USA > Pennsylvania > Berks County > History of Berks county in Pennsylvania > Part 36
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RINGGOLD LIGHT ARTILLERY .- This com-
pany was recruited at Reading, and mustered into service at Harrisburg April 18, 1861.
James McKnight, captain.
Henry Nagle, first lieutenant.
William Graeff, second lieutenant.
George W. Durell, first sergeant.
Daniel Kreisher, second sergeant.
Henry Rush, third sergeant.
Jeremiah Seiders, fourth sergeant. Levi J. Homan, first corporal.
F. W. Folkman, second corporal.
Jacob Womert, third corporal.
Horatio Leader, fourth corporal.
John A. Hook and George B. Eckert, buglers.
Privates .- Solomon D. Ash, James M. Anthony, An- thony Ammon, Charles B. Ansart, Augustus Berger, George S. Bickley, Reuben R. Burkhart, Harrison G. Bouse, William W. Bowers, David Bechtel, Addison Gehry, Charles W. Gebhart, Henry Geiger, Lemuel Gries, James H. Gentzler, Samuel Hamilton, Amos Huyett, William Herbst, Nathaniel B. Hill, Andrew S. Helms, William Haberacker, Jacob J. Hessler, Franklin Housel, John L. Kennedy, Geo. W. Knabb, John D. Koch, Aaron Bechtel, Charles A. Bitting, Henry Coleman, William F. Christ, Amos Drenkel, Daniel M. Dickinson, Edward G. Ebling, Benjamin F. Ermentrout, Henry E. Eisenbeis, William C. Eben, Samuel Evans, Robert Eltz, Henry Fleck, Adam Frees, John Frees, Jr., Harrison Fox, Christian C. Frantz, Adam Faust, William W. Fix, James A. Fox, Jacob Leeds, Harrison Lntz, Peter A. Lantz, Daniel J. Le- van, George D. Leaf, Aaron H. Levan, Christopher Leoser, George S. Lauman, Isaac S. Leeds, Charles Levan, Franklin Shaeffer, Edward L. Smith, Franklin Smeck, Geo. W. Silvis, Edward Scull, Chas. Spangler, Jonathan Shearer, Wm. H. Smith, Albert H. Shirey, William Sauerbier, Albert H. Seyfert, Daniel Witman, Henry Whiteside, Daniel S. Yohn, John L. Yohn, Frederick M. Yeager, Daniel Maltzberger, Charles P. Muhlenberg, Joseph H. McKnight, Wm. M. Miller, William P. Mock, James L. Mast, Howard McIlvaine, John H. McLenegan, Henry Neihart, Edward P. Pear- son, Jr., James Pfleger, Frederick Peck, Frederick H. Phillippi, Ferdinand S. Ritter, Henry Rush, William Rapp, Jr., Francis Rambo, Isaiah Rambo, George B. Rhoades, Jackson Sherman.
MAJOR JAMES MCKNIGHT was the son of John McKnight, cashier of the Pennsylvania Branch Bank at Reading. He was born in the bank building March 20, 1820, and received his higher education at Princeton College. Upon his return from college he entered the hardware- store of Daniel M. Keim & Co. as a clerk. In 1841 he became associated with Joseph L. Stichter, and they together, under the name of
23
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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Stichter & McKnight, conducted the business till he retired in 1858. During that time he was actively interested in military affairs. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he was the first captain to offer the services of his company, the Ringgold Light Artillery, to the government and to report for duty at Harrisburg. He served with this company for three months. Then he was commissioned a major of artillery in the regular army and served till the close of the war. He has since lived in retirement.
FIRST REGIMENT.
The First Regiment was organized at Har- risburg on April 20th. In pursuance of orders, it performed duty at several places in Pennsyl- vania, Maryland and Virginia till July 23d, when it returned to Harrisburg, and was there honorably discharged. During its service it did not participate in any battles; but it ac- complished much good by checking any move- ment on the part of the rebels in arms along our borders. It included the following com- pany, which was recruited at Reading, and mustered into service on April 20, 1861:
COMPANY G.
George W. Alexander, captain. William A. H. Lewis, first lieutenant. Thomas M. Richards, second lieutenant.
William MeNall, first sergeant.
William Eisenhower, second sergeant. Patrick Bloomfield, third sergeant.
Samnel G. Boone, fourth sergeant. Diller B. Groff, first corporal. Daniel Kelly, second corporal.
George Ashenfelter, third corporal.
Henry Beekhart, fourth corporal.
