IdeaA-ni ..j

"I give thefe Books
for the founding of a College in this Colony"

- YALE ^MnwlKilw-
- ILHIBIBiMSy •

BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME
OF THE
ALFRED E. PERKIN'S
Fund 1907

ERRATA
Bvt. Mat.-Gen. John White Geary.
Mexican War. — Captain ind Pennsylvania Infantry, Dec. 21, 1846; Lieut.-
Col., Jan. 7, 1847 J Colonel, Nov. 3, 1847.
Civil War. — Colonel 28th Pennsylvania Infantry, June 28, 1861 ; Brig.-
Gen., U. S. Vols., April 25, 1862; Brevet Major-Gen., U! S. Vols., Jan.
12, 1865. Governor of Pennsylvania, 1867 to 1873.
Born, Dec. 30, 1819, at Mt. Pleasant, Pa.
Died, Feb. 8, 1873, at Harrisburg, Pa.
Bvt. Maj. -Gen. Samuel Wylie Crawford.
First Lieut, and Asst. Surgeon, U. S. A., Mar. 10, 1851 ; Major, 13th
U. S. Infantry, May 14, 1861 ; Lieut.-Col., 2nd U. S. Infantry, Feb. 17,
1864; Major-Gen., U. S. Vols., Aug. 1, 1864; Colonel, 16th U. S. Infantry,
Feb. 22, 1869; Brig-General, U. S. A. (retired), Feb. 19, 1873. Born, Nov.
8, 1827, near Chambersburg, Pa. Died, Nov. 3, 1892, at Philadelphia.
p. 188. Governor Curtin (not "Cartin") Born, April 22, 1817. Died,
Oct. 7, 1894. Governor of Pennsylvania, Jan., 1861, tp Jan., 1867.
p. 172. Eugene Boblits, Co. H (not "Bablits," nor Co. " I").
p. 204. Thos. L. Enyeart (not "Engard").

125'i'H Reg. Penn. Volunteers.
(See description and inscriptions pages 249, 250, 251.)

HISTORY

OF THE

€>ne f uttDreD and Ct»ent?*ftft^ Begfmeut

1862—1863

Br
THE REGIMENTAL COMMITTEE

PRINTED by
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PHILADELPHIA 1906

PREFACE

To the Survivors of the 125TH Regiment, Pennsylvania
Volunteers, and Friends.
At the reunion of , our Regimental Association, in the year
1893, we were appointed a Committee to prepare a Memorial
Volume by which to transmit to coming generations a faithful
record of the services rendered to the nation by the 125th Regi
ment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, when rebellion threatened its life.
To preserve the Union and maintain the supremacy of the
government and law, many regiments of loyal and heroic citizens
promptly responded to the appeal of President Lincoln, and were
mustered into the service of the United States, and performed
their part well. Some of them had longer terms of service, but
probably none rendered more effective service, at a more critical
period of the war, than did the officers and privates of the 125th
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, who left peaceful homes and
avocations in civil life, and attested their loyalty and patient
endurance in weary marches, through summer's heat and winter's
storms, and their bravery and devotion to their country's cause as
shown by the heavy losses sustained by the regiment on bloody
battlefields. The lamented death of one of the Committee (Comrade J.
Fletcher Conrad) while actively at work in collecting materials
for the history, and other unexpected contingencies, delayed the
work; but now, after much time and patient effort gratuitously
given, your Committee has finished its labors, and the result is
before you. The volume is not all that the Committee could wish
it to be ; many things are omitted that you perhaps would have had
recorded; some things perhaps inserted which you would have
excluded, but nevertheless the book is now submitted with the
5

6

hope that you will generously overlook its faults and indulgently
accept it as the best that we could produce from the material at
hand. Yours in fraternal regard,
Wm. W. Wallace, (Chairman)
Thomas McCamant,
Josiah D. Hicks,
J. Randolph Simpson, Committee.
Members deceased:
J. Fletcher Conrad,
Robert Cozzens.

Co tfre jHemorr of t^e ?^e*
ceaged Officerg & fftifrateg of
tfre €>ne hundred & Ctpent^
fift^ Begiment, -petmgtlbania
Bolmtteerg (3]nfantr?)

(WHO LEFT THEIR HOMES FOR THE
TENTED FIELD, AND HEROICALLY
ENCOUNTERED HARDSHIPS, PERILS,
AND DEATH IN PATRIOTIC RESPONSE
TO THE APPEAL OF  ABRAHAM
LINCOLN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, FOR THE AID OF LOYAL
CITIZENS, IN THE SUPPRESSION OF
REBELLION.)
C^ig ftolume ig fraternally
dedicated by C^e Committee

CONTENTS

PAGE
The Antietam Monument and Inscriptions  2
Preface  5
Dedicatory Notice  7
Portrait, President Abraham Lincoln  Il
Portrait, Governor Andrew G. Curtin  I2
Portraits, Generals McClellan, Hooker, Slocum, Mansfield  i3_IS
Portraits, Geary, Crawford, and Kane  16-18
Portrait, Colonel Jacob Higgins and Biographical Sketch  19-21
Portrait, Lieut. Col. Jacob Szink and Biographical Sketch  22-23
Portrait, Major John J. Lawrence and Biographical Sketch  24-25
Map of Antietam Battle-Field  28
Narrative; from Organization to Antietam, by Hon. Thos. Mc-
Camant, Co. G  29-100
Narrative; from Antietam to Chancellorsville, by Hon. J. D.
Hicks, Co. K  101-148
Map of Chancellorsville  102
On the March, and in Fire of Battle, by Dr. Theo. L. Flood,
Co. C  149-164
Reminiscent and Historical, by Capt. W. W. Wallace, Co. C — 165-201
Personal Observations and Experiences, by Sundry Comrades. .201-209
Photo' of Regimental Reunion at Antietam in the Year 1888. . . . 213
Photo' of Regimental Reunion at Antietam in the Year 1904. . . . 217
Dedicatory Services at the Unveiling of the Monument  219-251
Portraits of Comrades Whose Photographs Reached the Com
mittee  253-290
Illustrations — s
Dunkard Church  70
Harper's Ferry  107
Chancellorsville House  130
Charge of Kane's Brigade  138
A Poem, The Blue and the Gray, by Colonel Prentiss Ingraham 326
Roster of the Regiment  291
Appendix : A Chronological Record of Important Events from the
Attack on Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, to the Surrender of
General Lee, April 9, 1865  331-342

y zy

§&&' •#

yfl*

'fl~^

The "War Governor" of Pennsylvania
and Soldiers' Friend.
(See pages 31, 32, 40, and 188.)

Major-General George B. McClellan,
In Command of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Antietam.
(See pages 46-58, 79.)

Maj. -Gen. Joseph E. Hooker.
Commanding the Army of the Potomac at Chancel
lorsville. May, 1863, and Army of the Cumberland, Sep
tember, 1863. Born in Hadley, Mass., November 13, 1814.
Died October 31, 1879.

Maj. -Gen. Henry Warner Slocum, N. Y.
< Cadet M. A., July, 1848; ist Lieutenant, July 1
55 ; Col. 27th N. Y. Infantry, May 21, '6i : Brig
adier-General, Volunteers, Aug. 9, '61 ; Major-
General, Volunteers, July, 4, '62. Died, April 14
1894.

(General Joseph King Fenns Mansfield.
Born New Haven, Conn., December 22, 1803. Entered Military
Academy, West Point, at 14 years. Graduated second of 49 in
1822. 1832, First Lieutenant. 1835, CaptaiSk For gallantry in
Mexican War brevetted Major, Lieutenant-Colonel, and Colonel
of Engineers. 1853, Inspector-General of the Army. 1861, April,
summoned from the Northwest to command forces at Washington,
T)-. C. May 17, 1861, promoted Brigadier-General of the Regular
Army. Rendered valuable service at Fortress Monroe, New
port News, Suffolk, . and mortally wounded at Antietam,
September 17, 1862.

Bvt. Maj. -Gen. John White Geary.
Captain 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry, December 21,
1846; Lieutenant-colonel, January 7, 1847; Colonel 23rd
Pennsylvania Infantry, June 28, 1861 ; Brigadier-General
Volunteers, November 25, 1862 ; Brevet Major-General
Volunteers, January 12, 1865. Died February 8, 1872.

Bvt. Maj. -Gen. Samuel Wylie Crawford.
Assistant Surgeon, March io, 1851 ; Major, 13th Infantry, May 14, 1861 ; Brigadier
G neral, Volunteers, April 25, 1862 ; Maj or- General, March 18, 1865 ; Died, Nov
ember 3, 1892

Brig.-Gen. Thos. Leiper Kane.
Lieutenant-Colonel 13th Pa., 1861 ; Brigadier-General, Volunteers, Sept. 7, '62
Brevet Major-General, Volunteers, March 13, 1865, for gallantry and distinguished
service at Battle of Gettysburg. Died, Dec. 26, 1883.

Colonel Jacob C. Higgins.

COL. JACOB C. HIGGINS.
Colonel Jacob C. Higgins was born March 7th, 1826, in Wil
liamsburg, Huntingdon County, Pa., now Blair .County, Pa.
(Son of John and Mary R. Higgins.) He served in the Mexican
War in Company M, Second Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry,
under General Scott, and was severely wounded inside the
gates of the City of Mexico, at its capture. Was mustered
out July 2 ist, 1848. At the outbreak of the Rebellion, in
1861, he was at Portage Iron Works, at Duncansville, Pa.,
and promptly responded to the first call for troops by Gov
ernor Curtin, who telegraphed him to come to Harrisburg
at once. He was then Colonel of the First Regiment, Fourth
Brigade, Eleventh Division, Pennsylvania Militia. On April
20th, 1861, he was commissioned Captain and Quartermaster of
the Second Brigade (General Wynkoop's) under General Patter
son. In July, 1861, he was mustered out of service, and at once
recruited Company G, First Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was com
missioned Captain August ist, 1861. On September 27th, he was
promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Pennsylvania Cav
alry, and commanded five comp'anies. At the battle of Draines-
ville, December 20th, 1861, he led the first charge into the town.
He resigned in 1862, and helped to recruit the " 125th Regiment,"
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and was commissioned its
Colonel, August 16th, 1862. He was at South Mountain, but not
engaged in battle ; was at the battle of Antietam, September 17th,
during the whole day, the regiment sustaining a heavy loss. Was
with the regiment en route to Fredericksburg, and was at Chan
cellorsville, Va. In that five days' battle he commanded the left
wing, Second Brigade, Geary's Division, Twelfth Army Corps,
and while General T. L. Kane was temporarily disabled, he was
in command of the Second Brigade. When the term of the
regiment expired, he was mustered out at Harrisburg, May
18th, 1863.
In June, 1863, just before the Battle of Gettysburg, he was
ordered by Major General Couch and Governor Curtin to take
command of all troops in southwestern Pennsylvania, to head off
General Imboden, who was at Hancock with orders from General
20

21
Lee to move on Altoona, burn up the shops, tear up the Pennsyl
vania Railroad and gather supplies, which a large force of volun
teers and militia prevented. Colonel Higgins then assisted in
recruiting a battalion of five cavalry companies, which formed
part of the Twenty-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer
Cavalry. As Colonel of the Regiment he participated in the Shenandoah
Valley and mountains of West Virginia, and commanded the
Brigade most of the time, also General Stahl's Division for some
time, and after the surprise and capture of the post at New Creek
he was ordered by General Sheridan to march at once to New
Creek, assume command and put it in fighting condition. His
command was the Second Brigade, Second Division, Department
of West Virginia, with three field batteries, one fort, and 3,000 or
4,000 troops, covering Hancock, Md., to Piedmont, W. Va., with
headquarters at New Creek.
He remained there until the close of the war, and was mus
tered out July 21st, 1865.
He was a member of the U. V. L. No. 60, and Emery Fisher
Post No. 30, G. A. R., Johnstown, Pa., until his death, which
occurred June 1, 1893. He was buried in the cemetery of Johns
town, Pa.

Lieut.-Col. Jacob Szink.

JACOB SZINK.
Jacob Szink, Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment, was born in New
Cumberland, Cumberland County, Penna., July 24th, 1824, and removed to
Altoona, Penna., in 1-852, to take charge of the blacksmith department of
the Pennsylvania Railroad shops then being built there. He continued as
Foreman of the blacksmith shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.
until the date of his death on August ist, 1872. Colonel Szink was a very
patriotic citizen and, at the outbreak of the war, secured leave of absence
from the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., and recruited company " E " of the
Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, for the three months'
service. He afterwards was active in encouraging enlistments, and when
President Lincoln issued his call July ist, 1862, for 300,000, volunteered
for nine months' service. Captain Szink again secured leave of absence
from his employers, and recruited company " D " of the 125th Regiment
of Pennsylvania Volunteers; he being very popular with the working
men of Altoona, his company was filled to overflowing, and many who
could not secure enlistment in his company joined Captain Gardner's
company " K " that was being recruited for the same regiment at the
same time and place. On the organization of the regiment at Harrisburg,
Captain Szink was made Lieutenant Colonel and took an active interest
in promoting its efficiency, rode at the head of the regiment at Antietam
and acted gallantly on the occasion of the charge of the regiment from
the west woods to the cornfield and where the regiment relieved the
Pennsylvania Reserves. Shortly after the Regiment had marched from
the cornfield Colonel Szink's horse was shot and the Colonel was dis
abled by the explosion of a shell and by reason of that disability he could
not participate further^ in the action at Antietam. After the discharge
of the regiment from service he resumed his place as foreman of the
blacksmith shop of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and again in 1864 he
re-entered the service and was elected Major of the battalion of 100
days men and was with the battalion near Chambersburg in the fall
of 1864 when that place was destroyed by fire. Colonel Szink was
active as a citizen after the close of the war and was prominent in
Altoona and Blair County as a leader among men, and' as one of the
prominent officials of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. He died
at the age of 48 years, mourned and respected by a large circle of friends.

23

Major John J. Lawrence.

MAJOR JOHN J. LAWRENCE.
Born March 27th, 1827, in Washington County, Pa. At
the time of President Lincoln's call for troops, in July, 1862, Col
onel Lawrence resided in Huntingdon, Pa., and was superin
tendent of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Railroad Company.
Feeling it was his duty to aid in suppressing the rebellion, he
volunteered, not expecting any higher position than carrying a
rifle and knapsack in the ranks. The wires on the railroad
announced to the employes and others that their superintendent
had decided to join the army, and in a few days he was joined
by a hundred brave men, willing to leave wives, families and
homes to battle for their country. At a meeting of the volunteers
in the Court House at Huntingdon a company organization was
effected, and he was unanimously elected captain, August ist,
1862. At the organization of the 125th Regiment, at Camp Cur
tin, Harrisburg, on August 16th, 1862, he was chosen and com
missioned major, which position he held until honorably mus
tered out at the expiration of service, May 18th, 1863. He was
never absent from his post, except for four weeks in the Seminary
Hospital, Georgetown, D. C, owing to injuries he received while
on a reconnoissance at the time of the battle of Chantilly, and as
soon as fit for duty he rendered efficient and conspicuous service
in the subsequent movements and record of the regiment until
mustered out with it on May 18, 1863. Very soon thereafter
came the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania and a report of an
attack on Mt. Union, Pennsylvania Railroad, as their objective
point. This resulted in a prompt reassembling of the rank and
file of the 125th Regiment at that' place, and on receipt of a
despatch from General McDowell (or Couch) Colonel Lawrence
took command and speedily made preparations for a gallant
defense. He subsequently was appointed colonel of the 46th Regi
ment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia, which was finally mustered
out after the Gettysburg campaign had ended with the expulsion
of the Confederates from Pennsylvania soil. He then became
superintendent of the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company, and
later in life was engaged in business with his sons in Pittsburg,
Pa., until his death, on March 27, 1893. He was a man of cul
ture, of fine personal appearance and of sterling character, patri
otic, public-spirited, hospitable and generous. Being widely
known and esteemed, he died lamented by a host of friends. 25

Hon. Thomas McCamant.
Of Company "G"
FROM ORGANIZATION
TO THE CLOSE
OF THE
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
BY
LIEUTENANT THOMAS McCAMANT
Born, July 29th, 1840, at Antis Forge, in Antis Township, Huntingdon
County (now Blair County). His father, Graham McCamant, was a
prominent iron manufacturer. Lieutenant McCamant was educated at
26

27
the Tuscarora Academy, in Juniata County, and at Lafayette College,
Easton, Pa., where he graduated in the class of 1861. He was mustered
into the service of the United States as second lieutenant of Company
" G," on August 13, 1862, and was mustered out with the regiment on
May 18, 1863, having participated in all its marches and battles. He
was on the skirmish line at Antietam, and was complimented by Generals
Knipe and Kane for efficiency as an officer. He commanded a company
of returned soldiers at Bloody Run (now Everett), Bedford, Pa., during
the invasion of June, 1863, having participated in all its marches and
battles. He was admitted to the practice of law in the several Courts
of Blair County, in October 31, 1864; served as chief clerk in the office
of the Secretary of th.e Commonwealth under Governors Geary and
Hartranft, also as Deputy Secretary of the Commonwealth under the
latter; then for two years as chief clerk under Governor Hoyt; then
chief clerk in the Auditor-General's department under Auditor-Generals
Lemon, Niles and Norris. In 1888 he was appointed Auditor-General of
Pennsylvania, on the death of Auditor-General Norris, and was elected
to the same office at the general election that year. At the expiration
of his term of office in 1892 he resumed the practice of law at Harrisburg,
where he still resides, and is a member of the Dauphin County bar.
w. w. w.
The Battle-Field of Antietam September 17, 1862.
(see map on opposite page)
On the afternoon of September 16th, Hooker's corps crossed at the two fords and the bridge
north of McClellan's headquarters.
A.  From near sunset till dark Hooker engaged Hood's division (of Longstreet's corps) about
the " East wood," marked A on the map. Hood was relieved by two brigades of Jackson's corps,
which was in and behind the Dunker Church wood, C.
B.  At dawn on the 17th, Hooker and Jackson began a terrible contest wbich raged in and
about the famous corn-field, B, and in the woods. A and C. Jackson's reserves regained the corn
field. Hartsuff's brigade of Hooker's corps and Mansfield's corps charged through the corn-field
into the Dunker Church wood, Mansfield being mortally wounded in front of the East wood.
Jackson, with the aid of Hood, and a part of D. H. Hill's division, again cleared the Dunker
Church wood. J. G. Walker's division, taken from the extreme right of the Confederate line,
charged in support of Jackson and Hood.
C.  Sumner's corps formed line of battle in the center, Sedgwick's division facing the East wood,
through which it charged over the corn-field again, and through Dunker Church wood to the edge
of the fields beyond. McLaws's division (of Longstreet's corps) just arrived from Harper's Ferry,
assisted in driving out Sedgwick, who was forced to retreat northward by the Hagerstown pike.
D.  French and Richardson, of Sumner's corps, about the same time dislodged D. H. Hill's
line from Roulette's house.
E.  Hill re-formed in the sunken road, since known as the '' Bloody Lane," where his position
was carried by French and Richardson, the latter being mortally wounded in the corn-field, E.
F.  Irwin and Brooks, of Franklin's corps, moved to the support of French and Richardson.
At the point F Irwin's brigade was repelled, as described by General Longstreet on page 313.
G.-  D. H. Hill, re-enforced by R. H. Anderson's division of Longstreet's corps, fought for the
ground around Piper's house.
H.  Stuart attempted a flank movement north of the Dunker Church wood, but was driven
back by the thirty guns under Doubleday.
J.  Pleasanton, with a part of his cavalry and several batteries, crossed the Boonsboro' bridge
as a flank support to Richardson, and to Burnside on the south. Several battalions of regulars
from Porter's corps came to his assistance and made their way well up to the hill which is now the
National Cemetery.
K,  Toombs (of Longstreet) had defended the lower bridge until Burnside moved Rodman and
Scammon to the fords below.
L.  Then Toombs hurried south to protect the Confederate flank. Sturgis and Crook charged
across the Burnside Bridge and gained the heights. Toombs was driven away from the fords.
M.  After three o'clock, Burnside's lines, being re-formed, completed the defeat of D. R
Jones's division (of Longstreet), and on the right gained the outskirts of Sharpsburg. Toombs,
and the arriving brigades of A. P. Hill, of Jackson's corps, saved the village and regained a part of
the lost ground. — Editor. {From the Century Magazine.)

The Battlefield of Antietam.

FROM ORGANIZATION TO THE CLOSE
OF THE
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM
By LIEUTENANT THOMAS McCAMANT.
At the close of* the year 1861, almost nine months had
elapsed since the beginning of the great rebellion that divided
the states of the North and the South, and though comparative
quiet then reigned, both Federal and Confederate armies were
busy in swelling their ranks with recruits for the conflict of arms
soon to be resumed.
Activities began in the west sooner than in the east, and in
the month of January, 1862, we had the battle of Mill Spring,
which was a victory to the Federal arms, and resulted in the death
of the Confederate General Zollicoffer. This was followed in
February by the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson, with
many prisoners, after a stubborn contest in the case of the latter
Fort that brought to the front the subsequent great commander,
General Grant. During the same month General Curtis drove
the Confederate General Price out of the state of Missouri, but
the only movement of importance in the east was the capture of
Roanoke Island by General Burnside.
The great victory at Fort Donelson stimulated other opera
tions, and in the month of March there was the battle of Pea
Ridge, the fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac, the
capture of New Bern and the battle of Winchester, all of which
were Federal victories, and had the effect of making people of the
North impatient at the Army of the Potomac lying motionless.
This feeling ,of unrest caused the President to order a move
ment of the said Army on the enemy, which resulted in the
discovery that Manassas Junction, that had been occupied all win
ter by the Confederates, was evacuated.
After the discovery thus made, it was determined to transfer
said army to Fortress Monroe, and it was accordingly done
in the month of April, and the siege of Yorktown was then
29

30
begun. During said month there took , place in the west the
two days' battle of Shiloh, the capture of Island No. io, on the
Mississippi river, by General Pope, and in the far South the
fall of the city of New Orleans, and the opening of the mouth of
the Mississippi river.
In May, Yorktown was evacuated by the Confederate Army,
and the pursuing Federals advanced and fought the battles of
Williamsburg and Hanover Court House; but when within five
miles of the city of Richmond and in sight of its spires, dis
aster befell it at Fair Oaks, and about the same time General
Banks' command was stampeded down the Shenandoah Valley
to Harper's Ferry.
The defeat at Fair Oaks and the stampede of Banks' com
mand made the people of the North anxious for a great and
decisive victory in the east, that would equal what had previously
been accomplished in the west ; and this period of anxiety was fol
lowed by one of depression and gloom during June, caused by
the raid of the Confederate General Stuart around the Army of
the Potomac and the destruction of its base of supplies, and by
the seven days' battle that ended at Malvern Hill on July ist, and
the subsequent retirement of said Army to Harrison's Landing,
on the James river.
The Army of the Potomac, though defeated, was not dis
mayed, and the gloom that existed in the North was a dark cloud
with a silver lining, for it created there a greater determination
than ever to subdue the rebellion that had been inaugurated by
the South more than a year previous, and to speedily furnish the
Government with all the men and means necessary to accomplish
that end.
Governors of the majority of the states loyal to the Federal
cause, knowing the feeling of their people, and knowing also that
the numerical losses of the armies in the east and the west ren
dered large additions necessary, addressed a communication to the
President, urging him to call upon the several states for addi
tional men to aid in the suppression of the Rebellion, which com
munication is found published in the Official Records of the War
of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 2, page 180.
The Governors of other states true to the Union subsequently
joined in this request.
To the said communication, the President made the reply,

31
which is found published in the Official Records of the War of
the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 2, page 187, and constitutes the call
of July 1, 1862, for 300,000 additional men to aid in the suppres
sion of the Rebellion.
An order was issued the following day, fixing the quota of
troops to be furnished by the several states. The quota of Penn
sylvania, under said call, was fixed at 45,321, as is shown by note
at the foot of page 188, Official Records, War of the Rebellion,
Series 3, Vol. 2.
C. P. Buckingham, Brigadier-General and Assistant Adjutant-
General, sent a dispatch to Governor Curtin on July 7th, 1862,
requesting him to raise, as soon as practicable, twenty-one new
regiments of volunteer infantry, to be part of the quota under
the call of the President. This dispatch . is found in Official
Records, War of the Rebellion, Series 3, Vol. 2, page 208. After
receiving said dispatch, Governor Curtin issued the following
proclamation, to wit:
Pennsylvania, SS :
In the name and by the authority of the State of Pennsylvania, Andrew
G. Curtin, Governor of the said Commonwealth.
A PROCLAMATION.
To sustain the government in times of common peril by all his
energies, his means and his life, if need be, is the duty of every loyal
citizen. The President of the United States has made a requisition on
Pennsylvania for twenty-one new regiments and the regiments already in the
field must be recruited. Enlistments will be made for nine months in the
new regiments and for twelve in the old. The existence of the present
emergency is well understood. I call on the inhabitants of the counties,
cities, boroughs and townships throughout our borders to meet and take
active measures for the immediate furnishing of the quota of the state.
I designate below the number of companies which are expected from the
several counties in the state, trusting the support of her honor in this
crisis, as it may be safely trusted, to the loyalty, fidelity and valor of her
freemen. Given under my hand and the Great Seal of the State, at Harrisburg,
this 21st day of July, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred
and sixty-two, and of the Commonwealth the eighty-seventh. A. G. CURTIN.
By the Governor :
Eli Slifer,
Secretary of the Commonwealth.

32
Two companies were designated to be furnished from Blair
County and two from Huntingdon County, but this must have
been subsequently changed, as more were furnished by each county
for different new regiments.
Recruiting that had previously begun, became more active
after the issuing of the Proclamation of Governor Curtin, and
the patriotic spirit of the citizens of Blair and Huntingdon
counties was aroused to its utmost extent. War meetings were
held at all principal points in the said two counties, which were
addressed by leading citizens, several of whom gave examples
of their courage and patriotism by forming companies or enlisting
as private soldiers ; and it was not long until the said two counties
furnished more than the full quota of men assigned to them, and
no draft had to be resorted to, as was the case in many of the
other counties of the Commonwealth.
Under this call of the President, of July 2d, 1862, and the
proclamation of Governor Curtin, of July 21st, 1862, the 125th
Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was raised, mainly in the
counties of Blair and Huntingdon, during the latter part of July
and early part of August, of the year 1862. Some of the com
panies were being recruited originally for three years' regiments,
but, owing to the urgency of the Government for troops and the
shorter term of service for which enlistments would be made, as
announced in the Proclamation of the Governor, said companies
at once decided to connect themselves with the 125th Regiment,
and were soon filled with their complement of men. Other
companies were quickly recruited and made themselves a part of
said regiment.
The men composing the regiment were not militia nor was
the regiment ever treated and regarded by the United States
Government as a militia regiment, as has sometimes been erron
eously asserted. The Official Records of the War of the Rebel
lion, Series 3, Vol. 2, page 291, will show that on August 4th,
1862, under General Orders 94, a draft for -300,000 militia was
ordered by the President, and was to be enforced in any state that
did not by the 15th day of August, 1862, furnish its quota of
the 300,000 volunteers included in the call of July 2, 1862, but at
this date the men of the 125th Regiment were all in Camp Curtin,
at Harrisburg, and had been mustered into the United States
service ; and the said Official Records of the War of the Rebellion,

33
Series 3, Vol. 2, show, on page 758, that Pennsylvania raised eigh
teen regiments of volunteer infantry for nine months, under the
call of July 2, 1862, and the names of the regiments so raised
are given on page 760 of the said records, same series and
volume, and the 125th is one of said regiments. This same page
760 gives the numbers of the drafted regiments, and Bates'
History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Vol. 4, page 834, also pages
1084 to and including 1298, not only gives the numbers of the
drafted regiments, as aforesaid, but also the counties of the
state from which the drafted men came, but none whatever were
from the counties of Blair and Huntingdon, where the 125th was
principally raised. The note at the foot of page 188, Vol. 2,
Series 3, of the said Official Records of the War of the Rebellion,
shows that the quota of Pennsylvania, under the call of the
President of July 2, 1862, for 300,000 volunteers, was fixed at
45,321, and she furnished 30,891 men without resorting to a draft.
The draft that took place in Pennsylvania in 1862 was in
the month of September of that year, when the 125th was in
active service, and was to fill the deficiency in the quota assigned
to the said state under the call of July 2, 1862, as aforesaid ; and
this, the said Volume 2, Series 3, of the said War Records will
show. Furthermore, the said Official Records of the War of the
Rebellion, Series 3, Vol'. 4, page 216, show that the nine months'
volunteers from Pennsylvania, in the, year 1862, were accepted
by the President into the service as nine months' volunteers.
They all were credited with good accounts, and all met with
heavy losses in battle, except the 135th and 137th, aud this the
official records of the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chan
cellorsville and Gettysburg will prove beyond the least doubt;
and that two of the regiments met with no loss is due to good
fortune alone, and not to any lack of patriotism.
The 125th Regiment had in its ranks men from all walks in
life. The representative citizen, the professional man, the man
of business, the mechanic, the farmer and the day laborer were
found among its numbers, and joined elbow to elbow and tented
together during its term of service. It was raised in a short
time, and enlistments therein were made purely out of patriotic
motives. It was not a militia regiment, as has previously been
shown, nor was any one attracted to its service by the offer of
large bounties such as were given to secure recruits at a later
3

34
period in the war. It can be truthfully classed as part of the
300,000 volunteers included in the call of President Lincoln, of
July 2, 1862, and " Father Abraham," the favorite song of John
S. Gibbons, is applicable to it as well as other volunteer regiments
that entered the United States service in the year 1862.
A few of the men of the regiment had seen service in the
late war with Mexico; some had been members of military
organizations of the Commonwealth before the Rebellion, others
had been in the late three months' service, but the great majority
of its members had no previous military experience.
Company " A " was recruited at Tyrone, Blair County, and
had as its Captain, Francis M. Bell, who had previously been a
merchant in Tyrone, and who had served as Second Lieutenant
of Company " D," Third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers,
in the previous three months' service. Jesse S. Stewart, a member
of one of the principal families of Central Pennsylvania, was
made its First Lieutenant, and Wilbur F. Martin, a dentist in
Tyrone, was made its Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant Stewart
was subsequently killed at the battle of Chancellorsville, and on
May 4th, 1863, Lieutenant Martin was promoted to First Lieu
tenant, and First Sergeant David G. Ganoe assumed the rank of
Second Lieutenant.
Company " B " was recruited at Williamsburg, Blair County,
largely under the auspices of Colonel Jacob Higgins and Adjutant
Robert M. Johnston, but Ulysses L. Hewit, who had previously
been a marble cutter, in the town of Williamsburg, was selected
as its Captain. Joseph R. Higgins, a brother of the Colonel, was
made its First Lieutenant, and Garian Shellenberger, who had
served as a corporal in Company " C," Third. Regiment, Penn
sylvania Volunteers, in the late three months' service, was chosen
Second Lieutenant.
Company " C " was recruited at Huntingdon, Huntingdon
County, and had as its Captain, William W. Wallace, who was
connected in business with his uncle, R. B. Wigton, a coal
operator, at Huntingdon. William B. Ziegler, formerly a tinner
and hotel keeper, in Huntingdon, was made First Lieutenant, and
William F. McPherran, who at that time was a student, was
made Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant McPherran died on Feb
ruary 6th, 1863, and Lieutenant Ziegler resigned on February
25th, of the same year, and First Sergeant L. Frank Watson, was,

35
on February 7th, 1863, promoted to Second Lieutenant, and again,
on the resignation of Lieutenant Ziegler, to First Lieutenant, and
Sergeant T. L. Flood, to Second Lieutenant. This. company was
known as the " Bible Company," from the fact that the citizens
of Huntingdon presented each member with a Bible.
Company " D " was recruited at Altoona, Blair county, largely
through the efforts of Lieutenant-Colonel Jacob Szink, who had
been Captain of Company " E," Third Regiment of Pennsylvania
Volunteers, in the late three months' service, and was made up
principally of employes of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Lieutenant-Colonel Szink was mustered into service as its Cap
tain, but when the regiment was organized and he was made Lieu
tenant-Colonel, on August 1 6th, 1862, Christian Hostetter was
chosen Captain, Alexander W. Marshall First Lieutenant, and
Peter S. Treese Second Lieutenant. All three of these men had
previously been in the employ of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pany, at Altoona. Captain Hostetter was discharged on March
17th, 1863, for wounds received at the battle of Antietam and for
disability. On April 17th, 1863, Lieutenant Treese was dis
charged for the same reasons, and on March 17th, 1863, Lieu
tenant Alexander W. Marshall was promoted to Captain, and
First Sergeant Thomas E. Campbell to Second Lieutenant, and
again, on April 19th, 1863, to First Lieutenant, and on the same
date, Sergeant George W. Hawksworth was promoted to Second
Lieutenant. The principal recruiting for Company " E " was done at East
Freedom and vicinity, in Blair County, but it had in it an overflow
of men from Company " A " brought to it by Lieutenant John G.
Cain, who was subsequently the Adjutant of the regiment. Wil
liam McGraw, who had been First Lieutenant of Company " H,"
Fourteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the late
three months' service, was made its Captain, and Samuel A. Kep-
hart, previously a hotel clerk, was selected as First Lieutenant,
and John G. Cain, a respected citizen of Smith's Mills, Clearfield
County, and who had been the First Sergeant of Company " D,"
Fourteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the previous
three months' service, was chosen Second Lieutenant. On Sep
tember 20th, 1862, Lieutenant Cain was, as previously stated.
made Adjutant of the Regiment, to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of Adjutant Robert M. Johnston at Antietam, and on

36
the. same day, First Sergeant John H. Robertson was pro
moted to Second Lieutenant. w
Company " F " came from the Broad Top Region, and other
points in Huntingdon County, and was recruited through the influ
ence of Major John J.. Lawrence, who was the Superintendent
of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and Coal
Company, at Huntingdon. He was mustered into service as Cap
tain of the company, but on his selection as Major of the regi
ment, William, H. , Simpson, a farmer residing in Huntingdon
County, and who had- previously served as Second Lieutenant of
Company " H," of the Fifteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol
unteers, in the late three, months' service, was made Captain,
and William C. Wagoner, who , had been a private in Company
"E," Fifth ,Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the late
three months' service, was made First Lieutenant, and Franklin
H. Lane, who was then, a school teacher and had previously been
connected with state military organizations, was selected- as Sec
ond Lieutenant. Lieutenant Wagoner was discharged, from the
service on February 9th, 1863, for wounds received at Antietam.
and for disability, and on that day Lieutenant Lane was promoted
to First Lieutenant, , and First Sergeant J. F. N. Householder
to Second Lieutenant.
Recruiting for Company "G" was conducted mainly at Hol-
lidaysburg, in Blair County,, where about fifty of the company
were raised. The balance of the company was made up of men
brought to it from Duncansville and vicinity, in said county, and
from Antis township, in said county. John McKeage, who had
served in the war with Mexico, and who had been First Lieu
tenant of Company "A," Third Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol
unteers, in the late three months' service, and who at that time
was the Treasurer of Blair County and the proprietor of a tobacco
and cigar store in Hollidaysburg, was made Captain of the com
pany. Samuel A. Andrews, who had been Second Lieutenant
of Company " H," Fourteenth Regiment of Pennsylvania Volun
teers, in the late three months' service, and who was a puddler
in the employ of the Portage Iron Works, at Duncansville, was
selected as First Lieutenant, and Thomas McCamant, who was a
student-at-law in the office of Messrs. Blair and Dean, at Holli
daysburg, and who had graduated from LaFayette College, at
Easton, Pennsylvania, the preceding year, was chosen Second

37
Lieutenant. The recruits obtained at Duncansville were through
the efforts of Lieutenant Andrews, and those from Antis town
ship through the efforts of Lieutenant McCamant.
Companies " H " and " I " came from different parts of Hunt
ingdon County, the principal recruiting point being the town of
Huntingdon. Henry H. Gregg, a member of one of the leading
families in the Juniata region, and a brother of the cavalry leader,
General D. McM. Gregg, and who at that time was a student,
was made Captain of Company " H," and John Flenrier, a retired
farmer of Huntingdon County, was selected as First Lieutenant,
and Samuel F Stewart as Second' Lieutenant. Samuel F.
Stewart resigned on January 24th, 1863, and First Sergeant
James T. Foster was then" promoted to the' position of Second
Lieutenant. -
William F. Thomas, who. had resigned" the- position of First
Lieutenant of Company "' G," Fifth Pennsylvania Reserves, on
October 14th, 1861, and who was a photographer in Hunting
don,' was selected as Captain of Company " I," and George
Thomas, who had resigned the position of Second Lieutenant of
Company " G," Fifth Pennsylvania Reserves, on October 24th,
1861, and who was a hotel keeper in said town, was selected as
First Lieutenant of the company, and John D. Fee, a Huntingdon
County farmer, was chosen Second Lieutenant of the same com
pany. Company " K " was recruited chiefly at' Altoona, Blair County,
but had sixty men brought to it from Cambria County. Many
ofthe men of this company were also employes of the Pennsyl1-
vania Railroad Company. Joseph W. Gardner, who, like Captain
McKeage, had seen service in the war with Mexico, and had been
First Lieutenant of Company " B," Third Regiment of Pennsyl
vania Volunteers, in the late three months' service, was made
Captain; and Edward R. Dunnegan, a lumberman and one of the
good citizens of St. Augustine, Cambria County, was chosen First
Lieutenant, and Daniel J. Travis, who was an employe of the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, as aforesaid, was selected as
Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant Dunnegan brought to the com
pany the recruits it received from Cambria County.
The several companies, as soon as recruited, were sent to Har
risburg in box cars with the ends sawed out, and containing
improvised seats of rough boards. In some ' cases brass bands

38
headed companies on their way to the depot, and played " Auld
Lang Syne " and patriotic airs ; and in all cases friends escorted
companies to the railroad stations,. and bid the different members
an affectionate and grateful adieu, whilst' tearful and prayerful
good-byes were given by wives, parents, sisters and sweethearts.
All along our route to Harrisburg, at stations where the train
stopped, the good people of Pennsylvania assembled in large
numbers to furnish us drinking water and wish us God-speed.
Arriving at Harrisburg, we were marched to our place of
rendezvous, Camp Curtin, and were assigned quarters in streets,
by companies. This was early in the month of August, and here
our soldier life may be said to have begun. We drew tents and
blankets, and slept on Mother Earth instead of comfortable beds
such as we had at our homes, and here also we commenced to
make our meals on soldiers' rations.
We were among the first recruits to arrive at Camp Curtin,
but our numbers were added to daily for one week after our
arrival, being the result of enlistments made in different sections
of the Commonwealth. Then the camp was filled to overflowing,
and became very dusty from the tramp of thousands of men.
The recruits underwent a physical examination, and were
mustered into the United States service daily from August ioth
to August 16th, by Captains Lane and Norton, of the Regular
Army, and then uniformed.
The regiment was organized on August 16th, 1862, following
a meeting for that purpose of the Captains and First Lieutenants
of the several companies, at the Brady House, in Harrisburg, the
evening previous. Jacob Higgins, of Williamsburg, Blair County,
who had been instrumental in recruiting Company " B," and who
had previously served in the war with Mexico, and as Lieutenant-
Colonel of the First Pennsylvania Cavalry until the preceding
January, was made Colonel. Jacob Szink, of Altoona, Blair
County, who had been mustered as Captain of Company " D,"
and who was foreman of the Pennsylvania Railroad blacksmith
shop, at Altoona, and whose previous military service has been
given, was selected as Lieutenant-Colonel, and John J. Lawrence,
an active and influential citizen of Huntingdon and superintend
ent of the Huntingdon and Broad Top Mountain Railroad and
Coal Company, as previously stated, and who had been mustered
as Captain of Company " F," was chosen Major.

39
Colonel Higgins appointed Robert M. Johnston, of Williams
burg, Blair County, who had been Second Lieutenant of Company
" C," Third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, in the late
three months' service, Adjutant, and William C. Bayley, a citizen
of Hollidaysburg, Blair County, Quartermaster, of the regiment.
Lieutenant Johnston served as Adjutant until his death on
September 19th, which 'was the result of the wound he received at
Antietam, and on the following day Lieutenant John G. Cain was
appointed Adjutant. On November 7th, 1862, Quartermaster
Bayley was made Brigade Commissary, and Asbury Derland, a
Corporal in Company " C," was appointed Quartermaster.
Other appointments, at the time of organization of the regi
ment were Dr. John Feay, of Williamsburg, Blair County, sur
geon; Francis B. Davidson, Assistant Surgeon; Rev. John D.
Stewart, of Tyrone, Blair County, Chaplain; Joseph M. Becker,
of Company " F," Sergeant-Major; David Feay, of Company
" B," Quartermaster-Sergeant ; Samuel G. Baker, of Company
" B," Commissary- Sergeant, and J. Fletcher Conrad, of Company
" C," Hospital Steward. Doctor Feay resigned on October 9th,
1862, and Dr. Davidson on November 24th, 1862, when Lewis C.
Cummings was appointed Surgeon, and Augustus Davis, Assist
ant Surgeon, and on February nth, 1863, Doctor L. F. Butler,
of East Freedom, Blair County, was appointed a second Assistant
Surgeon. Commissary-Sergeant Samuel G. Baker died on March
15th, 1863, and Henry Lloyd Irvine, a private of Company "G,"
was made his successor.
At the time tne regiment was organized the exigencies of the
General Government were great, and it was sorely in need of
men. Harrison's Landing, on the James river, to which the
Army of the Potomac, under General McClellan, had fallen back
after the battle of Malvern Hill, was evacuated the very day the
125th was organized, and the Army of Virginia, under General
Pope, was then being confronted on the Rappahannock and
Rapidan rivers by large detachments from General Lee's Con
federate Army. Previously, Stonewall Jackson had defeated, at
Cedar Mountain, General Banks' command, to which we were
subsequently attached.
To show the urgency of the Government for troops in August,
1862, it is but necessary to refer to the Official Records of the
War of the Rebellion ; and in Series 3, Vol. 2, page 366, of said

40
records, we find the following dispatch from the President to
Governor Curtin, viz. : War Department, Washington, D. G,
August 12, 1862.
Governor Curtin,
Harrisburg, Pa.
It is very important for some regiments to arrive here at once. What
lack you from us? What can we do to expedite matters? Answer.
A. LINCOLN.
To this dispatch, Governor Curtin replied as follows :
Harrisburg, Pa., August 12, 1862.
A. Lincoln, President of the United States,
Washington, D. C.
Three regiments will be organized this morning, and leave as soon as
transportation is ready. We have 13,000 men here, and will organize
as rapidly as equipments and transportation can be provided. The
regiments from Lancaster can go, and expect to hear from Philadelphia .
that some are ready there. A. G. CURTIN, Governor.
The second day after we left Harrisburg, these same War
Records show, in Series 3, Vol. 2, page 407, the following dis
patch from General Halleck : Washington, D. C,
August 18, 1862.
Brigadier General Ketchum,
Harrisburg, Pa.
Confer with Governor Curtin, and urge upon him the importance of
pushing forward troops without a moment's delay. The enemy is
accumulating troops more rapidly than we are, and re-inforcements must
be sent us with all possible haste.
H. W. HALLECK,
General in Chief.
The regiment, at the date of its organization, on August 16th,
1862, numbered 906 officers and enlisted men. ' It was armed

41
that afternoon with Springfield rifled muskets, and then ordered
to proceed to the seat of war. All were eager for active service
and full of enthusiasm. That evening we were loaded in
freight cars, containing rough board seats, and after an all night's
moonlight ride, on the Northern Central Railway, with several
stops, we arrived at Baltimore, and took breakfast at the Union
Refreshment Saloon, in said city. We were then transferred to
the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and proceeded on our way to
Washington, which place we reached about noon of Sunday,
August 17th, and reported to General Casey. We stacked arms
on Capitol Hill, and were quartered for the night in a warehouse
nearby. Whilst we lay on Capitol Hill, Honorable S. S. Blair, of Hol-
lidaysburg, Pa., the representative in Congress from the Seven
teenth Congressional District, composed of the counties of Cam
bria, Blair, Huntingdon and Mifflin, visited us, and had words of
encouragement and cheer for all.
On the morning of August 18th, we took up our march for the
State of Virginia, and moved out Pennsylvania Avenue to the
Potomac River. We crossed the said river on the Long Bridge,
and after marching into "said state a distance of seven miles, halted
and pitched our tents in a field near Hunter's Chapel and Fort
Richardson, where the artillery of Blenker's division lay encamped
the preceding winter, and were made part of General Whipple's
command, in charge of the defences of Washington.
The camp we established was named Camp Welles, after
Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, and was soon filled with
other Pennsylvania regiments and troops from different states.
Whilst we lay in this camp, drill and fatigue duty were constant
and arduous, and sickness broke out in the regiment. Five com
panies were sent to the forts near us, to practice heavy artillery,
and were kept there for several days. We remained in this camp
until the evening of August 26th, when we moved to Fort Barnard,
near by, and found it a more healthy location. Here we remained
until we started on the Maryland campaign.
These were gloomy days at Washington, and the following
brief review of events will give the cause, to wit : The separate
commands of Banks, McDowell, and Fremont were consolidated
during the month of July, and placed under the control of General
Pope, the consolidated command being known as the Army of '

42
Virginia. In the same month, Stonewall Jackson, of the Con
federate Army, was detached from General Lee, and on the 19th
of the month was at Gordonsville, and Stuart's cavalry, at the
same time, were near Fredericksburg. On August 9th, the Fed
eral defeat at Cedar Mountain occurred. On August 13th, the
Confederate General Longstreet was detached from General Lee,
and joined Stonewall Jackson on the 15th. On August 16th,
Harrison's Landing was evacuated by the Army of the Potomac,
and said army was transferred to Acquia Creek Landing, and
subsequently to Alexandria; and Burnside's command was
brought up from North Carolina.
General Pope, in his article in the " Century Magazine," in
1886, on "The Second Battle of Bull Run," says that from
August 1 8th to August 26th, his army was fighting almost
continuously. Reynolds joined Pope on August 22d, and he
was also reinforced by General Reno, of Burnside's command.
As fast as the Army of the Potomac arrived at Alexandria,
it was moved to the assistance of Pope, but much of it did
not reach him in time to avert defeat. On August 27th, the
line of the Rappahannock river had to be abandoned, and the
army moved to Gainesville ; and on that evening there was a hard
fight between General Hooker and the Confederate General
Ewell, at a place known as Kettle Run. On the 28th of August,
General King and Stonewall Jackson fought at Groveton, and on
the 29th and 30th, there was heavy fighting all along the line at
Groveton, and General Pope was obliged to fall back to Centre
ville. Then General Lee sent Stonewall Jackson to the Little
River Turnpike to turn the right flank of the Federal Army, and
this brought on the battle of Chantilly, where Generals Kearney
and Stevens were killed, and caused a retreat of said army to the
defences of Washington.
This succession of disasters was enough to cause gloom at
Washington ; and the men of the 125th will well recollect with
what anxiety we waited news from the battlefields, whilst we
had to listen to the booming of cannon in the distance, and how
discouraging the news was when we received any. We will also
recollect, when we saw reinforcements going to the front on
August 29th, 30th and 31st, how willing we were to join them,
if our services were required, and how busy we were in working
on fortifications, arresting stragglers, and in the discharge of

43
other duties assigned us, also how sad we felt at seeing the
wounded brought to the rear.
The situation at this time, causing the gloom if not panic at
Washington, is shown also in the statement of General McClellan,
when he. took command of the army on September 2d. It is as
follows : " The President and General Halleck came to my
house, when the President informed me that Colonel Kelton had
returned from the front ; that our affairs were in bad condition ;
that the army was in full retreat upon the defences of Washing
ton; the roads filled with stragglers, etc. He instructed me to
take steps at once to stop and collect the stragglers; to place the
works in a proper state of defence, and to go out to meet and
take command of the army, when it approached the vicinity of
the works, then to place the troops in the best condition — com
mitting everything to my hands."
During these days of gloom, and especially the time the regi
ment lay at Fort Barnard, part of it was engaged in connecting
the different forts near us with a chain of rifle-pits, part was used
in the formation of a line of dispatchers between the Arlington
House and General Cox's headquarters, at Munson's Hill, part
did picket duty at or near Lee's Mill and Bailey's Cross Roads;
and Captain Wallace, with a further part, escorted an ammuni
tion train to the battlefield of Chantilly or Ox Hill. When not
so engaged, time was occupied in drill, in helping our wounded
to get to Washington, and in stopping stragglers from many dif
ferent organizations.
On August 29th, John Scott, Esquire, of Huntingdon, after
wards a United States Senator from Pennsylvania and General
Solicitor of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, arrived in our
camp, and presented Major Lawrence with a sword. Colonel
Higgins, at the time, made a short speech to the regiment, in
which he said, " I do not ask you to go, but to come on." Major
Lawrence, a few days later, was thrown from his horse, at or
near the Chantilly battlefield, and so disabled as not to be with
us until the month of October following.
But before proceeding further with the regiment and the
movements of the Federal army, let us turn our attention to what
the Confederate army was doing. General Lee was elated with
his many successes recently achieved, and with having driven
both the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia within

44
the defences of Washington, and concluded he would turn his
attention to the upper Potomac. He accordingly moved his army
in the direction of Leesburg, and on arriving there was informed
that the Federals at Winchester had fallen back to Martinsburg
and Harper's Ferry. He then determined to enter Maryland to
secure supplies and recruits for his army, and relieve the people
of that State from the thraldom in which he supposed they were
held by the North. In an official report, made on March 6th,
1863, that contained among other matters his account of the
Maryland campaign of 1862, he says ; " The war was then trans
ferred from the interior to the frontier, and the supplies of rich
and productive districts made accessible to our army. To prolong
a state of affairs in every way desirable, and not to permit the
season for active operations to pass without endeavoring to inflict
further injury upon the enemy, the best course appeared to be
the transfer of the army- into Maryland." All through the South
it was believed the people of Maryland were heart and soul with
the Confederacy, and "all that was necessary to cause thousands"
of Marylanders to enter their army and for Baltimore to bid
the army a hearty welcome, was for it to come into their state.
He crossed the Potomac at White's Ford, about three miles
below the mouth of the Monocacy, on September 5th, with Stone
wall Jackson's command in the lead. It is said, when about the
middle of the river, which at that time was only knee deep, Gen
eral Lee arose in his saddle and took off his hat, and the Con
federate bands then struck up the tune of " Maryland, my Mary
land," and the whole command joined in singing the same. At
that time this was the favorite hymn or song of the South, and
it was' drummed on almost every piano, and sung throughout the
Confederacy. It was written by James R. Randall, formerly a
Marylander, but in 1860-61, a professor in Poydras College," upon
the Fausse Riviere, of Louisiana. _ It first made its appearance
in a newspaper known as the " New Orleans Delta." Although
it is known as a Confederate song, it is not amiss, as a contribution
to history, to give it in part here, and the first and last verses are
quoted, as follows :
"The despot's heel, is on thy shore,
Maryland !
His torch is at thy temple door,
Maryland !

45
Avenge the patriotic gore,
That flecked the streets of Baltimore,
And be the battle queen of yore,
Maryland, My Maryland!"

" I hear the distant thunder hum,
Maryland !
The 'Old Line's ' bugle, fife and drum,
Maryland !
She is not dead, nor deaf nor dumb ;
Huzza ! She spurns the Northern scum,
She breathes ! She breathes ! She '11 come ! She '11 "come !
Maryland, My Maryland!"
General Walker says he crossed the Potomac at Cheek's Ford,
about three miles above White's Ford, on September 7th, and
when any part of the army crossed the river it moved soon there
after to Frederick City. Stuart's cavalry entered said city at ten
o'clock on the morning of September 6th. General Lee arrived
the same day, and established his headquarters in Best's Grove.
On the day he arrived he issued his address or proclamation to
the citizens of Maryland, which is published in the Official
Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series 1, Vol.- 19, part 2,
page 601.
His address did not arouse or enthuse the Marylanders, and
it brought very few recruits to the Confederate army.
Lee thought Harper's Ferry would be evacuated when he
reached Frederick, for the reason that he would be between it
and Washington, but when he found out it was still occupied by
the Federals he took steps to seize it. On September 9th, he sent
Stonewall Jackson across the Potomac to first capture the Federal
outpost at Martinsburg, and then move on Harper's Ferry. This
was necessary to open his line of communication through the
•valley of Virginia. He also ordered Walker's division to assist in
taking the place from Loudon Heights, whilst Jackson operated
against Bolivar Heights. General McLaws, about the same time,
was directed to move against Maryland Heights.
Lee's designs at this time are given by General Walker in
his article published in the " Century Magazine," in 1886. He says
that General Lee sent for him, and ordered him to destroy the
aqueduct of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, at the mouth of

46
the Monocacy, assist in the capture of Harper's Ferry, rejoin the
army at Hagerstown, rest for a few days, get shoes and clothing,
and collect stragglers. They were then to destroy the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, march to Harrisburg, and destroy the railroad
bridge on the Susquehanna river at Rockville, five miles west of
that place. Lee said to him, that with the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad in their possession and the Pennsylvania Railroad
broken, the great lakes would be the only route left to the west,
and he could then turn his attention to Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Washington.
Only part of this programme was carried out. Jackson, by
rapid marches, reached Martinsburg, and found that on the night
of September nth the outpost at that place had been withdrawn
to Harper's Ferry. He immediately directed the steps of his
command to the latter place, which he reached on September
12th. General McLaws got in possession of Maryland Heights
on September 13th, the evidence of which possession our regi
ment will recollect seeing when we encamped there soon after
the battle of Antietam. General Walker also took possession, on
the same day, of Loudon Heights, on the eastern slope of which
we also encamped during the following November.
With the abandonment of Maryland" Heights, and the environ
ment of Harper's Ferry, its surrender was accomplished on
September 15th, through the incompetency of its commander,
Colonel Miles, who was mortally wounded. Here 1 1 ,000 Federal
troops laid down their arms, and this part of General Lee's pro
gramme, as well as the destruction of the canal aqueduct, was
carried out to the letter; but he soon found out he had other
matters to engage his attention, and had to abandon the destruc
tion of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and the invasion of
Pennsylvania. This surrender of Harper's Ferry has always been regarded
at the North as disgraceful, but in this connection it can be said,
with credit, that our cavalry, at that place, 2,500 strong, under
command of Colonel Davis, refused to surrender, and, after escap
ing the Confederate army, surrounded and captured General
Longstreet's wagon and ammunition train.
No sooner did the Confederate army cross into Maryland than
the Federal army, under General McClellan, entered said state.
At that time, it was uncertain what Lee's intentions were, and

47
McClellan did not know whether he proposed to capture Washing
ton by a flank movement down the north bank of the Potomac,
or to move on Baltimore, or invade Pennsylvania ; and he said this
uncertainty made him resolve " to march cautiously, and advance
the army in such order as to keep Washington and Baltimore con
tinually covered, and at the same time to hold the troops well in
hand, so as to be able to concentrate and follow rapidly if the
enemy took the direction of Pennsylvania, or to return to the
defence of Washington, if, as was greatly feared by the authori
ties, the enemy should be merely making a feint with a small
force to draw off our army, while with their main forces they
stood ready to seize the first favorable opportunity to attack the
Capital." To ascertain the intentions of the enemy, General McClellan
sent the cavalry to the fords along the Potomac, and moved the
Second and Twelfth Corps to Tenallytown, and on September
6th to Rockville. The Ninth Corps he first moved to the Seventh
Street road, near Washington, and again on September 6th, it
and the First Corps, and Conch's division, of the Fourth Corps,
were placed at Tenallytown.
When it became known in Pennsylvania that the Confederate
Army had entered Maryland, the scare there was as great as
that which had previously existed at Washington, and Governor
Curtin made haste to call out the militia of the state. At the same
time, he appealed to the general Government for aid. Volume
19, Series 1, part 2, of the Official Records of the War of the
Rebellion, gives a full account of the consternation that existed
at this time in Pennsylvania, and it is now amusing ;to read on
page 269, of said Volume 19, Series 1, part 2, of the War Records,
Governor Curtin's dispatch of September n, 1862, for 80,000
troops, and on page 276, of the same volume, President Lincoln's
reply. Quite a number of militia regiments were placed on the
borders of Pennsylvania whilst the Confederate army was in
Maryland, and some of them crossed over the line into Maryland,
but their services were not required to defeat Lee, and we recol
lect of seeing numbers of said regiments at Antietam two days
after the battle.
On the evening of September 6th, the regiment received
orders to report for duty to General A. S. Williams, temporarily
in command of the Twelfth Army Corps, at Rockville, Maryland,

48
and tents were at once torn .down, rations cooked and effects
packed. We left Fort Barnard at eight o'clock in the evening,
crossed the Potomac at Georgetown, took a road leading to Rock
ville, and after marching about six and one-half miles in the
state of Maryland, halted at two o'clock the next morning in a large
clover field, where we had our first night's sleep with the starry
firmament for a covering. We reached Rockville. about nine o'clock
a. m., September 7th, and halted in a grove adjoining a Catholic
church, where we lay until September 8th, then moved a short
distance beyond Rockville, and reported to the Twelfth Army
Corps. We were assigned to the First Brigade, of the First
Division, of said Corps, and the .brigade; after this assignment,
consisted of the following regiments, to wit: Tenth Maine, 5th
Connecticut, 28th New York, and 46th, 124th, 125th and 128th
Pennsylvania. The first four named regiments were reduced in
strength, by reason of previous service, and losses sustained at
the late battle of Cedar Mountain. The Brigade was commanded
by •Brigadier-General S. W. Crawford, the Division by Brigadier-
General George H. Gordon, and the Corps by Brigadier-General
A. S. Williams.
The make-up of the Twelfth Corps at this time and during
the campaign in Maryland was as follows :
TWELFTH ARMY CORPS.
(1) Maj .-Gen. Joseph K. F. Mansfield*
(2) Brig-Gen. Alpheus S. Williams
ESCORT.
ist Michigan Cavalry, Company L, Capt. Melvin Brewer.
FIRST DIVISION.
(1) Brig.-Gen. Alpheus S. Williams
(2) Brig.-Gen. Samuel W. Crawfordf
(3) Brig.-Gen. George H. Gordon
FIRST BRIGADE.
(1) Brig.-Gen. Samuel W. Crawford
(2) Col. Joseph F. Knipe

* Wounded Sept. 17th.
t Wounded Sept. 17th.

49
FIRST BRIGADE.
\5th Connecticut, Capt. Henry W. Daboll.
ioth Maine, Col. George L. Beal.
28th New York, Capt. Wm. H. H. Mapes.
46th Pennsylvania, Col. Joseph F. Knipe, Lieut. Col. James L.
Se-liridge.
124th Pennsylvania, Col. Joseph W. Hawley, \ Maj. Isaac L.
Haldeman.
125th Pennsylvania, Col. Jacob Higgins.
128th Pennsylvania, Col. Samuel Croasdale, Lieut.-Col. Wm. W.
Hammersley, Maj. Joel B. Wanner.
THIRD BRIGADE.
(1) Brig.-Gen. George H. Gordon.
(2) Col. Thomas H. Ruger.
2"jth Indiana, Col. Silas Colegrove.
2d Massachusetts, Col. George L. Andrews.
13th New lersey, Col. Ezra A. Carman.
107th New York, Col. R. B. Van Valkenburgh.
§Zouaves d'Afrique, Pennsylvania.
SECOND DIVISION.
Brig.-Gen. George S. Greene.
FIRST BRIGADE.
(1) Lieut.-Col. Hector Tyndale.*
(2) Maj. Orrin J. Crane.
5th Ohio, Maj. John Collins.
yth Ohio, Maj. Orrin J. Crane, Capt. Frederick A. Seymour.
\29th Ohio, Lieut. Theron S. Winship.
66th Ohio, Lieut.-Col. Eugene Powell.
28th Pennsylvania, Maj. Ario Perdee, Jr.
SECOND BRIGADE.
Col. Henry J. Stainrook.
% Detached Sept. 13th.
§ No officers present. Enlisted men of company attached to 2nd
Massachusetts. * Mortally wounded Sept. 17th.
t Detached Sept. 9th
4

50
3d Maryland, Lieut.-Col. Joseph M. Sudsburg.
I02d New York, Lieut.-Col. James C. Lane.
%iopth Pennsylvania, Capt. George E. Seymour.
i nth Pennsylvania, Maj. Thomas M. Walker.
THIRD BRIGADE.
(i) Col. William B. Goodrich.§
(2) Lieut.-Col. Jonathan Austin.
3d Delaware, Maj. Arthur Maginnis.
Purnell Legion, Maryland, Lieut.-Col. Benj. L. Simpson.
60th New York, Lieut.-Col. Charles R. Brundage.
j8th New York, Lieut.-Col. Jonathan Austin, Capt. Henry R.
Stagg. ARTILLERY.
Capt. Clermont L. Best.
Maine Light, 4th Battery, Capt. O'Neill W. Robinson.
Maine Light, 6th Battery, Capt. Freeman McGilvery.
ist New York Light, Battery " M," Capt. George W. Cothran.
New York Light, 10th Battery, Capt. John T. Bruen.
Pennsylvania Light, Battery " E," Capt. Joseph M. Knap.
Pennsylvania Light, Battery " F," Capt. Robert B. Hampton.
4th United States, Battery " F," Lieut. Edward D. Muhlenberg.
General McClellan moved the headquarters of the Federal
army to Rockville, on September 7th, and during that day and
the one following, the roads were crowded with troops going
forward. On September 7th, the movement of the army from Rockville
was commenced in three columns, designated the right wing,
centre and left wing. The right wing consisted of the First and
Ninth Corps, commanded by General Burnside ; the centre con
sisted of the Second and Twelfth Corps, commanded by General
Sumner, whilst .the left wing consisted of the Sixth Corps and
Couch's division of the Fourth Corps, commanded by General
Franklin. Sykes' division of Regulars, of the Fifth Corps, and
Morrell's division of the same Corps, joined the army later on.

