USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2 > Part 15
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Soon after the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg, in which the regiment took part, the Ninth corps was ordered west, and for a while performed duty in Kentucky ; but subsequently was sent to Vicksburg, where it participated in the siege, and shared in the glories of the capture. It then moved out under Sherman to Jackson, where, after a brief conflict, that able rebel chieftain was put to flight. In the meantime Lieutenant-Colonel Curtin had been made Colonel. The corps now returned to Kentucky, but was greatly reduced by sickness, a fever prevailing of which Gen- eral Welsh, the original commander of the regiment, died, and Colonel Curtin was prostrated and returned on furlough to his home. In his absence the Ninth corps was sent to Knoxville, where, after having triumphantly entered and advanced towards Chattanooga to cooperate with the forces under General Grant, found itself confronted by a larger force, that had been detached from the main rebel column. For twenty-two days Burnside was shut up, making a stout and very gallant resistance, until
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JOHN I. CURTIN.
Longstreet, who was in chief command, withdrew. In the mean- time Colonel Curtin, who had recovered from his sickness, while on the way to the front was placed in command of a brigade at Cumberland Gap, with which he rendered good service upon Clinch River in harassing the enemy, and when Longstreet was compelled to raise the siege, striking the rear of his column as he retreated towards Virginia.'
The Ninth corps returned to the Army of the Potomac before the opening of the spring campaign of 1864. Colonel Curtin was here intrusted with the command of a brigade in General Potter's division, and wielded it with skill in the fierce fighting which ensued. On the 21st of May, he was sent in advance with his brigade to secure the crossing of the Po River near Stannard's Mill. Before reaching the designated point he met the enemy in considerable force, but drove him handsomely, and held the hither bank. Though the fighting of the campaign had been severe, it was nowhere so terrible and destructive as at Cold Harbor. The Ninth corps held the right here, and on the 3d of May Colonel Curtin led his brigade in a daring and impetuous charge -- driving the opposing force, which consisted of parts of Ewell's and Longstreet's corps, from their skirmish line and rifle- pits, back to their fortifications-and planted his column im- movably in the very face of the foe.
One of the most brilliant of the exploits of Colonel Curtin in the course of the war was executed at a little before dawn on the morning of the 17th of June. The Union army having just crossed the James had come up before Petersburg; but the enemy were already there and intrenched. Potter's division was ordered to make a night attack. Curtin and Griffin were to lead with their brigades, supported by Ledlie. Woodbury, in his Ninth Army Corps, gives a vivid description of this daring charge : "At the first blush of the morning," he says, " the word ' For- ward !' was passed quietly along the column. The men sprang to their feet, and noiselessly, rapidly, vigorously moved upon the enemy-Griffin to the right, Curtin to the left. They burst upon him with the fury of a tornado. They took him completely by surprise. They swept his lines for a mile, gathering up arms, flags, cannon, and prisoners all along their victorious pathway.
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A stand of colors, four pieces of artillery with their caissons and horses, fifteen hundred stands of small arms, a quantity of am- munition and six hundred prisoners were the fruits of this splendid charge. A wide breach had been made in the enemy's lines, and it seemed as though the defences of Petersburg were within our grasp. But the energetic movement of General Griffin was not followed up. Colonel Curtin had most gallantly done his part, and General Potter was promptly on the ground to direct the assault. But where were the supports ?" These were not at hand and Curtin and Griffin could only hold fast what was gained. In this charge Colonel Curtin was severely wounded in the shoulder, and was carried from the field. He was removed to the hospital at Annapolis. His wound fortunately healed without permanent disability, and in August he again joined his brigade. His gallantry was not without its reward. In October, the brevet rank of Brigadier-General was conferred by President Lincoln. In the fierce encounter at Peebles' Farm the enemy succeeded in gaining the rear of the Fifth corps, seriously com- promising the position of the left wing of the Union army. Gen- eral Curtin that day rode a beautiful horse presented him by his old regiment. In the heat of the action it was killed under him, and although surrounded, and called on to surrender, he cut his way out and escaped while many were killed and captured. From this time forward until the close of the war he had com- mand of a division. With his regiment he was mustered out of service in June, 1865, having served with honor and distinction during the entire period of the conflict. Upon his return to private life he went to Kentucky, where he was engaged in developing oil and coal lands, building a railroad for the use of the company. He returned to Pennsylvania in 1867, and entered largely upon the manufacture and sale of lumber in Clinton county, where he now resides.