Richard H. Fisher and D. H. Snyder, musicians. Privates .- William H. Andrews, David L. Aeker, Charles Boyle, John Boland, Allen Bechtel, Henry Becker, Jacob K. Becker, Charles A. Briner, Jacob N. Boyer, George W. Boger, Philip Benson, Elijah F. Body, James A. Clark, John Connelly, William Cox- ell, William H. Clark, Samnel K. Clark, Charles H. Davis, William F. Dougherty, James Eisenhower, Thomas T. Eyrich, Charles Eisenhower, Harrison Fix, William S. Fox, Henry Goodhart, George Graff, Chas. A. Golden, Jr., Nathaniel Gay, Jacob Gabriel, Henry Gossler, Michael Hasson, J. Brooke Harper, Patrick Holland, Charles A. Heckler, Daniel E. Hafer, Wm. D. Krause, George W. Leedom, Wellington Levan, George F. Linderman, Isaiah Miller, De Witt Clinton Morris, Frank P. Muhlenberg, George W. MeMichael, William Miller, Charles D. Nagle, Albert Nagle, Wm.
G. Row, Henry S. Reeser, Jacob R. Reigel, William Reilly, Percival Rhoads, James H. Reed, Geo. Rum- mel, Wm. Strawbridge, John D. Stieff, Albert Sberi- dan, Henry A. Summons, Joel Setley, John Shine, Conrad Strahle, James E. Teed, Robert Toole, May- bury Van Reed, John F. Witman, George F. Yeager.
FIFTH REGIMENT.
The Fifth Regiment was organized at Camp Curtin (Harrisburg) on April 21st. It per- formed guard duty mostly at Baltimore, Wash- ington and Alexandria. It was at the latter place during the disastrous battle of Bull Run, in which the brigade, to which it had been transferred, participated. It was discharged at Harrisburg on July 25th.
COMPANY H .- The following company was recruited at Reading. It was mustered into service on April 20, 1861.
Captain, Franklin M. Cooley.
First Lieutenant, Thomas S. Brenholtz.
Second Lieutenant, Charles Parker.
First Sergeant, Henry A. Fliekinger. Second Sergeant, James R. Boyer.
Third Sergeant, William D. Clemens. Fourth Sergeant, Howard Potts. First Corporal, John R. Stettler. Second Corporal, Joseph Goodhart. Third Corporal, Madison Sutlade.
Fourth Corporal, William E. Van Reed. Musicians, John Reed, Theodore Hertman.
Privates .- Jacob Andy, Theodore Aker, Henry Anthony, Matthew Baxter, William Banon, Peter Clouser, Henry Cleveland, Aaron Doebler, Robert Devine, John B. Eisenbise, James Ely, Julius A. En- gleman, Peter Finkbone, Elias Fox, Reuben Homan, George Haines, Hiram B. HFoman, Daniel Hogan, Jacob Hell, William High, John Hetriek, Lewis Hummel, Richard Hebit, John H. Johnson, John A. Keen, Julius W. Korfkowoski, James W. Kis- singer, George J. Killner, Aaron E. Killner, Henry A. Lotz, Henry Lott, John Lancaster, Michael E. Lotz, John Lutz, Charles McDonough, Isaac D. Morris, Samuel G. MeKnable, John Meck, Daniel Moore, Harrison Neider, Joseph Nagle, Peter Noll, John O'Reilly, William Phillips, William Quigg, John W. Rambo, Henry Rapp, Frank E. Reifsnyder, Elias Shafer, John W. Seiders, John Smith, Henry Stettler, George Shaefer, John Stoltz, Charles Sann- ders, Henry Sehreffler, William Ulrich, William Vergees, John Weidner, William Weidner, Daniel M. Weidner, Aaron S. Wright, John K. Wright, Edward Young.
SEVENTH REGIMENT.
The Seventh Regiment was organized at Camp Curtin on April 22d. It was encamped
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for over a month at Chambersburg. On June 8th it moved southwardly. It was stationed at Williamsport on the 19th, and whilst there, late in the evening of that day, an alarm was raised which caused the whole brigade (Third) to be called to arms and formed into line of battle; but, beyond distant picket-firing, nothing further was heard. On July 2d it began the march to Martinsburg. On the way it confis- cated the contents of an extensive flour-mill, (a large amount of grain and flour and one hun- dred and fifty barrels of whiskey), the owner having been a captain in the rebel army. Shortly afterward it was encamped at Charles- town, where it remained, without special inci- dent, until ordered to Harrisburg, where it was mustered out of service in the latter part of July. The following three companies were re- cruited in Berks County :
COMPANY C .- Recruited at Friedensburg, Berks County, and mustered in April 23, 1861 :
Isaac Schroeder, captain.
