USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 1 > Part 47
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ordered to Suffolk, Virginia, which was at this time threatened by a formidable force. Upon his arrival, he was actively employed with his men in perfecting the fortifications, and placing it in the very best possible condition for defence. His judgment in military matters, and his skill in executing such works as were intrusted to him, soon attracted the attention of his superiors, and he was early recognized by them as a military engineer of talent.
The routine of camp and garrison duty was not disturbed at Suffolk until the night of the 29th of January, 1863, when, upon a report that the rebel General Pryor was advancing with a large force, and had crossed the Blackwater, Colonel Knoderer's regiment, with others, was ordered to march out to intercept him. They left their camp at midnight, and at three o'clock on the morning of the 30th found themselves in front of the enemy, at about 600 yards distance, and subjected to a severe fire from his batteries. Colonel Knoderer had directed his men to lie down, to protect them from the shells, while he remained stand- ing. Subsequently, as he was mounting his horse, he was struck in the left hip by a piece of shell, from the effects of which, after two weeks of great suffering, he expired. Upon the occasion of his death, Brigadier-General Terry issued the following order : " The General commanding this brigade announces with sorrow the death of Colonel Charles A. Knoderer. He died at the regimental hospital this day, at twelve o'clock M., of a wound received in the Jate action of the Deserted House, near the Blackwater river, Virginia, on the 30th ultimo. In the death of Colonel Knoderer, the officers and men of this command have lost a good officer and a worthy man, and the country is again called to mourn the death of a soldier and a patriot. Let his sacrifice be an occasion for every soldier to renew his vows of fidelity to the Constitution and the Union, and an incentive to sustain with new vigor the Old Flag wherever it may be borne."
Mr. Z. C. Galt, a friend and intimate acquaintance, delineates the character of Colonel Knoderer in the following manner, no more appreciative than just: "Colonel Knoderer was a man of rare attainments. His education as a civil engineer had been com- plete and thorough, and his experience large, and from habits of
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ROBERT B. HAMPTON.
close observation and constant study, he had added greatly to the store of professional knowledge acquired in the excellent German schools. In military science he was an enthusiast, and in its study constant ; and few men were so well acquainted with the military history of the world as he. As soon as the Rebellion took the shape of war at Sumter, he was only anxious to find his place among the loyal defenders of his loved, adopted country, and he has laid down his life in its service, after but a few months of active duty in the field. Had he lived he doubtless would have made himself a name, by deeds, for which his country would have been grateful; but Providence had otherwise ordered, and we can only remember the patriotism which prompted his actions, and regret that the country should have lost his valuable services at so early a period of his career. He had, by long residence among us, endeared himself to all who knew him by his amiable man- ners, his gentle bearing, and his unsullied purity of character. He died the death he coveted."
OBERT B. HAMPTON, Captain of Independent Battery F, was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He entered the service of the United States, on the 17th of October, 1861, as Captain of this battery. He was with Banks in the Shenandoah Valley, and subsequently with the army of General Pope before Washing- ton. He advanced with General Mcclellan in the Maryland cam- paign, and his guns rendered efficient service in the passage of South Mountain, and in the battle of Antietam. At the conclu- sion of this, the Twelfth corps was organized, which remained as a corps of observation at the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, while the rest of the army pushed on to Fredericksburg. In the battle of Chancellorsville, this corps had the centre of the Union line, and when, on the morning of the 3d of May, 1863, the rebel forces began to press upon it-the Eleventh corps having sus- tained disaster on the previous evening-the action became warm, the artillery fire on both sides being terrific. Captain Hampton handled his guns with great skill, and did efficient service ; but in the midst of the hottest of the fire, and while he was directing the movement of his pieces, he was struck by a fragment of shell and instantly killed.
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HOMAS SLOAN BELL, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fifty-first regi- ment, was born at West Chester, Pennsylvania, on the 12th of May, 1838. He was the third son of the Hon. Thomas S. Bell, for several years President Judge of the Chester district, and subsequently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. He was a descendant of Captain Joseph Mcclellan, dis- tinguished in the Revolutionary War as a brave, active, and vigilant officer, who, during a long. life, was held in high estima- tion. His education was chiefly acquired at the West Chester Academy, where he early gave promise of genius, and developed the power of graceful oratory for which his father was dis- tinguished. He studied law under the direction of his father, and was admitted to the bar of Chester county, in April, 1859. One of his examiners, on that occasion, says : "He sustained a most creditable examination, evincing that he had read diligently and possessed a legal mind."