OSEPH P. BRINTON, Colonel of the Second cavalry, was born on the 22d of July, 1837, in Lancaster county, Pennsyl- vania. His father, Judge Ferree Brinton, was of Huguenot descent, his ancestors having been among the earliest settlers in that county, where the family for six generations has resided.
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JOSEPH P. BRINTON.
His mother, Elizabeth (Sharpless) Brinton, was descended from the earliest Quaker settlers in Chester county. The boy received careful rudimentary instruction from private Quaker teachers at the Watson boarding-school, and afterwards in the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated in the Law Department. Ile further prosecuted his professional studies in the office of Eli K. Price, from whence he was admitted to practice at the Phila- delphia bar.
As a youth he manifested a fondness for equestrian exercises, which naturally led him to choose the cavalry when he came to enter the service. When the call of the President was pro- claimed he was a private in that historic body, the First City Troop, and with it he volunteered, serving during the three months' campaign with the column of Patterson in the Shenan- doah Valley. Returning at the close of this period, he was, upon the organization of the Second Pennsylvania cavalry, commis- sioned senior Major, and in August following was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. By the frequent call of the Colonel to command the brigade, the charge of the regiment principally devolved upon Brinton. From October, 1862, to March, 1863, with the exception of a short interval, he had the active leader- ship, as he did also from July, 1863, to February, 1864, and from May to November of the latter year. During these periods the regiment performed almost constant severe service. In the actions at Rappahannock Station and Mine Run, in Meade's cam- paign of 1863, and at St. Mary's Church, Deep Bottom, Boydton Road, and Jerusalem Plank Road under Grant, the youthful commander particularly distinguished himself. At Trevillian Station, where the division was suddenly attacked by a superior force of the Confederate army, Brinton led a charge of dis- mounted cavalry with such steadiness and daring as to win the plaudits of his entire command, and the warm approval of his sturdy chief, General Gregg.
In August, 1864, he was brevetted Colonel, in the language of the commission, " for conspicuous conduct and distinguished gal- lantry in the battles of Trevillian Station and St. Mary's Church." In November, 1864, he was assigned to duty on the staff of General Meade, as Judge Advocate of the Army of
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
the Potomac, in which position he remained to the close of his service, at the end of the war. During his long and active duty in the field he fortunately escaped without wounds, though he had six horses shot under him at various times, and was twice injured by their fall upon him. He was particularly commended by General Birney for a scout in the rear of the enemy's lines after the second battle of Bull Run-a daring exploit-and by General Gregg for his conduct in the Mine Run campaign, in addition to those mentioned in his brevet commission.
Duty in the cavalry arm of the service is more constant and harassing than in either infantry or artillery, and for it there is far less credit given in the general award. When a great battle is fought the cavalry is pushed out upon the flanks, and its exploits are scarcely mentioned in the glowing descriptions of the field plowed by grape, and the charges of the infantry hosts. But often the most critical and daring part of a battle is per- formed by this arm. When the battle is over and the infantry and artillery are relieved, the duty of the cavalry does not inter- mit, and often its most trying and wasting service is when no fighting is reported. Few men served with a more constant and unremitting valor than Colonel Brinton.
FINCENT MEIGS WILCOX, Colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-second regiment, was born on the 17th of October, 1828, at Madison, Connecticut. He was the son of Zenos and Louisa (Meigs) Wilcox. His boyhood was spent upon the farm, and he was educated at Lee's Academy in his native place. For some years after leaving school he was engaged in teaching. He was married in 1856 to Catharine M. Webb. He became an officer in the State Militia of Connecticut in 1856, in which he displayed considerable enthusiasm. Having become a citizen of Scranton, Pennsylvania, upon the formation of the One Hundred and Thirty-second regiment he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel. In the battle of Antietam Colonel Oakford, who led this regiment, fell, and the command devolved on Lieutenant-Colonel Wilcox. It held a position of great importance, inasmuch as it was the key to the Union position. The line had been broken in other parts, but if this could be held there was a chance of regaining
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VINCENT M. WILCOX .- DE WITT C. STRAWBRIDGE.