§ Killed Sept. 17th.
t Detached at Frederick Sept. 15th.

51
Not knowing the designs of the enemy, the army moved
cautiously, as has been previously stated, the initiative being
taken by the right wing; but as the 125th regiment was connected
with the centre column, its march alone to Frederick City will
be here detailed. On September 9th, we moved to Middlebrook ;
on September 10th, we marched about ten miles, and halted for
the night in a chestnut grove, on the road leading to Mount Airy ;
on September nth, we were halted, after marching about one
mile, on a report that Confederate cavalry were a short distance
ahead of us." Towards* evening, we, moved two miles further,
and bivouacked in a field, near Damascus. It rained during the
night, and we got very wet. On September 12th, we marched to
a point near Ijamsville, where we remained during the night ; on
September 13th, we crossed the Baltimore, and Ohio Railroad at
Ijamsville, and moved rapidly in the direction of Frederick City.
Cannonading was heard quite distinctly, and when we reached
the Monocacy smoke of battle was seen. This cannonading
proved to be a skirmish between Federal cavalry under Pleasanton
and the Confederate cavalry under Stuart, in the Catoctin hills,
about three miles out of Frederick, and this skirmish General
Pleasanton refers to in his report of operations in Maryland. We
waded the Monocacy on the double-quick, and reached Frederick
City at noon, where we halted in a field on its outskirts. The
Confederates had retired from the city the previous evening.
General Burnside says he carried the bridge over the Monocacy
in the afternoon of September 12th, after slight resistance, and
Cox's division at once moved upon the city and occupied it, after
driving out a small force of the enemy. General Pleasanton says
he entered the town by the Urbana road, at 5 o'clock on the even
ing of September 12th, and General Reno, about the same time,
entered it by the New Market road.
The citizens of Frederick were not attracted by the address
of General Lee nor inspired by the song of " Maryland, my Mary
land," and soon showed us they were true to the Federal cause.
None but sentiments of loyalty to the Union were heard, and the
Stars and Stripes floated from every street of the town, and
though stripped of provisions by the Confederate army, they
tried to supply our wants, and made our brief stay with them as
pleasant as possible.
It is well to note here, that the roads on which we had moved
t

52
and were subsequently to move, were so blocked with the advance
of troops and artillery wagons that the supply train could not get
with us, and we were obliged to subsist on what we could secure
from houses, fields and orchards along the route. Green corn and
green apples constituted our principal rations from September
ioth to September 19th.
It was not until the Federal. Army reached Frederick City
that General McClellan received reliable information of the inten
tions of Lee. This was disclosed to him by an order found in
the camp of the 27th Indiana Regiment, and known in history as
the famous lost order. This order, it is stated by Colonel Taylor,
Adjutant-General of Lee's army, was sent to General D. H. Hill,
who was in command of a division which at that time was not
attached to either of the two wings of the Confederate Army, 1
under the leadership of Stonewall Jackson "and Longstreet, and
was carelessly left by some one in Hill's camp. A copy of the
order was also sent him by Stonewall Jackson, who regarded him
as part of his command, and this copy he received and preserved,
whilst the original was lost.
As the 27th Indiana Regiment constituted part of the First
Division of the Twelfth Army Corps, to which the 125th Penn
sylvania Regiment belonged, it is proper to give said order, and
detail the circumstances of its finding. The order reads as
follows :
Special Orders
No. 191. Headquarters, Army of Northern Virginia,
September 9, 1862.
The army will resume its march to-morrow, taking the Hagerstown
road. General Jackson's command will form the advance, and, after
passing Middletown, with such portion as» he may select, take the route
towards Sharpsburg, cross the Potomac at the most convenient point,
and by Friday night take possession of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad,
and capture such of the enemy as may be at Martinsburg, and intercept
such as may attempt to escape from Harper's Ferry. General Long-
street's command will pursue the same road as far as Boonsboro, where
it will halt with the reserve supply and baggage trains of the army.
General McLaws, with his own division and that of General R. H.
Anderson will follow General Longstreet; on reaching Middletown, he
will take the route to Harper's Ferry, and by Friday morning possess
himself of the Maryland Heights, and endeavor to capture the enemy at
Harper's Ferry and vicinity.

53
General Walker, with his division, after accomplishing the object in
which he is now engaged, will cross the Potomac at Cheek's Ford, ascend
its right bank to Lovettsville, take possession of Loudon Heights, if prac
ticable, by Friday morning, Keys' Ford on his left, and the road between
the end of the mountain and the Potomac on his right. He will, as far
as practicable, cooperate with General McLaws and General Jackson in
intercepting the retreat of the enemy.
General D. H. Hill's division will form the rear-guard of the army,
pursuing the road taken by the main body. The reserve artillery, ordnance
and supply trains, &c, will precede General Hill.
General Stuart will detach a squadron of cavalry to accompany the
command of Generals Longstreet, Jackson and McLaws, and with the
main body of the cavalry will cover the route of the army and bring
up all stragglers that may have been left behind.
The commands of Generals Jackson, McLaws and Walker, after accom
plishing the objects for which they have been detached, will join the
main body of the army at Boonsboro' or Hagerstown. Each regiment on
the march will habitually carry its axes in the regimental ordnance wagons,
for use of the men at their encampments, to procure wood, &c.
BY COMMAND OF GENERAL R. E. LEE:
Major-General D. H. HILL, R. H. CHILTON,
Commanding Division. Assistant Adjutant-General.
Colonel Silas Colegrove, of the 27th Indiana Regiment, in an
article published in the " Century Magazine " in 1886, says the
Twelfth Corps reached Frederick about noon of September 13th,
and his regiment stacked arms on the same ground that had been
occupied by Hill's division the previous evening, and soon after
halting the order was brought to him by First Sergeant John M.
Bloss, and Private B. W. Mitchell, of Company " B," of the
regiment, who said they found it in their camp, wrapped around
three cigars. He at once sent it to the headquarters of General
Williams, commanding the corps, and his Adjutant-General, Col
onel Pittman, recognized the handwriting of R. H. Chilton, who
signed the order, and with which he was familiar, and sent it to
General McClellan.
This order gave General McClellan the reliable information
that he says he received on September 13th, of the intentions of
the enemy, and the proposed capture of Harper's Ferry ; and in a
letter written to General Franklin that evening he gave him the
substance of the order that had been found, and told him that his
signal officers reported to him that the Confederate General

54
McLaws was in Pleasant Valley, and that the firing heard showed
that Colonel Miles still held out at Harper's Ferry. He also says
it was then clear to him that it was necessary to force a passage
of the South Mountain range, and gain possession of Boonsboro
and Rohrersville before relief could be afforded by him to Har
per's Ferry, or communication opened with Miles, as ordered by
General Halleck from Washington on September nth. He
accordingly moved the right wing of the army to Middletown
valley that afternoon, and prepared himself to move forward that
night and the next morning with the balance of the army.
Lee's army at that time was greatly divided, but when he
learned on the night of September 13th that McClellan was
rapidly approaching the South Mountain range, he at once
ordered back from Hagerstown two divisions of Longstreet to
reinforce Hill, who was then holding said mountain range.
General Cox's division, known as the Kanawha division, by
reason of its previous assignment to the Kanawha region in West
Virginia, and which was temporarily attached to the Ninth Corps,
moved at six o'clock on the morning of September 14th from Mid
dletown to the support of the cavalry under General Pleasanton,
who were then at the foot of South Mountain. The Catoctin
creek flows here, and here also is the old road over the mountain
on which General Braddock and his principal aide, George Wash
ington, marched in the year 1755, prior to the expedition against
Fort DuQuesne. Cox reached Pleasanton about nine o'clock in
the morning, and at once proceeded to ascend the mountain. His
division was composed of six Ohio regiments, in two brigades of
three regiments each, commanded respectively by Colonels Scam-
mon and Crook, and one of these regiments (the 23d Ohio) had
among its numbers two men who afterwards became Presidents
of the United States, viz.: Rutherford B. Hayes and William
McKinley. In the ascent of the mountain, Cox moved by the left
pf the road, known then and now as the old Sharpsburg or Brad-
dock road, and encountering D. H. Hill's command at Fox's Gap
brought on the battle of South Mountain. He carried and held
the crest of the mountain at this point before the arrival of the
balance of Burnside's command, that had gone to his assistance
but did not reach him until after twelve o'clock noon. Hooker's
First Corps, that had moved from the Monocacy at daylight, came
up in the afternoon, and with the greater part of the Ninth Corps

55
under Reno, assaulted the enemy at Turner's Gap, one mile north
of Fox's Gap, and by the country road known then and now as
the old Hagerstown road.
About this time, Longstreet reinforced D. H. Hill, and Gen
eral Franklin, who commanded the left wing of the Federal army,
arrived at Burkitville, in rear of Crampton's Gap, six miles below
Turner's Gap, and moving forward to the Gap encountered Cobb's
Confederate brigade, of McLaw's division. After a three hours'
contest, in which Cobb was assisted by Semmes and Mahone, the
command of Franklin drove the enemy from the top of the moun
tain at the Gap, and descended into Pleasant Valley, within three
and one-half miles of Maryland Heights; and from here it was
his intention to move to the relief of Miles at Harper's Ferry the
next morning.
The action at Turner's Gap was of longer duration and more
stubborn, and whilst it was going on, the centre column, under
Sumner, of which the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment was a part,
was straining every nerve to reach the scene of action and take
part. We were ordered to move at nine o'clock in the morning
by the Shookstown road, and we did move at that time, but were
halted for two hours in the streets of Frederick City to allow
other commands to pass, and when we moved again it was to the
Catoctin hills, among which we marched in order to screen our
movement from the enemy. About four o'clock in the afternoon,
whilst Hooker and Reno were making their fierce attack on Hill
and Longstreet, at Turner's Gap, we got into open country
and could see the South Mountain passes, hear the discharge of
¦cannon and musketry, and notice that a battle was raging. We
then moved more rapidly, and after crossing 'the Catoctin creek at
night and coming to the base of the mountain, we passed ambu
lances, with wounded men, going to the rear, and one containing
the remains of General Reno, who was killed that evening. The
fighting continued into the night, and evidences of battle multi
plied from the number of wounded men we passed. On, on, fur
ther into the night and further up the mountain, we went, and
•could hear in the distance faint strains of music, supposed by
some of our men to come from a Confederate band. About three
o'clock in the morning a halt was ordered in a field near the vil
lage of Bolivar, where the old Hagerstown road diverges to the
' right and the old Sharpsburg road to the left. Here we lay until

56
after daylight. This march from Frederick was the most severe
and exhausting of any that we had thus far had. At break of
day, of September 15th, the pickets of General Burnside made
the discovery that the enemy had gone, and we moved forward
to a stone wall in front, only to find a large number of wounded
Confederates. A hasty survey of the battlefield showed that the
engagement the previous day had been fierce, for the dead and
wounded of both armies were thickly strewn along the roadsides
and in the adjoining fields and woods, and it also showed that
victory was with the Federals.
Franklin's command, that had gone into Pleasant Valley the
previous evening, moved towards Maryland Heights, to relieve
General Miles, but when it reached a point near Rohrersville
Franklin discovered that McLaws had six brigades stretched
across Pleasant Valley to bar his further progress, and he did not
deem it prudent to attack. Soon thereafter news was received
of the surrender of Harper's Ferry by Miles, and General Frank
lin was ordered to remain where he was, and watch the force in
front of him, and protect the Federal left and rear.
We will all recollect how indignant the army was when it
received the news of the surrender of Harper's Ferry. We got
a new corps commander the morning of September 15th, in the
person of General Mansfield, and we well remember how favorably
impressed we were with his fine fatherly appearance and with
the deep interest he took in us.
General Williams, who had command of the corps from the
time of our assignment to it, now took charge of the first division
of the corps.
We moved this morning at ten o'clock, on the Hagerstown
road, past trees and ground torn and ploughed by yesterday's
battle. About eleven o'clock, General McClellan rode past the
line amid deafening cheers from the men, and soon thereafter we
met a flag of truce accompanied by a guard of Confederates in
search of the body of General Garland, of North Carolina, who was
killed the previous day. We reached Boonsboro about four o'clock
in the afternoon, and learned that the Federal cavalry had a brisk
skirmish there in the morning, in which two hundred and fifty
Confederate prisoners were captured. Dead horses were lying
in the streets of the town, the result partly of the skirmish in
the morning. Here we left the Hagerstown road and moved

57
to the left, and halted for the night in a field near Keedysville, on
the heels of the enemy.
The Confederate army had taken position on the heights
beyond the Antietam creek, and as the Federal army approached, it
was met by a heavy artillery fire from the western bank of the
said creek, to which Tidball's and Pettit's batteries, of Pleasan
ton' s command, replied, but on an examination of the position
General McClellan determined it was too late to make an attack
that day, and devoted his time to massing the army and placing
batteries in position.
On the morning of September 16th, General McClellan dis
covered that the enemy was still in position for battle, though his
line had been changed some during the night. In his front, one
mile east of Sharpsburg, he had the Antietam creek, which rises
north of Hagerstown, and flows south between high steep banks,
and empties into the Potomac three miles south of Sharpsburg.
The ground west of- said creek is irregular and undulating, first
rising and then sloping towards the Potomac, and at that time was
interspersed with woods or strips of timber. The Potomac near
here makes a number of sharp bends, which afford admirable
protection to the flanks of an army, and Lee taking advantage of
the irregularities in the ground and the woods for concealing his
force, and of the curves in the Potomac and the steep banks of
the Antietam for the protection of the flanks and front of his
army, had arranged it for battle in an angle formed by the river
and creek, the line being about three and one-half miles long.
The arrangement thus made covered the Shepherdstown ford into
Virginia, and the town of Sharpsburg, where he established his
headquarters. A better and stronger defensive position naturally
than the one selected by Lee could not be found anywhere .for an
army, and in this strong position he made up his mind to fight
the battle of Antietam that events had forced upon him, and
which it is said he could not avoid without losing the prestige
his previous engagements had won for him.
McClellan found out, through the reconnoissances he made,
that the centre of the Confederate army was along private roads
and through a succession of fields extending towards the Antie
tam creek; that its left was at the cross roads on the Hagers
town turnpike beyond the house of David R. Miller, with a pro
tection of cavalry reaching to the Potomac at one of its sharp

Major-General George B. McClellan.

59
bends, and that its right rested on the Snavely farm, south of
Sharpsburg. A road leads from Sharpsburg to the Shepherdstown ford,
and, being in the rear of the Confederate army, was easily kept
open and afforded a line of retreat for the army, when retreat was
found necessary.
The Antietam, near where the army was located, is crossed
by four stone bridges, the first or upper one, on the road leading
from Keedysville to Williamsport, the second one two and one-
half miles below, on the Keedysville and Sharpsburg turnpike,
the third one mile below the second, on the road leading to Rohr
ersville, and now known as the Burnside bridge, and the fourth
near the mouth of the Antietam creek, three miles below the third,
on the Harper's Ferry road; and McClellan found also, on his
reconnoissances, that bridge number two was near his line, and
had to be protected by him, and that bridge number three was
strongly defended by the enemy.
Stonewall Jackson, who had been at Harper's Ferry, rein
forced Lee about noon of September 16th, and took position on
the left of his line of battle; and General Walker says he also
arrived with two brigades and reported to Lee about the same
time, but rested until daylight the next morning,*and then took
position on the right, in support of General Toombs.
General McClellan established his headquarters at the Pry
house, a large brick building east of the Antietam creek, and
says he spent the morning of September 16th " in reconnoitering
the new position taken up by the enemy, examining the grounds,
finding fords, clearing the approaches, and hurrying up the
ammunition and supply trains which had been delayed by the
rapid marches of the troops, over the few practicable approaches
from Frederick."
During that forenoon there was an artillery duel between the
Washington Artillery, of New Orleans, Louisiana, stationed west
of the Antietam creek, and Federal batteries east of said creek,
which lasted, according to the report of Colonel Walton, of the
Washington Artillery, forty minutes, and in which Major Arndt,
of the First New York Artillery, was mortally wounded.
The 125th Pennsylvania Regiment was placed in line of battle
several times during the forenoon, and marched towards the front,
ljut orders fof its advance were countermanded, and at twelve

60
o'clock noon we were moved to a field in the rear, and ordered
to rest on our arms. We had previously, supposed, from the
double-quick time in which we left our bivouack in the morning,
and the hurried orders to load, that a battle was imminent. We
were ready for the fray, but when the artillery duel, as afore
said, ended, we moved to the rear, and were led to believe there
would be nothing for us to do that day, and that we would rest
in the field where we then were during the afternoon and night,
but in this we were partially disappointed, as we shallsee a little
later on.
Having ascertained the position of the enemy, McClellan at
once planned his battle, which was to attack Lee's left with the
corps of Hooker and Mansfield, supported by Sumner and Frank
lin, whilst Burnside attacked his right, and when these movements
were successful the centre was to be attacked with all the avail
able forces at his command. He accordingly, at two o'clock that
afternoon, ordered Hooker to cross the Antietam at the upper
bridge and a ford near by, with the divisions of Ricketts, Meade
and Doubleday, and attack and endeavor to turn the enemy's
left. Hooker made ready to move as ordered, starting at four
o'clock in the afternoon, and cautiously feeling his way ; his lead
ing division, Composed of the Pennsylvania Reserves under
Meade, came upon the enemy soon after sunset in a belt of timber
near the house of David R. Miller, known as the East Woods.
A sharp engagement, lasting until dark, took place between
Hooker and Hood's Confederate division, aided by two brigades
of Stonewall Jackson's command, in which Colonel McNeill, of
the Pennsylvania Bucktails, was killed. Firing ceased at night,
and the men of both sides laid down to rest, and so near together
were they said to be that the pickets could hear each other walk.
A brief description of the ground here is necessary to an
understanding, of the battle of the next day.
To the northwest front of the east .woods in which Hooker
came upon the enemy was the house and orchard of David R.
Miller. The Hagerstown turnpike, extending from Hagerstown
to Sharpsburg, runs close to said house, and in a field some dis
tance in front of the house there were then straw stacks. In
rear of the house there was at that time a small cornfield, and
further back, with intervening ground full of irregularities, such
as gullies, depressions and rocks, there was a woods known as

61
Sam Poffenberger's woods. To the right of the irregular ground,
looking towards the Miller house, was the north woods, near
where the left of the Confederate line rested. To the left and
south of the house of David R. 'Miller was a large cornfield that
reached from the east woods to the Hagerstown turnpike; adjoin
ing it on the left and south was a smaller field that was harrowed,
and which also extended from the east woods to the Hagerstown
turnpike, and adjoining the harrowed field on the left and south
was a field that had been 'in clover but was then partly ploughed,
and it too extended to the Hagerstown turnpike. The turnpike
runs in front of these three fields, and beyond it was another
helt of timber known as the west woods, which was larger than
the east woods. Towards the southeastern edge of the west
woods, there stood and still stands the historic Dunker church,
a small brick building that in the past had been whitewashed and
was first taken to be a school house. To the right of the west
woods, in the direction of the Nicodemus farm, and near where
the straw stacks were located, there was a small woods, to which
no name is given. Through the east woods, and skirting the
southeastern edge of the harrowed field and the whole of the,
field partly ploughed and partly in clover, the road, known as
the Smoketown road, runs, and terminates at the Hagerstown
turnpike opposite the Dunker church. South of the Smoketown
road, after it leaves the east woods, is the Mumma farm, and
adjoining it, in the direction of the Antietam creek, is the Rou
lette farm. Southeast of the Dunker church, towards Sharps
burg, a lane, now known as the bloody lane, leaves the Hagers
town turnpike and connects with other lanes leading to different
farm houses, and some distance in front of this lane, in the direc
tion of and near Sharpsburg, is the Piper house and farm.
The ground of which this rough description is given was
where the left and centre of the Confederate army was found,, and
it was destined on the morrow to be the scene of the most sanguin
ary single day's conflict of the Civil War.
About the same time McClellan gave orders to General
Hooker to take his corps across the Antietam and attack the
enemy's left, he ordered General Sumner to have Mansfield's
command follow Hooker during the night, and to hold his own
corps ready to move in the morning. At ten o'clock that night
the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment received marching orders, and

62
the hopes we had entertained of having a sound night's rest
where we then lay were gone. General Sumner, who commanded
the right wing of the army, says the command moved at 11.30
that night. When we took up our march, the regiment followed
the lead, in person, of the corps commander, General Mansfield.
We were ordered not to speak above a whisper nor allow canteens
to rattle, for the reason that we were near the enemy's line. We
moved for three miles in a circuitous direction, crossing the
Antietam at the same ford, near the upper bridge, where General
Hooker had crossed in the afternoon, and halted in a ploughed
field on the farm of George Lines, close to his house, and about
one mile in rear of General Hooker's line. Here we lay until
daybreak, and here we found a hospital had been established,
where Federal wounded in the brief engagement that evening
were brought, and where the Twelfth Corps commander breathed
his last the next afternoon, at four o'clock. Soon after halting,
the body of Colonel McNeill, of the Pennsylvania Bucktails,
who had been killed in the evening, was borne past our line to
the hospital. Shortly afterwards, comrades of the Regiment in
going to a nearby pump to fill their canteens were stopped by
a guard, and informed they could have no water, as it was all
wanted for the hospital. The rest of the corps was near us,
and Federal pickets were in our immediate front. We slept but
little that night, and knew from the silence enjoined and the cir
cumstances that surrounded us that a battle was about to be
fought. Thoughts of home and of dear ones left behind us
filled our minds, but the determination to do our duty when
called upon was not wanting.
With the first gray streaks of morning, battle in the east
woods began between Hooker and Stonewall Jackson, the Penn
sylvania Reserves (the centre of Hooker's line), opening the
contest, which soon became general along the whole line. To the
right of Meade's Pennsylvania Reserves, was the division of
Doubleday, partly astride the Hagerstown turnpike, north of the
house of David R. Miller, and on Meade's left was Ricketts'
division ; and for the possession of the east woods and the large
cornfield in front the contest was fierce and obstinate between
Hooker and Jackson.
The Twelfth Corps moved towards the scene of action at
daybreak, and the order to fall in was at once given the 125th

63
Pennsylvania Regiment. The exact time at which we moved is
not stated, but no account makes it earlier than 5.30 or later
than 6.00 a. m. The Sergeant-Major says that we first moved
by the flank, and then by the front in column by company closed
in mass. Colonel Higgins says the 125th took the lead of the
corps in its advance. We moved as rapidly as circumstances
would permit, through fields and strips of timber, and this
movement appeared to be in the shape of a letter " Z." We
were perhaps one hour in reaching the battle-field, owing to
numerous halts that were made. General Stuart, who was pro
tecting the Confederate left, shelled the column with his bat
teries, from the time we started until we reached the field, but
no harm was done us. When we arrived at Sam Poffenberger
woods, wounded men were fast coming to the rear. They
belonged principally to the Pennsylvania Reserves, and of the
brigade commanded by Colonel Magilton.
It was understood that we were ordered to the relief of
Ricketts' division, and we -did finally relieve that division, but
the first move we made on the field was more to the right.
General Williams says the first brigade of the first division of
the Twelfth Corps was ordered to deploy to the right, with its
right regiment extending to the Hagerstown turnpike, and
Gordon was to hold the centre, whilst Greene's division was
directed to the ridge on the left. General Crawford says that
said first brigade was on the right of the line in the movement"
to the front, and it was not until the third order came that it fully-
deployed. Colonel Higgins says, in a letter to John M. Gould,
of the Tenth Maine Regiment, in February, 1891, that he moved
the regiment first towards the straw stacks on the farm of David
R. Miller, by order of General Crawford, and then back again
into a woods. These stacks were to the right of the line of
battle, and this order of General Williams and statement of
Colonel Higgins will explain the zigzag movements we made
before reaching the east woods. It is certain that we swept
through an orchard where the artillery fire was very severe, and
that the deployment first made in line of battle was in or close to
the narrow strip of woods back of the east woods, known as the
Sam Poffenberger woods.
On the movement to the battlefield, we noticed, to the left,
the buildings on the Mumma farm on fire." These were set on fire .

64
by D. H. Hill's men, and General Ripley, in his report of the
battle, says they were set on fire to prevent them from being used
by the Federal army. As the Twelfth Corps approached the
field we moved on the double-quick, owing to an urgent request
from General Hooker to hurry to his assistance, as all his reserves
were then employed. Hartsuff, one of his principal brigadiers,
had been thrown into a breach to stay an advance of the enemy,
and was wounded. Men were falling rapidly, and sad and ghastly
were the sights that met our view, only to be multiplied after
wards. Jackson had received assistance from D. H. Hill's and
Ewell's divisions, and was fighting hard to hold his ground.
Subsequently he was reinforced by Hood's division that had been
relieved the night before to prepare something to eat, and also
by other commands, whilst S. D. Lee's batteries, of Stuart's
cavalry division, further rendered him valuable assistance; but
at the same time Federal batteries east of the Antietam enfiladed
his line and did him damage. General Crawford's report states
that we moved forward from the right through woods and open
space, and drove before us a thin line of the enemy's skirmishers,
and that " the struggle for the skirt of woods to which the
enemy clung and the open space and cornfields opposite and
along the turnpike on the right was long and determined."
The deployment of the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment at the
Sam Roffenberger woods, to the right of the Smoketown road,
was in reverse order, that is the right of the regiment was where
the left should have been, and in this order we moved towards
the straw stacks, as aforesaid, and east woods, with Company
" G " in advance, as skirmishers. When we emerged from the
first woods we noticed a brigade re-forming at the small cornfield
and then moving to the front. We soon came upon the line of
the enemy that General Crawford mentions, and further on, a
distance perhaps of two hundred and fifty yards, we were fired
upon by a small regiment, since ascertained to be the Fifth Texas,
and Private James Hunter, of Company " A," was killed. This
was our first loss, and it occurred on ground not far from the
east woods; and we are doubtless the strong Federal reinforce
ment that Captain Ike M. Turner, of the Fifth Texas, mentions
in his report of the battle. We all recollect distinctly of this
small regiment firing on us, and then running back into the east
woods. The regiment still moved on, as stated by Colonel

65
Higgins in his report, under a heavy fire of musketry and shot
and shell, and then fell back" a short distance, and then again
moved forward until it got a firm lodgment in the east woods.
In the movement from the Sam Poffenberger woods, Colonel
Hawley, of the 124th Pennsylvania Regiment, says we passed
his regiment at a gully in the irregular ground back of the small
cornfield through which we went, and General Knipe says, in
substance, that the brigade took position some distance back in
the woods, to the front of which Federal troops were engaging
the enemy, and that the original intention was that the 124th,
128th and 125th Pennsylvania regiments were to move first to
the front, but this plan was not carried out.
No sooner had the Twelfth Corps come to the east woods,
says General Williams, than General Gibbon asked to have rein
forcements sent to his right, and Goodrich's brigade, of Greene's
division, was accordingly detached and sent, to the assistance of
General Patrick. He also says that the 124th Pennsylvania was
detached from the first brigade, and sent to the right, past the
house of David R. Miller. It took position astride the turnpike
in the direction of the stacks, of which previous reference has
been made. General Williams further says that the whole corps
was engaged as early as from 6.30 to 7 o'clock in the morning.
Hooker had previously cleared the large cornfield of the
enemy by heavy discharges of canister, and had pushed his
columns on the right across the turnpike towards the west woods,
but had been driven back before superior numbers, and Ricketts,
of his command, met a similar fate on the left, but held position
in the edge of the east woods, confronted by Lawton and part
of D. H. Hill's division.
The enemy had again taken possession of the large cornfield,
and General Williams says, had advanced his men to the fields
in front of the west woods along a ridge extending to the house
of David R. Miller, and beyond, a distance not discernible. His
supports and reinforcements were concealed in the west woods
and in the ravines there and in their rear. The cornfield in front
of the east woods that the enemy had taken possession of also
concealed his men from our view.
The general position of the Twelfth Corps was to the left
of Hooker, and the attack it made was oblique to his line. As
we approached the east woods, troops of General Duryea's com-
5

66
mand retired, and when we got fairly in position, battling, which
had previously been severe, became terrific, and for the next
three hours a rich harvest of death was reaped on the right of
the Federal line. We were exposed to a fire from the enemy's
batteries on the right, and to an exceedingly heavy fire of mus
ketry and artillery in front, and report of the battle states that
it was from one and one-half to two hours before the enemy was
fully driven back to the west woods.
The brigade commander moved the brigade to which we were
attached to the front of the east woods, in column of division, the
46th Pennsylvania being on the right and the 10th Maine on the
left, with the 125th and 128th Pennsylvania in the rear. The
leading regiments, 46th Pennsylvania, 10th Maine and 28th New
York, opened fire on the enemy, says the brigade commander, at
the large cornfield, about two hundred and fifty yards in their
front. The 125th was ordered to the large cornfield, and moved for
ward, with Company " G " in its front as skirmishers, but after
nearing the position of the three leading regiments, it was halted,
and the 128th Pennsylvania, whom we recollect by the white
haversacks carried by its men and the shrill voice of its colonel,
filed partly through our line and to its right, and moved towards
the cornfield. It took position on the right of the 46th Pennsyl
vania, and at once engaged the enemy, meeting with heavy loss.
Its colonel was killed and lieutenant-colonel wounded, and it
seemed to have been thrown into confusion. At this time the
corps commander, General Mansfield, rode forward to a point
near where they were engaged, apparently to reconnoitre or
watch the progress of the engagement, and was mortally wounded
by a sharpshooter. This occurred to the right front of the 125th
Pennsylvania Regiment, about seven o'clock in the morning, and
we will give the account of it later.
General Williams then assumed command of the corps, Gen
eral Crawford of the division, and Colonel Knipe, of the 46th
Pennsylvania, of the brigade.
At this time, General Crawford found Gordon's brigade, of
the division, battling hard on the centre of the line and meeting
with success, and Greene's division, consisting of the brigades
of Stainrook and Tyndale, was about to move through the
east woods, to drive the Confederates, under General Colquitt,

67
therefrom. Goodrich's brigade, of said division, had been sent
to the right, to the assistance of General Patrick, and the 124th
Pennsylvania Regiment, of the First Brigade, had also been sent
to the right, and was placed astride the Hagerstown turnpike.
General Hooker notified Crawford that these woods must be
held at all hazards, as otherwise the right of the army would be
imperilled. Very soon after the wounding of General Mansfield,
the 125th was moved quickly to the rear and right, and then
obliquely to the left, and then further to the left front. This,
the brigade commander, General Knipe, informed the writer, was
done by order of General Crawford.
Just now, and soon afterwards, the scenes of excitement and
sadness are almost beyond description. Colonel H. Kyd Doug
lass, who was an aide on the staff of Stonewall Jackson, speaks of
the Twelfth Corps' fight, in his article in the " Century Maga
zine," in the year 1886, as follows :
" Next Mansfield entered the fight, and beat with resistless
might on Jackson's people. The battle here grew angry and
bloody, Starke was killed, Lawton wounded, and nearly all their
general and field officers had fallen ; the sullen Confederate line
again fell back, killing Mansfield, and wounding Hooker, Craw
ford and Hartsuff."
Stonewall Jackson, in his report of the battle, says :
" About sunrise the Federal infantry advanced in heavy force to
the edge of the woods on the eastern side of the turnpike, driv
ing in our skirmishers. Batteries were opened in front from the
woods, with shell and canister, and our troops became exposed for
nearly an hour to a terrific storm of shell, canister and musketry.
. With heroic spirit our lines advanced to the conflict
and maintained their position in the face of superior numbers, with
stubborn resolution, sometimes driving the enemy before them and
sometimes compelled to fall back before their well-sustained and
destructive fire. Fresh troops from time to time relieved the
enemy's ranks, and the carnage on both sides was terrific. At
this early hour General Starke was killed ; Colonel Douglass,
commanding Lawton's brigade, was killed ; General Lawton, com
manding the division, and Colonel Walker, commanding the
brigade, were severely wounded. More than one-half of the
brigades of Lawton and Hays were either killed or wounded,
and more than one-third of Trimble's, and all the regimental

68
commanders in those brigades, except two, were killed or
wounded. Thinned in their ranks and exhausted of their ammu
nition, Jackson's division, and the brigades of Lawton, Hays and
Trimble retired to the rear, and Hood, of Longstreet's command,
again took the position from which he had been before relieved."
The second movement of the 125th to the left front, after
the fatal wounding of General Mansfield, brought us to the edge
of the harrowed field south of the large cornfield. Here the
regiment righted itself, and here we found some of the 90th
Pennsylvania. In this movement we captured a number of
prisoners, who had taken refuge behind rocky knolls, but now
came forward and surrendered themselves, some with handker
chiefs tied on ramrods. An iron gun battery was in front,
exchanging shots with a Confederate battery on the limestone
ledge, to the left front of the Dunker church. . This battery was
supposed to be Ricketts', under command of Captain Matthews,
but we are now led to believe it was Edgel's First New Hamp
shire Battery. Ricketts' men say their battery did not get south
of the great cornfield. We lay on our faces behind this battery,
as the firing here was severe. At this time, General Greene was
moving towards the burning buildings and the rest of the corps
was fighting to the right, and had succeeded in clearing the large
cornfield. The next move of the regiment was by the flank to
the left, through the harrowed field, and field partly ploughed,
to the Smoketown road. On this move we passed many dead
and wounded men, and previously, near the edge of the east
woods, south of the cornfield, one of the gloves of Colonel H. B.
Strong, of the Sixth Louisiana Regiment, was picked up and
handed to Colonel Higgins by Adjutant Johnston.
As we approached the Smoketown road, a brass gun battery
came out the road and took position on rising ground in front
of us, and this battery we were ordered to support. Company
" B " was south of said road, and Company " G " partly in the
road and partly, with the rest of the regiment, in the field that
had been in clover but had the portion of it next the Hagerstown
turnpike ploughed. This battery that was supposed to be Battery
"B," 4th United States Artillery, has since, through the
Antietam Battlefield Commission, been definitely ascertained to
be Captain Monroe's First Rhode Island Battery.
Exceedingly severe was the enemy's fire here, especially at

69
mounted officers. To protect ourselves, we lay on our faces, and
we persuaded the Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment
to dismount, and scarcely had the latter done so when a shell tore
away the stirrup strap of the saddle on his horse, exploded and
disabled him, and caused the horse to run away. About the same
time, another shell went through a horse of an orderly of General
Williams, then bounded over the battle line and burrowed itself
in the ground. The horse that had been hit pawed a furrow in
the ground, and laid down and died. Here General Hooker came
to Colonel Higgins and, asked him if any troops were in the west
woods, and the Colonel told him none but Rebels. Whilst the two
were talking his (Hooker's) horse was hit by a ball, to which
his attention was called, and he quickly rode away. It is possible
that he was wounded himself at this time, for he says in his report
that he was not aware that he had been wounded, and that he had
to be lifted from his saddle through weakness caused by loss of
blood; and General Sumner says when he arrived on the field
by himself, a surgeon was about to dress Hooker's wound. Look
ing in front, musket balls were raising the dust in the same
manner that large drops of rain ripple a smooth surface of water,
and their sizzing and binging about our ears was without cessa
tion. The Sergeant-Major of the regiment mentions the case
of a member of one of the Huntingdon County companies picking
up a bullet that had flattened itself on a stone at his head as
though struck with a hammer. At the fence corner, on the
Smoketown road, Corporal John G. Christian, of Company " G,"
was wounded by a grape shot, from the effects of which he died
three years later, and about the same time one of the artillerists
in front had his leg severed below the knee with a solid shot.
This battery of Captain Monroe, to the front, was silencing the
Confederate battery on the limestone ledge near the church, and
also paying attention to other batteries further on. The coolness
of its commander,. whilst this was going on, was remarkable. He
talked to Captain McKeage as though a perfect calm surrounded
us. The Sergeant-Major also mentions an amusing incident
here, which is, that in the midst of the enemy's heavy firing, he
heard Calvin B. Shearer, of Company " F," sing out, " Here's
your Baltimore Clipper." Another incident that can be men
tioned is, that a pup belonging to the artillerists in front, becom
ing frightened, crept into the shirt bosom of Albert Robison, of

Mh

\. . ^//i/'J^&m

¦' "'T* j-" ,,'-''i '¦¦ ¦¦?¦""* >'«S*"-' .. .

v -¦A'Si

• 'if&ijtk

Advance of the 125™ Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers on Dunkard Church, at Antietam,
September 17, 1862.

71
Company " G," for protection. Whilst at this point, no Federal
troops nearer than the great cornfield were on our right, and
none whatever on our left, and men of Company " B " reported
two mounted Confederate officers reconnoitring in the direction
of the burning buildings. Doubtless General Greene's division of
the corps had reached there by this time, and was about to engage
the enemy.
As soon as the fire of the Confederate battery near the church
was silenced, an officer, to us unknown, ordered the regiment into
the west woods, and requested it to hold the same. To the com
mand, " Forward," we moved with spirit and rapidity, driving
before us some South Carolina and Georgia troops. When we
came to the Hagerstown turnpike, Colonel Higgins says, Lieu
tenant-Colonel Newton, of the. Sixth Georgia Regiment, was
found in a dying condition. He asked Higgins for stimulants or
morphine, and when told he had none, he said, " I am shot
through. Oh, my God, I must die," and turned over and died.
At the eastern edge of the woods the regiment halted, and
Company " G " was thrown forward as skirmishers. At the same
time, Company " B " was sent to the church, a short distance to
the' left, and on reaching the same found it full of wounded Con
federates. An advance, following the skirmish line, was then
made, and a halt ordered' to examine the position we were in. It
was discovered we were far to the front of the Federal line and
without supports. Colonel Higgins then ordered his brother,
Lieutenant Higgins, of Company "B," to take his horse and ride
back and inform General Crawford of the situation, and also
request him to send us assistance at once, or we would be flanked
by the enemy, who was in force in front and on the right. The
skirmishers were again ordered forward, and the regiment fol
lowed to an elevation of ground near an outcropping of rocks.
The skirmishers continued their forward movement, to a point
close to the western edge of the woods, near a rectangular-shaped
field on the right, where Confederate" troops had a hospital, and
took one prisoner, a young Georgian, who seized and tried to hold
Private Reese Williams, of Company " G," when we were after
wards forced to retire from the woods. The South Carolina and
Georgia troops that we previously drove before us, sought refuge
in a. ravine in the northwestern edge of the woods and the fields
in their rear.

72
From the ravine or hollowed ground on the right, the enemy
fired on the skirmish line, and wounded Private D. R. P. John
ston. A large column formed in the field in its front, and
advanced towards it, carrying their guns at a right shoulder shift.
The line did what it could to hold in check this column, as well
as the force on the right, which was endeavoring to and did
finally connect with the column moving towards it from the field,
and some very narrow escapes were made here. The skirmishers
were now recalled, as was also Company " B," near the left-rear
of the church. The troops that the skirmish line encountered
were of General Early's command, and of Stafford and Grigsby,
of Jackson's division; and General Early, in his report, speaks
thus of the skirmishers : " A body of the enemy, perhaps only
skirmishers, had gotten into the woods to the left, and was firing
upon our men, being held in check by a scattering fire." As soon
as Companies " B " and " G " rejoined the regiment, that had
fallen back a short distance, it opened fire on the enemy moving
towards us, holding him at bay and repelling four different
assaults made upon us with strong reinforcements. Whilst we
were fighting here, General Sumner rode forward and asked of
what command we were, went to our Colonel, and then rode
rapidly back; and Colonel Higgins says, in a few minutes, Gen
eral Gorman, of Sedgwick's division, of Sumner's corps, reported
to him that his brigade was coming up, but was some distance
back. Soon thereafter, the 34th New York Regiment, of Gor
man's brigade, came up on the double-quick, and took position to
our left and rear, and at once commenced firing on the enemy,
with us.
It was now nine o'clock or after, and General Walker's divi
sion, that had moved rapidly from the Confederate right, had
arrived at the west woods, and McLaw's division, that was twenty-
two hours late in coming from Harper's Ferry, reached the said
woods very soon thereafter, also one brigade of Anderson's
division. The different commands afore-mentioned, joining their forces
with those we had previously been contending, overpowered and
compelled us to retire from the woods, with heavy loss, after a
hard fight of one-half hour, twenty minutes of which we were
alone, and the only assistance we at any time had was from the
34th New York Regiment. The lines of the united commands

73
that drove the two regiments from the woods extended along
their entire front and far beyond their right and left flanks, and
in numbers said united commands were superior to them many
times over. The Battlefield Commission say this force con
sisted of Kershaw's brigade of Longstreet's division, supported
by Walker's division and Early's brigade, and that after causing
the said two regiments to retire, it wheeled to the left, supported
by the brigades of Semmes, Anderson and Barksdale, and part
of Jackson's division, and struck the left flank of Sedgwick's
division and forced it J:o retire. It is certain that both regiments
held their positions in the woods as long as it was possible for
them to do so against the overwhelming numbers hurled against
them. The men of the 125th Regiment unwillingly retired from
the woods, at the last moment; and Colonel Higgins says if we
had remained in position two minutes longer we would all have
been lost.
Colonel Suiter, of the 34th New York Regiment, gives this
description of the attack made on the line of the two regiments :
" Arriving at about twenty yards in rear of a school house
(the Dunker church), I discovered the enemy under the hill.
I immediately ordered my command to fire, which they did in gal
lant order. From some cause, to me unknown, I had become
detached from my command, the 125th Regiment of Pennsyl
vania Volunteers being on my right. On my left and rear I was
entirely unsupported by infantry or artillery. The enemy was in
strong force at this point and poured in a tremendous fire of mus
ketry and artillery upon me. At this time I discovered the enemy
was making a move to flank me on the left.
"Presently General Sedgwick arrived upon the ground. Mov
ing down my line, he discovered the situation of my command, and
that the point could not be held by me, and gave the order for
me to retire, which I did. Rallying my command, I formed them
in line of battle, supporting a battery some four hundred yards
in the rear of the battlefield."
On falling back to the field partly ploughed, through which
both regiments had previously advanced, the balance of Sedg
wick's division was found coming up, and we halted momentarily
with them, but at this time artillery officers rode amongst us and
asked us to retire behind the line of batteries that had been
formed to repel the fierce and heavy attack the enemy were now

74
making. This we did, though more or less confusion reigned,
and in this falling back the Adjutant and Acting Major of the
regiment was mortally wounded. The regimental colors were
placed in the rear of the battery we had previously supported and
around them we rallied.
Sedgwick's division was then on the right front of us, and
appeared to have come from the direction of the large cornfield.
The enemy kept on advancing and delivering a withering fire until
near the batteries, and our loss in this field where the batteries
were stationed, and through which we had fallen back, was
heavy, as was also that of Sedgwick's division. In the west
woods, the 34th New York, of this division, met with greater
loss in proportion to numbers engaged than we, for the reason
that the attack on the left was stronger than on the right and
they received the full force of the same, as well as the fire on
front directed against both regiments.
In the retreat from the said west woods, the regimental colors
of the 125th were saved through bravery worthy of special men
tion. The color-sergeant, George A. Simpson, was shot and
instantly killed and five of the color guard went down; then
Eugene Boblitz, of Company " H," rescued and carried them for
a distance, when he was badly wounded and handed them to
Sergeant Walter W. Greenland, of Company "C," afterwards
Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania, from whom Captain Wallace
received them, and carried them to the rear of the battery which
we were ordered to support. Meanwhile men were falling thick
and fast as leaves in autumn. Hospital Steward J. Fletcher Con
rad, before his death, stated to the writer that when attending
an encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, at Columbus,
Ohio, a few years since, he met a Confederate officer, who
detailed the circumstances of the carrying of the regimental
flag by Captain Wallace, and said that the Captain must have led a
charmed life, as one hundred rifles were aimed at him without
effect. The two regiments got behind the batteries none too soon,'
for the enemy was then almost at the muzzles of the guns ; but
suddenly, not only these batteries in our front, but others to the
right and left, commenced and continued a destructive fire which
caused the enemy's line to sway, totter and fall back to the woods.
Sedgwick's line then moved forward amid a heavy fire, and

75
we also moved towards the woods, but when we came to the bat
teries, or a few steps in their front, it was ascertained we belonged
to the Twelfth Corps, and we were then ordered to retire to a
point near the edge of the east woods.
When Sedgwick reached the west woods they were a sheet
of flame, and the battle appeared to redouble itself in fury, and
he was obliged, after a fierce contest, to retire before the superior
numbers we had previously encountered, and was wounded him
self in the deadly struggle.
This advance movement of the enemy reached pn the right a -
point where the second brigade of the first division of the Twelfth
Corps had been battling, and General Crawford was wounded in
the thigh in rallying some troops here. On the left, it reached
General Greene's division, of the Twelfth Corps, on the Mumma
farm, but was repelled by that gallant officer, who subsequently
moved to the Dunker church and obtained a lodgment in the
woods there, which he held until near the time General Frank
lin's command reached the field. General Kershaw, of McLaw's
division, claims that the west woods were not occupied after the
125th Regiment and Sedgwick's division were driven therefrom,
but General Greene's report shows that they were at least partly
occupied. General Walker says when he approached the west woods,
Hood and Early were struggling to hold them, and General Ran
som, who commanded one of the brigades of Walker's division,
says he " immediately encountered the enemy in strong force
flushed with a temporary success. A tremendous fire was poured
into them, and without a halt the woods was cleared and the crest
next the enemy occupied. At this time I determined to charge
across a field in our front and to a woods beyond which was held
by the enemy, but he again approached in force to within one
hundred yards, when he was met by the same crushing fire
which had driven him first from the position." This report of
General Ransom, though overdrawn, corresponds more nearly
with the recollection of the writer of the strong attack on the
125th Pennsylvania and 34th New York Regiments, the retreat
of the two regiments from the west woods, and the subsequent
advance of Sedgwick's division than any Confederate report we
have yet read.
General Palfrey, late Colonel of the Twentieth Massachusetts

76
Regiment, in his book styled " The Antietam and Fredericks
burg," gives an account of the battle at the point we were
engaged, and of the advance of Sedgwick's division, that does
injustice to the two aforementioned regiments. We called
attention to this at our reunion on the battlefield on September
17th, 1888, and as General Palfrey is now dead, it is sufficient to
say here that the 125th Pennsylvania and 34th New York Regi
ments had been in the west woods and tried hard to hold them,
before the main portion of Sedgwick's division reached them,
. and that these two regiments at least were in sight when he came
upon the field, and could have been found obeying orders to fall
behind the batteries and there rallying. In other respects, we
believe General Palfrey's full account of the battle on the right,
on the part of Sedgwick's division, to be generally correct, and
we give full praise to the brave Sedgwick and the men of his
division for what they did on that eventful day; but the official
reports of Colonels Higgins and Suiter and of General Gorman
will show that we were in the woods before Sedgwick's division,
and only the heavy odds we had to contend with compelled us to
retire, and with their own 34th New York, we rallied behind the
batteries that for a time drove back the enemy he subsequently
met in the woods.
French and Richardson's divisions, of Sumner's corps, having
crossed the Antietam at the same ford we crossed during the
night, reached the field soon after Sedgwick. French arrived
first. He bore to the left of General Greene, of the Twelfth
Corps, and engaged D. H. Hill, on the Roulette farm. Richard
son soon came to his assistance, and the two drove Hill from
said farm. Hill then took position at the sunken road leading
from the Hagerstown turnpike, now known as the bloody lane,
and re-forming his lines awaited a further attack from French
and Richardson, which was soon made.
It was now almost noon, and General Franklin, who had le^ft
his encampment in Pleasant Valley at 5.30 in the morning, made
his appearance on the right, with the divisions of Smith and Slo
cum. He had for two days past been halting near Rohrersville,
observing movements at Harper's Ferry, and when he marched
for the battlefield he left behind him Couch's division to watch
Maryland Heights. When he reached the field two of his
brigades charged past the line we were holding, and moving to

77
the left of the Dunker church, assisted French and Richardson
in their contest with D. H. Hill at the bloody lane. Here the
struggle was long, determined and sanguinary, and General
Nathan Kimball says it was three and one-half hours before
Hill relinquished his hold on the sunken road and was forced
back towards the Piper House. This attack on Hill caused a sus
pension of hostilities further to the right.
R. H. Anderson's division, of Longstreet's command, now
reinforced Hill, and against these two forces Richardson's and
part of French's divisipn fought hard for ground about the Piper
house, which they gained but subsequently relinquished, and at
a cornfield between the bloody lane and the Piper house Richard
son was mortally wounded. Near here the Confederate General
G. B. Anderson was mortally wounded, also Generals R. H.
Anderson and Wright.
Soon after General Franklin came on the field, and when
fighting was sharp and severe on the left, an artillery officer rode
up to Colonel Higgins and said to him : " Colonel, for God's
sake, come and save my battery. I have no supports, and my
horses are all shot", and I cannot get my guns away." The posi
tion of the battery was on the left front, and the Colonel, looking
ahead, took in the situation at a glance, and, moving the regiment
forward on the double-quick, the enemy was driven away and the
guns saved. A few minutes later General Franklin came to
Colonel Higgins, asked what regiment we were, and said we had
just got to the battery in time to save it from capture, and that our
action was right. He ordered him to remain where he was, in
suppor^ of batteries, and also to take charge of the 124th Penn
sylvania Regiment, which was in the east woods, near us, in
command of its Major, its Colonel having been wounded. He
also told him to say to our Brigade Commander " that General
Franklin had ordered him and all would be right." This battery
we thought to be Tompkins' Rhode Island Battery, but we have
since learned, through the Antietam Battlefield Commission, it
was the same one we had supported before entering the west
woods, to wit: First Rhode Island, commanded by Captain
Monroe. The hard fighting now and during the afternoon was trans
ferred to the centre and left of the line of battle, although a heavy
artillery fire was kept up on the right that lasted until after night.

78
North of the Dunker church, Stuart, by direction of Lee,
attempted a flank movement on the Federal line, but was driven
back by an artillery fire from thirty batteries directed upon him
by Doubleday; and General Pleasanton, who had been guard
ing bridge No. i over the Antietam, crossed the same with a
force of cavalry and light artillery, and formed a flank support
for General Richardson on his move from the Roulette farm and
bloody lane to the Piper house, and he subsequently repelled a
threatened attack on Hancock, who took command of the division
after the wounding of Richardson. A battalion of regulars from
Sykes' division was sent to the assistance of Pleasanton, and
afterwards four other battalions were sent across the creek to
assist in driving off the enemy's sharpshooters. These regulars
made their way well up the hill where the National Cemetery is
now located, and rendered valuable service.
The attack on the left was not made at the same time it was
on the right, which General McClellan says he intended to have
done, the difficulty in the way being the delay in carrying bridge
No. 3 over the Antietam, now known as the Burnside bridge,
that was strongly defended by Toombs' brigade, of Long-
street's command, and a protection of stone fences, rifle pits and
breastworks of rails. Two attempts to carry it had been made
during the forenoon but had failed, and several valuable officers
had been killed, among others being Colonel Kingsbury, of the
nth Connecticut Regiment. It was not until one o'clock in the
afternoon that a daring charge was made by the 51st Pennsyl
vania Regiment, Colonel Hartranft (afterwards Governor of
Pennsylvania), and 51st New York Regiments, that the bridge
was carried and the enemy driven to the heights beyond.
This charge was made at great cost of life, and is justly cele
brated in history as one of the brilliant events of the war.
Other troops followed the three regiments that stormed the
bridge. Rodman's division and the brigade of Colonel Scammon
crossed the creek at a ford below the bridge, under a strong fire
of musketry and artillery, and joined the troops that crossed the
bridge. The balance of the Ninth Corps was now pushed across
the stream, and at three o'clock General Burnside re-formed his
lines, and, leaving Sturgis' division in reserve, moved forward
and encountered D. R. Jones' division, of Longstreet's com
mand, and, after driving it before him from field to field, he

79
succeeded in reaching the outskirts of Sharpsburg; but on mov
ing to the heights on the left of the town, at about four o'clock
in the afternoon, he ran against the strong division of A. P. Hill,
that had arrived from Harper's Ferry, having crossed the
Antietam at bridge No. 4, near its mouth. It at once made
a determined assault on the left of Burnside's line, which was
firmly met, and the battle for a time waxed warm. In meeting
this attack of Hill a gap was made between the right and left of
the line of battle, and in moving up troops to fill the same General
Rodman was killed and Harland's brigade driven back, but
Scammon came to his*assistance and restored the line.
Fresh troops, however, kept reinforcing Hill's line, and some
of the ground gained by Burnside had to be given up. It was
now getting dusk and Sturgis' division went forward to the
support of the left of the line of battle, and after a spirited con
test checked the enemy and held him back.
Night coining on, hostilities ceased, and Antietam, the blood
iest single day's battle of the Civil War, was over.
Both armies rested where they had fought. On the right, the
Federals occupied the east woods, and the Confederates the west
woods and great cornfield. On the left the Federals occupied
bridge No. 3 over the Antietam and ground adjacent thereto,
and on the centre the lines were about as they were in the morning.
In the evening the 125th was relieved from support of bat
teries in front of the east woods by some of General Franklin's
command, and moved back a short distance into the said woods,
where it passed -the night. We had previously supposed it was
Couch's division that relieved us, but inquiry develops the fact
that none of Couch's force reached the battlefield until the next
morning, and it was other troops of General Franklin's command
that took the position we had been holding.
The Federal army had suffered much from straggling in the
campaign through which it had just gone, owing to rapid marches
made and the failure of the supply train to keep up with it, and
the 18th of September, General McClellan says, was " spent in
collecting the dispersed, giving rest to the fatigued, removing the
wounded, burying the dead, and the necessary preparations for a
renewal of the battle."
Both armies faced each other all of that day but were inactive,
and during the implied truce that existed some of the dead of our

80
own regiment were buried, and several of the wounded brought
within the Federal lines. The body of Color-Sergeant Simpson
was found by Private Robert Cozzens and brought within the
lines by him, Isaiah Foster, William Friedly and one other person.
The regiment also moved to the Sam Poffenberger woods in the
right rear. During the night of the 18th, the enenry retreated
across the Potomac into Virginia by way of the Shepherdstown
ford, and left the battlefield in possession of the Federal army.
•All who had an opportunity of seeing the field, on September
19th, with burial parties that were detailed from different com
mands, will bear witness to the many evidences of the desperate
struggles made on the 17th. The great cornfield was said to
contain a corpse for almost every hill of corn in the field. The
fields around and in front of the house of David R. Miller, and
beyond the Hagerstown turnpike, in the direction of the Nico
demus farm, and the east woods and small strip of woods north
west of the west woods, were covered with the dead. In the har
rowed field, the field partly ploughed, the west woods, and every
where around the Dunker church, the dead were thickly strewn
at the close of the battle, and in places it required care to step
without treading on a body. Mingled with them were many
dead horses and broken artillery wagons. The Mumma farm,
the Roulette farm and the Piper farm presented similar scenes,
and at the bloody lane the dead lay three and four deep. The
left of the line where General Burnside fought had also its full
proportion of dead and wounded. Sergeant-Major Becker says
that he talked with a Confederate officer at the truce line, on the
18th, who told him that many of their men were placed hors de
combat by the sharp and effective fire of the 125th regiment in
the west woods.
The deadly nature of the conflict on the 17th is best attested
by reports of the battle made, and by histories afterwards written.
General Hooker says in his report:
" It was never my fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battle
field." General Gordon, who commanded the second brigade, of the
first division, of the Twelfth Corps, and who took charge of the
division after General Crawford was wounded and left the field,
says:

81
" From sunrise to sunset, the waves of battle ebbed and flowed. Men
wrestled with each other in lines of regiments, brigades and divisions,
while regiment, brigade and division faded away under a terrible fire,
leaving long lines of dead to mark where stood the living. Fields of corn
were trampled into shreds, forests were battered and scattered, huge
limbs sent crashing to the earth, rent by shell or round shot. Grape
and canister mingled their hissing screams in this hellish carnival,
yet within all this and through it all the patriots of the North wrestled
with hearts strong and were unshaken."
General- Gorman in his report mentions the many dead and
wounded of the enemy5 he passed in the open field when moving
his brigade to the west woods. William F. Fox, president of the
Society of the Twelfth Army Corps, in his work on " Regimental
Losses in the Civil War," says :
"Antietam was the bloodiest battle. More men were killed in that
one day than on any other one day of the war. There were greater
battles with greater loss ot life, but they were not fought out on one
day as at Antietam. At Gettysburg, Chancellorsville and Spottsylvania,
the fighting covered three days or more; at the Wilderness, Cold Harbor,
Shiloh, Stone River, Chickamauga and Atlanta, the losses were divided
between two days' fighting; but at Antietam, the bloody work commenced
at sunrise, and by four o'clock that afternoon it was over."
And Richard Meade Bache, in his " Life of General George
Gordon Meade," when speaking of Antietam, says :
" It was a terribly bloody day, the bloodiest single day of any in the
annals of the Civil War, the losses on each side being between fourteen
and fifteen thousand."
Confederate a'ccounts of this terrible conflict are as strong as
the Federal accounts. We have previously given extracts from
the report of Stonewall Jackson and from the article in the
" Century Magazine " by Colonel H. Kyd Douglass, but in addi
tion thereto, General J. B. Hood, who wrote the book known as
" Advance and Retreat," gives the part his division took in the
battle, and, whilst we cannot agree with him in his statement of
the overwhelming odds he had to contend with and the brilliant
success that crowned his efforts, we think what he says of the
severity of the engagement confirms former accounts. After
mentioning the fact that his command had been relieved the.
6

82
previous evening by Lawton's, Hays' and Trimble's brigades, to
give his men an opportunity to cook some rations for themselves,
he says that soon after daybreak he was ordered to the relief of
said three brigades, and that
" Not far distant in our front were drawn up in close array heavy
columns of Federal infantry, not less than two corps were in sight to
oppose my small command, numbering approximately two thousand effec
tives. However, with the trusty Law on my right in the edge of the
woods, and the gallant Colonel Wofford in command of the Texas
brigade on the left, near the pike, we moved to the assault. Notwith
standing the overwhelming odds of over ten to one against us, we drove
the enemy from the wood and cornfield back upon his reserves, and
forced him to abandon his guns upon our left. This most deadly conflict
raged till our last round of ammunition was expended. The first Texas
regiment had lost in the cornfield full two-thirds of its number; and
whole ranks of brave men, whose deeds were unrecorded save in the
hearts of loved ones at home, were mowed down in heaps to the right
and left. Never before was I so continuously troubled with fear that my
horse would further injure some wounded soldier lying helpless on the
ground . . . Upon the arrival of McLaws' division, we marched
to the rear, renewed our supply of ammunition and returned to our
position in the woods, near the church, which ground we held until a
late hour in the afternoon, when we moved somewhat further to the right
and bivouacked for the night. With the close of this bloody day ceased
the hardest fought battle of the war."
General Longstreet, in his book, bearing the title, " From
Manassas to Appomattox," says :
" The field lying along the Antietam and including in its scope the little
town of Sharpsburg was destined to pass into history as the scene of the
bloodiest single day's fighting of the war, and that 17th of September
was to become memorable as the day of greatest carnage in the cam
paign between the north and the south."

Longstreet also says in an article he wrote for the " Century
Magazine " in the year 1885 :

"We were so badly crushed at the close of the day 10,000 fresh
troops could have come in. and taken Lee's army and everything it had,
but McClellan did not know it, and feared when Burnside was pressed
back that Sharpsburg was a Confederate victory, and that he would have
to retire."

83
General McClellan estimated the Confederate force opposed
to him at 97,445, and fixes his own force at 87,164. Lee esti
mated his strength at 37,000, but Longstreet says that on Sep
tember 9th, the Confederate army, then at Frederick, numbered
61,000, and he thinks Lee had at. Antietam 41,000 men. Other
accounts make his force actually engaged very nearly equal to that
of McClellan. It is conceded that the brunt of the battle on
the Federal side was borne by 60,000 men, and that the command
of Couch, and the division of Humphreys and the division of
Morrell, of Fitz John Porter's corps, were not at all engaged;
also that part of Sykes' division was but slightly engaged, and
not all of Franklin's corps. On the Confederate side, Lee had
his entire force in the battle, says Longstreet, except two brigades
of A. P. Hill's division.
The Federal losses in the battle, by official report, were 2,108
killed, 9,549 wounded, and 753 missing, making an aggregate of
12,410. The Confederate losses have to be estimated for the
reason that they are given as a whole during the Maryland
campaign. Longstreet figures their losses in battle during that
campaign at 13,687, and says the greater portion of them were sus
tained at Antietam. General McClellan's report states that 2,700
Confederate dead were counted and buried on the battlefield.
The "Century Magazine" estimates the Confederate loss at n,-
172, as follows, to wit: 1,512 killed, 7,816 wounded, and 1,844
missing, and says that the great majority of the missing were
killed.* This estimate, added to the Federal statement, makes a total
battle loss of 23,582. But few prisoners were taken, and nearly-
all the losses were in killed and wounded. Other accounts of
Confederate losses vary, but none make it less than the " Century
Magazine," and it is safe to say their estimate is a very conserva
tive one.
General Longstreet, in contrasting Antietam with Gettysburg,
says 2,108 Federals were killed at Antietam in one day, as against
3,070 at Gettysburg in three days, and that the Confederates had
a loss at Antietam close to 12,000, whilst their killed and wounded
in the three days' fight at Gettysburg numbered 15,298. Of the
troops that Hooker and the troops of the Twelfth Corps (of which
the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment was a part) and Sedgwick
encountered, Early's division alone, assisted by Armistead's
brigade, reports a loss of 1,336 in the battle. Hood's division

84
reports a loss in the Maryland campaign, sustained principally at
Antietam, of 963; Walker's division a loss of 1,012; McLaw's
division a loss of 952*; Jackson's division a loss of 1,276; Evans'
brigade a loss of 309; Rodes' brigade a loss of 479; Ripley's
brigade a loss of 347, and Colquitt's brigade a loss of 264. The
First Corps (Hooker's) lost 2,590 men, the Twelfth Corps, 1,746
men, and Sedgwick's division, 2,210 men, according to official
reports. General McClellan gives the strength of the Twelfth Corps
at 10,126, but reports show this to be a mistake, and it is believed
the corps did not take into action more than 8,000 men. General
Greene says his three brigades had a total effective force of 2,504.
General Gordon's strength was 2,210, and best accounts agree
that Crawford's brigade did not have over 3,000 men in line. One
regiment of the brigade (Fifth Connecticut) was left behind at
Frederick City. Reckoning 2,300 as the strength of the three
new regiments (124th, 128th and 125th Pennsylvania), would
leave 700 for the 10th Maine, 28th New York and 46th Pennsyl
vania, which we believe fully covers the force they had engaged.
The 10th Maine was the largest of the three old regiments of the
brigade, and it is certain that the 28th New York numbered less
than 100 men.
General Williams says the losses of the corps (1,746) equalled
twenty-five per cent, of the numbers engaged. This would make
an effective force of 7,000, but 7,500, or 8,000 at the furthest, is
thought to be more nearly correct. It was composed of five
brigades, in two divisions, and was the smallest corps in the army ;
and its losses, in proportion to its strength, equalled the losses
of Hooker's First Corps, composed of three divisions, that fought
on the right of the Federal line, and to whose assistance we
came on the morning of the battle. General Gorman says he had
an effective force of 2,000, and, reckoning the strength of each
of the other two brigades of Sedgwick's division at the same fig
ures, the losses of that division exceeded the losses in the Twelfth
Corps by about fifteen per cent. The total loss on the Federal
right was 6,546, not including any in Franklin's command. Its
loss amounted to 439, and part is said to have been sustained on

?Kershaw's brigade alone reports a loss of 355 at Antietam. This
brigade, the 34th New York and 125th Pennsylvania contended with.

