USA > Pennsylvania > History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5; prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature, Vol. II > Part 132
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3 3 Mnstered out with company, June 9, 1865. Absent, sick. at mnster ont.
Beddis, John. do
Sept. 3,
3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
3 Deserted November 9, 1862.
Cowan, Jonn
do
3 Discharged on Surgeon's certificate, Dec. 16, '62. Discharged on Surgeon's certificate, Feb. 10, '63.
Dnane, Edward.
do
Aug. 28, '62.
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Gillespie, Patrick. do
Seot. Sept.
3, 62,
3. 62, 3
Discharged on Surgeon's certificate, March 4, '63.
Harris, William. to
3 3 Discharged on Surg. certificate-date unknown. Discharged on Surg. certificate-date unknown. Discharged on Surgeon's certificate. Feb. 10, '63.
TERM-YEARS.
Resigned December 2, 1862.
3 Transferred to Vet. Reserve Corps, Feb. 28, 1864. Killed at Mine Run, Va., November 27, 1863. Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Discharged Feb. 23, 1864, for wounds received at Gettysburg, July 2. 1863.
696
SIXTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT.
NAME
RAKK.
DATE OF MUSTER INTO SERVICE.
REMARKS.
Huckle, Joseph H. Hardaker, William
.do
3 Deserted February 20, 1803.
Jefferson, Thomas ..
do
Jan. 21, '65,
1 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Karnes, Henry
.do
Sept. 3, '62,
3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Kelly, Thomas ..
do
Sept. 3, '62, 3 Mustered out with company, June 9. 1865.
Kunkle, William D do
Sept. 3, '62,
3 Transferred to company I, October 31, 1862.
Kelley. Williamn A .. .do
Aug.
8, '62, Killed accidentally, September 1, 1862.
Kinkade, Francis ... .. do
Sept.
3, '62,
Died May 22, 1864, of wounds received in action. May 21, 1854.
Kidney, William
do
Ang. 21, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Lightcap, Jacob. .do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 Discharged on Surgeon's certificate, Mar. 20, '63.
Lavery, John. do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps-date unknown
Moss, Joel L .. .do
3, '62, 3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Miller, William.
.do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Magee, John ...
.do
July 27, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Montgomery, Hugh
.do
Aug. 28, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Mossey, John.
do
do
Sept. 8, '62,
3 Discharged on Surgeon's certificate, March, 1863.
M'Miniman, James do
Aug. 20, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
M'Cormick, Samuel
do
Aug. 23, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
O'Brian, Robert .. do
Sept. 2, '62,
O'Brian, Edward
do
Aug. 23, '62,
Penrose, Thomas
.. do
Sept.
3, '62,
Phillebert, Alex do
Sept. 3, '62,
3 Deserted February 11, 1863.
Quay, William H. do
Sept.
3, '62,
Roberts, John L do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Roberts, John A .do
Sept. 3, '62,
Roehm, John .. do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 3 Discharged on Surgeon's certificate, Jan. 11, '63. Discharged on Surgeon's certificate. Mar. 28, '63.
Roberts, Henry .do
Sept. 3, '62,
Rulon, William E .. do
Sept.
2, '62,
Rousell, John A .. .do
Jan.
5, '65,
Smith, Henry .. .do
Sept.
3, '62,
Smith, Edward .do
Jan. 21, '65,
Spencer, George W .. do
Sept. 3, '62,
3
Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Stroup, James do
Sept.
3, '62,
3
Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Sultana, William H .,do
Sent.
3, '62, 3 Discharged on Surgeon's certificate. Oct. 1I, '62.
Shaffner, Levi .. .. do
Sept.
2, '62, 3 Transferred to company I, October 3, IS62.
Sheridan, Francis ...
do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 Returned to 114th regiment P. V., as a deserter, November 25, 1862.
Stephens, Henry C ..
.. do
Aug. IS, '62,
3
Killed accidentally at Havre de Grace, Mary- land, September 2, 1862.
Strelland, Harry S
do
Aug. 20, '62, 3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Wilson, John ..
do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 | Mustered out with company, June 9, IS65.
Wilson, Thomas.
.do
Sept.
3, '62,
3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Woolley, William ..
.do
Sept. 3, '62, 3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
Wagner, Otto
.. do
Jan. 10. '65.
1 |Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
...
Sept.
Aug. 23, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Transferred to company I, October 3, IS62.
Deserted September 1, 1862.
Wounie at Gettysburg, P.a., July 2, '63-trans- ferred to Veteran Reserve Corps, June 1, 1864- discharged August 11, '65-expiration of term.
