USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2 > Part 19
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THEODORE F. LEHMANN.
fested a strong predilection. In 1837 he came to this country and was engaged in teaching languages, natural sciences, and mathematics, in the city of Pittsburg.
When the Sixty-second Pennsylvania regiment was organized he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel, and from his thorough military education and training was able to render important service. In October following, upon the formation of the One Hundred and Third, he was promoted to be its Colonel. After passing through the Peninsula campaign his regiment was trans- ferred to the Department of North Carolina, and during the cam- paigns of 1863-64 Colonel Lehmann commanded a brigade. In the unfortunate battle of Plymouth, on the 20th of April, 1864, a small force of seventeen hundred men was attacked upon the land by a division of General Pickett, and by water by the rebel iron-clad ram Albemarle. Though making a stout resistance, inflicting and incurring serious losses, the little force was finally surrounded, and after espending its ammunition was compelled to surrender. Colonel Lehmann and nearly his entire regiment were among the captives. He was confined in rebel prisons, and at Charleston was placed under fire of the Union guns, which were then employed in bombarding the city.
On the 30th of August following, after a confinement of over four months, he was exchanged and returned to his regiment. He was assigned to the command of the sub-district of the Albemarle, North Carolina, with head-quarters at Roanoke Island, which position he held until the surrender of Lee. After the close of the war he returned to his home in Pittsburg, and was made President of the Western Pennsylvania Military Academy. Colonel Lehmann was a man of a quiet and unobtrusive de- meanor, little given to that sociality which in army life was often the avenue to applause and even promotion. It was face- tiously told that he was once very near being recommended- after making a handsome bayonet charge and dislodging the enemy-for a promotion ; but it turned out that somebody else was recommended in his place for gallant conduct, and was made a Brigadier-General. When spoken to upon the subject, Lehmann said he was glad of it; for the poor fellow was sick at the time the assault was made, in an ambulance three miles
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MARTIAL DEEDS. OF PENNSYLVANIA.
to the rear, and that the news of his promotion made him quite well.
IIe has been three times married : in 1835 to Mlle. Adile C. Blie, in Nantes, France; in 1842 to Miss Kate McMurtry, of Kentucky, a grand-niece of Governor Madison of that State; and in 1857 to Miss Frances M. Lloyd, of Cincinnati. In person he is full six feet in height, and of an iron frame, capable of with- standing much privation and exposure. He has been a close student all his life, his habit of carly rising and of strict tem- perance contributing to give him great power of endurance.
IRAM C. ALLEMAN, Lieutenant-Colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh regiment, and Colonel of the Thirty- sixth militia, was born in Highspire, Dauphin county, Pennsyl- vania, on the 15th of September, 1836. He was the son of Con- rad and Rebecca (Cassel) Alleman, both natives of that county. He received a liberal education, at Dickinson College. He was, however, prevented from graduating in consequence of continued delicate health. He read law with Hon. John Adams Fisher, of Harrisburg, and was admitted to the bar during his minority. He opened his first law-office in the neighboring town of York. His studious habits, affability and energy, and more than all his integrity and constant attention to business, soon brought him into notice ; while his devotion to his clients gained him practice. He early manifested a laudable political ambition, but found him- self in a district overwhelmingly against him in sentiment. He was, however, from the first recognized as a leader by his own party, having twice represented it in State conventions, and received a highly complimentary vote as its candidate for Dis- trict Attorney.
Returning to his native county, he established himself in Har- risburg, and at once entered upon a successful practice. He found here the dominant party in accord with his own convictions, and for two terins filled the office of County Solicitor. At the break- ing out of the Rebellion, he unhesitatingly relinquished his pro- fession and enrolled himself as a private in the Lochiel Grays of Harrisburg. He was shortly afterwards elected and commis- sioned First Lieutenant of the Verbeke Rifles, which became
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HIRAM C. ALLEMAN.
Company E of the Fifteenth regiment. Having received no military education, he applied himself assiduously to drill and the study of military tactics. On the 1st of May he was detailed as Post Adjutant of Camp Curtin ; but accompanied his regiment when it moved to the front, and served with it until the expira- tion of its term of three months, although he was Judge Advo- cate of a Division Court Martial, and filled the position creditably during most of this time. His first field service was at the battle of Falling Waters, on the 1st of July, 1861, where the enemy was driven.
