USA > Pennsylvania > Martial deeds of Pennsylvania, Vol. 2 > Part 29
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OSEPH SETH HOARD, son of Enos and Fanny (Perry) Hoard, was born in Oneida county, New York, on the 17th of April, 1818. He was commissioned Captain of a company assigned for duty to the Eleventh regiment, Colonel Coulter, but was subse- quently transferred to the One Hundred and First. He was pro- moted to Major at the beginning of the year 1862, and with his regiment entered on the Peninsula campaign. Major Hoard suf- fered from the miasmatic airs of the Chickahominy; but still clung to his post, and in the battle of Fair Oaks distinguished himself, receiving the thanks of General Casey upon the field. His regiment was posted on the extreme front, and to him belongs
IT self
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the credit of advancing the picket line to a point on the Williams- burg Road nearest to Richmond. On the Ist of July, 1862, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel; but finding at the conclusion of this campaign that his health was seri- ously impaired, he resigned.
AMES THOMPSON KIRK, son of George A. and Jane (Thompson) Kirk, was born on the 21st of September, 1825, at Canons- burg. The family were Covenanters of Scotch-Irish extraction. He was educated at Jefferson College, and previous to the war had held five commissions in the militia. He was married in 1855 to Miss Mary Swan. He served during the Rebellion in the Tenth Reserve regiment, as Captain, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel in succession, and participated in the battle of Dranesville, soon after which he came to the command of the regiment, in the Seven Days' battle upon the Peninsula, Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam. Towards the close of the latter engagement he was placed over the brigade, which he led to the close of the battle. His health having become much im- paired, by the advice of his surgeon he resigned and returned to private life. In May, 1863, he was appointed Deputy Provost Marshal, which office he held to the close of the war.
HOMAS F. McCor, Colonel of the One Hundred and Seventh, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born in Mifflin county, in 1819. He was the youngest of nine children of John and Jane (Junkin) McCoy, of Scotch-Irish lineage. At the breaking out of the Mexican War, having for seven years previous served in the militia, President Polk appointed him First Lieutenant in the Eleventh United States infantry, and with it he marched to the Rio Grande. He was sent with the column ordered to Vera Cruz, and thence into the interior. His first encounter with the enemy was at the National Bridge. He was afterwards engaged at Passa La Hoya, and in a reconnoissance at Contreras, con- ducted by Captain Robert E. Lee, then of General Scott's staff. In the battles of Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, Chapul- tepec, and Garita San Cosme he took an active part, and was pro- Inoted to Captain for gallantry. In the bloody battle of Molino
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JAMES T. KIRK .- THOMAS F. McCOY.
del Rey he found himself the ranking officer, four of his superiors having fallen. Assuming command, he gathered up the thinned ranks of the regiment and led it to the close. Of his conduct here General Cadwalader says: "A reference to the official re- ports will show that his services were not overlooked either by the late commanding officer of his regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Graham, or after his death by his successor, Major Hunter, and that he is also particularly named in high terms in my own report." Returning to civil life with an honorable record, he was for two successive terms Prothonotary of Mifflin county. On leaving this position he studied law with William J. Jacobs and D. W. Woods of Lewistown, and was admitted to the bar.
At the commencement of the Rebellion, he tendered his services to Governor Curtin, who, appreciating the value of his military experience, appointed him, in April, 1861, Deputy Quartermaster-General of the State, and in conjunction with the lamented R. C. Hale, chief of the department, labored assid- uously through all the earlier months of the war in clothing and fitting the volunteers for the field.
Upon the death of Colonel Thomas A. Zeigle, of the One Hun- dred and Seventh regiment, on the 16th of July, 1862, the line officers united in inviting Colonel McCoy to fill the vacancy. His regiment was in Pope's army, and on taking the field was at once engaged in that unfortunate campaign which culminated in the battle of Bull Run. Colonel McCoy joined it and assumed active command on the 15th of August near Cedar Mountain, and from this moment, through the long three years of battles and sieges, until the last gun was fired in front of Appomattox Court House, he was faithful and devoted in the discharge of his varied duties. During this time he was frequently in command of a brigade. General Duryea commends him for "his gallant conduct in the various battles of the campaign in Virginia," and designates him "as an officer, cool and deliberate under fire, and subordinate and respectful in an eminent degree, commanding the confidence of his companions-in-arms."