In March, 1858, he was commissioned Aide-de-camp to the Major-General of the Third division of the Uniformed Militia, and, in October following, was appointed paymaster of that division, with the rank of Major. On the 20th of May, 1859, he was appointed Notary Public for Chester county, and at the general election, in 1860, was one of the candidates of the Demo- cratic party for the State Legislature. When troops were called for the defence of the Union, he was among the foremost to respond, going as Lieutenant of the first company that marched from his native town, and was appointed Adjutant of the Ninth regiment, in which position he served in the three months' campaign.
On his return, after this service, he immediately re-entered with new recruits for three years, and was appointed Lieutenant- Colonel of the Fifty-first Pennsylvania, led by Colonel Hartranft. This regiment was of Burnside's expedition to North Carolina, forming part of Reno's brigade. In the voyage, Colonel Bell, with four companies, was on board the transport "Scout," which became separated from the rest of the fleet in a storm, and drifted far out of its course. It was given up for lost, but finally came safely to port. In this trying voyage the bearing of Colonel Bell is represented as being heroic.
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THOMAS S. BELL.
In the engagement on Roanoke Island his conduct was bold and fearless, and inspired confidence and like courage in the breasts of his men. At Newbern he had command of the left wing of his regiment. He was ordered to charge upon the enemy's batteries, which were carried, and he was the first man to mount and take possession of the captured pieces. At Camden he commanded the brigade, composed of his own and the Twenty- first Massachusetts; and here, as throughout this entire cam- paign, he distinguished himself by his skill and bravery. In the severe conflicts about Manassas, in Pope's campaign, to Reno's command is justly attributed the credit of having been largely instrumental in saving the Union army from utter annihilation. When the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth regiment was formed, chiefly recruited in the neighborhood of Colonel Bell's home, he was selected to lead it. Governor Curtin expressed his desire to appoint him. But a regulation of the National Government, relative to the transfer of officers from one regiment to another, prevented his acceptance of this position.
He was at South Mountain, where Reno routed the enemy, and in the act fell mortally wounded-one of the most deeply lamented of the Union Generals. At the storming of the bridge on Burnside's front, in the battle of Antietam, Hartranft's regi- ment was selected to lead, and Colonel Bell heroically moved with the command, which carried that impregnable position at the point of the bayonet. A lodgment had already been gained on the thither bank, when Colonel Bell, ever solicitous for the assurance of victory, having gone out to bring his forces into more favorable position, was struck by an enemy's missile, and soon after expired. "After crossing the bridge," says General Hartranft, " I took the regiment to the right and halted. Colonel Bell here came up to me, saying that more troops should be sent over. I replied, 'Well, go and see about it.' He went; but no far- ther than the bridge, and soon I saw him coming back on the bed of the road (which was now clear of troops) a few feet from the edge nearest the water. When about thirty yards from the bridge, I saw him struck on the left temple, as I at that time thought, and now believe, by a canister shot. He fell backward and off the road to within six feet of the water. He spoke freely, say-
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ing : 'Never say die, boys! Stand by the colors! Take care of my sword.' He was immediately taken back to the barn hospital and examined by a surgeon, who pronounced his wound not dangerous. Bleeding soon stopped. I directed Sergeant-Major Stoneroad to remain with him and take charge of his effects. I was under orders at this time to move forward, and could not leave the regiment. In little less than an hour afterwards, I received permission to go back to the hospital to see the Colonel. I saw him, but he did not recognize me. In an hour after, he passed off calmly."
