbit, John
Douglass, John
McCaskey, Andrew McCalla, John
Warnock, James
Graham, Christopher
Swagers, John Sterret, George Steen, Matthew T.
Cox, John
Lippy, Joseph
Captain Robert Imbrie's company, being 2d Company, First Battalion, 26th Regiment, Pennsylvania Militia, commanded by Major Andrew Jenkins, served at Erie from February 15 to March 23, 1814. Captain, Robert Imbrie; lieutenant, James Henry; ensign, James Veasey; sergeants, A. Mckinnon, Wil- liam Moore, John McCormick; corporals, William Roland, James Ferrel, John McCoy, William Hammond; privates:
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History of Beaver County
Anderson, Thomas
Hickey, John
McNeal, James
Bottomfelt, Samuel
Harvey, James
McBride, Samuel
Bolliner, Simon
Hawk, John
McGowan, Ebenezer
Bell, John, Jr.
Hawk, Jonathan
Melony, Henry
Bell, John
Hawk, Benjamin
Newton, John
Bower, Samuel
Hinds, John
Naymen, Daniel
Boyd, William
Harper, David
Parks, Thomas
Boyd, Andrew
Imbrie, James
Park, David
Brown, John
Irvin, James
Pollock, James
Cristler, George
Junkins, Samuel
Pollock, Samuel
Caston, William
Johnson, John Jack, Thomas
Reed, Matthew
Clark, James
Laughlin, Samuel
Scott, Thomas
Cochran, James
Little, William
Semple, Robert
Cyphey, David
Little, James
Sharp, John
Dermon, John
Leonard, Hull
Shaffer, Jacob
Daugherty, Richard
Madison, Samuel
Summerwell, John
Daugherty, George
Matthews, Duncan
Smith, Andrew
Eckles, Thomas
McDowell, John
Simpson, William
Eckles, John
McDevit, Henry
Shaffer, Peter
Fisner, John
Miller, Joseph
Scott, George
Fowler, Archibald
Manon, James
Smith, Benjamin
Fegans, John
McMurray, James
Slater, Jacob
Holmes, Joseph
Miller, Moses
Vancokle, Richard
Hutchinson, William
Moore, James
White, Samuel I
MEXICAN WAR
Between the years 1821 and 1835 Texas, one of the original States of the Republic of Mexico, had been largely colonized by men from the Southern States of the Union. In the latter year the Texan patriots revolted against the tyranny of Santa Anna's government, and in March, 1836, they gave to the story of human heroism the bright but bloody page on which is written the deeds of the defenders of the Alamo. That splendid example of deathless courage is commemorated by a monument in the old State House at Austin on which is this beautiful inscription :
Thermopylæ had Three Messengers of Defeat The Alamo had None!
Under the leadership of Sam Houston the independence of Texas was soon achieved, and in 1837 she offered herself for admission to the American Union. The Southern States were in favor of her admission, both on account of the presence of so many of their former citizens in the State, and because of the
1 John Javens, great grandfather of Thomas H. Javens of Rochester, Pa., was a soldier in the War of 1812; company unknown.
Roger, Jacob
Caldoo, James
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History of Beaver County
opportunity it would afford of extending slave-labor over new soil. But the Whig party, strongest in the North, were op- posed, and for a time her admission was defeated. The final incorporation of Texas into the Union brought about the war with Mexico, the Mexican Government being determined to resist the claim of Texas and the United States to any territory beyond the river Nueces. Upon this issue hostilities com- menced early in 1846. On the 13th of May, that year, Congress announced that by the act of Mexico a state of war existed between that government and the United States, and voted men and money for the prosecution of the war. The President was authorized to employ the militia, naval and military forces of the United States, and to call for and accept the services of fifty thousand volunteers. Within a period of thirty days ninety companies of volunteers offered their services, enough to fill nine regiments-three more than the President asked for. In December, 1846, one regiment of volunteers was mustered into the service of the United States at Pittsburg, two com- panies of which were from that city, and in January of 1847 another regiment was mustered in in the same place, with one company from Pittsburg. With the exception of a few indi- viduals who enlisted in these Pittsburg companies and else- where, Beaver County cannot be said to have contributed much to that brief but bloody conflict which ended with the capture of the city of Mexico on September 14, 1847, when General Winfield Scott dictated terms to the vanquished in the famous halls of the Montezumas.
In the old graveyard at Beaver is the tomb of a soldier of this war, who died on a boat on his return from Mexico. For some reason the body was landed at Beaver and interred there. His name was William Thomas, and the muster-roll at Harris- burg shows him to have been a member of Company D, Ist Pennsylvania Volunteers, mustered in, January 4, 1848, and deceased, July 12, 1848. Through the instrumentality of a former comrade and the kindness of Beaver citizens, his grave is fittingly marked with a stone bearing the record of his services.