On being mustered out he resumed his law practice, but was soon after tendered the appointment of Major of the Ninety- third regiment. He assisted in organizing it, but declined the appointment as one of its officers. He, however, continued to take an active part in the recruiting service, canvassing his native county at his own expense, and arousing the masses by persuasive words. In August, 1862, he was commissioned Cap- tain of Company D of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh regiment. When the regimental organization was formed he was made Lieutenant-Colonel. In this capacity he exhibited fine administrative ability, and was regarded as an able and efficient officer. In consequence of the assignment, temporarily, of the Colonel to the command of a brigade, and of his absence on account of wounds, Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman was in full command of the regiment for a considerable part of its service, and with it participated in the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, in both of which he was wounded. Early in the former engage- ment Colonel Jennings fell, and Alleman at once assumed com- mand. For three days the position in front of the enemy, in rear of the town, was maintained. Late on the evening of the 15th, the last day, while holding the advanced skirmish line, he was struck by a fragment of a shell on the right knee. He was soon after offered a staff position by a corps commander; but declined it, preferring to remain with his regiment.
While in camp at Falmouth he was prostrated by a fever, and was tendered a leave of absence by General Burnside, then in command of the Army of the Potomac; but anxious to keep the field, he refused to accept it. As general officer of the picket
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
line extending from the Lacy House to United States Ford, he made the first discovery and gave the first information to General Hooker, then at Chancellorsville, of the evacuation of Fredericksburg and the heights in its rear." Immediate orders were telegraphed to General Gibbon to throw his division across the Rappahannock, and occupy the town. Preparations were at once commenced for laying a pontoon bridge; but the enemy had a strong body of sharpshooters well posted and intrenched, who kept up a deadly fire, which so thinned the ranks of the working parties as to check their operations. At this juncture Lieutenant-Colonel Alleman was detailed to complete it, and though with the loss of many men, the bridge was laid by day- light of Sunday morning, May 3d. He reported his success, and asked to be relieved of staff duty, that he might be with his regiment in the impending battle. After paying him a merited compliment, General Gibbon granted his request. The troops were at once put in motion, and were hurried forward in pursuit of the enemy. In the fighting which ensued, while leading a wing of his regiment in a charge upon a rebel battery, he was struck by a partially spent solid shot, which fractured the ribs of the left side. After dislodging the enemy, the brigade was ordered back to hold Fredericksburg. Though suffering, he volunteered to guard the bridge, and held it until the entire command had recrossed the Rappahannock. With his regiment he was mustered out of service, and was presented upon the occasion with a costly and beautiful sword, studded with jewels, bearing the inscription : " Presented to Lieutenant-Colonel H. C. Alleman by the non-commissioned officers and privates of the One Hundred and Twenty-seventh regiment, as a token of their esteem."
Upon the advance of Lee into Pennsylvania, in June, 1863, he recruited the Thirty-sixth militia regiment, and was appointed its Colonel. Under orders of General Couch, then at the head of the Department of the Susquehanna, he marched his command to the gory field of Gettysburg, and upon his arrival was made Military Governor of the town and the surrounding battle-field, including all the hospitals and rebel camps. His duties here were arduous and responsible. His efficiency and success were
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HIRAM C. ALLEMAN.
highly appreciated by the authorities at Washington, and so popular was his administration with the people of Gettysburg that upon his retirement they united in presenting him an address of thanks.
In the meantime he had been elected a member of the Legis- lature from Dauphin county. He was returned the following year, and held a prominent rank both as a debater and a work- ing member. He was placed upon important committees, and was chairman of that on Federal Relations, New Counties, and Inaugural Ceremonies. After leaving the Legislature he was appointed Bank Commissioner, and as delegate to the Chicago National Convention was chairman of the committee from the Soldiers' Convention, and presented the resolutions of that body to General Grant, the nominee for the Presidency.