the portions lost. In the crisis of the battle Colonel Wilcox received an order from General French, who commanded the division, directing him to hold the ground to the last extremity. But the ammunition had all been expended. By searching the bodies of the dead a little was obtained, which was economically used. When that was gone the Colonel reported the fact to General Kimball for orders; but instead of being relieved he was ordered to fix bayonets and charge, which was executed with the utmost gallantry, driving the enemy before him and capturing a Colonel and several men. The battle raged long and fearfully, and the loss among his men was very great ; but he exercised his responsible duties with skill and fidelity, holding his position against powerful assaults made by a veteran foe. At the close of the battle he was promoted to Colonel, to date from the day of the engagement, as an acknowledgment of his merit; but his health soon afterwards failed, and he was obliged to leave the army. His service, though brief, embracing only the battles of South Mountain and Antietam, was marked by a full measure of devotion, and contributed not a little to the fortunate result of the campaign.
E WITT CLINTON STRAWBRIDGE, Colonel of the Seventy-sixth regiment, was born at Millerstown, Perry county, Penn- sylvania, on the 5th of August, 1837. His father, David Straw- bridge, was a native of Pennsylvania, of Irish descent. His mother was Eve Long, of German origin. He received a good English education, embracing the higher mathematics and natu- ral sciences, at Sharon, Pennsylvania, and at the Hiram Eclectic Institute, Ohio. His first experience in military duty commenced on the 20th of April, 1861, with the Nineteenth Ohio volunteers. On the 2d of July he was promoted to First Sergeant, and partici- pated in the decisive campaign in West Virginia, under Mcclellan and Rosecrans, which terminated triumphantly on the 13th at Rich Mountain. For his capacity and faithfulness to duty here he was promoted, on the 24th of September, to Captain of Com- pany B, of the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania, and with it proceeded immediately to the Department of the South. Early in August he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and in this capacity led
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
his regiment in the affair at Pocotaligo, with such good judgment, and in the face of such hard fighting, that he was especially com- plimented by General O. M. Mitchell, in chief command. He was also conspicuous in the reduction of Fort Pulaski, and in the battle on James Island. He was of the force which stormed and took the batteries of the southern part of Morris Island, and here again his conduct attracted the attention and warm approval of General Strong, in command of the brigade. He also took part in the first assault upon Fort, Wagner, and in the varied opera- tions of the campaign conducted by General Hunter. His regi- ment having suffered severely in the engagements on Morris Island, and being reduced to scarcely two full companies, he was sent with the surviving veterans by General Gilmore in August to take charge of the post at Hilton Head, and was there placed in command of a brigade.
On account of injuries received in the service, which were incurable, he was forced to resign on the 20th of November, 1863. IIis health was, however, so much improved that in the summer and fall of 1864 he served as adjutant of the Seven- teenth Kansas regiment for a period of five months, and until that body was mustered out. In person, Colonel Strawbridge is above the medium height. He was married on the 6th of April, 1868, to Miss Alice L. Turner, of Brookfield, Missouri, where he now resides.
OBERT LEVAN ORR, Colonel of the Sixty-first regiment, was born on the 28th of March, 1836, in Philadelphia. He was the son of William Hennessy and Justinia (Scull) Orr. He was educated at the public high school, and until the breaking out of the war was employed in the dry goods house of the Sharpless Brothers. He entered the service on the 25th of April, 1861, and at the conclusion of the three months' campaign was made Captain in the Sixty-first regiment. In the terrible battle of Fair Oaks, the field officers of this body were all cut down and the command devolved upon Captain Orr. In a skir- mish before Richmond in the month of June, he was wounded. He was engaged in all the battles in which the Sixth corps had a part, and in the storming of Marye's Heights, in the Chancellors-
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ROBERT L. ORR .- SAMUEL D. STRAWBRIDGE:
ville campaign, displayed marked courage. In October, 1863, he was promoted to Major. In the battle of Winchester under Sheridan, and in all subsequent battles in the Valley, he ren- dered distinguished service, and at its close was brevetted Lieu- . tenant-Colonel. With his gallant regiment he led the assault on the works before Petersburg on the morning of April 2d, 1865. He received a slight wound in that assault, and was promoted to Colonel for gallantry therein displayed. He was mustered out with his regiment on the 28th of June, 1865.
