USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson county, Pennsylvania, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 17
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I 47
THE 105TH REGIMENT.
tered out and one hundred and sixty-two men and two officers of the Sixty- third were transferred to the One Hundred and Fifth. The veterans of the Sixty-third were at first put in the Ninty-ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, but they rebelled at this and petitioned Governor Curtin to have them put in the One Hundred and Fifth, with which regiment they had served from their first enlistment, which request was granted.
After the death of Colonel Craig, Captain Conser, who that day rejoined the regiment, took command. On the Ist of October the regiment was trans- ferred to the Weldon Railroad and the next day took part in the fight at Poplar Grove Church, having one man killed and eleven wounded. On the 5th they were back in front of Petersburg, remaining there until the 24th, when they were moved to the Southside Railroad, and on the 27th took part in the bat- tle of Boydton plank road. Here General Pierce, who commanded the brig- ade, ordered the One Hundred and Fifth into a dense wood, to hold that part of the line, connecting with the Ninty-first New York on the left. The Con- federates with a yell charged through these woods, but the One Hundred and Fifth kept them at bay until, unknown to them, our cavalry on their right gave way, allowing a heavy force of the enemy on their left flank and they were driven back. The conflict was terrible, one of the most desperate hand-to- hand fights of the war. Major Conser and Captain Patton, the two senior and two of the most meritorious officers of the regiment, and four men were killed, eighteen wounded and forty missing. The latter were, however, nearly all recaptured that evening. The balance of the devoted little band was with difficulty brought off the field. Captain Redic, with several of the men, barely escaped capture while vainly trying to bring off the bodies of their dead com- rades. The regiment for the first time in its history, lost its colors. After the fall of the two senior officers Captain Miller was ordered by General Pierce to assume command of the regiment, and was afterward commissioned colonel. On the 27th the regiment went into quarters at Fort Davis, on the front line of works, where officers were appointed by Governor Curtin to fill the vacan- cies in nearly every company. All the new officers, from Colonel Miller and Lieutenant-Colonel Redic down, had risen by their own merit and bravery from the ranks. While here the regiment lost one killed and four wounded while driving the enemy from his rifle pits. On the 30th Lieutenant-Colonel Redic, while engaged in a reconnoissance, had one man killed and two wounded, and on the 2d of April one man was killed and one wounded. On the 6th, near Farmville, the regiment charged upon the enemy's works, repulsed him and captured two hundred and thirty-nine men and nineteen commissioned officers, and in the evening of the same day assisted in capturing part of the enemy's train. The loss was one killed and fifteen wounded, Colonel Miller losing his horse. April 9th one man was wounded, the last to feel Confederate lead, as on that day the enemy at Appomattox laid down their arms and sur- rendered to General Grant.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
May 2, 1865, the regiment took up its line of march for Washington, reaching Bailey's Cross Roads on the 15th, and on the 11th of July reached Pittsburgh, where the men were paid off and discharged. But alas ! how small a remnant of the gallant regiment which went to the front almost four years before returned to their homes. The official record gives the entire list of casualties as 1,089. The regiment from April 11, 1862, until April 9, 1865, took part in thirty-eight engagements, and of its almost four years of service giving just three years' active service in the field. Its aggregate force, as given by the rolls, was 2,040. This number, however, comprised the veterans from the Sixty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers and 588 drafted men and sub- stitutes put into the regiment in March, 1865, leaving the entire force of the original regiment, with its recruits, 1,288. It is a noteworthy fact that never once in its history did the One Hundred and Fifth fail to respond when ordered to face the enemy. Not once did it hesitate when ordered to charge, even though against overwhelming odds.
To show the estimation in which the One Hundred and Fifth was held by the soldiers of other organizations, and the material composing its rank and file, we quote a few tributes to their valor. General Charles H. T. Collis, form- erly colonel of the One Hundred and Fourteenth Pennsylvania, and who com- manded the brigade for some time after the battle of Gettysburg, says :
"Since we parted on the field I have seen all the armies of European countries, but I have never seen a body of men out of whom more solid and effective work could be obtained, than those who fought under the heroic Craig, and the intrepid, genial Greenawalt."