In November, 1867, he removed to Philadelphia, where he established himself in his profession. In person he is five feet seven inches in height, of slender frame, and of a highly sensi- tive and nervous temperament. His habits are strictly tem- perate, he never having indulged in the use of spirituous liquors, of tobacco in any form, or of any exciting beverage. So far did he carry his opposition to a whiskey ration in the army that he tendered his resignation rather than order one to his men, when directed to do so by a general order. His business capacity is remarkable. He is strong in his attachments, and prompt and punctual in all his engagements. In the army he was a good disciplinarian, and his example had a telling effect upon his com- mand. . He was mild, yet firm; considerate in issuing orders, but strict in requiring their implicit obedience. He was mar- ried on the 7th of February, 1872, to Miss Emma S. Helmick, daughter of the Hon. William Helmick, of Washington, D. C., formerly member of Congress from Ohio. In the spring of 1873, he was appointed Attorney of the United States for Colorado. By a subsequent enactment of the Territorial Legislature he is constituted Attorney-General, which office he now exercises, residing in the city of Denver.
He had two brothers in the service-an elder, whose career is traced in this volume, and a younger, Silas Horace Alleman, who enlisted at the age of sixteen, leaving school for the purpose,
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
and performed important service on the staff of the Colonel in charge of rebel prisoners on their way to Fort Hamilton, Fort Mifflin, and Fort McHenry, as they were despatched from the field of Gettysburg. After the war he was appointed, by Governor Geary, Inspector-General with the rank of Lieutenant- Colonel, upon the staff of Major-General Jordan. He was after- wards detailed for active duty upon the staff of Governor Geary, by whom he was ordered to take command of the troops of the Fifth division of the State militia and proceed to Williamsport, in July, 1872, to quell a threatened riot. He was there placed in command of all the military, by order of Major-General Merrill, in which position he acquitted himself with much credit. He has since settled in Denver, Colorado, where he is engaged in the practice of the law, and as Assistant United States Attorney.
ICHAEL KERWIN, Colonel of the Thirteenth cavalry, was born on the 15th of August, 1837, in the county of War- ford, Ireland, from which place his family emigrated during his early boyhood to America. He was educated in a private acad- emy in the city of Philadelphia, and in youth learned the busi- ness of a lithograph printer. Of a studious turn of mind, he early acquired a good fund of general information. He was a member for several years of a volunteer militia company, in which he attained considerable knowledge of military organiza- tion and duty.
Three days after the call for troops, in April, 1861, he volun- teered as a private in the Twenty-fourth regiment for three months' service. This organization formed part of Patterson's army, with which he advanced into Virginia. Before crossing the Potomac, where it was known the enemy was present in con- siderable force, it became very important to the Union leader that he should know what troops he would have to meet. Some reliable soldier was sought who should enter the rebel lines and gather the desired information. For this dangerous and im- portant duty Kerwin volunteered his services. Full well he knew that, should he be discovered, death upon the gibbet awaited him. But he was not of the temper to hesitate when called for any duty which his country might demand. Adopting the
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MICHAEL KERWIN.
necessary disguise he crossed the river, went freely through the enemy's camps, which he found near Martinsburg, and after making an estimate of the number of men and guns, and outlines of fortifications, returned and reported to General Negley, then in command of the brigade to which he belonged. The successful manner in which this duty was performed, and the judgment and daring which he displayed in executing it, marked him as worthy of a better rank than that of bearing the musket.
In September of this year, after having been discharged at the expiration of his first term, he was commissioned Captain in the Thirteenth cavalry, and in July following was promoted to Major. During the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th days of June, 1863, when Milroy's little force, in which the Thirteenth was serving, was confronted and finally routed by the advance of Lee's entire army, Major Kerwin, at the head of his regiment, rendered important service, having frequent conflicts with the over-confident rebel horse. After leaving the Valley, the regiment was attached to the Army of the Potomac, when Major Kerwin was promoted to Colonel and took command of the regiment. On the 12th of October, while on the advance picket line near the White Sulphur Springs, he was suddenly attacked by a heavy force of the rebel army, Lee seeking by a sudden movement to turn the Union right. Colonel Kerwin with his own, in connection with the Fourth cavalry, combated the head of Ewell's columns for six long hours, giving time for Meade to recross the Rappahannock and get his army into position to checkmate the wily scheme of the rebel chieftain. Gallantly was this duty executed, but at the sacrifice of these two noble commands, large numbers of both being killed, wounded, and taken prisoners.
