USA > Pennsylvania > Jefferson County > Jefferson County, Pennsylvania : her pioneers and people, 1800-1915, Volume I > Part 37
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"In the less than nine months that it was out, the Two Hundred and Eleventh did gal- lant service and lost heavily. Company B lost in killed besides Captain McLain, who had been promoted to lieutenant colonel, but not mustered : Killed-Sergt. Joel Brown, Thomas Witherow. Died of wounds and disease-John Bailey, Solomon F. Davis. Washington A. Prindle, Israel D. Smith, James W. Boyd. The latter died in the Rebel prison at Salisbury. N. C.
"Lieut. Col. Charles McLain first enlisted in the nine months' service, becoming first lieutenant of Company B. One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun- teers, and when their time of enlistment ex- pired he again went out, as captain of Com- pany B (six months), Independent Battalion, July 23. 1863. Again feeling that his country still needed his services, he went once more to the front as captain of Company B. Two Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Volunteers. IIe served gallantly through all their campaigns, winning high encomiums from his superior officers, and having the love and respect of his men, to whom he was a kind and faithful friend, until
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in the severe fight at Fort Steadman, April 2, 1865, he was shot in the charge of his regi- ment, and instantly killed. He had been pro- moted to lieutenant colonel of his regiment his fall reached his home in Brookville, a meet- ing of the citizens was held April 13th, and resolutions of respect and sorrow for the dead soldier, and condolence with his family, were passed, and a committee of soldiers appointed to take charge of his remains, and make ar- rangements for his funeral. On the 30th of April his body, which had been brought home by his brother, was laid to rest in the Brook- ville cemetery. Colonel Melain left a wife and three children to mourn his loss.
"Jefferson county men in the Two Hun- dred and Eleventh Regiment, P. V .:
"Colonel, Levi A. Dodd, promoted from lieutenant colonel April 4, 1865; adjutant, Herman F. Steck, promoted from first ser- geant, Company B, May 11, 1865. Company B-Captains, Charles McLain, Charles J. Wilson ; first lieutenant, Milton H. McAninch ; first sergeant, Thomas M. Myers ; sergeants, John M. Alford, Anson H. Bowdish, Thomas P. Craven, William Hall, Thomas P. McCrea, Israel D. Smith, Joel Brown ; corporals, Robert WV. Anderson, James McMurtric, Reuben K. Morey, Joseph A. Dempsey, Simon M. Denny, Milton Graham, Andrew Braden, Malachi Davis; musician, Peter Spangler; privates, Marvin Allen, James T. Alford, H. J. Baugh- man, Henry Bullers, Jeremiah Bowers, Fay- ette Bowdish, Henry J. Bruner, Calvin G. Burns, James W. Boyd, John Bailey, Alvin Clark, David W. Craft, Esekiel Dixon, Daniel Deeter, Charles Driscoll, Solomon F. Davis, Peter Emerick, Joshua F. Fisher, Russell M. Felt, Adam Foust, Lewis Gaup, Christ. C. Gearheart, David P. Gearheart, Justice Gage, Mathew Gayley, Hiram Hettrick, Jacob Ifart- man, Anthony M. Holden, Edward A. Holly, Joseph Ishman, Frank Kreitler, Thomas S. Kline, Thomas Lindemuth, J. S. Montgom- ery, Alexander Moore, James Mackey, Jesse B. Miller, Milton G. Miller, John K. McElroy. William G. McMinn, Henry McGinley, James O'Hara, George W. Paris, Henry Peters, James Penfield, Washington A. Prindle, Sam- uel C. Richards, William J. Riddle, Frederick Raywinkle, Lafayette Stahlman, Solomon Shoffner, Fulton Shoffner, George W. Shaffer, Lewis Swab, John Simmett, Warren Sibley, James M. Thompson, John Thomas, Madison A. Timblin, Frank Truman, George Walker, Joseph M. Wilson, William A. Watts, Jacob Weidner, Thomas M. Witherow."