3 Transferred to company I, October 3, 1862.
3
Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
3 Transferred to company I, October 3, 1862.
1 Not on muster-out roll.
3 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865. 1 Mustered out with company, June 9, 1865.
M'Neil, Andrew ..
Private Aug. 20, '62,
3 Deserted September 1, 1862.
Sept. 3, '62,
TERM-YEARS
SIXTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
THE Twenty-fourth Regiment for three months' service, recruited and com- . manded by Colonel Joshua T. Owen, was mustered out at the expiration of its term on the 10th of August, 1861, having served under General Patter- son on the Upper Potomac, and in the Shenandoah Valley. On the day of its muster-out, the President having issued his call for troops for three years, Colo- nel Owen established a camp of rendezvous near his own residence at Chest- nut Hill, Twenty-second ward, Philadelphia, and commenced recruiting another regiment. The men came for the most part from the city, though a few were from Schuylkill county, were mostly of Irish origin, robust and of hardy habits, and emulous of courage as is the characteristic of their race.
The companies were mustered into the service of the United States on the 19th of August, by Colonel E. D. Baker, and the regiment was organized by the choice of the following field officers: Joshua T. Owen, of Philadelphia, Colonel; Dennis O'Kane, of Philadelphia, Lieutenant Colonel; John Devereux, of Philadelphia, Major. The men were, shortly after, armed and equipped, and drill and discipline was at once commenced.
On the 17th of September the regiment was summoned to Washington, by telegram from the Secretary of War. It broke camp and moved promptly. Upon its arrival at the capital it was ordered across the Potomac, and the men were immediately put to work in constructing Fort Ethan Alleu. This fort, together with the Alexandria Causeway, connecting all the forts on the south side of the Potomac, was chiefly the work of their hands. While thus engaged but little attention could be given to the instruction of officers in tactics, or to drill and discipline of the men.
Late in the evening of the 29th the regiment was ordered to Munson's Hill. The belief prevailed that the enemy was here in close proximity, and the men received strict orders to make no noise, not even to speak alond. When near the hill the column was halted and ordered to a front. While in this position an alarm was raised in the rear, and the men, supposing that the enemy was abont to attack, unable to distinguish any object from the intense darkness, commenced firing. Soon some Union cavalry came dashing forward under a like delusion, and the firing on all sides was indiscriminate. By the order of Lieutenant Colonel O'Kane, who, in the absence of Colonel Owen, was in com- mand, the firing was stopped, when it was discovered that no enemy was near, and that the parties to the combat, in addition to the Sixty-ninth, were the Seventy-first Infantry, and the Fifth Cavalry. In the Sixty-ninth one man was killed and three wounded.
Early in October the regiment in pursuance of orders re-crossed the Poto- mac, and moved to Camp Observation, near Poolesville, Maryland. Here a systematic course of instruction was commenced under the immediate super-
698
1861
SIXTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
vision of Colonel Owen, by which the command was soon brought to a high degree of efficiency, and discipline. It was assigned to a brigade* commanded by Colonel E. D. Baker, which constituted a part of the force under Major General Banks. Brigade and regimental drill were daily practiced under Colonel Baker, who succeeded in infusing into officers and men his own indo- mitable energy. A spirit of rivalry in attaining perfection in drill was created among the several regiments, which resulted in making the Philadelphia Bri -. gade, by which designation it was ever known, conspicuous for good soldierly qualities.
On the 20th of October orders were received from General Stone, division commander, to be ready to march at daylight on the following morning. The order to move was not given until two in the afternoon, when it proceeded. to Conrad's Ferry, crossed the canal, and marched to a point opposite Harrison's Island, and Ball's Bluff. On its arrival it was ordered by Colonel Baker, who had already crossed and was hotly engaged, to follow the Forty-second New York over the river to his support. A single flat boat carrying about fifteen men to the island, and another carrying twenty-five from the island to the Vir- ginia shore, were all the means of transportation at hand. Before all of the Forty-second had crossed Colonel Baker was killed, his forces driven back to the river bank, and further movements of the Sixty-ninth were countermanded.