At Fredericksburg he made a daring and successful charge, of which Colonel Root, then leading the brigade, in his official report spoke in high terms. No less important was his conduct
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at Chancellorsville, holding the skirmish line on the left of the army for two days and nights without relief. At Mine Run he was designated to lead the brigade in the charge upon the enemy's lines. He commanded the brigade on perilous outpost duty at Mitchell's Station in the winter of 1864, with eminent caution and success. In the advance to the James his regiment occupied an important position covering the movement, and suc- cessfully repulsed an attack when other troops gave way, which brought from General Crawford an expression of satisfaction "for effectually holding the position without support." At the Wel- don Railroad, Colonel McCoy was surrounded in the dense wood in which the battle was fought, and many of his officers and men were captured. Although repeatedly summoned to surrender, he refused, and at the imminent risk of being shot down made his escape. In the hottest of the battle at Dabney's Mill General Morrow, being dangerously wounded, turned the command of the brigade over to Colonel McCoy, together with its flag, which he had been carrying in the thickest of the fight. McCoy, not to be outdone in such gallantry, seized the proud emblem and bore it triumphantly. "I was wounded," says General Morrow, "in the first day's fight. Colonel McCoy then assumed command, and I know his conduct through the whole engagement to have been gallant and skilful."
Especially were Colonel McCoy's services appreciated in the battle of Five Forks, for which he was brevetted Brigadier- General. He was fortunate in having the friendship and high regard of General Baxter, with whom he served more than two years. "I wish to express," says that sturdy soldier, "my high appreciation and regard for the moral worth and integrity of pur- pose that has governed him in every action, and the promptness and ability with which his services have been rendered under all circumstances. In the camp, on the long and tedious marches, and on the battle field, his duties have been performed with that , decision and ability, that cannot but render a command effective and reliable, which his has ever been." Not less complimentary was the commendation bestowed by General G. K. Warren, who characterized him as "one of the most worthy officers of his corps." There is one merit due to General McCoy quite as
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EDWARD O'BRIEN .- CARLTON B. CURTIS.
important as that of leading in the "imminent deadly breach." In the course of his correspondence he casually remarks, " I feel sure that the highest type of a soldier is a Christian citizen fight- ing the battles of his country." To model his command after that type was his constant aim. To restrain hilarity and a ten- dency to riotous or immoral life in the camp was often unpopular, and, unless judiciously done, was liable to draw odium upon him who attempted it; but the purity of life and the seasonable and sensible way in which General McCoy impressed his men and his associates with his own spirit, commanded respect.
After the close of the war he returned to his home at Lewistown, where he resumed the practice of his profession. He was married on the 22d of May, 1873, to Miss Maggie E. Ross, of Harrisburg.
DWARD O'BRIEN, son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Connolly) O'Brien, was born in Pittsburg on the 10th of October, 1823. His maternal grandfather served under Washington in the patriot army. He volunteered as a private in the Mexican War, was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant, and was wounded in the left eye at the storming of Garita de Belen. In the late war he was Captain in the Twelfth three months' regiment, and Colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth nine months'. He was in the battles of Antietam, Shepherdstown, Fredericks- burg, and Chancellorsville, in the latter having his clothing riddled with bullets and his horse shot under him, narrowly escaping with his life. "Under my own eye," says Hum- phreys, in whose division he served, "Colonel O'Brien rode in front of his regiment and literally led in the last charge on the stone wall at Fredericksburg, just before dusk on the 13th of December. . . . He is in every way reliable, a good soldier and gallant leader, always attentive to duty, careful and considerate of those under his command, prompt in execution."
ARLTON B. CURTIS, Colonel of the Fifty-eighth regiment, was born in central New York on the 17th of December, 1811. He removed to Pennsylvania in 1831, and, having read law, settled at Warren in 1834. In the fall of 1836 he was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature, where he served for two terms. He
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was elected to Congress in 1850, as the successor of the late Chief Justice Thompson, where he served as a Democrat until 1855. Upon the repeal of the Missouri Compromise he abandoned his old political affiliations, and henceforward acted with the Re- publicans. When war broke out, in 1861, he was made Colonel of the Fifty-eighth. He was ordered to North Carolina with his command, where he was for the most part on outpost duty, arduous and perplexing, with frequent severe skirmishing. In July, 1863, on account of failing health he resigned. In the fall of 1872 he was again elected to Congress.