Companies B and C, Tavo Hundred and Sixth Regiment, P. I'.
the day before he fell. When the news of . Regiment were principally recruited in the
"The men for the Two Hundred and Sixth southern part of the county. The regiment was organized at Camp Reynolds, Pittsburgh, September 8, 1864, under Col. Hugh J. Brady, a cousin of Capt. Evans R. Brady. The field and line officers were all veterans, and nearly all the men had seen service. Soon after it was organized the regiment was sent to City Point, and assigned.to the Army of the James. On the 4th of October, while engaged in build- ing a fort near Dutch Gap, it was under the enemy's guns, and had one man killed and several wounded. For this work the regiment was commended in a complimentary order, by the commander of the department, who ordered the works to be called Fort Brady.
"On the 26th of October the regiment was ordered to report to General Terry, command- ing the Tenth Corps, and assigned to the Third Brigade, First Division, and soon after went into winter quarters near the line of works north of Fort Harrison, where the men were well drilled and disciplined. By an order from the War Department of December 3d, the Tenth and Eighteenth Corps were con- solidated, and the Twenty-fourth and Twenty- fifth Corps formed from them. All the white troops were put in the Twenty-fourth. Gen- eral Ord was put in command of the Army of the James.
"When the army moved on the 27th of March, 1865, the Two Hundred and Sixth was detached and ordered to remain in camp, reporting to General Devens, commanding the Third Division. This order was received with great disfavor by the regiment, and in response to the remonstrance against it, the following answer was returned from head- quarters: 'I am directed by General Foster to state that he regrets exceedingly that your command should have been ordered to remain. The order came from department headquar- ters, and the General did all in his power to have it revoked, but could not.' The con- valescents of the First Division were ordered to report to Colonel Brady, who was directed to organize and hold them in readiness to move.
"On the 3d of April the troops in front of Richmond were ordered to advance, and it was soon discovered that the enemy had evacuated his works and fired the city, so that our troops marched in without opposition. On the 22d the regiment was relieved from
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General Devens's command, and ordered to report to Gen. F. T. Dent, military governor, who assigned it to provost duty in Richmond. A month later it returned to the brigade, of which Colonel Brady assumed command. The regiment was soon after sent to report to Gen- eral Gregg, at Lynchburg, who assigned it to provost duty in that place. It remained here about two weeks, and then rejoined its divi- sion at Richmond. On the 26th, no further service being required of it, it was sent to Pittsburgh, and the term of service having expired was mustered out June 2, 1865. Gen- eral Dandy in command of the brigade said of this regiment : 'Under your gallant com- mander, Col. Hugh Brady, you were the first to enter Richmond, and to display in the
capitol of traitors the Stars and Stripes of your country. Carry home with you, and bequeath it to your children, the red heart, the badge of the First Division. It is the symbol that will live when the present and succeeding generations have passed away.'
"Muster roll of Company B: Captain, Wil- liam Neal; first lieutenant, Henry C. Camp- bell: second lieutenant, Arr. Neal; first ser- geant, Benjamin W. Reitz; sergeants, William A. Hadden, Thomas J. Cooper, John C. Cam- eron, Darius E. Blose; corporals, Benjamin T. Smyers, David G. Gourly, Charles Barry, David Neal, Joseph W. Long, Thomas R. Lamison, Jacob Keill. Mitchell R. Lewis; privates, John D. Brown, Joshua Brink, James M. Bush, Lewis 11. Bollinger, Abraham Bow- man, Boaz D. Blose, William J. Bell, Eli Byerly, Peter Brunner, Philip Bush, Jacob Conrad, John Carr, Robert English. William Frampton, George Frampton, James S. Gray, John Grove, Daniel Gearheart, Enoch G. Gray, Eli Homer, Michael P. Hummel, Thomas M. Hawk, William Huffman, William L. Henry, Samuel S. Jordon, George Johnson, George M. Jordon, Elijah Kinsell, Thomas Kerr, Levi Kinsell, James E. Lewis. Jacob Lingenfetter, Robert F. Law, William M. Michaels, Thomas M. Marshall, William P. Morris, John Marsh, Harrison Marsh, Eli Miller, Robert W. Mc- Brien, John E. McPherson, John W. Neal, Samttel Il. Nolf, John C. Neal, T. J. Postle- thwait, Samuel 11. Parkhill, Michael Painter, David Painter, David Pierce, Isaac Postle- thwait, John Pierce, Dallas M. Rishell, James O. S. Spencer, Gotleib Steiver, Thomas Spen- cer, Joseph T. Sparr, Peter Swaney, Isaac Smouse, David L. Smeyers, Philip Smeyers, Alfred Shaffer, William E. Simpson, David A. Thompson, George HI. Torrance, Jolin Varner, Benoni Williams, Samuel C. Williams, Thomas
M. Williams, Charles C. Williams, William Weaver, George C. Wachob, John M. White- sell, Jacob G. Zufall, George J. Zufall.