Soon after the death of Colonel Baker, General W. W. Burns was assigned to the command of the brigade, and General Sedgwick superceded General Stone. Two companies of Zouaves, raising the number to twelve, had been at- tached to the regiment while in Virginia, which acted as flanking companies. They had been acting as independent commands, and were known as the Ba- ker Guards. On the 22d of February, the brigade broke camp, and moved by Harper's Ferry to Berryville, Virginia, in support of the column under General Banks. Here the regiment was presented with a green flag, the gift of citi- zens of Philadelphia. The advance of Banks' command having occupied Win- chester without opposition, Burns' Brigade was ordered back to Harper's Fer- ry, where it remained until the 24th of March. It then proceeded by transport to the Peninsula, and for a month was put to hard service in the trenches in front of Yorktown. Night and day the labor on the siege works was pushed forward, the entire regiment at times being out in support of the details at work upon the front. The pickets were constantly annoyed by the enemy's sharp-shooters, and its camps were frequently shelled by his guns. On the 3d of May the rebels withdrew from their fortifications and retreated up the Pe- ninsula. The regiment then moved to the west of Yorktown near the James River. The loss in the operations of the siege was one killed and two wounded. One man was killed by a torpedo which the enemy had planted in the way. In the organization of the army which had been effected, the brigade was des- ignated the Second, of the Second Division, General Sedgwick, Second Corps, General Sumner.
On the 7th of May the regiment moved by transport up the York River to
* Organization of Philadelphia Brigade, Colonel E. D. Baker, Division commanded by Brigadier General Charles P. Stone, army of General Banks. Seventy-first (California) Regi- ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel E. D. Baker; Seventy-second (Fire Zonaves) Regi- ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel De Witt C. Baxter; Sixty-ninth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, Colonel Joshna T. Owen; One Hundred and Sixth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel Turner G. Morehead.
699
CHARLES CITY CROSS ROADS.
1862
West Point, and thence marehed to Tyler's Farm, where it remained in eamp until the' 31st, the day of the opening of the battle of Fair Oaks. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the brigade moved at double quiek across the Chicka- hominy to the support of Casey, who had been heavily engaged and driven back, and formed line on the right of the First Brigade; but no enemy appear- ing in front, it moved by the flank, and soon forced him to fall back and de- velop his position. The fire of the brigade battery proved very annoying to the enemy. Massing his forees he charged to capture it; but a counter charge delivered by the Sixty-ninth, by order of General Sumner, soon put him to flight, by which General Pettigrew, and a considerable number of his command were ' captured. The ground was sharply contested until nightfall, and the battle was renewed on the following morning; but the fighting was principally on the left, near Seven Pines. The loss was one officer and two enlisted men wounded.
The line was advanced to a position a little beyond Fair Oaks Station, which was held and securely fortified. Here it remained for a month with the enemy in front, the skirmishers and sharp shooters keeping up an al- most constant fusilade, the batteries frequently joining in full chorus. The loss during the month was three men killed and ten wounded. On the morn- ing after the battle of Gaines' Mill, which occurred on the 28th of June, the army commenced the memorable change of base, from the Chickahominy to the James. Remaining in its breast-works until all had passed, Sumner's Corps slowly withdrew in the face of the enemy. At Peach Orchard fighting commenced with the head of his column; but leaving a skirmish line to attract attention, he moved by the flank with the intention of falling upon the com- mand while stretched out upon the march. This manœuvre was frustrated by the prompt action of the rear guard, and at Savage Station preparations were made to receive him. At three o'eloek in the afternoon he opened with his ar- tillery. The Sixty-ninth went into position on the right of the Vermont Bri- gade, and advanced till his infantry was uncovered, when it was hotly engaged. He was soon driven, and to meet his forces that were advancing on our batter- ies near the railroad, the regiment was moved hastily to their support. Here he opened upon the line with his artillery, sending shrapnell and canister at a fearful rate. He was finally forced to retire, and at sundown Sumner had un- disputed possession of the field. The loss was two killed, six wounded, and nine taken prisoners.
During the night the corps moved on to White Oak Swamp, where it rested until morning, and then resumed the march to Charles City Cross Roads. The way was impeded by the trains and the progress was slow. After passing the junction of the Charles City with the Quaker Road, the brigade halted and was resting by the wayside. It was already past two o'clock in the afternoon, when suddenly a terrific artillery fire was opened by the enemy on the Penn- sylvania Reserve Corps, holding the New Market Road, followed by a continu- ous discharge of infantry, accompanied by the well-known rebel yell. The enemy had approached under cover of a curtain of timber, and, unheralded, was making a furious assault. At full speed General Sumner rode towards the spot where the regiment was resting, and ordered Colonel Owen to lead for- ward his men at double quick. As they moved over the open field, ploughed by shot and shell, General Hooker eame on to meet them, crying out, with his usual enthusiasm in battle, to General Sumner as he approached, "M'Call
.