Henry R. Myers, first lieutenant.
Peter Y. Edelman, second lieutenant.
Franklin B. Laucks, first sergeant. Henry S. Boyer, second sergeant.
William C. Baker, third sergeant.
Reuben Kaufman, fourth sergeant.
Isaac Pott, first corporal.
George Foos, Jr., second corporal.
Jeremiah H. Hauck, third corporal.
John C. Steckline, fourth corporal.
Peter H. Hanck and George A. Eltz, musicians.
Privates-Enoch Adam, Benneville Angstadt, Edwin S. Bear, Aaron Bright, Thomas Best, Wm. D. Brown, Edmond Y. Bock, Alexander Bigger, John H. Clem- mens, Washington G. Dengler, John G. Dengler, Ed- ward Draher, Wellington Egel, Jos. Eberhardt, John Fiese, Joel Ginder, Celestial Good, Caleb Gallagher, Harrison Gechter, Charles Hafer, Israel Hafer, Daniel Hunter, Jas. H. Harner, Henry Hauck, Jacob Holm, Henry H. Harbold, Samuel B. Jones, Fred'k Kindly, David Keller, Ebenezer C. Lell, Henry R. Laucks, Jacob Link, Nathaniel Lindermuth, Jeremiah Lotz, Daniel Meck, Aaron Moyer, Frederick Mohle, Seyer Melot, John Madary, Peter Maurer, Mahlon A. Mc- Noldy, Wm. Poorman, Chas. Rothermel, Ginder Rank, Daniel Rothenberger, Henry Sheaffer, Jacob F. Schild, Henry Schroeder, Zachariah Swavely, Isaac Sider, Henry Schmeck, Michael R. Shultz, Frederick H. Sener, Jacob Trexell, Albert S. Tool, William Voght, Amos Wentzel, Jonathan Wentzel, John Weidner, Daniel Wentzel, John Williams, Aaron Yoder, Solo- mon Yeakle.
COMPANY D .- Recruited at Pleasantville, Berks County, and mustered in April 23, 1861:
George S. Herbst, captain.
Samuel Baus, first lieutenant.
Joel Ruppert, second lieutenant.
Charles G. Kline, first sergeant.
Abraham Ruppert, second sergeant.
Peter Shafer, third sergeant.
Edward F. Reed, fourth sergeant.
John J. Nash, first corporal.
William Hassler, second corporal.
Jacob Shafer, third corporal.
Lenhard Swizhard, fourth corporal.
Joel Frederick and Elias Angstadt, musicians.
Privates .- Benjamin Angstadt, Abner Brutzman, Henry Bobb, Henry Beck, Abraham Bobb, Marcus Bean, Franklin Burns, Henry Boyer, William Bouchat, Simon Clouser, Levi Clonser, William Cleaver, Daniel Crackens, Jacob Drezer, David H. Delcamp, William Dreyer, Peter Eck, Samuel Eckert, Robert Engel, Francis Fisher, William Foreman, Benjamin Goodwin, George Hewett, William Hassler, Jonas Hassler, Joel R. Housman, Joseph Harris, George F. Hungerford, George Hummel, Edward Harper, Charles Hatner, Henry Kash, Geo. Kemp, John List, John S. Leeds, Franklin Lins, Daniel Moyer, George Moore, Michael Miller, James A. Murron, John Mitchell, C. Henry Mathew, David Paul, Franklin Reidenaner, John Rei- mer, William Roland, Francis Rothenberger, George Richards, Julius Shafer, Franklin Specht, Amos Syler, Daniel Stanfer, D. George Sellers, Paul Simon, Simon Stout, H. John Sowers, Michael Sulvier, William Sonder, Albert Stewart, Albert Sides, Levi Strunk, Ephraim Updegrove, Joseph Wibel, Daniel Yoder, Peter Yoder.
COMPANY G .- Recruited at Reading, Berks County, and mustered in April 23, 1861 :
Albert F. Rightmyer, captain.
Cornelius Wise, first lieutenant.
Jacob H. Worth, second lieutenant.
John G. Ulrich, first sergeant.
Anthony Heller, second sergeant.
Abraham Latshaw, third sergeant.