"Company C: First sergeant, Charles MI. Brewer; sergeant, William L. McQuowen ; corporals, John McHenry, Thomas P. North ; privates, Joseph Cary, Samuel Frampton, George S. Hennigh, John Hickox, Joseph Mauk, Joseph P. North, Michael Palmer, Henry C. Peffer, W. P. Postlethwait, John F. Pifer, David G. Pifer, Samuel Pearce, John Rinn, William Riddle, George W. Shorthill, Joseph Shields, David Stiver, Daniel Stiver, John F. Smith, William Sutter.
"Company E: Sergeant, Benjamin F. Miller.
"Company F: Private, Tobias Long.
"Company H: Corporal, David S. Altman ; privates, George F. Bowers, John H. Bow- ers, William H. Campbell, Henry Fritz, George S. Gailey, John H. Miller, Andrew Marsh, Samuel McNutt. John C. MeNutt, Joseph McCracken, John St. Clair, John Wagner, Jacob Wagner."
"Quite a number of Jefferson county men enlisted and did gallant service in companies and regiments raised in other localities. The names and organizations of all such that we have been able to find we give below :
Company L, Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry
"The Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry was organized at Washington, D. C., September, 1861, by Col. Josiah Harlan, as an Independ- ent light horse cavalry regiment, composed of companies from different States ; but as Con- gress had only authorized the raising of regi- ments by States, the formation of this regi- ment as an independent organization~ was irregular, and on the 13th of November it was attached to the Pennsylvania State organiza- tions, and was thereafter known as the Eleventh Pennsylvania Cavalry-the One Hundred and Eighth regiment in line.
"Company L, in which were forty-seven men from Jefferson county, was raised by Capt. John B. Loomis, of Clarion, and was mustered into the service September 12, 1861. This regiment was one of the best cavalry organizations in the army, and performed gal- lant service. It took part in thirty-two battles and over one hundred and five skirmishies. Company L lost in killed and died the follow- ing men from Jefferson county :
"Killed-Henry Allen, Charles Barnard (killed at Oil City while at home on veteran
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furlough), Amos W. Delp, Jesse Evans, Cal- vin Lucas, Amos Weaver, Thomas C. Nolf. Died-Paul Hettrick, Joseph Gates. James McCann died at Andersonville. Georgia.
"A number of this company were captured in the fight at Reams's Station, Va., June 29, 1864, among whom was David S. Orcutt, of Corsica, and whose experience in Rebeldom was, we presume, not excelled for hardship by any other of our soldiers. After being cap- tured he was taken to Richmond, and there kept in Libby prison twenty days, and then sent to Andersonville, Ga., from which place he escaped, but was recaptured by blood- hounds, near Macon ; from there he was taken to Savannah, and on his way to the latter place he again managed to escape, and was again, the next day, recaptured by blood- hounds and sent to Savannah, and from there to Millen. When Sherman 'came marching through Georgia,' the prisoners were sent ahead of the army to Savannah and ex- changed, and then sent to Annapolis, Md., where Mr. Orcutt was put in the hospital, and from there transferred to a hospital in Baltimore. From Baltimore he was taken to Washington, D. C., as a witness in the trial of Wirz, on which he was detained for six weeks, when he was so prostrated by illness that he had to be sent back to the hospital at Baltimore, where on the 12th of April, 1865, he was discharged and returned home, after having served in the army four years and one month. When he was taken prisoner he weighed one hundred and eighty pounds ; when he was released he was reduced to one hundred pounds, and he never recovered from the effects of his imprisonment. David R. Mccullough, who was taken prisoner at the same time, made his escape from Anderson- ville. and after traveling fourteen days and nights, reached our lines at Chattanooga about Christmas, 1864. Mr. Orcutt says, No one will ever know what we suffered at Ander- sonville. Only those who have been there can tell anything about it. All other prisons were parlors compared with Andersonville.'