An officer who was with him, says: "There was the same goodness in his last hours as had marked his life." He had won the attachment of his superior officers and of his regiment, and his loss was deeply felt. Ilis remains were brought to his home at West Chester, and interred by the side of his mother in the Oakland Cemetery, where it was his expressed wish he should be buried. He was possessed of a fine form and features, and had the mark and bearing of a soldier. His disposition was amiable, and he was, in the highest sense of the term, a Christian. Chaplain Mallory says of him : "While at the College in Annapolis, we occupied the same room. Here I first saw him reading the Bible and kneeling at his bedside night and morning-a practice which he continued in the midst of abounding wickedness until his death. He invariably refused to taste intoxicating drinks, and mourned, as I did, the prevailing profanity in the army. Especially during our last march through Maryland, when we were thrown more in contact with the men, he expressed to me and to others a longing to escape from the hateful sounds." He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
A short time before his death, he was addressed upon the sub- ject of allowing his name to be used as a candidate for Congress. IIe replied emphatically, " No," that he had volunteered to serve his country in aiding to put down rebellion ; that he could accept of no civil office until the war was over; that he intended to stick to the Union army for weal or for woe. And at his post, like a faithful sentinel, he stood to the last.
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FRANCIS A. LANCASTER .- CALVIN A. CRAIG.
FRANCIS A. LANCASTER, Colonel of the One Hundred and Fif- 1. teenth regiment, was born in Philadelphia. He entered the service as Major of this regiment on the 26th of June, 1862; and was immediately sent with his command to the Peninsula, to the succor of Mcclellan. In Pope's campaign before Washington it was put to severe duty, and in the initial action at Bristoe Station with the redoubtable Stonewall Jackson, Major Lancaster was severely wounded in the left arm. . It was not until the following April that he was able to rejoin his regiment, having in the meantime been promoted to Colonel. In the fierce fighting on the morning of the 3d of May, 1863, at Chancellorsville, when the enemy was coming down with overpowering force upon Sickles' corps, Colonel Lancaster, while leading forward his troops in the most resolute manner, fell, pierced through the temple by a Minie ball. He had shown himself an heroic officer, and his regiment had come to be regarded as one of the best dis- ciplined in the army.
ALVIN A. CRAIG, second Colonel of the One Hundred and Fifth regiment. This regiment retired from the disastrous field of Chancellorsville with ranks terribly shattered; but the saddest of its disasters was the loss of its dauntless chief, Colonel Mcknight. Fortunate, however, were the remnants of that gal- lant band, who had so resolutely bared their bosoms to the terrible death-storm that swept that devoted field, in not being left without a leader. The wand that dropped from the nerveless grasp of McKnight, was caught up by the heroic Craig, and wielded with a courage and a dexterity worthy of that fearless regiment.
Calvin A. Craig, third son of Washington Craig, was born in Clarion county, Pennsylvania, on the 7th of December, 1833. From his earliest years he was inured to toil, and received his rudimentary instruction in the schools of a rural district. Pos- sessed of good native talents, his faculties made keen by healthful exercise, he soon acquired the elements of a sound English educa- tion and much solid information, evincing a relish for books of a useful character. In 1858 he graduated at Duff's Mercantile College, and in the following spring made a journey through the
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West, and Southwest, for the purpose of enlarging his observation of men and things. "His opinions and criticisms," says the Rev. J. S. Elder, in his funeral discourse -- from which the facts con- tained in this memoir are principally drawn-" showed how closely and narrowly he scanned the customs and views of the people among whom he sojourned, and proved himself to be a shrewd and careful observer. He closely scrutinized the work- ings and influence of the institution of slavery. Ilis observations confirm what every intelligent man knows to be true. He main- tained this principle : that whoever seeks to degrade the lowly, himself must sink. . . . To a system producing such results, he declared he was in heart and soul opposed, and he ever afterwards cherished an increased antipathy to the inhuman institution."
On his return from this tour, he engaged in the production of lumber, an interest largely followed in the forest section in which he lived. He subsequently associated himself in business with his father in his native town. At the first tap of the drum, after the assault upon Fort Sumter, he recruited a company and marched with the Eighth regiment to the front. At the expira- tion of three months, the time for which all troops had been enlisted, he returned, and immediately set about recruiting for a three years' regiment. He was surrounded by hardy men from farm and forest, possessed of rare qualifications for soldiers. His company, which was speedily filled, became part of the One Hundred and Fifth regiment; and with it he acted faithfully as Captain, in the skirmishes of the siege of Yorktown, and before Richmond, and in the battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Charles City Cross Roads, and Malvern Hill.