HANCEY ALMERON LYMAN, son of Eleazer and Sally (Payne) Lyman, was born in Tioga county, on the 19th of July, 1820. He entered the service in April, 1861, as Captain in the Seventh Reserve regiment, and was promoted in succession to Major and Lieutenant-Colonel. He was engaged in the battles of Beaver Dam Creek, Gaines' 'Mill, Charles City Cross Roads, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericks- burg. He commanded his regiment at Antietam and held his men in good order until one-third were killed or wounded, and though the brigade was broken, still kept them in hand and retired leisurely, receiving the plaudits of General Meade. By the wounds of his superiors the command also devolved on him on the field at South Mountain and Fredericksburg. In Feb- ruary, 1864, he resigned. He was married in 1841 to Miss Celinda M. Ingraham.
SAIAH PRICE, Brevet Colonel of the Ninety-seventh regiment, was born on the 20th of May, 1822, in Chester county. His father was Benjamin, son of Philip Price, an eminent teacher, both prominent members of the Society of Friends. His mother was Jane Paxson, also a Friend. He received a liberal English education, with some knowledge of Latin, and graduated at the Philadelphia College of Dental Surgery in 1854. That a convic- tion of duty as revealed in the heart of each individual should be the paramount spring of action was held to be a leading tenet in the Quaker faith, and while peace and good-will among men was set as the end of their teaching, it was undoubtedly the promptings
Isaiah Price
MAJOR 07 P.V . BREVET COLONEL U. S. V.
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CHANCEY A. LYMAN .- ISAIAH PRICE.
of conscience which impelled many young Friends to join in the great contest between despotism and human freedom. On the 18th of September, 1861, he was mustered into service as Captain of Company C of the Ninety-seventh. With his regiment he proceeded to the Department of the South. On the 3d of Jan- uary, 1862, he was detailed upon recruiting service, and ordered to report to Harrisburg. Early in June with his recruits he rejoined his regiment at Legereville. He participated in the engagements at Grimball's Plantation and Secessionville, on James Island, June 10th and 16th, and during the winter suc- ceeding was detailed upon court-martial duty. He led his com- pany in the affair at Stephen's Landing on the 16th of July, 1863, and during the protracted siege of Forts Wagner and Gregg, on Morris Island, was in command of the regiment. After the fall of these strongholds he was ordered to Florida, and upon the occupation of Fernandina was made Provost Marshal of the town. In the spring of 1864 his regiment was transferred to the Army of the James. In the advance upon the Richmond and Peters- burg Railroad on the 9th of May, at Proctor's Creek on the 16th, and at Green Plain on the 18th, he exhibited a determined spirit that won the highest admiration.
On the night of the 19th of May, Captain Price was on the picket line with one hundred and fifty men, and was several times attacked, but was able to hold his ground. Reinforcements were repeatedly called for, but none came. Finally three rebel regiments en echelon moved out from a concealed position and bore down upon his line. A detachment upon his left broke at the first onset, leaving his flank exposed. By his personal bravery he prevailed upon a part to return. But it was impossi- ble to stem the torrent of the attack, and his line was forced back. In the midst of the struggle Captain Price was struck by a spent canister shot.
He was in command of the regiment at Cold Harbor. He also participated in carrying some of the enemy's works on the heights near Petersburg on the 15th of June, and in the assault on the 30th of July upon the occasion of the springing of the mine. On the. 6th of June he was commissioned Major. At the close of his term, the regiment having been reduced below the number
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required for two field officers, he, having been debilitated by an attack of fever, resigned and was honorably discharged. In March, 1867, he was brevetted by Governor Geary Lieutenant- Colonel and Colonel. After his return from the field he resumed the practice of his profession in the city of Philadelphia. In 1846 he was married to Lydia, daughter of Jacob. Heald, of Delaware.
An old companion-in-arms says of him: "There never was an officer more willing and anxious to hold himself up to the strict, stern, and varied requirements of his official duty than Major Price. With him lofty and pure patriotism and a desire to do everything he could to further the interests of the public service, regardless of self, were the grand incentives."