"The following Jefferson county men were in Company L: First lieutenant, Robert J. Robinson ; second lieutenant. Shannon Mc- Fadden ; first sergeant, William K. Shaffer; sergeants. Enos G. Nolf, Christian D. Fleck, James Baldwin, Aaron Fulmer, William N. George, Thomas McDowell, Edward Meeker, Charles Kline, Amos Weaver ; corporals, John H. Shaw, James M. Matthews, David B. Zila- fro, Paul Hettrick; farrier, Samuel Moor- head ; privates, Samuel Anderson, Henry Al-
-
len, Charles Barnard, James Christie, William P. Confer, James F. Cannon, Amos W. Delp, Benjamin Divler, James P. Dillman, Jesse Evans, Frederick Fulmer, W. N. George, Joseph Gates, John C. Hettrick, Jacob Hecka- thorn, Josiah Klingensmith, Calvin Lucas, Moses W. Mathews, D. R. Mccullough, John Mccullough, James McCann, John R. Mc- Fadden, Daniel R. Noble, Thomas B. Nolf, David S. Orcutt, John C. Platt, Richard Tip- ton, Jacob Taylor. James R. Vandevort, Amos Weaver.
"A number of recruits were put into this regiment in 1863-64, among whom were the following additional Jefferson county men :
"Company A-Corporal James H. Moore ; privates, Lester S. Beebe, William Baugh- mon, James D. Dean.
"Company B-Privates, George E. A. Clark, James E. Mitchell.
"Company C-Privates, Liberty Beer, Sam- uel W. Bruner, Martin Eakman, Paul Vande- vort, Josiah Wyley.
"Company G-Private, F. J. Strong.
"Company I-Privates, John L. Knapp, William 1 .. Slack."
Company K, Fourteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry
"The Fourteenth Cavalry, another gallant body of men, was enlisted November 23, 1862, and mustered out August 24, 1865. The fol- lowing Jefferson county soldiers were mem- bers of Company K:
"Sergeant, William R. Cowan; corporal, Benjamin F. McCreight ; bugler, John F. Gru- ber ; privates, John G. Bouch, Jacob J. Boden- horn, Henry J. Bodenhorn, S. P. Cravener. The latter died in prison at Andersonville, Georgia."
Company C, Second Regiment, U. S. Sharp- shooters
"During the month of August, 1861, Capt. S. M. Dewey. of Harrisburg, Pa., visited Jef- ferson county for the purpose of recruiting men for a company in Berdan's Sharpshooters. None but expert marksmen were received, each individual being required to 'make ten consecutive shots at a distance of two hun- dred yards, within five inches of the center of the target, or five inches measured from the center of the target to the center of ball- holes. Each man to certify to his "target" be- fore a justice of the peace.'
"Tra J. Northrup was left in charge of re- cruiting for this company, and soon recruited
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a good squad of men who were at once sent to the headquarters of the regiment at Harris- burg, and were mustered into the service Oc- tober 5, 1861. This company did gallant service for the Union. They were all expert marksmen, and were armed with the most approved breech-loading rifles. The history of Berdan's Sharpshooters is that of the Army of Potomac. In the thick of every battle they were sure to do effective work, as their shots always told on the foe.
"The following men represented Jefferson county in Company C, U. S. S .: Sergeants, Ira J. Northrup, promoted to captain; Frank Rumbarger, John W. Pearsall; corporals, John McMurray, Isaac Lyle ; privates, George Boals, George W. Dunkle, John S. Geer, W. E. Jacox, Leroy C. Jacox, James (or Samuel) Law, Samuel Lattimer, Thomas Long, Wil- liam McCullough, J. Prindle, L. W. Scott, George H. Stewart, Wesley C. Thompson, James Watts. Law died of wounds received at Antietam."