AMUEL DALE STRAWBRIDGE, Colonel of the Second artillery, was born on the 31st of August, 1825, in Liberty township, Montour county, Pennsylvania. His father was James Straw- bridge, of Scotch-Irish extraction, though his father and grand- father were natives of Chester county. His mother was Mary (Dale) Strawbridge. The son received his education at private schools in the neighborhood and in the Danville and New Lon- don Academies. He had no military training previous to the Rebellion.
He entered the United States service as First Lieutenant of Battery F, Second artillery, in January, 1862, and in December following was promoted to Captain of Battery I. The regiment was placed on duty in the defences of Washington, where it re- mained until the campaign of the Wilderness opened, when, to supply the great waste to which the army had been subjected, this regiment, which had been recruited to over thirty-three hun- dred men, was organized in two, and having been taken from their guns, were armed with muskets, and sent to the front. They went among veterans and were immediately put upon the advance line to do veterans' work. Captain Strawbridge was commissioned Major of the new regiment, and throughout the hard fighting which followed, and until the reunion of the two regiments in September, he was ceaselessly employed. Ilis gal- lantry won for him the rank of Brevet Colonel. Of the united regiments he became in succession Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel, and until the muster out in the early part of 1866 was faithful and vigilant, commanding the esteem of his men, and the approval of his superior officers.
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA ..
OHN MILLER MARK, Colonel of the Ninety-third regiment, was born on the 15th of March, 1822, in East Hanover, Lebanon county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of George and Elizabeth (Miller) Mark. His boyhood was passed in a rural ยท neighborhood and his school advantages were few. He entered the service as Captain in the Ninety-third on the 3d of October, 1861, and was promoted to Major in June following, and Colonel in November. He was with Peck in the battle of Williamsburg, of whom General Couch said, " He had the good fortune to be in advance, and arriving on the battle ground at a critical time, won a reputation to be greatly envied." In the desperate fight- ing at Fair Oaks, Colonel Mark was wounded in the right arm, which resulted in the stiffening of three fingers. At Antietam he was again with his regiment, and at Fredericksburg was in General Wheaton's brigade of General Franklin's Grand Division. On the 12th of March, 1863, Colonel Mark was mustered out of service.
HOMAS FOREST BETTON TAPPER was born at Germantown, Pennsylvania, August 31st, 1823. His father was John Tapper, by birth a Prussian. His mother, Lydia Maria (Vogal) Tapper, was a native of the city of Amsterdam, Holland. At a very early age he was put to work in a factory, and was also employed upon a farm. He subsequently spent four years in learning the trade of a carpenter; but being dissatisfied with this, finally became a machinist and engineer-employments for which he had genius. A single term at school when at the age of fourteen was all the opportunity he ever had of acquiring educational discipline. But being of an inquiring turn of mind, he was able to supply, by his own exertions, what of scholastic training had by the hard lot of poverty been denied him.
For several years previous to the war he was Lieutenant in the Spring Garden Rifle company. When hostilities opened, in April, 1861, he was active in recruiting soldiers for the common defence, and on the 29th of May was commissioned Captain of Company G of the Fourth Reserve regiment. He led that com- pany in the battles before Richmond under McClellan; and at Charles City Cross Roads, on the 30th of June, 1862, performed
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JOHN M. MARK .- THOS. F. B. TAPPER .- WM. M. MINTZER.
prodigies of valor, receiving a sword-cut on the right arm, and a bayonet wound in the left leg. Though suffering intensely, and weak from the loss of blood, he kept the field and lay down at night with his men on the bare ground without cover.
At Second Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam, at Fred- ericksburg, Cloyd Mountain in West Virginia, and New River Bridge, he was with the foremost, and no soldier was more sorely tried nor found more vigilant: Few campaigns more severely tested the metal of men than that conducted by General Crooke in West Virginia. For twenty days the troops were upon the march ; skirmishing commencing on the third day out, and con- tinuing without cessation until the end of the campaign. But no hardship nor fatigue could turn a soldier like Tapper from his purpose, and with such, no enterprise was too daring, nor trial too great. On the 1st of March, 1863, he was promoted to Lieu- tenant-Colonel, on the 10th of May, 1864, to Colonel, and on the 17th of June following, having served the full period for which he had enlisted, was mustered out of service with his command.