Ilis fidelity in the Peninsula campaign, and the campaign of Pope before Washington, won the promotion which he had richly merited. On the 20th of April, 1863, he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment. The battle of Chancellors- ville soon followed, and upon the fall of Colonel McKnight, he succeeded to its chief command. Scarcely had the smoke of that conflict cleared away, before the commander of the brigade, the brave General Graham, wrote thus to Governor Curtin : "Colonel A. A. MeKnight. of the One Hundred and Fifth regiment, Penn- sylvania volunteers, having been killed while gallantly leading
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CALVIN A. CRAIG.
his regiment in a charge against the enemy, on which occasion Lieutenant-Colonel Calvin A. Craig succeeded him in command, and behaved with equal coolness and courage, I consider it a duty to the service to recommend that Lieutenant-Colonel Craig be promoted to the vacancy occasioned by the death of the heroic McKnight. In soliciting this promotion, I am influenced alone by a desire to keep up the high standard of the One Hundred and Fifth regiment, one of the noblest regiments in the United States service." An appeal like this could not fail to reach the heart of the Governor, alive to every exhibition of valor, and the appointment was immediately made. It was a responsible trust, but he proved himself, on many a hard-fought field, worthy of it. He always wrote and spoke of his regiment in the highest terms of eulogy. In a familiar letter to a friend, in speaking of its con- duct on a hotly-contested field, he said : "The regiment never did better. When they moved forward on a charge on a double- quick, every man at his post, and with scarcely an inch of dif- ference in the slope of their glittering bayonets-oh! but I did feel proud of them. I know I have a kind of weakness for this regi- ment, but I tell you, it is a regiment to be proud of." This is the language of an enthusiast. It sounds like the breathings of a devoted spirit, touching the dearest object of its affection. One who could speak thus could never abuse his trust. Soldiers will follow such a man into positions of peril, without a murmur.
Unflinching, Colonel Craig met the storm of battle in campaigns unparalleled for severity. His record of casualties was remarka- ble. He was wounded slightly in the hand in the Seven Days' battle before Richmond. At the Second Bull Run battle he was wounded severely in the ankle. At Gettysburg he had three horses shot under him, and was himself wounded in the foot. In the battle of the Wilderness he was wounded severely and dan- gerously in the face. During the siege of Petersburg he was struck in the left shoulder by a fragment of shell. In the ter- rific battle at Deep Bottom on the 16th of August, 1864, while in command of the Second brigade, Third division, of the Second corps, he received a mortal wound, his face to the foc, and dicd on the following morning.
At the end of the three years' service the soldiers of his regi-
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ment reënlisted for a second term, and were given a veteran's furlough. During this interval of duty-grim War's holiday- Colonel Craig was married to Miss Elmira Craig of Greenville.
Mr. Elder mentions, in his discourse, the case of a noted French regiment, the soldiers of which so revered the memory of their fallen leader that they persisted in having his name retained on the regimental rolls, and called every morning with those of the living. When that name was uttered, a soldier answered for him, " Dead on the field of honor." The One Hun- dred and Fifth regiment could claim the names of MeKnight and Craig as worthy of equal endearment, as also those of Greenawalt, Clyde, Dowling, Patton, Kirk, Conser, Hamilton-heroes all- " Dead on the field of honor."
The remains of Colonel Craig were returned to his sorrowing friends in his native town of Greenville, and there, in the village graveyard, where the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep, the careworn and battle-scarred warrior is at rest.
ENRY J. STAINROOK, Colonel of the One Hundred and Ninth regiment, was born in Pennsylvania. He was commis- sioned Colonel of the One Hundred and Ninth on the 5th of May, 1862. He immediately led it to the front, meeting the enemy at the mouth of the Shenandoah Valley, as they came down in pursuit of Banks. When Pope assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia, Colonel Stainrook, with all the forces of Banks . and Fremont, hastened to his support. In the battle of Cedar Mountain Colonel Stainrook's regiment was sub- jected to severe duty-supporting Knap's battery and charging upon the enemy through the noted corn-field, where a full half its numbers were either killed or wounded, Colonel Stainrook him- self being among the latter. In the campaign in Maryland he commanded a brigade of Geary's division. At Chancellorsville General Kane commanded the brigade to which the One Hundred and Ninth had been transferred-an officer whose untiring energy is only matched by his skill. As a consequence this brigade was selected to demonstrate on the Twelfth corps' front, where it had warm encounters with the advancing foe. Near the close of the severe fighting of the 3d of May, 1863, when the army of Hooker
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HENRY J. STAINROOK .- MILTON OPP.