WILLIAM HOFMANN, Colonel of the Fifty-sixth regiment, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born on the 18th of Febru- ary, 1824. He was the son of John and Anna Louisa (Eckhardt) Hofmann, both natives of Prussia, who emigrated and settled in Philadelphia, in 1819. At the age of seventeen he learned calico engraving, and at the end of three years engaged in trade as a dealer in hosiery goods, the manufacture of which had been the occupation of his father. In 1848 he was married to Emma Margaretta Aunen, who, while her husband was in the field, acted the part of a real heroine in assuming the management of his business. In 1840 he joined the Junior Artillerists, and three years later the Washington Grays, continuing in active duty for a period of ten years. He served as a Captain in the Twenty- third regiment, and on being mustered out accepted the position of Major of the Fifty-sixth. In October following he was pro- moted to Lieutenant-Colonel. In the battle at Gainesville Colonel Meredith was wounded, when the command devolved upon Hof- mann, who led it in the actions of the two following days at Bull Run. In the affair at South Mountain he was placed over the brigade, which he led throughout the battle of Antietam. Upon the advance of the army down the valley of Virginia, Hof- mann was detailed with his brigade to operate with the cavalry under Pleasanton in clearing the passes of the Blue Ridge. He soon after returned to the command of his regiment, and was, on
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J. WILLIAM HOFMANN.
the 8th of January, promoted to Colonel. In the severe battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville he led with his usual intrepidity, and at Gettysburg had the honor of opening the battle on the part of the infantry. He was sent soon after to Philadelphia to bring drafted men to the front, and while there was called to serve on a general court-martial. He returned in time to take part in the movement upon Mine Run, and after the determination had been taken to retire without bringing on a general battle, he was detailed to destroy the bridges over that stream which had been constructed for the use of the First corps. In the first day in the Wilderness his regiment suffered severely. At noon of the following day General Wadsworth was killed in an effort to repel a charge of the enemy, and the division forced back. As the regiments retired through the thick under- brush, they were much broken. A number of these were rallied by Colonel Hofmann and reformed in rear of a line of works held by the Second corps. At evening the enemy made a furious onslaught, and succeeded in forcing the troops out and in planting the rebel colors on the works. At this juncture, with the frag- ments of nine regiments which he had rallied, numbering about 400 men, he attacked and drove the enemy out, and thus reëstab- lished the main line of communication between the right and left wings of the army, which had been momentarily interrupted. General Hancock, who was in command of the left wing and who was present, acknowledged the importance of this blow, which proved to be the final one on that sanguinary field.
On the 21st of May, after having participated in the severe fight- ing at Spottsylvania and Alsop's Farm, he was assigned to the com- mand of the brigade. At the North Anna, soon after crossing, he was heavily attacked, but succeeded in hurling the foe from his position. On the 7th of June Hofmann was ordered to seize the railroad bridge over the Chickahominy. By making a long detour he came upon the enemy unawares and put him to rout, sustaining only small loss. Having crossed the James, he joined on the 18th of June in the assault upon the works before Peters- burg, where the loss was very severe. In the movement upon the Weldon Railroad on the 1Sth of August, Colonel Hofmann's brig- ade bore a conspicuous part, making many captures, among which
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were two field officers, nine line officers, and three battle-flags. He was soon afterwards made Brigadier-General, and was by special order of the President assigned to duty according to his brevet rank. In the action at Pegram's Farm, at Hatcher's Run, and in the raid upon the Weldon Railroad, General Hofmann led his com- . mand. At the conclusion of his three years' term in March, 1865, he retired from the service. In the fall of 1863 General Hofmann was the recipient of a jewelled sword, in silver scabbard, with belt, spurs, and sash, from the officers and men of his command. In the summer of 1864 he received from the men of the Fourth Delaware of his brigade, a revolver and spurs which they had captured in battle. By the members of his staff he was pre- sented with an elegantly bound copy of Jomini's Life of Napo- leon. He enjoyed the confidence of his superior officers, having been honored with testimonials from Generals Meredith, Rice, Cutler, Wadsworth, Doubleday, Griffin, Ayers, Warren, and Meade, the latter bearing testimony to "his high character for intelligence, energy, and zeal in the discharge of his duties, and for conspicuous gallantry on the field of battle."