During the year 1864, Colonel Kerwin led his forces with Sheridan in his operations with the Army of the Potomac, for a time being in command of the Second brigade of Gregg's division. In February, 1865, he went with his regiment from before Peters- burg to City Point, where he proceeded by transport to Wilming- ton, North Carolina, to meet Sherman, who was marching up from Georgia. On joining the grand column at Fayetteville, Colonel Kerwin was assigned to the command of the Third brigade of Kilpatrick's division. After the surrender of Johnston,
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Colonel Kerwin was ordered to Fayetteville with his regiment, and placed in command of the post. He had seven counties under his control, and managed the affairs of his department with singular skill and ability. After the conclusion of hostilities he returned to Philadelphia, where, near the close of July, he was mustered out of service, having been on duty continuously from the opening to the conclusion of the war.
JOHN P. NICHOLSON, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel of the Twenty- eighth regiment, was born on the 4th of July, 1842, in Philadelphia. He enlisted as a private in that regiment in June, 1861, but was soon afterwards promoted to Sergeant. In July, 1862, he was advanced to First Lieutenant, and detailed as regimental Quartermaster. In December, 1862, he was assigned as Quartermaster of the First brigade, Second division, Twelfth corps, and was promoted to Captain for faithful and meritorious services. He was likewise advanced to the grades of Brevet Major and Lieutenant-Colonel for his services in the Savannah and Carolina campaign, and during the war. Colonel Nicholson won the confidence of his superior officers in a remark- able degree, being commended by Sherman, McClellan, Slocum, Hooker, Greene, Ruger, Tyndale and others, and from the first to . the last day of his service was constant and unremitting in his attention to duty. He was mustered out on the 6th of August, 1865.
JOHN WILSON PHILLIPS, Colonel of the Eighteenth cavalry, was born on the 1st of July, 1837, in Wilson county, Tennessee. His father, William Phillips, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where the family had long resided. The old bury- ing ground, near the little village of Library, where he was bred, shows a large number of his name and family buried there, and many others still live in the vicinage. His mother was Nancy Waters, a native of Shenandoah county, Virginia. His youth was passed upon a farm, working in the summer time and attend- ing school in the winter. Until the age of twenty he was instructed in the schools and academies of Tennessee, when he entered Allegheny College at Meadville, and graduated in the
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Colonel Kerwin was ordered to Fayetteville with his regiment, and placed in command of the post. He had seven counties under his control, and managed the affairs of his department with singular skill and ability. After the conclusion of hostilities he returned to Philadelphia, where, near the close of July, he was mustered out of service, having been on duty continuously from the opening to the conclusion of the war.
OHN P. NICHOLSON, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel of the Twenty- eighth regiment, was born on the 4th of July, 1842, in Philadelphia. He enlisted as a private in that regiment in June, 1861, but was soon afterwards promoted to Sergeant. In July, 1862, he was advanced to First Lieutenant, and detailed as regimental Quartermaster. In December, 1862, he was assigned as Quartermaster of the First brigade, Second division, Twelfth corps, and was promoted to Captain for faithful and meritorious services. He was likewise advanced to the grades of Brevet Major and Lieutenant-Colonel for his services in the Savannah and Carolina campaign, and during the war. Colonel Nicholson won the confidence of his superior officers in a remark- able degree, being commended by Sherman, Mcclellan, Slocum, Hooker, Greene, Ruger, Tyndale and others, and from the first to the last day of his service was constant and unremitting in his attention to duty. He was mustered out on the 6th of August, 1865.
OHN WILSON PHILLIPS, Colonel of the Eighteenth cavalry, was born on the 1st of July, 1837, in Wilson county, Tennessee. His father, William Phillips, was a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania, where the family had long resided. The old bury- ing ground, near the little village of Library, where he was bred, shows a large number of his name and family buried there, and many others still live in the vicinage. His mother was Nancy Waters, a native of Shenandoah county, Virginia. His youth was passed upon a farm, working in the summer time and attend- ing school in the winter. Until the age of twenty he was instructed in the schools and academies of Tennessee, when he entered Allegheny College at Meadville, and graduated in the
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JOHN. P. NICHOLSON .- JOHN W. PHILLIPS.
class of 1860. His tastes were literary, and soon after gradu- ating he commenced the study of law in the city of Meadville with Hiram L. Richmond.