was upon the point of taking up a new line of battle more con- tracted and secure, a rebel sharp-shooter, who had gained a position not twenty paces distant, shot and instantly killed Colonel Stain- rook. The act created intense feeling among the men of the One Hundred and Ninth, and Lieutenant Kidney, of Company G, who had witnessed the deed, seizing a musket, and skilfully awaiting his opportunity, sent a bullet in reply which forever silenced the sharp-shooter's fire.
ILTON OPP, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Eighty-fourth regiment, was born at Moreland, Pennsylvania, on the 28th of August, 1835. His father was a well-to-do farmer, and his parents cherished a laudable ambition to see their son well edu- cated. He displayed on his part great aptness to learn. He graduated in due course and with honor at the Lewisburg Uni- versity, and afterwards at the Law School at Poughkeepsie, New York. With the most flattering prospects of success he entered upon the practice of his profession at Muncy. But he was scarcely established in his chosen vocation, when the war came on. Hc instantly dismissed the hope of fame and fortune which seemed opening before him, and volunteered for the war in the Eighty- fourth regiment, in which he was commissioned a Lieutenant. He was promoted to Captain in May, 1862, to Major in October, and to Lieutenant-Colonel in December. These rapid advance- ments were carned by real worth and genuine manhood. He served first with Lander and subsequently with Shields in the Shenandoah Valley, and with the latter commander shared in the triumph over Stonewall Jackson at the battle of Winchester, on the 23d of March, 1862, though his regiment suffered grievous loss, and its commander, the highly-esteemed Colonel Murray, was among the killed. He was also at Port Republic, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and in the campaign of Gettysburg, though in the latter battle his regiment was not at the front, having been assigned to important and difficult special duty. On the second day of the battle of the Wilderness, while leading his men in a charge with his accustomed gallantry, he was shot through the right lung and soon after expired, the terrible sounds of the con- . flict saluting his cars to the last.
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The Rev. J. C. Wynn, who was a classmate of Colonel Opp, gives the following tribute to his memory : "At the age of nine- teen, he entered the collegiate department of the University of Lewisburg, from which he graduated in 1858. His mind was symmetrical : it showed no excessive preponderance of particular faculties. Possessed of genuine love of truth and of knowledge, he addressed himself to mathematics or classics, to physics or metaphysics, with almost equal facility and enthusiasm. He was a faithful student-a refined scholar. His youthful tastes were elevated and ennobling. With him the sensual was very sub- ordinate; the intellect reigned. His natural inclination revealed itself in his choice of the profession of law. The highest ideal that his soul knew was that of a faithful advocate pleading for justice to his client. Colonel Opp was above the average stature, being five feet ten inches in height. His general health was good. His habits of life regular and temperate. He had no military education previous to the War of the Rebellion."
OIIN W. CROSBY, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sixty-first regi- ment, was born in Philadelphia. He entered the service of the United States as a Second Lieutenant in the Twenty-third regiment, in April, 1861. When that regiment was recruited for three years, at the expiration of the short term, he received a Captain's commission, and served under Colonel Birney until March, 1862, when his, with other companies, was transferred to the Sixty-first regiment. He was with his command through the Peninsula campaign, the Second Bull Run, Maryland, and Fred- ericksburg. In the storming of Marye's Heights in the Chan- cellorsville campaign his regiment was of the light brigade which had been formed to lead in the assault, and here he was wounded. In April, 1864, he was promoted to Major, and in the desperate fighting of the Wilderness he was again wounded. When the Sixth corps, to which his regiment belonged, was brought to Washington, in July of that year, for its defence against Early, Major Crosby was lying in one of the hospitals at the capital. He obtained a short furlough and sought permission to lead his old command. It was granted, and in the encounter before Fort Stevens he lost his left arm. In December he resigned, but his
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