85
the right. The total Confederate loss on this part of the field
was 5,602, according to reports and estimates.
The 125th Pennsylvania Regiment moved to the front so early
and so hastily on the morning of the 17th that it did not have roll-
call, and the number of men it took into the engagement cannot
be definitely ascertained. It had, by actual count, at organiza
tion, nine hundred and fourteen officers and men. We had a few
desertions, and left behind us at Washington about sixty sick and
disabled persons. We had perhaps as many more non-combatants
and persons on detached service, such as musicians, teamsters,
wagon guard, hospital attendants, and attaches of the commis
sary and quartermaster departments. We had also many foot
sore and weary comrades who dropped out of line, owing to the
severity of the marches we made, and taking all these matters
into consideration, it is doubtful if we left our bivouac on the
Lines farm with a full seven hundred men. At one of the brief
halts we made before reaching the battlefield, Orderly Sergeant
David E. McCahan counted sixty-five officers and men in line in
Company " G," and as it was one of the large companies of the
regiment, it is believed- that very few, if any, of the other nine
companies had any more men with them, and that seven hundred
is a liberal estimate of the number of men we had with us on the
morning of the engagement. Colonel Higgins, at our reunions in
1888 and 1891, also thought we did not exceed and doubted if
we had seven hundred men when we went into battle. Out of
this number, we had fifty-four killed and mortally wounded, and
ninety-one severely wounded, vas follows :
Killed and mortally wounded:
Adjutant and Acting Major Robert M. Johnston.
COMPANY "A"
Corporals Amon G. Edwards and Andrew Woomer. Privates
Austin Crissman, George Funk, James Hunter, Erastus Kinsel,
Daniel Shaw and Theawalt Wolf.
COMPANY " B "
Privates Levi M. Ewing and John A. Teats.

86
COMPANY " C "
Color-Sergeant George A. Simpson. Corporal Benj. F. Wil
liams. Privates Nicholas Decker, Uriah D. Hoffman, David
Kuhn and John S. McCoy. COMPANY " D "
Sergeant John A. Kelley. Privates Francis Bowen, John A.
Brown, Emanuel Burley, John E. Davis, Isaac Markley, Joseph
S. McLaughlin and John Rose.
COMPANY "E"
Privates Franklin S. Baker, Adam Burge and John Lier.
COMPANY " F "
Privates Benj. Cunningham, Joseph McCracken and William
C. Walker. COMPANY " G "
Corporal James H. Gibboney. Privates James Long and
James D. Riddle. COMPANY "H"
Corporals Peter Carton and James H. Dierfield. Privates
Samuel Hess, Joseph W. Hoover, John S. McCarthy and Michael
O'Donnell. COMPANY " I "
Sergeant Alfred McAllister. Corporal Edward H. Wirt.
Privates Thomas H. Clark, William, W. Corbin, Samuel B.Harkin,
William M. Hays, G. W. Householder and Joseph Snyder.
COMPANY "K"
Privates A. H. Boartman, Joshua Cratin, Louis McDermitt,
Michael McDermitt, William Myers and Fred. C. Ward.
Severely wounded : COMPANY " A "
Lieutenant W. F. Martin, arm. Privates John Coy, groin;
Charles Huff, groin; John W. Isenberg, leg; George Vaughn, leg.
COMPANY " B "
Privates David R. Donnelly, leg; George McGonigal, thigh;

87
John E. Mock, both thighs, very serious ; Milton Powell, hand ;
A. J. Simms, back; Benj. F. Wolf kill, head.
COMPANY " C "
Corporal J. Randolph Simpson, right lung. Privates M. B.
Brenneman, thigh; Henry Hawn, ankle; Joshua R. Knode, ankle;
John R. Lefford, neck; Alfred McPherran, thigh; Charles H.
Reed, back; J. Easton Robb, ankle and arm; George Sprankle,
foot ; Elias A. Zeek, arm.
COMPANY " D "
Captain C. R. Hostetter, groin. Lieutenant Peter S. Treese,
arm and' leg. Sergeant E. L. Russ, stomach. Corporal William
Burley, face and heck. Privates Stephen Aiken, face and neck;
W. B. Blake, thigh; Levi Burley, ankle; Patrick Haney, wrist;
Joseph Robertson, hip; John Rollin, thigh; John Walton, back;
Harvey Williamson, hand. COMPANY "E"
Corporals Peter Stroup, leg; Wm. McGinnis, ear. Privates
Jesse L. Benton, arm; John Dunlap, hip and thigh; David Har-
klerode, hip. COMPANY " F "
Captain William H. Simpson, shoulder. Lieutenant William
C. Wagner, hip. Privates Charles Bryan, wrist ; David R. Short-
hill, side; William R. Strickler, thigh; Elias H. Switzer, breast
and hand. COMPANY " G "
Sergeant David E. McCahan, leg. Corporal John G. Chris
tian, head. Privates Albert Beamer, arm; Thomas Charles, leg;
James M. Holler, hip; James Johnston, head and breast; D. R. P.
Johnston, shoulder; James Morrow, arm; Joseph G. Price, leg;
John E. Prounkard, hand; Joseph H. Reed, lungs; John Sanders,
arm; H. Bascom Sharer, shoulder blade.
COMPANY " H "
Sergeant John W. Lytle, leg. Privates Eugene Boblitz, leg;
Cyrus Brindle, shoulder ; George Burkholder, thigh ; Valentine
Crouse, hip; John W. Decker, breast; Levi Decker, arm and

88
shoulder; John Keifer, arm; John B. Morrison, back; Daniel
Shawley, hand ; James Snyder, leg.
COMPANY "I"
Lieutenant George Thomas, hip. Sergeant Thomas L. Hall,
arm. Privates Alfred F. Baker, hand; Conrad Garlach, hand;
Albert Hall, shoulder; Benj. Jamison, thigh; William Martin,
arm; Solomon Mick, thigh; Frederick Miller, leg; Theodore
Roupe, leg ; John Seebeck, leg ; Isaiah Shaffer, thigh and breast.
COMPANY "K"
Corporal John Comorford, shoulder. Privates John S. Beals,
arm ; William Beals, thigh ; Simon Bender, shoulder ; Charles Dil
lon, shoulder; Fred. Hoffman, side and hand; George W. Jones,
thigh ; P. F. Kearney, thigh ; Samuel McCleary, head ; Hiram
McGuire, thigh ; Abraham Rhodes, shoulder ; Robert Smith, head.
There were eighty-four others slightly wounded who were
not obliged to leave the regiment, and for that reason their names
were not reported, prominent among them being Lieutenant-
Colonel Szink, who was disabled by the explosion of a shell. Of
the other eighty-three slightly wounded, twelve were reported
from Company " A," ten from Company " B," five from Company
" C," eleven from Company " D," nine from company " E," thir
teen from Company " F," seven from Company " G," six from
Company " H," four from Company " I," and six from Com
pany " K."
Principal losses were sustained in the west woods and the
field partly ploughed, through which we advanced and were after
wards driven back.
By regiment, the loss in killed 'and severely wounded was
the heaviest of any in the brigade, the third heaviest of any in
the division, and the fourth heaviest of any in the corps ; and in
losses sustained by the Federal army, in the battle, we stand, by
regiment, No. 23, with the 14th Connecticut.
Thirteen of the dead, of the regiment are reported to be buried
in the Antietam National Cemetery, all in the Pennsylvania sec
tion, to wit:
Color-Sergeant, George A. Simpson, grave No. 3953; Cor
poral, Andrew Woomer, grave No. 3669 ; Corporal, James H. Gib-

89
boney, grave No. 3664; Corporal, Peter Carton, grave No. 3746;
Private James H. Dierfield, grave No. 3610 ; Corporal, Edward H.
Wirt, grave No. 3972 ; Private, John A. Teats, grave No. 4043 ;
Private, Joseph S. McLaughlin, grave No. 3823; Private, John
Lier, grave No. 3634; Private, Samuel Hess, grave No. 3609;
Private, Thomas H. Clark, grave No. 3784; Private, Joseph
McCracken, grave No. 3608, and Private, Fred. C. Ward, grave
No. 3749.
In this report there is a mistake as to Corporals Andrew
Woomer and James H. Gibboney, for the writer recollects of .
their remains having been taken to their homes for burial.
The balance of the dead of the regiment were buried at their
homes or in other cemeteries.
Connected with the Twelfth Army Corps were five new regi
ments, viz. : 13th New Jersey, 107th New York, and 124th, 125th
and 128th Pennsylvania, and the corps commander, General Wil
liams, says of them, in his report of the battle, that " The new
regiments, both officers and men of which behaved with marked
coolness, soon got into line of battle, with more promptitude than
could have been expected."
Division Commander, General Crawford, makes special men
tion of the Pennsylvania regiments, in his report, by saying,
" The new regiments from Pennsylvania moved with great
promptness and with the coolness of old troops, although they
had not before, been under fire. . . . The 125th Pennsyl
vania, Colonel Higgins, in the general movement, had pushed on
into the woods beyond our lines, and had become seriously
engaged with the enemy while much exposed, but returned in good
order, with great loss, to our lines . . . but it is my duty to
call the special attention of the corps commander to the bearing
and conduct of the new regiments that had so recently joined the
command. Their services in the field were most valuable, and
considering the fact that they were for the first time under fire,
their conduct merits the warmest commendation."
Colonel Knipe, of the 46th Pennsylvania, who commanded the
brigade after the fatal wounding of the corps commander, says
irfhis report, when mentioning the movement of the 125th Regi
ment to the west woods,- that he was lying on the ground to avoid
the artillery fire gf the enemy, and " while in this position, I
noticed the 125th Pennsylvania Volunteers had advanced into the

90
field beyond our position, and into the woods occupied by the
enemy. At the same time a brigade came out of them to our rear,
and, passing us, joined the 125th, and engaged the enemy, who
had been reinforced to such an extent as to compel our troops to
retrace their steps."
Our Colonel's report is as follows :
Report of Colonel Jacob Higgins, One hundred and twenty-fifth Penn
sylvania Infantry, of the battle of Antietam.
Headquarters One hundred and twenty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers,
Camp near Sandy Hook, Md., September 22, 1862.
Sir: ft
I have the honor to report to you the part taken by my regiment
in the action near Sharpsburg on the 17th of September, 1862. I was
ordered by General Crawford to advance in close column, at daylight,
through some fields to a piece of woods where there was heavy firing
at that time going on. I was then ordered into the woods and then back
again by General Crawford, then to throw out skirmishers and again
advance through the woods until I reached the other side of the
timber, and then deploy in line of battle and advance through the
fields and there halt. At this place my command was exposed to a most
terrific fire of musketry, shot and shell. I then fell back a few rods, by
order of General Crawford, where I remained some minutes, and was
again ordered forward to the crest of a hill, which I was to hold. At
this time some colonel, whose name I do not know, told me that his
troops were falling back for want of ammunition, and asked me to
advance to his support. I immediately reported this to General Craw
ford, who ordered me to advance at once. I gave the command and my
men started forward with a yell, driving the enemy before them and
gaining possession of the woods. Here I took some prisoners, whom I
sent to the rear. Again I was ordered to advance and halt in line with
a battery. Before reaching the battery, though, I took a number of
prisoners, some of whom came running back with white handkerchiefs
tied on the guns and gave themselves up. At the battery I gave the
command for my men to lie down while awaiting further orders.
About this time the fire of the enemy slackened somewhat, only some
shots from their sharpshooters being fired, and these at mounted officers
and the artillery horses. Previous to this General Mansfield fell, some
of my men carrying him off the field on their muskets until a blanket was
procured. General Hooker here came up to me and inquired if any
troops were in the woods in front. I replied, " None but rebels," apd
that my command was in the front. While talking to me, his horse was
shot by some of the enemy's sharpshooters. I remarked to him that
his horse was shot. He replied " I see," turn-jd and went away.
In a short time I received an order to advance into the woods. I gave the

91
order, " Forward," my regiment advancing in splendid style, and driving
some South Carolina and Georgia troops back into the woods. I halted
at the edge of the woods, and ordered Captain McKeage, of Company
G, to deploy his company as skirmishers. This done, I again advanced
a short distance in the woods, and halted again to examine the enemy's
position. I found him in force in my front and on my right. On looking
around I discovered myself without support either in my rear or right,
and, being the only mounted officer present, I gave my horse to Lieutenant
Higgins, and instructed him to ride back to the general, inform him of
my situation, and ask him to send me support immediately, or I would be
unable to hold my position, and that the enemy would certainly flank me
and cut me off, my command being at this time in advance of the whole
corps. I now ordered Captain McKeage to advance cautiously with his skir
mishers, and, at the same time, the regiment to advance to the crest of a
small hill. My skirmishers soon became engaged with the enemy, who
were advancing on my front in force. They continued to advance, when I
ordered my skirmishers to rally, and gave the command to commence
firing. A most destructive fire caused the enemy to halt. I held him here
for some time, until I discovered two regiments of them moving around
my right, while a brigade charged on my front. On looking around and
finding no support in sight, I was compelled to retire. Had I remained in
my position two minutes longer I would have lost my whole command.
I fell back to the rear of the first batteries, when an artillery officer
rode up to me, saying that his battery was on the left front and entirely
unsupported, and asking me if I would support him. I replied in the
affirmative, and marched my command to the battery and took my position.
General Franklin now rode up, and inquiring what regiment this was,
I replied the one hundred and twenty-fifth Pennsylvania, when he said
my position was right and he was glad I was there, and ordered me to
remain there, which I did. I stayed here until, the one hundred and
twenty- fourth Pennsylvania coming up, under command of its major,
General Franklin ordered me to form it in my rear and take command
of both regiments.
My adjutant, R. M. Johnston, who acted as major in the absence of
Major Lawrence, who had been in the Georgetown Hospital for some
time, fell mortally wounded. His conduct on the field during the whole
action as most gallant. All my officers and men behaved in splendid
style, particularly Captain McKeage and his company, who acted as
skirmishers during the engagement.
I am, sir, very respectfully, Your most obedient servant,
Jacob Higgins.
Colonel Commanding the 125th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers.
•Colonel J. F. Knipe,
Forty-sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, Commanding ist Brigade, ist
Division Banks' A. C.

92
At regimental reunions on the battlefield in 1888 and 1 891, we
found a place marked in the east woods by John M. Gould, late
Adjutant of the 10th Maine Regiment, as the spot where the
Twelfth Corps Commander, General Mansfield, was mortally
wounded, and we also called attention to his account of the
wounding of General Mansfield in his history of the ist, 10th
and 29th Maine Regiments. The place he marked is more than
one hundred and forty yards to the left rear of the location
pointed out, when on the field in 1888 and 1891, and which we
are satisfied is the true location, and part of the circumstances
connected with the wounding as given in said history are wrong.
We were afterwards informed that Major Gould admitted he
was wrong in fixing the location of the wounding of the Corps
Commander too far to the rear, but to the surprise of the writer,
on visiting the battlefield, on September 15th, 1900, he found
the state of Connecticut had recently erected a monument to the
memory of General Mansfield on the eastern side of the Smoke
town road, and on one side of the monument is inscribed the fol
lowing words : " The spot where General Mansfield fell is a few
yards easterly from this monument." This fixes the place of the
wounding near if not exactly at the spot marked by Gould, and
it is more than one hundred and forty yards to the left rear of
what we feel satisfied is the true location, as previously stated.
The writer was also informed that Major Gould had delivered
the principal address at the dedication of the monument, and that
he made affidavit that the spot he marked was where General
Mansfield was wounded.
To place ourselves right before the public, we say there are
yet surviving members of the 125th Regiment of Pennsylvania
Volunteers who witnessed the wounding of General Mansfield,
and who command the respect of the community in which they
reside, and whose oaths are entitled to as much weight and con
sideration as the oath of Major Gould, that, can and will, if neces
sary, make affidavit that General Mansfield was mortally wounded
at least one hundred and forty yards to the right front of the
monument recently erected to his memory by the state of Con
necticut on the Antietam battlefield, and when wounded was
first assisted by men of the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment; and
that the impartial reader can have both sides of the story of the
said wounding, we give Major Gould's account, as taken from

93
his history, and then what reports show and others say, also the
statement we give.
Gould's history says:
" The Confederate force in our front showed no colors. They appeared
to be somewhat detached from and in advance of the main rebel line,
and were about where the left of General Duryea's brigade might be sup
posed to have retreated. To General Mansfield we appeared to be firing
into Duryea's troops ; therefore he beckoned us to cease firing, and as this
was the very last thing we proposed to do, the few who saw him did not
understand what his motions meant, and so no attention was paid to
him. He now rode down the hill from the 128th Pennsylvania, and passing
quickly through H, A, K, E, I, G and D, of the 10th Maine, ordered them
to cease firing. He halted in front of C, at the earnest remonstrance
of Captain Jordan and Sergeant Burnham, who asked him to see the
gray coats of the enemy, and pointed out particular men who were then
aiming their rifles at us and at him. The general was convinced, and
remarked : " Yes, yes, you are right," and was almost instantly hit. He
turned and attempted to put his horse over the rails, but the animal
had also been severely wounded and could not get over. Thereupon, the
General dismounted, and a gust of wind blowing open his coat, we saw
that he was wounded in the body. Sergeant Joe Merritt, Storer Knight
and I took the -General to the rear, assisted for a while by a negro cook
from Hooker's corps. We put the General into an ambulance in the woods
in front of which we had deployed, and noticed that General Gordon was
just at that moment putting the 107th New York in their front."
Major Gould also says that the uniform of the enemy in their
front was of a greenish color, which led General Mansfield to
believe it was our own men they were firing into, and he speaks
somewhere in history or correspondence of a pair of bars in a
fence near by.
Colonel Higgins, after mentioning, in his report of the battle,
the movement of tlie 125th Regiment to the' battery on the Smoke
town road that we supported before advancing to the west woods,
says, " Previous to this, General Mansfield fell, some of my men
carrying him off the field on their muskets until a blanket was
procured." Reports show and it is generally admitted that the principal
force of the enemy that the first brigade of the first division of the
Twelfth Corps had to contend with after they entered the east
woods was either very near or at the great cornfield, and Major
Gould, in his pamphlet on " General Mansfield at Antietam," says
a few men only of the enemy were east of the Smoketown road,

94
and yet this is the location at which he says Mansfield was
wounded. We all know that as the regiment approached, the
east woods, the enemy appeared to retreat, first firing a volley
that killed Hunter, of Company " A," and we also know that the
corps commander- was not wounded until after the 128th Penn
sylvania regiment had become engaged at or near the cornfield.
General Knipe, brigade commander, says the brigade took position
" in rear' of the woods, the other side of which our troops were
engaged," and the 46th Pennsylvania, 28th New York and 10th
Maine Regiments opened fire separately on the enemy at the
cornfield in front of the brigade, and the 46th Pennsylvania was
on the right and the 10th Maine on the left. The location of the
28th New York, which had but sixty men engaged, is not given.
Knipe also says the three regiments were tlie first of the brigade
that were engaged, and the 128th Pennsylvania came up and took
position to the right of the 46th. Lieutenant-Colonel Selfridge,
of the 46th Pennsylvania, says the enemy were in the cornfield
fronting the woods, and his regiment advanced to the edge of
the cornfield, and Colonel Croasdale, of the 128th Pennsylvania,
was killed as soon as he arrived on the field, and thereafter these
two regiments and others drove the enemy out of the cornfield.
Major Wanner, of the 128th Pennsylvania, says the enemy were
concealed in the cornfield about sixty or seventy yards distant,
and after the death of Croasdale the regiment charged into the
cornfield. General Crawford, division commander, says Colonel
Croasdale, of the 128th Pennsylvania, was killed in the struggle
for the cornfield. Major Gould also says, in his history, that
Mansfield rode down from the 128th Pennsylvania before reach^
ing their line, and was wounded at " C " Company, of the 10th
Maine Regiment.
All these reports made soon after the battle show that the
enemy the different regiments had at that time to contend with
were at the cornfield or in close proximity to the same, and as
the cornfield was two hundred or more yards in front of the spot
marked by Major Gould, it is difficult to see, with the protection
of fence and timber, how an enemy at that distance could see to
pick off an officer, or how greenish colored uniforms could be
distinguished. The writer recollects distinctly that the 125th Pennsylvania
was first ordered to the assistance of the three old regiments of

95
the brigade that were engaged close to the cornfield, and after
moving forward, west of the Smoketown road, to a point near
their lines, with Company " G " in advance, as skirmishers, it
was halted, and then the 128th Pennsylvania, with their white
haversacks, filed to the right and partly through our line, and
took position a short distance from the great cornfield, and at
once commenced firing at the enemy; and the statement we now
make is that soon after the 128th Pennsylvania passed to our right
front and whilst we were on a halt west of the Smoketown road,
there appeared to be confusion at the front, and then General
Mansfield rode forward, to reconnoitre, and very soon came back,
and not far from the right front of the 125th Regiment, it was
noticed .that his body bent forward on the saddle of his horse
and his head appeared to drop on his breast. Then Captain Gard
ner, of Company " K," near the right of the regiment (as we
were at this time in reverse order) , ordered Sergeant John Kehoe
and Private Samuel Edmundson, of said company, to go to the
assistance of the General, and as they did so, Lieutenant Ziegler
says, Private E. S. Rudy, of Company "H," joined them, also
two other men, not of the 125th Regiment. One of them took
hold of the bridle reins of his horse, whilst two others re
moved him from the horse, and all then reversed their mus
kets, placed him on the same, carried him to a tree a few
steps to the rear, where a surgeon appeared, and where he was
delivered to a second party, believed to be of the 10th Maine
Regiment, who carried him still further to the rear in a blanket.
They then resumed their places in the ranks, and the regiment
moved to the rear and then quickly to the left front, where we
came to the iron gun battery that was firing at the Confederate
battery on the limestone ledge to the left front of the Dunker
church where the Maryland monument now stands, and we saw
nothing further of the General. A few of the 90th Pennsylvania
Regiment were near the iron gun battery when we came to it,
and Colonel Sellers, of that regiment, says they were the last of
Hooker's men to leave the east woods.
The 10th Maine were no doubt battling near the point where
General Mansfield was wounded, and we admit he was wounded
near them, and we detract nothing from their record as a regi
ment or the good work they did on the 17th day of September,
1862, but we say again, that the General was wounded, west of

96
the Smoketown road and much further to the right front than
the spot marked by Major Gould, and the men of the 125th Penn
sylvania were the first to come to his assistance after he was
wounded. The writer is positive that he spoke to two men of
the 10th Maine on our halt west of the Smoketown road, and
further to the front than the Gould marker, who said they were
engaged at our right front close to the cornfield, and furthermore
he was on the battlefield on May 29th, 1897, with General Knipe,
who commanded the first brigade, first division, Twelfth Corps,
and who said without hesitation, after looking at the' spot marked
by Major Gould, that it was much too far to the left rear. He
pointed out the stone fence over which the 46th Pennsylvania
climbed to cross the Smoketown road when they moved to the
cornfield, also the mound where Colonel Croasdale was killed,
and then remarked, " Out there, I think, in front of the mound,
Mansfield was killed."
Captain T. J. Hamilton, late of the 28th Pennsylvania Regi
ment, who was on the battlefield in October, 1894, to assist in
marking the lines of battle, says he was detached from his regi
ment for a few minutes at the time General Mansfield was
wounded, and was an eye-witness to the wounding, and that he
saw a sergeant and two privates remove him from his horse, carry
him a short distance to the rear, place him underneath a tree, and
leave him in charge of a surgeon, but he did not know at that
time what regiment the men belonged to. This statement corre
sponds with the statement of Sergeant Caho, Captain Gardner,
Lieutenant Dunegan, Lieutenant Ziegler, and others of the 125th
Regiment. He also marked the point where he believed Mansfield
was wounded, to the left of the location we give, but practically on
a line with it, and not far distant, and also west of the Smoketown
road. Major H. A. Shenton, late of the 128th Pennsylvania Regi
ment, was also on the field at the same time Captain Hamilton
was there, and he thought, whilst the location we fix may not be
exact, it was not far wrong, and was satisfied the General was
wounded west of the Smoketown road, near the cornfield where
their regiment was engaged. Daniel Mumma, now deceased,
who was the proprietor of a livery stable in Sharpsburg in 1888
and 1891, and who was with us on the field in said years, informed
us that the location we fixed was about the same that the surgeon
who ministered to the General after he was wounded pointed

97
out to him a few days after the battle. John Benner, one of the
old citizens of Sharpsburg, who was there at the time of the battle,
and who is acquainted with the Antietam field, and three other
persons also acquainted with the field, were with the writer on said
field, on September 15th, 1900, and all agreed that the place where
we say General Mansfield was wounded is practically the same
that the majority of the people living on or near the battlefield at
the time the battle was fought had pointed out to them by par
ticipants soon after the engagement, and by visitors since then,
and it was generally believed to be the true location. Mr. Benner
also said that the pair of bars Major Gould has spoken of were at
the great cornfield and not near his marker.
David R. Miller and a few others pointed out a location that
was far out of the way, and any one with a knowledge of the
positions of the Twelfth Corps could detect their error readily;
and the report that the citizens of Sharpsburg agreed on the loca
tion pointed out by David R. Miller, on investigation made, proved
to be a mistake. Alexander Davis, who now resides on the field,
says the General was wounded west of the Smoketown road.
Colonel Higgins' report of the battle was made five days after
it took place, when all facts were fresh in his memory and the
memory of others, and when he said in his report, " previous to
this General Mansfield fell, some of my men carrying him off
the field on their muskets until a blanket was procured," the
truth of the same was known, and can yet be testified to, as also
the fact that the wounding occurred west of the Smoketown road
and near the great cornfield. Colonel Higgins never at any time
doubted his report, or thought he was deceived or imposed, upon,
but at all our reunions substantiated the facts as reported by him.
Lieutenant-Colonel Fillebrown, who made the report of the
doings of the 10th Maine Regiment in the battle, does not even
mention the wounding of General Mansfield, and that so import
ant a matter as this should be omitted from his report confirms
the truth of our position. We, however, will dwell no further
on this subject, having given the 125th Pennsylvania's side of
the story, and we close this statement by reiterating that official
reports show that the portions of the brigade that became engaged
soon after entering the east woods did their fighting at and near
the great cornfield, where Colonel Croasdale, of the 128th Penn
sylvania Regiment, was killed. To this point General Mansfield
7

98
had gone, as stated in Major Gould's history, and of which our
memory also serves us, and here he was wounded; and when the
Major fixes the location of the wounding of the General at the
spot he has selected and marked, he makes it too far from the
Croasdale mound for an officer mortally wounded to ride, and in
the selection of this spot he does injustice to his own brave ioth
Maine Regiment, by locating it too far from the front and at a
place where few of the enemy were when the brigade first entered
the east woods.
Confederate accounts either claim Antietam as a victory for
their side, or say it was a drawn battle, but it was neither, for their
army retreated across the Potomac and left the field in the pos
session of the Federals, who can justly claim it a triumph of their
arms, as they did Gettysburg, the following year. Had it been
a Confederate victory or a drawn battle, Lee would have pressed
any advantage he believed he had secured, by resuming hostilities,
or at least have awaited an attack from McClellan, and not
retreated across the Potomac and left the battlefield with its' many
unburied dead in possession of his adversary. He did neither, and
General Longstreet's book, " From Manassas to Appomattox,"
to which we have previously alluded, shows conclusively that he
was in no position to renew the battle or wait long for an attack
from McClellan. The -issues involved at Gettysburg were greater
than at Antietam, but there the two armies stood facing each
other for a whole day after the close of the battle the same as at
Antietam. Lee, however, was utilizing this time in making
preparations for retreat.
At the close of Antietam, Lee abandoned his intention of
destroying the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and of invading
Pennsylvania and burning the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge over
the Susquehanna river at Rockville, and then turning his attention
to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
The battle also had the effect of awakening and renewing
confidence at the North in the ultimate success of the Federal
arms, and' of stimulating recruiting ; and it proved the death-
knell of slavery, for President Lincoln immediately issued his
Emancipation Proclamation that gave freedom to four millions of
slaves in the South, in fulfillment of the vow previously made
by him. Much acrimony has been exhibited and criticism indulged

99
against General McClellan for the manner in which Antietam
was fought, and for not renewing the battle on the 18th of Sep
tember, but it is not the place of the writer to take part in the
same, further than to' say other generals had to meet similar
criticism. We now end the account we give of the battle by quoting a
song composed for the regiment by a blind man, by the name of
Gailey, who was related to some of the members of Company
" D." In addition to being blind, the man was uneducated, and
allowance must be made for what may not be grammatical and
for incorrect measures. It is to be sung to the air of the " Red,
White and Blue," and is as follows :
How brave are the Union's defenders,
Their deeds fill our hearts with delight,
Pennsylvanians never surrender,
But conquer or die in the fight.
Shinkihg not from danger in action,
McClellan's command they obey,
Hurling death through the traitorous faction,
On the banks of Antietam that day.
On the seventeenth day of September,
For battle they all did prepare.
And taught traitors then to remember
Our boys from the county of Blair.
Ihey stood where the cannon did rattle,
And made Stonewall Jackson give way.
New laurels they won in the battle,
On the banks of Antietam that day.
To conquer, our heroes intended,
Be the rebel force ever so large.
The One Hundred and Twenty-fifth acted splendid,
Like veterans they marched to the charge.
Tho' fresh from their homes, they were steady,
Colonel Higgins directed their way.
And the battle raged furious and bloody,
On the banks of Antietam that day.
Their campaign in Maryland is ended,
Many thousands were lost in that game.
" Little Mac " is the man just intended
Those rebellious spirits to tame.

100
Huzza for the troops that can save us,
Now marching in battle array,
Who conquered the hordes of Jeff. Davis
On the banks of Antietam that day.
Three cheers for Colonel Higgins and then
Three more for Lieutenant Colonel Szink,
And three times three for their gallant men
And a health to them all we '11 drink.
Till the star spangled flag of the nation,
O'er all Rebeldom they display.
May all heroes be found at their station,
As were ours at Antietam that day.

"Antietam to Chancellorsville'' By
HON. J. D. HICKS,
Company K., 125th Regiment, P. V.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

MAP OF CHANCELLORSVILLE, CHANCELLORSVILLE HOUSE, HARPER'S
FERRY, KANE'S BRIGADE IN THE TRENCHES
Among the thousands of Pennsylvania's boys, whose patriotic ardor
led them to volunteer as privates in the ranks to fight for the Union,
were many whose talents fitted them for higher positions, and of this
class none served his country more zealously and creditably than Hon.
J. D. Hicks, of Altoona, Pa. ; on his return to civil life he studied law,
was admitted to the bar, and has become widely known, not only amonj;
the legal profession, but, also, in the political arena, as an eloquent
public speaker. His fellow citizens of that Congressional district, in
recognition of his patriotism and ability, sent him to Washington, D. C,
as their Representative in the 53d, 54th and 55th sessions of Congress.
w. W. W.
101

"ANTIETAM TO CHANCELLORSVILLE"
By HON. J. D. HICKS.
CHAPTER I.
Antietam Field — Burying the Dead — The Hospital at Sharpsburg —
Camping at Harper's Ferry — " Old John Brown " — Camps on Maryland
and Loudon Heights — Letters from Home — Resolutions of Respect for
our Dead Comrades — Sickness and Death — Detached Duty — Standing" off
the Sutler — Crackers containing Live Meat — The fine camp in Loudon
Valley — Night Excursions — Hunting Guerrillas, etc.
The Friday morning of the 19th of September, the second day
after the Battle of Antietam, dawned with the sun in a cloud of
mist, and a heavy fog hung over the entire valley of the Potomac
as far as the eye could reach. Every man in the Union army
expected the battle of Wednesday to be renewed. We peered
through the gray fog in the direction where we knew the enemy's
line of battle had been, but failed to note any movement or see any
moving figures. No order being given for an advance, we soon
learned, ere the fog had lifted, that our enemy had abandoned
the field, and had in the silent watches of the night retreated
across the Potomac and was again on the south bank of that
historic river. This left us an opportunity to investigate and
view the scene of the great battle. Evidences of the severity
of the contest were plainly visible in all directions. Dead Con
federates and dead horses marked our pathway from the Lines
farm to the Dunker church ; broken caissons, swords, belts, limbs
of trees, pieces of harness and clothing were in all directions, and
bore mute testimony to the severe struggle that had taken place.
Our own dead had been partly gathered the day before under the
flag of truce asked for by the enemy, to care for their wounded, —
but for the real purpose of gathering themselves together and
securing their retreat. We soon familiarized ourselves with the
scenes in which we had so actively participated. The west and
east woods, the Lines, the Miller and the Poffenberger farms, the
Smoketown road, the Hagerstown pike, the cornfield in which so
103

104
many Confederates lost their lives, and in which the Pennsylvania
Reserves had so gallantly distinguished themselves, the place
where Mansfield fell, the Dunker church, Roulette's barn, and the
Bloody Lane, all were in turn visited. Before, however, being
permitted to do this a detail was made to bury the Confederate
dead, and for some reason unexplained to us, we were kept lying
under arms in line of battle in the open field opposite the Dunker
church, until the sun shone warmly, when the veteran and gray-
haired General Sumner came riding along, and noticing our posi
tion, inquired who was in command of the brigade. No one
immediately responding, he personally gave the command of
" Attention ! " and then directed Colonel Higgins to remove his
men to the shadow of the woods in the rear, and there to stack
arms and rest. For this we were truly grateful as the sun was
by this time — probably 9.30 o'clock — quite hot, and the putrid
air of the battlefield caused by the burning of the dead horses was
at times stifling and almost unbearable. As before said, after
this, we were allowed the liberty of looking over the field, and
this the entire regiment proceeded to do, except a detail of about '
one hundred men that had been made to help bury the dead and
gather the debris of the battle. " In our investigation of the field at
the Dunker church we clearly saw that our Regiment had the
honor of penetrating to the farthest point in the Confederate
lines, and as a fact had divided their army, and had our position
been supported, and held, that part of the Confederate forces west
of the Dunker church would have been cut off and compelled to
surrender. The Confederate dead in the south edge of the woods
proved the destructiveness of our fire, when the flanking move
ment was in progress, that compelled us to leave the church and
retire back of the batteries. It was probably three o'clock when
our detail was called in, and we were placed in marching order
and moved across the field and down the pike to Sharpsburg.
As we passed over the field and beyond the bloody lane, and the
smoking ruins of Mumma's barn, where so many lives had been
lost, we noticed the long trenches in which lay the Confederate
dead. Scores and scores of them had been gathered ready for
burial, with no covering but their own clothes, and a stray blanket
or two over them, and the burial details were then commencing
to throw the dirt over their bodies that soon forever hid them from
human eyes. They were all young men, indeed the most of them

105
were boys like ourselves, and attested their bravery by the sur
render of their lives. How bravely they had stood the repeated
charges of our army, and the thought possessed us that many
homes in the far-away South, and in our own beloved Northland,
were to-day in mourning for the dear boys, who had laid down
their lives in battle. Before we had been ordered to march, the
missing men of our own regiment were eagerly searched for and
every possible effort made to find them, and while doing this we
noticed that surgeons where the wounded had been gathered for
treatment, from the near-by towns in Maryland and also from
Pennsylvania, were already on the field assisting the regular sur
geons and hospital stewards, and were doing all that earnest men
could do to relieve the wounded and suffering. Those that would
bear moving were removed as rapidly as transportation could
be secured. As we passed through Sharpsburg we saw our
wounded enemies by the scores ; in fact the whole town was a
hospital. Poor fellows ! The fight was all knocked out of them, and
in our pity for them we forgave them for their brave efforts to
turn the battle in their favor. The sufferings endured were awful
to behold, and as it was hard to realize that scenes, so ghastly,
so bloody, so fearful, and so many dead, dying and wounded,
were real,- we turned from the views presented, with horror. It
seems impossible that men could be so inhuman to each other,
yet this was war — and was necessary to preserve our country.
We passed the Burnside Bridge where the battle had raged
in the afternoon, and where one of Pennsylvania's favored sons,
the gallant Colonel Hartranft, and his brave men had faced the
leaden storm, and crossing Antietam Creek took the opposite
high hills, on the extreme left of our line of battle. Here too
were plainly seen evidences of bloody work, but they did not
equal the destructive sights in and about the Dunker church and
the bloody lane. When we passed beyond- the evidences of the
strife we seemed to breathe the new air and take on new Hfe. We
seemed to renew and repossess ourselves of our old-time enthus
iasm and hopefulness, and freely discussed the glorious victory
we had helped to achieve.
At a small place called Rohrersville, some few miles from
Harper's Ferry, we halted for the night, and having no tents with
us, we made ourselves as comfortable as possible around rail and
log fires, and cooked coffee and ate hardtack and bacon. Next

106
morning we leisurely proceeded down the Potomac river towards
Harper's Ferry, and went into camp in Pleasant Valley at the
foot of Maryland Heights, where we lay until September 23d.
During this time we were permitted to view the ruins of Harper's
Ferry — first we saw the camp of General Miles, that he had so
disgracefully surrendered to the Confederate army a few days
before the battle of Antietam, with his force of over eleven thou
sand men. It seemed to us like gross inefficiency, if not a traitor's
work, to occupy the low and untenable land known as Bolivar
Heights when such strong defensive positions as the Maryland
and the Loudon Heights were within reach. Perhaps we are too
severe in our criticism, as we were Only private soldiers discussing
the work of the generals ; and we regret that General Miles did
not live to vindicate his conduct (if he could have done so). Our
blood boiled as we looked at Maryland Heights and at the same
time noticed where the camp of our army had been on Bolivar
Heights, where all that possibly could be done was to await
capture, after Maryland and Loudon Heights were in possession
of the enemy. We are not alone in our view of the disgraceful
surrender at Harper's Ferry, as Lossing, in his " Cyclopaedia of
American History," has this to say of it: s
" When the post was threatened, Halleck instructed McClellan to
succor the garrison, and on the day of the struggle at Turner's Gap
(battle of South Mountain) he ordered Miles to hold out to the last
extremity. Meanwhile Jackson, by quick movements had crossed the
Potomac at Williamsport, and at noon, on Sept. 13, he was in the rear of
Harper's Ferry. The Confederates were then in possession of Loudon
Heights and also of Maryland Heights, which commanded- Harper's
Ferry. That post was completely invested on the 14th. Miles was told
by McClellan to " hold on," and also informed how he might safely
escape. But he appeared to pay no attention to infractions, and to make
no effort at defence; and when, early on the 15th, no less than nine.
batteries opened upon the garrison, he displayed a white flag. Before it
was seen by the Confederates, one of their shots had killed him. The
post was surrendered, with all its troops, ordnance, ammunition, and
stores. There were 11,583 men — half of them New Yorkers — surrendered;
and the spoils were 73 cannon, 13,000 small arms, 200 wagons, and a
large quantity of tents and camp equipage. It was shown that Miles
had disobeyed orders to make measures for the defence of the post,
and he was strongly suspected of sympathy with the Confederate cause."
We looked, of course, at the ruins of the Arsenal where old

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108
John Brown, a few years before, had foolishly attempted the then
impossible work of freeing the slaves, and had roused old Virginia
from centre to circumference, and paid for his mad effort and
rash work by the forfeit of his life; and we remember singing
with zest a couplet from the old song :
"John Brown took Harper's Ferry,
With his nineteen men so true,
He woke up old Virginia,
He shook her through and through.
They hung him for a traitor,
But they were traitors too,
His soul goes marching on."
Harper's Ferry is a truly historic spot and deserves more than
a passing notice. It is beautifully situated at the confluence of
the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, high hills and beautiful val
leys reaching far southward and westward meet and please the
eye. Looking eastward, there is presented to view a beautiful gap
in the mountain and a far-reaching valley beyond. On one's right
hand is the Loudon Mountain, in Virginia, with high and beauti
fully sloping sides to the westward, clothed in wooded verdure
until it reaches a summit of grandeur and beauty. Several hun
dred feet above on the left rise the abrupt and rocky cliffs
and towering heights of the Blue Ridge, in Maryland, on the top
of which is a wooded range of fine chestnut and oak trees, with
here and there a field capable of high cultivation, dotted with
peach and other fruit trees. From these heights, there flows a
beautiful brook of bright and sparkling water that comes rippling
down over the rocks, adding brilliancy and beauty to the scene.
At your back, as you look westward, or if you turn about and face
to the south and west, is the beautiful Shenandoah river and
valley stretching as far as the eye can reach from the foot of the
Loudon Mountain. The town itself is on a level spot at the
juncture of the two rivers, and immediately back of the town are
gently sloping hills, rising to the plateau known as Bolivar
Heights. Westward is the historic and rapid Potomac, flowing at
the foot of the Blue Ridge, pleasant and beautiful to behold, it
winds between the cliffs and hills over a rocky bottom.
As far as the eye can reach in the direction of Williamsport,
Martinsburg, etc., fine farms meet the eye. These beautiful valleys

109
were garden spots of the country, rich in agricultural resources
and supplies, and though partially devastated were yet in these
September and October days charming to behold. Poor old John
Brown ! What must have been his thoughts of the future when
he selected this supposed strategic and important point for the
commencement of the end of the great struggle for the " consum
mation of human liberty ! " A few dilapidated and unpainted
houses and destroyed bridges, and here and there a poor and
squalid native were all that was left to attest the former prosperity
of this once important place. The railroad was destroyed, but the
beautiful outlet of the river and mountain gap still remained, as
a feast to the eye; and as far as the scene could reach eastward
in the direction of Washington there was unveiled to view a
garden of beauty, and the scene was such that no artist can ever
properly portray on canvas. Such were our thoughts and such
were the scenes as we loitered and lingered in and around Pleasant
Valley and old Harper's Ferry and the Loudon Mountains.
Rickety pontoons had taken the place of the former substantial
bridges, and the Government soon commenced the work of replac
ing them with bridges of iron, that fire would not destroy. The
work progressed very slowly, and we believe was not finished until
after the war had closed. On September 23d, we' were moved
up on Maryland Heights and camped there until about the 28th.
While on the Heights our baggage came up, and we again got
our tents, blankets, overcoats and knapsacks, and with these came
letters from home. Nearly every man received a letter and many
more than one. Oh, how we pitied the poor fellows who got
none, for they seemed to have no friends. We realized when these
letters were read, what a great battle we had come through, and
how our dear friends at home, especially our parents, had suffered
when reading the news of it. How delighted they were that we
had come through safely. Then we had to gather up the trinkets,
the property of the boys who were among the dead and wounded,
and send them home. This was indeed a sad task, and with
these went letters telling how and when and where they were
wounded, and how and when and where they died. If these letters
could now be produced what a story they could tell. More than
one hundred homes in Blair, Huntingdon and Cambria Counties
could furnish witnesses of the valor and devotion to country of
the boys of the 125th Regiment by the surrender of lives and

110
serious wounds received, of husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers.
Their valor shall not be forgot,
While fame her record keeps.
The letters sent to these dear friends of dead and wounded com
rades brought beautiful and touching answers, and are a part of
the never-to-be-forgotten unwritten history of the war, that will
live by tradition in the hearts and minds of the patriotic people of
this great nation, their children and their children's children, and
will aid forever in the preservation of their liberties. Several of
the companies held meetings on Maryland Heights and appointed
committees to draft resolutions to send to the friends of deceased
comrades who had lost their lives in the battle. We have been
unable to obtain any of these resolutions, except those adopted
by Company " K," that were kindly furnished the writer hereof
by Mrs. Hattie Ward Few, of Altoona, the sister of Fred. C.
Ward, of Company " K," who was mortally wounded during the
engagement, and lingered until the following day. The resolu
tions are as follows :

A TRIBUTE. OF RESPECT.
Camp on Maryland Heights.
At a meeting of Company K, 125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun
teers, held Oct. 16th, 1862, the following preamble and resolutions were
adopted. Whereas, the Company has learned, with deep regret, of the decease
of our late comrades, Fred. C. Ward, Joshua Cratin, L. C. McDermitt,
Michael McDermitt and A. H. Boartman from wounds received in action
at the late battle of Antietam, Sept. 17th, 1862, while nobly and bravely
performing their duty as Citizen Soldiers,
Be it therefore, Resolved, That although we lament their loss as
friends and soldiers, we feel proud to record, that they met their fate
manfully and honorably while confronting the enemies of our now
unhappy country, and we would pray for strength in future to emulate
their example.
Resolved, that the Company tender their heartfelt condolence to the
families and relatives of our late Comrades in their heavy affliction.
Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be transmitted to the
families of the deceased and also to the Altoona Mechanics Library and
R. R. Association, of which Fred C. Ward was a member.

Ill
Resolved, that a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Altoona
Tribune and Democrat and Sentinel, with the request to publish the same.
By order : Sergeant J. H. Bryan
Corporal W. J. Bradley
Corporal G. W. Russell
Private W. Strong
Private J. D. Hicks
Private F. P. Tearney, Secretary. Committee.

We were only a short time on Maryland Heights, when we
were again. moved to Pleasant Valley and soon again back to the
Heights, and were subsequently moved two or three times to
different localities on the Heights, apparently with the view of
keeping us busy fixing up, and probably to keep us in healthy
condition. While on the Heights, Company " K " lost one of its
members, Leonard Moebus, of Altoona. Leonard had participated
in the battle of Antietam, but had not been well after that. He
managed to keep along with the regiment, and when in camp on
Maryland Heights he went out one morning quite early, as was
supposed, to wash at the creek that flowed near our camp, and
while there he was seized with a fainting spell and fell in the
creek face downward, and before help reached him he was dead.
While in Pleasant Valley, the boys of Company " B " made a
cornstalk palace, that for originality of design and beauty of archi
tecture we do not think could be surpassed. Comrade Harry Carls
claimed to be the architect and principal builder. It was a sure-
enough house, and was rain proof. Carls' claim for credit for
the house was disputed by Sergeants Gerst, Sholler and Allender.
They claimed a share in the work, and all were full of regrets
when they had to move away from it. When in and around Pleas
ant Valley, and on the Heights, many of the regiment became
sorely afflicted with chronic diarrhoea, and several of the comrades
during the fall sickened and died. Charles A. Stoner, James W.
Conrey and Andrew Finney of Company " D," George M. Loudon
and Leonard Moebus of Company "K," of Altoona ; L. H. Bressler
and Samuel Henshey, of Company " A " ; George H. Africa, G.
W. Brenneman, E. C. Dunmire, Henry Hood and Albert Knode,
of Company " C" ; Jacob Straithoof and Johnson Straithoof, of

112
Company "B"; Abraham Troxell, Company "E"; William
Friedley, of Company "H"; William H. Birge and Benjamin
David, of Company " I," and Joseph H. Piper, of Company " G,"
were of those who died either in camp there or at hospital, while
Captain Gardner, of Company " K " ; Britton E. Cluck and Jacob
Beattie, of the same company, and many others, were seriously
ill, and suffered from the effects of the illness there contracted
during the remainder of their lives. Indeed, the soldiers who
were attacked with this miserable disease, the most of them at
least, never fully recovered from the effects it produced.
One of the unpleasant incidents connected with our camp in
Pleasant Valley and on Maryland Heights was the miserable
condition on several occasions of the .supplies received from our
quartermaster, the most disagreeable of which was a lot of
wormy crackers. While, of course, we enjoyed crackers and meat,
we preferred to draw them separately and not have the meat
cased up in crackers in the shape of live worms. Our quarter
master, Major W. C. Bayley, while in no way responsible for the
unsavory condition of these supplies, became for a time, very
unpopular, and was hooted at whenever he appeared in regimental
quarters. This treatment of our quartermaster was unjust to him,
as the condition, as before said, of the supplies was not in any
way chargeable to any neglect on his part, and we soon thereafter
learned that the Major raised a great racket at headquarters
about these same supplies. This condition of things lasted about
two weeks, and when the rations came again in good shape the
boys freely forgave the Major for an offense of which he was
never guilty. Indeed, we can safely say that no regiment in the
brigade had a more earnest and faithful quartermaster than was
the quartermaster of the 125th, and during our entire term of
service we never had cause of complaint of any of the supplies
being served us, excepting the crackers that contained live meat,
and these came from the commissariat of the army, and for their
condition the quartermaster was not accountable. The bacon,
coffee, sugar, vegetable-soup compound, fresh meat and fresh
bread that were served us from time to time were most excellent
in quality, and as pure and good as could be expected. During
the time we were receiving the bad crackers our sutler, Mr. John
Clingerman (he being a cripple) did- quite a thriving business, and
those of the boys who had no money established a line of credit

113
with the sutler, who was deservedly one of the most popular men
with us. We have never carefully inquired whether all the sutler
bills made on that occasion were entirely liquidated, for fear that
some old scores existing against possibly the writer hereof might
by chance be resurrected.
About October 30th we were moved across the Potomac river,
around the end of Loudon Mountain, and camped in a beautiful
open valley, on the eastern slope of the mountain (the Loudon
Heights, as sometimes called), on the sacred soil of old Virginia,
with a beautiful view of the valley of tlie Potomac. Here we laid
out a fine camp and especially comfortable quarters, and remained
until ordered to reinforce Burnside in his efforts to capture Fred
ericksburg, in December. Whilst in camp at this place we became
well-disciplined soldiers, and were attached to General Kane's
Brigade, of the Twelfth Corps, and soon got acquainted with that
gallant little man, General Kane, and his gentlemanly staff officers,
one of whom was Captain John P. Green, his assistant adjutant-
general, who afterwards became vice-president of the Pennsyl
vania Railroad Company. Captain Green, like the General, was
deservedly popular with the entire brigade. These officers, with
our regimental and company officers, took great interest in our
duties, and soon, by constant drill and the discharge of picket
guard, and other duties, we became proficient. General Kane pro
nounced us on more than one occasion the " flower of the army,"
and his chief desire seemed to be an opportunity to prove the
kind of material we were made of. Indeed, the General was as
proud of his men as an enthusiastic mother would be of her baby,
and never lost an occasion to express his delight and approval of
our efficiency when opportunity offered. Our brigade at this time
consisted of the following regiments, to wit: 20th Connecticut,
123d New York, and 124th and 125th Pennsylvania. Several
times while we lay at this camp there were rumors of guerrilla
molestation and our pickets were annoyed. We were taken out
in the night time to repel what seemed to be raids. General Kane
would generally accompany us on these night excursions. At
times we would travel several miles, but generally got back to
camp by morning. On some of the trips captures of suspected
persons were made, but we never learned the result of the cap
tures. Our regiment suffered no loss on any of the excursions,
but we learned that several Ohio men were shot or captured on
8

114
different occasions. Deserters from Stonewall Jackson's command
at Winchester occasionally came to our picket line and surren
dered. We had many visitors to our camp in Loudon Valley,
some of them from home, and among them was Mrs. Higgins, the
wife of our Colonel, who was a welcome guest and had kind and
encouraging words for all of us. Companies " D " and " G " were
for a time on detached service at Sandy Hook and Berlin, and part
of Company " K " was detailed to help build a suspension bridge
over the Shenandoah river to Harper's Ferry. All were kept busy
at various employments and duties, until the order came, about
December ioth, to break camp and move to the front, to help
crush the Confederate army. This we proceeded to do with
reluctance, for our camp, as before said, was a most pleasant and
delightful one, and we had been consoling ourselves with the
thought that we would perhaps be allowed to winter here. We
will ever look back with most pleasant recollections of the camps
in and around Harper's Ferry, and especially the one in Loudon
Valley, for it was the most pleasant, restful and charming one of
our soldier life.

CHAPTER II.
The Gloomy Winter of '62 and '63 — Breaking Camp at Loudon Heights
—Passing Bull Run Battlefield— The Beautiful Plains of Chantilly—
Capture of Fairfax Station by Stuart's Cavalry — Our Attempted Capture
of Stuart — Experience of Wolf Run Shoals — Fighting a New Enemy —
"The Genuine Grayback "—Helping the Mule Teams— Picket Duty-
Night Alarms — The Effect of Sweet Music — Resignation of General Burn
side — A New Commander, " Fighting Joe Hooker " — Sickness in Camp —
etc.

The winter of 1862-63 wm De remembered by those whose
memories recall the incidents of that gloomy time as being the
most trying and saddening of the war; especially was this so
after the disastrous repulse of the portion of the Army of the
Potomac under General Burnside at Fredericksburg. Much had
been expected by the country of General McClellan, perhaps too
much, after Antietam.
His continued fault-finding with the President and his failure
to overtake and punish Lee's army before it fell back across the
Blue Ridge, were the subjects of severe criticism on the part of
the newspapers and discouraged his most ardent and enthusiastic
admirers in the army. All this finally led to his being superseded
by General Burnside. The army, however, never lost its love
for " Little Mac," as the soldiers proudly called him, and as an
organizer and a general who took most excellent care of his men
General McClellan will ever stand among the foremost.
The army received the appointment of General Burnside
kindly, believing it to be for the best, and whilst all recognized
that possibly the new commander was not as able or as experienced
as General McClellan, he was patriotic and earnest in his desire to
defeat the Confederate army and bring the war to a successful
conclusion. About the time the forward movement was being
planned to capture Fredericksburg, and its commencement daily
looked for, the 125th Regiment, that had spent a pleasant fall
and early winter in their camp in Loudon Valley and near Harper's
Ferry, was ordered, with the other portion of the brigade and
division, to move nearer to the scene of conflict, and at the end of
a week or thereabouts of marching in rather pleasant weather the
115

116
regiment reached Old Dumfries, when we learned of the first
disaster at Fredericksburg. Soon thereafter, when the famous
" stuck in the mud campaign " disastrously ended, a part of the
regiment was detailed to bring up the corps ammunition train,
which was scattered along the road from Old Dumfries to Stafford
Court House, most of the wagons being fast in the mud. This
proved to be a hard as well as perilous task, for the roads were
simply awful, and the mud was both sticky and deep. By night
and day for over a week in this miserable wet December we helped
the mules, and some of the boys assisted the drivers and wagon-
masters in the " cussing " that seemed to be necessary to get the
mules to pull the trains up on the high ground near old Stafford
Court House. The dangerous part of the work consisted in
watching the Confederate cavalry, who were most vigorously
annoying our flanks and compelling us every night to lie on our
arms prepared to repel an attack from Stuart and his active men.
On one of these marches, at the end of a miserable drizzly day, in
which we had wearily dragged ourselves along with the train,
through snow, rain and mud, frequently compelled to stop and
place our shoulders to the wheels of a wagon to help it along, and
occasionally prying it out of a mudhole, and the building of short
pieces of corduroy road, in our efforts to catch up with the
brigade that had gone into camp some miles ahead of us, impene
trable darkness overtook us, and about four miles from Dumfries,
while we were pulling up a hill and almost despairing of making
any headway, one of the boys, with a little more grit than
the others, said, d  d if he was' going to march that night any
longer; we are stuck, said he, and might as well lay up for the
night ; suiting his action to the words he uttered, he commenced
to lay off his accoutrements and prepare to halt, and by a little
persuasion his five comrades, the corporal and driver yielded, and
the guns were stacked, the mules unhitched from the wagon that
was stuck in the middle of the road, and they were brought to
higher and firmer ground ; by the aid of an axe a fire was made,
and eight members of the regiment made the best of a bad job on
that miserable winter night, and were soon cooking coffeeAnd by
eating pork and hardtack endeavored to forget their unfortunate
condition ; with feet to the fire the boys extracted comfort out of
their trouble ; with a gum blanket underneath, knapsack for pillow
and wool blanket for cover, the night was spent as well as could

117
be expected in such dismal circumstances, and without any addi
tional mishap, except in sleeping with our feet to the fire two of
the boys got their toes too close to it, and when morning came
their shoes were burned out, and " Uncle Sam " had to furnish
two additional pairs of No. 6 shoes for the boys who had lost
theirs on the march; by a supreme effort the next morning the
wagon was extricated from the mud, and by noon we reached
the camp; fortunately no official action was taken of -the matter,
and Corporal Mclntyre and Lieutenant Dunnegan got out of the
scrape without a Court-Martial.
Brigadier-General Kane, always anxious to show the mettle
that his brigade was made of, for several nights had the 125th, also
the 124th, Pennsylvania Regiments acting as a flying squadron to
round up Stuart's men, and he made a most gallant effort in this
direction. The second night we were out the cold was intense,
and we did not dare to have a fire, as it would at once disclose
our whereabouts to the enemy. Many of the boys suffered
severely. Of course, the wily Stuart got away from us, but it
was no fault of ours nor of our general, as we did our best to
catch his force, but they rode too rapidly and were too sleek for us,
and evidently the natives kept them posted of our whereabouts
and movements, and it was impossible to get them into the trap
that we so neatly laid for them. This effort to surround and
capture Stuart's Cavalry deserves more than a passing notice.
We were near what was called Wolf Run Shoals, and not only
our brigade but also the entire division was halted and thrown
into line of battle, by reason of suddenly coming onto the enemy,
and we anticipated some hot work. This was in the latter part of
December, 1862. General Slocum, our corps commander, and his
staff were riding in advance of our brigade, and by a sudden
dash of Stuart's men they were nearly captured. In the evening
the 125th was thrown out about three miles in advance of the line
of battle, and relieved the 20th Connecticut, very much to their
pleasure and comfort. We spent the night in a deep pine wood,
near where our cavalry had a fight during the day. On our second
night out, as before said, it was extremely cold, and on the follow
ing day, December 29th, we marched back to camp near Fairfax
Station, and found while we were absent the Confederate cavalry
had visited the station, cut the telegraph wires and played havoc
generally. The camp of the 124th Regiment was badly torn up,

118
and its sutler was raided and his entire stock captured. Our
sutler fortunately was not discovered and was lucky enough to
escape. The disgust of General Kane when he found out what the
Confederates had done while we were hunting them cannot be
properly depicted. While in camp at Fairfax the boys of Com
pany " G " captured a Confederate spy, who had been hovering
about our camp for several days, clad in citizens' garb and posing
as a native, selling plug tobacco.. By some means one of the boys
noticed he had a peculiar-looking plug and wanted to buy it, but
this he would not sell or part with. Suspicion being aroused, an
examination was made, and in this plug were found papers, with
drawings of our brigade and division camps, that convicted him
of the nefarious work in which he was engaged. We heard that
he was hanged a few days afterward. No doubt this was one
of the chaps who kept General Stuart so well posted of our where
abouts and doings. The boys of Company " G " will remember
him as a middle-aged man with a long beard and a good talker.
He and Cal Russ used to discuss the war and other matters
for hours ; in fact, he spent several nights in Company " G " quar
ters, but tarried one night too many, as the sequel proved.
We resumed our march toward Fredericksburg about the
middle of January, 1863, and on the march to Stafford we passed
at Dumfries the first brigade of our second division, being Ohio
boys, and the 28th Pennsylvania. They sympathized with us as we
trudged along in the mud, and gibed us. no little on our poor
luck in having to be out in such miserable weather. One incident
of this march we are certain the boys of the 125th will never for
get ; it, was this : A storm was threatening, and our Colonel
concluded to halt earlier than usual. We had just emerged from
a wood about a mile or two north of Stafford Court House, when
we were ordered to stack our arms and halt for the night. There
was an old camp near where we stopped, and the Colonel gave us
permission to occupy it, and very soon we had our little dog-tents
stretched over the log huts and made ourselves real cozy, and were
for the time being at least " strictly in it." For half a day and a
night we seemed to have, and did have, real comfort. It snowed
during the night and was quite cold. When morning came we
congratulated ourselves on the advantage we had over the balance
of the brigade by reason of our excellent good fortune in getting
such fine quarters. About ten o'clock, however, the weather mod-

119
erated, the sun commenced to shine, the snow to melt, and the
balmy air of that climate soon came with the moderation of the
weather. This combination of circumstances caused a commotion
in the camp such as had never before been seen or experienced,
and by two o'clock in the afternoon nearly every soldier in the
regiment, including the officers, could be seen along the bank of
the stream nearby, or in front of their quarters, with coat and
other garments off, employed in a most active- investigation as to
the cause or causes of the twitchihgs and uneasy feelings, accom
panied with the desire„to scratch that seemed to have taken hold
of every individual. Each one was determined to ascertain why
. his backbone should be used as a race-course by small fleet-footed
chargers, whose presence could only be discovered by the violent
laying on of hands, and could only be exterminated by the strictest
and most scrutinizing search with boiling salt water. This was our
first real acquaintance with the genuine " grayback " (the army
louse), and, sure enough, he stuck to us closer than a brother and
stayed with us until " our change of base." It is needless to add that
before many days passed we were out of the old tents and found
quarters that " graybacks " had not already secured in our
advance, but for the time at least the balance of the brigade had
the laugh, on the 125th.
One of the sad incidents while in camp at this point was the
loss by sudden death of our regimental commissary sergeant,
Samuel Baker, or Becker, of Company " B." He was a most
excellent soldier and companionable man. He' had at one time
been one of John Brown's men in Kansas, and used to entertain
the boys with reminiscences of the old Hero of Kansas border war
fare and Harper's Ferry. He was a most excellent commissary
and was an expert in getting his mule teams through on time, and
with half a chance Sergeant Baker's wagons of the 125th would
lead the procession.
During the time we lay on the hills near Stafford, the 17th
Pennsylvania Cavalry were encamped about a mile in our rear.
There was nothing peculiar in this save they had a most excellent
band of music, and before sundown every evening across the hills
would roll the strains of " Home, Sweet Home," " Sweet Annie of
the Vale " and " Annie Laurie," until our hearts would ache with
the thoughts of dear ones left behind that this music kindled.
Many an evening we saw stalwart comrades slyly wiping away the

120
escaping tell-tale tear, and nearly every man in the regiment was
softened by the sweet memories it revived. While there we had
night alarms, and were called out several times to repel supposed
attacks from Stuart's Cavalry. Lieutenant McCamant, of Com
pany " G," in his diary', under date of February 26, 1863, says :
" Aroused at 4 a. m., and marched to Austiu's Creek to repel a
supposed attack of cavalry"; and under date of March 11, he
says : " Another night alarm orders out the regiment, but we
found no .enemy." Again, on March 13, the diary says : " Still
another night alarm, but no enemy came." On March 14, " We
moved our camp to Kane's Landing," and on March 17, " We
heard heavy cannonading in the direction of Warrenton Junction
— the cause of which we did not learn."
Picket duty about Stafford was hazardous, and frequent cap
tures were made of the boys who performed that very important
work. The .writer hereof remembers one night on an outpost,
about three miles from camp, in a thicket of woods, along an old
mill-race that at one time fed a saw or grist mill, a party of six
under Sergeant Graw, were doing their best to keep under shelter
in a snow storm, and at the same time discharge a duty placed
upon them. We dug a hole in a bank under the trees, heaped
bushes around us, and built a fire to keep .as warm as. possible.
The heavy pine bushes helped us to keep dry, but one of our num
ber had to be outside the shelter to warn us of an attack, when
suddenly, about midnight, we heard a great commotion in our
front, and the snow came rattling down from a nearby tree, mak
ing quite a noise. Comrade Ed. Hall, who was on the watch,
came rushing in and aroused us. Sergeant Graw immediately
ordered every man out, and what little vestige of fire we had was
stamped out. We double-quicked around to ascertain if possible
in the gray darkness the cause of the noise, but after a good deal
of scurrying we found nothing and saw nothing. About two
o'clock the writer's turn for an hour on the watch came, and soon
thereafter the same noise was heard from the same direction.
Again the guard was aroused and the same vigilant search insti
tuted, when finally our corporal and the writer chanced under the
tree where. the snow had been shaken off, and finding an unusual
quantity on the ground, we peered about and discovered that a
flock of pheasants had been the cause of our alarm. We secured
two of the birds that were upon the lower limb, and with their

121
capture the alarm for that night was at an end. Had Comrade
Hall fired his gun, or our sergeant given an alarm, the regiment
would have again been called out, as it was a few nights before
and a few nights afterward. The reader can be assured the pheas
ants made good eating, and as a January dish made quite a relish.
The order to march from Loudon Valley to the' front, on the
Rappahannock, was given in the early part of December, and the
march began about the i ith of the month, and ended near Stafford
Court House in the latter part of January, 1863. But it must be
remembered that whenewe reached Dumfries we were ordered
back to Fairfax Station, where we remained until the latter part
of January. This march was a rapid one, and we had but little
time to examine the country through which we passed. Most of
the daylight was consumed in marching, but we had a half-hour
at noon to prepare coffee to drink, and refresh ourselves with what
we had in our knapsacks. In the evening we had to hustle to
prepare our suppers and pitch tents for a place to sleep. In the
morning we were aroused early, to strike tents and get breakfast.
All this kept us busy. We halted early one afternoon and were
given an opportunity to view the beautiful plains of Chantilly;
near this place Generals Kearney and Steens were killed the
preceding September. Of course, we recalled the devotion of
these brave officers to the cause in which we were enlisted, and
during the course of the afternoon viewed as much of the battle
field as we possibly could, and notwithstanding several months
had passed, we saw many evidences of the fierceness of the con
flict that had there raged.
The latter part of December was very cold, and the exposure
we were subjected to was great. We had this cold weather to
endure in our chase after Stuart's Cavalry, but amid it all we
heard no complaints, and we do not think soldiers ever performed
, duty more cheerfully than did Kane's brigade in their fruitless
efforts to bag Stuart's troopers during those cold December
nights. In the month of January occurred the famous mud march
already referred to, when we were moved forward to support
Burnside's second effort to capture Fredericksburg. The rain was
incessant and the roads bottomless. We had previously received
the news of the disaster that befell our army in its first attack on
Fredericksburg, but this only had a temporary depression on our

122
spirits, and in a few days our desire to forcibly suppress the rebel
hon and end the war was as strong as ever. We resumed our
march from Fairfax Station, to which place we had fallen back in
December, on January 19, and when we reached our camping
place, near Stafford Court House, we were complimented by our
corps commander, General Slocum, for the courage and endurance
exhibited on this very trying march.
The intention, evidently, of the commander of the army, Gen
eral Burnside, was for Slocum's, or Twelfth Corps, to take
part in the campaign against Fredericksburg, and the movement
of the corps was so timed and directed as to fully protect the rear
of the army and that part of the country lying between Washing
ton and the Rappahannock. The line of our march was infested
with the Confederate cavalry, and we were frequently in close
proximity to the wily General Stuart and his troopers. The news
of the failure of the attack on Fredericksburg, and the recrossing
of the river by General Burnside to his old position, and the heavy
loss sustained in the battle, reached us soon after its occurrence.
This and the severe cold weather that immediately followed were
temporarily a damper to the ardor and enthusiasm that had before
that time possessed our part of the army. Our movement from
Fairfax Station was no doubt intended to unite us with the main
army, and it was the general belief of our officers that we would
participate in the second attack on Fredericksburg, ordered to be
made in the month of January, but the terrific rain storm that
broke over us about the middle of the month, during which we,
like the balance of the army, " stuck in the mud," caused the pro
jected attack to be abandoned ; but the recollection of it and the
distress suffered by reason of it will ever form a memorable part
of the campaign of the Army of the Potomac. Of this second
intended attempt on Fredericksburg and Lee's army, Stine, in his
" History of the Army of the Potomac," says :
"During the night of the 20th, that is January 1863, the rain began
and by morning, the 21st, the earth was soaked and the river banks had
the appearance of a quagmire, already fifteen pontoons were on the river,
nearly spanning it, and five more were amply sufficient. Burnside began
at once to bring up his artillery, which had the effect of making a
perfect mortar bed; for a considerable area around the ford, all day the
men worked in the rain but to little purpose, quite a number of cannon
were advanced near the ford, but the 22nd only added to the storm,, and
the artillery, caissons and even wagons were swamped in the mud.