Seeing the war fully inaugurated, and no prospect of a speedy termination, he determined to devote himself unreservedly to the supremacy of the National Government over its entire territory, and laying aside his books commenced recruiting for a cavalry company, in which he was assisted by James W. Smith, Thomas J. Grier, and David T. Mckay. It was speedily filled, and became Company B of the Eighteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, of which Phillips was commissioned Captain. The first field duty was upon the picket line in Virginia before the defences of Washington, where Moseby, and a class of bushwhackers- unscrupulous as they were cruel-had their haunts, and the ser- vice was in no way agreeable or honor-provoking. When the army moved northward on the Gettysburg campaign, Kilpatrick's division of cavalry, to which this regiment belonged, was in the advance upon the right of the column. At Hanover, Pennsyl- vania, the rebel cavalry under Stuart was met and a sharp skir- mish ensued, which lasted until nightfall, when the enemy retired. In the battle of Gettysburg Kilpatrick occupied a posi- tion on the Union left beyond Round Top, where the Eighteenth was hotly engaged, and where the commander of the brigade, Colonel Farnsworth, was killed. Captain Phillips was here slightly wounded in the head but not disabled. As soon as it was known that the rebels were retreating, Kilpatrick, by a rapid march, turned their right flank and came in upon their trains near Monterey Springs, routing the guard, capturing and destroying many wagons, and bearing away two of their guns with some prisoners. At Hagerstown Kilpatrick again fought the enemy's cavalry, and held the town until the arrival of Lee's infantry in force, when he was obliged to retire. In this engagement Captain Phillips led a battalion in a charge through the town in a most gallant manner, driving the enemy, and making some captures, but losing heavily. In the campaign which followed, and which closed the operations of the year, he participated, being subjected to much hard riding and frequent collisions with the enemy.
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MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA.
In the first day in the Wilderness, in May, 1864, Major Phillips, who had a few weeks previous received his promotion, was slightly wounded in the side, but kept the field. When General Wilson, who commanded the division, found himself in the midst of heavy masses of the enemy's infantry, he ordered a retreat; but left the Eighteenth to keep up a show of resistance until the main body could be brought out. For a half hour it faced a foe swarming at every approach, and its escape seemed utterly hope- less. But when the time had fully expired, a dash was made and the way forced. Major Phillips and his associates were highly complimented by General Wilson for their skill in this action. He participated in the raid upon the enemy's communications, and in the battles at the defences of Richmond. At Hanover Court House, on the 31st of May, where the enemy under Fitz Hugh Lee was found in possession of the town, and advanta- geously posted behind barricades, a charge was made by the Eighteenth led by Colonel Brinton and Major Phillips, before which the enemy was driven. Major Phillips was struck in the midst of the charge by a spent ball, but kept the field and shared in the triumphal issue.
Not long after reaching the James, General Sheridan was sent to the Shenandoah Valley, and with him went the Eighteenth. A campaign of unexampled activity and glory followed, in which Major Phillips bore an important and honorable part. In the battle of Winchester, on the 19th, his regiment charged the rebel infantry in a commanding position covered by breastworks, and in less time than it takes to tell the story had routed and driven them in confusion. At Front Royal, in the Luray Valley, Waynesboro, and Bridgewater, the blows of Sheridan were dealt with a rapidity and stunning effect which scarcely gave his adversary time to take breath. In the retreat from Harrisonburg, during the 7th and Sth of October, where Major Phillips was in command, the fighting on the part of the cavalry was without cessation ; but on the 9th, having drawn the enemy on suffi- ciently far, Wilson's division turned upon him and defeated him, capturing six pieces of artillery and many prisoners. In the battle of Cedar Creek, on the 19th of October, that single division was accredited with bringing in and turning over to the proper
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