ILLIAM M. MINTZER, Colonel of the Fifty-third regiment, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born on the 7th of May, 1837, in Chester county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Henry and Rebecca (Bechtel) Mintzer. He entered the service of the United States on the 19th of April, 1861, as an enlisted man for the three months' term, and at its conclusion reentered for the war as a Lieutenant in the Fifty-third. In this capacity he participated in the battle at Fair Oaks, and subse- quently in the Seven Days' battle, in which he belonged to the rear guard, stubbornly holding back the foe at Peach Orchard, Savage Station, and White Oak Swamp. On the 2d of June, 1862, he was promoted to Major. In front of the sunken road, and the stone fence on the hill beyond, at Antietam, and at Marye's Heights in the battle of Fredericksburg, the Fifty-third was put to a severe test, but came forth from the ordeal with a reputation for valor unsurpassed. On the afternoon of the 2d of July, 1863, this regiment was put into the terrible maelstrom of battle near the Peach Orchard on the Gettysburg field, and here it combated under a deadly fire of musketry and artillery
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
until a large proportion were either killed or wounded. At the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Po River, Cold Harbor, Peters- burg, and a score of minor battles, he was with his regiment, having the active command for the most part, and leading it with rare skill and judgment. On the 29th of September, 1864, he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, and on the 30th of Octo- ber following, to Colonel. At the Boydton Plank Road, where he charged, recharged, and finally took the enemy's works, re- sulting in the cutting of the Weldon Railroad, he displayed a coolness and courage unsurpassed, was warmly commended by his superior officers, and was brevetted Brigadier-General "for gallant and meritorious services."
HOMAS JEFFERSON TOWN, Colonel of the Ninety-fifth regiment, brother of Gustavus W., noticed elsewhere, was born on the 9th of October, 1841. Their tastes were not unlike, and their education was substantially the same. He entered the three months' service as Second Lieutenant of the company of which his brother was First Lieutenant, and in the Ninety-fifth he was Captain of Company A, from which he was subsequently promoted to Major. In the battle at Salem Church, on the 3d of May, 1863, when his brother fell dead upon the field, he made strenuous efforts to bring off his body ; but while thus engaged, received a severe and painful wound in the hip, compelling him to abandon the purpose. The field remained in the enemy's hands, and the body was never recovered. Major Town was commissioned Colonel; but his wound was of so serious a char- acter that in the August following he was mustered out of service " for physical disability arising from wounds." In stature he is six feet and nearly three inches in height, and well pro- portioned.
TILLIAM ROSS HARTSHORNE, Colonel of the One Hundred and Ninetieth regiment, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born at Curwensville, Clearfield county, Pennsylvania, on the 26th of January, 1839. He was the son of William and Sophronia (Swan) Hartshorne. He was educated at the Tusca- rora Academy. He was commissioned First Lieutenant of Com-
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THOS. J. TOWN .- WM. R. HARTSHORNE .- NORMAN M. SMITH.
pany K, Bucktail regiment, on the 29th of May, 1861. In Au- gust following, he was transferred to the Signal corps, in which capacity he served on the staff of General Banks. Before the Reserve corps departed for the Peninsula, he was made Adjutant of his regiment and returned to duty with it. At the battle of Beaver Dam Creek he received a severe wound, his skull being fractured by a musket ball. The process of trepanning was per- formed by rebel surgeons at Savage Station, and he remained a prisoner until August 10th, 1862, when he rejoined his regiment and participated in the battles of South Mountain and Antietam. On the 22d of May, 1863, he was promoted to Major, and after the fall of Colonel Taylor at Gettysburg, the command devolved upon him. At Gettysburg and the Wilderness he was hotly engaged, and led his men with great gallantry. At the close of the term of service of the Reserve corps, two veteran regiments were formed from the remnants who were willing to reenlist. The command of the first of these, the One Hundred and Ninetieth, was given to Colonel Hartshorne. On the 20th of July, 1864, he was placed at the head of the Third brigade, Third division, Fifth corps, which he led with marked ability in the fierce fight- ing before Petersburg. In the action at the Weldon Railroad, on the 19th of August, his command was overwhelmed and he was taken prisoner. He was confined in Libby Prison, Salisbury, and Danville, and not until the 25th of March, 1865, was he released, being subjected to great privation and suffering for a period of over seven months. Three days after his release he rejoined his command and led it till the close of the war. He was made Brevet Brigadier-General on the 13th of March, 1865, and was mustered out with his regiment on the 2d of July.
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