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION, 1861-5
We read the events of history in the light of our philosophy, and according to the influence of our individual temperament. To some the whole story of the titanic struggle between the
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History of Beaver County
North and the South is like a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. They can see nothing but what is sad and sordid or crafty and cruel in the long preliminary contest, with its political manœuvrings, its "Compromises " and "Provisos " and "Bills," its Kansas "feuds" and John Brown "Raids," and to them the war itself is nothing but the irra- tional outburst of mad human passions, as blind and chaotic as the explosion of a tropic volcano, a Krakatoa, or a Mont Pelée.
But we are able now to estimate this mighty social upheaval more thoughtfully than this. We are able to look upon it as the proof that there is a power not ourselves behind phenomena, social phenomena as well as physical, that makes for righteous- ness. We can now do equal justice to the victors and the van- quished, and recognize the essential uprightness of character and sincerity of purpose that animated the men of the North and that belonged no whit less to the men of the South, as illustrated in the persons of the two great opposing captains, Grant and Lee. We see these men, now,-those of the North and those of the South,-as men who had to work out a nation's destiny, to suffer together, because their fathers and they had sinned together, and who could not "dree their weird" and be purged of the sin and curse of slavery without paying a price of cost. By terrible things in righteousness God answered us, answered the cry of the slave and the curse of the task-master and the prayer of the pitiful. And so for four years the Ameri- can nation was made to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and in the agony of civil and fraternal war the wrongs and blunders of more than two centuries were atoned for. The contest called into the field five million soldiers, sacrificed half a million lives, and cost six billions of money, but it was worth all it cost because it settled forever that the United States is a NATION and not a loose confederation of States, and made America the land of the free as well as the home of the brave.
Fold up the banners! Smelt the guns! Love rules. Her gentler purpose runs. A mighty mother turns in tears The pages of her battle years, Lamenting all her fallen sons!
The people of Beaver County took a deep interest in the questions under debate in the Nation at large, and a prominent
490
History of Beaver County
part in the agitation of them. They did yeoman service in the anti-slavery cause, and, as the ominous shadow of Secession and Rebellion began to cast its malign influence upon the country, they were aroused to the highest pitch of patriotic feeling and enthusiasm. Even before the war opened a large mass-meeting was held in Beaver to get the expression of the popular mind upon the events that had taken place since the election of Lin- coln. The "cotton States"-South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas-began to make active efforts to dissolve the Union from the moment that the election of the Republican candidate became known. South Carolina first passed an ordinance of secession on December 20, 1860, and by the Ist of February the following year each of the seven "cotton States" had declared itself separated from the Union and independent.
Meantime, with the temporary success of the Missouri Com- promise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 in mind, individ- ual members of Congress were trying to settle the troubles by further compromise, and many plans for changes in the Con- stitution and laws were proposed, but all without avail. On February 4, 1861, a "Peace Convention," suggested by Virginia, assembled in Washington. There were delegates in attendance at this convention from all but the above-named seceded States, and John Tyler, ex-President of the United States, was its president. But the plan of compromise which it proposed failed like all the rest: the time for compromise was past; the conflict was an irrepressible one, and it had to be decided by the appeal to arms.
The mass-meeting in Beaver to which we referred above was held on the very date of the Peace Convention at Washington, February 4, 1861. It was called the "People's Meeting," and was held in the court-house. The friends of the outgoing admin- istration of Buchanan, and those of the administration that was to be in office after March 4th, and whose purpose to sup- port the Constitution and the Union had already been 'made known to the country, were gathered in full force at this con- vention, which proved to be the most exciting that had ever been held in the county. It was known that an effort would be made at this meeting to pass resolutions condemnatory of the policy of coercion towards the seceding States, and the friends
491
History of Beaver County
of the incoming administration made strong appeals to its sup- porters to prevent this being represented as the sentiment prevailing in the county. The following note from M. S. Quay, then prothonotary of the county, to a Republican at Vanport, was published in the Western Star of February 7th:
DEAR SIR :-
Turn out to the meeting at one o'clock this afternoon if you possibly can, and bring every Republican from Vanport with you, if possible. They intend passing Locofoco resolutions, and sending them out to the State as the expression of the people of Beaver County. It should be prevented if possible.
The crowd that assembled at this meeting filled the old court-house to suffocation, and the organization of the meeting was secured by those opposed to the policy of coercion, they having the president, all the vice-presidents but two, and both the secretaries.