Eighteenth U. S. Infantry
"In the winter of 1861-62 quite a number of men were enlisted in Jefferson county for the regular army by Sergt. W. D. Madeira, of the Eighteenth United States Infantry. They were put into Company E, Third Battalion of that regiment, and with the men recruited in Clarion and Venango counties formed almost the entire company. Those subse- quently recruited for the same service were put in Company F of the same battalion, until January, 1863. when they were all transferred to the Second Battalion. The Eighteenth saw hard service in the Army of the Cumberland, which it joined just after the battle of Fort Donelson, and with which it remained until its term of service expired, just after the bat- tle of Lovejoy's Station, Ga. The following men from Jefferson county served in the regi- ment :
"Company H, Second Battalion-Sergeant, Herman Kretz.
"Company E-Sergeant, Thomas Barr : corporal, Thomas Baird; privates, John Con- rad, Frank Carroll, James Cochran, John Dean, William Dean, Joseph Dempsey, Jere- miah Emerick, Jonathan Harp, James Hall, John Houpt, Wilson Hutchinson, Adam Heil- bruner, Jacob Heilbruner, Nelson Ishman, Andrew Love, S. R. Milliron, William Math- ews, Jacob Messinger, David Porter, Samuel Rhodes. William Reinstine, William Reams, Amos Shirey, John Strawcutter, Samuel Sax-
ton, Jacob Shaffer, Isaac Shoffner, Russell Vantassel.
"Company F-Sergeant, William Martz; privates, William Adams, John Custard, James Campbell, Samuel Haines, Adam Haines, Amos Starr, Samuel D. Shaffer, Peter Wolf- gang, John Wolfgang, Peter Wolf, Samuel Wolf.
"Of these, Andrew Love, Samuel Rhodes, Jacob Shaffer, Russell Vantassel were killed. John Custard, who was discharged in 1864, was lost coming home, the train being captured by the Rebels, and he was, it is presumed, killed, as he was never heard of afterwards.
"Thomas Barr ( Bairde), Jonathan Harp, Samuel Haines, Adam Haines, Peter Wolf- gang, John Wolfgang, Adam Heilbruner, Jacob Heilbruner, James Campbell, William Adams, Amos Shirey and John Strawcutter, served until their term of enlistment expired, January 6, 1865; the others had been killed or previously discharged. Sergeant Madeira, who recruited them, was killed at Murfrees- boro, Tennessee."
Jefferson county men in other organ- izations :
"Company E, Fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, First Lieut. Joseph P. Lucas.
"Company H, Eighth Regiment, Pennsyl- vania Reserves, Private J. Wilson Henderson ; transferred to Company H, One Huntired and Ninety-first Regiment, and promoted to sergeant.
"Company G, Ninth Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, Private Christian Miller.
"Company C, One Hundred and Twenty- fifth Pennsylvania Regiment, Henry B. Heck- endorn.
"Company M, Sixth United States Cavalry, Robert A. Hubbard.
"Company C, Fifteenth United States In- fantry. Capt. William W. Wise ( killed)."
United States Colored Troops
The American negroes in the country's wars have been patriotic and valorous. Several won high official praise in the Revolution. Perry commended warmly those who fought with him the battle of Lake Erie; Andrew Jackson extolled the bravery of the negro troops at New Orleans, and during this war approxi- mately 180,000 members of the race were in the armies of the Union.
"On account of the limited colored popula- tion, Jefferson county had very few repre- sentatives in the colored regiments, but those who did go out from this county did noble
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service. Several of the best officers belonging to the colored organizations were from this county. Major McMurray, who served as captain of Company D, Sixth Regiment, and as inspector on the staff of Gen. Charles J. Paine, commanding the Third Division of the Eighteenth Corps, gives the following incidents of his regiment to which some of the Jefferson county men belonged :
"'On the morning of September 29, 1864. the day of the capture of Fort Harrison, our brigade was ordered to assault the enemy's works at Deep Bottom, near Spring Hill, about a mile from the Fort Harrison front. The assault was made shortly after sunrise, through a heavy slashing. When we went into the fight .our regiment numbered about three hundred and fifty; when we came out it numbered about one hundred and twenty-five, sixty of whom belonged to two companies that were not in the assault, being deployed as skir- inishers on the flanks of the brigade.