123
The storm had blocked Burnside's movement, giving Lee ample
time to line the other shore with his army, so that there was no time
to interfere with the crossing except from the sharp-shooters, who
peppered away on all occasions. No doubt Lee was hoping Burnside
would effect a crossing; with the swollen river in his rear, it would have
been a serious predicament for the Union Army indeed, but Burnside
finally became reconciled to his fate and gave the order for the army
to retire to its quarters, and thus ended the famous mud march.
His last ill luck (says this same writer, referring to General
Burnside) was too much for his heretofore good nature. Up to that
time he had paid no attention to the criticisms made on him, but then
he let loose the floodgates of his resentment, and issued an order
peremptorily dismissing Generals Hooker, Brooks, Newton and Cochrane
from the service of the United States, and depriving Generals Franklin,
Smith, Sturgis, Ferrero and Colonel Taylor of their respective com
mands. This most extraordinary order had to have the approval of
the President. Mr. Lincoln as usual looked the matter over with a
view of best serving the interest of the country, and, says the writer of
the history, Mr. Stine, I said to Rosecrans that I did not think Lincoln
had a particle of jealousy against a living being, and that he was so in
earnest to preserve the Nation, that if it had depended on his place, as
chief executive of the Nation he would have left the White House
peremptorily and without a regret.
After due deliberation over the remarkable paper presented by
Burnside to dismiss several prominent generals and deprive several
others of their commands, or accept his resignation, the President de
cided to relieve him as Commander-in-Chief of the army of the Potomac
but not to accept his resignation, and on the 26th of January he severed
his connection with the army as its Commander."
Burnside's resignation as Commander-in-Chief of the Army
of the Potomac was generally regretted by the rank and file of
the army, as they all felt that the General was a loyal and true
soldier of his country, and it was thought that he did not receive
that cordial support from the other officers of the army that he
was entitled to. While this was going on at the front as we have
already said, our division and brigade were floundering in the
mud between Fairfax Station and Stafford Court House. About
the middle of February, whilst in camp near Stafford Court
House, we received four months' pay. This, of course, was a very
pleasing incident, and put money in all our pockets, by reason of
which the sutler did a thriving business, and those of the boys
who were inclined to be sporty indulged in games of chance, but
the majority of them, after paying their little bills due the sutler
and due from one to another, expressed their money home to

124
parents and friends, where they knew it would be appreciated
and taken care of, and be productive of the most good.
The appointment of General Hooker to the command of the
army was somewhat of a surprise, but to those who had fought
on the right in the opening of the battle of Antietam the appoint
ment was entirely satisfactory. The General's conduct on that
morning and his success in driving the Confederate forces to their
second line of defence on the Miller farm inspired confidence in
his courage and ability. About the middle of March our division
and brigade were inspected and reviewed by him, in company with
our corps commander. Soon thereafter we moved from a new
camp at Kane's Landing to quarters near Acquia Creek, and there
we lay until the forward movement commenced in the latter part
of April on Chancellorsville. At this time our brigade was recon
structed and we were taken from Williams' first division and were
attached to Geary's second division of the Twelfth Corps.
We were scarcely established in our new quarters at Acquia
Creek until old acquaintances and friends from the 62d, 84th and
110th Pennsylvania Regiments came to see us, our new camp
being much nearer to them than our former one. Many were the
reminiscences talked over, and news from home discussed. Some
of the boys received boxes from home filled with good things,
which of course gladdened hearts and replenished larders. We
exchanged courtesies with each other with delight and relish ; and
notwithstanding the fact that we could look across the river from
Falmouth to see the " Johnnies " ready to greet us with powder
and shell, we put in a pleasant time, and had what would be
regarded under the circumstances a right good thing of it. The
approach of spring was soon noticeable by increased activity in
all quarters. General Hooker, or " Fighting Joe," as the boys
used to call him, had established confidence as commander. Presi
dent Lincoln came down to see us, and at the grand review in his
honor he complimented all of us on our soldierly bearing. On
this review the army was at its best and seemed invincible, but how
we failed to subsequently succeed will be explained hereafter.
Much sickness prevailed in the camp in the early spring, and
the regimental and brigade hospitals were crowded with fever and
ague and malaria patients ; quite a number of typhoid fever cases
also developed, and several deaths had occurred at the division
and corps hospital. As the time approached for breaking camp

125
and marching the boys were enthusiastic over the prospect of get
ting away from sickness, and also enthusiastic at the prospect of
helping terminate the war. Among the many deaths at the
hospital was Robert P. Engles, a very popular young man of Com
pany " K," out of the Altoona machine shops. Bob was a splen
did fellow, beloved by all his comrades. He came to Altoona from
Philadelphia, and was apparently one of the stoutest and heartiest
men in the regiment, but the Virginia climate was too much for
him, and before we broke camp he crossed death's river and
added one more hero to the list of patriotic dead. He was the
fourth member of mess No. 4, Company " K," that had fallen out
of the ranks, through no fault of his, and failed to answer the roll-
call when the muster was made for the march to Chancellorsville.
His messmates consisted of Fred. C. Ward, who was killed at
Antietam ; George W. Jones, who was wounded at the same battle ;
Thomas H. Wakefield, who was disabled by a horse at Antietam,
and J. D. Hicks and Jacob Beatty. This left but Hicks and
Beatty of the original mess of six boys who had clubbed together
before leaving Altoona. As before said, Bob was well known by
all the Altoona boys as a " jolly good fellow " on the march and
in camp, and his death was mourned by all. We might refer to
others of the comrades, who suffered from disease and some of
whom died at Fairfax, Stafford and Acquia creek; each had dear
friends and messmates in the regiment, in addition to loved ones
at home. Of those who died we recall the names of Thomas
Beamer and John A. McFarland, of Company " A " ; Theodore N.
Cooper and Samuel Reed, of Company " C " ; David Isenburg,
John Wolheater and John Heffner, of Company " F." All of
these comrades were beloved by their messmates, and were sadly
missed in their respective companies.- We especially cite the case
of Robert Engles, of Company " K," of those who died, for the
reason his case came under the personal notice of the writer;
and the breaking of the mess in Company " K " but illustrates the
breaking up of groups in the entire regiment.
As we look back over the years and realize the exposures
suffered, we cannot but wonder that so many survived the perils of
the camp and field in the winter of '62 and '63.

CHAPTER III.
Demoralization in Spring of 1863 — Distrust at Home — Desertion from
the Ranks — How "' Fighting Joe Hooker " Re-established Confidence —
New Formation of Brigade — Review by President Lincoln — The For
ward Movement on Chancellorsville — The Battle Line at Chancellors
ville — Friday, Saturday and Sunday's Battles — Their Unfortunate Ter
mination — That awful Saturday Night — Brave Conduct of Three Musi
cians — The Rescuing of the Wounded — The New Line of Battle — The
Battle at Salem Church, etc. — Back at the old Camp again — Poem to
the Unknown Dead at Fredericksburg, by J. D. Hicks, of Co. K.
As has already been intimated, when Hooker took command
of the army it was under depressing conditions. Despondency, on
account of the disaster at Fredericksburg, and homesickness, pre
vailed to a large extent; " French leave " was resorted to- by many
of the boys, more -especially of long-term regiments, some of
whose names yet remain upon the rolls, marked as "deserter " ;
but desertion was not their intention in most cases, but discontent
and discouragement were prevalent, and the " peace at any price
party " were howling in the rear, and of course these had their
effect on the boys in the front. The politicians opposed to Mr.
Lincoln had created alarm and caused general distrust at home,
and much of it reached the army. The failure to crush the rebel
lion was unjustly blamed on the inefficiency of the Government.
Hooker soon commenced to turn things right about, and soon a
change for the better was noticeable. Drilling and marching, raid
ing for guerrillas and scouring for Confederate cavalry, who were
hanging about our right and rear, were of frequent occurrence,
and soon put the martial spirit in the boys. The old cry, " On
to Richmond ! " got to be quite as popular an expression as it was
before the disaster at Fredericksburg, and by the time the buds
commenced to swell in the forests of Virginia in April the " On
to Richmond! " cry was heard on all sides, and the entire army
was ready and enthusiastically awaiting the order to go forward.
It can be truthfully said that a finer army, in better spirits, and
more thoroughly disciplined, of over one hundred thousand men,
anxious to meet its foe, was never mustered than was the Army of
the Potomac in April, 1863, and it impatiently awaited the order
to move southward. A new spirit was infused; the grand divi-
126

127
sions were abolished and the army was arranged in corps. And
each corps was designated by a badge, and the badges denoted the
divisions by the respective colors of red, white and blue. The
first division of the Twelfth Corps was designated by a red star ;
the second division, the one to which we were attached, was desig
nated by a white star ; there being no third division of our corps,
there was no blue star. We soon became very proud of our corps
badge, and the white star division of the Twelfth Corps will ever
be notable in history. We were attached to Geary's division
(second) of the Twelfth (Slocum's) Corps, our brigade being the
second one, consisting of the 29th, 109th, 111th, 124th and 125th
Pennsylvania Regiments. Under the impulse of the President's
proclamation, issued about March 10th, granting amnesty to
deserters who would return by April ist, many who had gone
home voluntarily rejoined their commands, and the people at home
wrote more hopefully. A considerable number of recruits joined
the long-term regiments, and, as before said, Hooker soon found
himself at the head of as fine an army as the world ever saw. Of
course, there were some discouragements, the principal one being
that the time of many of the regiments would soon expire, and if
no battle was fought in the near future, several regiments from
New York, Pennsylvania and other states would be discharged by
reason of expiration of term of service, and the army would be
depleted by about 20,000 effective men. Hooker was compelled to
offer battle early in the spring or lose the assistance of these men,
equal in number to an entire army corps.
President Lincoln made a personal visit to and inspection of
the army about April 25th. Prior to this he, with Secretary Stan
ton and other prominent personages, had a consultation with Gen
eral Hooker and the corps commanders. This visit and inspection
by the President was a great occasion. We all labored to appear'
our very best; clean clothes, blackened shoes, bright buttons and
burnished guns, told the story of how we appreciated the visit.
With dressed lines we passed in review under his eye. We
cheered lustily under his kindly look and cheerful greeting ; we all
loved Mr. Lincoln, and a look in his face convinced us of his
.honesty, and we knew he was an earnest man, a lover of his
country, and he was, in addition to all of this, our friend. When
officers were too severe he would interpose clemency in his mild
way, and he saved many a poor fellow from severity and death.

128
If Mr. Lincoln had been a stern and harsh man, the history of
this country might have been quite different, and a writer has well
said of him at this time, " He listened to all complaints patiently,
and then usually made his decisions." Respectful to all, he won
the esteem and respect of his countrymen, and his name is linked
with Washington's in history, the highest honor that could be
conferred. While he was hurling great armies at the South to
compel its people to obey the laws, he nightly ¦ prayed that they
would see the error of their ways and return in peace. He
would save the Union with or without slavery, and when (after
wards) the assassin's bullet ended thi's great man's life, there
was mourning even in the South. Those of us who participated,
and all did who could, in the Grand Review, were proud of the
fact, and each believed he had caught the eye of the President,
and the smile that ligfhted his face was intended for us.
Shortly after this review, the long-expected order to move
came, and the grand Army of the Potomac, with a light step and
a buoyancy and hopefulness, moved to the fords of the Rappa
hannock river with celerity, in the full assurance of victory.
The Twelfth Corps at this time was made up as follows :
TWELFTH ARMY CORPS.
Maj. -Gen. Henry W. Slocum.
PROVOST GUARD
ioth Maine Battalion, Capt. John D. Beardsley.
FIRST DIVISION.
Brig.-Gen. Alpheus S. Williams.
FIRST BRIGADE.
Brig.-Gen. Joseph F. Knipe.
5th Connecticut, Col. Warren W. Packer, Lieut.-Col. James A.
Betts, Maj. David F. Lane.
28th New York, Lieut.-Col. Elliott W. Cook, Maj. Theophilus
Fitzgerald.
46th Pennsylvania, Maj. Cyrus Strouse, Capt. Edward L.Witman.
128th Pennsylvania, Col. Joseph A. Mathews, Maj. Cephas Dyer.

129
SECOND BRIGADE.
Col. Samuel Ross.
20th Connecticut, Lieut.-Col. Wm. B. Wooster, Maj. Philo B.
Buckingham.
3d Maryland, Lieut.-Col. Gilbert P. Robinson.
123d New York, Col. Archibald L. McDougall.
145th New York, Col. E. Livingston Price, Capt. George W. Reid.
THIRD BRIGADE.
Brig^-Gen. Thos. H. Ruger.
2/th Indiana, Col. Silas Colegrove.
2d Massachusetts, Col. Samuel M. Quincy.
13th New lersey, Col. Ezra A. Carman, Maj. John Grimes, Capt.
George A. Beardsley.
io/th New York, Col. Alexander S. Divin.
3d Wisconsin, Col. William Hawley.
ARTILLERY.
Capt. Robert H. Fitzhugh.
ist New York, Light Battery K, Lieut. Edward L. Bailey.
ist New York, Light Battery M, Lieut. Chas. E. Vinegar, Lieut.
John D. Woodberry.
4th United States, Battery F, Lieut. Franklin B. Crosby, Lieut.
Edward P. Muhlenberg. SECOND DIVISION.
Brig.-Gen. John W. Geary
FIRST BRIGADE.
Col. Charles Candy.
5th Ohio, Lieut-Col. Robert L. Kilpatrick, Maj. E. S. Henry.
yth Ohio, Col. William R. Creighton.
2pth Ohio, Lieut.-Col. Thomas Clark.
66th Ohio, Lieut-Col. Eugene Powell.
28th Pennsylvania, Maj. Lansford F. Chapman, Capt. Conrad U.
Meyer. SECOND BRIGADE.
Brig.-Gen. Thos. L. Kane.

¦ &L

^vnftP**"*

lv-r*~^r—~-r

General Hooker's Headquarters at Chancellorsville.
Saturday Morning, May 2, 1863.

131
2pth Pennsylvania, Lieut.-Col. Wm. Rickards, Jr.
iooth Pennsylvania, Col. Henry J. Stainrook, Capt. John
Young, Jr.
inth Pennsylvania, Col. George A. Cobham, Jr.
124th Pennsylvania, Lieut.-Col. Simon Litzenberg.
125th Pennsylvania, Col. Jacob Higgins.
THIRD BRIGADE.
Brig.-Gen. George S. Greene.
60th Nezv York, Lieut.-Col. John C. O. Redington.
78th New York, Maj. Henry R. Stagg, Capt. Wm. H. Randall.
I02d New York, Col. James G. Lane.
137th New York, Col. David Ireland.
149th New York, Maj. Abel G. Cook, Capt. Oliver T. May, Lieut.-
Col. Kort S. Van Voorhis. ARTILLERY.
Capt. Joseph M. Knapp.
Pennsylvania Light, Battery E, Lieut. Chas. A. Atwell, Lieut.
James D. McGill.
Pennsylvania Light, Battery F, Capt. Robert B. Hampton, Lieut.
James P. Fleming.
The order issued to the cavalry, who led the van, was to
fight, fight, fight, and the other parts of the army were expected to
do likewise. On the 27th of April the Twelfth Corps, of which
we were a part, was put in motion, and we can yet see General
Slocum, our corps commander; General Geary, our division com
mander, and our own gallant little General Kane, our brigade
commander, as they rode out at the head of their respective col
umns with their staff officers. A prouder set of officers and more
determined men never marched to music, and all felt that victory
was in the air, and that Richmond this time would surely be ours.
Arriving at Kelly's ford, about 27 miles from our camp, on the
afternoon of the 29th, we crossed the Rappahannock over pon
toon bridges, and in the afternoon of the 30th we stacked our
guns on an extended line of battle in front of the Chancellor
House, fully 37 miles from where we started; on our right was
the Eleventh Corps, and on our left was the Fifth Corps, and in
reserve, in the neighborhood, was the Third Corps, and subse-

132
quently the First Corps; on our immediate left was the first
brigade, under the command of Colonel Canly, and on our right
was the third brigade, commanded by General Greene. One
incident of the march we chance to recall, that was quite a joke on
one of the most efficient officers of the regiment — it was Captain
Bell, of Company " A." The Captain was quite a strict disci
plinarian and generally had things done just about right. One of
the orders issued by our commanding officer was that there was
to be no absence from the ranks without permission. This order
Captain Bell evidently forgot, as, when we got to the ford, the
Captain, after placing his company in command of his first lieu
tenant, went off with the chaplain to view the army going over the
river. While enjoying this scene and seeing the deployment on
the other side, General Kane came riding up, and seeing Captain
Bell and the chaplain together, at once halted to ascertain the
cause. The result was that Captain Bell was placed temporarily
under arrest, but the General soon relented, and before Company
"A" was deployed in line of battle the Captain was in his old
place and giving orders as usual.
Immediately upon assuming our places in the battle-line, we
commenced throwing up breastworks, and in a short time, with
our bayonets and tin plates, we had a line of rifle pits covering
our entire regimental front, behind which we could nestle down
with safety. On the afternoon of Friday our brigade was ordered
out for a reconnoissance, and we marched from our works in the
direction of Fredericksburg, Company " B " acting as skirmishers.
We advanced to the east of the Plank Road, probably a mile and
a half; we passed through quite a wood and swamp, and were
finally getting on the high and open ground, in the direction of
Salem Church, when we discovered the enemy. Across the open
.field we could see men cautiously moving, and quite a number
of pieces of artillery ready to open on us, had we advanced
further. General Kane, who was near Colonel Higgins when
the command was given to halt, was heard to express himself as
anxious to go forward, but he had received orders to bring on
no battle, and instead of going further he was ordered to return.
Doubting the wisdom of this instruction he protested forci
bly against returning, and wanted permission to charge over
the field and take the guns in our front. Whilst awaiting per
mission to go forward, for which he had asked, a second order

133
came to him to fall back, and whilst protesting against the order
a third one came, with some definite news attached, that caused
him, much to his regret, to face about his command and com
mence the backward movement. We had scarcely commenced tc
retreat when a line of Confederate skirmishers was thrown for
ward and commenced firing upon us. They assisted all they knew
how in hastening our steps in retirement to our line of works.
When we reached the Plank Road the fire became brisker, and
just before we crossed the road the enemy unlimbered a couple
of guns and sent cankter down the road at a rapid rate. We
were moved north of the road and re-formed, then about-faced
and slowly moved backward, firing as we moved, until we arrived
at our place in the line of works, when the skirmish was over. In
it we had a number of men captured. Some think that General
Kane was right in wanting to advance, and claim that the high
ground on our front and in the open was the place for the battle,
and not the ground about Chancellorsville, and that had he been
permitted to occupy the field he was compelled by orders of his
superiors to abandon, a different story might have been written
about the fight at Chancellorsville.
In the evening we moved along the line, and found the third
brigade of (our) Twelfth Corps and part of the Third Corps, as
well as the Eleventh Corps beyond, had thrown up a line of
works like Our own, and for over a mile through the brush and
underwood there was a line of rifle pits filled with anxious and
enthusiastic men, awaiting the action of the Confederate army,
and expecting them to walk into the trap set for them. Why they
did not do this will be discovered a little further on.
Friday night was beautiful, the air was balmy and fragrant, and
the trees were just commencing to put on their leaves, and it was
hard to keep that great army quiet. All sorts of rumors were
reaching us ; in fact, it was rumored the war was about over, and
the entire Confederate army was about laying down their arms to
" Fighting Joe." Whilst we were talking it over on that May
night, Lee and Jackson, not over one and one-half miles away,
were also talking it over, and their talk and plans proved much
more effective, which the work bf the next day proved. In the
evening, quite late, we heard firing to our left, and were told
that Sykes had, with his regulars, repulsed an effort to break
through his lines. Saturday morning found us awake early, and

134
soon the army was astir and eager for work. To our right,
between the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, we saw a part of our
army moving out on an easy gait toward the south. We were
told this was the Third Corps, going to stop the retreat of the
Confederates further south. Scarcely had our men got out of
sight when there moved in our front the steady tramp of an
armed force, apparently going in the same direction as our own
men, who preceded them. From this force we could hear an occa
sional command, " Close up," " Steady, men," and like words, and
now and then we could catch glimpses of the gray-clothed ranks
moving with steady steps, with arms at right shoulder and pay
ing no attention either to us or to our skirmish line in front. This
column proved to be Jackson's men, who were moving in close
proximity to Sickles' corps and our main army, and were on their
great flanking march, that caused us so much trouble later. They
were then moving to strike the rear of the Eleventh Corps. Gen
eral Kane was walking up and down in rear of the 125th, and
several times was heard to remark to Colonel Higgins, and also
to Captains McKeage, Hewit, Wallace, Gardner and others, that
he would like to have a chance to investigate that column, and the
query has often been suggested since, Why was he not allowed to
do so ? About two o'clock the column had gone and our immediate
front became quiet again. Sickles' men came back from the old
furnace, where they had gone, and the army was resting, waiting
until Lee's men should come our way and hand in their arms.
SURPRISE AND PANIC OF THE IITH CORPS.
About five o'clock we heard the boom, boom, boom of a big
gun away to our right and rear, in the direction of the old tavern
we had passed so recently. Every 'man jumped to his feet
and cast his eyes in the direction from which that ominous sound
came. Again and again it sent forth its loud and yet louder
report, and we at once knew all was not right, and that a battle
had commenced in an unexpected quarter. It was a surprise to
us. Soon the boom of that big gun became more distinct, and
the officers were inquiring of one another what it meant. A noise
sounding like a storm was approaching us, and with the noise was
the firing of musketry. Soon rushing orderlies were seen, and
batteries moving in apparently all directions, yet none could

135
explain the turmoil and hubbub that was getting nearer us, and
the boom, boom of that big gun was now too close for comfort.
Soon we knew the battle was on and we were not the attacking
force. The noise made by the " yi ! yi! ! yi ! ! ! " of the Rebel yell
and the rapidly nearing approach of the noise told its own story,
and we knew the battle was going against our men. After a
while a straggler came, then one or two more, and soon a handful ;
finally a host, many without guns or any other marks of a soldier,
except uniforms, to distinguish them as such, all running for life,
panic-stricken, fleeing, with faces blanched and full of fear, and
all with the same story, " the battle is lost," " the battle is lost."
Soon the rush of the panic-stricken fugitives, filled with terror
and frenzy, was on us. We were at once ordered out of our
trenches and directed to stop them in their course. With fixed
bayonets we made the effort, but we might as well have tried to
stop the Rappahannock in its onward course ; they broke through
our ranks and swept over our works into the Confederate lines.
Do all we could, say what we pleased, they would not and did not
stop until they were either captured or reached the river; hun
dreds of them crossed our lines and rushed into captivity in the
Confederate army empty handed. We gave a sigh of relief when
they had gone, and now we were in the turmoil ourselves. Bul
lets flew thick and fast, and an occasional shot from a battery
gun went screaming over our heads ; whilst we were facing one
way and receiving the enemy's bullets at long range from that
direction, we were attacked by a skirmish line that had quietly
occupied our front in the other direction. This latter, however,
we soon repelled, and by the time this was done the artillery on
the high ground at Hazel Grove stopped the onslaught of Jack
son's men. There we stood our ground under fire from flank and
front, until it was silenced by the heaviest discharges of artillery
we ever heard or expect to hear. This kept up its awful roar and
noise until nearly midnight; then on our guns, in our rifle pits,
we fell asleep and awaited the soldier's waking in the morning,
and when it would dawn each felt and knew he was to be on the
firing line and was expected to do his duty.
It is hard to form or give an idea of the turmoil and excitement
of the Saturday night's battle at Chancellorsville. Officers, men
and artillery horses were all in one inextricable mass of panic
and confusion; arms, accoutrements, and in many cases coats,

136
were cast away, so as not to impede flight ; here and there a brave
officer and an occasional private would about-face, and vainly
endeavor to stop the onward rush and induce the fleeing men to
rally — all, however, to no purpose. Our own officers and men
tried to exert some influence as well as force in the same direction,
and Captain Bell, of Company " A," was especially active in trying
to rally the fugitives, and with drawn sword and vigorous lan
guage he tried in vain to halt them; they finally passed us and
disappeared from view. The memory of this crowd of panic-
stricken men seems yet like a dream, some hideous vision in
the night-time, and it is hard, even at this late day, after a lapse
of forty-two years, to realize that such abject fear and terror could
possess men of reason and sense.
General Pleasanton, with his artillery and by his skilful and
level-headed work, saved a more extended -panic and rout. We
could hear the noise and rush and see the movement of the artil
lery whilst being placed in position, and though every man of us
felt the tension, we fully realized the peril of our situation and
the responsibility resting upon us. Too much credit cannot be
given to officers and men for stemming that contagion of panic,
for it was hard work for us to keep from running away with the
rest. The bloody work of the artillery and musketry of Sickles'
men commenced about eight o'clock. We were probably from
three to five hundred yards from Hazel Grove, on the left of the
artillery line ; the battle line extended from that point to Fairview
in our rear, and further on, perhaps five hundred yards. The
Confederate advance was met with a volley of shell, canister and
musketry that we do not believe was ever exceeded before or
afterward in any battle. To properly describe this terrific night
battle .is beyond the power of pen ; the heavy fire of musketry was
accompanied with shouting and yelling of the most violent char
acter, and the loud cries of the wounded, mingled with oaths of
Confederate officers trying to steady their men, could occasionally
be heard' in the intervals of moments on our front and flank ; shell,
shot, and bullets from sixty pieces of artillery and from Sickles'
fifteen thousand men, were poured into the woods where the
Confederates were lying, and it seemed impossible that any living
thing could exist in front of that withering fire. The scream of
the shot and the noise of the bursting shell echoed and re-echoed
from that wood for about two and a half hours, and the whole

137
place, with its noise, smoke and fire, seemed more like a part of
the infernal regions than a place of human habitation. Language
cannot express nor give a proper description of the scene which
it was our painful duty to participate in and witness. Finally the
tumult hushed, and the bloody work of the day's fight was over.
The Army of the Potomac was saved from being crushed by
the almost superhuman efforts that were made. Jackson's men,
with their intrepid leader, had marched skilfully past both Sickles'
and Howard's corps, and finally came on the rear of Howard and
doubled up his men like* the rolling of a screen, and the great
- Eleventh Corps, with its fifteen thousand men, faded like a cloud
and was gone. Pleasanton, with his artillery, and that of the
Third and Twelfth Corps, alone stood between the Confederate
army and a complete victory. It was probably eleven o'clock
before the Rebel yell entirely ceased, and the three cheers of the
Union forces on the high ground at Hazel Grove could be heard
above the din, announcing the fact of success to our cause. Our
answer to that cheer was vigorously given, and rendered assur
ance that the Twelfth. Corps was in proper trim to bear its part
of the work that we knew must follow on the morrow. After the
final repulse of Jackson's men we tried to sleep, but once in the
night a fire of some Confederate skirmishers into Company " G "
caused it to temporarily move out of its works, but brave Captain
McKeage soon had the boys back in line again. Without any
further excitement we lay on our arms until awakened by the
boom of the same gun that had carried terror and destruction
before it on the previous day. Our artillery had occupied the high
ground at Hazel Grove the night before, and from that eminence
had done wonderful work in repulsing the victorious enemy, and
they commenced the work of the morning with caution. They
early engaged Sickles' men, and by the falling back of a part of
that corps the high ground at Hazel Grove was for a while in
danger of a rear or flank attack. Unfortunately its value as a
strategic point was not fully understood or appreciated, and our
artillery abandoned it and fell back to our immediate right rear,
some few hundred yards west, or rather south, of the Chancellor
House. This gave the enemy the advantage they desired. Hazel
Grove was the key to that part of the field, and by at once taking
possession of the abandoned eminence they obtained a range of
our rifle pits, and made our line of works untenable and of no

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protection whatever. Several men, including Lieutenant Jesse S.
Stewart, of Company " A," were killed, and a larger number
wounded. The 29th, 109th, and 111th Pennsylvania Volunteers,
that lay in our immediate rear, suffered more severely than we
did. We had, generally speaking, no breakfast in the excitement
of the morning save hardtack and bacon, yet some of us, in this
fire, enjoyed the luxury of a cup of coffee, and the way this coffee
was brought to us is worthy of note. There was, as already stated,
an open field a short distance in our rear, in which was located
the Chancellor House. After the seizure of Hazel Grove the
Confederate batteries and infantry had a complete range of the
field; but, notwithstanding this fact, three boys of our division
came across that open field and went back again through that fire
unscathed, carrying two kettles of coffee. These boys were
Thomas Lloyd, of Company " G " ; Caleb Tipton, of Company
" K," 125th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Owen Hicks, of Com
pany. " G," 7th Ohio, formerly a Blair and Huntingdon County
boy ; they belonged to the musicians of the division, and, unmind
ful of the danger, they carried through that storm of shot and
shell good cheer and comfort to the boys on the firing line. They
were joyously received, and the coffee went around as far as it
would go. After the kettles were emptied' the boys went back to
their positions to perform duty to wounded comrades, and they
were among the first to greet us when we marched into our new
lines later in the day. The"' fire from the Confederate batteries now
became severe, and, there seeming to be no orders from any one,
Colonel Higgins debated with several of the captains whether or
not he should withdraw, and was anxiously awaiting an order
from headquarters, when finally General Greene came down the
line, at the head of the third brigade and gave our colonel the
necessary order to withdraw, and by his direction the 125th evac
uated its works and moved in the rear of the third brigade to the
intersection of the Plank Road with the main road to Fredericks
burg. Here we were placed in line of battle at right angles to our
former line, in the open field in front of the Chancellor House, but
again we were moved in the direction of Hazel Grove, and again
reoccupied in part our old position and rifle pits ; in fact, that
seemed to be the object of our movement, but our old place was
too much of a target for the Confederate artillery, and we soon
moved back again nearer the Chancellor House. From that point

140
we could plainly see the enemy forming his infantry for another
forward movement. We were advanced to a less exposed position
nearer the enemy's line, protected, however, by a rise in the
ground. Whilst executing this movement the first brigade, com
manded by Colonel Candy (or Creighton), of the 7th Ohio,
passed through our regiment and divided it, and a part of the
regiment was afterward attached to this command. Soon there
after we were advanced a little further up the field and directed
to lie down and reserve our fire until we should receive orders.
The enemy commenced to move out of the woods cautiously and
soon came within easy range, when a well-directed volley from
us sent them back to the woods from which they had emerged.
There was a disposition on the part of our men to follow. them,
but again we were ordered to lie down, and soon the enemy
advanced a second time, giving their usual yell, but our fire was
too withering, for them, and, despite their officers, we saw them
break, turn their backs and seek the shelter of the woods. At this
time the Chancellor House was discovered to be on fire. It had
been used as a shelter for our sick and a hospital for our wounded,
and also in part as headquarters, but was abandoned for all pur
poses except as a hospital since quite early in the day. Whilst it
was burning, details were made to care for and look after our
wounded, and every possible effort put forth to save and rescue
them. During this time the Confederates were rapidly massing
again on our front and flank, and were making ready for another
charge. Solid shot and screaming shell were flying about and
above us, and the pandemonium of the night before seemed to
have broken loose again. Our brave officers, however, kept us
in good hope, and we were as fully determined to repel our enemy
as he was to drive us from the field. We could see by this time our
old rifle pits in their possession, and our knapsacks and blankets,-
including all our movables and keepsakes from home, were prey
to them; but now on both our left and front we were liable to
suffer from a cross fire, and to severe loss in pur ranks, that
were already reduced to a minimum. One noble boy, Sergeant
Avery, we think it was, of the 7th Ohio, was wounded severely
in the body, but stoutly refused assistance off the field, saying he
could get along by himself. We have never seen the Sergeant
since, but heard of him. He recovered and was as noble and gen
erous in after years as he was brave on the morning of that severe

141
battle. The third attack finally came, supported by artillery, and
again it was our pleasure to see the men in gray turn their backs
to us, and, under a well-directed fire, seek shelter of the woods at
the edge of that field. By this time the Chancellor House was
almost in ruins and the smoking woods warned us of their being
on fire. Our officers now saw preparation for another attack in
progress of formation, both in our front and on our left, but our
artillery had gone to the. rear and there were apparently no troops
on the field, at least none in sight except our own second division
(Geary's) of the Twelfth Corps, when some staff officer at this
time ordered us to retire, and, marching by the right flank, at a
shoulder arms, we abandoned the field, and with a last look at the
smoking ruins of the Chancellor House and the bloody field beyond
we passed into the woods, out of range of the fire of the muskets
of our enemy, and away from the active scene of the fearful strife
that for three days we had been active participants in. On our
march to the rear every possible aid was extended to the wounded
comrades we discovered along the way, and details searched the
burning woods so that none would be left there to perish. The
color-bearer of the 66th Ohio temporarily detached his flag from
its staff so he could get through the woods easier, for part of our
way was through a thick underbrush that skirted a small stream
that we followed a long distance. This incident, barring the
escapes we made from the bursting shells of the enemy's artillery
that were thrown after us, were the only exciting features of our
hasty yet orderly withdrawal. Finally we reached the new forma
tion, and were halted in rear of a new line of battle, about a mile
north of Chancellorsville, in the direction of the river. Here we
were again subjected to a short but severe shelling from our
exultant foe, who, deeming prudence the better part of valor,
seemed to be content that we should for the balance of the day
have peace. Later in the day, however, we heard the rebel " yi !
yi ! ! yi ! ! ! " in the distance as they moved off to attack Sedgwick's
men. It is not much of a great battle that a private soldier sees ; in
fact, he is a small atom of a great force such as was in action in a
battle like Chancellorsville. It may be presumption perhaps for
•him to even criticise, yet many thinking soldiers of the Twelfth
Corps believe General Kane was right when he wanted to take
the high ground on Friday afternoon, of which we have spoken

142
and an investigation made of the passing column on Saturday
morning. It is said that the army was without a commander for quite
a while on Sunday morning, and that this largely accounted for
our misfortune and disaster. Why we were surprised in broad
daylight by a flank movement that nearly every private soldier
of the Twelfth and Third Corps and part of the Eleventh saw
actively moving before our eyes, without hindrance, is one of the
unexplained mysteries of the fearful disaster.
Whilst we lay in the woods hiding we could hear the report
of the firing on Sedgwick's men by the enemy, at Salem Church,
about five or six miles away, and as the sound grew further away
we knew that this battle was also going against our men. By
evening the sounds became quite distant, and we learned later
that Sedgwick had fallen back to Fredericksburg, and that the
heights captured by him at that place, which we had learned
on Saturday were ours, were likely to be retaken by our now
apparently invincible foe. A heavy rain set in during the night
and made our quarters very uncomfortable.
During the night of May 6th we recrossed the turbulent Rap
pahannock, over a rickety pontoon bridge, with a route step, with a
crestfallen feeling of disappointment, misery and disgust. The
Rappahannock had risen to over twice its usual size by the heavy
rains. Our place of crossing was the United States Ford, several
miles below the ford we had crossed a few days before on our
march to the battle. We were certainly a different lot of men;
then we were buoyant, full of hope and cheer ; now we were
disappointed and filled with wretchedness and misery, and hunger,
for we had scarcely anything to eat and were both wet and
muddy. After reaching the high ground on the north bank of the
river we were halted near a run called Potomac Creek, where we
lay for the balance of the night. Early next morning we moved
in the direction of Stafford Court House, which place we reached
about noon, and were there treated to a liberal supply of good
rations, and also to a liberal ration of whiskey, which was in this
instance a real help and relief to many of the comrades, who were
suffering from the effect of the severe exposure and the torrents
of rain we had encountered. Whilst at Stafford Court House we '
were complimented by our corps commander, General Slocum,
for the endurance we exhibited under the very difficult and trying

143
circumstances we had encountered. General Geary, our division
commander, also addressed us in a similar vein. In the evening
we reached our old camp, near Acquia Creek Landing, and there
remained until we were sent to Harrisburg through Washington
for our final muster out.
Our losses at Chancellorsville, considering the exposed posi
tion we held, the lively skirmish of Friday and the battle of Sun
day, were not heavy ; these were, five killed, twelve wounded and
ten captured. There were several slightly wounded, of whom no
note was made. The killed, wounded and captured were distrib
uted by companies as follows :
COMPANY "A"
Lieut. Jesse S. Stewart, killed ; Corporal George C. Davidson,
wounded ; Private Charles Clodius, killed ; Private John M. Ester-
line, captured. COMPANY "B"
Sergeant James Houck, wounded. Private Jacob F. Aurandt,
killed. Privates William B. Blake, William Brunell, Joseph C.
Garner, John D. Love, John Richards and George Winters,
wounded. Private George H. Rhodes, captured.
COMPANY "C"
Private Jeremiah C. Breneman, wounded.
COMPANY "D"
Private David W. Oswalt, killed. Private Andrew Stewart,
wounded and captured.
COMPANY "E"
Sergeant William Nofker, captured. Corporal Samuel Stroup,
wounded. Privates John Benton and Levi Leedom, captured.
COMPANY "F"
Privates William H. Haugh, John D. Lewis and Richard
Owens, captured. COMPANY "G"
Private Theodore Barr, captured.
COMPANY "I"
Private John W. Scott, killed.

144
COMPANY "K"
Corporal John A. Mclntyre, captured. Private Wilson L.
Akers, wounded.
This ended, so far as our regiment was concerned, the great
battle of Chancellorsville, and soon thereafter our term of service.
We had hoped to be a part of an invincible army that was to win
a glorious victory for our cause ; in this we were, like the country,
sadly disappointed. Critics all agree that Hooker's movement at
Chancellorsville was most brilliant in its conception and in the
preliminary contests leading up thereto, but the battle itself was a
failure. The surprise given by Jackson's flank attack on the
Eleventh Corps has been criticized by all leading writers in their
history of that battle, and failure to prevent it pronounced a
blunder on the part of some one. It is claimed that General Von
Gilsa, whose brigade was on the extreme right of the army, had
given timely notice of the mysterious movement on his front, but
no attention was paid the same, and the right flank of the army was
not strengthened, and when the attack came the Federal line was
too weak to resist the strong force hurled against it. To this
surprise, and the abandonment of Hazel Grove on Sunday morn
ing and the subsequent repulse of Sedgwick, the defeat at Chan-.
cellorsville can be attributed.
Dedicated to the vast army of UNKNOWN DEAD who sleep
in Fredericksburg Cemetery, who gave their lives at Fredericks
burg, Chancellorsville, Spottsylvania and the Wilderness and
rest in unknown graves, th© following poem was read at Reunion
of the 125th Pennsylvania Volunteers, at Altoona, Pa., by Mrs.
M. E. Bewley.
THE UNKNOWN DEAD.
How vast the multitude of dead
That 'neath thy sod doth lie,
Near Fredericksburg, in earthy bed
Deaf to earth's battle cry.
So still, so peacefully they sleep,
Their swords and guns laid down,
Unconsciously they wear the wreath
That victory's brow doth crown.

145
Grave unto grave doth nestle close
Their inmates side by side,
As if in death with solid front,
To face the foe they 'd ride.
No costly monument uprears ¦
Its lofty shaft of stone ;
A simple slab of marble white,
And simply marked " Unknown,''
Marks the last resting place of those
Who died afar from home,
No loving friend to close their eyes
Or listen to their moan.
Unknown but not unhonored they,
Their country's bravest, best —
Who most ungrudgingly did give
Their lives at war's behest.
With flowers rare and beautiful,
Let every grave be strewn
Eor unto God whose cause they served,
Not one shall be " Unknown."
Not one forgotten in that day
When He shall claim his own,
When wakened by the trumpet's call
They'll come before His throne.
Unknown, amid the Nation's dead
Unknown, by friend and foe
Unknown — on earth — but not above
For God, each soul doth know.
Then loyal tribute let us pay
To every soldier brave,
And scatter flowers lavishly
O'er known and unknown grave.

10

THE SOLDIER'S REVERIE.

Composed, and dedicated to the Comrades of the 125th Volunteer
Infantry of Pennsylvania iri commemoration of their services to their
country during the War of the Rebellion, by J. D. Hicks.
Boys, I'm thinking of the camp fire
On Potomac's grassy banks,
When in days of rain and sunshine
We were drilled with well-filled ranks.
Since that time how many changes
Have come o'er life's troubled way,
And we view the past with sadness,
With the memories of that day.
Yet the flag, our glorious banner,
Waves as then undimmed and bright,
With its stars and stripes untarnished
As the world's fair beacon light.
When the order came, " Fall in boys,''
For the march — we knew not where —
And the bugle sounded forward
Proudly then with martial air,
As we marched, and marched with gladness,
Our young hearts were filled with cheer,
Little thought we of the sadness
That would soon our pleasures mar.
Soon the marching led to battle,
From our ranks there soon were borne,
By the shots and shells of traitors,
Comrades killed and sorely torn.
Boys who bled, but never faltered
In their march to duty's call,
Men who knew that in the conflict,
Many brave were bound to fall.
We remember well the order
For our final muster out,
When for victory, home and country,
The air was rent with cheer and shout.
146

147
Yet the thought of our dear comrades,
Who with us had marched away,
Whom we left behind in sorrow,
Bowed our heads in tears that day.
When we reached our homes and fireside,
Victory ours, the Union won
From the, schemes and hands of traitors,
Our good work complete and done.
Again we sadly thought of comrades,
Who with us had marched away,
Who looked fqrward to the welcome
We received at home that day.
Oh, our country, blessed country,
Precious blood it cost to save,
And of treasures many millions,
Yet 'tis worth all that we gave.
'Tis a land of glorious freedom,
Land that we have helped to save,
Land of homes and land of comfort,
Homes of free and homes of brave.
And our flag, that dear old banner,
Waves aloft undimmed and bright,
With its stars and stripes untarnished,
'Tis our own fair beacon light.

\*Sct/

"ON THE MARCH AND IN FIRE OF
BATTLE"
By DR. THEODORE L. FLOOD,
SECOND LIEUTENANT, CO. C, 125th REGIMENT, P. V.
Theodore L, Flood, Second Lieutenant Company C, was born at
Williamsburg, Pa., in 1842. He enlisted as a private in Company C
August 7th, 1862, and was successively promoted to orderly Sergeant and
Second Lieutenant. He was an efficient officer and served faithfully
with his regiment in all its marches and battles during its whole term of
service; when mustered out in May 1863 he entered the ministry of the
Methodist Episcopal church; in later y^ears he became the editor and
publisher of the " Chatauquan," at Meadville, Pa., a journal which, under
his vigorous administration, wielded a widely extended influence in
religious channels. As a public spirited citizen and a ready public
speaker his name was presented by his fellow citizens of that district
as a prominent candidate for Congress in a recent contest for that position.
W. W. W.
149

"ON THE MARCH AND IN FIRE OF
BATTLE"* ¥
By THEODORE L. FLOOD.
When President Abraham Lincoln was organizing an army
to defeat the Southern Confederacy he found no people more loyal
to the old flag than in Pennsylvania, whose sons had been educated
during all the life of the Republic to follow peaceful pursuits and
to dwell in unity in their happy homes. At Huntingdon, the
county-seat of Huntingdon County, a community of 4,000 souls
nestled in a valley between the hills, located on the line of the
Pennsylvania Central Railroad and the headquarters of the Hunt
ingdon and Broad Top Railroad Company, there was a prosperous
community, and the blue Juniata River flowing by made it a
delightful old town, as it is to this day. It was the home of John
Scott, afterwards United States Senator; R. Milton Speer, after
wards a member of Congress, and R. Bruce Petriken, afterwards
a State Senator, and of Hon. George D. Taylor, present Judge of
the judicial district. These dignitaries, with a number of men of
large wealth for the times, gave to the community a good deal of
distinction in the commonwealth and inspired her citizens with a
feeling of genuine pride in the town and its history.
The call of the President in 1862 for volunteers to increase
the army of the Union stirred and stimulated the hearts of the
patriotic sons of Huntingdon and Blair Counties to such action
that the 125th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was recruited
from this territory. This chapter in the history of this regiment
is laid among these young men as they organized and marched
away to join the Union forces, in August, 1862. One of the
most effective and heroic soldiers of this regiment was Captain
William W. Wallace, then associated with his uncle, R. B. Wigton,

*This article is made up from records in a diary kept by Theodore
L. Flood when he was a Lieutenant in Co. C, 125th Regiment, and now
used for the first time.
150

151
in coal mining operations in the Broad Top territory, with their
offices located in Huntingdon. Captain Wallace invited the writer
into his office, where he talked about the war and the duty of
young men to stand up for the Government by responding to the
call of the President, and as the only direct way to do this was by
enlisting in the army, Captain Wallace suggested that we open
books and recruit as many men as possible in one or more com
panies, and in his characteristic way also suggested that we ought
to do it in the name of God and religion. So he proposed that
we organize the Huntiragdon County Bible Company, every man
to take his Bible with his musket, and that when we enter the
service we have company prayers in the morning after roll-call, and
that the company ought to have a motto, which was selected then
and there — " In God We Trust." This motto was afterwards
placed on the coin of the United States at the Mint in Philadel
phia, and remains there to this day. It was further agreed that
we should hang the American flag on the outer wall over the door
of the office, and publish in the newspapers and by distributing
circulars all over the county set forth our purposes and aims.
When these preliminaries were arranged, Captain Wallace then
said to me, in the most matter-of-fact way, " I will close the door,
turn the key, and you and I will go into the back part of the office
and kneel down together and pray to God for the success of this
organization before a name is signed to the roll." Accordingly we
then and there, with the door locked, knelt and prayed that God
might direct the minds of the young, loyal, strong men to enlist
at this time and place as soldiers in the United States army. The
Captain was a Presbyterian, but was not accustomed to pray
audibly, and I was asked to lead in audible prayer, which I did.
When our devotions were ended the door was opened and the
books were placed on the desk. Our names headed the list, and
we invited young men who would join to subscribe their names to
the roll. In a few days there were nearly two hundred names
attached to that call. This was the gathering of men which made
Company " C," and parts of other companies in the 125th Regi
ment. We reported to Governor Curtin that we were ready to
march, and were accepted.
When we reached Harrisburg we were all privates. Company
" C " was the first organized. William W. Wallace was elected
captain; William B. Zeigler, former sheriff of Huntingdon

152
County, was made first lieutenant, and William F. McPherran was
made second lieutenant. I was made first sergeant. John J.
Lawrence, then superintendent of the Huntingdon and Broad Top
Railroad Company, was elected captain of Company " F," and a
few days later, when the regiment selected officers, he was made
major. The colonel, Jacob Higgins, came from Blair County,
and the lieutenant-colonel, Jacob S. Szink, from Altoona, Blair
County. The adjutant, Robert M. Johnston, was from Williams
burg, Blair County. Ours was made Company " C " and honored
by being made color company, and George A. Simpson, of Hunt
ingdon, was made color-bearer.
In less than three weeks from the time this regiment was
recruited, it commenced active work and encountered exciting
experiences, a part of which I will give to the reader in this
article. We were transported to Harrisburg, and from Harris
burg to Washington, on freight cars. The battle of Bull Run was
fought, and we helped for several days to throw up breastworks
at Arlington Heights for* the protection of Washington, and then
marched to South Mountain, reaching there on Sunday evening,
just as the battle of South Mountain was finished. We heard the
roar of cannon and musketry most of the day, while marching
toward the scene of conflict. We then took up the line of march
on Monday, and, under the leadership of General McClellan, who
commanded the army, and General Mansfield, as our corps com
mander, we marched, to the battlefield of Antietam, where we
went into that awful conflict early on the morning of Wednesday,
the seventeenth day of September. While waiting in line of battle
for orders to advance and fire, Adjutant Johnston, of our regi
ment, was mortally wounded and died in a few hours. The battle
was on in full force. Confederate pickets were shooting down
our officers, shells were flying over our heads, horses and men
lay dead on the field. We were ordered forward in line of battle,
and Captain Wallace stepped out in front of the company, waving
his sword, and called out, " Boys, remember our battle-cry, ' In
God We Trust.' " This was taken up as a battle-cry by adjoining
companies along the line, until we reached the edge of a woods,
where we were halted and ordered to fire. The enemy met us with
a heavy charge. We could see them coming in line of battle as we
loaded and fired. General Mansfield fell mortally wounded just
in the right front of our regiment while reconnoitring. The blood

153
from his wound reddened his long white beard. As we stood
firing into the ranks of the enemy the second man to me, George
A. Simpson, while bravely holding the flag aloft, was hit with a
bullet from a Confederate gun, which pierced his brain, and he
fell dead., A second man picked up the flag, and he was shot
down. A third, and he fell ; the fourth took it up, and he was
shot and fell. Then Sergeant W. W. Greenland picked up the
flag, stained with the blood of Simpson, and Captain Wallace,
taking it in charge, carried it across the field to tlie rear of the
nearest battery, and there he, aided by Captains Bell and
McKeage and Lieutenant Thomas McCamant, rallied about two
hundred of the regiment, who remained in support, while our
batteries operated with deadly execution upon the enemy, during
the rest of the conflict.
The conflict was raging all along the line of the army ; the Con
federates were pressing us hard; our line was broken, and a
new line of battle was formed in the rear. Two hundred and
twenty-nine men of our regiment were killed and wounded in about
twenty minutes ; of these 84 were slightly wounded, but not dis
abled, and therefore were not reported. It was a dreadful struggle
and we were thrust into the very furnace of battle. But, as
another comrade has described the battle of Antietam in -graphic
style in this book, it will be my purpose to indulge in reminiscences
of the regiment in this article, rather than in accurate historical
detail. When evening came this great battle was at an end, and
the serious duty then fell upon the surviving soldiers to gather
up the bodies of the dead and give them a respectable and Chris
tian burial, and to look with tender care after the wounded and
dying, and minister to their wants, and it was not until then that
we ascertained the full extent of the terrible loss that our regi
ment had suffered in killed and wounded, especially in the death
of George A. Simpson, the wounding of his brother and disabling
of others. Our losses were increased when, soon after this battle,
Lieutenant McPherran, of Company " C," beloved by all his men,
was stricken with disease and died. These calamities cast a gloom
over the company that continued to the end of our enlistment.
Very promptly Governor Curtin sent a commission as lieutenant
to the writer to succeed Lieutenant McPherran, and I was mus
tered by General Crawford to fill this important place. Company
" C " carried the flag of the regiment successfully on all our

154
marches and through two battles (Antietam and Chancellorsville),
and it was the pride of all our men that we brought our colors
back to. Harrisburg, where we marched under its folds on the
day we were honorably discharged from the service.
General Lee very promptly led his army toward Richmond.
To our surprise, it was found the second morning, after the
eventful seventeenth of September, that he had vacated the field.
General McClellan did not. follow him closely, for our regiment
remained at Antietam battlefield until Friday morning, Septem
ber 19th, engaged in looking after the wounded and burying the
dead. Our first real regimental camp was, soon after this, located
near Harper's Ferry, but a short distance from where John Brown
made his famous raid and subsequently met his tragic death. We
did picket duty on Loudon Heights and in the valleys below. No
fires were allowed to burn on those heights in that month of Sep
tember ; the enemy were too near, and the fires would reveal that
which we did not want them to know about 11s or our location.
This proved to be a temporary camp, monotonous and quiet.
A soldier's life runs from great excitement in battle to the extreme
quiet of tent life in camp. We were on guard and picket duty,
issuing rations and attending roll-call, passing inspection of arms,
clothing and quarters, drilling in squads, companies, regiments
and brigades ; doing duty at target practice, looking after the sick
and occasionally burying the dead, for at the foot of Loudon
Heights we laid to rest two men of Company " C " who died in
bed as peacefully as if in the homes of their loved ones.
We were in camp near Stafford Court House and Acquia Creek
Landing during the latter part of the winter and in the spring.
Our soldier life now commenced to be filled with new excitement.
General McClellan had previously been retired and General Burn
side made Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the Potomac. We
were not called upon to take part in the conflict at Fredericksburg,
but were held as a reserve that was never ordered into action on
that bloody field. The soldierly desire to exchange the dreary
life in camp for the active duties of the march and battle was
manifest in our regiment. Nearly all the soldiers were young
men, the -Wood flowed quickly in their veins, and at first it was a
positive disappointment to many that we could not march with
guns and ammunition into the battle. We could hear the cannon
ading in the distance on that fateful day. We expected to go, but

155
when we learned that the conflict was at an end and our army
was repulsed, we settled back into quarters to wait patiently for
the next move.
After this great battle it was General Burnside's turn to retire
from the command. General Hooker was advanced to his place.
Up to this date it seemed that every battle was fought by a new
commander. Pope at Bull Run; McClellan at Antietam; Burn
side at Fredericksburg, and now Hooker. The rank and file had
high hopes that Fighting Joe Hooker would be a great success
as commander of this army, because he had won fame among
the men as a great general.
About this time Al. Snyder, a fine telegraph operator, a mem
ber of Company " C " and of the writer's mess, was detailed to
report to Hooker's headquarters for special duty. Snyder could
read a telegram by the sound of the instrument. It was a rare
accomplishment in those days, because he would not leave any
telltale messages on paper for the enemy in case of a raid. The
army officer in charge of the United States military telegraph
service discovered his value and took him to Falmouth to be one
of General Hooker's confidential telegraph operators. On the
twenty-eighth day of March, 1863, I visited Snyder, when we
each on horseback rode to the Rappahannock, and from the north
side viewed Fredericksburg, the scene of the recent struggle.
After our explorations we returned to sleep in a caboose, where
the telegraph instrument clicked at intervals all the night long.
I learned here that it would not be two moons until we would be
in a great battle again. The Army of the Potomac was very
promptly reorganized and fully equipped for the struggle. The
strongest hopes of civilians and soldiers from the President down
were centered in Hooker and his army. The disappointment at
Fredericksburg called for great courage and better plans for the
coming campaign, and everybody believed that they would be
forthcoming. My curiosity was excited when I learned how little a man who
was as close to Hooker as Snyder was knew about the interior
workings of the great general's office, and how little he could tell,
though we were confidential friends, of the plans of the campaign.
On my return to camp I could give the boys general informa
tion, but very little that enlightened or satisfied them.
The next morning after that visit was April the fourth, and it

156
was well remembered for years afterward, because there was a
heavy fall of snow in our part of old Virginia, which made the
country look like a veritable winter, but on the following day,
under the rays of the sun, it soon melted and left the roads almost
impassable. One of the happy days of the 125th Regiment was April 10,
1863. It was seven o'clock in the morning, when we were in
line marching toward Stafford Court House, to be reviewed by
President Lincoln. The music of the drum corps, the cornet
bands, the aides-de-camp hurrying to and fro, and the long column
of soldiers, soon led us to see that our brigade and division, indeed
the whole of the Twelfth Army Corps, was moving to the open
field. When we reached the place assigned to us, we were ordered
at parade rest, and waited some three hours, when the President,
with General Hooker, appeared, and Mrs. Lincoln following
closely in a carriage. On their arrival, a salute of twenty-one
rounds was fired from a battery on the hill. The officers of the
line appeared in their best uniforms, with glittering shoulder-
straps and well burnished swords.
Following in the President's train was our corps commander,
General Slocum; General Geary, our division commander, and
General Kane, who commanded our brigade. There were also
General Williams and Generals Green and Knipe, and enough of
other generals, colonels and officers to make a company. It was
the first time the President had visited this part of the army.
The soldiers gave him a generous reception. They cheered wildly,
until all along the Confederate line in front of us curiosity was
awakened as to what had taken possession of the Twelfth Army
Corps. The President's personal appearance distinguished him among
the multitude of officers by whom he was surrounded. Not a
sign of being a soldier did he wear. He was of tall, slender form,
a little bent forward at the shoulders, dressed in plain black,
wearing a frock coat and a high silk hat, seated on a small bay
horse, with his long legs hanging down until his feet nearly
touched the ground. He was the most conspicuous person among
the marshalled thousands on Stafford field that day. Every eye
followed him in all his movements. The President, with General
Hooker, rode up and then down in front of the lines of their
proud soldiers, who stood at present arms. They then located

157
themselves on an elevated piece of ground, and the Army Corps,
with General Slocum seated on his horse at the head of the col
umn, marched in review, by division, in close order. It was a
magnificent array of pioneers, infantry, cavalry, artillery and
ambulance corps, with officers on horseback and on foot. All with
good cheer, firm step and heads erect, marched past Abraham
Lincoln, the man they idolized, and the President whose call had
brought every soldier into his place in line. He was an inspira
tion to the army, and his visit was worth an additional division
to that corps. *
The return to camp ended a long and tiresome day, but every
man had new nerve for the march to come, because he had seen
President Lincoln.
On the following day began a series of alarms, but this was
undoubtedly caused by the enthusiasm of the army and the appear
ance of the President. The following day cannonading and mus
ketry were heard in the direction of Stafford. Our regiment was
ordered into line ready for the march, 'and after waiting for more
than two hours we were ordered to quarters and the cry began,
" false alarm."
But these alarms grew more frequent as the days passed by.
The officers commenced to send their best uniforms and dress
swords home by express; requests for furloughs were not being
granted as heretofore. The soldiers going on picket duty were
given stricter orders ; the lines were being drawn tighter, and
army discipline grew more exacting. On April the fourteenth,
very early in the morning, the regiment was aroused, beds were
vacated and all the men were quickly in line. It meant that the
officers were called to assemble at Colonel Higgins' headquarters.
As they were gathered about the front of his tent the adjutant read
an order from headquarters that every soldier should have five
days' rations in his knapsack and three days' rations in haver
sacks — in all, rations for eight days.. Each man was to have
sixty rounds of cartridge in his cartridge box and enough in the
wagons to make one hundred and fifty rounds to each man. We
were also to be ready to move at a moment's notice. In other
words, rest on our arms. Every man who had applied for a
furlough now quickly sent word withdrawing the application,
for no man with the spirit of a soldier desired to have his applica
tion in for a furlough when the order to march to the field of

158
battle had been issued and the very atmosphere of every company
was that of war.
Our A tents were struck and turned in to the quartermaster.
The smaller shelter tents that each soldier could carry were issued.
Heavy rains commenced to fall that night, and for two days and
nights the downpour of rain made the roads muddy and prevented
the moving of heavy trains and artillery. It looked as if we were
destined to remain in camp for some days, until the roads were
passable. From the day I returned from my visit to Snyder in his tele
graph caboose we expected the army would move. In what direc
tion and for what destination nobody could tell, except in a general
way we expected to go to battle. " On to Richmond " was a
conspicuous and popular headline for newspapers, and it was a
common topic in the conversation of restless politicians all over
the North. It was often used in derision by men who opposed
the war, because the)* thought the Army of the Potomac would
never make a successful advance against General Lee. However,
the time had come for another march and another battle.
The common soldier knew that there was but one thing to
do — obey orders, to do it cheerfully and with courage. At four
o'clock on the morning of April the twenty-seventh the reveille
called us from sleep to arms. At seven o'clock the Twelfth Army
Corps, with full ranks, was in line on the road and marching to
what proved to be the battle of Chancellorsville. We did not know
where the battle would be fought nor when it would be fought,
nor whether we would be in the fight or left as a reserve that
would not be called into action at all.
We marched about ten miles the first day. The roads were
not in good condition, but sunshine and a favorable breeze
improved them every hour. When night came, the soldiers were
footsore and weary, so that a rubber blanket for a mattress spread
on the ground was a welcome bed. The march was resumed
vigorously the following morning, and ended when the day was
gone within a mile of Kelly's Ford. General Hooker and his staff
passed our regiment while we were at dinner, at noon, which
indicated that the whole army was on the march, and caused all
sorts of rumors to pass along the line.
We did not know where the army would make a stand or
which army, Northern or Southern, would make the attack. At

159
daylight on the twenty-ninth we could see what seemed to be a
never-ending line of soldiers. We were marching in a great
column, as we were the day before. The Eleventh Army Corps
crossed the Rappahannock in the middle of the night, on pontoons
which were placed during the previous evening. They were
to form the right wing of the army in the battle, so they went
over the river first.
The Union cavalry captured a band of Confederate soldiers
that morning a short distance from our regiment, and about a
mile from the river. Among them was a lieutenant. And in the
afternoon of the same day our cavalry swept down on sixty Con
federates who were building a bridge at the Rapidan, and made
prisoners of all.
After a march of about seven miles we reached the place
on the Rapidan where our regiment, with most of the Twelfth
¦Corps, marched across, at nine o'clock in the evening. It was a
dark night and a dangerous crossing, but with a dark sky for
a background, six bonfires burned brightly to light us on our way,
making a weird and beautiful moving picture.
We camped in the night on the south side of the Rapidan,
while the rain fell in torrents,-soaking clothing, blankets and food,
but sleep was sweet to tired men, even in the enemy's country,
and when we awakened early in the morning it seemed that the
night had been too short. The thirtieth day of April had come,
and we were again on the tramp, and kept moving until we made
a junction with the Fifth Army Corps in front of the brick tavern,
where we were ordered to camp. We learned later that it was the
field of Chancellorsville, where great and daring deeds were now
to take place. The cavalry of the Fifth Corps dashed up in rear
of a company of Confederates while they were digging a rifle
pit and captured the whole band, but not until they had killed one
of our men and four horses, while they were making the charge.
After we were adjusted in camp, I visited the prisoners and
learned that there were one hundred of them, including eight
officers. Here the 125th Regiment, for about a mile in front and
to the right, was to do its part in the battle of Chancellorsville.
This was to be our place in the long line of battle, and it demon
strated how pleasant memories and stern war come together. It
was Friday morning and May Day. Our regiment was located
in front of the brick tavern, to the right of the Plank Road.