William Rnnyeon, fourth sergeant. Jacob Ege, first corporal.
William H. Dehart, second corporal.
Thomas Craton, third corporal.
George Hart, fourth corporal.
Gideon Ginder and Henry Benneville, musicians.
Privates .- John C. Anthony, Charles Bachman, Marks Bechtel, Sidney Bank, William Brown, James Boyer, Augustus Burkert, William Boone, William Breneiser, Fillermachus Berkert, Daniel D. Baker, James Berstler, Samnel T. Baker, William Clymer, Aaron Deem, Edward Dyer, John Denhard, George Dougherty, Stephen Edgar, Reuben Freas, Martin S.
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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
Goodhart, George W. Grant, William Graul, Levi Hildebrand, Henry A. Haak, William Heifert, Au- gustus Hauck, Samuel H. Jones, George L. Knupp, William Kline, Samuel Kissinger, John C. Kribbs, John S. Ludwig, William A. Lewis, William Mohr, George Miller, John Mergert, William Murphy, Russel Miller, George Obenhauser, Obediah R. Priestley, Henry J. Penrose, Marion Rauck, Simon M. Rush, Isaac E. Robinson, Damon Steuben, Albert A. Simon, William Sands, Damon Shultz, Jacob Spotz, John R. St. Clair, Henry Siegfried, Alfred J. Stout, James E. Stout, John Taylor, Francis Thomas, James H. Van- deever, James D. Whitman, George Wunder, Oliver B. Wilson, Frank B. Wilson, Godfrey Weiler, John A. Walker, John Whitman.
FOURTEENTH REGIMENT.
The Fourteenth Regiment was organized at Camp Curtin on April 30th. Richards Mc- Michael 1 was elected lieutenant-colonel, and Joseph A. McLean major of the regiment. Both were from Reading. It was encamped at Camp Johnston, in Lancaster, till June 3d, having been thoroughly drilled during this interval ; and subsequently it marched to Chambersburg, Hagerstown, Sharpsburg, Mar- tinsburg, Bunker's Hill and Harper's Ferry, doing picket and guard duty, and making vari- ous expeditions to encounter the enemy. Whilst at the latter place the term of enlistment expired and it was accordingly ordered to Harrisburg. On its way it encamped and remained two weeks at Carlisle, where it was mustered out of service. Harrisburg was then full of returning troops. A large proportion of this regiment re-enlisted in various military organizations of Pennsylvania. It included two companies from Berks County.
COMPANY A .- Recruited at Reading and mustered in April 27, 1861 :
D. A. Griffith, captain.
J. A. McLean, first lieutenant.
E. J. Rauch, second lieutenant.
J. Phillippi, first sergeant.
Amos Arnold, second sergeant.
H. Missimer, third sergeant.
F. W. Berg, fourth sergeant.
Thomas Gabriel, first corporal.
G. W. Rapp, second corporal.
S. Dampman, third corporal.
Bentley Smith, fourth corporal.
H. Goodhart and Francis Bauer, musicians.
Privates .- John Armstrong, Moses Burns, Joseph Bauman, Daniel Bosler, John H. Brookins, Matthias
Bell, Nelson Bell, Joseph Chalfant, William Cook, Bartholomew DeVoute, Charles M. Diehm, Jacob Finkbone, Augustus Farrel, Daniel Finkbone, Samuel Fix, Henry Getrost, Leonard Getz, Aaron Goodman, Emanuel Gottschall, Gotlieb Hiller, John S. Hind- man, John H. Hassinger, George M. Hayes, Jacob Houder, James High, Samuel Husk, Benjamin Hum- mel, Benjamin Klemmer, Nicholas Kramer, Daniel Kerper, William R. Lewis, William Large, William Lawrence, Joseph Lawrence, Levi Miller, Charles Miron, Joel May, Charles Noland, George Pollam, Henry Quimby, Charles Riegel, Milton Roy, Henry Regenfuss, Ephraim Smeck, Harrison Stieff, Robert Simon, Charles Smith, Nicholas Smith, F. B. Shalters, Jr., A. S. Seaman, Henry Sailor, Henderson Sample, James A. Shultz, Cyrus Trout, Urias Traite, James Toole, James M. Thompson, Van Tassel, Frederick Ulmer, Cornelius Uxly, Peter Wolf, Edwin Whitman, Philip Weidner, Samuel Zellers.
COMPANY E .- Recruited at Womelsdorf, Berks County, and mustered in April 24, 1861:
John C. Shearer, captain.
John T. Schoener, first lieutenant.
William G. Moore, second lieutenant.
George N. Steach, first sergeant.
Cyrus Oberly, second sergeant.
Henry Weighman, third sergeant.
William Weinhold, fourth sergeant. James Gaul, first corporal.
Henry Gutwald, second corporal.
Levi Bennethum, third corporal.
Eli Dougherty, fourth corporal.
John Daniels and Cyrus Heffelfinger, musicians.
Privates .- James Ayres, Henry Arnold, Samuel Ar- nold, Samuel Barket, William Bennethum, Charles Beunethum, John Brechbill, Jonathan Bennethum, John Clouser, Peter Capp, Jacob Deppen, David Dis- singer, Levi Dehart, Isaac Fiddle, William Fink, Chas. Folk, William Fry, William Gast, Henry Haywood, Henry Harp, Wm. Honies, Mandon Hawk, Reuben Hendricks, John Hampton, Frederick Hoffman, Wil- liam Himmelreich, John Haas, Samuel Klahr, Israel Koch, George W. Kuhns, Henry P. Kautz, Henry Kohler, William Lash, John H. Liveringhouse, Ben- jamin Lash, Lawrence Meck, Elias Moyer, William Madary, Samuel Mathew, Thomas McGuire, Augustus Milligsock, Peter Muskness, Milton B. Nice, Lew Owens, Samuel Parsons, Frederick Putt, Jas. Pollum, James Reinhart, Henry Rosenberger, Jeremiah Rus- sell, Isaac Rose, Isaac Scholl, Emanuel Stout, Zadoc Smith, Michael Shaffer, William W. Seidel, William Strouse, James Seidel, Daniel Spotz, Cyrus Ulrich, Peter Wise, William H. Wenrich, Levi Wise, George Weiser, William H. Wells, Samuel Whitaker, Per- cival Zechman.
GENERAL WILLIAM H. KEIM was born at Reading on June 13, 1813. He was the eldest
1 For further account see 194th Regiment.
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THE CIVIL WAR.
son of Benneville Keim, the President of the Farmers' Bank for a number of years, Mayor of Reading for three terms, and a prominent and enterprising business man of the county. His mother was Mary High, a daughter of Gen- eral William High, a wealthy farmer of Cum- ru township, at " Poplar Neck," and a man prominent in the military affairs of the county.
At the age of twelve years he entered the
sides the store business, he encouraged enter- prises generally for the development of Read- ing.
His early military training gave him a nat- ural taste for military affairs, and he found a field for its gratification in the volunteer service of the State Militia. Before the age of seven- teen years, he was an Orderly Sergeant of the " Washington Grays," and in 1837 he became
Military Academy at Mount Airy, near Phila- delphia, which, during its active existence, was one of the foremost educational institutions in the United States, and was graduated with hon- or in 1829. Upon returning home he entered the store of his father, which was then one of the largest general hardware-stores in Reading, and continued actively engaged in this pursuit for nearly thirty years-the greater part of the time as a proprietor of a large store in co-part- nership with his brother, John H. Keim. Be- 23}
Captain-succeeding his cousin, Captain Daniel M. Keim. He was promoted rapidly till 1842, when he was elected Major-General of the Fifth Division of Penna. Vols., which was composed of Berks, Lebanon, Dauphin and Schuylkill Counties. In that year he took a prominent part in the Military Encampment held at Read- ing, which was an eventful occasion in the his- tory of military affairs in this county. Among other distinguished military men, General Win- field Scott was in attendance. In 1844, during
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HISTORY OF BERKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
the terrible religious riot at Philadelphia, he was ordered to assist in quelling the disturbances, which resulted in loss of life and property. He was under Gen. Robert Patterson, Senior Major- General in the State. The good opinion, which General Keim's command had won, was justly expressed in the following extract from General Order, No. 30, issued by General Patterson, when the detachment of the Fifth Division was relieved until further orders :
"The Major-General further desires to express his knowledge of their exemplary and soldier-like deport- ment while under his command. He will at all times be happy to serve with such troops. Berks County may well be proud of her volunteer soldiery."
His services in organizing our local militia and in bringing them under proper discipline were both untiring and successful, thereby plac- ing them in the front rank of the volunteer sol- diers of the State.
In 1848 he was elected to the office of Mayor of Reading for one term. He was the second Mayor of the city. He had been nominated and run as the Whig candidate in the previous year, but a third candidate in the field, who ran inde- pendently, caused his defeat. Several years after- ward, he took great-if not the principal-inter- est in establishing at Reading the " Pennsylvania Military Institute," for the purpose of enabling young men to obtain education in military mat- ters. In November, 1858, he was elected to rep- resent Berks County in Congress, to fill the vacancy till March following, caused by the res- ignation of Hon. J. Glancy Jones. In Octo- ber, previously, Jones had been defeated in a campaign for re-election by John Schwartz, through a coalition of Republicans and Inde- pendent Democrats. When Jones resigned to accept the mission to Austria, this political feel- ing was still active, and it resulted in the elec- tion of General Keim as the Republican candi- date against Joel B. Wanner, the Democratic candidate. He was the first and the only Re- publican elected to represent this district in Congress. In 1859 he was elected Surveyor- General of the State for the term of three years. At that time he also held the office of Major- General of militia.
In 1860, whilst at Harrisburg, after the re-
sult of the Presidential election in favor of the Republican party had become known, General Keim suggested to Governor Curtin that the commonwealth be put in a condition of defense, inasmuch as the signs of discontent indicated civil strife ; and he recommended in that behalf a general encampment of the militia of the State. Governor Curtin accepted this timely suggestion, and, in pursuance of an order by him, an encampment was held at York, in the beginning of September, 1860, with General Keim as the chief in command. In January following, upon visiting his home at Reading, he called upon Captain James McKnight, who commanded the Ringgold Light Artillery, a company of volunteers in his brigade, and asked him to keep his company in readiness so as to be able to respond promptly to any order that might be given. Through this notice, the Ringgold Light Artillery came to be the first company that responded to the President's call for troops and reported for duty at Harris- burg in April, 1861. General Keim offered his services when the crisis arose, and Gov. Curtin appointed him to a command of State troops under the first requisition of the President. Major-General Robert Patterson commanded the Pennsylvania line, which was composed of two divisions, and served for three months in the campaign on the Upper Potomac. The headquarters were at Chambersburg, and Gen- eral Keim was in command of the Second Di- vision. On June 15th, this army was eucamped at Hagerstown, and on July 2d, it crossed the Potomac into Virginia.
A force under "Stonewall " Jackson was met shortly afterward at "Falling Waters," but after a skirmish it fell back, and its camp at Hoke's Run was occupied. On July 15th, the army advanced from Martinsburg to Bunker's Hill, and on the 17th Charlestowu was reached. By that time the term of service of many of the regiments expired and orders for their muster out were issued. The column was so much weakened thereby that it withdrew to Harper's Ferry.
After the campaign on the Upper Potomac, General Keim received from the President the appointment of Brigadier-General of National
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troops; and then resigning the office of Survey- or-General, he was ordered to join the Army of the Potomac. His brigade was attached to General Casey's division of General Keyes' corps, and was sent to Fortress Monroe, where, under the command of General Mcclellan, it advanced towards Richmond. At the battle of Williamsburg, (one of the most severe contests of the war), General Keim distinguished him- self. Although too sick to be on duty, he could not be prevented from leaving the hospital, mounting his horse and leading his brigade on the field. His coolness, judgment and great bravery during the action were conspicuous. Thongh under fire nearly the whole time, he was perfectly calm. A bomb fell almost under his horse. Every one about him turned pale from fear. The explosion covered him with mud. After the battle, General Mcclellan called on him, complimented him for the great service which he had rendered, and ordered him to the post of honor in advance of the army. But the excitement incident to this battle aggra- vated his illness and he was obliged to ask for a furlough. This was granted and he returned to Harrisburg, where his family had taken up a temporary residence. Unfortunately, his health was too far gone, and he died on May 18, 1862, in the very prime of life and usefulness, aged forty-eight years. The news of his death pro- duced a profound sensation of regret through- out the Army of the Potomac. General Mc- Clellan was deeply affected by the loss of this faithful commander, and he, on May 26th fol- lowing, issued a General Order announcing his death and complimenting his faithful, patriotic services to his country, which was read to every regiment in the army. His remains were brought to Reading, and buried with military honors in the Charles Evans Cemetery.
A public meeting of citizens was held on May 20, 1862, for the purpose of expressing regret over General Keim's death. A committee-of which Hon. J. Pringle Jones, ex-president judge of the county, was chairman-reported appropri- ate resolutions, including, among truthful senti- ments, the following high tribute :
"For long years, a prosperous merchant, we knew him as one whose praises were on all men's tongues,
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