DWARD OVERTON, JR., son of Edward and Eliza (Clymer) Overton, was born at Towanda, on the 4th of February, 1836. He was educated at Princeton College, graduating in the class of 1856. He entered the service as Major of the Fiftieth regiment in September, 1861, and was promoted to Lieutenant- Colonel in August, 1863. He served with Stevens in the De- partment of the South, and with the Ninth corps in the fierce engagements at Bull Run and Chantilly, leading his regiment in the latter and continuing at its head in the battle of South Mountain and at Antietam, where he was severely wounded. He returned to duty in time to go west with the Ninth corps, and was with Sherman at Vicksburg and Jackson, and subsequently bore a part in the defence of Knoxville in its protracted siege by Longstreet. On the bloody battle ground of the Wilderness he was where dangers were thickest, and at Ny River, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Mine Explosion, and Weldon Railroad, shared the fortunes of his regiment, facing the foe in one of the most san- guinary campaigns of the Rebellion. Since the war he has held
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EDW. OVERTON, Jr .- WM. F. SMALL .- JAS. GWYN.
the position of Register in Bankruptcy for the Thirteenth Con- gressional District.
ILLIAM FRANCIS SMALL, son of Thomas and Sarah (James) Small, was born in Montgomery county on the 16th of September, 1819. He commanded the Monroe Guard, a militia company, in the riots of 1844, and led it throughout the Mexican War, especially distinguishing himself at Puebla, charging with only sixty men a battery strongly defended. After his return he rose to be Colonel and Brigadier-General of militia. In 1860 he recruited the Washington brigade, and tendered its service to Mr. Buchanan, which was declined. When hostilities opened in April, 1861, he attempted to pass through Baltimore with his command with the Massachusetts Sixth, but not being armed was attacked by the mob and driven back, having several men wounded. He was commissioned Colonel of the Twenty-sixth regiment. In the battle of Williamsburg, while leading with great heroism upon a bastion of Fort Magruder, he was severely wounded and borne helpless from the field. Being incapacitated for duty, he resigned in June, 1862. He recruited and com- manded the Sixtieth militia when the State was invaded in 1863. Previous to the war he was a member of the State Senate.
AMES GWYN, Colonel of the One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment, Brevet Brigadier and Major-General, was born at Londonderry, Ireland, on the 24th of November, 1828. He was the son of Alexander and Catharine (Garvin) Gwyn. He was educated at Foyle College, and for a time studied surgery. On coming to this country he settled in Philadelphia, where he was connected with the mercantile house of Stuart Brothers. In February, 1850, he was married to Miss Margaretta E. Young. At the opening of the Rebellion he was commissioned Captain of the Twenty-third regiment, and when it was reorganized for veteran service he was again commissioned Captain and went to the field under the gallant General Birney. With him Cap- tain Gwyn fought at Fair Oaks, and at the close of the Peninsula campaign resigned to accept promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel of the One Hundred and Eighteenth. Its first engagement was at
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Shepherdstown, soon after the battle of Antietam, where it fell into an ambuscade and was fearfully decimated. In the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg, with all the incidental skirmishing and fighting, Lieutenant-Colonel Gwyn maintained his character as a valuable and reliable officer, and at the close of these campaigns was promoted to Colonel. On the first day in the Wilderness he was severely wounded in the right thigh. He rejoined his regiment in front of Petersburg. On the 30th of September, 1864, Warren attacked the enemy in his works at Peeble's Farm. Gwyn, as the senior Colonel, com- manded the First brigade, First division. With great gallantry he led forward his men, reduced by repeated losses to about eight hundred, and captured two earthworks and a fortified line. For this action he was brevetted Brigadier-General, and assigned to duty in accordance with the brevet rank. At Five Forks, in April, 1865, which was the beginning of the end, General Gwyn's brigade captured a large number of the enemy and many battle-flags. He was immediately thereafter promoted to Brevet Major-General. At the close of the war he returned to mer- cantile business.
ILLIAM HENRY BOYD was born on the 14th of July, 1825, at Quebec, Canada. His father was a soldier in the British army. At the breaking out of the war he was in the Directory publishing business in Philadelphia. Ile recruited a company of cavalry for Schurz's National brigade, which became a part of the First New York (Lincoln) cavalry, and which he led on the Peninsula as escort to General Franklin. After the Mary- land campaign this regiment was left with Milroy at Winchester, and fought the advance of Lee in his march towards Gettysburg. Boyd was detached to save the wagon train and brought it safely to Harrisburg, after which he operated in the Cumberland Valley both during the advance and retreat of the enemy from Pennsyl- vania, rendering important service. He was shortly after com- missioned Colonel of the Twenty-first cavalry, which in the Wil- derness campaign he led as infantry, and at Cold Harbor was severely wounded, the ball piercing his neck and lodging in one of the vertebra, where it remained for five months and was only
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