160
Word was passed along the line that General Hooker had arrived
during the night, and located his headquarters in the tavern.
It was eleven o'clock in the forenoon when the advance of the
Fifth Corps and ours, the Twelfth, marched out about a mile in
front of the brick tavern. General Sykes' division had been firing
on the enemy and drew their fire. The 125th Regiment was in
advance of our corps. We unslung knapsacks, formed in line of
battle and advanced across the field and through a swamp over
grown with underbrush and tall trees. At this time the Confed
erates and General Sykes' men were exchanging fire rapidly.
Skirmish lines were driven in, the cannon roared, musketry fire
was brisk in both armies, shells flew over our heads, and finally
the Twelfth United States Regulars charged on a Confederate
battery and were repulsed. Our regiment was supported by the
rest of the brigade, and we made a junction with the right wing,
which proved to be General Greene's line of battle.
After we had marched within one-fourth of a mile of a Con
federate battery, a retreat was ordered and executed to the place
where we had unslung knapsacks. Here we laid down flat on
the ground under orders to await developments. In a few min
utes a retreat on double-quick was ordered to the camp we occu
pied the previous night, in front of the brick tavern. The Con
federate skirmishers followed us closely, and their artillery contin
ued firing until we made a stand. We quickly re-formed our line
of battle and laid down, the Confederate fire passing over us.
Immediately the Confederate cavalry made a charge down
the Plank Road, while their infantry came out of the woods in
front of us, at the same time making a charge on one of our
batteries at the crossroads. They were driven back with grape
and canister, and the 28th Pennsylvania charged on their rear.
The Confederates engaged our artillery on our right and- our
infantry in supporting them made a charge and were repulsed.
The battle of Chancellorsville was on, and as we held our position
on the right of the Plank Road, General Geary rode up, waving
his sword, and said, "For God's sake, get your men off that
Plank Road. The Rebels are planting a battery up there and will
sweep them away."
On the night of May first, 1863, the sky was clear and the
moon was shining brightly. All nature told us that spring had
come. But we were at war. The Eleventh Corps was on the right

161
wing of the army, and General Howard was in command. The
gauge of battle was set, and we were now placed in the long line
of soldiers where we were to do our part in the struggle. We
heard General Hooker's order read to the army, urging every man
to do his duty by fighting bravely for his country and the flag.
The soldiers all along our line commenced throwing up breast
works, by heaping poles and logs and stumps of trees.. Then
we dug up the earth with our bayonets and shoveled it upon the
logs with our hands and the tin plates upon which we had eaten
our plain meals. Late in.the night shovels were distributed and
used with a will, until we had built very satisfactory breastworks,
which on the following days and nights proved a great protection
from the fire, of the enemy. When this work was done we laid
down for a sleep, but we slept very little that night. The pioneers
were in our front, and with steady blows from* their axes felled
the trees for about sixty yards in front of our breastworks,
crossed them and made a tangled mass, over which no body of
troops could come with any degree of speed.
Early on Saturday morning our ears were greeted with the
noise of cannon on the left, on the Plank Road. The Confederates
had marched down by the flank to the edge of the woods, when
our boys opened fire on them with grape and canister and drove
them back. We heard the moans of one man out in front and
a little to the left of our regiment nearly all the forenoon. It was
a Confederate soldier who had both legs shot off. His pitiful cries
attracted attention from our men until noon, when he was carried
to the rear of our lines and cared for.
All the forenoon our skirmishers were engaged in sharp firing
with the skirmish lines of the enemy. About three o'clock in the
afternoon our brigade was ordered out on double-quick, up the
Plank Road, and our regiment was deployed in line of battle and
advanced through the woods. A regiment of our troops in front
of us opened fire with musketry on the Confederates. The under
brush was so thick and the woods so dense we did not know that
they were our men and we fired a volley into their ranks. Our
fire was suppressed by a captain in front of us coming back,
waving his sword and yelling at the top of his voice to cease
firing. Jerry Brenneman, of Company " C," Was wounded in
the forehead by a Confederate bullet immediately in front of me.
He turned round dazed, dropped his musket and reeled down
ll

162
behind a tree, the blood flowing down over his right eye, but the
wound proved to be a scalp wound. We had not advanced far
until a retreat was ordered, and we fell back to our intrench
ments. Immediately a firing of musketry began on our right, in
General Williams' division of our corps. It extended clear out to
General Howard's corps, and continued with great fury on both
sides until nine o'clock at night. General Greene's brigade of
our division was marched on double-quick to support General
Williams. The whole line on our right was engaged in fierce
battle. The thunder and roar of cannon shook the earth, while
deafening sounds of battle filled the air. The contest was
renewed with great fury on the right wing of our army. Stone
wall Jackson's men were hammering Howard's corps, and they
kept it up until Howard's lines were turned and driven back.
Many men ran wildly down and up against our lines. The firing
in our front continued with fury, while we answered back with
sheets of leaden hail.
The turning of the right wing placed us between two fires.
We were engaged with musketry firing in our front, with the
Confederate grape and canister coming in from our rear. We
soon discovered that the Eleventh Army Corps had broken.
Howard's men ran down past us, some throwing away their guns
and accoutrements that they might go more swiftly. By eleven
o'clock the storm of battle seemed to have spent itself, but very
soon the engagement was renewed, and at midnight word was
passed that our right wing had regained their lost ground.
We rested on our arms behind our breastworks until Sunday
morning, the third day of May, dawned. But it was hardly
daylight when the noise of musketry firing and the roar of cannon
began again. The furies of war were flying in the air. We
seemed to be located right at the bend in our great line of battle.
About eight o'clock the Confederates pressed the right wing of our
army back again, which brought us between two fires. Indeed, it
seemed like three fires, one from the front, one from the rear and
one from the right wing. It was like a hurricane sweeping the
face of the earth. The musketry firing and the roar of cannon
were terrific in the extreme. It was not equalled by any noise
that we ever heard from the thunders of the skies. It was the
surging and plunging of two great armies in deadly battle. Every
inch of ground was strongly contested, but the right wing and

163
centre of our lines seemed to be back to back. Musket balls,
grape and canister and shells flew around us like hail, but our
intrenchments were a great protection.
At last there was a lull in the firing, the noise was ceasing, and
the awful battle was over. We found that Lieutenant Jesse H.
Stewart, of Company " A," was killed by a shell, which struck
him in the head while lying behind the breastworks. It seemed
that he had a premonition of his death, for two days before the
battle, he handed his will to our chaplain, who was -his brother,
and said, " John, see thaj; my will is executed. Take good care of
my children, for I shall never come out of this battle alive."
When all hope of gaining our lost ground on the right was
gone, we were ordered to retreat on the road leading to the
United States fording. This was done between raking fires of
grape, canister, shells and bullets. There was a good deal of
confusion attending the retreat, and when we got out of range
of the fire the regiment was put in line of battle. The contest was
over. The battle of Chancellorsville had been fought. Hooker
and his army were defeated, but it was not such a defeat as had
been seen on other fields, for General Stonewall Jackson, of the
Confederate army, had been killed in the awful conflict between
his men and General Howard's corps. It was said that his loss
to the Confederate army was greater than the destruction of
25,000 men. Next to General Lee, he was the greatest military
genius and fighting general the Southern Confederacy had devel
oped. No greater loss could have come to the Confederate army
but that of Lee himself. General Lee's army was never the same
powerful manceuvering and fighting machine after Stonewall
Jackson's death that it was before. His name had been a perpetual
inspiration to Lee's host, and he was the most dreaded by Union
soldiers of all the Confederate commanders. So that, while we
suffered what writers of history called a defeat, it proved to be
only a repulse, because Stonewall Jackson left no successor, and
his death meant a great deal more to the Confederacy than all the
Union killed and wounded who fell on that bloody field did to
us. The repulse at Chancellorsville -delayed the final victory, but
our army had struck the Confederacy its hardest blow, and in this
we won a great victory, while we lost the battle that day. The
final triumph was delayed till Appomattox put the finishing stroke
to the Rebellion.

"THEY WILL NEVER FIGHT AGAIN.

Comrade, Adieu ! with you it is well,
Your marches and battles are ended,
With tear-moistened eyes,
We look up to the skies,
Where, there is no funeral knell,
But a patriot' s welcome splendid.

Wm. W. Wallace.

WAR REMINISCENCES BY WM. W. WALLACE
Captain of Company " C "
125th REGIMENT
Pennsylvania Volunteers

Introductory
In all previous wars and battles on land and sea, in which our country
had engaged, her citizens were united and they fought the Indians and
the French in Colonial days, from 1675 to 1753; the War of Inde
pendence, 1775 to 1783 ; Barbary, 1803 ; Tecumseh, 1804 ; England again,
1812; Algeria, 1815; Seminoles, 1817 and 183S; Mexico, 1846, shoulder
to shoulder, under one flag and for rautual protection and rights ; but a
bitter controversy arose between the Northern and Southern states
over the institution of Negro slavery and the right of a state to secede
from the Union. 165

WAR REMINISCENCES ¥
By WM. W. WALLACE, Captain of Company C, 125th Regiment, P. V.
Slavery was introduced into the country by the landing of a
cargo of slaves from Africa at Jamestown, Va., in 1619, and from
that small beginning it took root and spread throughout the South,
until it became a national issue which admitted of no compromise
by civil laws and regulations, and finally led the two sections to
engage in civil war, which raged through four years, from 1861
to 1865, and proved one of the most sanguinary wars in human
history. Immediately following the election of Abraham Lincoln to the
Presidency of the United States, mainly by Northern votes, the
Southern states seceded from the Union and inaugurated a South
ern Confederacy, of which Jefferson Davis became the President.
They quickly raised a formidable army and commenced hostilities
by firing upon the United States flag at Fort Sumter, S. C. ThiS-
act aroused the whole North, and in response to President Lin
coln's call for troops to suppress the rebellion and preserve the
Union and maintain the authority of the United States Govern
ment, volunteers by thousands promptly enlisted to battle for
their country and avert the impending calamity of disunion.
The results of the first year's struggle were discouraging, and
the contest had assumed such immense proportions that another
appeal for 300,000 additional volunteers was made by President
Lincoln, July 1, 1862, and it was in compliance with this appeal
that the 125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, had its origin,
and took part in the struggle and helped to make history. It was
recruited in Blair and Huntingdon Counties (including about
forty from Cambria County), and its membership comprised all
the varied occupations and professions of civil life. They were
all worthy sons of patriotic sires, who for intelligence, bravery,
love of country and devotion to duty were not surpassed — if
equalled — by any regiment in the service. Their forefathers had
fought and established a free and independent nation on this con
tinent, and bequeathed to them a priceless heritage, consecrated to
166

167
virtue, liberty, independence and national unity, and it was these
inherited military instincts and patriotic impulses which prompted
this later generation to deeds of heroic daring and unselfish devo
tion when their imperilled country called them to the rifle pit and
cannon's mouth in its defense. As other writers in this volume
will narrate events in circumstantial detail in connection with the
regimental service, it is not unlikely that some portions of my
narrative will be found better told by them ; but I will confine this
article mainly to incidents with which I was personally identified,
and as all the facts leading up to the formation of a regiment are
properly part of its history, some matters, personal, may be
deemed appropriate to allude to in this narrative of events.
At the time of President Lincoln's call for additional volun
teers I was residing in Huntingdon, Pa. His previous calls had
been more than filled, and the need of more troops was not realized
until the return of the Army of the Potomac from an unsuccessful
attempt to capture Richmond made it apparent that the war was
going to tax all the resources of the North in men and money
to bring it to a successful issue. The need was imperative and the
duty was manifest, and further hesitation and delay would have
been recreancy. I therefore came to a prompt decision to enlist,
and issued an appeal to the public, as follows :
TO MY COUNTRYMEN.
Huntingdon County is moving too slow, and being persuaded that
I am actuated by an eye single to God's glory, and my country's wel
fare, I am led thus publicly to ask:
Who controls the issues of battles?
To what cause shall we attribute the Bull Run panic and slaughter
and other reverses?
(God assuredly was not with us to direct in council, or to strengthen
our hearts.)
In responding to OUR COUNTRY'S CALL for more men, let us
humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, and so deport us that he will
dwell with us, guide our counsel, go out before us, and strengthen our
hearts in the shock of battle. I therefore propose to you, my country
men, to raise a company, every man of which shall take his BIBLE with
his musket, and go out in His fear.
All who will unite with us in this spirit, will report themselves at
once to the undersigned, and have their names' enrolled.
Wm. W. Wallace.
Huntingdon, Pa., July 30, 1862.

168
With the active co-operation of several ardent comrades (nota
bly Theodore L. Flood, a young student of divinity ; J. Randolph
Simpson, a law student, who was badly wounded at Antietam, and
his brother, George A. Simpson, who became regimental color-
bearer, and was killed at Antietam, and others less conspicu
ously), we had the satisfaction of enrolling in my office in a few
days 170 men, one hundred of whom formed a company organiza
tion and elected the writer as captain, Sheriff William B. Ziegler
first lieutenant and William F. McPherran second lieutenant. The
remaining seventy then distributed themselves among other com
panies of the regiment then in process of formation.
Transportation was furnished us via the Pennsylvania Rail
road in box cars to Harrisburg, and on August 11, 1862, we were
mustered into the service of the United States as Company " C,"
125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, for nine months.
Mine was the color company, and was also known as the Bible
company, because every member of it had been presented with a
pocket Bible by the good people of Huntingdon, in consequence
of a suggestion made in my public circular, that we should carry
our Bibles in camp with our muskets.
The regimental organization was effected by the election and
appointment of Jacob Higgins, colonel; Jacob Szink, lieutenant-
colonel; John J. Lawrence, major; Doctors John Feay and F. B.
Davidson, assistant surgeons ; Rev. John D. Stewart, chaplain ;
William C. Bayley, quartermaster, and Robert M. Johnston, adju
tant. We left Camp Curtin on Saturday, August 16, 1862, at 6
p. m., reached Baltimore by rail at 5 a. m. Sunday (where Com
pany " C's " first public act was to fall in line for a short service
of prayer). Leaving there at 8 a. m., we arrived in Washington,
D. C, at 11 a. m., August 17, and quartered that night in Wash
ington, D. C, barracks, General Casey in command. The next
day, Monday, August 18, crossed the long bridge over the Poto
mac into Virginia, and camped that night at Hunter's Chapel, Va.,
General Whipple in command, and remained in that vicinity until
on Tuesday, August 26, we marched to Fort Bernard, where we
were drilled and placed on picket duty. Our first experience and
close contact with war's horrors was on the picket line, August 30,
at the second battle, of Bull Run, in which the Union army, under
General Pope, was defeated, and we were hourly expecting the

169
Confederates to follow up their victory by an assault on our inner
line, in an effort to capture Washington. At that period of the
war there were many in that city who were disloyal and in secret
communication with the Confederates, and great vigilance was
enjoined upon all Union officers along the picket line, to see that
none passed in or out without the countersign. During the battle
and the day following I was in command of a picket line detail
posted across a road leading to the battlefield from Washington,
with strict orders to pass no civilians out. On the morning after
the battle a closed carriage drove up, containing some gentlemen
from Washington, who represented that, they were carrying succor
for the wounded, which on investigation I found to consist of a
bottle of brandy, already partly used by themselves. I recognized
them as men of high social standing, but I told them of my orders,
and, paying no heed to their expostulations, bade the driver turn
his horses and go back to Washington. Later in the day the
same party returned, escorted by a young officer in a new uni
form, who rode up to me pompously and said with an authorita
tive air, " Pass these gentlemen through the line." I said, " Who
are you? " His reply was, " I am Lieutenant  , and aide
on the staff of General  ." My reply was, " I cannot take
my orders - from you, sir ! and these gentlemen must return to
Washington," which they accordingly did. The young officer, tak
ing my name, graciously promised to report me for a summary
court-martial; but I never saw or heard from him again. The
succeeding five days were passed in an attitude of uncertainty as
to the. enemy's intentions ; but at length it became evident that
they had abandoned their attempt on Washington and were mov
ing northward, and the Union army, having been quickly reor
ganized under General McClellan, who had been again placed in
command, started on Saturday, September 6, and followed them
cautiously into Maryland, with the Potomac River between. Our
first halt was at Rockville, which we reached Sunday, September
7, and left on September 9, passing through Ijamsville. We
reached Frederick September 13, and camped there that night.
On Sunday morning, September 14, at daybreak, we marched
from Frederick to the South Mountain battlefield, which we
reached long after midnight, following an exhausting march, and
stretched our weary bodies on the ground for a few hours' rest
until daybreak, when a renewal of the conflict was expected. An

170
incident of this march will practically illustrate its weariness.
Just as we were starting, a foraging party in passing handed
me three roasting ears in the husk, which I thrust into my haver
sack. About nine hours later, say three o'clock, they had been
increasing hourly in weight, and I threw one ear away. About
seven p. m. another ear was dropped by the roadside, and about
eleven p. m. the third and last ear was too heavy, and was dropped,
and at about. 1.30 a. m. when we reached the battlefield and broke
ranks, I dropped in the nearest furrow with a clod of earth for
a pillow, and slept without rocking. Only about sixty of the
regiment were able to hold out to the end, but the remainder came
straggling in from the wayside fence corners at early morning.
But the enemy, having suffered heavily, had withdrawn, leaving
us in possession of the field. The Union loss in that battle was
433 killed, 1,806 wounded. Among the killed was General Reno.
A wounded soldier with a shattered arm, who was accompanying
the ambulance containing the dead General to the rear, shouted to
us in passing, " Hurry up, boys ! You are going to catch h — 1 up
there." We knew there was warm work going on ahead, and his
strenuous ejaculation was full of gruesome suggestiyeness, but
fortunately I suppose for us, on reaching the summit the worst
was over for that occasion, the enemy having retreated. Then fol
lowed many hours of suspense, marching, halting and manceuver-
ing on both sides. Tuesday, September 16, at 11 p. m., we left
Keedyville and reached Antietam battlefield at about one or two
o'clock a. m., and rested until daybreak near George Lines' farm
house. At early dawn on that eventful Wednesday, September
17, we were aroused from our very brief slumbers by the sounds
of the opening conflict, and with no time to fortify our empty
stomachs with " coffee and hardtack," were led to the front and
placed in position near the centre of a widely extended line of
battle and directly in front of the Dunker church. The Confed
erate and Union armies, like two great giants, then grappled in a
deadly struggle for the mastery. There had been some prelim
inary fighting in some parts of the field on the day previous, but
it was not until the 17th that the main forces of both armies met
for the final and decisive results; and war statistics prove this to
have been the bloodiest one-day battle of the war. It surpasses
the descriptive power of pen or imagination to convey an adequate
idea of the horrors of such an encounter between such masses of

171
brave and determined men bent on mutual extermination; but
some conception of the fearful carnage that resulted may be
formed from the official reports, which give the Union loss as 2,010
killed and 10,459 wounded and the Confederate loss in killed and
wounded as 13,687, making a total loss of 26,156. Of our own
regiment who went out with us that morning, 229 were killed or
wounded, of whom 84, being slightly wounded but not disabled
from further service, were not officially reported, making the
casualties over 30 per cent, of the number engaged. It was with
saddened hearts that we contemplated the vacant places in our
ranks so lately filled by these gallant comrades, and realized that
we were to see their faces and enjoy their companionship no
more, but they had fallen in a noble cause as martyrs for their
country's weal. Among the first to fall while directing our
advance movement was our corps commander, that gallant old
war veteran, Major-General Mansfield, whose'loss was keenly felt
by every soldier in his command. He had only recently been
assigned to the command of our corps, and my first sight of him
was on Monday's march, September 15th. We had been halted
and kept standing for some time exposed to a sweltering sun,
when a venerable, white-haired officer came galloping along the
line, and, noticing this oversight, exclaimed, " Why are the men
kept standing in the sun ? " and immediately directed us to be
moved to the welcome shade of a woods close by. This was
Mansfield, and the incident revealed his considerate care for his
men, but he was not to be with us long, for early on Wednesday
morning he was mortally wounded in the immediate vicinity of
our regiment, arid the melancholy privilege fell to the lot of some
of our comrades to help him from his horse and carry him ten
derly to the rear and deliver him to the care of others, by whom
he was conveyed to the field hospital for surgical care, but before
the sun set that day his patriotic soul had entered upon a "Sol
dier's Rest on the Eternal Camping Ground."
The loss of our genial and gallant young adjutant, Robert
N. Johnston, was also deeply lamented. At the time he was
wounded his emphatic expression of vexation at being obliged
to go to the rear to have his wound dressed caused his comrades
some temporary amusement, but alas ! his wound proved to be
more serious than we supposed, and his young life was ended
in a few hours. My last recollection of him on the field just

172
before he( received his death wound was his salutation in passing,
and in connection therewith he waved a pair of gauntlet gloves
which he had picked up, and exclaimed, " It is a rebel major-gen
eral's." I learned subsequently that he handed them to Colonel
Higgins, and that the dead Confederate officer to whom they
belonged was Colonel H. B. Strong, of the 6th Louisiana.
Another incident that happened about this time impressed itself
upon my memory. Uriah D. Hoffman, of Company " C," was the
spokesman for a group of young men who called upon me at
Huntingdon and informed me that he and his comrades had
decided to go with me if I enlisted. The proposition, coming at
the time it did and the manner of it, influenced me to a prompt
decision, and this- was my first acquaintance with Uriah.
On our advance movement upon the Dunker church woods,
into which the enemy had retreated, we marched over a Confed
erate officer who had fallen and been left by his men, in the frenzy
of the excitement of battle. Uriah was in the act of thrusting
his bayonet into him when I arrested his arm. My attention was
.' then engrossed with other strenuous duties of the conflict, and
that is my last recollection of him. I neve?" saw him again dead
or alive. After the battle he was not among the survivors at
roll-call, and we did not identify his body among the dead we
buried, nor find him at the hospital among the wounded, and, sup
posing him to have been captured, I reported him on the rolls as
missing. His fate remained a mystery to me for years, until
happening to allude to the matter in the presence of David Hen
derson, of Company " C," he informed me that Uriah was next to
him in the ranks and he saw him shot and killed, and not being
present when my inquiries were made, he was not aware that the
fact was not known, but it appears that the body was identified
by some one, and rests properly marked among other Union
patriot dead in the National Cemetery at Sharpsburg.
Sergeant George A. Simpson, our regimental color-bearer,
was another martyr who fell at his post of duty while bravely
bearing the flag aloft. When he was shot down, another comrade
of the color guard, Private Eugene Bablits, of Company " I,"
grasped the colors and was also struck down by a bullet, which
crippled him for life. The general impression is that two or three
other comrades of the color guard were killed or wounded in
handling the flag, but as the color guard was made up of details

173
from various companies of the regiment, I have no records at hand
to enable me to name them. The manner of its coming into my
hands I will state later on, but at this juncture, an eventful circum
stance transpired. The Confederates were largely concealed in
the west woods, upon which we were advancing from the open
field, and we -had not penetrated much beyond the borders of the
woods when (in my immediate front) I caught sight of a flag
indistinctly through the thickets and tree branches which looked
alarmingly like a Union flag, and to assure myself that we were
not, through some blundering tactics, firing upon Union soldiers,
I hastily advanced in front of my own company for a closer
inspection, and while intent 6n that investigation a retrograde
movement which had commenced on the left wing of the regi
ment rapidly extended along the whole line, and it was a most
unwelcome surprise that greeted my eyes on facing about, after
satisfying myself -that it was indeed a Confederate flag, to behold
the whole regirrient* melting away. It seems that an order had
been issued to retreat. and re-form' in the rear of our batteries, to
allow them to operate upon the woods. This order had not been
heard, and hence the disorder that ensued in carrying it out. My
own impression always has been'that it was a grave mistake for
the regiment to have advanced unsupported so far beyond our reg
ular line of battle and into a dense woods Occupied -by the enemy,
until it had been previously and thoroughly shelled by our bat
teries. The first comrade whom I overtook was David Kuhn, of
Company " C," who seemed to have a scalp wound, which did not
disable him from walking. I laid my hands encouragingly upon
his shoulder, and told him to make his way to the field hospital.
The next object that immediately claimed my attention was Ser
geant Walter W. Greenland approaching me with the flag in his
possession, which he had just received from one of the color
guard, who had been wounded. As Walter was not one of the
color guard, I relieved him of it, to use it in rallying the regiment.
The nearest Union battery, as closely as I can estimate the dis
tance, from the spot where I took possession of the flag was
about 400 yards, and to avoid being made too conspicuous a tar
get for the watchful enemy at such close range across that open
field, I prudently kept the flag furled until I reached the rear of
the battery nearest the cornfield, and there unfurled it for a rally
ing point for the scattered comrades.

" Oh, Captain ! it is John ! "
Among the slain at Antietam was John S, McCoy, of Company C, 125th Regiment/ P. V. Exposure to
the sun had so changed his features and color that his Captain did not know him, until William R. McCoy"
approached and identified his brother.

175
The first comrade to greet me on my arrival was Captain F.
M.'Bell, who excitedly exclaimed, "Captain, this is murder!"
(It was a new and tragic "experience to him, and the loss of many
of his brave men affected him deeply.) With the aid of Captain
Bell and Captain McKeage and Lieutenant Thomas McCamant
(who in later years was honored in being elected Auditor-General
of Pennsylvania), we soon had a formidable number of the men
rallied and aligned at that point. The other portion of the regi
ment was rallied by the field officers and did good service at
another battery, nearer the Smoketown road, which also was
threatened, but meanwhile all our batteries had opened with tell
ing effect, and our manifest readiness to receive and repel theif
assault under changed conditions led the enemy quickly to aban
don all attempts to come " out in the open." The combat then
became an artillery duel across the intervening space, and we
awaited further developments before risking more lives in another
effort to dislodge them from their entrenchments, and so ended
that day's fight. The next day, for some reason, the conflict was
not renewed, and we proceeded to gather in the wounded and
bury the dead, thousands of whom, Union and Confederate, were
thickly strewn along the battle line for miles. But the whole of
this sad duty devolved upon Union soldiers, as the Confederates,
for reasons no doubt justified by their losses and impending
defeat, had retreated and left to us the care of their wounded
and dead, and these were cared for with that consideration and
respect which all true soldiers will have for a brave and fallen
foe. Early on the morning of the 18th I accompanied a detail in
search of my own company's killed and wounded. Among the
dead was David Kuhn, whom I had directed to go to the hospital
to have his wound dressed. Another bullet had probably reached
him before he had proceeded many steps on his way. There were
two- brothers in my company, named John S. and William R.
McCoy. William was with me on this detajl, and while standing
over a corpse which I did not at first recognize, William came up,
and with an instantaneous glance of recognition he exclaimed, in
most pathetic tones, " Oh, Captain ! it 's my brother John."
Nicholas Decker was our next " find." Stretched upon the ground
with a badly shattered leg, he had been lying there helpless and
exposed all these weary hours. All that hospital care and skill
could do was done for him, but he lingered and died October nth.

A Barn Hospital at Antietam.
(From the Centuiy Magazine,)

177
By a strange coincidence, I came across a young Confederate sol
dier from Georgia in the west woods, from which we had been
repelled the day before, who had a leg wound similar to Decker's,
and had been left helpless and alone by his retreating comrades
under the exigencies of battle. He was suffering from thirst, and
to my intense regret I discovered that the last drop in my can
teen had been used. My search for other comrades was not yet
ended, and carried me so far from the spot and consumed so
much time, that when I returned to have him brought in I was
unable to find him, and supposed others had carried him in ; but to
this day that young soldier's uncertain fate remains as a sad mem
ory, for there was a refinement and gentleness about him that
appealed powerfully to my sympathy, and,- living or dead, it would
have been a relief to me to have had him know that I returned to
have him humanely cared for.
In this connection a 'letter received from General John B. Gor
don, who commanded the Georgia troops on that day, is of his
toric interest. It was written during his last illness by dictation to
his son Frank, and addressed to me, with the kindest expression of
personal regard, and says that he was carried from the field of
Antietam unconscious, and deeply regrets his inability to furnish
the information desired. He got five wounds about the time we
penetrated the woods and delivered our volleys, and it was to
obtain reliable data for our history from " his side of the fence "
that I had written him.
My visit to the barn hospital when darkness set in left some
unfading memories. The amputated limbs strewn around out
side made a ghastly sight under the glare of the torchlights,
and the audible sufferings of the maimed and wounded comrades
and the comatose condition of others would have made the voca
tion of a soldier for empty honor or fame utterly abhorrent to
me. But we were actuated by higher motives, and the righteous
ness of our cause justified the sacrifice. Threading my way
carefully among the cots, I came to one that claimed my special
interest. The occupant had just aroused from a condition of
stupor, and with returning consciousness of great pain. He was a
young law student from Huntingdon. The body of his brother,
George A. Simpson, our color-bearer, was awaiting burial, and
the parents had no other son. The surgeon, who had pronounced
his wound mortal, was prevailed upon to diagnose the case more
12

178
carefully, and made the discovery that the bullet, instead of going
straight through a vital organ, had been diverted, took its line
of direction around by the ribs and came out from the back nearly
opposite its point of entrance. The surgeon then said, " His life
can probably be saved by careful home nursing," and by a favor
ing Providence and months of careful " home nursing," J. Ran
dolph Simpson, attorney, at Huntingdon, was spared for a life of
usefulness and honor in the legal profession and to become an
influential member of the Presbyterian Church, but he does not
expose his scars to the public gaze, and few of the later genera
tion know what it cost him to help save the nation.
There were many more good and true men lying there and
elsewhere of my own and other companies — too many in number
to make special allusion to here, but their names will have hon
orable mention in the roster of the regiment, which will be
appended to this volume.
Friday morning, September 19th, we got our marching orders,
and by that time one individual discovered that he was very
hungry. To the best of my recollection, I had been without food
or coffee since the preceding Tuesday night (an interval of three
nights and two days — about sixty hours). This was owing to
two causes, one of which was the preoccupation of body and
mind under the exciting conditions which prevented my giving
thought to sustenance in the earlier part of the fast ; and the other
reason was the mysterious disappearance of my cook, with my
haversack and provender (and a travelling blanket, for I passed
the nights with only the open sky for a covering). In this con
nection I may as well relate an amusing episode in my experience.
I did not relish my coffee in a tin cup, and had stopped at a
farm house to purchase a common earthen cup, such as you pay
about six cents for at any country store. The good woman said
her daughter had a cup she would sell, and when produced it
proved to be a fine china cup, a Christmas gift, inscribed, "A
token of affection." It was ridiculously unsuited for my purpose,
but gallantry prevented my saying so. Having placed it in my
haversack, I inquired the price, and when informed that it cost
$2.50, paid it. This was on our way to Antietam, and about the
same time a tall mulatto accosted me, offering his services as cook
and luggage carrier. We quickly struck a bargain. When asked
his name he replied, " Juan Fernandez Miles Ferdinand Hughes,"

179
which for convenience I abbreviated to " Miles." When we went
into battle at Antietam, I left him in charge of my blankets and
haversack, which contained my provisions and this china cup.
After the battle Miles had disappeared, and with him all my traps
and the cup. His absence remained a mystery for about eight
years, when we accidentally met, and the recognition was mutual.
I hailed him and said, " Why, Juan Fernandez Miles Ferdinand
Hughes, where have you been, sir ! " With a grin extending
from ear to ear, he replied, " Well, Cap'n, w'en you lef me back
dar alone wid cle traps, in dat woods it was all right 'til dem ar
bullets cum a wizzen' and de shells a screechin' and tearen' tro' de
branches and a plowin' up de groun', and den I jus' remembe' dat
my good ole mudder hadn't seen me for a good w'ile an' mus' be
wantin' to see me mighty bad, and so I cut a straight streak for
hum." The war had long since ended, and I forgave Miles for the
loss of my traps and " token of affection."
Just before starting on Friday morning, while the men were
in line, it became necessary to appoint a new color-beater to suc
ceed Sergeant Simpson, who had yielded up his life while carry
ing the flag. It was recognized as a hazardous trust, and I felt a
delicacy in making its acceptance obligatory. They were all brave
men, and any one of the sergeants or "corporals could safely have
been entrusted with it, but I decided to leave it to their voluntary
action, and therefore called for a volunteer. After a brief pause,
Sergeant Frank Wattson stepped out from the ranks. The
appointment was ratified by the colonel, and this act placed Watt-
son in the line of promotion, and, following the death of Lieu
tenant McPherron, and the resignation of Lieutenant Ziegler,
Wattson was commissioned as first lieutenant, and Sergeant
Theodore L. Flood was commissioned as second lieutenant. I
place this statement on record here in explanation of a matter
that was never clearly understood. Sergeant Greenland would
have been my choice for the position for the share he had fn the
recovery of the flag on the field, but Wattson ranked him as third
sergeant, and his prompt action secured it. (Greenland's sub
stantial recognition, however, came in later years, in a way that I
will explain in another connection in this narrative.) On the
march one of the comrades, discovering that I was nearly fam
ished, shared his hardtack with me.
We arrived at Harper's Ferry about noon on the 19th, and

180
were kept shifting to and fro between Maryland Heights and
Pleasant Valley until October 3d, during which time much sick
ness prevailed and many died from camp .fever, etc. On Novem
ber ist we crossed the Potomac and camped in Loudon Valley,
where we were occupied in daily drills and on picket duty until
December 10th, when we again got marching orders, and reached
Bowlsborough through Thoroughfare Gap on that day, thence
passing through Leesburg December nth and Fairfax December
15th, reached Dumfries December 16th, and then pitched our tents
at Fairfax Station for some weeks, which were spent in drill and
picket duty. On January '20th we were at Dumfries, January 22d
at Shipping Point, and from January 24th to March 24th we were
encamped near Stafford Court House. During this interval a case
of conscience was presented for me to solve.
A CASE OF CONSCIENCE.
One Saturday evening, following a long resting spell, an
order was issued from headquarters to be ready with rations and
arms to march next morning (Sunday). Our orderly sergeant
had conscientious views on the sanctity of the Sabbath, and was
opposed to any marching or work on that day that was not strictly
necessary, and, coming to my tent, expressed his convictions that
the movement would not prosper. I consented to let him call on
General Kane and argue the point with him, which he did, but
returned, saying that the order was issued higher up, and General
Kane said he was not responsible for it, and, such being the case,
his duty as a soldier was to obey.
We marched all day Sunday, did not find the enemy we were
in search of, slept that night under the sky, marched back to our
camp on Monday, and then learned, to our vexation, that the wary
enemy had attacked the station in our absence, destroyed some
property and carried away provender. The sergeant's intuitions
seem to have been prophetic, for if we had rested on Sunday we
should have saved our property on Monday.
The tragedies and hardships of war were occasionally relieved
by incidents of a humorous character. While we were in winter
quarters near Stafford Court House, one of the officers of our
regiment was detailed for court-martial duty, and went into the
town to secure suitable quarters, and presently returned for his
luggage in quite jubilant mood, and informed us in glowing terms,

181
which almost made us homesick, that he had discovered the nicest,
cosiest, homelike place in all the great United States (with the one
exception of the home he had left in Pennsylvania) . The family
consisted of a mother, who was a lady of most attractive manners,
and two charming daughters, cultured, genial and accomplished
housekeepers ; rooms neat and clean, table first-class, etc., etc. A
few days after his departure, while I was making my rounds as
officer of the day, a sad-faced officer came into camp carrying his
traps, of whom in surprise I asked the why and wherefore. " Is
the court-martial over so soon? " " Oh, no," said he, "but I am
going to tent it with my comrades and live on army rations and
attend to the court-martial duties too." This called for an
explanation, which he gave me as follows :
"Everything was just lovely for a time, until some relatives
visited the family from South Carolina, and to-day at mealtime
the conversation turned upon the war, and remarks were made
aspersing the Union side, which in self-respect I was compelled to
reply to, and one thing brought on another until the temper of all
was aroused, and a climax was reached by one of these charming
daughters bouncing up in' a rage and calling me a good-for-noth
ing Yankee cut-throat, and vanishing from the room. Do you
blame me for coveting my old quarters ?" " Of course I don't ;
pass in," I replied. " THE FIRST FALL."
From the humorous point of view I claim to have been prob
ably the first one in the regiment " to fall " on the advance to
Dunker church, but it was not caused by a bullet or shell. My
company was approaching a fence about three rails high, and to
be in readiness to align it properly on the other side, I took a
running jump to clear it. My sword scabbard catching on the top
rail, I plunged headforemost over it to the ground. Fortunately
the only injury sustained was a bad shaking up, and I quickly
reassured my men, who thought I had been " plugged " by a
sharp-shooter. BURIED ALIVE.
During our temporary stay at Stafford Court House I occu
pied a " sugar-loaf" tent, having a tripod in the centre from
which to hang a kettle, with fire underneath for cooking and heat,

182
and an opening at the top for the smoke to ascend. The boys had
burrowed and built themselves cave cabins of various sizes and
shapes, with such materials as they had gathered, such as rails,
saplings, tree branches, leaves and earth. I, with the aid of a
Virginia colored lad, had constructed two bean-pole cots on
opposite sides of the tent, one for the lad and the other for myself.
One evening a heavy snowstorm set in, and I turned in to my cot
in anticipation of an undisturbed rest, sheltered from the storm
and thankful that it was not my turn out on the picket line on
such a night. I was soon wrapped in slumber too profound for
dreams, and therefore not dreaming of an impending catastrophe,
which came with startling suddenness, for in the dead of night,
probably about two o'clock, I was aroused by a shout of alarm
from my darkey boy. " Cap'n, de tent is comin' down ! " and, sure
enough, I had barely time to hustle myself under the tripod,
where the boy was already ensconced, when the whole tent came
crashing down as flat as a pancake under an accumulated weight
of snow, and there we were, shut in like two rats in a trap. To be
turned out of a warm bed and have to burrow your chill way out
into the open in mid-winter, and face a blinding snowstorm in the
night, half clad, and exhume your house from under an avalanche
of snow and build it up again in cheerless gloom and darkness
was an experience not to be envied. In fact, it was literally a
" wet blanket " spell thrown over my hopes and anticipations of a
night of shelter and repose, for my fire was out and my blankets
very wet.
On February 22d, 1863, I was ordered to report at brigade
headquarters at Stafford Court House, as field officer of the day.
It being Washington's birthday, the officers of the brigade decided
to commemorate it by some conventionalities, and, procuring a
large vessel, they filled it with a combination of liquors, lemons,
etc., which they called " punch," of which we all were invited to
-partake. As I was in good health, and had no use for anything
stronger than good coffee and cold water, it was soon noticed that
I was not partaking, and some good-natured comments were made
¦at my expense. This attracted the attention of Surgeon Cum
mings, who said, " By the way, Captain, how is it that you are
the only officer who has not been on my book for treatment ? "
My reply was, " Well, Surgeon, my excuse for not being on your
list of patients is that I have thus far had no need for your pro-

183
fessional services, and in this connection one fact just revealed
is very significant. Colonel  has just informed me that
I am the only officer who has not partaken of that punch, and you
say I am the only officer who has not applied to you for treat
ment. Now I will appeal to all of my comrades present, to say
if I have not had rather more than my share of exposure on picket
duty by reason of having to take the place of others excused on
sick list. This being the case, won't you all admit that cold water
and coffee are a better combination for exposure and endurance
than liquor and lemons ? " My argument met with no rebuttals.
On March 24th we left Stafford Court House, and arrived
the same day at Acquia Creek Landing, where we remained in
camp until April 27th. While here we indulged in the luxury of
fresh bread and Potomac shad, a most agreeable change from
hardtack and bacon. The intervening weeks were occupied in
daily drills, guard mounting and picket duty. The sutlers were
very much in evidence at the Landing, and were freely patronized
by the men for things needful, and by some for things not need
ful, for it transpired that liquor was being furnished to the men
contrary to- orders, and this was the occasion of my first personal
contact with our division commander, General John W. Geary,
under circumstances that inspired my confidence in his sobriety
and my respect for his character. One morning at roll-call one of
our men was missing, and the orderly sergeant speedily ascer
tained that he was away from camp and had been absent all night.
About noon I was summoned to report at the division headquar
ters, and was there informed by General Geary that he had
arrested one of my men for disorderly conduct the day before,
that he was now in the guard house, and he (Geary) had sent
for me to confer as to further discipline. I soon discovered that
it was our niissing man, who had been down at the Landing and
been plied with liquor by a sutler, and while under its influence
had brought himself into disgrace. I then explained the situa
tion to General Geary, and bore testimony to his previous good
record and that it was his first offense, and requested that he be
let off with a reprimand. To this the General readily assented,
and, having ordered the guard to bring him into his presence, he
addressed him in my presence, as follows :
" Young man, I had as my guest yesterday the commander-
in-chief, General Hooker, and was priding myself on the good

184
order which prevailed in my camp, when I was greatly mortified
by a noisy brawl outside of my tent, which I discovered was caused
by you, and immediately ordered you under arrest. Your cap
tain tells me that you have a good soldierly record, that this is
your first offense, and that liquor is the cause. I have therefore
decided to release you from confinement, trusting that the night
passed in the guard house will make a lasting impression for your
good, and I want you to take this counsel with you from your
General, and that is to abstain from intoxicating drinks. Shun it
as long as you live. All the success I have had in my career 1
owe to a resolution taken in my early manhood, to avoid the use
of liquor in any form as a beverage. Now, sir, you can return to
your quarters."
The lesson proved salutary, and that comrade gave me no more
trouble, but I had a livelier experience with another soldier from
the same cause. QUELLING A WHISKY INSURRECTION.
It is a trite and true saying, " When whiskey gets in, reason
gets out of a man." One evening when I was on duty as officer
of the day, and responsible for the good order and discipline of
the camp, a squad of soldiers returned from the Landing much
the worse for liquor. They were quickly taken in hand and hur
ried to their tents, all submitting to control with one exception.
He would heed no persuasion, refused to be quiet, would not go
to his tent, and grew violent and dangerous. His record previous
to enlistment was that of one in whom drink produced madness,
and it was said he had escaped arrest for shooting a man while
under that influence, and that the prosecution was not pressed
when he enlisted. Finding persuasion unavailing, I summoned a
guard of four men to arrest and secure him. When they arrived
he snatched one of their guns, and, wielding it as a club, threat
ened to brain any and all who came within its range. At this junc
ture the lieutenant of his company arrived and endeavored to
bring him to submission, but with no success. I was reluctant to
have the men use their bayonets, and therefore quietly arranged
with the lieutenant that we rush in on him from opposite sides,
which we quickly did. The sweep of his gun knocked my
cap from my head, but I reached him first and got a firm waist
hold, and with the prompt assistance of the lieutenant we quickly

185
had him on the ground, and while the guards held him I succeeded
in tying his arms securely with a stout cord conveniently at hand,
and then sent him off to- the guard house. All through the night
he raved and threatened the lives of all concerned. The next
morning he was still ugly, and I left him tied. Towards noon the
whiskey mood was subsiding, and on my third visit he was rational,
tractable and humble. On being asked if he knew what he had
been doing, he replied, " No, but I find myself in the guard house
and tied fast." I then said, " You came into camp last evening
drunk and violently disorderly. You refused to obey the orders
of your lieutenant, and made it necessary for me to arrest you, and
in so doing you struck at me viciously with a comrade's gun,
which you had snatched, and would probably have killed me if I
had not dodged the blow. If I report you to General Kane, he
will have you court-martialed and perhaps shot for such a breech
of military discipline; but I don't want to do this, and will not
bring any charge against you for this offense if you will agree to
avoid liquor and promise not to let this occur again." He promptly
gave me the satisfactory assurance and I unloosed him and sent
him to his quarters. I scarcely need say that the whiskey-inspired
threat of bodily harm to me was never fulfilled, and for the bal
ance of his term I probably had no better friend in the camp
than he.
During our stay at the Landing an alarm was sounded one
evening, which brought us quickly into line to repel some appre
hended danger. Whether our show of readiness averted an
attack from the enemy or whether it was a false alarm I know
not, but after a patient waiting we were finally ordered to our
tents again. But meanwhile some of the officers had obtained
from the surgeon some liquor in their canteens for " medicinal
purposes," and, not being careful in its use, one or two of them
became quite noticeably affected by it. The surgeon in passing
along the line noticed it, and in reply to my remark that it was
unwise on his part to allow his patients to do their own dosing
he replied with much fervor, " I pledge you my word, Captain,
that I will never again trust an officer with more liquor than I
have occasion to put down his throat myself." In reciting these
incidents I would not be understood as assailing the use of liquor
as a medicine, for it is of great value in the hands of a skilful
physician, but as a beverage my experience and observation have

186
long since convinced me that it ought to be regarded as a foe to
the human family.
Profanity was another bad habit that some good soldiers had
acquired. It was also objectionable to me, and although my own
company was comparatively free from it, yet I occasionally had to
reprimand others in the regiment, especially when, as officer of the
day, the good order of the camp devolved upon me. On one such
occasion my ears were assailed by a volley of energetic oaths
that were rattling off with the fluency and celerity of a gatling
gun, and on reaching the offender I promptly called him to
account. He was holding one side of his face in his hand's, and
I discovered to my surprise that he was afflicted with an impedi
ment in his speech, which had not been in the slightest degree
evident in his ability to swear, and his stuttering apology was in
striking contrast to it, as he laboriously said, " Ca-Ca-Captain, I-
I co-co-couldn't help it! A b-b-bee st-stung me." I passed on
quickly without further comment, but how a stuttering man could
swear so fluently was a problem that puzzled me. In the case
of another stutterer, who was devout and could pray fluently with
out impediment, his fluency was attributed to a special dispensa
tion of Providence, but in this case the anomaly calls for some
other solution than to assign it to divine aid.
Our regiment now formed part of the second brigade (General
Thomas L. Kane), second division (General John W. Geary),
Twelfth Army Corps (Major-General Slocum), and on April
28th, 1863, we left Acquia Creek Landing, with the Union army
under orders from Major-General Joseph E. Hooker, command
ing, and set out on the Chancellorsville campaign.
President Lincoln had previously visited the camp, and on
Friday, April 10th, a grand review of the army was held, which
made a brilliant and impressive spectacle.
The President on horseback, in civilian dress and high hat,
escorted by General Hooker and his staff in their brilliant uni
forms, presented a striking contrast. His tall form loomed up
conspicuously, but he was not a graceful rider, and alongside of
the splendid martial figure of General Hooker he was not an
attractive-looking object to the soldier's eye from a spectacular
point of view, as he rode along the line, but I regarded him with
profound veneration and sympathy. Knowing full well what a
crushing weight of responsibility and suspense and anxiety was

187
at that time oppressing him. His Emancipation Proclamation
had been vehemently assailed by thousands in the North, and was
far from being cordially received by all the soldiers, especially
some of the war Democrats. It was not- an uncommon thing to
hear expressions of dissatisfaction, such as " We enlisted to fight
for the Union, and did not come out to fight for the niggers," and
the " copperhead " journals were filled with inflammatory edi
torials to intensify the spirit of opposition.
As a justifiable war measure, however, it was generally acqui
esced in by the army, and to frustrate the aims of the " peace at
any price " agitators and dispel all doubts as to the attitude and
sentiments of the regiment, a mass-meeting was held, at which
Colonel Higgins presided. Lieutenant- Colonel Szink and Major
Lawrence acted as vice-presidents, and Chaplain J. D. Stewart,
Surgeon L. C. Cummings and Captain W. W. Wallace as secreta
ries. A committee of five, consisting of the secretaries and Cap
tains Bell and McKeage, was appointed for the purpose, and
embodied the views of their comrades in the following document,
which was adopted and ordered to be transmitted for publication
to the Northern papers.
The C'ECThp, Kane's Landing on the Potomac, March 20, 1863.
The 125th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers
To her loyal friends sends greeting:
We, your fellow citizens, here assembled in arms, not from love of
war, but prompted solely by love of country and sense of duty, having
put aside all partisan feelings, are now, in common with hosts of other
loyal men, grappling with rebellion, and by the blessing of God hope
effectually to crush it.
To remove all misapprehension of our sentiments, a meeting of the
regiment was held this day, and the following preamble and resolutions
were unanimously adopted:
Whereas, The attempts of the so-called peace party in Pennsylvania are,
in effect throwing impediments in the way while we are fighting the
¦enemy in front;
\nd whereas, On the result of this conflict the existence of our country
-depends, therefore, be it resolved : That all propositions to compromise
with armed treason must be rejected, as unworthy the land that gave
us birth;
Resolved, That the only compromise we can make is that the South
shall return to its former allegiance.