" My company was in the center of the regiment as well as of the brigade, and was almost annihilated. When we went into the fight I had thirty enlisted men and one officer. When we came out I had myself and three enlisted men. Eleven of the company were killed, fifteen were wounded, and one was captured. My first lieutenant, who is now a captain in the Third Cavalry, was shot through the right arm.
""I know of no loss equal to this in a square standup fight, in the history of the late war. Of the hundred men who started out in my company one year before, but one was left with me, the three who escaped being recruits.'
"Company D, Sixth Regiment, Capt. John! McMurray. brevetted major .April 15, 1865; second lieutenant, Thomas P. McCrea.
"Company H, Corporal Robert Webster, killed at New Market Heights, Va .: Privates Peter B. Enty, Peter F. Enty, both died in service.
"Seventh Regiment. Adjt. George Miller.
"Eighth Regiment, Surgeon A. P. Ileichold ; Hospital Steward George W. Luke.
"Company I, Eighth Regiment, Capt. Robert A. Travis.
"First Massachusetts Colored Troops, Oliver Steel."
Emergency Men of 1863-64
"The victories gained by the Rebel troops at Fredericksburg, in December, 1862, followed by that of Chancellorsville, in May, 1863, en- boldened their leaders so much that they con-
templated a raid into the Northern border States. As a precaution against this invasion the war department, June 9, 1863, issued an order creating two new military departments, that for the western district being established at Pittsburgh, with Maj. Gen. W. T. H. Brooks as commandant, and on the 13th Gov- ernor Curtin issued a call for volunteers to protect the southern borders of our State. This was followed on the 15th by the Rebel raid on Chambersburg, and there was a general uprising of the people in response to the call. On the 28th of June, General Lee having already crossed the Potomac with his entire army, Governor Curtin again called for sixty thousand men for ninety days, to repel the invasion, 'but to remain only so long as the safety of the Commonwealth should require.' Under this last call three companies were raised in Jefferson county and mustered into the Fifty-seventh Regiment, Emergency Vol- unteers, July 3-8, 1863.
"On the organization of the regiment Col. James R. Porter, whose term of service with the One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Pennsyl- vania Volunteers had just expired, was chosen colonel. The Fifty-seventh took part in the chase after Morgan, and were for a time engaged in guarding the fords of the Ohio river from Steubenville to Wheeling, W. Va. The Fifty-seventh, while occupying strong ground on the Warrenton road. undoubtedly foiled Morgan's attempt to cross at that point. "No further need arising for their services, the regiment was mustered out.
"Much satire has been indulged in at the expense of the 'six weeks' soldiers, but their presence proved a powerful check to the enemy, and though not brought into actual combat, they were ready for it, and it was no fault of theirs that they did not meet the enemy. Called suddenly from the business walks of life, they met the emergency promptly and cheerfully, at the call of danger. Many of them were men who had already met the enemy ; some were at home on account of wounds, others who had served the term of their enlistment, others physically unfit for a long term of service, and some boys in their teens ; but the rolls of these companies show the material they were composed of.
"The return of the Emergency men was saddened by the death of one of their mem- bers, Mr. Samuel McElhose, who died in camp at East Liberty, near Pittsburgh, August 16, 1863. Mr. McElhose was one of the most prominent citizens of Jefferson county, being at the time of his death the editor and pro-
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prietor of the Jefferson Star, which paper he had established in Brookville in 1849. He had also served as county superintendent of common schools for two terms, and was a well-known educator. Mr. McElhose was strongly wedded to the cause of liberty, but his health being far from robust prohibited him from enlisting until the call came for volun- teers to defend our own State, when he could no longer remain at home; but closing his office he, with all his hands, enlisted, and ere the time of service expired he died for his country as much as though a Rebel ball had laid him low.
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