Hon. Joseph Irvin was chairman; James Wallace, Henry Alcorn, Thomas Conway, Boston Grove, Ephraim Jones, Levi Barnes, Jacob Wagner, John Graham, William Leaf, William F. Lafferty, Robert Russell, Elwood Thomas, and David Stanton -the last two Republicans-were vice-presidents; and Robert Potter and N. C. Barclay, secretaries.
Two prominent Democratic attorneys, Lewis Taylor, Esq., and N. P. Fetterman, Esq., who were to have addressed the meeting, being absent, another of that party, Samuel B. Wilson, Esq., made a fervid appeal for moderation and leniency towards the Southerners. A call was then made for Richard P. Roberts, Esq., who presented with fiery eloquence the reasons which the North had for opposing slavery and secession.
A series of resolutions opposing coercion and war were then presented by Samuel B. Wilson, Esq., voted on and passed, the Republicans protesting. The Democratic officials then with- drew, and the Republicans reorganized the meeting and passed a counter series of resolutions, which, considering the inflamed state of public feeling, seem to us extremely temperate and dig- nified. As reported in the Argus, they are as follows:
Resolved, That it is the duty of the Federal Government to protect the Federal property, and execute the Federal laws, and for these pur- poses to employ all the means at its disposal.
Resolved, That the imposition of the institution of slavery upon the
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History of Beaver County
people of a territory against their will, or without their consent, whether by congressional legislation, or constitutional enactment, is in direct conflict with the spirit and purpose of a republican form of government.
Resolved, That any statute of any state which conflicts with the con- stitution or laws of the United States should be repealed.
Resolved, That we are opposed to any interference with the institu- tion of slavery in the states where it now exists, or by which it may hereafter be legalized, either by the federal congress or by the free states or by illegal individual enterprise, such as was exemplified in the mur- derous fray of John Brown against Virginia.
Resolved, That the thanks of the nation are due to our President, James Buchanan, for the promptness with which he extricated himself from the ruinous policy into which he had been misled by traitors; for purging his cabinet of their presence, and for surrounding himself by such patriotic and competent advisers as Holt, Scott, Dix, and Stanton, in whose statesmanship and fidelity to the Union all parties can confide.
Resolved, That, since the purchase of Florida and Louisiana terri- tories by the government of the United States was to secure unmolested commerce in the Gulf, and the free navigation of the Mississippi and its tributaries as transits to the ocean, and since their maintenance as ter- ritories and states has been secured only by the lavish expenditure of the blood and treasure of the whole nation, the recent revolutionary acts of levying war, and by coercion seizing and holding the forts and arsenals, hospitals and treasury of the United States, forcibly driving the United States troops from the other property of the United States, dishonoring the national flag in the eyes of the world, are treasonable in character and in violation of the equality, fraternity and common rights of all the states, and thus impose the patriotic duty upon the people of all the states, as citizens of the United States, to rally to the common defense of our Union and the constitution.
As indicated in the last resolution, the leaders of the South had long been preparing for an armed conflict by accumulating stores of arms and ammunition, and occupying Federal forts and arsenals in the South, while at the same time they were emptying the arsenals of the North. On the 24th of December, 1860, an attempt was made by them to remove the ordnance from the arsenal at Pittsburg, which was prevented by the citi- zens. And, when at length the designs of the Southern leaders were unmasked by the attack on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, the North found itself impoverished of the munitions of war. In this respect no State in the Union was more badly off than Pennsylvania. Her military stores were well-nigh exhausted, and her volunteer soldier system had fallen into such decay that there were in 1860 fewer volunteer military companies in the
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History of Beaver County
State than ever before were on the rolls of the Adjutant-Gen- eral's office.
But no sooner was the news flashed over the country that Fort Sumter had been fired on than the old Keystone State rose quickly with her loyal sister States to meet the emergency. Three days after the rebel attack had been made the President of the United States issued a proclamation calling out seventy- five thousand militia from the different States to serve for three months in the war that was now inevitable, and a requisition was made on this State for fourteen regiments. The response to this call was so prompt and great that at once sufficient men rushed to Harrisburg to organize not fourteen regiments, but twenty-five. It is true that neither these ardent spirits nor the people of the State or of the country had as yet any adequate idea of the magnitude of the task that was before them. But there were at least two men in Pennsylvania that had more nearly estimated the seriousness of the coming conflict and its probable duration. These were General Simon Cameron, Secre- tary of War under President Lincoln, who advised the organiza- tion of the most powerful army the North could raise; and Andrew G. Curtin, Governor of the State, who took advantage of the excess of men offering their services and began at once, after the requisition of the Federal Government for fourteen regiments had been met, to organize the famous Reserve Corps. His foresight in this was apparent in the need of just such well- organized and disciplined troops as these Reserves that was developed by the disaster of the first battle of Bull Run.
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