188
Resolved, That the only way to secure this result lies in a vigorous
prosecution of the war, until the supremacy of the U. S. Government
is fully established.
Resolved, That the reports at home that "the Army of the Potomac
is in a demoralized condition" are false, and without foundation in fact,
and that we look upon the authors of such reports as enemies of their
country. Resolved, That we call upon all loyal citizens to organize and counter
act these conspiracies to aid Rebellion.
Resolved, That the President of the United States is the Constitutional
representative of our Government, and his administration must and shall
be sustained, and that Governor Andrew G. Cartin is deserving of our
highest respect and esteem for his eminently patriotic labors in behalf
of Pennsylvania's wounded and sick soldiers.
No public official ever encountered more adverse criticism and
venomous abuse than did President Lincoln, while loyally, pa
tiently, wisely and unselfishly guarding the ship of state through
the storm that threatened to engulf her and amid the breakers that
would have wrecked her. The spirit of unrest and criticism was
rampant, and even General Hooker had been led to indulge in
some rash utterances, for which President Lincoln had adminis
tered to him a mild rebuke in his characteristic way, as follows :
" I am told that you say ' the country needs a dictator.' Of
course, it is not for this, but in spite of it, that I place you in com
mand of the Army of the Potomac, and now all I ask of you is
to achieve victory, and I will risk the dictatorship." My next
sight of that magnanimous man was to gaze upon his sad upturned
face as he lay in his casket in Independence Hall, in Philadelphia,
en route to his sepulchre, in April, 1865, following his assassina
tion by Booth.
General Hooker had acquired a reputation for skill and brav
ery that inspired the men with confidence and created high expect
ations, and the army was set in motion with the impress of victory
as a foregone conclusion, but (in the' words of Robert Burns)
" the best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft a-gley," and (to
quote Billings)" if our foresight" (on April 30th) "had been
equal to our hindsight " (on May 6th) " we would undoubtedly
have done some things differently." On the afternoon of April
30th we seemingly had the game in our hands. An energetic,
aggressive forward movement at that time, it is thought, would
have caught fhe Confederates at a fatal disadvantage, and

189
Hooker's star would have been in the ascendant. But for some
reason, unknown to the rank and file, instead of utilizing our
" flood tide " that was leading on to victory, we halted", " omitted "
the opportunity — and thousands of dives were sacrificed for
nought, unless the death of Jackson, which was an irreparable loss
to the Confederacy, be deemed a result worth the cost to us.
OUR REGIMENT*
At daylight, April 29th, we crossed the Rappahannock at
Kelly's Ford, and marched to the Rapidan, which we crossed at
Germania Ford (where 150 Confederates had just been surprised
and captured while building a bridge) , thence to Chancellorsville,
which we reached on Thursday, April 30th, about two o'clock
p. m., and the following order was issued by General Hooker:
" It is with heartfelt satisfaction that the General Commanding
announces that the operation of the last three days has determined
that our enemies must ingloriously fly, or come out from behind
their defences and give us battle on our own ground, where cer
tain destruction awaits them."
My first exploit was to pick up a lady's slipper on the lawn of
the Chancellorsville Mansion, evidently dropped in a hasty flight.
Thrusting it in my belt, I hoped for an opportunity to return
it to the fair owner. I had not proceeded far when an officer
passing me on horseback noticed my prize, and, producing its
mate, proposed that we " toss up " for possession of both, to
which I agreed and became the temporary custodian of the pair,
but alas ! when Jackson, two days later, routed the Eleventh Corps
and we " double-quicked " to that part of the field to resist his
advance, we left our traps behind us, and in the evolutions of
battle that followed we did not get back to that vicinity, and
some lucky Confederate probably got the slippers and spoiled my
gallant purpose.
Posting our pickets, we rested for the night, and the next
morning our brigade commander, General Thomas L. Kane', led
us by a plank road across a swamp and out beyond our line, prob
ably half a mile, to an elevated ridge of land, and, there halting us,
made a brief address, as follows : " Men, this is the first of May,
a day on which it was our custom in my school days to bring our
teachers bouquets of flowers, and now over there (pointing to a

190
hill beyond) is a rebel battery that I want you to present to me
to-day  " Just at this moment a courier rode up rapidly and
delivered an order from headquarters to return with his men at
once. This he showed extreme reluctance to obey, and it was
only when a second and peremptory order quickly followed, that
he " faced us about," and by a rapid movement, but in good order,
we reached our main line in time to avoid a conflict with a superior
force which aimed to intercept and cut us off. The incident
caused the brigade the loss of two killed and a few captured, and
gave rise to a brisk controversy.
Some. officers allege that Kane should have been reinforced
and his position held, others that it was a rash movement and his
prompt recall saved us from capture. The question is one of
those debatable problems that are involved in the vital turning
point of every great battle in which contingencies occur that
cannot be foreseen or provided for by human skill or strategy. But
it seems probable in this case that if we could have held that
point of observation General Jackson could not have so stealthily
executed that flank movement by which he surprised and routed
the Eleventh Corps on the evening of the next day, May 2d, and
thereby frustrated General Hooker's plans and made it necessary
to fall back on a defensive line of battle on May 3d, and event
ually compelled the Union army to withdraw from the field on
May 6, with the loss of prestige and confidence in its com
mander, which defeat under such aggravating circumstances
always brings ; for the " rank and file " of the army grow impa
tient under defeat and demand victories to inspire confidence.
The soldiers all liked Hooker and had entire faith in his bravery
and patriotism, but they soon discovered that his plans had been
checkmated. It may have been by General Hooker's order that
Kane was recalled from his advanced position, and if so I think it
probable that Kane was not aware of it, and attributed it to Gen
eral Geary.
Our division commander, General John W. Geary, afterwards
Governor of Pennsylvania, was a brave, patriotic and experienced
soldier, who served with distinction in the Mexican War. That
quality of prudence, which deterred him from any rash undertak
ings made him perhaps a safer leader than our impetuous and
plucky brigade commander, General Kane, who knew no fear,
and was eager to fight. The incident led to a coolness between

191
them for a time, but when in after years Geary became Governor
he showed his appreciation of Kane by appointing him to a posi
tion of honor and trust in the service of the Commonwealth, which
healed all differences. On that evening, however, May ist, he
held a conference with the officers of his brigade, to which I was
invited, and he expressed his dissatisfaction and disapproval of
the events of the day in strong terms, which he probably regretted
when he cooled down; but the conference terminated abruptly
by the sudden advent of Geary, who took him aside, and we gladly
dispersed, for we felt the impropriety into which a hasty temper
had led a man whom we admired.
A PRESENTIMENT.
Immediately following this conference, there occurred another
incident that invested that brief period of rest with a peculiar
interest. On my return to my post a young soldier accosted
me, saying, " I am John W. Scott, private in Company ' I, ' and
here is a watch that I want to leave with you to send to my
mother." I told him my life was under greater risk than his in
the battle, and advised him to get the sutler to attend to it. The
incident was recalled some time later when, in looking over the
list of killed and wounded, I noticed with surprise that he was
killed on May 3, and the only man of his company lost in that
battle. Those five days and nights of carnage and unrest were
such as tried human endurance to the uttermost. The continuous
volleys of artillery and musketry brought on rain, which made
life absolutely cheerless, as though the heavens were weeping over
the scenes of carnage.
On one of these -days, during a suspicious lull in operations, a
field officer near me, training his glass on a distant woods, drew
my attention to a column of the.enemy moving eastward in front
of that woods. It was apparently a large force, but, as we kept
watching it, we were surprised by the occasional reappearance of
an officer on a white horse. In each instance he would emerge
from our right and disappear upon our left, and as it was the
same officer, we found that we were witnessing a bit of war
strategy, and that a small force was circling many times around
that woods to convey the impression that it was an army change of
base in one direction, while in. reality it was moving the other way.
On the evening previous to our withdrawal from Chancellorsville

192
I was ordered to report at General Kane's headquarters, and
found him much chagrined at the situation, as the decision to
withdraw had just been received by him. Following some brief
remarks, personal and complimentary, he said, " How many men
can you muster ? " I replied, " Seventy-one." He said, " We are
to withdraw and cross the Rappahannock, and you will proceed at
once with your men and form a picket line towards the Ford, and
connect with the next brigade." At this moment an orderly rode
up and handed him a paper, which caused him to say, more audi
bly than he intended, " Heavens ! Must my poor boys be slaugh
tered in this way ? " Then, turning to me, he said, " Captain,
this order informs me that my brigade will have the post of honor,
and will act as the rear-guard to cover the retreat." I appre
ciated the peril probably more than the honor of the assignment.
It was a wet and starless night; we were in such close touch
with the enemy that torches could not be used, and I had a
perilous mission to carry out in a locality in which I was a per
fect stranger ; but, getting the boys together, we groped our way
silently and warily over hills and ravines, through thickets and
woods. They were posted one by one at proper intervals, forming
a line in the darkness as straight as a " ram's horn " and undu
lating as the " sea serpent," and when the last picket was placed
I waited in anxious suspense for daylight, in anticipation of exult
ing Johnnies to swoop down wifh devouring shot and shell upon
the devoted few of the rear-guard who would be left on this side
of the ford crossing.
But happily our retreat was not discovered. No rebel batteries
were yet planted to open on our pontoons, and, although we were
about the last to cross, we reached the other side, and felt that we
had a new lease of life. Further details of the night's experience
from other comrades would be interesting and exhibit some of
the hardships that soldiers have to endure in war's severe exac
tions. Dave Henderson has doubtless told his grandchildren how
he dropped from exhaustion, and I scarcely expected him to live
through the night for the Johnnies to finish him at daybreak.
Jerry Brennem was one whom the Confederates couldn't kill.
A bullet in the head dropped him senseless, but after lying
stunned for a while, he scrambled to his feet, shook himself to
make sure he was not some other man, then had his head band
aged and resumed his place in the ranks, ready to blaze away

193
again with his musket at any Johnnie who should come within
range. As General Hooker has been severely criticised, and to some
extent perhaps unjustly, for the failure of his Chancellorsville
campaign, in which victory was wrested from his grasp by con
tingencies that occurred through the alleged fault of others, it is
due to him to place before our readers a brief summary of his
plans, as narrated by one of his staunch defenders, whose severe
arraignment of the subordinate generals, from his point of view,
need not be quoted here.
GENERAL HOOKER'S PLAN OF THE BATTLE OF
CHANCELLORSVILLE.
The Union Army numbered about 124,000 including 11,500 Cavalry.
The Confederates numbered about 62,000 including 3,000 Cavalry.
(General Longstreet with 24,000 had been detached to another depart
ment), and on learning this fact on April 27th, 1863, General Hooker
started the 5th Corps, and nth and 12th Corps, under command of
General Slocum, with 3 batteries to each, northward, unobserved by the
enemy, and they crossed the Rappahannock at Kellys and Germania
Fords. On April 28th the 6th Corps (Sedgwick's) and the ist Corps (Rey
nolds) and the 3rd Corps (Sickles) marched purposely in full view of the
enemy down the river to some miles below Fredericksburg, causing
General Lee to believe that his right flank was threatened. The same
day two pontoon-bridges were placed at Franklin's crossing for the
'6th corps and two more a mile below for the ist corps to cross; on the
night of the 28th the cavalry crossed the Kellys and Germania Fords,
and on April 29th (morning), the infantry, under Slocum, crossed the
Rapidan at Morton and Raccoon Fords and arrived at Chancellorsville
at 6 p.m. April 30th, and were joined to two divisions of the 2nd
Corps. The other division of the 2nd corps remained at Falmouth in
full view of the enemy, who were thus successfully blinded as to the move-
men underway of the main body; April 30th, the 3rd corps (Sickles)
reached the U. S. Ford and camped there that night, an*d reached the
U. S. Ford about n a.m. May ist and took position in rear and west
of Chancellorsville house about 10 miles west of Fredericksburg.
It was not until the evening of April 30th, that General Stewart dis
covered and reported to General Lee, that the Union army had crossed
and was in position at Chancellorsville. Lee at once ordered Jackson from
his right flank to the point threatened, leaving General Early's division
to defend Fredericksburg, he with the balance of his forces spent all
of that night in reforming their new line of defence. Jackson reached his
position at 8 a.m. 1st, and lay-in-wait in the dense woods awaiting
developments. About n a.m. Hooker ordered an attack, the 12th corps
13

194
(Slocums) and nth corps (Howard) via the Plank Road Silkes'
division (5th corps) and Hancock's division (2nd corps) advanced on
via the Turnpike (Center), the balance of the 5th corps, via the river
road, French's division (2nd corps) advanced on the right to Todd's
Tavern. Each column was. preceded by a cavalry force (Pleasanton's)
Sickles' 3rd corps was held in reserve west of Chancellorsville house,
with Graham's brigade advanced to Dowdle's tavern, Hooker's purpose
was to advance, drive the enemy, and establish his line with the right
resting on Tabernacle Church, 4 miles east, and his left covering Bank's
ford, but an impenetrable woods foiled every effort to deploy in proper
formation to dislodge a vigilant enemy in ambush, and that method had
to be abandoned. General Hooker's action in a rapid change of plan
and adopting the position held on the morning of May 2, is commended
as a skilful tactical movement. The 5th corps rested on the river near
Scott's dam, the 2nd and 3rd corps were south and southwest of the
house, the nth corps about two miles west at the junction of the plank
road and the pike, extending westward along the pike about three-quarters
of a mile, in position to resist a front atack, but by a fatal oversight, no
provision was made to meet a flank attack, and Stewart on a cavalry
reconnoisance discovered that the right flank opposite the nth corps
was unsupported, and at once informed Lee, who promptly despatched
Jackson with 26,000 men to strike at that point which he did with char
acteristic energy and skill, and so successfully that it effectually dis
arranged Hooker's well laid plan of battle and placed the Union Army
on the defensive during the remaining days of the conflict; the position
of a Commanding General in defeat is not an enviable one, for in addition
to the mortification of failure he has to undergo the censorious and
galling criticism of his enemies from a very imperfect knowledge of all
the facts.
In this instance the responsibility for the disaster, it would seem, from
the conflicting testimony presented, might justly be shared by some of
his subordinates who should have anticipated a flank attack from such
an enterprising foe as Jackson, and made a better disposition of their
forced to repel him. General J. Hooker says that at 9.30 a.m. he issued
an order to the commander of the nth and 12th corps as follows: "The
disposition you have made with your corps has been with a view to a
front attack of the enemy. If he should throw himself on your flanks,
examine the ground and determine upon the position you will take in that
event. Have heavy reserves well in hand to meet this contingency. The
right of your line does not appear strong enough. We have good reason
to suppose that the enemy is moving to our right. Advance your pickets
to obtain timely information of their approach."

This order, issued about ten hours previous to Jackson's
attack at that end of the line, should have put them on their guard
and found them in readiness to receive him, but the commander

195
of the Eleventh Corps says in his defence that this order did not
reach him ; consequently these vital instructions were not carried
out and we lost the battle.
On May 6th, 1863, the 125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volun
teers, was sent back to Acquia Creek Landing, and as its term of
service was to expire on May nth, it was transported by steam
boat to Washington, D. C, thence by rail to Camp Curtin, Harris
burg, Pa., and there mustered out on that day, and the comrades
returned to their homes to enjoy temporarily a well-earned rest.
But the war had not ended, and the services to the country of
the regiment did not end with Chancellorsville. Very many of its
members re-enlisted, as trained soldiers, for the war, and served
until its close, some of them with distinction, and their record we
think properly should be placed to the credit of the regiment that
produced and trained them, and where ascertainable should be
recorded in our volume as part of our contributory service.
The comrades had scarcely reached their homes in Hunting
don and Blair Counties when an alarm was sounded through the
North that the Confederate army was invading Pennsylvania.
About one thousand of the returned soldiers promptly assem
bled at Mt. Union, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, which was
supposed to be the point first threatened, for the purpose of cut
ting off the Union line of communication east and west. Major
John J. Lawrence was placed in command, and I, with probably
80 or 90 men, marched down toward the Maryland line on a
reconnoissance. At our arrival at McConnellsburg, Pa., I met
Colonel Moss, of the 12th Pennsylvania Cavalry, with about 300
cavalry, part of General Milroys' force that had just been defeated
and driven north by General Early at Winchester. Colonel Moss,
riding up to me, said, " Captain, my scouts bring me word that
the enemy are coming this way, and I purpose to make a stand
on the mountain to prevent them crossing. Can I have your
co-operation with infantry ? " I quickly assured him of our readi
ness to aid him, and he started with his cavalry at a brisk pace,
while we followed on foot, making good time: The cavalry
rounded the summit and were out of sight about the time we
reached the base of the mountain; but in a very few minutes
they reappeared, riding briskly, and in passing the colonel said:
" The force is too strong to attack successfully, and I am going
with my men to Bloody Run." Another considerable body of

196
infantry under Lieutenant-Colonel Szink was also returning by a
branch road, he prudently having decided to avoid risking an
engagement on learning the strength of the enemy, and, although
these officers have been criticized for retiring without a fight, my
own judgment is that they were entirely justified in so doing. I
had not, however, yet seen the enemy, and in coming down the
valley had been deceived by frightened farmers from below, and
I decided to ascertain for myself such information as to their
number and destination as would enable me to make a reliable
report at our Mt. Union headquarters on my return, and so, halt
ing my men, I asked for a few volunteers to remain with me
for a closer inspection of the enemy, and about twenty-six stepped
out of the ranks. I then put the remainder of the men in the
charge of a lieutenant and instructed him to march them back
to Fort Littleton, some miles up the valley and there await my
coming. Then, throwing the brave little band into single file, I
cautioned them to follow me in silence and keep their eyes upon
me, in readiness on a wave of my hand to leave the road, clamber
up the bank, which no cavalry could have mounted, and each
one to conceal himself securely in the thick brushwood that skirted
the road. It was not my intention to attack or expose my men
if the enemy should prove as large as represented, but an engage
ment was brought on by a peculiar circumstance. When we were
half way up the long, slanting road a gallant young lieutenant
(McDonald) with four cavalrymen, who had slipped off from
Colonel Moss' command, overtook me and said, " Captain, I have
come back to see if I can be of any service to you." I promptly
accepted his co-operation, and said, " Ride on ahead as far as
you can do so without danger of capture, and return with timely
information of the approach of the enemy." He started off with
his squad, and was soon out of sight. We plodded on, and had
-nearly reached the summit when I heard the rapid tread of hoofs
and the lieutenant and his men reappeared, coming at full speed.
I immediately waved the boys into ambush, and we were all
¦snugly out of sight as the lieutenant shouted in passing, " They
-are coming, Captain! and a h — 1 of a lot of them." (I reproduce
his exact phrase because under the exciting circumstances a little
-emphatic language seemed excusable) ; and, sure enough, his little
band had scarcely passed me when a considerable force of Con
federate cavalry came dashing into view, vociferously shouting,

197
" Halt ! Halt ! You blank Yankees ! " and accompanying their
shouts with volleys from their carbines, which . wounded one of
the lieutenant's men but did not unseat him, and they all escaped,
because the pursuit was very suddenly checked.
A SURPRISE PARTY.
For my obligations to those gallant comrades outweighed all
prudential considerations, and when the enemy got abreast of our
line we gave them a rattling volley in return, which effectually
changed their purpose and sent them back in haste and great
disorder. I emptied four barrels of my navy revolver at them as
they retreated by way of a parting salutation, just to " keep up
the racket " and accelerate their flight. The attack had the effect
of halting the whole brigade for some hours, as we had all the
advantages attending a surprise and their uncertainty as to our
numbers. They brought up their artillery and commenced to shell the
woods, but by that time our little band was out of their reach,
and, keeping to the mountain, we made our way to Fort Littleton,
where, being reinforced by a company sent down by Major Law
rence, I threw out pickets and prepared to contest the approach
further north of the enemy's scouting parties, but none came our
way. I have since learned that they had an absurdly erroneous
idea of the number of men I had with me. Our skirmish with
them at McConnellsburg took place on June 24th. The battle of
Gettysburg was approaching, and General Lee was obliged to
concentrate his forces at that place, so that after a brief sojourn
in our vicinity, the Confederates withdrew . from that part of the
state. It was claimed that our encounter was the first check they
had on Pennsylvania soil, but this has been disputed, and perhaps
correctly. I never investigated the matter.
This practically closed my active participation, for, though I
subsequently raised a cavalry company, it was not called into
active service, and as the War Department had decided not to
accept any new regiments, I followed the advice of Governor
Curtin and accented a business proposition that brought me to
Philadelphia, where I have remained ever since.
Among my letters of the war period, I find the following well-
merited tribute to an officer of the regiment, whose death from

198
disease contracted at Antietam was deplored by all his comrades.
It was addressed to me by his physician, and reads as follows :
Alexandria, Feb. 6th, 1863.
Dear Sir : —
I inform you that 2nd Lieutenant William F. McPherran departed
this life about one o'clock this afternoon — I have known him in private life
from childhood up, and must say that I believe he possessed all the
traits of character requisite to constitute one of our best men, and his
untimely loss will be deeply lamented here. (Signed.) William Christy.
Another paper is a copy of a list of money sent by comrades of
the regiment with Chaplain John D. Stewart, in February, 1863,
the total amount being $2490.50, and the receipt and disbursement
of it to their respective families was acknowledged February 28th
by Major George W. Garrettson, who was then cashier of the
Huntington Bank, and warmly interested in the welfare of the
regiment and glad to serve the comrades in every way.
The circumstances attending the death of Lieutenant Stewart
(the chaplain's brother) were most pathetic. He was an exemp
lary and pleasing comrade. Earlier in life he had contracted a
fondness for drink, which took strong hold of him and impaired
his health and prospect. He was reclaimed, however, and went
to the front and was in every respect a brave and efficient officer.
Unfortunately, shortly before the Chancellorsville battle, he paid
a visit to some of his friends in another -brigade, and they got
him under the influence of liquor, and he returned to our camp
with a deep feeling of humiliation and regret, which he expressed
at length in his diary, and ended his penitential confession with
the remarkable statement that the Lord had forgiven him and
would call him home at the coming battle, and so it turned out,
and he was the only officer of his company killed in that battle. I
have never envied the feelings of those officers who in culpable
thoughtlessness and from mistaken ideas of true hospitality plied
their unfortunate comrade with the ' liquor that wrought his
downfall. J. Fletcher Conrad was originally appointed one of the com
mittee on the history of the regiment. His death after a brief
illness sadly interrupted his labors, and proved an almost irrep
arable loss to the committee. He was one of the most unselfish,

1 199
energetic, untiring and patriotic workers that we had in the regi
ment. He had a zeal in the service of his country and in extending
fhe " helping hand " to any of his comrades that knew no limit.
It was his earnest letter, sent with my approval, to Governor Patti
son, that largely influenced him to appoint Sergeant Greenland
Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania. Upon one occasion Conrad
confronted the Secretary of War and by sheer pluck and persist
ence secured the appointment of chaplain in the United States
Army for a deserving and efficient minister who had a good
record and in whose, success we were all warmly interested.
Conrad was born at Franklinville, Pa., August 15th, 1840; he
enlisted in Company " C," 125th Regiment; was transferred to
the Hospital Department, for which as a druggist he was espe
cially well qualified, and performed his duties well. When mus
tered out with his regiment, May 18th, 1863, he commenced an
active and successful business career, and some years later, when
he settled in Philadelphia, it was my privilege to again become
associated with him as a comrade in George G. Meade Post, No. 1,
G. A. R., and in 1897, when the post chose me as its commander,
it gave me great pleasure to appoint him to the position of adju
tant, and no commander ever had an aide who brought greater
ability or faithfulness to the duties of that office.
He died May 14th, 1898, and received a soldier's funeral. He
was interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, where
his surviving comrades annually place a wreath on his grave on
Memorial Day.
Captain McKeage, of our regiment, deserves a brief tribute
to his memory. Our separate duties prevented a close intimacy
between us, but our personal relations were cordial, for I liked the
man, and I think that he held the same kindly feelings for me,
notwithstanding the fact that when he was a candidate for lieu
tenant-colonel and there was a tie vote between him and Szink, I
had the casting vote, and being unacquainted with either, I decided
in favor of Szink. This action, on better acquaintance with both,
I regretted, because, while Szink was a genial good comrade,
whom we all liked, yet McKeage impressed me as better fitted to
command men. I regarded him as the best fighting officer in the
regiment. He was such a man as I would select to lead an attack,
who by his courage and skill and example would hold his men
to work. Captain McKeage respected my rigid notions about

200
drink, although he was accustomed to take a drop now and then,
and I recall an amusing incident in this connection.
On my rounds as officer of the day I had occasion to call on
him, and as we did not have " knockers on the doors " of our
tent, we had to enter unceremoniously, and the sight that greeted
my eyes was our brave captain standing erect, face upturned, arm
uplifted, holding a bottle inverted, and absorbing the contents
with evident -enjoyment. My abrupt entrance disturbed the pro
ceeding, and the Captain's respect for my views on that cus
tom led him to hastily place the bottle out of sight, and he
reminded me in his confusion of a boy whose mother had caught
him foraging in a pantry for doughnuts, but with this difference :
McKeage's embarrassment was that of the courteous host at the
unexpected entrance of a guest to whom he could not offer that
kind of refreshment. The Captain was among the first to help me
rally the men on the flag at the battery, at Antietam, in reforming
after the retreat. Upon retiring from the army he resided at Hol-
lidaysburg, a highly respected citizen, until his death, February
1 2th, 1874. Peace to thy memory, gallant comrade!
Among my war papers is the following letter, which shows
that the veterans of the 125th Regiment were in readiness to repel
the invaders in the campaign that ended at Gettysburg, Pa. :
Fort Littleton, June 24, 1863.
Captain W. W. Wallace,
Dear Sir: —
I arrived here in the night with the enclosed message to you. from
Major J. J. Lawrence commanding. I found some men at New Granada,
nine miles from here, in the direction of Broad Top ; Captain Reed
decided to take position at Sprout's Stand, on the top of Rey's Hill,
where the State Road and Pike cross, fourteen miles from here, and
about eight miles from Bloody Run. He expects to increase his force
to 125 men to-day, and station part of them at Kegrice's Stand, five miles
this way from Sprouts on the State Road. Captain Shorthill is at New
Granada with about 25 men, and expects to fill up his Company. Cap
tain Watson expects to be back with a full company. Another company
will be organized to-day, and will report to you at this place, near which
it is desired that you remain, that you may the better command and
direct the interest of this intended line. General Smith, by General
Couch's orders, directed the line to be established as above indicated,
and that rifle pits be thrown up at or near Lyon's Farm, about six miles
from here on the State Road, nearly on a line with Captain Bell's position.

201
who starts to-day with some of his men ; the balance remain here under
Captain Jolly.
The companies coming from Broad Top and elsewhere will report
to you at this place  :  . You will hear from Major Lawrence
commanding soon again.
F. H. LANE,
First Lieutenant and Acting Aid.
;. The history of the services of the 125th Regiment can never be
fully recorded, for there were perils encountered and sufferings
endured and exploits performed by individual members, of whom
many are dead, who left no written record of their deeds, but the
committee obtained from some of the comrades living interesting
contributions to the unwritten history of the war, which are here
inserted :
Levi Decker, Private, Company H.
At Antietam, at the bluff of rocks near Dunker church, while
firing, I got my first wound, a bullet through my left shoulder, and
on our way back, at the Pike I got my second wound, a bullet
through my left arm. I was still able to travel, and got about
half-way from the Pike to the battery when I got my third wound
from the left flank of the enemy, a bullet in my right hip, which
fetched me to the ground. I laid there between the lines probably
two or three hours, until I recovered from the shock, and then
got up and made my way painfully through the line of battle at
the cornfield and down through the woods to the big spring, where
I got my wounds dressed. When the Confederates shelled it I
crossed the field over to the road at the woods and got into an
ambulance, which took me to a house in the rear, out of range of
the Confederate fire, where I laid until September 27th, and
was then taken to Frederick City Hospital, where I remained
until discharged, December 17th, 1862, unfitted for further duty,
and this ended my military service.
John Heffner, Private, Company F.
After the battle of Antietam, Charles Crohers and myself
buried five of our comrades in a hole' made by taking out lime
stone in the woods near Dunker church. One was James Deer
field, another was Corbin ; the other three I don't remember. We

202
also buried Benjamin Cunningham back on the field about half
a mile from there. I helped to bury other dead soldiers for a day
or two on Maryland Heights. We found a number of unburied
bodies where General Miles had surrendered.
H. H. Gregg, Captain, Company H.
When mustered out with the Regiment in May, 1863, promptly
re-entered the service as Captain in the 13th Pennsylvania
Cavalry. In 1864 he was advanced to the rank of Major, and for
meritorious conduct was brevetted successively as Major and
Lieutenant-Colonel. On the application of Governor Curtin he
was honorably discharged from service, on order of the Secretary
of War, on April 5, 1865, and appointed Chief of State Trans
portation and Military Secretary of the Governor, which position
he held also under Governor Geary until 1868. During his service
with the 13th Cavalry Regiment he participated in a number of
engagements, was twice made prisoner of war, and spent several
months in Libby Prison, Richmond, and at Danville, Va., and
Saulsbury, N. C.
William H. Simpson, Captain, Company F.
In 1861 he enlisted in the Petersburg company for three months
as second lieutenant of Company " H," Pennsylvania Volunteers,
under General Patterson. Re-entered as Captain, Company " F,"
125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served ;with the
regiment during its term of nine months. Was wounded at
Antietam in the right shoulder, and at Chancellorsville slightly
wounded in the face.
Stephen Aiken, Private, Company D.
" Was wounded at Antietam by a bullet in the face and neck,
breaking the jaw bone and unfitting me fqr further service. I was
three days and nights on the battlefield, and was then taken to
Hagerstown, thence to Chambersburg, and then to the Cotton
Factory Hospital, at Harrisburg, and was discharged March
13th, 1863, as unfit for service."
W. R. Strickler, Private, Company F.
" When our regiment was ordered into the woods at Dunker

203
church, our skirmishers had not advanced more than fifty yards
when they were driven back and we opened fire. A brigade of
Confederates came up through the woods, with another coming up
outside at a "right-shoulder-shift," double-quick into line. Our
regiment, having delivered its' fire and being unsupported, had
fallen back under orders, and I started down over the brow of the
hill into the field, and was about one hundred yards from the
church when the Confederates formed into line in front of the
church. My gun was loaded, and I was in the act of firing when
McCowen's battery came dashing up, nearly running over me,
unlimbered and opened fire with grape and canister. As I stood
and watched, the shots cut great gaps in the Confederate line,
which they quickly closed up again, and meanwhile opened out
with musketry. The bullets came too thick fof me, and while
getting out of range a " minnie " went through my left thigh, but
I had the satisfaction of seeing the Confederates driven back. I
was laid up in the hospital with my wound for three months."
. Frederick W. Gerhard, Private, Company D.
" At Fort Bernard we were drilled in the use of artillery, mus
ket, pick and shovel. At Dunker church I did not hear the order
to retreat, and fired off my gun and then started for the rear of
our battery, which was then doing good work, supported by our
comrades, who were re-forming in line behind it. I found on the
field a better gun than mine and traded, and lying beside a dead
Confederate was a leather case holding a knife, fork and spoon
which I appropriated. A wounded ' Reb ' asked me to help him
to a shady place, but on getting him to his feet he was unable to
walk, as part of his bowels were hanging out, and I was com
pelled to leave him."
David R. Donnely, Private, Company B.
" I received a bullet in my left thigh, while in the front near the
Dunker church. While disabled by my "wound I was in the hos
pital at 1 6th and Filbert Streets, Philadelphia. In December I
returned to my regiment, in Loudon Valley, and participated in
all the remaining marches and perils, including the battle of
Chancellorsville."

204 #
Thomas L. Engard, Private, Company C.
" Re-enlisted August, 1864, as corporal in Company B, 208th
Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and won distinction in the
battle of Fort Steadman, March 25th, 1865. The field officer
being absent, my captain assumed command of the regiment and
put me in command of the skirmish line. Our standard-bearer
was shot through the body, but I gave the word forward to my
men, and our movement was followed by the entire line, resulting
in the glorious victory and the capture of many times our number
of prisoners. At Petersburg, April 2d, 1865, I got four gunshot
wounds. Next day, with a sergeant also wounded, going through
Petersburg, we got a Union flag and took it to the Staff House
roof. A Union general, passing by, hailed us and inquired what
we' were doing, and we replied, " Old Glory must float." When
the troops came up he said, " See what two wounded soldiers
have done," and the cheering was deafening. We responded by
waving our caps. The sergeant's tongue was half shot away, so
he couldn't cheer, but he stamped on. that old tin roof and made
as much noise as a dozen men. I was sent to City Point Hospital,
thence to Alexandria Hospital. After the assassination of Presi
dent Lincoln I was discharged from Fairfax Hospital, Va., and
went home."
Henry C. Warfel, Private, Company I.
" At the expiration of my term of service with the 125th Regi
ment I served in Company A, First Pennsylvania Cavalry Bat
talion. Was awarded a medal of honor by -act of Congress for
capturing a Confederate flag in the battle of Fann Crossroads, Va.,
April 5th, 1865. Was on the skirmish line at Lee's surrender,
April 9th, 1865. Discharged at Bladensburg, Md., May 27th,
1865."
Levi G. Heck, Private, Company H.
" Mustered out May, 1863. Re-enlisted February 14th, 1864,
in Company I, 21st Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, and was pro
moted to first lieutenant September 3d, by order of the Secretary
of War, and assigned to the 127th Regiment, United States Col
ored Infantry, under General B. F. Tracy (since Secretary of the
Navy). With this regiment I did duty at Richmond and Peters-

205
burg, participating in the capture of the latter city, April 2d,
1865. Was also at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox, after
which we were sent to Texas under General Sheridan to finish up
the Rebellion, landing at Bragos, Santiago, near the mouth of
the Rio Grande, in May, where we remained until finally dis
charged September 9th, 1865."
Andrew Geist, Private, Company F.
"Discharged with the regiment, May, 1863. Re-enlisted -De
cember, 1863, on Third Heavy Artillery, on Fortress Monroe, and
on April ist, 1864, was transferred to field duty with the 188th
Pennsylvania Volunteers. On June 3d, 1864, was wounded in
right leg, at Cold Harbor, which laid me up for six months in
the hospital. I then returned to my regiment, until June, 1865,
when I contracted fever and was taken to Lee Hospital, Rich
mond, Va., for two months, and then rejoined the regiment and •
served until December 14th, 1865, when we were mustered out
of service at City Point, Va., and discharged at Philadelphia,
December 19th, 1865."
Edward L. Russ, Sergeant, Company D.
" I was shot through the abdomen at Dunker church during the
battle of Antietam, in September, 1862. While lying wounded a
Confederate ran up, seemingly to bayonet and rob me, but, picking
up an ambrotype picture, he asked, ' Is this yours ? ' I replied,
' Yes, that is my dear wife.' He at once placed it in my hand,
gazed at me for a moment, and hastily rejoined his comrades
among the storm of death-dealing missiles. Six of my comrades
of Company ' D ' risked their lives in saving me from the exposed
position in which I lay. The surgeon pronounced my wound a
mortal one. On the afternoon of the 21st I was taken to the
Lyceum Hospital, at Hagerstown, in charge of Doctor George W.
Nebinger, of Philadelphia, whose skill and untiring attention to
wounded soldiers deserves honorable mention."
Brinton Gluck, Private, Company K.
Says : " At Antietam three of my comrades were shot down
by my side. I have very vivid recollections of seeing General

206
Mansfield fall wounded from his horse, not more than twenty feet
from me. The enemy had just let loose shot and shell on us
and we were ordered to lie down, and while in that position
Mansfield rode up to the crest of the hill right on our front. Cap
tain Gardiner detailed Kho and Burhammer and Edmanton, and
one other comrade, who carried him to the rear on their muskets
to the ioth Maine comrades, who carried him to the hospital."
Jacob Gluck, Private, Company K.
" In the battle of Antietam, when General Mansfield was shot
whilst on his horse, one of the men detailed by Captain Gardiner
to carry him to the rear was standing next to me in the ranks.
During the battle our lieutenant and myself and three other com
rades drew a brass cannon back from near Dunker church to the
rear, about half a mile."
Michael B. Brenneman, Private, Company C.
" At Antietam I was wounded and carried off the field by Com
rades Lincoln and McDevitt to the Poffenberger barn. In about
ten days our friends got J. E. Robb, J. R. Knode and myself
removed to Huntingdon, where I remained five weeks before I
was able to get home, and it was two months before I got about
on crutches. In March I went to the Cotton Factory Hospital, at
Harrisburg, and was discharged from service on April 6th, 1863,
on account of disability."
W. S. Hoar, Private, Company D.
"I was wounded at Antietam, September 17th, 1862; dis
charged for disability at Camp Convalescent, near Alexandria, Va.,
January 9th, 1863. Re-enlisted June 13th, 1864, at Cleveland, Ohio,
Company ' B,' 177th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and with this
regiment took part in Hood's defeat, at Nashville, Tenn. At Fort
Fisher, N. C, also with the Twenty-third Army Corps, in opening
Cape Fear River, and capture of Wilmington, N. C. Was again
wounded at the capture of Fort Anderson, February 19th, 1864,
and was sent to Marine Hospital, at Wilmington, N. C. ; thence
to David's Island Hospital, East River, N. Y., and finally dis
charged at Columbus, Ohio, July 6th, 1865."

207
Eugene J. Boblits, Corporal, Company H.
Born December 21, 1846, he was probably one of the young
est soldiers in the army. He was one of the color-guard at
Antietam, and when that gallant color-bearer, Sergeant George
A. Simpson, was killed, Boblits bore the colors until he was also
prostrated by a bullet, which left him crippled for life.
Samuel S. Hedrick, Private, Company H.
Served with the regiment until wounded at the battle of
Antietam, and later was discharged from the service, November
21st, 1862, on surgeon's certificate. Re-enlisted March 16th,
1864, in Company "R," 13th Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, and
served until mustered out at Raleigh, N. C, July 14th, 1865.
Joseph C. Garner, Private, Company B.
Served with this regiment until wounded at the battle of
Chancellorsville, May 2d, 1863. Disabled by a bullet wound in
his right knee; cared for at the field hospital until discharged
with the regiment at Harrisburg, May 18th, 1863.
John Oscar Moore, Private, Company F.
" The South Mountain and Antietam march and battle, the
unbroken fast, emptying canteen, sharp-shooters, suspense, advance
on Dunker church, the bursting shell that did the blood-letting for
me, the awful carnage, daring deeds of the boys, the solemn roll-
call on that eventful evening with the ground thickly strewn with
dead and dying, are memories that will never be effaced. Our
return home and discharge will doubtless be told by others. In
1865 I was present at Lincoln's Inauguration, saw the Grand
Review, Lincoln's funeral, and the execution of some of his
assassins."
Elias A. Zeek, Private, Company C.
" At the battle of Antietam part of the bone of my right arm
was shot away. I lay two weeks in the battlefield barn hospital,
was then sent to the Walnut Street Hospital, Harrisburg, and in
November was discharged for disability."

208
Walter W. Greenland, Second Sergeant, Company C.
At the battle of Antietam, where the troops were falling back,
and our gallant colo*-bearer, Sergeant. George A. Simpson, was
shot and fell dead with the flag in his hands and other comrades
snatched the colors and were quickly wounded, Sergeant Green
land bravely secured the flag and surrendered it to his captain,
who used it to rally the regiment. He rose to distinction in civil
life, and on March 8th, 1892, was appointed Adjutant-General of
Pennsylvania by Governor Pattison.
George Sprankle, Private, Company C.
Was wounded at Antietam, but remained in the service until
mustered out with his company, May 18th, 1863.
Hill P. Wilson, First Sergeant, Company B.
Re-enlisted and served as captain of Company " I," in Stevens'
Regiment, in the defence of Nashville, Tenn. In 1865 he served'
under Captain Hamell in charge of United States military railroad
until the close of the war. In 1868 he was serviceable to General
Sheridan during his campaign against the Cheyenne warriors;
in 1878, postmaster; 1879, bank president; in 1888, State Sen
ator, and in 1891, receiver of public money of the United States
Land Office, at Wakeeney, Kansas.
Frank H.'Lane, Second Lieutenant, Company F.
" At Chancellorsville I received the thanks of General Geary
for meritorious services. I was mustered out with the regiment
at Harrisburg, on May 18th, 1863. Shortly afterwards, when
the word reached Huntingdon that the Confederate army was
coming into Pennsylvania and advancing to Mt. Union to hold or
destroy the Pennsylvania Railroad, the alarm was sounded by
the Court House bell. The old soldiers assembled and quickly
organized, with Major John J. Lawrence in command, assisted
by Captain Wallace and myself.. Arriving at Mt. Union, we
occupied the approach. By morning we were heavily reinforced
by other troops. General McDowell by telegram directed Major
Lawrence to command the post. I was assigned to duty as aide
and scout. Captain Wallace, in command of some sharp-shooters,

209
proceeded down the valley on a reconnoissance. He advanced to
Orbisenia, thence to Three Springs, thence to Fort Littleton, then
to the side of the Cove Mountain near where the pike crosses the
summit, near McConnellsburg, where he met the Confederate
advance, numbering about 3000 soldiers, including cavalry, artil
lery and infantry. Word reached me at Fort Littleton that they
were approaching McConnelsburg, and, mounting a fleet horse,
I arrived just in time to see tlie Union cavalry moving to the rear
and Captain Wallace and his sharp-shooters moving cautiously
along the pike toward the summit of the mountain. Keeping well
covered by timber and other obstructions, when the enemy's
advance came around the summit and came well under range, they
were received with volleys which so surprised and checked their
movement that they did not advance beyond the town. They
reported several of their men killed and wounded. Only one Union
man was wounded."
Horace B. Kemp, Corporal, Company G.
Is not officially mentioned among the union martyrs of the
regiment, but he served creditably at Antietam and Chancellors
ville, and died shortly after his return home, from disease con
tracted in the service, aged 21 years.

H

1 Madam Dumfries' shower baths free,
Was war-time hos-pi-tal-i-ty,

On beds of mud knee-deep we trod,
And pillowed our heads on rain-soaked sod. "

Re-Union

OF THE

i25TH REGIMENT
Pennsylvania Volunteers

AT-

ANTIETAM 1888

X

I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'eiu up,
I can't get 'em up, I tell you ;
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up at all.
The Corporal 's worse than the Private,
The Sergeant 's worse than the Corporal,

The Lieutenant 's worse than the Sergcantj
But the Captain 's worst of all.
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up this morning;
I can't get 'em up, I can't get 'em up,
I can't get 'em up to-day.

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Oh ! these were Bugle Echoes ! that inspired the Soldier Muse
With ready wit and humor to antidote the blues.

RE-UNION

OF THE

125™ REGIMENT
Pennsylvania Volunteers

AT

ANTIETAM
SEPTEMBER 17, 1904

SURVIVING COMRADES GROUPED IN FRONT
OF THE MONUMENT AT ITS DEDICATION

Reunion of the 125th Regiment, at the Dedication of the Monument.at Antietam, ' September 17, 1904.
(The survivors, 42 years after the battle.)

REUNION OF THE 125th REGIMENT
AT ANTIETAM, SEPTEMBER 17, 1904.
*
The reunion of the 125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers,
and the ceremonies attending the unveiling and dedication of the
monument erected by .the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in com-
memoration and in honor of the noble dead of the regiment, who
so bravely gave their lives for their country on Antietam battle
field, was held near the Dunker church, on the battlefield, Satur
day, September 17, 1904, at the hour of ten o'clock, a. m., and
was presided over by Captain William W. Wallace, president of
the Regimental Association. The following programme was car
ried out:
Calling Meeting to Order.
Prayer,  Rev. Dr. T. Flood.
Remarks,  President of Association.
Song,  Miss Cora Eynon Hicks.
Unveiling of Monument,  Miss Annie Simpson.
Address,  Lieut. Thomas McCamant, Co. C.
Addresses,  Other Members of Regiment.
Miscellaneous Business.
Song— "America,''  Audience.
Benediction.
Captain William W. Wallace called the meeting to order
promptly at ten o'clock at the monument, in a brief opening
address, as follows :
Comrades of Fort Bernard, Picket Line of Second Bull Run, South
Mountain, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Cove Mountain : I am glad
to meet and greet you again on this historic battlefield under happier
conditions than • confronted us on our first visit to this spot ; as the
senior surviving officer, and President of our Regimental Association, I
am called to preside on this occasion, and as other comrades will address
you in detail, I will occupy but a few minutes of your time in these
opening remarks.
Forty-two years ago a patriotic band of citizen soldiers from Hunting
don and Blair counties, Pennsylvania (including about forty from
Cambria county), in all about 700 men, who had left their farms and
219

220
other occupation in civil life, and with only four weeks' training, then
comprised the fighting force of the One Hundred and twenty-fifth Regi
ment Pennsylvania Volunteers, marched across this open field of car
nage, exposed to a destructive fire from a concealed foe, and reached this
extreme front position, far in advance of the regular line of battle. It
is not my province as chairman to anticipate other speakers in narrating
the tragic incidents and details of that thrilling encounter with the
Confederates sheltered behind their barriers of rocks and trees and
thickets, but it was soon evident that we were at a terrible disadvantage
" out in the open," and that to push on against a larger force, they in
trenched and we unsupported, was to incur risk of capture or annihilation,
and it was wisely decided to retire to the rear of our batteries, which
promptly opened at close range with such telling effect, that the Con
federates speedily abandoned their purpose to advance, and took refuge
again in their hiding places.
The sun went down that day on the "bloodiest one-day battlefield of
the War." On our part it was a drawn battle, in which both sides lost
heavily. We slept on our arms, expecting to renew and fight to a finish
next day, but our brave foe had had enough, it seems, of Pennsylvania's
greetings, and withdrew to the other side of the Potomac, leaving us in
possession of the dearly bought field. Our total loss was 229 in killed
and wounded (of whom 84 being slightly wounded but not disabled,
were not reported officially).
It is to the precious memory of those gallant comrades who fell by our
side on that eventful day in defence of our country, " its national integrity
and unity," that this monument has been erected by a grateful Common
wealth to perpetuate through coming generations for all time, a recogni
tion of their heroic devotion and sacrifice unto death, and a veneration
for those brave and loyal sons of Pennsylvania, and we, their surviving
comrades, are now assembled to dedicate it with appropriate ceremonies.
We have with us to-day the sister of our lamented color bearer, George
A. Simpson, whose image is sculptured in granite and properly stands
on this pedestal, and which Miss Annie Simpson will now unveil to your
gaze. And now Comrades ! every thoughtful mind gives ready assent to the
truth and force of Hamlet's utterance, that " there is a Divinity that
shapes our ends, rough hew them how we will," and it is eminently
proper that we, American citizens and soldiers, " in all our ways should
acknowledge Him, who doeth according to His will in the army of
Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth," who overrules evil
for good in human affairs, and whose benign agency and control has been
conspicuously manifest in behalf of our Nation from its origin down to
the present hour.
Let us therefore lift up our thoughts devoutly to the author of our
being, and the source of all power, while a comrade, now present, who
received his first baptism of fire near this spot, who was then Orderly
Sergeant of the Color Company, leads us in prayer. I allude to the Rev.
Theodore L. Flood, D.D., of Meadville, Pa.

221
PRAYER BY DR. T. L. FLOOD.
O God, our Father and the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
we bow our spirits and worship Thee on this ground, consecrated by the
blood of our comrades and friends, and where many of us faced death
itself that we might perpetuate this nation. We give Thee thanks that
we live to see this day — that we may come together to speak of the
deeds of valor and of the noble men who fell in our regiment and in
our great army on the day of battle more than forty years ago.
We thank Thee that Thou didst direct our fathers in the early days
of our Nation's history, and that Thou didst give them wisdom and
courage to lay the foundations of this Republic. We give Thee thanks
for the wisdom and statesmanship of the great men who perpetuated this
nation by their wise action in the halls of Congress, and in the Executive
Mansion at Washington. And when we think of the battles that were
fought in the Civil War, the defeats that were suffered and the victories
won, we raise our hearts to Thee in thanksgiving for the victory achieved
on this battlefield, and we thank Thee for the noble part our regiment
was permitted to take in that conflict.
And, now, we return to Thee gratitude that so many brave men who
fought here survive until this day. We beseech Thee to bless the widows
and orphans of our comrades who fell in that battle. Bless all the com
rades who remain, and may our gathering to-day be an inspiration of
patriotic devotion to our country, and may we here at the altar of liberty,
which has been an altar of sacrifice, consecrate ourselves anew to the
preservation of this Republic and to the perpetuation of free institutions.
Inspire the men who shall speak on this occasion, and may we all
carry to our homes an increased love for our country, and our country's
flag. Bless our army and navy, the President of the United States and his
Cabinet and our National Congress. Bless the Governor of this Common
wealth and our State Legislature. Guide us all in the way of peace that
we may never again be called to engage in civil strife, but that we
may keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.
These blessings we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The battle hymn of the Republic was then sung by Miss Cora
Eyon Hicks, of Altoona, and Mr. Frank M. Waring, of Tyrone,
the comrades joining in the chorus.
Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.
I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps ;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps ;
£, f, f. His day is marching on.

222
He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant my feet!
Our God is marching on.
In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me ;
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

The Hon. Thomas McCamant, late lieutenant of Company
" G," was then introduced and delivered the following address :
Address of Lieutenant Thomas McCamant, of Company G.
Comrades and Friends: Forty-two years have passed and
gone since less than seven hundred men and boys, only forty days
from their homes on the upper waters of the Juniata, in Blair
and Huntingdon Counties, Pennsylvania, with an adjunct of sixty
men, brought to them from the neighboring county of Cambria
by our comrade and friend, Lieutenant Dunnegan, met and battled
on the ground where we now stand, with a foe that was our equal
in courage and valor.
Almost one and one-half years had elapsed since the com
mencement of the war between the States of the South and North,
and bitterness which has since disappeared was then very nearly
at its height.
Both North and South contended for the mastery with earnest
ness and obstinacy, and though we feel justified in calling the bat
tle here fought a Federal success, it must be borne in mind that in
previous engagements in the East between the armies of the North
and the armies of the South, prestige of victory had generally
been on the side of the South.
The Army of the Potomac, made up of troops recruited prin
cipally in States of the North, that had been encamped within the
defences of Washington during the winter of 1861-1862, was, in
April of the latter year, transferred to Fortress Monroe, and by
degrees advanced to Fair Oaks, a point within five miles of the
city of Richmond (the seat of government of the Southern Con
federacy), when disaster befell it, and it subsequently met with a
succession of defeats in what are known as the Seven Days' bat-

223
. ties, that ended at Malvern Hill on July first ; and it then retired
to Harrison's Landing, on the James river.
The disaster at Fair Oaks and the subsequent Seven Days'
battles around Richmond, followed by the retirement of the army
to Harrison's Landing, caused a feeling of depression in the
North, but the people of that section soon recovered hope, and
saw that in order to crush the Rebellion in the Southern states
and restore the Union, the armies in the field must be recruited
to their maximum strength; and the governors of the several
states that had espoused the Federal cause, knowing full well that
their people were of the same mind with themselves and would
sustain them in efforts made to strengthen our armies in the field,
addressed a communication to President Lincoln on, June 22d, ask
ing him to call for additional troops to assist in bringing the Civil
War to a close.
To this communication the President made reply on July ist,
and said he had decided to call into service an additional force of
300,000 men, and an order to this effect was issued the following
day. On July 7th, C. P. Buckingham, brigadier-general and assist
ant adjutant-general, sent a dispatch to Governor Curtin request
ing him to raise in Pennsylvania, as soon as practicable, twenty-
one new regiments of volunteer infantry, and on July 21st the
Governor issued his proclamation calling for the said twenty-one
new regiments of infantry.
Under this call of the President, of July 2d, 1862, and the
proclamation of Governor Curtin, of July 21st, 1862, the 125th
Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was raised, mainly in the
counties of Blair and Huntingdon. Enlistments in the different
companies were made purely out of patriotic motives, and, in less
than two weeks' time, the regiment had in its ranks men from
all walks in life; the representative citizen, the professional man,
the man of business, the mechanic, the farmer, and the day laborer
were found among its numbers. A few of the men of the regi
ment had seen service in the late war with Mexico, some had been
members of local military organizations before the Civil War>
others had been in the late three months' service, but the great
majority of its members had no previous military experience.
The several companies rendezvoused at Camp Curtin, near
Harrisburg, early in the month of August, and were mustered into

224
United States service daily from the ioth to the 16th of the
month. On the latter date the regiment was organized and
departed that night for Washington. It reached there at noon
the next day, and reported to General Casey, in command at that
point. Arms were stacked on Capitol Hill, where the regiment
remained until the following morning, and then moved out Penn
sylvania avenue to the Potomac river, crossed the same on the .
Long Bridge, and, after marching into the state of Virginia, a dis
tance of perhaps seven miles, halted at Hunter's Chapel, where
the artillery of Blenker's division lay encamped the preceding win
ter. The regiment was made a part of General Whipple's com
mand, in charge of the defences of Washington, and the camp we
established here was named Camp Welles, after Gideon Welles,
then Secretary of the Navy.
We were the first of the new troops from Pennsylvania to
come here, but other regiments arrived daily, and the camp was
soon filled to overflowing. Drill and fatigue duties were constant
and heavy. We continued in this camp until August 26th, when
we moved to a new one, near Fort Barnard, where the same heavy
duties were exacted of us, and where we remained until we started
on the Maryland campaign, on September 6th.
The exigencies of the general Government were great at this
time. This is shown by the official records of the War of the
Rebellion. We find therein that on August 12th the President
dispatched Governor Curtin as follows:

It is very important for some regiments to arrive here at once. What
lack you from us? What can we do to expedite matters? Answer.
A. Lincoln.

To this dispatch Governor Curtin replied the same day, as
follows :

Three regiments will be organized this morning, and leave as soon as
transportation is ready. We have 13,000 men here, and will organize
as rapidly as equipments and transportation can be provided. The regi
ments from Lancaster can go, and expect to hear from Philadelphia that
same are ready there. A. G. Curtin, Governor.

225
On August 1 8th, the second day after our regiment left Har
risburg, these same official records of the War of the Rebellion
show that General Halleck telegraphed Brigadier-General
Ketchum, stationed at Harrisburg, as follows :
Confer with Governor Curtin, and urge upon him the importance
of pushing forward troops without a moment's delay. The enemy
is accumulating troops more rapidly than we are, and reinforcements
must be sent us with all possible haste. H. W. Halleck, General-in-Chief.
These times of exigency were accompanied and succeeded by
days of gloom at Washington, which the resume of events we now
give will show, to wit: The forces of General Banks, McDowell
and Fremont were consolidated in the month of July and made
one command, known as the Army of Virginia, under the control
of General Pope. During the same month Stonewall Jackson's
division was detached from General Lee, and on August 9th met
and defeated at Cedar Mountain the part of said Army of Vir
ginia, subsequently denominated the Twelfth Army Corps, of
which our regiment formed a part. On August 13th, General
Longstreet's division was also detached from General Lee's army,
and joined Stonewall Jackson on August 15th. On August 16th
Harrison's Landing, on the James river, was evacuated by the
Army of the Potomac, and the said army was transferred to
Acquia Creek Landing and Alexandria. Previous to this, troops
of General Burnside's command in North Carolina and seven
regiments from General Hunter's command in South Carolina
that had been brought to Fortress Monroe and Newport News
were also transferred to Acquia Creek Landing, and about the
same time a division commanded by General Cox, that had been
operating in western Virginia, was brought to Washington.
These troops, or the larger part of them, were at once sent to the
relief of the Army of Virginia that was being confronted on the
Rappahannock river by General Lee's Confederate Army of
Northern Virginia. General Pope says his Army of Virginia
battled with the enemy almost continuously from August 18th
to August 26th. On August 27th the line of the Rappahannock
river was abandoned, and the Army of Virginia moved to Gaines
ville, and that evening there was a hard fight at Kettle Run,
15

226
between Generals Hooker and Ewell. On August 28th, 29th and
30th, there was fighting all along the line at Groveton, and General
Pope had to fall back to Centreville. Then General Lee sent
Stonewall Jackson to the Little River turnpike, to turn the right
flank of the Federal army, and this brought on the battle of Chan
tilly, where Generals Kearney and Stevens were killed, and caused
that army to retire to the defences of Washington.
This succession of disasters was the cause of the gloom at
Washington, to which we have previously referred. The situation
existing at the time the army was retiring to the defences at
Washington is best given by General McClellan, when he took
command of it on September 2d, in language as follows :
" The President and General Halleck came to my house, when the
President informed me that Colonel Kelton had returned from the
front; that our affairs were in bad condition; that the army was in full
retreat upon the defences of Washington, the roads filled with stragglers,
etc. He instructed me to take steps at once to stop and collect the
stragglers; to place the works in a proper state of defence, and to go
out to meet and take command of the army when it approached the
vicinity of the works, then to place the troops in the best condition, com
mitting everything to my hands."
The Confederate army, or Army of . Northern Virginia, so
called, was overjoyed with its many successes, so recently
achieved, and its commander decided to move it towards the
upper Potomac, but on arriving at Leesburg he found the Federals
that had been at Winchester and subsequently at Martinsburg
had withdrawn to Harper's Ferry. He then made up his mind
to enter the state of Maryland with his army, to relieve her people
from the thraldom in which the South supposed they were held
by the North, and to secure supplies if not recruits. General
Walker, in his article in the Century Magazine in^the year 1886,
gives the further designs of General Lee on going into Maryland
to be the destruction of the aqueduct of the Chesapeake and Ohio
Canal, at the mouth of the Monocacy, the capture of Harper's
Ferry, a few days' rest at Hagerstown, supplying the army with
shoes and clothing there, the destruction of the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, a march to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the
destruction of the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge over the Susque
hanna river five miles west of that place ; and that General Lee

227
then said to him that, with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in
their possession and the Pennsylvania Railroad broken, the Great
Lakes would be the only route left to the West, and he could then
turn his attention to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.
But part only of this programme was carried out, which subse
quent events show.
General Lee crossed the Potomac river into Maryland at
. White's Ford on September 5th, with Stonewall Jackson's division
in the lead. It is reported that when in the middle of the river
he arose in his saddle, took off his hat, and the army joined in
singing " Maryland," which at that time was the favorite song
of the South. He moved to and occupied Frederick City with his
army on September 6th, where he issued his well-known address,
that had the opposite effect from what was intended. It did not
arouse Marylanders and brought but few recruits to the Confed
erate army. This we. learned when we reached the city one week
later. When it was known that the Confederate army had entered
Maryland, the Federal army, or Army of the Potomac, also moved
into that state, and on the evening of September 6th our regiment
was assigned and ordered to report to the Twelfth Army Corps,
then at Rockville, Maryland. Tents were at once struck, haver
sacks packed with what few rations we had on hand, and we
moved rapidly towards Georgetown, where we crossed the Poto
mac and took a road leading to Rockville. This place we reached
next morning. We reported to General A. S. Williams-, then tempo
rarily in command of said corps, and were assigned to the first
brigade of the first division of the same. The division at that time
was in command of General George H. Gordon, of Massachu
setts, and the brigade in command of General S. W. Crawford, of
Pennsylvania, but subsequently Colonel Joseph F. Knipe, of the
46th Pennsylvania Regiment. The brigade, after our assignment
to it, was composed of the 10th Maine, 5th Connecticut, 28th New
York, and 46th, 124th, 125th and 128th Regiments of Pennsyl
vania Volunteers.
General McClellan moved army headquarters to Rockville on
September 7th, and, not knowing the designs of the enemy, on
going into Maryland, he resolved to move forward cautiously, so
as to cover both Washington and Baltimore, and also keep the
troops well in hand, to be able to concentrate and follow in case

228
Pennsylvania was invaded. He divided the army into three col
umns, a right wing consisting of the First and Ninth Corps, in
command of General Burnside, a centre consisting of the Second
and Twelfth Corps, in command of General Sumner, and a left
wing consisting of the Sixth Corps and Couch's division of the
Fourth Corps, in command of General Franklin. In this order
the army moved from Rockville, the initiative being taken by the
right wing. Sykes' division of Regulars, of the Fifth Corps, and
Morrell's division of the same corps', joined the army later on. The
centre column, to which our regiment was attached, moved from
Rockville on September 9th, and at this time the roads were so
blocked with artillery wagons and the movement of troops that
our supply train could not reach us, and we were obliged to live
from that time until September 19th on green corn and green
apples and what we could beg or buy. The first day's march
brought us to Middle Brook, the second day to Damascus, and
the third day to Ijamsville.
We crossed the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at this place on
the morning of September 13th and moved rapidly towards Fred
erick City. When we reached the Monocacy creek cannonading
was heard, but when we crossed the creek and came to the city we
learned the cannonading was caused by a skirmish between the
rear-guard of the enemy and our cavalry advance, in the Catoctin
hills ; also that the enemy had left the city the preceding evening.
We were received kindly by the citizens of the place, who soon
showed us they were true to the Federal cause. They could not,
however, supply our wants, for the reason that they had been
stripped of provisions by the Confederate army. At this place,
in the camp of the 27th Indiana Regiment, attached to the second
brigade of the first division of our Twelfth Corps, was found a
copy of General Lee's lost order, that gave General McClellan full
information of the intentions of the enemy and of the proposed
capture of Harper's Ferry, and on receiving this information he
threw forward the right wing of the army to the Middletown
Valley that afternoon, and prepared to follow with the balance of
the army the next morning.
On the morning of September 14th General Cox's Kanawha
division, temporarily attached to the Ninth Corps, moved from
the borough of Middletown to the support of General Pleasanton's
cavalry division, then at the foot of South Mountain. It reached

229
there at nine o'clock, and at once commenced to ascend the moun
tain. This division of General Cox was composed entirely of
Ohio regiments, and had among its members several men who, in
after years, became prominent in public life. One regiment alone
(the 23d Ohio) had on its rolls the names of Rutherford B. Hayes
and William McKinley, each of whom was then present and subse
quently became President of the United States. In ascending the
mountain the division moved by the left of the road known as
the Old Sharpsburg or Braddock road, and encountered the Con
federate division of D. H. Hill at Fox's Gap, and brought on the
battle of South Mountain, in which other troops took a part.
The Twelfth Corps was ordered to move from Frederick City
at nine o'clock that morning, and it, or part of it, at least, did
move at that time, but was halted for two hours in the streets
of the town to allow other commands to pass, and when we
moved again it was by the Shookstown road to the Catoctin hills,
among which we marched to screen ourselves from the enemy's
view. Towards evening we came to a point where we could hear
the roar of cannon and discharges of musketry, and notice that
a battle was on. We were then ordered to move more rapidly, so
as to reach the scene of action if possible. At dusk we crossed
the Catoctin creek, that flows at the foot of the mountain, and
soon thereafter passed ambulances full of wounded men. Later
on we filed to the left to allow an ambulance to pass that contained
the remains of General Reno, who was killed that evening. We
continued this march until three o'clock of the morning of Sep
tember 15th, when we halted in a field near the village of Bolivar,
where the old Hagerstown road diverges to the right and the
old Sharpsburg or Braddock road to the left. At break of day
discovery was made that the enemy had fled during the night and
left his dead and wounded on the field.
This morning General Mansfield took command of the Twelfth
Corps, and all were pleased with his fatherly appearance and the
interest he took in us. General Williams now took charge of our
division, which up to this date had been commanded by General
Gordon. We moved at ten a. m. on the Hagerstown road, past
trees and ground torn and ploughed by the battle of the preceding
day. Soon thereafter we received the news of the surrender of
Harper's Ferry by General Miles, and later on we met a flag of
truce accompanied by a guard of Confederates in search of the

230
body of General Garland, of North Carolina, who was killed the
day before. We reached Boonesboro at four o'clock in the after
noon, and learned our cavalry had a skirmish there in the morning.
Here we left the Hagerstown road, and, moving to the left, halted
in a field near the town of Keedysville, on the heels of the enemy,
that had taken position on the heights beyond the Antietam creek ;
and as our army approached the creek it was greeted by a heavy
artillery fire from its western bank, to which Tidball's and Pettit's
batteries of General Pleasanton's command replied.
On examination of the position taken, as aforesaid, General
McClellan decided it was too late to make an attack that evening.
On the morning of September 16th, he found the enemy still in
position for battle, west of the Antietam creek, though the line
had been shortened and changed during the preceding night.
The forenoon, he says, was spent " in reconnoitring the new
position taken by the enemy, examining the grounds, finding
fords, clearing the approaches, and hurrying up the ammunition
and supply trains, which had been delayed by fhe rapid marches
of the troops over the few practicable approaches from Frederick."
He found out, through the reconnoissances he made, that the
centre of the Confederate line opposed to him was along private
roads and through a succession of fields extending towards the
Antietam creek ; that the left was at a crossroads on the Hagers
town turnpike, beyond the house of David R. Miller, with a pro-.
tection of cavalry reaching to the Potomac at one of its sharp
bends in this vicinity, and its right rested on the Snavely farm
south of Sharpsburg, and that the distance from left to right
was about three and one-half miles. He found out also that the
Antietam creek near where the army was located was crossed by
four stone bridges, the first or upper one on the road leading from
Keedysville to Williamsport, the second one two and one-half miles
below, on the Keedysville and Sharpsburg turnpike, the third one
mile below the second, on the road leading to Rohrersville, known
now as the Burnside bridge, and the fourth near the mouth of the
Antietam creek, three miles below the third, on the Harper's Ferry
road and he made the discovery that bridge number two was
near his line and had to be defended by him, and that bridge num
ber three was strongly defended by the enemy.
The Confederate line was admirably selected for defensive

231
purposes, and was partly in the shape of a curve. The steep
banks of the Antietam creek and the sharp bends of the Potomac
river afforded protection for the front and flanks of the army,
whilst strips of woods and irregularities in the ground within the
line -concealed it from view. The Confederate forces were so
arranged as to cover the Shepherdstown ford into Virginia and
the town of Sharpsburg, where General Lee established his head
quarters. In this strong position that he selected for his army
he decided to fight the battle that events had forced on him, and
which it was said he could not avoid without losing his prestige.
A further brief description of the ground where the left and
centre of the Confederate army rested, and where the hard fight
ing took place the next morning, in which our regiment partici
pated, is necessary to a proper understanding of the battle on this
part of the field.
To the northwest front of a belt of timber known as the east
woods, since cut down, was the house and orchard of David R.
Miller. The Hagerstown turnpike, extending from Hagerstown
to Sharpsburg, runs close to said house, and in a field some dis
tance in front of the house there were then straw stacks. In the
rear of the house there was at that time a small cornfield, and
further back, with intervening ground full of irregularities, such
as gullies, depressions and rocks, there was a woods known as
Sam Poffenberger's woods. To the right of the irregular ground,
looking towards the Miller house, was the north woods, near
where the left of the Confederate line rested. To the left and
south of the house of David R. Miller was a large cornfield that
reached from the east woods to the Hagerstown turnpike; adjoin
ing it on the left and south was a smaller field that was harrowed,
and which also extended from the east woods to the Hagerstown
turnpike, and adjoining the harrowed field on the left and south
was a field that had been in clover, but was then partly ploughed,
and it, too, extended to the Hagerstown turnpike. The turnpike
runs in front of these three fields, and beyond it, where we now
stand, there was another belt of timber, since cut down, known
as the west woods. Towards the southeastern edge of the west
woods, there stood and still stands, the historic Dunker church,
that was whitewashed, and first taken to be a schoolhouse. To the
right of the west woods in the direction of the Nicodemus farm,
and near where the straw stacks, as aforesaid, were located, there

232
was a small woods to which no name was given. Through the
east woods and skirting the southeastern edge of the harrowed
field and the whole of the clover field that was partly ploughed
ran the Smoketown road, that terminated at the Hagerstown turn
pike opposite the Dunker church. South of said road, after it left
the east woods, was "the Mumma farm, and adjoining it, in the
direction of the Antietam creek, was the Roulette farm. South
east of the Dunker church, towards Sharpsburg, is the lane, now
known as the " bloody lane," that leaves the Hagerstown turnpike
and connects with other lanes, leading to different farmhouses,
and some distance in front of this lane, further towards Sharps
burg, was the Piper house and farm.
The ground of which this rough description is given was des
tined on the morrow to be the scene of the most sanguinary single
day's conflict of the Civil War.
We have previously stated that General McClellan had spent
the forenoon of September 16th in reconnoitering, finding fords
and hurrying up trains, but during part of this time there was a
duel, that lasted forty minutes, between the Washington artillery
of New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Federal batteries east of the
Antietam creek, in which Major Arndt, of the First New York
artillery, was mortally wounded.
Having by noon finished his reconnoissances, and ascertained
the position of the Confederate forces opposed to him, the General
planned and made ready for battle. He decided to attack the
enemy's left with the corps of Hooker and Mansfield, supported
by Sumner and Franklin, whilst General Burnside's corps attacked
his right, and when these movements were successful the centre
was to be attacked, with other troops at his command. Headquar
ters were established at the Pry house, east of the Antietam creek,
and at two o'clock that afternoon Hooker was ordered to cross
that creek at the upper bridge and a ford nearby, with the divi
sions of Ricketts, Meade and Doubleday, and attack, and endeavor
to turn the enemy's left. He left at four o'clock, and, cautiously
feeling his way, came upon the enemy in the east woods soon
after sunset, and a sharp engagement between Meade's division
of Pennsylvania Reserves and Hood's Confederate division, aided
by two brigades of Stonewall Jackson's command, took place, that
lasted until dark, and in which Colonel McNeill, of the Pennsyl-