General Walker, in his history of the Second Corps, says of the battle of Fair Oaks :
" The last brigade to arrive was Jameson's, which had been far to the rear, near Bottom Bridge, at the opening of the action. Two of Jameson's regi- ments were sent to the right, and two to the left. All of Kearney's men, who became engaged, fought heroically."
Colonel A. S. M. Morgan, of the Sixty-third Pennsylvania, now captain in the United States Army, says :
" I have one vivid recollection of the One Hundred and Fifth that can never be obliterated from my memory. At the battle of Fair Oaks the right of the Sixty-third did not reach the Williamsburg road, and a column of rebel infantry came marching down the road, and had reached opposite our line, when the One Hundred and Fifth came up and extended the line across the road. At that moment I was badly wounded, but my last recollection ere I lost consciousness, was of seeing that gallant regiment coming up at a full run on our right, in the face of the rebel infantry and the battery that was playing on us both from across the road."
The following incident was related to the writer by Dr. Adam Wenger,
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THE 105TH REGIMENT.
surgeon of the regiment: "There is one incident that is always pleasant for me to recall. It is of one of the men whose bravery and patriotism stand forth in bold relief. After being several times severely wounded, and returning each time promptly, to again share the dangers of battle, he was at last so disabled as to be totally unfitted for duty, and was informed that his discharge from the service would be necessary. He begged to remain, and asked me if he could not be permitted to ride in the ambulance on the marches, which request I granted ; but he never availed himself of this privilege when there was a pros- pect of a fight ; and in case he was in the ambulance and firing was heard in the front, he at once left his comfortable berth, and hurried to his place in the ranks-musket in hand-with all the speed he was capable of. It must be borne in mind that a pass to ride in the ambulance excused the soldier from all duty. There were of course others just as brave and patriotic as this man, but for certain reasons his actions greatly impressed me, for he was reared in poverty, and without an education."
The soldier mentioned above was mustered out with the regiment, was sev- eral times promoted, and is yet living.
Jefferson county lost among other brave soldiers the following officers of the One Hundred and Fifth :
Colonel Amor Archer McKnight .- Amor Archer McKnight had, from his youth, been an admirer of all things pertaining to the military, and we find him at an early age a member of the " Brookville Guards" and " Brookville Rifles," which company he commanded when the war broke out. When the summons came it found him ready to respond, and with his gallant command he was soon in the field. After the three months' term of service had expired, and he had received authority to recruit a regiment for three years, he went to work, and with an energy that never flagged, soon had the regiment, whose deeds of glory and renown we have but feebly portrayed, in the field.
As soon as his regiment went into camp, Colonel McKnight began to rigidly drill and discipline it, and so severe and exacting was he in this work that, for a time, he was severely censured and criticised by the officers and men. under him ; but he had set himself to the task of making the One Hundred and Fifth a regiment that could not be excelled, and he let nothing deter him from the end in view; that he accomplished his desire the history of his gal- lant regiment nobly proves, for by all who have any knowledge of its prowess and valor it has been pronounced without a peer ; and to the stern and ofttimes merciless discipline enforced by Colonel McKnight, was this state of perfec- tion due.
While thus strict with his officers and men, he was no less strict with him- self. He studied and worked unceasingly to perfect himself in the art of war- fare ; for, like his men, he had come from the civil walks of life, and like them he had to learn. With all this sternness, for which so many have censured 16
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
him, Colonel McKnight had the welfare and comfort of his men at heart, and we have known him to give up the last dainty his camp chest afforded, and share his last dollar with the sick soldier, and we never appealed to him in vain when he could add to the comfort of the men in the hospital, or enhance the efficiency of the hospital force.
It was his unremitting labor to make his regiment excel, that caused him at last, after fifteen months hard service, to yield to the inroads of disease, that obliged him to resign his command; but after two months he was again in the field, as the war department, knowing his worth in the service, had not filled the vacancy caused by his resignation.
After rejoining the regiment, Colonel McKnight shared all its fortunes, leading it into all its hard-fought engagements, until the battle of Chancellors- ville, May 3, 1863, when he was killed by a rebel sharpshooter, while leading his men against the veterans of Stonewall Jackson. Colonel Craig, in a letter giving us the intelligence of Colonel McKnight's fall, written May 11, 1863, says :
" Colonel McKnight was in the act of cheering his men on when he was shot, and was swinging his sword. The ball passed through his right arm, almost tearing it off, and passed on, entering his head about the right temple. I saw him fall, and riding up to him, dismounted and kneeled beside him. He looked up once, so beseechingly, before he died, as if he wanted to say some- thing, but could not speak. I ordered four of the men to carry him to the rear, and rode after the regiment ; but they were unable to get him back on account of the heavy fire, and had to leave him on the field. Everything of value was got off his person, except his pocket-book, which could not be found. After the fight, I made application to General Hooker for permission to take out a flag of truce for his remains, which he granted, but General Lee would not permit us to enter his lines, so we had to be content. No man ever acted braver than he did, and believe me, there are few such men, either in the army or at home."
The rebel papers claimed that he was buried with the honors due his rank, out of respect for the "Kearney Cross," which he wore, and it was asserted that " whenever our men were found to have upon them the Kearney red patch, if wounded they were kindly cared for; and if dead were buried with the honors of war, and their graves so marked as to be readily recognized."
It was claimed that Colonel McKnight was so honored, that " a band played a funeral dirge, while over his remains was fired the usual salute due to an officer of his rank."
This may have been the case, but when the One Hundred and Fifth, on the anniversary of his death, on the 3d of May, 1864, bivouacked on the field where he fell, no trace of his grave could be found, nor have his brothers, who wished his remains to lie with the dust of his kindred, ever been able to find the spot where he was buried.
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THE 105TH REGIMENT.
Had Colonel McKnight lived he would soon have been promoted to brig- adier-general, as steps to that effect had already been taken, and the late Hon. John Covode, in his letter of condolence to the colonel's brother, Dr. W. J. McKnight, says :
" Had your brother survived the last terrible struggle, he would have been promoted, as I had a conversation with the president in regard to him."
The field officers of the First Division, Third Army Corps, had sent in a petition to President Lincoln asking for his promotion, in which they say :
" Colonel McKnight is a brave, gallant, and efficient officer; the regiment which he now commands, for drill and discipline, is second to none in the ser- vice. His experience as a field officer during the Peninsula Campaign, and in other places, also his ability as a thorough tactician, eminently fit him for such promotion."
At the meeting held by the field officers of the First Brigade, First Divi- sion, Third Corps, to take action on the death of their fellow-officers who fell at Chancellorsville, the following resolutions in regard to Colonel McKnight were passed :
" Resolved, That in the death of Colonel A. A. Mcknight, of the One Hundred and Fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers, the country has lost a brave, efficient, and patriotic officer, whose untiring energies were given to promoting the efficiency of his regiment, who sealed his devotion to the cause in which he was engaged with his life-blood, at the head of his command, on the battle- field of Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863.
" Resolved, That we condole with the relatives and friends of the deceased in their loss of a companion, endeared to them by his many amiable virtues, and that we lament the loss the country has sustained by his untimely death, in the hour of her greatest need."
Major John C. Conser .- John C. Conser was born in Centre county, Pa., in the year 1826, and the same year his parents, who were respectable, worthy people, removed to Clarion county, settling near the present town of Clarion. Here the subject of this sketch spent his early days. He was a stu- dious, and conscientious boy. At an early age he evinced a great admiration for military matters, and with his elder brothers would attend the reviews of the militia.
In 1851 he removed to Jefferson county, and soon afterwards married and settled in Reynoldsville, where he was known and respected as one of the best citizens of that place, until the war called into action the patriotism that had been slumbering in his soul from childhood, and he was one of the first to enlist from his neighborhood. He was chosen first lieutenant of Company H, One Hundred and Fifth, and upon the resignation of Captain Tracy was pro- moted to captain, April 20, 1863. He was commissioned major, May 6, 1864, but was never mustered as such.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
At the battle of Fair Oaks, Captain Conser received his first wound ; while crawling on his hands and knees reconnoitering the enemy, a ball struck him on the head, inflicting a slight wound, and stunning him for a time. After- wards in the retreat through White Oak Swamp, he almost lost his life in those dismal recesses, and writing of it said, " It was the most horrible night I ever experienced." At Fredericksburg a minnie ball struck his shoulder, and glancing off along the blade of his sword, entered the fleshy part of his arm, inflicting a severe wound. At Bristow Station, he, with his little command, was taken prisoner, and taken to Richmond, where he was consigned to the ten- der mercies of Libby prison. Here he was much annoyed by one of the rebel guards, who delighted in telling the prisoners that the Union side was " clean licked out," and that when he got out of Libby he would find " the north not worth shooks." The brave officer replied that when he got " out of Libby and came again to Richmond, it would be when it was taken by the Union troops, and the Confederacy smashed." After this, his most ardent desire was to be with the army at the taking of Richmond ; but when that day dawned upon the Union arms the brave officer had entered the eternal city, dying on the very threshold of victory.
At Gettysburg he was again wounded, being shot in the head, just above the left temple, and carried off the field for dead. When, after a short stay at home, he had recovered from this wound he rejoined his regiment in time to receive another wound at Auburn. At the battle of the Wilderness he was severely wounded in the thigh by a sabre cut, from the effects of which he was still lame at the time of his death. Again he was severely wounded at Peters- burg, June 18, 1864, and while on his way to rejoin his regiment, after recov- ering from this wound, he met at Fortress Monroe those having in charge the body of Colonel Craig, who had fallen at Deep Bottom. Stopping just long enough to assist in forwarding to his home the remains of his brave friend and gallant commander, he hurried on to his regiment, and was in all the subse- quent skirmishes and marches up to the battle of Boydton Plank Road, where, on the 27th of October, 1864, he fell, while battling against an overwhelming force of the enemy. An eye-witness of this sanguinary struggle, says : "We were surrounded when I heard Conser say, ' Men, we are surrounded. Will you surrender ? Won't you fight it out ?' Three rebels attacked him, and while fighting them with pistols and sword, another came up and placing his gun almost against his body, blew the contents of the piece into his side and he fell dead."
The enemy being repulsed after this, Captain Redic and others of the regi- ment attempted to bring off Major Conser's body, but the enemy rallying in force, they were obliged to leave him on the field where he fell, and thus died one of the bravest soldiers the war produced-his last words being, "Fight it out."
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THE 105TH REGIMENT.
Major Conser, when he first entered the service, was urged to remain at home with his family, and again when he re-enlisted, the duty to his wife and little children was urged upon him, and though no man loved his family more dearly, his duty to his imperiled country was paramount to all else. His wife has since joined the dead hero, and his four children yet reside in Reynolds- ville.
Captain John Calvin Dowling .- When the civil war broke out, Captain Dowling, whose previous record is given in the chapter devoted to the medical profession, at once enlisted in the three months campaign, and served as first lieutenant of Company K, Eighth Regiment, taking command of that company on Captain Wise's promotion. At the expiration of this term of service he returned home and recruited Company B, of the One Hundred and Fifth, which he labored unceasingly to make one of the best companies in the ser- vice. He remained constantly with his men, with the exception of a ten days' leave of absence in February, 1862, until he fell at Fair Oaks, May 31st, while gallantly leading his men in the charge where the regiment won its first laurels, and he with many others of Jefferson county's bravest and best soldiers won victors' crowns. He was shot through the neck, killing him instantly. His body was borne off the field by his sorrowing men, and the chaplain of the regiment, Rev. D. S. Steadman, in a letter written just after the battle says :
" We buried our dear Captain Dowling last evening, June Ist, at sunset, in a beautiful grove. Bowdish, one of his men, had made a good coffin. There was no lack of mourners ; we were all mourners."
His remains were subsequently reinterred in the soldiers' cemetery at " Seven Pines," where his grave has been visited by some of his friends, who found it nicely kept, and plainly marked with his name, rank, and regiment.
Captain Dowling's death was a great loss to his regiment, by whom his death was deeply mourned. Colonel McKnight in writing of his death says : " There could be no better officer than Captain Dowling; always prompt in contributing to the every act calculated to promote the efficiency of the regi- ment, he never retarded or embarrassed the action of the commanding officer; a strict disciplinarian, he was also attentive to the wants of his company, and always preserved the warm regard of his men. I had become very much attached to him, and his decease struck me very painfully."
Captain Dowling was of a genial disposition, and possessing an excellent education, his social qualities and gentlemanly bearing had endeared him to a large circle of acquaintances and friends, and the news of his death carried gloom to the hearts of all who knew him. When the sad news of the death of this gallant young officer, and of those who fell with him on that fatal field, Jefferson county's first offerings for the cause of freedom, was received in Brookville, the flags were draped in mourning, and suspended at half mast, and sorrow pervaded the entire community.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Captain Dowling's health being far from robust when he was at home, a short time before his death, his friends tried to persuade him to leave the army, but he replied to their entreaties that he knew that his life would be a short one, saying : " If I die in battle, my death will be a glorious one."
He hastened back to his regiment, on hearing rumors of an expected battle, and on being asked why he returned before his leave expired, replied, " I did not want the boys to go into battle without me." No nobler sacrifice was given to save the Union than John C. Dowling.
Captain William J. Clyde .- William Johnston Clyde, son of William and Jane Clyde, née Malbon, was born in Perry, now Oliver, township in the year 1838. His father dying, he was at an early age thrown upon his own resources, and when about thirteen years old he went to Brookville, and commenced to learn the carpenter and joiner's trade, with Messrs. William Reed and David S. Johnston, both of whom are now dead. After finishing his apprenticeship, he remained in Brookville working at his trade until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in Company I, Eighth Regiment, of three months men, and served as first sergeant of his company. On returning home after the expira- ton of this term of service, he threw himself heartily into the work of recruiting for Colonel McKnight's three years regiment, and on the organization of that regiment he was appointed first sergeant of Company A, and November 8, 1861, was promoted to second lieutenant ; to first lieutenant, September 27, 1862, and to captain February 9, 1863. He was wounded in the battles of Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg, in all of which he was con- spicuous for his daring and courage. He fought with the most desperate bravery at the battle of the Wilderness, until near the close of the fighting on the 6th of May, 1863, when the One Hundred and Fifth was occupying the second line of breastworks, and charged forward, carrying a part of the front line, when Captain Clyde with several others of the regiment, mounted the rebel redoubts on the front line, and while gallantly urging his men on, he was shot by one of the enemy's sharpshooters, and fell mortally wounded, only liv- ing long enough to ask his men to bury him decently, and write to his mother. When he fell, he was so close to the enemy that he could almost touch them. His body was afterwards recovered and removed to the soldier's cemetery at Fredericksburg.
Captain Clyde possessed a good practical education, a sterling integrity of character, and was in the true sense of the word, a self-made man. In his death his regiment lost one of its bravest officers, for he was brave almost to rashness. His younger brother, Corporal James L. Craig, of the same company, wounded at Glendale, Va., died of his wounds while on his way home, at the house of a relative at Indiana, Pa. The widowed mother of these brave sol- diers removed with her only daughter, Miss Maggie Clyde, after the war, to Pickaway county, Ohio, where she has since died.
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THE 105TH REGIMENT.
Captain John Michael Steck .- Among those of our brave soldiers who have, since the war closed, been "mustered into that great company, which no man can number," was Captain John M. Steck, who died at his home in Brook- ville, March 13, 1875. He was the eldest son of the late Jacob and Christiana Steck, and was born in Greensburg, Pa., on the 17th day of December, 1832. In the year 1848 he removed with his parents to Brookville, where he ever after resided. He took an active part when the war broke out in recruiting for the volunteer service, and enlisted in Company I, Sixty-second Pennsylvania Volunteers, July 20, 1861, and was promoted to first sergeant. In Septem- ber, 1861, he procured his discharge from that company, and February 20, 1862, was commissioned captain of Company G, One Hundred and Fifth regiment, where he made an excellent and popular officer, sharing all the bat- tles and dangers of his men, until, his health becoming impaired, he was obliged to resign, and was discharged on surgeon's certificate August 12, 1863.
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