700
SIXTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
1862
holds them as in a vice, yet he must give way soon unless assisted. I am strong enough to the left of this road. If you will hold this open ground I don't care how soon they come." "I have brought you," said Sumner, " the Sixty-niuth. Put it where you please; for this is your fight, Hooker.". "The regiment was immediately brought up and posted across the field in a slight depression of the ground, with a battery a little in the rear. Turning to Colo- nel Owen, General Hooker said, with an expression of utmost determination, " Hold this position and keep the enemy in check at all hazards." As was pre- dicted the left of M'Call was forced to yield, and the wounded and stragglers began to pour back to the rear. On pressed the enemy in pursuit. To give his men assurance Colonel Owen had ordered them to kneel. Soon the rebel line emerged from the woods within fifty yards, when it was brought to a halt by a volley from the well poised muskets of the Sixty-ninth. But now the enemy swarmed out from the woods in masses, and began to extend his line on either flank of the regiment. It was a critical moment. The order to fix bayonets and charge was given, and springing to their feet the men rushed on in the most daring and impetuous manner, driving the enemy in utter rout, pursuing him beyond his original ground, and holding it undisturbed until mid- night, and until withdrawn. General Hooker complimented Colonel Owen on the field for having made this " the first successful bayonet charge of the war." The loss was seven killed, twenty-two wounded, and five taken prisoners .*
At midnight the regiment withdrew, and retired to Malvern Hill. Early . on the morning of the 1st of July, it was moved about six hundred yards from the crest down the slope of the hill, and was posted in rear and in sup- port of a battery. At nine A. M. the rebel batteries opened a hot and well di- rected fire. At eleven the regiment was moved to the left of the line, where the division was massed by brigades. At three in the afternoon the brigade was moved rapidly to the centre, but was there met by General Sumner, and ordered back to its position on the left, where it remained until eleven when it commenced the march to Harrison's Landing. On the 2d of August the divi- sion was ordered out on a reconnaissance, and moving up by a circuitous route, approached Malvern Hill by the Quaker Road, with a design of cutting off and capturing a body of the enemy encamped there. But before it arrived he had made his, escape. . 1
Upon the evacuation of the Peninsula by the army, the regiment moved to Alexandria by transport, and thence to Centreville, occupying during the 30th the works in front of the town. Here General Howard was assigned to the command of the brigade. Iu the engagement at Chantilly the regiment was disposed in support of batteries which had been posted in a thick under- wood commanding the road and the open fields on which the enemy was ad-
*EXTRACT FROM GENERAL HOOKER'S OFFICIAL REPORT .- "About threeo'clock the enemy commenced a vigorous attack on M'Call, and in such force that General Sumner voluntarily ten- dered me the services of a regiment which was posted in an open field on my extreme right, and under shelter from the enemy's artillery. This was the Sixty-ninth Regiment Pennsyl- vania Volunteers, under Colonel Owen. * After great loss the enemy gave way and were instantly followed with great gallantry by Grover at the head of the First Massachusetts Regiment, while the Sixty-ninth Pennsylvania, heroically led by Owen, advanced in the open field on their flank, with almost reckless daring. As Colonel Owen has rendered me no report of the operations of his regiment I can only express my high appreciation of his ser- vices, and my acknowledgment to his Chief for having tendered me so gallant a regiment."- Moore's Rebellion Record, Vol. V, page 260, Docs.
701
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM.
1862
vaucing. Fire was reserved until he had come within close range, when it was opened with terrible effect, sending him back in confusion. The loss in the Sixty-ninth was one killed and two wounded.
From Chantilly the regiment passed through Maryland to South Mountain, and after the discomfiture of the enemy, moved on in pursuit to the neighbor- hood of Keedysville. Resting here until the army had all come up, the divi- sion moved forward to the Antietam Creek, where during the 16th the artillery was engaged in shelling the enemy on the opposite bank, to which he replied. At six o'clock on the morning of the 17th the division forded the stream, and advanced to the support of the troops already hotly engaged, the First Brigade in advance, the Second following, the One Hundred and Sixth Pennsylvania on the right, and the Seventy-second on the left of the Sixty-ninth. The lines continued to move forward for nearly a mile, when the enemy made a deter- mined stand, and the division was pushed forward to the front. The enemy was again driven a quarter of a mile further back ; but at a rise of ground south of a narrow belt of woods, having received reinforcements, and being under cover of his intrenchments, he made another and successful stand. The Second Brigade was now ordered to the front, but while passing a corn field and before reaching the wood, the troops on its left gave way, the enemy fol. lowing and his artillery pouring in a destructive fire. "We still kept on," says Adjutant M'Dermott, "until within a few paces of the advanced line. The fire from his batteries was here so destructive that we were ordered to lie down. This fire was kept up on us for nearly half an hour, when General Sumner, accompanied by a single aid, came up in our front, waving his hand for us to fall back. It being impossible to hear what he was trying to say, the men rose to their feet, and fixed bayonets, thinking that he wanted them to charge the batteries on our left front, and it was not until this brave old man got in front of our colors, when he took off his hat and waived it for us to get back, that his order was understood. But it was now too late, as the enemy was pouring down upon us from the rear, delivering a terrible fire of musketry. The fire was coming from our rear, left, and front, and we were obliged to re- tire to the right." The regiment was now moved to the extreme right of the lines, where it was placed in support of batteries, and remained until night- fall. The loss in the Sixty-ninth was three officers and eighteen men killed, three officers and fifty-four men wounded, and one officer and nine men taken prisoners. Captain Francis V. Bierwirth, and Lieutenants Joseph M'Hugh, and James Dunn, were among the killed.
After assisting in burying the dead, the enemy having withdrawn, the regi- inent moved across the Potomac and was stationed at Bolivar Heights. Ou the 30th of October it marched to Snicker's Gap, where in a skirmish it lost one wounded and one taken prisoner. By the middle of November it reached Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, where it went into camp. While here Colo- nel Owen was made Brigadier General, and assigned to the command of the brigade, Lieutenant Colonel O'Kane was promoted to Colonel, Major Dever- eux to Lieutenant Colonel, and Captain Martin Tschndy to Major. On the afternoon of the 11th of December, the pontoons having been laid across the Rappahannock, the brigade marched across, and forming in line moved for- ward a half mile. The enemy posted in the houses, kept up a desultory fire, but were finally driven out. During the following day the regiment was moved to different parts of the city which was subjected to vigorous shelling from the
702
SIXTY-NINTH REGIMENT.
1863
enemy. On the morning of the 13th it moved out through the eastern part of the city by the telegraph road, and formed line of battle, the right of the Sixty- ninth resting on the road, and the left connecting with the One Hundred and Sixth. The enemy was strongly posted on the heights in front, in well con. structed lines of breast-works, and behind stone walls. The First Division had already made an assault but was forced to retire. The Second was ordered forward to renew it. General Owen taking position in advance of the line, and in front of the Sixty-ninth, led on his brigade within seventy-five yards of the enemy's works. The moment it began to move, infantry and artillery from all the heights, was opened upon it. To advance further would only entail useless slaughter. The order was accordingly given to lie down and hold the position. The only protection was a slight pale fence. Two companies were ordered to advance up the road to a small house, in which they were disposed so as to pick off the enemy's gunners. They became so troublesome to him, that he soon concentrated his heavy guns upon the house, reducing it to an utter wreck, and compelling its abandonment. Firing was kept up during the entire day. Towards midnight the brigade was relieved and returned to the town. On the 14th the regiment was drawn up on the main street near the centre of the city, where it remained until noon, when it was moved to the west end of the city, and during the following night was withdrawn, and re -. crossed the river. The loss was nineteen men killed, five officers and twenty- seven wounded, and two taken prisoners.
When the Chancellorsville campaign opened the regiment was employed with the division in covering the operations of the engineers while laying a bridge at Bank's Ford. Crossing the river when the bridge was completed, it: advanced, driving the enemy's skirmishers, but was withdrawn to the river, and on the following day was employed in throwing up breast works, to cover the bridge and to keep open a way of retreat for General Sedgwick's command. After the safe withdrawal of the latter, it returned to its old camp.
With the exception of slight encounters at Thoroughfare Gap on the 20th, and at Haymarket on the 25th of June, the regiment did not again meet the enemy until it reached the battle-field of Gettysburg. On the morning of the + 1st of July, the first day of the battle, it commenced the march from Union- town, near the northern border of Maryland, where it had rested the previous night, and at dusk arrived on the field. At three o'clock on the morning of the 2d the brigade moved out to Cemetery Ridge, about midway between the Emmittsburg and Taneytown roads, and formed line of battle ou the declivity, facing westward, with a slight stone wall -in front, the Seventy-first on the right, the Fifty-ninth New York of the First Brigade on the left, the remainder of the brigade in rear under cover of the hill. In the rear of the Sixty-ninth, on the summit of the ridge, was posted Cushing's Battery of the Fourth Uni- ted States. During the forenoon there was only skirmishing iu froct, with some artillery firing. At two P. M. General Sickles advanced on the left, but was driven back beyond his first position. The enemy following up his advan- tage, advanced upon the position held by the Sixty-ninth, attacking with great fury. The Third Rhode Island Battery of Napoleon guns had been posted in front of the regiment, and as the enemy approached, poured in a heavy fire of canister, inflicting great slaughter. The battery was, however, compelled to yield before the enemy's advancing columns, and retired leaving one gun, of which the horses had been killed, being unable to take it away. Reserving its
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