233
vania Bucktails, was killed. When firing ceased, both sides laid
down to rest near each other.
About the same time orders were given to Hooker to cross the
Antietam and attack the enemy's left, General Sumner was ordered
to have the corps of Mansfield follow Hooker during the night,
and to hold his own corps in readiness to move in the morniiig.
At ten o'clock that night our regiment received orders to be
ready to move on a moment's notice, but we did not get off for one
and one-half hours later, and when we did move we followed the
lead in person of our corps commander. We were ordered not to
allow canteens to rattle, or to speak above a whisper. We marched
about three miles in a circuitous direction, and crossed the
Antietam creek at the same ford where part of Hooker's command
crossed in.the afternoon. After midnight we halted in a ploughed
field near the house of George Line, about one mile in rear of the
east woods, where Hooker had met the enemy. Here we found
a hospital had been established, and soon after halting the body
of Colonel McNeill was borne past us to the hospital, and at this
hospital General Mansfield died at four o'clock the following after
noon. An infantry picket line was in our immediate front, and
beyond it there was a vidette line.
With the first gray streaks of morning, of September 17th,
battle in the east woods began between Hooker and Stonewall
Jackson, the Pennsylvania Reserves, of Meade's division, opening
the contest, which soon became general along the whole line. To
the right of Meade was the division of Doubleday, partly astride
the Hagerstown turnpike, and on Meade's left was the division of
Ricketts, and for the possession of the east woods and large corn
field in front the contest was fierce and obstinate.
We moved to the front at early dawn, and were perhaps one
hour in reaching the field of action, owing to numerous halts that
were made. Our movement was made mainly in column by com
pany closed en masse, and appeared to me to be in the shape of a
letter Z.
Our brigade commander says his brigade was on the right of
the line in this movement to the front. Stuart's Confederate light
artillery shelled us from the right, and to our left we could see
the barn on the Mumma farm on fire. When we came to Sam
Poffenberger's woods we met wounded men of the Pennsylvania
Reserves going to the rear. Here a strong request for assistance

234
came to our corps commander from Hooker, and here our regi
ment quickly deployed, in reverse order, and by direction of
General Crawford moved towards the stacks on the farm of David
R.. Miller, then back again, and then towards the east woods, wit
nessing many sad sights.
Hooker had previously cleared the large cornfield of the
enemy, and had pushed his columns on the right across the
Hagerstown turnpike, towards the west woods, but was compelled
to give way before superior numbers, whilst Ricketts, of his com
mand, met a similar fate on the left, but still held position in the
edge of the east woods. Stonewall Jackson had received assist
ance from D. H. Hill's and Ewell's divisions, and was also rein
forced by Hood, who had been relieved the night before to give
his men an opportunity to prepare something to eat. He (Rick
etts) fought hard to hold possession of the woods, but the large
cornfield was again occupied by the enemy.
As we approached the woods, troops of Duryea's brigade of
Ricketts' division retired, and on open ground near the woods we
received a volley of musketry from a small regiment therein, since
ascertained to be the 5th Texas, that killed one of our men, and we
are thought to be the reinforcement that Captain Ike M. Turner,
of that regiment, mentions in his report of the battle. This is
also believed to be the first loss sustained by the first division of
the Twelfth Corps. The regiment still moved on, under fire, then
fell back momentarily, and then again moved forward until it got
a lodgment some distance back in the woods, ' and here we took
position, says Colonel Knipe, of the 46th Pennsylvania Regiment,
subsequently in command of our brigade. He also says the orig
inal intention was to have the 124th, 125th and 128th Pennsyl
vania Regiments of our brigade to first move to the front, but
this plan was not carried out.
At this time we think Greene's division of our corps were mak
ing ready to move through the woods, and Goodrich's brigade of
.said division was detached and sent to the right to the assistance
of General Patrick, of Hooker's command. About the same time
the 124th Pennsylvania Regiment was detached and sent to the
right, to the Hagerstown turnpike, past the house of David R.
Miller. When the corps got fairly in position, battling, which had been

235
severe, now became terrific, and for the next three hours a rich
harvest of death was reaped on the right of the Federal line.
The several regiments of our brigade moved to the front of
the east woods separately. The 46th Pennsylvania, 28th New
York and 10th Maine led the way and were followed by the 125th
and 128th Pennsylvania. The brigade commander (Colonel
Knipe) says the three leading regiments opened fire on the enemy
at the cornfield, about two hundred and fifty yards in their front.
Our regiment moved rapidly to their support, but after nearing
the positions they had*taken we were halted, and the 128th Penn
sylvania immediately filed to our right and partly through our line,
and occupied ground on the right of the 46th Pennsylvania. Here
Major Wanner, of that regiment, says General Mansfield ordered
deployment to be made, but before the order could be carried into
effect their colonel was killed and lieutenant-colonel wounded, and
there was much confusion and excitement, and that the enemy
was concealed in the cornfield, sixty or seventy yards in their
front. They appeared to us to be losing heavily from a foe that
was under cover, and the recollection of our men is that at this
time General Mansfield rode forward to reconnoitre and was
mortally wounded by a sharp-shooter. This was about seven o'clock
in the morning, and practically at the commencement of the
engagement on the part of the first brigade of the first division of
the. Twelfth Corps.
The greater portion of the east woods was west of the Smoke
town road, and in this western portion, on a knoll, then wooded
and partly rocky, . Colonel Croasdale, of the 128th Pennsylvania
Regiment, was killed, and in front of this knoll, it may be to the
right or left, we say General Mansfield received his mortal wound.
Major John M. Gould, late adjutant of the 10th Maine Regi
ment, placed a marker east of the Smoketown road, on the spot,
he says, where General Mansfield was wounded, and the State of
Connecticut, in the year 1900, erected a monument on the eastern
edge of said road, designating practically the point marked by
Major Gould as the place where the wounding occurred, and it is
one hundred and forty yards or more to the left rear of what we
thoroughly believe to be the true location. His account of the
wounding given in his history of the ist, 10th and 29th Maine
Regiments and in his pamphlet on " General Mansfield at Antie-

236
tam " differs materially from ours in fixing the place he does
where the wounding occurred, and in giving the ioth Maine Regi
ment credit for first assisting the General after he was wounded.
We say that very soon after the General rode to the front to
reconnoitre he came back, and some distance from our line it
was noticed by Captain Gardner, of Company " K," of our regi
ment, that there was something wrong with him, and he at once
ordered Sergeant John Caho and Private Samuel Edmundson,
of his company, to go to his assistance, and as they did so Private
E. S. Rudy, of Company " H," joined them; also two other men
not of our regiment. They saw the General was seriously
wounded, and at once helped him from his horse, then reversed
their muskets, placed him on the same and carried him -to a tree a
short distance in the rear, where a surgeon appeared and where
he was delivered to a second party, believed to be of the ioth
Maine Regiment, who carried him still further to the rear in a
blanket, and placed him in an ambulance that conveyed him to
the farmhouse of George Line, from whence we started to the
front at break of day. This statement practically corresponds with
one made to me by Captain T. J. Hamilton, late of the 28th Penn
sylvania Regiment, when on this field in October, 1894. He said
at the time of the occurrence he was temporarily detached from
his regiment and witnessed the same. Our colonel's report of
the battle, made five days after it took place, when all facts were
fresh in memory, states that our men carried the general off
the field on muskets until a blanket was procured, whilst the report
of Lieutenant-Colonel Fillebrown, of the ioth Maine Regiment,
does not mention or refer to so important a matter as the fatal
wounding of our corps commander. General Joseph F. Knipe,
when on the field with me, on May 29th, 1897, said, without hesi
tation, after looking at the spot marked by Major Gould, that it
was much too far to the left and rear, and that the wounding
occurred in front of the leading regiments of the brigade. I was
again on the field on May 16th, 1901, with Captain E. L. Witman,
who was an aide on the staff of General Crawford, but detailed for
duty with General Mansfield on the day of the battle. He went
over the ground, examined different locations, pointed out the
knoll on which Colonel Croasdale, of the 128th Regiment, was
killed, and then said that he saw Croasdale killed, and was in the
act of delivering a message from Mansfield to Crawford, when

237
the former was wounded ; that on his immediate return he found
men with new uniforms carrying the general to the rear on mus
kets; that he at once reported the wounding to Crawford, who
ordered him to get the General to a safe place, and on hurrying
back he found another party of men carrying him still further to
the rear in a blanket and placing him in an ambulance on the
Smoketown road ; that it was west of said road, near the mound
where Colonel Croasdale had been killed, that he saw the first
party assisting the General to the rear and that he was certain
the wounding occurred further to the front, and nearer the large
cornfield than the spot marked by Major Gould. The location we
fix is practically the same that Daniel Mumma, proprietor of a
livery stable in Sharpsburg, pointed out to me on September 18th,
1888, and said it was shown him three days after the battle by the
surgeon who ministered to the General when he was wounded.
After the wounding of General Mansfield our regiment moved
to the rear and halted for a time, then quickly obliqued to the left
front of the woods on the edge of the harrowed field south of the
large cornfield, where we found a few of the 90th Pennsylvania
Regiment, and Colonel A. J. Sellers, of that regiment, says they
were the last of Hooker's men to leave the east woods. In their
front was an iron gun battery, supposed to be Edgel's First New
Hampshire Battery, that was exchanging shots with a Confederate
battery on the limestone ledge near the Dunker church, where the
Maryland monument now stands. At this time Greene's division
of our corps had driven the Confederates from the woods, and
other troops of the corps had cleared the cornfield of the enemy.
Here our regiment, that had been in reverse order, righted itself,
and moved quickly through the harrowed field and field partly
ploughed, to the Smoketown road, passing many dead and
wounded and capturing prisoners who had sought refuge behind
rocky knolls. As we approached the road Monroe's First Rhode
Island Battery came up and, taking position on rising ground in
our front, silenced the Confederate battery near the church and
paid attention to other batteries further distant. This battery we
were ordered to support, and exceedingly severe was the enemy's
fire at this point, especially at mounted officers. To protect our
selves, we lay on our faces, and persuaded our colonel and lieu
tenant-colonel to dismount, and scarcely had the latter done so
when he was disabled by the explosion of a shell. General Hooker

238
now rode up to us and asked if any troops were in the west
woods in our front, and was told none but Confederates. Whilst
he and our colonel were talking, his horse was hit by a ball, to
which his attention was called, and he quickly rode away. He
may then have been wounded himself, for in his. report of the
battle he says he was not aware he had been wounded, and had to
be lifted from his saddle through weakness caused by loss of
blood. This was after he rode to the rear and before General
Sumner arrived on the field.
When the fire of the battery we supported slackened, an officer,
to us unknown, ordered the regiment into the west woods, and as
we moved forward some Confederate troops retired and sought
refuge* in hollowed ground to our right. We were the first Fed
eral regiment to enter those woods. At their eastern edge we
halted, and Company " B " was detached and ordered to the
church to see if a foe was concealed there, but found only wounded
Confederates. Company " G " was also detached and thrown for
ward as a line of skirmishers. The other companies of the regi
ment followed the skirmishers to an elevation of ground near an
outcropping of rocks. This was our advance position in the woods
as a regiment, and is close to a straight line from the right of the
point where our monument is located. The skirmishers were
again sent forward and penetrated the woods without serious
resistance, until they reached their northwestern edge, near where
straw stacks stood and where a captured Confederate said a hos
pital had been established. Here the skirmish line was fired upon
and one man was wounded. This line is the body of troops Gen
eral Early speaks of in his report of the battle, when he says " a
body of the enemy, perhaps only skirmishers, had gotten into the
woods to the left and was firing upon our men." Our skirmish
line then retired to the main portion of the regiment, that had
fallen back from the position previously taken, and the company
at the church rejoined us. The enemy that had fired on the skir
mishers followed them in force, and on nearing the position of the
regiment made a strong attack on it, but this attack, as well as
three other separate assaults, were successfully resisted, but with
heavy loss to ourselves. We had previously made the discovery
that we were distant from other troops of our corps, and entirely
without support on our flanks, and assistance was called for.
Soon thereafter General Sumner rode forward and took in the

239
situation at a glance. He rode rapidly back, and then General
Gorman, of Sedgwick's division, reported that his brigade was
coming up but was some distance back. "Shortly afterwards the
34th New York Regiment, of said brigade, came up on the double-
quick, and taking position to our left and rear, commenced firing
at the flanking column on the left; but the two regiments were not
sufficiently strong to contend long with the heavy force hurled
against them, and were obliged to retire behind the batteries sta^
tioned in the field in the rear that was partly ploughed, after a
contest that lasted from twenty minutes to one-half hour, the
greater portion of whicfi time the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment
was alone. The enemy followed our retreat, delivering a wither
ing fire at both regiments, and at other troops of Sedgwick's divi
sion that were then arriving on the field, until halted by the bat
teries. This force of the enemy, we are informed, consisted of
Kershaw's brigade, supported by Walker's division and Early's
brigade. It was driven back principally by the fire of the batteries,
and then Sedgwick's division advanced, but when it reached the
woods they were again a sheet of flame. The enemy had been
reinforced and caused Sedgwick to give way, though not with
out heavy loss to themselves as well as to Sedgwick. The advance
made by the enemy extended on our right to the point where the
second brigade of our division had been battling, and General
Crawford was wounded in the thigh in rallying some troops here.
On the left it reached General Greene's division of our corps,
moving from the Mumma farm, but was repelled by it, and it sub
sequently pushed forward to the Dunker church and got position
in the woods there, which it held until near the time Franklin's
corps came on the field.
French and Richardson, of Sumner's corps, reached the field
after Sedgwick, and bearing to the left of General Greene, of our
corps, engaged D. H. Hill in the sanguinary struggle on the Rou
lette farm and at the bloody lane, and in which assistance was
rendered by General Franklin, who came up from Pleasant Valley
about noon. This struggle lasted for three and one-half hours.
Subsequently Hill was reinforced by R. H. Anderson's division,
and against these two forces French and Richardson fought at the
Piper house, and near here General Richardson was mortally
wounded, also the Confederate General, G. B. Anderson.
Soon after Franklin arrived, Captain Monroe, whose battery

240
we supported before we entered the west woods, rode up to our
colonel and appealed to us to save his guns, that were then on
our left front, and said that his horses had been shot and the guns
were about to be captured. To the command forward we moved
on the double-quick, drove the enemy back, rescued the guns, and
received the thanks not only of the commander of the battery, but
also of General Franklin.
The contest during the balance of the day was transferred
further to the centre and to the left, though a heavy artillery fire
was kept up on the right, that lasted until after dark. I shall
simply give a general description of the same, but others will no
doubt give fuller and more minute descriptions.
North of the Dunker church Stuart attempted a flank move
ment on the Federal line, but was driven back by an artillery fire
from thirty batteries directed upon him by Doubleday. About
the same time Pleasanton crossed the Antietam creek at bridge
number two, with a force of cavalry and light artillery, and formed
a flank support for Richardson at the Piper house, and later he
repelled a threatened attack on Hancock, who took command of
Richardson's division after he was mortally wounded.
Soon after Pleasanton crossed the creek a battalion of regulars
followed and moved to his assistance. This movement was also
followed by four other battalions, that made their way up the hill
where the National Cemetery is now located, and drove off sharp
shooters, and rendered valuable service otherwise.
The charge on the left, that carried Antietam bridge number
three, was made by Burnside at one o'clock in the afternoon, and
at great cost of life. Other troops followed the ones that charged
the bridge, and the outskirts of Sharpsburg were reached, but
the strong division of A. P. Hill that had come up from Harper's
Ferry was now encountered; and a bitter contest followed, in
which General Rodman and other valuable officers were killed.
Some ground was lost here, but it was subsequently recovered and
the Federal line restored.
Night came on soon afterwards, and Antietam, generally
admitted to be the bloodiest and most severe of all the single day's
battles of the Civil War, was over.
Both armies rested where they fought, and the contest was not
renewed the next day.
The following night the Confederate army crossed the Poto-

241
mac river into Virginia at the Shepherdstown ford, and left behind
them their unburied dead and many wounded. They had been
terribly punished, and General Longstreet said that they were in
no condition to wait long for a renewal of the attack from
McClellan. The battle can be properly called a Federal victory. It did
much" towards stimulating the recruiting at the North, and Presi
dent Lincoln followed it by issuing his Emancipation Proclama
tion. From 23,000 to 30,000 men went down in that one day's con
test, and evidences of the" severity of the engagement were many
all over the field. On the right, the large cornfield, the fields
around and in front of the house of David R. Miller, and beyond
the Hagerstown turnpike in the direction of the Nicodemus farm,
and the small strip of woods northwest of the west woods, were
covered with the dead. In the west woods, the field partly
ploughed, the harrowed field, and everywhere around the Dunker
church, the dead were so thickly strewn in places that it required
care to step without treading on a dead body, and mingled with
them were many dead horses and broken artillery wagons. The
Mumma farm, the Roulette farm and the Piper farm presented
similar scenes, and at the bloody lane the dead lay three and four
rleep. The left of the line also had its full proportion of dead and
wounded. General Hooker, in his report of the battle, says it was never
his fortune to witness a more bloody, dismal battlefield. William
F. Fox, in his work on "Regimental Losses in the Civil War,"
says : " Antietam was the bloodiest battle. More men were killed
in one day than any other one day of the war," and Richard Meade
Bache, in his life of General Meade, says of Antietam : " It was a
terribly bloody day, the bloodiest single day of any in the annals
of the Civil War." General Hood, in his volume styled " Advance
and Retreat," published at New Orleans, La., in the year 1880,
says : " This most_deadly conflict raged till our last round of
ammunition was expended. The ist Texas Regiment lost in the
cornfield full two-thirds of its number, and whole ranks of brave
men, whose deeds were unrecorded saye in the hearts of loved
ones at home, were mowed down in heaps, to the right and left.
Never before was I so continuously .troubled with fear that my
horse would further injure some wounded fellow-soldier, lying
16

242
helpless on the ground . . . With the close of this bloody
day ceased the hardest fought battle of the war," and General
Longstreet, in his book styled " From Manassas to Appomattox,"
says " the field lying along the Antietam and including in its scope
the little town of Sharpsburg, was destined to pass into history as
the scene of the bloodiest single day's fighting of the war, and the
17th of September was to become memorable as the greatest
carnage in the campaign between the North and the South."
Our regimental losses were sustained principally in the west
woods, and in the field in the rear that was partly ploughed, and
through which we fell back when we were obliged to retire from
the woods. Here our color-guard went down and our colors were
rescued by different comrades, and finally carried by Captain
Wallace, of the color company, who placed them in a decayed
stump in the rear of our batteries, and around them we rallied.
We had 54 men either killed instantly or who died of their
wounds soon after the engagement, 91 seriously wounded, some
of whom afterwards died, and 84 slightly wounded, and these
losses were all sustained in one month and one day after the regi
ment was organized.
In reports of battle we were complimented specially by our
division commander, General Crawford, and generally by our
corps commander, General Williams, for our conduct on the
field, but we only claim for ourselves that we strove to do our
duty, and not that we rendered superior service.
Our numbers have become less than they were forty-two years
ago. Time has wrought havoc in our ranks. Some were lost in
battle after Antietam, and others were carried away and are
still carried away by disease. We realize that we are on the
border line of old age, and after ten years more shall have passed
away but few of us will be left to tell the story of Antietam on
the part of the 125th Pennsylvania Regiment, but the monument
that the good old Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has provided
for us, and which we dedicate to-day, will remain where it now
stands, to teach the lesson of patriotism to future generations, and
to show relatives and friends where we fought for the preservation
of the Union on a field that history records as the most stubbornly
contested of all the single-day engagements of the late Civil War.
In conclusion, my comrades and friends, let us all feel that
we have reason to thank God that we are now a reunited nation,

243
although it did require four years of bloody strife to bring this
about ; and let us all hope and trust that never again will there be
a war among ourselves, but forever hereafter we shall have but
one country and one flag, and that country shall be our common
country, the United States of America, and that flag the Stars and
Stripes of our native land.
Hon. J. D. Hicks, of Altoona, Pa., late of Company " K," made
the following address :
Mr. Chairman and Friends : I cannot refrain on- this historic occasion
from quoting the language of poetry and say in honor of our fallen com
rades : How sleep the brave who sink to rest,
By all their country's wishes blest,
By fairy hands their knell is rung ;
By forms unseen their dirge is sung.
Here Honor comes a pilgrim gray,
To deck the turf that wraps their clay.
How true these words of the poet are of our dear departed dead. This
entire nation rises to-day and is of one accord in doing honor to the
brave and heroic men who gave their lives for the perpetuation of our
union and the preservation and glory of its flag. Around this church on
this great battlefield there clusters and lingers in the minds of the
survivors the never-to-be-forgotten shock and turmoil of the battle. At
the peep of day, ere the sun had cast a ray over the towering Blue Ridge,
Hooker's men opened the fight, and with cheers that will ring down the
corridors of time and achieving results that will ever shine on the pages
of history, they stood up man to man until our brothers of the south
with shattered ranks were compelled to give way. At this juncture of
the fierce contest, shortly after the sun was up and while the fog yet
hung over the woods, Mansfield's men were deployed from close column
by regiment into line of 'battle to actively pursue a fleeing foe. The men
in gray soon rallied from the first terrific, overwhelming and deadly on
slaught and met Mansfield's brave boys, of which we were a part, with
a leaden storm that cost us many precious lives, and that bore down
many comrades with ghastly wounds; among the fatally wounded in our
immediate front was our gallant veteran general, who in pointing the
way to victory was attesting his courage and love of country by showing
us the enemy as they lay concealed in the wood and cornfield, within his
view and along the Smoketown road. Ordinarily a battle would lag upon
the death of such a leader as General Mansfield, but the enthusiasm and
determination that had taken hold of the boys in blue on that morning
did not falter at his fall, and with fresh impetus — as if to avenge the death
of one so brave and fearless — the line moved irresistibly forward. The
charge through the wood and cornfield and open ground, leading to the

244
Hagerstown pike was over three-quarters of a mile, and when we were
halted for re-formation we were in full view of the historic church around
which we are now assembled. Moving forward again with no enemy in
sight, we were moved in such a manner as to indicate that we were to
ferret the whereabouts of the enemy. It was here and over yonder
ledge, to which they had gone for shelter and rest from our withering
fire we found them. By direction of Colonel Higgins, brave Captain
McKeage, of Company G, with his skirmishers, and the sharp-shooters
of the regiment uncovered their hiding place. With an eagle eye one of
their commanders saw our exposed flanks, and by a movement that
enveloped our entire regiment and especially our left flank, we were
in a circle and exposed to a deadly cross fire, out of which tnere seemed
but slight hope of a successful retreat. Captain Wallace, seeing the
danger to which we were exposed, warned the men to be firm. Company
B was thrown out on a line east of this church, moving over the ground
now occupied by our monument, as a protection to our left, and if possible
stop the flanking column. It was a formidable, and what proved to be
an impossible task, and within view of this spot over 150 of our regiment
lay either dead or writhing in pain from the effect of the enemy's
bullets. Our color-bearer, the gallant Simpson, whose form surmounts
our beautiful monument, with our bright new flag in hand fell, and
gave his precious life to his country. Adjutant Johnson and more than
fifty others made a like sacrifice. Our noble artillerymen who had
unlimbered their guns to our left and rear, begged us to open ranks and
permit them to have a share of the work of the day. Captain Wallace
after our flag had fallen five times from as many color-bearers, seized
our colors and directed the rally of the regiment in the rear of the battery.
The work of the battery in the repulse of the exulting foe cannot be
described. The dead of our brave enemy attest the fearful sacrifice they
made in driving us from the advanced position we had taken.
With us after our retirement from the church, the principal work of
the day was over, except to remain in position. The noble gunners, as
before said, fearfully decimated the ranks of the enemy and the Sunken
road to our left where our comrades of the One Hundred and Thirtieth
were doing duty, was converted into the " Bloody Lane." As we saw that
awful suffering, carnage and death enacted at that tragic spot, within
a few yards of where we now stand, we realized as never before the
" horrors of war." In the afternoon we saw and heard the movements
of Burnside's men as they crossed the creek and occupied the heights
on the extreme left of the battlefield. Thus the history of the day is
briefly and clearly told from the standpoint of a volunteer soldier.
History records that 87,000 men were on the field under General McClel
lan, of whom about 57,000 were engaged in the battle. Of this number
12,460 were wounded, killed or missing, and 2,019 were killed, while at
least an equal rfumber was killed and wounded on the other side and an
equal number, or thereabouts, engaged. Of the brave comrades of the
One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers that went with
us that day into the battle and crossed these fair fields to the spot that

245
we now consecrate, fifty-four were killed and died of wounds, and 175
were wounded, making a total loss of 229 of a possible 700 that entered
the battle in the morning. To commemorate the bravery of these men
and to point posterity to the sacrifices made, the great Commonwealth,
of which we are citizens, has reared this beautiful and enduring shaft.
Words will not properly portray, nor can pen indite a proper memorial
to the brave young hearts whose life blood was shed in and around this
historic spot.
If this is the story of the day of but one of the many regiments that
participated in this great contest we may well ask, what is the story of
the night after the battle was over. Let us pause for a moment and
think o'f the roll-call when the shades of evening had gathered; when
the missing ones were known. Where were they? was the question asked
by the surviving comrades as those present answered here. Who could
tell the story of the missing comrades? Each of us had an experience
of his own, each of us had seen a comrade probably fall, or being carried
off, and each then and there undertook to search for a missing one, and
amid the gloom of that night, back of the field and amid the wounded
and the dying, where the surgeons were at work, each of us received from
some one a message for the loved ones at home, each of us had a letter
to write, each had a home of his own with which to communicate and
assure father, mother and friends of our safety. Each had a message
to write to the friends of those who had fallen. With these thoughts in
our hearts and messages in our minds the early hours of the following
morning found us in our ranks, lying on our arms in the line of battle,
expecting to be awakened by the shrill call of the bugle, or the roll of
the drum to renew the contest.
This is not the time or place to dwell further upon this great con
test. The thought as well as the facts linger in memory's dream, and, as
each unfold the scroll, and read from our minds hastily, the deeds of
valor of our comrades who he're gave their lives, and of this great
actioii that was fraught with so much that was potent for the weal or
woe of our great country, we have reason to be proud of the result and
are thankful to a kind Providence for the preservation of our great
nation, and the honor and glory of its people, and we rejoice in the fact
that our country is to-day as was intended by our fathers, in deed and in
fact and in truth, one country, under one flag, and that is the flag that
was followed by the boys in blue on this tragic field to substantial vic
tory. " Old Glory," the flag we love so well, the emblem of freedom,
equal rights and. national unity.
The Rev. Theodore L. Flood, D.D., late lieutenant of Com
pany " C,". followed with the following remarks :
Mr. President and Comrades : This is historic ground. Forty years
ago to-day we were in a bloody battle on the soil where we are now
gathered. Some of our number fell in the embrace of death. The bodies

246
of most of them were carried to their homes for honorable burial — a
few were buried in the Antietam Cemetery among the unknown dead.
A large number in our regiment were wounded. Inscribed on this monu
ment is this statement " Two hundred and twenty-nine men killed and
wounded in the One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Regiment on that day."
This inscription alone speaks volumes concerning the fierceness of the
conflict and the deadly struggle in which our regiment was engaged.
It is an historic coincidence that our color-bearer, George Simpson,
whose statue is the top piece of this monument, was shot in the temple
and fell dead while carrying the flag of our regiment. He was the second
man from me in line of battle, and his brother, J Randolph Simpson, Esq.,
of Huntingdon, Pa., was shot through the breast and carried off the
field. He is among us to-day, alive but not well. And the sister of these
two men has unveiled the monument from the statue of her brother
to-day after forty years have passed.
What reminiscences are suggested to memory as we turn our thoughts
backward to the days when we marched to this field and fought in that
battle under General McClellan. The scenes all about us after these
forty years have passed speak of peace. The sod on the fields is green.
Some of the woods have been felled, but the remaining trees show no
signs of the awful rain of shot and shell that plowed through the branches
and the trunks of the trees that stood here on that awful day. As we
look abroad on these hillsides and in this valley, one would suppose
that no such bloody conflict had ever taken place on this soil, but history
will tell another story, — how the Union army met the Confederate army
in the bloodiest open field battle of the Civil War — one in which there
were more soldiers killed and wounded in one day than in any other one
battle of the war. And here at the Dunkard Church where we fought
and where this monument stands to the honor of the memory of ou<-
fallen comrades was one of the bloodiest angles in that awful battle.
We can only say, peace to the ashes of our dead, and may the blessings
of God be upon the widows and the orphans of the men who died here
for a united nation and a free people.
Mr. Morris Davis, of Altoona, Pa., who was a member of
Company " D," read the following poem :
ANTIETAM AFTER FORTY-TWO YEARS.

Antietam : Gentle peaceful stream,
Upon thy banks so fair,
What memories, to the mind will turn
Of one who lingers there.
He hears again, or seems to hear,
The cannon's rumbling wheel,
The rolling drum, the clanking spear,
And the bugle's stirring peal.

247
He sees again, or seems to see,
Along thy wooded crest,
The southern hosts, with General Lee,
As on their arms they rest.
Jackson and Longstreet, Hill and Hood,
With legions clad in gray,
Along the hills and in the wood,
Their battle lines array.
Then, as he faces to the east,
There rises to his view
Another host, equal at least,
With legions clad in blue.
The old commander, " Little Mac,"
To place and power restored,
With thousands eager at his back,
To measure sword with sword.
Over the gray, the southern cross,
Floats on the morning air,
Above the blue the breezes toss
" Old Glory,'' bright and fair.
And men are here, on either side,
Some wearing blue, some gray,
Who touching elbows met the tide
In many a former fray.
But now they meet in mortal strife,
No longer comrades true;
A brother seeks a brother's life,
As though no ties they knew.
Spirit of Washington, restrain
The rash vindictive hand
That would in madness, rend in twain
Thy blood-bought native land.
Now Hooker, far out on the right,
Already known to fame,
Himself a host, opens the fight,
With lustre to his name.
Franklin, in the centre of the field,
His men with Jackson vie,
And though they know not how to yield,
Thev do know how to die.

248
While here upon this rugged ground,
Twelfth corps men rush and lurch;
Mansfield receives a mortal wound,
Near the famous Dunkard church.
Here Barlow, having well bestowed,
A storm of leaden rain,
Has changed the name of Sunken Road
To that of "The Bloody Lane."
" Oh, Maryland, My Maryland,"
From thy devoted sod,
What valiant men are called to stand
This day, before their God?
Down on the left, where Burhsides' knights
Have waited mid-day sun,
They storm the bridge and scale the heights,
Before the day. is done.
And since that day this arch of stone
Is known as " Burnside's Bridge " ;
Now may the heights beyond be known
By the name of " Rodman's Ridge."
For here, before the close of day,
Brave General Rodman fell,
And bled his gallant life away
For the cause he loved so well.
But night has fallen on the scene,
And now with bated breath
Each warrior mourns with anguish keen
For comrades cold in death.
May the great God, who rules above,
And guides the affairs of men,
Forbid, in his infinite love
Such fratricide again.
The entire audience joined in singing " America."
My country, 'tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing !
Land where our fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims' pride,
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring.

249
Our Father's God to thee
Author of Liberty,
To Thee we sing —
Long may our land be bright
With freedom's holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God, our King.
The Rev. E. A. Zeek pronounced the benediction.
The following members of the regiment were present: Sur
geon F. B. .Davison.
Company A — O. G. Smith, John S. Dell, Thomas W. Hurd,
John Crowell, J. W. Grazier, J. P. Wolf.
Company B — W. D. Fouse, Ephraim Gerst, James Geiser,
James J. Houck, B. F. Wolfkill, Joseph Sias.
Company C — Captain W.- W. Wallace, J. R. Simpson, J. H.
Friday, D. P. Henderson, Z. G. Cresswell, Porter A. Robb, Dr.
W. B. Brenneman, Alex Denny, John White, Rev. E. A. Zeek,
James A. Green, George W. Friedley, Rev. Dr. T. L. Flood, M.
S. Lytle, George Ehman, H. A. Huffman.
Company D— W. T. Miller, F. W. Gearhart, S. D. Aiken, R.
M. Davis, E. L. Russ.
Company E^Levi Leedom, H. M. Wilt.
Company F — J. F. N. Householder, M. L. Protzman, F. H.
Lane, Jacob Morgan, James A. Mitchell.
Company G — Thomas McCamant, George R. Curtiss, Joseph
H. Reed, Thomas J. Charles, H. H. Hewitt, Henry C. Taylor,
William H. McClelland, D. F. Philips.
Company H — James T. Foster, R. L. Hunter, William Davis.
Company I — H. C. Warfel, Isaac Woomer, J. G Coder,
S. S. Coder, Frank Corbin.
Company K — E. R. Dunnegan, J. D. Hicks, William P. Speil-
man, John Coho.
During the exercises and while the Hon. J. D. Hicks was
delivering his address Governor Pennypacker and staff drove up
to the monument and tarried awhile and shook hands with the
survivors and their friends. At the order of regimental business
Captain Wallace was re-elected president, Thomas McCamant
vice-president, J. R. Simpson treasurer and J. D. Hicks and W. T.
Miller secretaries.

250
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT.

Confederate Avenue, West of Dunker Church.

A Color ' Sergeant with his regimental flag partly unfurled to the
breeze, with eagerness written in every line of his manly face and lithe
body, with hand on the sword at his side, ready to spring forward at
the command to lead his comrades anywhere and everywhere they are
ordered to go, well typifies the hero color-bearer of the One Hundred
and Twenty-fifth Infantry who lost his life in this battle on the very
spot marked by this grand monument.
This statue is a portrait statue of Color Sergeant George A. Simpson
and well illustrates the possibility of securing in enduring granite, faith
ful portraiture and detail of uniform and accoutrement. Stanley Edwards
was selected as the artist to execute this portrait statue.
The pedestal supporting this statue is built of four stones, two
bases, die and cap. Rough quarry faced effects are shown in its com
position and very happily combined, with a touch here and there of
fine hammered surfaces. This command was also of the Twelfth Corps
and therefore the band of five pointed stars cut on the upper portion
of the die stone is not only very appropriate, but very ornamental.
A large five-pointed star, occupying the entire face of the left hand
face of the die is also cut into the surface of the granite.
On the front panel of the die ia a large bronze inscription panel, as
follows : 125TH
PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS INFANTRY
1ST BRIGADE 1ST DIVISION
I2TH CORPS

RECRUITED IN BLAIR
HUNTINGTON AND CAMBRIA
COUNTIES PENNA
On the right hand panel, a bronze panel bearing' the following inscrip
tion : moved at early dawn from bivouac
on farm of george line to east woods
near point where gen. j. f. mansfield
was mortally wounded from there to
support Monroe's first rhode island
battery on smoketown road then to
woods that stood here september 1 7
1862. was the first union regiment

251
THEREIN BEING FAR ADVANCED AND WITHOUT
SUFFICIENT SUPPORT IT WAS OUTFLANKED BY
THE ENEMY AND RETIRED BEHIND BATTERIES
IN FIELD IN REAR AND SUBSEQUENTLY
SAVED THE GUNS OF MONROE'S BATTERY
FROM CAPTURE. REMAINED IN LINE UNTIL
CLOSE OF BATTLE MONUMENT IS NEAR
THE LEFT OF ITS MAIN LINE OF BATTLE
LOSS AT ANTIETAM
KILLED AND DIED OF WOUNDS 54
SERIOUSLY WOUNDED 91
SLIGHTLY WOUNDED AND NOT REPORTED 84
229
The cap stone has a battlement effect on its rough surfaces, sug
gestive of the ancient battle towers, that is very rugged and dignified,
and on the front face of the plinth stone may be seen the record of the
death of Color Sergeant George A. Simpson of this regiment. The
square of the lower base is 6 feet, the height 9 feet, the total height,
including staff of colors, i9'-4"

PORTRAITS OF COMRADES

Captain Frank M, Bell,
Company A, 125th Regiment, P, V.
Died March 10, igoz.
(See pages 34, 132, 175, 295.)

William H. Simpson,
Captain Co. F, 125th Regiment, P. V. Wounded at Antietam and
Chancellorsville. (See pages 36, 2C2, and 311.)

Captain John MacKeage,
Company G, 125th Regiment, P. V.
. Died February 12, 1874.
(See pages 36, 91, 137, 175, 314.)

17

Rev. E. A. Zeek, Co. C.
Wounded at Antietam.
(See page 207.)

Mordecai Gahagan, Co. C.

George Sprankle, Co. C
Wounded at Antietam.
(See page 208.)

John H. Friday, Co. C

Asbury Derland, Co. C.
Promoted Quartermaster of 125th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers,
and served as Quartermaster, Department of West Virginia, until the close
of the war in Z865. Died October 9th, 1897.

Walter W. Greenland,
Sergeant Company C, 125th Regiment, P, V., and Adjutant-General
of Pennsylvania during Governor Pattison's adminis
tration. ( Deceased. )
(See page 208.)

Henry C. Warfel, Co. I.
Re-enlisted, and awarded Medal of Honor by Con
gress for capturing Confederate Flag.
(See page 204.)

Jos. M. Becker, Co. F,
Sergeant-Major of 125th Regiment, P. V.

J. Randolph Simpson,
Sergeant Company C, 125th Regiment, P. V. Seriously wounded at
Antietam, September 17, Z862.
(See pages 168, 178, 302.)

J. Fletcher Conrad,
Corporal, Company C, 125th Regiment, P. V.
Promoted Hospital Steward.
(See pages 5, 198, 295, and 302.)

1

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¦wm jm mtf

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Hi
Alfred C. Irvine: Co. G.
Corporal Thomas M. Barr, Co. G.
George R. Curtis, Co. G.

J. Calvin Russ, Co. G.

John Matthews, Co. K.

Lieut. J. F. N. Householder, Co. F,

ist Lieut. Franklin H. Lane, Co. F.
(See pages 201 and 208.)

Edward L. Russ, Sergeant, Co. D.
Wounded at Antietam.
(See page 205.)

David Kyi.er, Co. F.

James A. Mitchell,
Private Co. F 125th Regt., Pa. Vol., and Co.
H, 5th Pa. Cavalry.

Robert Cozzens,
Company F, 125th Regiment, P. V.

Thomas M. Wright. Co. F.

18

Elijah C. Dunmire, Co. C.
Died Sept. 24, 1862, at Georgetown Hospital, D. C, from camp fever.
On his death-bed, in the delirium of fever, he prayed for the preservation of
our country, and added, " O Lord, bless our enemies, and cause the evil
they intend to be overruled for our good."

Dr. George B. Dunmire, Co. A.
He became practicing physician in Philadelphia, and died Oct. 21,
1905, aged 68 years,.

John S. McCarthy,
Company H, 125th Regiment, P. V. Killed at Antietam
September 17, 1862.

David R. Donnelly, Co. B.
Wounded at Antietam.
(See page 203.) /

l»* ¦«>."¦

Thomas S. Whittaker,
Private Co. C. 125th P. V., ist Lieut. Co. M,
rath Cav. (Whittaker).

Captain Co. H, 125th Regiment, I
Cavalry. (See page 202, and 317.)

Henry H. Gregg,
V. and Lieut.-Col. of 13th Pa.

ist. Lieut/ E. R. Dunnegan, Co. K.
f« Complimented by Gen. Geary for gallantry in action. Was recom -
"mended for promotion as Captain in a new regiment. Died June 14, 1906.
(See page 37.)

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David P. Henderson, Corporal Co. C.
(See page 192.)

Geo. G. Wyland, Co. C.
Ruptured at Harper's Ferry.
(Deceased.)

William S. Hoar, Co. D.
Wounded at Antietam.
(See page 206.)

Dr. M. B. Brenneman, Co. C.
Wounded at Antietam.
(See page 206.)

J. Oscar Moore, Co. F.
(See page 207.)

Dr. F. B. Davison,
Asst. Surgeon 125th Regiment P. V.

H. F. Schoemaker Co. F.

Alfred Fulton, Co. F.

Andrew Geist, Co. F.
(See page 205.)

Corp. Wm. J. Hampson, Co. F.

William T. Miller,
Company D, 125th Regiment, P. V

ist Serg. Hill P. Wilson, Co. B.,
Captain of Co. I, Stevens' Regiment, at Nashville, Tenn.
(See page 208.)

Nathan H. Gorsuch, Co. H.

James H. Davis, Co. H

Levi G. Heck, Co. H.
(See page 204.)

Henry M. Pardonner, Co. H.

19

Patrick Shannon, Co. I.

roster

OF THE

i251H REGIMENT
Pennsylvania Volunteers
(INFANTRY)

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY- FIFTH
REGIMENT, P. V.

FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS.

Name.

JacoV Higgins.

Jacob Szink.

John J. Lawrence.

Robert M. Johnston

John G. Cain.

"William C Bayley.
Asbury Derland . .
Lewis C. Cummings
John Feay 
Frs. B. Davidson . .
Augustus Davis . . .
Lafayette F. Butler,
John D. Stewart. .
Joseph M. Becker.

Rank.

Colonel
Lt. Col.
Major
Adj't. Adj't.
Q. M.
Q-M.
Surgeon
Asst. Surgn
Asst. Surgn
Asst. Surgn
Asst. Surgn
Chaplain Sr. Maj.

Date of Muster
into service.

Aug. 1 6, '62
Aug. 14, '62
Aug. 15, '62
Aug. 16, '62

Remarks.

Aug. 16,

'62

Aug. 16,

'62

Aug. n,

'62

Sept. 23,

'62

Aug. 16,

'62

Aug. 16,

'62

Dec. 10,

'62

Feb. 11,

'63

Aug. 16,

'62

Aug. 12,

'62

/-

Mustered out with regi
ment May 1 8th, 1863.
Promoted from Capt.
Co. D, Aug. 16, '62 —
mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Promoted from Capt.
Co. F, Aug. 16, '62 —
mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Died Sept. 19 of wound
received at Antietam,
Md. September 17th,
1862.
Promoted from 2nd
Lt. Co. E. Sept. 20,
'62 — mustered out with
Regiment May 1 8 , 1 8 63 .
Discharged April 15,
1 8 63. For promotion
to Brigade commission.
Promoted from Cor
poral Co. C, Nov. 7, '62
— mustered out with
regiment May 18, 1863.
Mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Discharged by special
order Oct. 9, 1862.
Discharged by special
order, November 24,
1862.
Mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Promoted from private
Co. F Aug. 16, '62 —
mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863
293

294

Name.
Rank.
into service.
Remarks.
Promoted from private
David Feay 
Q. M. S.
Aug. IO, '62
Co. B Aug. 18, '62 —
mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Promoted from private
Henry L. Irvine. . .
Com. Sr.
Aug. 13, '62
Co. G March 15, '63 —
mustered out with regi
ment May 18, 1863.
Samuel G. Baker. .
Com. Sr.
Aug. 10, '62
Died at Stafford C. H.,
Va. March 14, 1863.
Promoted from Cor
John F. Conrad. . .
Hos. St.
Aug. 11, '62
poral Co. C Aug. 20,
'62 — mustered out with
regiment May 18, 1863.
COMPANY A.
Mustered into service Aug. 10, 1862. Mustered out May 18, -1863.
Name.
Rank.
Date of Muster
into service.
Remarks.
Francis M. Bell. . .
Jesse S. Stewart. .
Wilbur F. Martin. .
Capt.
ist Lt.
ist Lt.
Aug. 10, '62
Killed at Chancellors
ville, Va., May 3rd,
1863.
Wd. at Antietam, Md.
Sept. 17, '62
David G. Ganoe . . .
Alfred Abbott 
Oliver G. Smith. ..
2nd. Lt.
' ist Sergt.
Sergt.
Promoted from ist
Sergt. May 4, '63.
Pr. Fr. Cor. to Sgt.
Jan. 28 '63 — to ist
Sgt. May 4, '63.
Chas-. Merriman. . .
Sergt.
Wm. B. Meredith.
Sergt.
William Funk.
Sergt.
Pro.-Fr. Corporal May
4, '63.
"William Miller 
Corp.
C. F. Kirkpatrick. .
Wm. H. H. Berry. .
J.W. Hendershot. .
Corp. Corp.Corp.
Henry B. Duck. . . .
Geo. C. Davison. . .
Corp.Corp.
H. I. Boughamer. .
John W. Grazier. . .
Corp. Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
May 4, '63.
Note : — Those who, for any cause, were mustered out before the end
of the term, are indicated by the dates given and causes named; all who
are not so marked served out their full term and were mustered out with
the regiment May, 1863.
295

Date of Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

Remarks.

Aug. IO, '62
Discharged on Sur
William C. Kean . .
Corp.
geon's Certificate Dec.
24, 1862.
Died at Chambersburg,
Pa., Oct. 9th, 1862,
Anion G. Edwards
Corp.
of wounds received at
Antietam, Sept. 17,
1862.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62 — buried
Andrew Woomer . .
Corp.
in Nat'l. Cemetery,
Grave No. 3669 Penna.
Section.
David S. Johnson . .
Mus.
Stephen V. Haslett
Mus.
Jacob Ayers 
Private
Jos. W. Ake 
Private
Baker, Isaac F. . . .
Private
Beatty, Jos. W. K. .
Private
Bennett, Alexander
Private
Beyer, Ezra C 
Private
Bowls, Jas. B 
Private
Bressler, Lindley H
Private
Died at Alexandria,
Va., Dec. 17th, 1862.
Beamer, Thos. W. .
Private
Died at Stafford C. H.,
Va„ March 18, 1863.
Crane, Andrew P. .
Private
Crocker, Henry H. .
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62.
Crone, Wm 
Private
Crowl, John 
Private
Cunningham, D. T.
Private
Died of wounds receiv
Clodius, Chas 
Private
ed at Chancellorsville,
May 3, '63.
Discharged Jan. 24,
Coy, John 
Private
'63 for wounds rec'd.
at Antietam Sept. 17th,
1862.
Died Sept. 20, 1862,
Crissman, Austin . .
Private
of wounds rec'd. at
Antietam Sept. 17,
1862.
Deahle, Henry. . . .
Private
Dell, John 
Private
Dunmire, Geo. B. . .
Private
.
Dickson, David F. .
Private
Eakins, David W. .
Private
Captured at Chancel
Esterline, Jno. M. . .
Private
lorsville, Va., May 3,
186-t.
296

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Private

Aug. 10, '62

Garman, Philip 

Private

Green, William. . . .

Private

Hart, Jonathan. . . .

Private

Hicks, Daniel 
Private
Heard, Thos. W. . .
Private
Hook, Sam'l 
Private
Housman, Jas 
Hunter, Thos 
Private
Herman, Moses ....
Private
Huff, Chas 
Private
Hunter, Jas. H. . . .
Private
Henchey, Sam'l A. .
Private
Isenberg, John W. .
Private
Jones, Daniel 
Private
Keatley, Calvin F. .
Private
Keatley, John H. . .
Private
Kinsel, John M. . . .
Private
Kerr, Robt 
Private
Kinsel, Erastus. . . .
Private
Laporte, Adolph M.
Private
Lego, Wm. F 
Private
Merriman, Wm. F. .
Private
Myers, Thomas. . . .
Private
Myers, John 
Private
Private
M'llvane, Henry C.
Private
M'Avoy, Michael . .
Private
M'Quillen.A.W....
Private
M'Quillen, Wm. . . .
Private
M'Carney, Geo. S..
Private
M'Coy, John 
Private
-
M'Gill, Thos. T. . . .
Private
McFarland, John A
Private
Osborn, David P. . .
Private
Remarks.
Killed at Antietam
Sept. 17, 18^2.
Absent in. hospital at
muster out.
Discharged Jan. 2 6,
'63 for wounds rec'd.
at Antietam Sept. 17,
1862.
Killed at - Antietam
Sept. 17, '62.
Died at Harper's Ferry
Oct. 20, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam,
Md., Sept. 17, '62.
Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate Dec.
10, 1862.
Died Apr. 7, '63 of
wounds rec'd. at Antie
tam, Sept, 17, '62.
Died at Stafford C.
Feb. 8, '63.
H
297

Name.
Orr, Geo. W 
Robinson, Jas. . . .
Rosberry, Jas 
Rosberry, John T.
Sharrer, Geo. W. .
Sloan, John 
Smith, Thos 
Sturtsman, Henry.
Stevens, David M. ,
Shaw, Daniel 
Templeton, John R
Thomas, Geo. W. . .
Thomas, Jerry B . . .
Vaughn, Henry 

Vaughn, George . .
Vanscoyoc, Abr'm.
Watson, Jerry. . . .
Wilson, Jos. P 
Wolf, Isaac P 
Wesley, Chas 
Wolf, Theawalt. . .

Rank.

Private
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivate •
Private
Private
PrivatePrivate
Private

Private

Private
Private
PrivatePrivate
Private
Private

Date of Muster
into service.

Aug. IO, '62

Remarks.

Died Sept. 28, 1882, of
wounds rec. at Antie
tam, Sept. 17, 1862.

Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate Dec.
10, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 — dis
charged on Surgeon's
certificate April 1, 1863 .
Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate March
15, 1863.
Absent, sick, at muster.
out.

Died at Smoketown,
Md. Jan. 25, '63 of
wounds rec'd. at An-
tietam, Sept. 17, 1862.

COMPANY B.
Mustered into service Aug. 10, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863
(Exceptions indicated. )

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Ulysses L. Huyett.

Capt.

Aug. II, '62

Joseph R. Higgins.

ist. Lt.

Aug. 11, '62

G. Schollenberger . .

2nd. Lt.

Aug. 11, '62

Hill P. Wilson 

1 st. Sergt.

Aug. 11, '62

Sergt.
Wounded at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, '63.
James S chollar ....
Sergt.
298

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Ephraim Gerst. . . .
Jas. D. Allender. . .

Sergt.Sergt.

Promoted from Cor
poral Oct. ist, '62.

Sam'l. G. Baker. . . .

Sergt.

Died at Stafford C. H.
Mar. 19, '63.

Joseph Sias 
James Geiser 

Corp.Corp.

Aug. II, '62

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62.

Robert Feay 
Robert McFalls 

Corp.
Corp.

*-

Jas. C. Carey 
F. M. McKienan. . .
Daniel P. Irvine. . .

Corp.Corp.Corp.

Aug. 11, '62

Promoted to Corporal
Sept. 21.

Elijah Estep 

Corp.

Promoted to Corporal
Feb. 4.
John D. Patterson.
J. A. B. M'Kamey.
Calvin C. Hewitt . .
Gorp. Mus.Mus.
(Aug. 11)
(Aug.ji)
Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate Jan.
26, 1863.
Amhizer, Daniel. . .
Private
Aurandt, Jacob F. .
Blake, William B. .
Brantner, James S.
PrivatePrivatePrivate
Killed at Chancellors
ville May 3, 1863.
Wounded at Chancel
lorsville May 3, '63.
Brunnell, Wm 
Brunnell, Theo. N. .
PrivatePrivate
Wounded at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, '63.
Brumbaugh, J. C. . .
Butts, Wm. G
PrivatePrivate
Brantner, Jno. H. .
Carles, Henry D. . .
Cooper, Jas. M 
Private PrivatePrivate
Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate Dec.
9, 1862.
Cooper, Theodore N
Daugherty, Vic. V.
DeHaven, Wesley.
PrivatePrivate
¦ Private
(Aug. 12)
Died at Fairfax Sta.
Jan. 3, 1863.
Donnelly, David R.
Eicholtz, Alfred. . .
PrivatePrivate
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1863.
Ewing, Levi M
Fouse. Wm. D
PrivatePrivate
Died at Hagerstown,
Md., Sept. 21, '62, of
wounds received at An
tietam, Sept. 17.
299

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Feay, David.

Garner, Jos. C. . .
Geiser, Tillman. .
Heller, Edw. W. .
Houck, Geo. A. . .
Huyett, Miles C. .
Lang, Jos. H. . . .
Lang, William. .
Lower, Henry G.
Love, John D. . . .

Lucas, John H. . .
Lucas, Abraham
Lucas, Gabriel. .

Metz, Thos. G. .
Metz, Thornton B

Mock, John E.
M'Coy, Wm. . .
M'Gonegal, Geo. W
M'Manamy, John
M'Manamy, Wilson
M 'Michaels, John.
Nicodemus, Jno. H
Powell, Milton P. .
Phillips, Ralph. . .
Reiger, August. . .
Rhodes, George H
Rhodes, Wm. H
Richards, John . .
Riley, William N
Shaffer, Sam'l. B
Shinefelt, John C
Sloneker, Lemu'l. A
Stuart, Asbury H.
Stuart, Madison W.
Sparr, Samuel 
Simms, Andrew W.

PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate Private
PrivatePrivatePrivate
Private
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate Private
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivate
Private
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivate
Private

Aug. io, '62

Pro. to Q. M. Sergt.
Aug. 18, 1862.
Wounded at Chancel
lorsville May 2, '63.

Wounded at Chancel
lorsville May 3, '63.

Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate Dec.
9, 1862.

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Wd. and mis. in action
at Antietam S ept . 1 7 , ' 6 2

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1863.
Deserted Aug. 12, 1862.
Captured at Chancel
lorsville May 3, 1863.
Wounded at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, '63.

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 and dis
charged on Surgeon's
Certificate Dec. 24, '62.

300

.

Date of -Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

Died Dec. 30, 1862, at
Fort Schuyler, New
Straithoof, Jacob . .
Private
Aug. IO, '62
York. Buried in Cy
press Hill Cemetery,
L. I., grave 583.
Died Feb. 15, 1863, at
Washington, buried in
Straithoof, Johnson
Private
Mil. Asylum Cemetery,
D. C.
Tresse, Wm 
Private
Tresse, Harry 
Private
Trout, Alexander. .
Private
Died at Maryland
Tresse, David 
Private
Heights, Oct. 26, '62.
Died at Frederick, Md.
Nov. 30, 1862, of
wounds received at An
Teats, John A 
Private
tietam Sep. 17, 1862.
Buried in Antietam
Nat. Cemetery, grave
4043, Penna. Section. '
Withers,' Henry. . .
Private
Walters, Jos 
Private
Westbrook, Wm. . .
Private
Wounded at Chancel
Winters, George. . . ,
Private
lorsville, May 3, '63.
Whitehead, John. .
Private
Wolford, Edw
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Wolfkill, Benj.F...
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Yerger, Geo. W. . . .
Private
COMPANY C.
Mustered into service Aug. ii, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions indicated.)
Name.
Rank.
Date of Muster
into service.
Remarks.
Wm. W. Wallace. .
Wm. B. Ziegler 
L. Frank Watson . .
Wm. F. McPherran
Theodore L. .Flood .
John D. Isett 
W. W. Greenland. .
Capt.
ist. Lt.
ist. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
ist. Sergt.
Sergt.
Aug. 16, '62
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. 14)
Resigned Feb. 25, 1863.
Promoted . fr. Sergt.
Feb. 7, 1863.
Died Feb. 6, 1863.
Promoted Fr. ist.
Sergt. Feb. 7, 1863.
Promoted from Sergt.
Feb. 7, 1863.
301

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

J. R. M'Murtrie. . .

Sergt.

(Aug. 13)

Promoted from Cor
poral Sept. 18, '62.

Chas. E. Campbell.

Sergt.

Promoted from Cor
poral Feb. 7, 1863.

Henry A. Hoffman.

Sergt.

Promoted from Cor
poral Feb. 26, '63.
Discharged April 3 ,

John R. Simpson . .

Sergt.

1863, for wounds re
ceived at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.

»
Killed at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862, buried
George A. Simpson.
Sergt.
in National Cemetery,
grave No. 3953, Penna.
Section.
Thomas C. Fisher. .
Corp.
(Aug. 13)
Z. G. Cresswell 
Corp.
Miles Zentmyer. . .
Corp.
(Aug. 13)
Promoted to Corporal
Sept. 17, 1862.
James E. Wilson. .
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Nov. 7, 1862.
David P.Henderson
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Oct. 30, 1862.
Robert C. Morrow.
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Feb. 7. 1863.
John R. Isenberg. .
Corp.
Asbury Derland. . .
Corp.
Promoted to Quarter
master Nov. 7, '62.
Pr. 'to 2nd. Lt. Co. F.
Thomas J. Gregg . .
Corp.
70th reg. P. V. Nov. 20,
1862.
Transferred to U. S.
Albert C. Snyder. .
Corp.
telegraph Corps Jan.
3. 1863.
John F. Conrad. . .
Corp.
Promoted to Hospital
Steward Aug. 20, '62.
Died Nov. 13, 1862, of
Benj. F.Williams. .
Corp.
wds. rec'd. at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Geo. W. Friedley. .
Mus.
(Aug. 14)
Died at Rockville, Md.
Africa, Geo. H 
Private
(Aug. 13)
Oct. 26, 1862.
Benner, Thomas M.
Private
Baker, Wm 
Private
Brenneman, J. C. . .
Private
Brenneman, M. L. .
Private
Discharged April 6th,
Brenneman, M. B. .
Private
'63 for wounds received
at Antietam Sept. 17,
'62.
Brenneman, G. W.
Private
:¦
Died Nov. 10, 1862.
302

Date of Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

Remarks.

Canan, Henry . . . t?

Private

Carmon, John 
Private
Carmon, Henry C. .
Private
(Aug. 13)
Discharged on Sur
Conrad, Benson W.
Private
geon's Certificate Aug.
29, 1862.
Decker, Harry P. .
Private
Denny, Alexander.
Private
Dewalt, John A. . . .
Private
Died Oct. 11, 1862, of
Decker, Nicholas. .
Private
wounds rec'd. at Antie
tam, Md. <
Dunmire, Elijah C.
Private
Died at Georgetown,
D. C, Sept. 24, 1862.
Ehman, George . . .
Private
Enyeart.Thomas L.
Private
(Aug. 13)
Fockler, J. Lee. . . .
Private
Funk, James 
Private
(Aug. 13)
Friday, John H. . . .
Private
(Aug. 13)
Green, James M. . . .
Private
Graber, Adam 
Private
Garland, David W.
Private
Gahagan, Mordicai.
Private
Goodman, Jos 
Private
(Aug. 13)
Haslett, Jas 
Private
Heckadorne, H. B. .
Private
Hearn, Jacob 
Private
Hart, Frederick . . .
Private
(Aug. 13)
Hoffman, John. . . .
Private
Discharged Nov. 15,
Hawn, Henry 
Private
1862, for wounds rec'd.
at Antietam, Sept. 17,
1862.
Discharged on Sur
Harvey, Parker C. .
Private
geon's Certificate Dec.
13, 1862.
Hoffman, Uriah D.
Private
(Aug. 13)
Killed at Antietam,
Md., Sept. 17, '62.
Hood, Henry 
Private
Died Nov. 10, 1862.
Isenberg, Nich 
Private
Isenberg, Sam'l. V.
Private
Isenberg, Geo. W. .
Private
Died at Maryland
Hgts. Md., Oct. 25, '62.
Knode, Joshua R. .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept 17, '62.
Kopelin, Wm. O. . .
Private
Knode, Albert A. . .
Private
Died at Maryland Hts.,
Oct. 25, '62.
303

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remaiks.

Kuhn, David 

Private

Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.

Lytle, Milton S 

Private

Lincoln, J. George.
Leffard, John R. . . .

Private Private

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Leffard, Enoch I. . .
Private
Private
Myers, Eli H  ,
Private
M'Coy, Wm. R
Private
M'Pherran, Alfred.
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62.
M'Divett, C. James
Private
(Aug. 13)
M'Coy, John S
Private
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Parker, David H. . . .
Private
Patton, Jos 
Private
Peterson, Wm. H..
Private
(Aug. 13)
Robb, Porter A 
Private
Robb, Wm. W
Private
Raugh, Sellers ....
Reed, Chas. H
PrivatePrivate
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62.
Robb, J. Easton. . .
Private
Discharged Mar. 2 2 ,
'62 for wounds rec'd..
Antietam Sept. 17, '62.
Reed, Samuel 
Private
Died at Fairfax Sta.,
Jan. 17, 1863.
Simpson,. Alex. C. . .
Private
Snyder, David C. . .
Private
Snyder, John P. . . .
Private
Sprankle, Jeremiah
Sprankle, George . .
PrivatePrivate
Wounded at Antietam,.
Sept. 17, 1862.
Spyker, Daniel. . . .
Private
Stewart, John G . . .
Private
Swope, Jas. CM...
Private
(Aug. 13)
Stewart, Jas. A
Private
White, David
Private
White, John . .
Private
(Aug. 13)
Whittaker, Thos. S.
Private
Wyland, Geo 
Private
(Aug. 13)
Williams, John H..
Private
(Aug. 13)
Zeek, Elias A 
Private .
Discharged Nov. 2 1, '62,
for wounds rec'd. at
Antietam- Sept. 17,
1862.
304

COMPANY D.
Mustered into service Aug. 13th, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions Indicated.)

Name.

Date of Muster
into service.

Jacob Szink.

Christ R. Hostetter

Alex W.Marshall.

Thos. E. Campbell .

Peter S. Treese. . ,

G. W. Hawksworth
James H. Attick. . .
Edwin Hammond.
Isaac E. Brown 
William Burley 
James C. Treese . . .
Edward L. Russ. . .
David A. Burtnett .
George A. Burtram
Mordecai.McMahon
Alfred Bomgardner
James G. Kerr 

Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
ist. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
ist. Sgt.
Sergt.
Sergt.Sergt.
Sergt.
Sergt. Corp.
Corp.Corp.
Corp.Corp.

(Aug. 14)

(Aug. 14)

(Aug. 14)

(Aug. 14)

Remarks.

Promoted to Lt. Col.
Aug. 16, 1862.
Pro. fr. ist. Lt. Aug.
16, 1862 — disch. Mar. »
17,-1863, for wounds
rec'd. at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17,^62. Promoted
from ist. Lt. March
17. '63.
Pr. fr. ist. Sgt. to 2nd.
Lt. Mar. 17, '63, and
to ist. Lt. Apr. 19,
863.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 — Com.
ist. Lt. Mar. 17, '63.
Discharged on Sur
geon's Certificate Apr.
17. '63-
Pr. fr. Sergt. to ist
Sergt. Mar. 17, '63 and
to 2nd. Lt. Apr. 19, '63.
Promoted from Sergt.
April 19, 1863.
Promoted from Corpo
ral April 19, '63.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 — pr. from
Corporal March 19, '63.
Pro. fr. Priv. to Corp. to
Sgt. Apr. 19.
Discharged Nov. 13,
'62, for wounds rec'd. at
Antietam Sept. 17, '62.

Promoted to Corporal
Aug. 25, 1862.
Promoted to Corporal
Nov. 16, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62. Pro
moted to Corporal Jan.
21, 1862.

305

Name.
William Springer. .
Morris Davis 
John M. Dougherty
Robert Try 
John A. Kelley 
W. A. Brumbaugh.
Augustus Boyden. .
Aiken, Stephen ....
Boyer, Albert 
Burley, Levi 
Blake, Samuel 
Brumbaugh, Jacob
Blake, Wilbur E. . .
Bowen, Francis. . . .
Baker, John 
Brubaker, Geo 
Burley, Emanuel . .
Brown, John A. . . .
Cochran, Robt 
Comey, Jas. W. . . .
Dasher, John 
Davis, Able 
Davis, John E 
Davis, Leonard. . . .
Evans, Andrew. . . .
Finney, Andrew W.
Green, Samuel 
Glass, John R 
Gearhart, Fred W. .
Howell, John C. . . .
Higgins, John 
20

Rank.

Corp. Corp. Corp. Corp.Corp. Mus. Mus.
PrivatePrivate Private
Private PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
Private
PrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivate Private
Private Private Private
PrivatePrivate

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Promoted to Corporal
Jan. 14, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
April 29, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
April 29, 1863.
Dischgd. on Surg. Cer
tificate Nov. 13, '62.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.

Discharged April 13,
'63, for wounds rec'd.
at Antietam Sept. 17,
1862.

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17. 1862.
Dischgd. on Surg. Cer.
March 5th, '63.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Killed at Antietam,
Md., Sept. 17, '62.
Died at Harper's Ferry
Jan. 21, '63.
Dischgd. on Surg. Cer._
Mar. 23, 1863.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Died at Acquia Creek,
Va., April 21, 1863.
Died Nov. 10. 1862.

306

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Haney, Patrick Sr. .

Private

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.

Haney, Patrick Jr. .

Private

Discharged Jan. 25,

Hoar, Wm. S 

Private

'63, for wounds rec'd.
at Antietam Sept. 17,
1862.

Homan, Thomas. . .

Private

Died at Fairfax Sta.,
Jan. 15, 1863.
Irvin, Geo. M 
Private
Kissell, John G
Private
Keagey, John 
Private
Keresey, John 
Private
Lingenfelter, Josiah
Private
Laub, Wm. A. B.. .
Private
Long, Samuel A. . . .
Private
Madison, John
Private
Myers, William H..
Private
Minehart, Lewis. . .
Private
Miller, Andrew. . . .
Private
Myers, Andrew ....
Private
Myers, Jos 
Private
Marshall, Win'd. S.
Private
Miller, Wm. T
Private
Killed at Antietam,
Markley, Isaac. . . .
Private
Sept 17, 1862.
Mahon, John 
Private
Not on muster out roll.
M'Closkey, David A
Private
M'Closkey, Geo. A.
Private
Killed at Antietam,
M'Laughlin, Jos. S.
Private
Md., Sept. 17, 1862.
Osswalt, David W. .
Private
Killed at Chancellors
ville, May 3, 1863.
Owens, Matthew. . .
Private
Painter, Jacob 
Private
"Patton, Edward. . .
Private
Parsons, Chas. A. . .
Private
Richmond, S. S. . . .
Private
Rhinehart, Rice . . .
Private
Richmond,Albert E
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Private
Sept. 17, '62. Dis
charged on Sur. Cer,
Apr. 23, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam
Rollin, John 
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — -Dis
charged on Sur. Cer.
Feb. 3, 1863.
307

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Rose, John 

Private

Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.

Shaffer, Jos 

Private

Schlag, Adolph ....

Private

Sharier, Philip 
Private
Steel, Samuel 
Private
Stackhouse, Henry
Private
Wounded and missing
Stewart, Andrew. .
Private
in action at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, 1863.
Szink, Henry C. . . .
Private
Stoner, Chas. A. . . .
Private
Died Dec. 13, 1862.
Urich, John 
Private
Walton, John 
Private
Wounded at Antie
tam Sept. 17, 1862.
Woods, Thomas . . .
Private
West, William 
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Williamson, S. H. . .
Private
Md. Sept. 17, '62. Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 28, '63.
COMPANY E.
Mustered into service Aug. 13, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions Indicated.)
Name.
Date of Muster
into service.
William McGraw. .
Samuel A. Kephart
John G. Cain 
John H. Robertson
John Bryan.
William Nosker. . .
George W. Perkins
Williams Rounds.
James Gardner. . .
Peter Stroup 
James Matthews . . .
Capt.
ist. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
ist. Sgt.
Sergt.Sergt.Sergt.
Sergt. Corp.
Corp.
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. iS)
(Aug. i5)
(Aug. iS)
Promoted to Adjutant
Sept. 20, 1862.
Promoted from ist.
Sergeant Sept. 20, '62.
Promoted from Sergt.
Sept. 20, 1862.
Captured at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, 1863.
Promoted from Corpo
ral Sept. 20, '62.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862, and at
Chancellorsville, May 3,
1863.
308

William McClure. . .
Charles Butler 
Adam Rough 
George S. Beers 
Daniel Deihl 
William McGinnes .
Geo. Hoopengarner
John Scullin 
Charles H. Suder. .
Benton, Emanuel M
Buck, William 
Bottorf, David. . . .
Burtnet, John 
Brindle, Geo. W. . .
Butler, David 
Benton, John 
Beigle, John A 
Benton, Jesse L. . . .
Baker, Franklin S. .

Burge, Adam 
Carnell, David. . . .
Dunlap, Essington
Dasher, James. . . .
Dell, Peter 
Dunn, Patrick 
Dunlap, John 
Dively, Gabriel. . .
Dodson, Andrew. .
Earlenbaugh, A. . .
Gardner, Robt. . . .

Rank.

Corp.Corp.
Corp.
Corp.Corp.
Corp.
Corp.
Mus. Mus.
PrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivate
Private
PrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate

Date of Muster
into service.

(Aug. iS)
(Aug. iS)
(Aug. i5)
(Aug. iS)

Remarks.

(Aug. i5)
(Aug. iS)

Promoted to Corporal
Sept. 26, 1862.
Promoted to Corporal
Sept. 16, 1862.
Promoted to Corporal
Feb. 26, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 25, 1863.
Deserted Sept. 16, '62.

Absent, sick at muster
out.

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62- — captured
at Chancellorsville,
May 3, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862 — dis
charged on Sur. Cer.
Jan. 30, 1863.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Died Sept. 30, 1862, of
wounds received at An-
tietamSept. 17, 1862 —
Bur. in Military Asy
lum Cemetery, D. C.

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.

309

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Ginter, John 

Private

Gesler, Lewis H.. . .

Private

Gallagher, John. . . .
Private
,
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. April 22, '63.
Harklerode, A. H..
Private
Harklerode, David.
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Private
Heverly, Wm. P. . .
Private
Heverly, William. .
Private
Hoover, Geo. W. . . .
Private
(Aug. 20)
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Dec. 10, 1862.
Kephart, Jacob ....
Private
Kough, John S 
Private
Long, Daniel 
Private
Leighty, George. . .
Private
•
Langham, Solomon
Private
'
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Private
Sept. 17, 1862. Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Jan. 30, '63.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62 — bur. in
Lier, John 
Private
Nat'l Cemetery, grave
No. 3634, Penna Sec
tion.
Millward, Luke. . . .
Private
Miller, Stanley '
Private
Died at Washington
Mauk, Geo. W 
Private
Jan. 23, '63 — bur. in
Military Asylum Ceme
tery, D. C.
M'Coy, Dennis 
Private
Noll, Henry S , .
Private
Osburn, Wm. R. . . .
Private
Phagans, James. . .
Private
Pressell, Samuel. . .'
Private
(Aug. 15)
Rhodes, John 
Private
Roach, Thomas. . . .
Private
Deserted Aug. 16, '62.
Stanley, Joseph B. .
Private
Absent at muster out.
Swisher, Daniel. . . .
Private
Strayer, John 
Private
Summers, Geo 
Private
' ¦"¦ i.
T-
Summers, Wm 
Private
Snyder, George Jr. .
Private
Stiffler, Sylvanus L.
Private
310

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Smith, David 

Private

Shoff, David 

Private

Snyder, Geo. Sr. . . .
Troxell, Abraham. .
PrivatePrivate
Discharged on Surg.
Cei. April z, 1863.
Died at Harper's Ferry
Nov. 9, '62 — bur. in
Nat'l. Cem. Winchester
lot 25.
Wright, Thomas.. .
Weyandt, Samuel. .
Wheeler, William. .
PrivatePrivatePrivate
v_j
Wagoner, John. . . .
Wilt, Henry H 
PrivatePrivate
(Aug. iS)
COMPANY F.
Mustered into service Aug. 12, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions Indicated.)
Name.
Rank.
into service.
Remarks.
John J. Lawrence. .
Capt.
(Aug. iS)
Promoted to Major
Aug. 16, 1862.
Pr. fr. ist. Lt. Aug. 16,
Wm. H. Simpson. .
Capt.
'62 — wd. at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Dischd. Feb. 9, '63,
William C.Wagoner
ist. Lt.
for wounds rec'd. at
Antietam Sept. 17, '62.
Pr. fr. ist. Sergt. to
Franklin H. Lane. .
ist. Lt.
.
2nd. Lt. Aug. 16, '62 —
to ist. Lt. Feb. 9, 1863.
Pr. from Sergt. to ist.
J.F.N. Householder
2nd. Lt.
Sergt. Aug. 16, '62 — -
— to 2nd. Lt. Feb. 9,
1863.
Albert B. Flood. . . .
ist. Sgt.
Pr. from Sergt. Feb.
9, 1863,
George A. Black. . .
Sergt.
Jas. B. Geissinger. .
Sergt.
Valentine Brown. .
Sergt.
David Hazard 
Sergt.
Promoted from private
Feb. 9, 1863.
John G. Corbin. . . .
Corp.
Thomas Blake 
Corp.
Wm. J. Hampton. .
Corp.
Joseph B. Farrer. . .
Corp.
Wm. Homan 
Corp.
*
311

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Hampton C.Watson

Corp.

Alrich, Paul 

Corp.

John H. Boring. . . .
Corp.
John L. Williams. .
Mus.
Barton, Thomas. . .
Private
Boyes, George 
Private
Brown, Jacob 
Private
Brown, Wm. L
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Bryan, Charles ....
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Bryant, James 
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Bupp, Solomon. . . .
Private
Promoted to Sergt.
Becker, Joseph M.
Private
Major Aug. 16, '62.
Cannon, John 
Private
Carothers, Charles.
Private
Corbin, Charles. . . .
Private
Cozzens, Robert. . .
Private
Cypher, Thomas . . .
Private
Cunningham, Benj.
Private
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Dering, Valentine. .
Private
Fulton, Alfred
Private
Friedley, Wm 
Private
Died Nov. 9, 1862.
Geist, Andrew 
Private
Graham, William. .
Private
Hall, James 
Private
Hamer, Moses 
Private
Harvey, Frank. . . .
Private
Haugh, Wm. H 
Private
Captured at Chancel
lorsville May 3, 1863.
Heffner, John, 2nd.
Private
Hudson, William C.
Private
Hazard, John 
Private
Hayes, Thos. L. . . .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Feb. 27, '63.
Heffner, John, ist. .
Private
Died at Washington,
D. C, March 5th, '63.
Isenberg, Samuel. .
Private
Died at Fairfax Sta.
Isenberg, David . . .
Private
Jan. 4, '63 — bur. in
Harmony Burial
Grounds, D. C.
Kelly, Wm. T 
Private
•
Kyler, David 
Private
Lane, William 
Private
312

Date of Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

- Remarks.

Lewis, David D. . . .

Private

Lewis, John D 
Private
Captured at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, 1863.
Mitchell, Jas. A 
Private
Private
Moore, John 0 
Private
Moore, Joseph 
Private
Morgan, Jacob 
Private
Myers, William. . . .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Mar. 23, 1863.
M'Clure, Andrew A.
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Mar. 26, 1863.
Killed at Antietam
M'Cracken, Jos. . . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — bur.
Nat. Cem., No. 3608,
Penna Section.
Neff, William 
Private
Owens, Richards. . .
Private
Captured at Chancel
lorsville; May 3, 1863.
Price, Joshua E. . . .
Private
Protzman, Martin L
Private
Reed, William E. . .
Private
Richards, Thos. J. .
Private
Riland, Alfred A. . .
Private
Stall, Thomas
Private
Snyder, J. Howard.
Private
Saxton, Henry C. . .
Private
Shearer, Calvin B..
Private
Shoemaker, H. F. . .
Private
Shriner, John 
. Private
Shriner, Thomas. . .
Private
States, William. . . .
Private
Strickler, Wm. R. . .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Syling, Lewis 
Private
Switzer, Elias H . . .
Private
Discharged Jan. 5, '63,
for wounds rec'd at
Antietam Sept. 17, '62.
Swoope, David. . . .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Feb. 3, 1863.
Discharged March' 8,
Shorthill, David R.
Private
'63, for wounds rec'ct
at Antietam, Sept. 17,
1862.
Snyder, Oliver W. .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. April 1, 1863.
Trout, Brinkley. . . .
Private
Tyhurst, Alfred 
Private
313

Namb.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Wagoner, Geo. J. . .
Watkins, Nathaniel

Private
- Private

(Aug. 14)

Witter, Josiah 
Wright, Thomas . . .

PrivatePrivate

West, Allen 

Private

Transferred to 14th.
Regt. Ind. Vols. Oct.
ist, 1862.
Walker, William C.
Walheater, John H.
PrivatePrivate
Killed at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Died at Fairfax Sta.
Dec. 30th, 1862.
Walker, Robt. D. . .
Young, John B
Young, Thomas . . .
PrivatePrivatePrivate
Died at Washington,
D. C, May ist, '63.
COMPANY G.
Mustered into Service Aug. 13, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions indicated.)
Name.
Rank.
Date of Muster
into service.
Remarks.
John M'Keage 
Capt.
Samuel A. Andrews
ist. Lt.
Thos. M'Camant. . .
2nd. Lt.
Augustus Baton . . .
ist. Sergt.
Promoted from Sergt.
Jan. 1, 1863.
John Swires 
Sergt.
George H. Vaughn.
Sergt.
John Hellwig 
Sergt.
James Rodgers. . . .
Sergt.
Promoted from Corpo
ral Mar. 1, 1863.
David E. M'Cahan.
Sergt.
Discharged Feb. 13,
1863, for wounds rec'd
at Antietam Sept. 17,
1862.
James R. Robison.
Corp.
Moses Garland 
Corp.
Joseph Carroll 
Corp.
Thomas M. Barr. . .
Corp.
Horace Kemp, 
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Feb. 17, 1863. '
Alexander Boggs . .
John G. Christian. .
Corp.Corp.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Reese Williams. . . .
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Mar. 26, 1863.
314

Date of Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

Remarks.

Killed at Antietam
James H. Gibboney
Corp.
Sept. 17, 1862— bur. in
Nat. Cem., No. 3664,
Penna. Section.
John Miller 
Mus.
Thomas Lloyd 
Mus.
Andrews, David. . .
Private
Barr, Theodore. . . .
Private
-
Captured at Chancel
lorsville, May 3, 1863.
Burns, Thomas. . . .
Private
Black, David M 
Private
Bollinger, Henry L.
Private
JButerbaugh, Sam'l.
Private
Discharged Dee. 8, '62,
Reamer, Albert. . . .
Private
for wounds rec'd at
Antietam, Sept. 1 7 ,
1862.
Cameron, Wm. S.. .
Private
Canan, William H..
Private
Closson, Josiah S. . .
Private
Curtis, George R. . .
Private
Christy, Livingston
Private
Clarke, Robert. . . .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Charles, Thomas. . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862. Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Dec. 24, 1862.
X>avid, John 
Private
Dunn, James 
Private
Dannals, Chas. R.. .
Private
•Dasher, Samuel D. .
Private
Fulton, Samuel A. .
Private
G-ibboney, Benj. F.
Private
Holler, James M. . .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
JHewit, Henry 
Private
"Hicks, Philemon N.
Private
Hewit, William. . . .
Private
Hammers, James J.
Private
Ball, John. .
Private
Deserted Aug. 17, 1862.
Irvine, Alfred C. . . .
Private
Tsett, Aaron B 
Private
Irvine, Henry L. . . .
Private
Promoted to Com. Sgt.
Mar. 15, 1863.
Jones, Thaddeus. . .
Private
Johnston,Franklin
Private
Johnston, James R.
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
315

Name.

Johnson, Dav. R. P.
London, George W.
London, James G. .
Leet.'Callohan, M..
Lovett, John 
Long, James 
Miller, Thomas 
Maus, John H 
Metzler, Jos. F 
Martin, William . . .
Martin, Henry 
Morrow, Jas 
M'Rea, William J..
M'Kee, Thomas G. .
M'Cord, Henry. . . .
M'Ginnis, James. . .
M'Clelland, Thos. . .
M'Clelland, Hugh T
M'Clelland, Wm. H.
M'Clelland, Adol. . .
Ounkest, Martin . . .
Ounkest, Daniel. . .
Price, Joseph C. . . .
Phillips, Benj. F. . .
Phillips, David Jr. .
Prounkard, J. E.. . .

Piper, Jos. H.

Rank.

Robison, Albert.
Ruggles, Benj. F.
Reed, Jos. H 
Reffner, Jos 
Russ, Calvin. . . .
Riddle, James D,

Private PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivate

Private
PrivatePrivate
PrivatePrivatePrivate
Private

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Dischgd. Dec. 8, 1862
for wounds received at
Antietam Sept. 17, '62.

Discharged on Surg.
"Cer. Feb. 3, 1863.
Died at Frederick, Md.
Feb. 5, '63 — bur. in Mt.
Olivet Cemetery.

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.

Dischgd. on Surg. Cer.
Oct. 11, 1862.

Wounded at Antietam-
Sept. 17, 1862.

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 11, 1863.
Died at Harper's Ferry
Oct. 28, 1862, buried
in Nat. Cem. Win
chester, lot 25.

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.

Died Sept. 26, '62, of
wounds rec'd at An
tietam Sept. 17, 1862.

316

Name.
Rank.
into service
Remarks.
Snyder, Wm. H 
Private
Stuff, Valentine. . . .
Private
Scott, James P 
Private
Sellers, David M. . .
Private
Sanders, John 
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Sharar H. Bascom.
Private
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Tippery, Mayberry
Private
Taylor, Henry C. . .
Private
Taylor, Samuel. . . .
Private
Absent in Hospital at
muster out.
Thompson, R. D. . .
Private
Williams, David P.
Private
COMPANY H.
Mustered into service Aug. 14, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863,
(Exceptions indicated.)
Name.
Henry H. Gregg.
John Flenher. . . .
Samuel F. Stewart
James T. Foster.
George F. Painter
Jesse E. March. .
Abner P. Lane. . .
Wm. L. DeGrant
Wm. H. Flenner.
John W. Lytle. . .
Robert Wilson . .
William M. Davis
Henry C. Logan.
Lewis Gahagan . .
David Shaffer. . .
Rank.
Capt.
ist. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
2nd. Lt.
ist. Sgt.
Sergt.Sergt.Sergt.Sergt.
Sergt. Corp.Corp.Corp. Corp.Corp.
Date of Muster
into service
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. 16)
(Aug. 16)
Remarks.
Resigned Jan. 24, 1863.
Promoted from Sergt.
Feb. 24, 1863.
Promoted from Sergt.
March 1, 1863.
Promoted from Corpo
ral March 1, 1863.
Promoted from Corpo
ral Mar. 1, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862— Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 21, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
Sept. 21, 1862.
Promoted to Corporal
October 21, '62.
Promoted to Corporal
Nov. 21, 1862.
317

Date of Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

Remarks.

Joseph Cox 

Corp.

Promoted to Corporal
Mar. i, 1862.
Allison H. Crum. . .
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Mar. ist, 1863.
James A. Couch. . . .
Corp.
Promoted to Corporal
Mar. 1, 1863.
Samuel Hetrick ....
Corp.
Dischgd. on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 14, 1863.
Killed at Antietam
Peter Carton 
Corp. «
Sept. 17, '62 — buried
in Nat. Cem., grave
No. 3746 Penna. Sec.
Sylvanus W. Gettys
Mus.
Taylor, Myton . ...
Mus.
Ayers, Wesley C. . . .
Private
Aurand, John M. . . .
Private
Ayres, Jeremiah L.
Private
Discharged on Surg .
Cer. Feb. 8, 1863.
Buchanan, Robt. J.
Private
Bell, Alexander. . . .
Private
Bell, Anderson. . . .
Private
Bell, Jas. A 
Private
Bailey, Samuel C. . .
Private
Absent sick at muster
out.
Wounded at Antietam
Boblitz, Eugene . . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Dec. 9, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Brindle, Cyrus 
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Nov. 21, 1862.
Baird, David 
Private
Discharged on Surg,
Cer. Dec. 10, '62.
Berkstresser, J. H. .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Dec. 10, '62.
Wounded at Antietam,
Burkholder, Geo. . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Jan. 13, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam,
Crouse, Valentine. .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Davis, James H. . . .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Decker, Levi 
Private
Dec. 13, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
Decker, John W 
Private
charged on Surg. Cer.
Mar. 16, '63.
318

Date of Muster

Nam<e

Rank.

into service.

Remarks.

-
Killed at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 — bur. "in
Dierfield, James H.
Private
Nat. Cem., grave No.
3610 Penna. Section.
Eckley, Jacob A. . .
Private'
Fink, Solomon 
Private
Died April 22, 1S63
Absent, sick at muster
Gorsuch, Nathan H.
Private
out.
Garner, Michael. . .
Private
Discharged on Sur
Gregg, David F. . . .
Private
geon Cer. Apr. 2, '63.
Heck, Levi G 
Private
Hammond, Martin. -
Private
Hetrick, John 
Private
Harker, Andrew. . .
Private
Howard, Thos. H..
Private
Harris, William 
Private
Hetrick, Samuel S. .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Nov. 21, 1862.
Harper.Jonathan L.
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Dec. 10, 1862.
Hunter, Robt. L. . .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Apr. 1, 1863.
Hertle, John 
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Apr. 22, 1863.
Killed at Antietam,
Hoover, Jos. W. . . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Killed at Antietam,
Hess, Samuel 
Private
Sept. 17, '62 — bur. in
Nat. Cem., grave No.
3609, Penna. Section.
Hight, Jackson. . . .
Private
Deserted Nov. 14, 1862.
Johnson, David H.
Private
Knode, Peter 
Private
Kenyon, Alfred W.
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Keefer, John 
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Long, Elijah 
Private
Miller, Abij ah B 
Private
Miller, Peter R
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Morrison, John B..
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Killed at Antietam,
M'Carthy, John S. .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
O'Donnell, Const'e.
Private
O'Donnell, Michael
Private
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Pardoner, Henry. .
Private
319

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service

Remarks.

Piper, Martin M 

Private

Patterson, John M.

Private

Parker, William J. .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Mar. 15, '63.
Quarry, John P. . . .
Private
Rorabaugh, Martin
Private
Rudy, Eminger S..
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Feb. 3, 1863.
Sloan, James D. . . .
Private
Slack, JohnR 
Private
Silknitter, Solomon
Private
Shawley, David. . . .
Private
Spangler, Jerry. . . .
Private
Steel, Jacob 
Private
Wounded at Antietam-
Snyder, James G. . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Dec. 5. 1862.
Shawley, Daniel . .. .
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Nov. 29, '62.
Spanogle, George B.
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Dec. 10, '62.
Wilson, Henry 
Private
Wingate, Wm. B. . .
Private
Wingate, Alex. B..
Private
Waldsmith, Jno. W
Private
Wilson, John 
Private
COMPANY I.
Mustered into service Aug. 13, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions indicated.)
Name.
Rank.
Date of Muster
into service
Remarks.
Wm. F. Thomas. . .
Capt.
Wounded at Antietam.
George Thomas ....
ist. Lt.
Sept. 17, 1862.
John D. Fee 
2nd. Lt.
William Bodley 
ist. Sgt.
Robert H.Myers. . .
Sergt.
David P. Kinkead
Private
Promoted from Private-
Sergt:
Jan. 1, '63.
Promoted from Private
Geo. W.Hall 
Sergt.
April 10, '63.
Wounded at Antietam,.
Md., Sept. 17, '62 —
Thomas L. Hall 
Sergt.
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Apr. 10, '63.
320

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Alfred McAllister. .
John H. Sower. . . .
John D. Coder ....
D. Porter Couch . . .
Samuel Houck 
George A. Mitchell .
James B. Harris . . .
Daniel Kauffman. .
Andrew Harbison. .
Wm. A. Keister 
Isaiah Foster 
Edward H.Wirt. . .
James H. Lightner.
Robison, Gill 
Allison, Samuel S . .
Anderson, W 

Baker, Reuben T. .
Bradley, Thomas . .
Brode, Abraham. . .
Baker, F. Alfred. . .
Birge, Wm. H 
Barnet, David 
Corbin, Benjamin F.
Coder, Sam'l. C. . . .
Clark, Thomas A. . .
Corbin, Henry L. . .
Coder, Simon
Clark, Thomas H...

Sergt. Corp. Corp.Corp.
Corp. Corp. Corp.Corp.Corp.Corp. Corp. Corp. Mus.Mus.
Private PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate Private PrivatePrivatePrivate PrivatePrivate Private Private

Died at Huntingdon,
Pa., Oct. 25, 1862, of
wounds received at An
tietam, Sept. 17, '62.

Promoted to Corporal
Jan. 1, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
Jan. 1, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
March 20, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
April 4, 1863.
Promoted to Corporal
April 10, 1863.
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. March 20, 1863.
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. April 4, 1863.
Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862 — buried
in National Cemetery,
grave No. 3972, Penna.
Section. Absent at muster out.
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Feb. 3, 1863.

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Died at Harper's Ferry
Nov-. 6, 1862.
Deserted Dec. 31, 1862.

Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Dec. 9, 1862.
Killed at Antietam,
Md., Sept. 17, '62 —
buried m Nat. Cem.,
grave 3784, Penna.
Section.

321

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Corbin, William W.
Deviney, David A. .
David, Benjamin. .
Guardlock, Conrad
Gray, Daniel 
Hoffman, Jas. L. . .
Hawn, Merits 
Heffright, Martin. .
Harvey, John F. . . .
Hall, Albert 
Hoover, Robt 
Hanawalt, Wm. H.
Houck, William. . .
Howard, John 
Householder, G. W.

Hays, William M.

Harken, Sam'l B.

Jamison, Benjamin
Martin, William . . .
Miller, Frederick. . .
Mick, Solomon ....
M'Laughlin, W. H.
Nee, Henry 
Powell, Henry H. . .
Ready, John 
Roupe, Theodore . .
Roupe, William . . .
21

PrivatePrivatePrivate Private Private
PrivatePrivate PrivatePrivate Private PrivatePrivate PrivatePrivatePrivate

Private

Private

PrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivatePrivate

(Aug. 1 6)

(Aug. 1 6)

(Aug. 1 6)

Killed at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Died at Pleasant Val
ley, Md., Oct. 29, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862. Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Dec. 9, 1862.

Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.

Died Sept. 18, 1862,
of wounds rec'd at
Antietam Sept. 17, '62.
Died Oct. 31 at Fred
erick, Md., of wounds
rec'd at Antietam,
Sept. 17, '62.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 — and
died of his wounds at
Coffee Run, Pa., Nov.
16, '62.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862 — absent
in hospital at muster
out.Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Woundefi at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Dec. 15, 1862.

Wounded at Antietam,
Sept. 17, 1862.

322

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Ripple, George ....

Private

Steel, Wilham W. . .

Private

Sankey, Thomas J.
Private
Seebeck, John 
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Smith, Christopher
Private
Shannon, Patrick. .
Private
Scott JohnW
Private
Killed at Chancellors
ville, May 3, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam
Shaffer, Isaiah 
Private
Sept. 17, '62 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 19, 1863.
Killed at Antietam
Snyder, Joseph. . . .
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Wolfkill, Daniel D.
Private
Woomer, Isaac ....
Private
Warfel, Adam 
Private
Warfel, Henry C. . .
Private
COMPANY K.
Mustered into service Aug. 14, 1862. Mustered out May 18, 1863.
(Exceptions Indicated.) „
Name.
Rank.
into service
Remarks.
Joseph W. Gardner
Capt.
(Aug. 16)
Edw. R. Dunegan. .
ist. Lt.
(Aug. 16)
Daniel J Traves ....
2nd. Lt.
(Aug. 16)
Henry B. Huff
ist. Sgt.
Promoted from Private
Aug. 16, 1S62.
Joseph H. Bryan . .
Sergt.
William Graw 
Sergt.
Hugh G. Krise 
Sergt.
(Aug. 16)
John Kahoe 
Sergt.
(Aug. 13)
William J. Bradley
Corp.
Corp.
George W. Russell.
Corp.
John Commerford .
Corp.
Pr. to Corp. Aug. 16 —
wd. at Antietam Sept.
Britten E. Cluck. .7
Corp.
17, 1862.
Henry M. Shots 
Corp.
John A. M'Intyre . .
Corp.
Pr. to Corp. Aug. 16.
'62 — capt'd at Chan
cellorsville May 3, '63,
Bernard J.M'Feeley
Corp.
(Aug. 16)
323

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service

Remarks.

Caleb Tipton 

Mus.

Promoted to Musician
Aug. 16, 1862.

Akers, Wilson L. . . .

Private

Able, John H

Private

Arbel, Thomas G. . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Beatty, Jacob 
Private
Burkheimer, M. . . .
Private
Brunt, William. . . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Bender, Simon ....
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Bierman, Fredk. . . .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Beal, JohnS 
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Feb. 9, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam
Beal, William
Private
Sept. 17, 1862 — Dis
charged on Surg. Cer.
Mar. 7, 1863.
Bell, Joseph H 
Private
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Feb. 23, 1863.
Bender, James 
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Discharged on Surg.
Cer. Feb. 23, 1863.
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62 — died of
Boartrnan, A. H. . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
his wounds at Harris
burg Oct. 13, '62 — bur.
in Mount Kalmia Cem
etery.
Cluck, Jacob 
Private
Collier, Elias B
Private
Private
Crook, Peter 
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Callaghan, Andrew
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Conway, John A. . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Killed at Antietam,
Cratin, Joshua 
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Sept. 17, 1862.
Wounded at Antietam
Dillon, Charles ....
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Sept. 17, 1862 — absent
in hospital at muster
out.
Donahue, Patrick. .
Private
Ehrnfelt, Jacob M. .
Private
Edmonson, Sam'l B.
Private
Elder, Henry R. . . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Engles, Robt. P. . . .
Private
Died at Washington,
April 28, 1863.
Finney, Francis . . .
Private
Farrell, James 
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Grey, Geo. W 
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
324

Date of Muster

Name.

Rank.

into service.

Remarks.

Gates, Henry A. . . .

Private

(Aug. 1 6)

Hoffman, Frederick
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Hall, Edmund
Private
Hicks, Josiah D.. . .
Private
Hobart, Barth'w. . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Inlow, Francis 
Private
(Aug. ib)
Jones, George W. . .
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Kearney, Patrick F.
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
King, James 
Priyate
(Aug. 16)
Lee, Martin 
Private
Loudon, Geo. M. . . .
Private
Died at Harper's Ferry
Dec. 25, 1862.
Matthews, John . . .
Private
Myers, William ....
Private
Killed at Antietam
Sept. 17, '62.
Mauer, Joseph 
Private
Mabus, Leonard. . .
Private
Died near Maryland
Heights Oct. 5, 1862.
M'Lune, Geo 
Private
M'Mullen, John E..
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
M'Cleary. Samuel. .
Private
(Aug. t6)
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862. •
M'Gough, Chas. . . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
M'Gough, Silas A. .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
M'Guire, Hiram. . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Wounded at Antietam
Sept. 17, 1862.
Died Oct. 17, 1862, of
M'Dermitt, M. A. .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
wounds rec'd at An
tietam Sept 17, 1862.
Died Oct. 18, 1862, of
M'Dermitt, Louis C.
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
wounds rec'd at An-
.tietam Sept. 17, 1862.
Noel, Michael J. . . .;
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Orr, Aaron F 
Private
Rodamon, John . . .
Private
Private
Wounded at Antietam
Rhodes, Abraham.
Private
Sept. 17, 1862.
Rhodes, Isaac 
Private
Ramaley, Wm. R. .
Private
Robinson, James H
Private
9
Reinhart, Joseph. .
Private
Richard, George . . .
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Speilman, Wm. P..
Private
String, William. . . .
Private
325

Name.

Rank.

Date of Muster
into service.

Remarks.

Sueger, Hugh 

Private

Wounded at Antietam

Smith, Robert 

Private

(Aug. 1 6)

Sept. 17, 1862 — absent
in hospital at muster
out.

Private

(Aug. 1 6)

Trought, Frederick

Private

Tierney, Francis P.
Private
(Aug. 1 6)
Weakfield, Thomas
Private
Died Sept. 19, 1862,
of wounds rec'd at
Ward, Frederick C.
Private
Antietam Sept. 17, '62
— bur. in Nat. Cem.,
grave No. 3749, Penna.
Section.
Wright, William L.
Private
Deserted Aug. 16, 1862.
Yerger, Henry 
Private
THE BLUE AND THE GRAY
BY COLONEL PRENTISS INGRAHAM
(Extracts from his Memorial Day Poem.)
********
From Southern vales, and Northern hills,
Where cotton grows, or nods the pine,
Where hums the wheel of busy toil,
Or rice swamps stretch, or mosses twine,
Swung, from the hearth-stone to the field,
The " Lads in Blue " and " Boys in Gray " ;
Rushed where gathering thousands formed
In battle's dread and stern array.
Proud steeds were prancing o'er the plain,
Drums beat, swords clashed on swords, and life-blood freely gushed.
The air was filled with leaden rain;
" On ! comrades, on ! " the ringing cry,
Men bravely fight — men bravely die,
********
Defiant cries along the line,
In answer to the wild hurrah, —
How greedy Death pours out life's wine,
The richest vintage earth e'er saw.
High o'er the thunder-storm of war proud banners wave:
Fierce speeds the deadly hail, and glory gilds tlie grave.
How bitter the strife,
That maddens each life,
Where brave men ne'er quail,
And nerves never fail.
Honor, and glory, and Country to save.
********
There, " Stars and Bar " surge grimly back,
Here, " Stars and Stripes " are waving fair ;
Anguish rests on yon gory track, —
Here, strains of music fill the air.
Ring loud the bells ! the work is done.
Ring loud! and from the field of war
Flash the glad news — the battle's won —
To every hamlet near and far,
326

327
And so, with quick, electric thrill
Thro.bbed fast the news o'er pulsing wires,
And grief seemed swallowed up, and lost,
When joy-bells rang from all the spires.

But comrades ! when the bells are mute,
And reason comes, and feeling flow,
Ah me ! we hear between the lulls,
The separate wail of every woe.
And tho' the end may trebly pay,
And Fate may count it little cost,
'Tis cruel comfort yet, I trow,
To Rachel weeping o'er her lost.
To North and South the message ran,
And East and West was onward borne,
And many heads were high in pride,
And many too, were bowed to mourn.
For the spirit of War rode abroad o'er the plain,
And brother met brother to clasp hands o'er the slain ;
The faint groans of the dying were mingled with prayer,
And the shouts of the victor with shrieks of despair.
Now years have flown, and Peace has come ;
No longer hostile banners wave :
Yet hearts must turn to dust again,
Ere we forget our fallen brave.
And time has touched the grieving soul,
Who mourned the ones that here had bled :
And North and South hold kindred ties,
The Nation, and the Nation's dead!
Dread silence of death is on valley and hill
The voices of victor and vanquished are still,
Long years have gone by since the armies were seen,
The soldiers are sleeping — their graves now are green.
The "Banner of Stars" shakes its folds to the breeze,
Holds dominion on land — floats over the seas:

APPENDIX
A NARRATIVE
OF IMPORTANT EVENTS
OF THE WAR
(IN THE ORDER OF THEIR OCCURRENCE)

THE FIRING ON THE FLAG AT
FORT SUMTER, APRIL 12, 1861

THE SURRENDER (LEE TO GRANT), AT •
APPOMATTOX, APRIL 9, 1865, AND GEN.
JOHNSON TO GEN. SHERMAN, APRIL 29, 1865

CONFEDERATE ARMY PAROLED
AND DISBANDED, APRIL 29, 1865

APPENDIX.

The attempt of South Carolina to secede from the Union was sup-
. pressed by President Jackson, in 1832 ; but it was only delayed for a ripe
opportunity, and this seemingly presented itself in the election of Abraham
Lincoln to the Presidency on Nov. 6th, i860, the news of which was
received at Charleston, S. C. with "cheers for a Southern Confederacy
on Nov. 7th," followed by an attempt to seize the arms in Fort Moultrie
on Nov. 9th, and the resignation of the Senators from South Carolina
on Nov. nth. The Georgia Legislature voted $1,000,000 to arm the State,
Nov. 18, a great Secession meeting was held at Memphis, Tenn., Dec.
'ist, Howell Cobb, Secretary of the Treasury resigned from the Cabinet,
and Louisiana voted $500,000 to arm the State on Dec. ioth, South Caro
lina unanimously adopted a Secession ordinance in Convention Dec. 20th,
and refused to make any promises to President Buchanan to respect the
Federal laws.
Major Anderson, a brave and loyal United States officer left Fort
Moultrie and took possession of Fort Sumter with in men on Dec. 26th,
and South Carolina seized Government property in Charleston, and took
possession of Castle Pinckney and Fort Moultrie on Dec. 28th.
John B. Floyd, Secretary of War, resigned Dec. 29th because the
President refused to order Major Anderson back to Fort Moultrie.
Jacob Thompson, Secretary of the Interior, resigned on Jan. 8th, on the
sailing of the Star of the West, with supplies for Fort Sumter, which
was fired upon by the river batteries in Charleston Harbor and driven
back. Jan. 9th. Mississippi seceded by a vote of 84 to 15.
Jan. ioth, Florida seceded by a vote of 62 to 7.
Jan. nth Alabama seceded by a vote of 61 to 39.
Jan. nth, Louisiana seized Forts Philip and Jackson, and Pike and
Macomb, and the United States Arsenal at Baton Rouge.
Jan. 13th, Florida seized Pensacola navy yard and Fort Barancas.
Lieutenant Slemmer refused to surrender Fort Pickens, and thus saved
it for the Union.
Jan. 16th, Colonel Hayne demanded of the President the surrender
of Fort Sumter, which was refused.
Jan. 18th, Virginia appropriated $1,000,000 for State defence.
Jan. 19th, Georgia seceded by a vote of 208 to 89.
Jan. 21st, Jefferson Davis resigned from the United States Senate.
Jan. 26, Louisiana seceded by a vote of 113 to 17.
Feb. ist, Texas seceded by a vote of 166 to 7.
Feb. 9th, the Confederate Government organized at Montgomery, Ala..
and elected Jefferson Davis and Alexander H. Stephens provisional
President and Vice-President of the Southern Confederacy. 331

332
The electoral vote of February 13th gave Abraham Lincoln 180,
Stephen A. Douglas 12, John C. Breckenridge 72, and John Bell 39.
These four candidates representing the various views of Union Men
on the issue then pending.
Abraham Lincoln, who thus became President of the United States,
was like Moses and Washington, a Providential leader raised up for a
special emergency and fitted to bear an enormous responsibility and a
burden of anxiety, such as would have overwhelmed any ordinary man,
and yet how patiently, kindly, conscienciously, bravely and skilfully he ful
filled his splendid mission, and carried it to a successful issue.
Mr. Lincoln was born Feb. 12th, 1809, in a lowly cabin in Kentucky..
His parents were poor, and he was raised in poverty, worked hard for
his living splitting rails and doing other farm work. Later he was
employed in a vjllage store, and subsequently became a surveyor. At the
age of 19 he was six feet four inches in height, and very strong and mus
cular; his only books were the Bible, ^Esop's Fables, history of the United
States, life of Washington, and an English grammar, which he borrowed.
In 1832 he was a captain in the Black Hawk War, in his 23rd year. From
his 25th to 33rd year, he was in the Illinois Legislature, followed later
by one term in Congress. He began the practice of law in 1837, and took
an active part in political controversy. While in the Illinois Legislature
he put himself on record against slavery in the following words : " The
Institution of Slavery is founded in injustice and bad policy," and at a
later date, declared that " This Government cannot endure permanently
half slavery, and half free." While in Congress he presented a resolu
tion for the gradual abolition of slavery with compensation to the
owners, which showed a moderation and fair mindedness towards slave
holders that it would have been well for them to have heeded, but the
South refused all propositions of compromise. In 1858, Mr. Lincoln's
debate with Senator Douglas on the slavery issue, showed him possessed
of such consummate wisdom and tact and conservative statesmanship,
that he towered above all other public men in the National councils, and
he received the Republican nomination, was elected, and inaugurated Presi
dent of the United States on March 4th, i86i;
The South at once commenced active hostilities ; on March 5th
General Beauregard took command of the troops at Charleston S. C,
and on April 7th ordered all intercourse with Fort Sumter to cease;
on April 8th, President Lincoln notified South Carolina that Fort Sumter
would be provisioned by force if necessary, and the steamer Atlantic
sailed from New York with troops and supplies. On April nth Beaure
gard demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter which Major Anderson
refused to do. April 12th Beauregard commenced the bombardment of
Fort Sumter, which, after a brave defence for two days, was evacuated,
under a flag of truce, the Major and his men being allowed to retain
their arms and carry the flag with them, but this overt act of the South
in firing upon the American flag stirred up the latent spirit of loyalty in
the North, and practically united all loyal men in a determination to put
down the rebellion and maintain- the Union and the supremacy of the
National Government at all hazards.

333
April 15th, President Lincoln issued a Proclamation commanding all
persons in arms against the Government to disperse within twenty days;
and also called for 75,000 volunteers.
April 16th, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and Missouri refused to
furnish troops under the President's proclamation and then the Con
federate Government called for 32,000 men, and Jefferson Davis issued
a proclamation offering Letters of Marque and Reprisal to all who
wished to engage in privateering; thus the Nation entered upon the
great Civil War of four years, from 1861 to 1865, in which 2,000,000
Union Men were enrolled to uphold the Government and preserve the
Union, of whom 400,000 were slain in battle, Or died of disease; and
300,000 returned- maimed or crippled for life, and $5,000,000,000 were ex
pended before the Southern forces were vanquished and surrendered to
General Grant at Appomattox. What it cost the South in the loss of
lives and property, including the slaves freed, by the Emancipation Procla
mation of President Lincoln, which was issued by him as a war measure
Sept. 22, 1862, can probably never be accurately estimated, but the great
totality of misery and destruction resulting to both sides, presents a
salutary object lesson against war for the adjustment of human ills, and
the Nation or People who resort to war must be well assured that their
cause is just and righteous, and then, only, when all peaceable means of
adjustment have -failed.
President Lincoln was spared to see his Emancipation Proclamation
ratified by Congress and become the law of the land ; 120,000 of the freed
slaves were enrolled as Union soldiers and did good service under skilled
leaders. He lived to witness the overthrow of rebellion, the downfall of
the Southern Confederacy, by the surrender of General Lee at Appo
mattox, insuring the safety of the Union, and then died by the hand of an
assassin at Washington, on April 14th, 1865. He died a glorious Martyr
in the cause of Liberty and righteousness, and his .name will be forever
enshrined with that of Washington in the veneration and affectionate
regard of his countrymen. This brief tribute to him may be fitly closed
with two of his famous utterances . which indicate forcibly his reverence
and high sense of duty, his firm determination and forgiving spirit.
In his second Inaugural address delivered only forty days before his
assassination, he said, "If we shall suppose that American slavery is
one of those offenses which in the providence of God must needs come,
but which, having continued through the appointed time, he now wills
to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this terrible war,
as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern
therein any departure from those Divine attributes which the believers
in a living God always ascribe to him? Fondly do we hope, fervently
do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.
Yet if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bonds
men's 250 years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop
of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid with another drawn by the
sword as was said 3,000 years ago, so still it must be said : The judg
ments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

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" With malice towards none, with charity for all ; with firmness in the
right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the
work we are in ; to bind up the Nation's wounds ; to care for him who
shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan to do all
which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves
and with all Nations."
Another, delivered at Gettysburg at the dedication of a Monument to
the memory of the Union patriots who fell on that bloody battlefield,
has become a classic which challenges the admiration of all students of
literature. " Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth
upon this continent a new Nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to
the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a
great Civil War, testing whether the Nation, or any Nation so conceived
and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield
of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a
final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that Nation
might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot
hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here
have consecrated it far above our power to add or detract. The world
will little note, or long remember, what, we say here, but they can never
forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated
here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far
so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great
task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take in
creased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure
of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have
died m vain, that this Nation under God shall have a new birth of
Freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the
people, shall not perish from, the earth."
We will now return to a recital, chronologically, of the principal events
that occurred after the firing on Fort Sumter, on April 12th, 1861 :
April 17th, Virginia seceded by a vote of 60 to 53, and placed obstruc
tions in the channel at Norfolk to prevent the sailing of United States war
vessels from that place.
April 19, President Lincoln declared the ports of South Carolina,
Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas in a state
of blockade.
April 27th, all the United officers were requested to take the oath of
allegiance. May 3rd, President Lincoln called for 42,000 volunteers or recruits
for three years, 22,000 for the regular army, and ¦ 18,000 seamen.
May 4th, General McClellan was placed in command of the Department
of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.
May 5th, General Butler with the 6th Mass. and 8th New York regi
ments, took possession of the Relay House, Md.
May 24th, 13,000 troops crossed the Potomac and occupied Alexandria,
where Colonel Ellsworth was shot by Jackson, who was also instantly
killed.

335
June ioth, at battle of Big Bethel, three regiments of Union troops
were defeated; Union loss, Major Winthrop and sixteen men killed, and
forty-one wounded.
July 2nd, General Patterson defeated the Confederates at Falling
Water, Va. Union loss, three killed and ten wounded.
July 5th, battle of Carthage, Mo. After a protracted contest, Colonel
Sigel with 1500 Union troops retreated to Springfield. Union loss, three
killed, 31 wounded.
July nth, the senators from Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Arkansas,
and Nicholson, of Tennessee, were expelled from the United States
Senate. July 12th, at battle of Rich Mountain, Colonel Rosecrans defeated.
the Confederates, capturing 800 prisoners, besides 150 killed and wounded
on Confederate side. Union loss, 11 killed, and 35 wounded.
July 13th, battle of Carrick's Ford, Va. Confederates defeated, and
their General, Garnett, killed. Union loss, two killed, and ten wounded.
July 13th, battle of Scareytown, Va. The Union forces under Colonel
Lowe were defeated. Union loss, nine killed, and 40 wounded.
July 15th, skirmish at Bunker Hill, Va. An attack by Rebel cavalry
under Colonel Stewart was repulsed.
July 18th, battle of Blackburn Ford, Va., resulting in General Tyler,
commanding the Union forces, withdrawing to Centreville. Union loss,
19 killed, and 64 wounded.
July 21st, battle of Bull Run opened favorably for the Union troops-
Under General McDowell, but the arrival of General Johnston with large
reinforcement caused a disorderly retreat towards Washington. Union
loss, 481 killed, 104 wounded, 1216 missing; Confederate loss 209 killed,
1483 wounded.
July 22nd, General McClellan placed in command of the Army of the
Potomac. July 25th, General Rosecrans took command of the Army of West
Virginia. Aug. 2nd, General Lyon defeated the Confederates at Dug Springs.
Mo. Union loss, 8 killed, 30 wounded.
Aug. ioth, battle of Wilson Creek, Mo. Union troops 5000, Con
federates 10,000; after a hard fight of six hours General Lyon was
killed, and the Union troops under Colonel Sigel and Major Sturges
retired to Springfield, but the enemy did not pursue. Union loss, 223
killed, 1012 wounded and missing. Confederate loss, 265 killed, and 800
wounded. Aug. 12th, President Lincoln appointed Sept. 30th a fast day.
Aug. 29th, Fort Hatteras surrendered to the Union forces. Con
federate loss, 49 killed, 51 wounded, 691 prisoners.
Sept. 4th, the Confederates attempted to cross the Potomac at Great
Falls, but were repulsed.
Sept. ioth, battle of Carnifex Ferry. General Rosecrans with 4500
troops attacked the Confederates under Floyd, who retreated during the
night, destroying the bridge to prevent pursuit. Union loss, 15 killed,
and 70 wounded.

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Sept. 12th, fight at Cheat Mountain, and Colonel J. A. Washington,
proprietor Mt. Vernon, killed. Union loss, 9 killed, 12 wounded.
Sept. 17th, battle of Blue Mills, Mo., Rebels retreated. Union loss,
12 killed, and 85 wounded.
Sept. 20, battle of Lexington, Mo. Colonel Mulligan with 2460 Union
troops was attacked by a much larger force; after a gallant defence
¦of four days was compelled to surrender. Union loss, 39 killed, and 120
wounded. Oct. 21st, battle of Balls Bluff; Colonel Baker with 1900 Union
troops being unsupported by reinforcements as planned, had to contend
with a superior force, and after a hard' fight in which Colonel Baker was
killed, the Federals retreated. Union loss, 223 killed, 266 wounded, and
455 prisoners.
Oct. 21st, battle of Wild Cat, Ky. General Zollicoffer with 6000
Confederates was repulsed by General Schepff. Union loss, 4 killed, 21
wounded. Oct. 29th, the Second Naval outfit of 80 vessels and 15,000 men sailed
from Fortress Monroe under Commodore Dupont, General Sherman Com
manding the land forces.
Nov. 7th, battle of Belmont; General Grant with 2800 troops drove
the enemy out, destroyed their camp, and captured a quantity of arms,
but was compelled to retreat on the arrival of reinforcements.' Union loss
¦84 killed,' 288 wounded, 235 missing.
Nov. 27th, General McClellan directed the observance of the Sabbath
in all the companies of the United States Army.
Dec. 5th, Official Report of the Union forces show at this date 640,537
volunteers, 20,334 regulars, 22,000 seamen.
Dec. 17th, fight at Munfordville, Ky. a drawn battle. Union loss, 10
killed and 17 wounded.
Dec. 18th, General Pope captured 1300 rebels, 1000 stand of arms,
horses and wagons at Milford, Mo.
Dec. 20th, battle of Drainsville, Va. General McCall defeated the
¦Confederates. Union loss, 7 killed, and 61 wounded.
Jan. 4th, 1862. General Milroy defeated Confederates at Huntersville,
Va., and captured $80,000 worth of stores.
Jan. ioth, Colonel Garfield defeated the Confederates under Humphrey
Marshall at Prestonburg, Ky.
Jan. 19th, battle of Mill Spring, Ky. Confederates defeated, their
General, Zollicoffer, killed. Union loss 39 killed, and 127 wounded.
Feb. 6th, Fort Henry surrendered to Commodore Foote.
Feb. 8th, General Burnside captured the six forts on Roanoke Island
and destroyed the Confederate fleet, taking 2500 prisoners, and a large
quantity of ammunition.
Feb. 16th, Fort Donelson was unconditionally surrendered to General
¦Grant by General Buckner, with 12,000 to 15,000 prisoners, 40 cannons,
-and a large amount of stores. Union loss, 321 killed, 1046 wounded.
Feb. 22nd, Jefferson Davis inaugurated President, and A. H. Stephens
Vice-President of the Southern Confederacy.

337
March 6th to 8th, battle of Pea Ridge resulted in the defeat of the
Confederates by General Curtis. Union loss 212 killed, and 926 wounded.
March 8th, the Rebel steamers, Merrimac, Jamestown and Yorktown
attacked the United States fleet at Hampton Roads, and destroyed the
Cumberland and Congress. Union loss, 201 killed, and 108 wounded.
March 9th, the . Monitor attacked the Merrimac, and she was com
pelled to seek protection of the Rebel battery at Sewall's Point, and
never renewed the contest.
March 14th, General Burnside captured Newberne, N. C, with a large
quantity of ammunition and stores. Union loss, 91 killed, and 466
wounded. April 6th and 7th, battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, Con
federate Generals Johnston and Beauregard attacked General Grant.
Rebels finally defeated, and retreated to Corinth. Union loss, 1641
killed, 7721 wounded, 3956 missing, General Johnston was killed.
April 8th, Island No. 10 was captured with 5000 prisoners, 100 siege
guns, 24 pieces of field artillery, 5000 small arms, 2000 hogshead of
sugar, and a large quantity of ammunition, etc. The Union forces did-
not lose a man.
April 12th, General Mitchell captured 2000 Confederates at Chat
tanooga. April 19th, General Reno with 2000 Union troops defeated the Con
federates at Camden, N. C Union loss, 14 killed, and 99 wounded.
April 25th, Commodore Farragut took possession of New Orleans,
and secured Forts Jackson and St. Philip, 13 gunboats including the ram
Manassas, and iron-clad Louisiana.
May 5th, battle of Williamsburg, Va. Generals Hancock and- Hooker
defeated the Confederates, who retreated in the night towards Richmond.
Union loss, 200 killed, and 700 wounded.
May 7th, battle at West Point, Va. Generals Franklin and . Sedgwick
with 20,000 troops were attacked by the Confederate General Lee, who
was defeated. Union loss, 300 killed and wounded.
May ioth, the Union forces took possession of Norfolk, Va., destroyed
the iron-clad Merrimac, and secured a large quantity of ammunition, etc.
May 12th, Natchez, Miss, surrendered to Commodore Farragut.
May 25th, General Banks was defeated at Winchester, Va. and retreated
across the Potomac.
May 27th, Confederates defeated at Hanover C. H, Va.
May 30th, Rebels evacuated and Union troops occupied Corinth.
May 31st, battle of Fair Oaks, Va. Confederates under General
Johnston attacked the left wing of the Union Army, which was driven
back, but renewed the fight next day, and repulsed the Rebels. Con
federate loss, 6134. Union loss, 890 killed, and 4844 wounded.
June 6th, Naval engagement, seven Rebel gunboats destroyed, and
Memphis surrendered.
June 26th, General Pope assigned to the command of the Army of
Virginia. 22

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June 26th, Rebels atacked McClellan's right wing at Mechanicsville,
the day closed with battle undecided.
June 27th, battle renewed, Federals driven back.
June 28th, fighting all day between the Federal right wing and the
Confederate left wing, Rebels were repulsed, and the Federal force fell
back in good order.
June 29th, battle renewed at Peach Orchard, Confederates attacking.,
but were driven back, and again attacked at Savage Station, battle con
tinuing until nine o'clock at night-
June 30th, battle renewed at White Oak Swafrip, with heavy loss on
both sides, General McClellan retreats towards James River. General
Heintzelman's corps subsequently charged, and routed the Confederates,
capturing 2000 prisoners.
July ist, battle of Malvern Hill, and last of the Richmond battles.
The Confederates were repulsed at every point, the Union loss in the
six days' fighting before Richmond and 1561 killed, 7701 wounded, and
5958 missing, mainly prisoners; the Confederates lost 19,000, but the
' result as a whole, was a serious check to the Union arms.
July ist, President Lincoln called for 300,000 volunteers.
Aug. ioth, battle of Cedar Mountain; General Jackson attacked
General Banks, who held his position at a heavy loss of 450 killed,
660 wounded, and 290 prisoners ; the enemy fell back, and did not renew
the fight; Confederate loss 1276.
Aug. 16th, General McClellan evacuated Harrison's Landing.
Aug. 26th, General Ewell drove the Union troops from Manassas and
pushed towards Alexandria.
Aug. 27th, General Pope fell back towards Warrenton, and, when
joined by General Hooker, met Ewell at Kettle Run, and defeated him.
Aug. 29th, battle of Gainsville or Groveton, Va. ; commenced at 10.00
a. m., and continued until 6.00 p. m., when the Confederates retired.
Aug. 30th, battle of Richmond, Ky. The Union troops under General
Manson were defeated. Union loss, 200 killed, and 700 wounded, and 2000
prisoners. Aug. 30th, second battle of Bull Run, the Federal forces under
General Pope were defeated and fell back to Centreville. Union loss,
15,000 ; Confederate loss, 10,000.
Sept. ist, fight at Chantilly, Va. The Union troops under Generals
Hooker, Reno, and Kearney, after a fierce and short conflict, compelled
the enemy to retire, leaving their killed and wounded on the field.
Sept. 7th, General McClellan took command of the Army of the
Potomac. Sept. 14th, battle of South Mountain; the fight was severe and the
loss heavy on both sides ; the Confederates retreated towards the Potomac.
Union loss, General Reno, and 443 men killed, and 1806 wounded.
Sept. 15th, Harper's Ferry surrendered with 8000 men, to the Confed
erates. Sept. 17th, battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) was the bloodiest
one day's fight of the war. The two armies each numbered nearly

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ioo,ooo men, the Confederates retreated during the night, leaving 3500
prisoners, 39 flags, and 13 guns. Union loss, 2010 killed, 9416 wounded,
and 1043 missing. Confederate loss, 13,687 killed and wounded (making
a total of 26,156).
Sept. 18th, Confederates evacuated Harper's Ferry, leaving their sick
and wounded behind.
Sept. 22nd, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
freeing the slaves.
Oct. 3rd and 4th, battle of Corinth, Miss. Confederates were defeated
with heavy loss. Union loss, 315 killed, 1802 wounded.
Oct. 8th, battle of Perryville, Ky. General Buell was attacked by
Confederate Generals Jackson and Tirrell. After a heavy loss on both
sides, the Confederates retreated. Union loss, over 300 killed and
wounded. Nov. 3rd, the Union troops occupied Snicker's Gap, Upperville,
Thoroughfare Gap, Ashby's Gap, and Piedmont, Va.
Nov. 5th, General McClellan was relieved of the command of the
Army of the Potomac and General Burnsides succeeded him.
Nov. 1 6th, President Lincoln enjoined upon the United States Army
the orderly observance of the Sabbath.
Nov. 28th, battle of Cane Hill, Ark. General Blunt with 1000 Union
troops defeated the Confederates who retreated to Van Buren, with
heavy loss.
Dec. 7th, the battle of Prairie Grove, Ark. Generals Blunt and
Herron commanding the Union troops, defeated the Confederates, who
retreated in the night, leaving their dead and wounded. Union loss,
495 killed, and 500 wounded.
Dec. 7th, the Rebel General Morgan captured four regiments of Union
troops at Hartsville, Tenn.
Dec. 13th, battle of Fredericksburg, Va. The Confederate works were
attacked .in their intrenchments by Generals Sumner, Hooker, and
Franklin, but they were repulsed with a heavy loss. Union loss, 1284
killed, 9600 wounded, and 1769 missing or prisoners. Confederate loss,
595 killed, 4074 wounded, and 653 missing or prisoners.
Dec. 27th, General Sherman made an attack on Vicksburg, but failed
for want of co-operation which could not reach him, and he was driven
back. Dec. 31st, battle of Murfreesboro (or Stone River). General Rose
crans with 45,000 Union troops was attacked, and his right wing driveu
back, with a loss of 26 guns ; but the Confederates were repulsed and the
ground regained. Union loss, in three days' fighting, 600 killed, 1500
wounded, and 1000 missing.
Jan. ioth, 1863, battle at Arkansas Post. The Mississippi squadron
under Admiral Porter and land force under General McCIernand captured
this place with 7000 prisoners, and a large quantity of ammunition.
Union loss, 200 killed and wounded.
Jan. 28th, General Hooker succeeded General Burnside in the command
of the army of the Potomac.

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March 5th, General Coburn with five regiments of infantry and two
of cavalry, was attacked by a superior force of Confederates under
General Van Dorn, and was defeated with a heavy loss, 120 killed, and
1206 taken prisoners.
April 27th to May 5th, battle of Chancellorsville.
The Union Army under General Hooker commenced marching April
27th, crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan and got in position at
Chancellorsville about ten miles west of Fredericksburg. After skirmish
ing on Friday and Saturday, May ist and 2nd, the main battle was fought
Saturday evening and Sunday, May 2nd and 3rd. A successful flank
attack by General Jackson routed the nth corps and disarranged
General Hooker's plans, resulting in the defeat of the Federal Army, and
its withdrawal from the field on May 5th. The Union loss was 17,287
killed, wounded and prisoners. The Confederate loss was 13,000 killed,
wounded and prisoners, but in the death of " Stonewall Jackson " from
a wound received in this battle, the Confederate cause sustained a loss
from which it never recovered.
May 14th, battle of Jackson, Miss. May 23rd, assault on Vicksburg.
June 9th, a severe cavalry fight occurred at Fleetwood, Va. between
the Union cavalry under General Pleasanton, and the Confederate cavalry
under General Stuart, ending in heavy losses on both sides. