USA > Pennsylvania > Clarion County > History of Clarion County, Pennsylvania > Part 21
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Lancaster, James H., private, July 16, 1863, three years ; drafted ; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Mohney, Alexander, private, July 25, 1861, three years; wounded at Get- tysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Miller, John, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Monigan, Dennis, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; absent, sick, at mus- ter out.
Mohney, Gibson, private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged October 22, 1862.
Mortimer, David, private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged Novem- ber 17, 1862, for wounds received at Gaines's Mill, Va., June 27, 1862.
Mortimer, David B., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged Febru- ary 9, 1863.
Mohney, Isaac, private, February 29, 1864, three years ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Mortimer, Samuel L., private, December 28, 1863, three years; wounded at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862 ; re-enlisted December 13, 1863 ; wounded at Spottsylvania Court House May 12, 1864 ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Mossburg, Thomas D., private, July 16, 1863, three years ; drafted ; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
McGregor, Daniel, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; wounded at Spott- sylvania Court House May 12, 1864 ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
McKee, John M. E., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
McCoy, William H., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged July 6, 1862 ; burial record - died at Philadephia, Pa., July 19, 1862.
McFadden, Robert P., private, August 28, 1862, three years ; discharged February 28, 1863, for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862.
McKee, John A., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged October 25, 1862, for wounds received at Gaines's Mill, Va., June 27, 1862.
McLeary, James, private, July 16, 1863, three years ; drafted ; discharged November 18, 1863.
McKisson, John D., private, August 31, 1863, three years; substitute ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
McCauly, Thomas, private, July 16, 1863, three years; drafted ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
McCormick, James, private, August 29, 1863, three years; substitute; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
187
COMPANY E, 62D REGIMENT.
McCool, Thomas, private, March 29, 1864, three years; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
McCoy, James, private, July 25, 1861, three years; died at Minor's Hill, Va., October 21, 1861.
McCoy, George, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; died February 25, 1864, of wounds received in camp; buried in Military Asylum Cemetery, D. C .; veteran.
McElroy, Joseph, private, July 25, 1861, three years; died July 1, 1862, of wounds received at Gaines's Mill, June 27, 1862.
McCoy, Thomas, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; not on muster-out roll.
Nicklow, John, private, July 16, 1863, three years; drafted; discharged November 19, 1863.
Newell, William M., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged Janu- ary 9, 1864.
Nail, Levi, private, March 29, 1864, three years; transferred to One Hun- dred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Neal, Henry W., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; died at Minor's Hill, Va., November 4, 1861.
Punkhard, Daniel, private, July 25, 1861, three years; wounded at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862; wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Pollock, William M., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Pinks, Samuel B., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged Septem- ber 5, 1861.
Palmer, Valentine, private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged July II, 1863.
Peaden, James F., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; transferred to Vet- eran Reserve Corps ; date unknown.
Probasco, James, private, December 28, 1863, three years ; re-enlisted De- cember 27, 1863 ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864; veteran ; wounded at North Anna River in May, 1864.
Pastorius, Hugh, private, July 16, 1863, three years ; drafted ; wounded May 25, 1864; transferred to Company D, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Reg- iment, July 3, 1864.
Payne, George, private, July 25, 1861, three years; died May 1, 1862 ; buried in Military Asylum Cemetery, D. C.
Pollock, John C., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; died at Philadelphia, Pa,. December 2, 1862.
Rusk, John, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; mustered out with com- pany July 13, 1864.
188
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
Robins, George, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; captured ; date un- known ; died at Andersonville, Ga., August 30, 1864 ; grave 7293.
Reddick, Quincy A., private, July 16, 1863, three years ; drafted ; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Rossenberger, John B., private, July 12, 1863, three years; drafted; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Rankin, James L., private, August 28, 1862, three years; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Steward, James F., private, July 25, 1861, three years; wounded at North Anna, May, 1864; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Shirk, Daniel, private July 25, 1861, three years ; mustered out with com- pany July 13, 1864.
Sharp, Evelyn D., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Saggerser, William R., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
Sloan, John S., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged November 27, 1861.
Stewart, Robert A., private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged July 30, 1862.
Smathers, Jacob, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged February 19, 1863.
Shirk, John M., private, September 13, 1862, three years ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Sharp, Hanford R., private, August 28, 1862, three years; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Stewart, Robert A., private, March 29, 1864, three years ; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Shyrock, John O., private, July 16, 1863, three years; drafted; transferred to One Hundred and Ffty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Story, William, private, July 16, 1863, three years ; drafted ; wounded at the Wilderness May 5, 1864; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Reg- iment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Thomas, Mathew, private, July 25, 1861, three years ; discharged April 22, I862.
Thompson, Henderson, private, July 25, 1861, three years; not on muster- out roll.
Truby, Andrew J., private, September 13, 1862, three years; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Thomas, James H., private, July 25, 1861, three years ; missing at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1862.
Varner, Samuel, private, July 25, 1861, three years; wounded at Gettys- burg, Pa., July 2, 1863 ; discharged March 3, 1864.
189
COMPANY F, 63D REGIMENT.
Work, Thomas A., private, July 25, 1861, three years; wounded at Gettys- burg, Pa., July 2, 1863 ; mustered out with company July 13, 1864.
White, Robert, private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged July 30, 1862.
Warner, Sylvester, private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged Sep- tember II, 1862; re-enlisted March 31, 1864; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Watson, James H., private, July 25, 1861, three years; discharged April . 18, 1863.
Whipkey, William, private, July 16, 1863, three years; substitute ; trans- ferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Wilson, John B., private, February 24, 1864, three years; transferred to One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regiment P. V., July 3, 1864.
Work, Joseph, private, July 25, 1861, three years; died at Licking Run, Va., January 1, 1864.
Winters, John, private, March 31, 1864, three years; not on muster-out roll.
CHAPTER XIX.
COMPANY F, SIXTY-THIRD REGIMENT.
When and By Whom Recruited - Officers - Service on the Field - Roll of Company.
L N July, 1861, immediately after the battle of Bull Run, Bernard J. Reid, esq., acting under written authority from Colonel Alexander Hays, began to recruit a company of volunteers for the war. Captain Reid's head- quarters were at Clarion. On the 5th of September, 1861, he left Clarion with forty-seven recruits, marched overland to Kittanning, and thence by rail to Pittsburgh, where he with his company joined Colonel Hays's regiment in Camp Wilkins. Captain Reid was ordered to return immediately to Clarion county, accompanied by Sergeant George W. Mccullough, to enlist more men. On the 17th of September they again marched with forty-six new recruits. When they reached Camp Wilkins they learned that the regiment had gone on to Washington. They followed by rail via Harrisburg and Baltimore, and joined the regiment September 21, at Camp Hays, in the eastern suburbs of Washington. At Camp Hays the regiment was armed and equipped for active service, and was numbered and designated the Sixty-third Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers. Captain Reid's company was designated Company F. It was given position at the center of the left wing of the regiment.
15
190
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
The company election was held September 23, 1861, when Bernard J. Reid was elected captain, John G. McGonagle, first lieutenant, Lawrence Eagan, second lieutenant, and Joshua H. Delo, first sergeant. Curtis C. Zink, George W. Fox, John R. Guthrie and ,George W. Mccullough, were appointed ser- geants ; John Kuhns, Robert S. Elgin, James Waley, David R. Dunmire, Da- vid Irwin, Thomas H. Martin, Adam Potter and John Stewart, corporals ; Ami Whitehall and Samuel K. Richards, musicians ; Joseph Lichtenberger, bugler, and Preston H. Moodie, teamster.
Other recruits came into camp and the complement of the company was filled. On the 28th of September the regiment crossed the Potomac and camped on the Leesburg turnpike near Fairfax Seminary, at which point were the headquarters of General Franklin, to whose division the Sixty-third was assigned. The camp here was called Camp Shields. President Lincoln and his wife visited Camp Shields October 4th, and on this occasion Arnold's Bat- tery gave them a salute of fifteen guns. On the 8th of October an election was held under State law in every company of the regiment. This was the first and only time that the soldiers voted in the army, as the Supreme Court de- cided in the spring of 1862 that soldiers could not legally vote away from their domicile.
On the 9th of October, 1861, the ceremony of formally mustering the reg- iment into the service of the United States was performed by Lieutenant C. W. Tolles, of the Thirteenth U. S. Infantry. The regiment broke camp Octo- ber 14th, and moved to a point on the Alexandria and Richmond turnpike, a mile south of Fort Lyon, and five miles from Mount Vernon. This camp was called Camp Johnson. Here the regiment was placed in Brigadier-General C. D. Jamison's Third Brigade of the Second Division, which was commanded by Major-General Heintzelman. The brigade included the following regiments: The Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania, commanded by Colonel Charles Campbell ; the Sixty-first Pennsylvania, by Colonel Rippey ; the Sixty-third Pennsyl- vania, by Colonel Alex Hayes; the Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania, by Lieutenant- Colonel Lujeane ; and the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania, by Colonel McKnight. Soon after this the Sixty-first and the Ninty-ninth were trans- ferred to other divisions, and the Eighty-seventh New York and the Twentieth Indiana Volunteers were put into the Third Brigade. In each camp the troops were daily exercised in company and battalion drill ; also in camp guard and police duty. After being brigaded the troops entered upon brigade drill, fatigue duty on the earthworks at Fort Lyon, in addition to the exercise and duty previously mentioned. They were also given regular terms at picket duty out in front about nine miles from camp. They were also engaged in an occasional reconnaissance in force to keep in check raiding parties of the enemy.
Company F's first experience in picket duty was on Hallow Eve in 1861, and continued three days. The company picket line was over a mile in ex-
19I
COMPANY F, 63D REGIMENT.
tent. By the default of the officer of the day the company was left on duty without the countersign or any specific instruction, but the men were cool and vigilant and acquitted themselves well for beginners, considering the diffi- culties.
After the company had gone into winter quarters at Camp Johnson Cap- tain Reid, with other officers, was ordered to return to Pennsylvania on re- cruiting service. They were placed under orders of Major Dodge, superintend- ent of recruiting service at Harrisburg. Captian Reid was ordered to Clarion, where, during the month of February, 1862, he recruited and turned over to Major Dodge about twenty men to be mustered in and forwarded to the regi- ment. March 13, Captain Reid was ordered to close his recruiting office and report to Major Dodge at Harrisburg, where, after settling his accounts, he was ordered to join the regiment. March 17, he reached his company at Alexan- dria, Va., and the regiment embarked that same day for Fortress Monroe, which place it reached on the 18th. The regiment landed alongside the Mon- itor which had vanquished the Merrimac in a terrible conflict nine days before. The troops went into camp near the ruins of Hampton, which had been burned by the Confederates to prevent the Federal soldiers from occupying it. The whole army was to concentrate here for the advance up the Peninsula to Rich- mond. It had just been divided into corps. Company F belonged to the Third Corps. Heintzelman commanded the corps and General S. C. Hamil- ton had succeeded to the command of the division. He was succeeded April 4 by General Phil Kearney, when the army took up its line of march to York- town. In the afternoon of April 5, Company F encamped in an open field in plain sight of the fortifications at Yorktown. The whole division had halted and was encamped within easy cannon range of the enemy. The infantry rested on their arms. Meantime some of our artillery became engaged with the en- emy, whose return missiles killed several of our artillery horses and men. A detail of Berdan's sharpshooters soon put our troops in comparative safety for a few days. They picked off the enemy's gunners and almost silenced his guns. Little demonstration was made by the rebels until toward evening on Sunday, April 6, when they sent some solid shot down into the clover fields to remind the Union troops that the fortifications were still occupied. Being saluted with these unwelcome visitors, Colonel Hays, seeming to desire to express his con- tempt for the proceedings, ordered the Sixty-third out for dress parade in plain sight of the rebels. The ceremony was performed in detail, the band " beat off" with the Star Spangled Banner and Yankee Doodle, the salutes were given and parade dismissed, then the rebels acknowledged the compliment by send- ing a large conical shell over the heads of the regiment into a piece of woods half a mile beyond it. That was the regiment's last dress parade. On the 8th of April the cannonading continued and some picket firing took place. On the 9th General Jamison took the Sixty-third on a reconnaissance along the
192
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
wooded banks of Warwick River, where the enemy was constructing earth- works. A brisk skirmish ensued, in which Sergeant David Irwin, of Company F, was killed. He was the first soldier in the Clarion county companies to be killed in battle, and the first of the Third Brigade to fall in the Peninsular cam- paign. On this occasion the company's conduct deserves special mention. It was marching parallel with the wooded bank of the stream and probably sev- enty-five yards from it. The two rear companies had been left some distance back on the main road. Thus company F was the last in the line. As the company advanced in this position the rebels on both sides of the stream opened fire upon the regiment from their concealment in the timber. By that volley Sergeant Irwin was mortally wounded. The regiment was halted and faced to the front. By this movement Company F occupied the extreme left of the regiment. Captain Reid was at his place in front of the center of the com- pany. Suddenly all of the companies to the right of Company F broke ranks and took to the nearest trees. This action seemed contagious, and Company F also broke ranks and hurried to the shelter of the timber. Captain Reid thinking this the effect of a sudden panic, and not approving of that kind of conduct in face of the enemy, shouted " Company F stand your ground !" In- stantly every man came back to his place in line as if on parade. Just then the colonel came down the line from the extreme right. He complimented Company F for its gallantry, and said that he had ordered the regiment to break ranks. Captain Reid had not heard the order. After further exchange of shots, rebel reinforcements were seen to arrive, and the regiment was marched back to camp, Company F bearing its dying sergeant with it. That afternoon the Union camps were withdrawn to the swampy woods, out of reach of the enemy's lighter guns, but still within range of their heavy ones.
For four weeks the regiment occupied this new camp. During their stay here the soldiers became very familiar with the hideous music of screaming shells and crashing tree tops. The company performed picket duty, dug trenches, and stood under arms for the protection of others so engaged. It was almost constantly under artillery fire and frequently skirmished with the enemy's infantry. Many suffered from disease while here, as there was a dearth of pure water, and the camp had not adequate drainage.
On the night of May 3, 1862, General Jamison selected the left wing of the Sixty-third for an important and perilous duty. The general desired to place a squad of picked sharpshooters in a rifle pit to be dug within five hundred yards of the principal rebel fort. This had been twice attempted on a previ- ous night. It must be done now. The grand bombardment was to begin May 4, by the Federal gunboats and the heavy siege guns. General Jamison was officer of the trenches for that day. The sharpshooters must be in the pits to pick off the gunners and silence their heaviest guns, and it devolved on him to see that the pits were dug at the point previously determined upon, and that
193
COMPANY F, 63D REGIMENT.
the sharpshooters were in them ready for duty on the morning of the 4th. The left of the Sixty-third was selected for this point, and the right for a sim- ilar duty at another point. Company F was a part of the left. The five com- panies were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Morgan, and they were led by General Jamison in person to a sheltered nook near the place selected for the pits. Here they waited till the moon went down, about midnight. The shells of the enemy screamed over their heads, and the air was made livid by burn- ing fuses. When he deemed it dark enough the general led them silently up a gentle slope, on the top of which the work was to be done. Three compan- ies halted below the crest of the slope and stood there under arms. Company B, commanded by Captain Kirkwood, were armed with picks and spades to dig the pit. Company F was given the post of honor. It was ordered to de- ploy a little beyond the crest and to hold the ground at all hazards, till the pit would be finished. The company numbered about seventy men. When it started on what seemed a march to almost certain death General Jamison said to Colonel Morgan : "O, God ! it is hard, but it has to be done !" Company F marched forward to its post of duty without flinching. It lay, and waited, and watched for two hours with fifty men on the ground designated by General Jamison, and twenty picked men led forward by Captain Reid as skirmishers. As they lay and watched, the rebels were sweeping the horizon in all directions with the fiercest cannonading that had been witnessed thus far in the campaign. Company F was so close to the enemy's fort that the men could distinctly hear the commands given to the gunners. At length the pit was completed, the new made embankment was disguised with pine bushes, and half a dozen sharp- shooters entered the pit and were left to their fate, out of reach of help when the general bombardment would begin. Company F was called back, and on its way to camp General Jamison warmly congratulated the troops for their suc- cessful and bloodless work. The men did not retire. When about to do so the daylight came, and with it loud and wild cheering. The enemy had evac- uated their fortifications. The furious cannonading was done merely to divert attention from their departure, which began on the previous day and was com- pleted in the early morning. The guns had been manipulated by a small rear guard. Our army pursued the enemy on the 4th of May, and that evening our cavalry found him entrenched at Williamsburg. On the 5th a portion of our troops gave him battle at that place. The Sixty-third was under artillery fire in the afternoon for some time. It was deployed to relieve some troops in front just about dusk. It was under infantry fire only a short time when dark- ness caused the firing to cease. The troops lay on their arms that night ready for the fray next morning. During the afternoon the regiment had unslung and stacked their knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, and blankets, as some fast marching had to be done. When Company F halted, its equipments were three miles in the rear, and the mud on the road was knee deep, as it had rained
194
HISTORY OF CLARION COUNTY.
all the night before. The men had no supper and no means of getting break- fast. Captain Reid called for ten volunteers to go with him to get their out- fits. These eleven went back and loaded up with all they could carry. They got back to the front some time before day, and Company F was enabled to satisfy both hunger and thirst, while the other companies had to wait till the wagons came up. The morning revealed the fact that the enemy had evacu- ated Williamsburg. The One Hundred Fifth and the Sixty-third were the first regiments to enter the city. The march into Williamsburg was a sad one. The soldiers passed over the dead and dying of both armies. The dead were buried and the wounded taken to William and Mary College, where they were cared for. The unfortunate blue and gray were mercifully treated side by side.
Company F was next engaged May 3Ist at Fair Oaks or Seven Pines, one of the bloodiest battles of the war. At two o'clock that day, Saturday, May 3 Ist, the company was engaged in burying Corporal Dummire, who died the night before. When Rev. Captain Danks, acting chaplain, was reciting the fu- neral rites at the yet unfilled grave, the wind from the west bore to the ears of the men the crack and roar of a furious battle in the direction of Richmond. The company was convinced that desperate work had taken the place of the light skirmishing of the past few days, so they hastily filled the grave and re- turned to camp, where they found Colonel Morgan and seven companies under arms and ready for orders to march. Orders soon came. The regiment was then near Meadow Station, eleven miles from Richmond and four from Fair Oaks, where Casey's division of Keyes's Corps had been assaulted by over- whelming numbers, and after a gallant resistance was falling back before the enemy.
The Third Brigade marched on a double quick up the railroad track two miles, then along the Williamsburg road through the mud another mile. On the last mile the brigade met a stream of wounded men and fugitives, driven down the road by the shot and shell of the enemy. Disabled artillery with empty caissons was hurried toward the rear, while fresh guns and full caissons went rolling forward to take their places. A short distance beyond the forks of the road at Seven Pines, General Jamison, amid a perfect storm of shot and shell, deployed the eight companies of the Sixty-third on the west of the Williamsburg road, and the One Hundred Fifth on their right, extending across the road, and gave the order to advance. It should here be observed that the other two companies of the Sixty-third were with Colonel Hays on fatigue duty when the march up the railroad began, and had not joined the main body when this advance was ordered. The troops moved forward through a difficult abatis and a belt of standing timber, and soon reached the edge of the open ground where Casey's tents still stood, and where his redoubt and its battery of artillery had been captured, and its guns added to the rebel artillery, which was disputing Jamison's advance. The artillery was supported by heavy
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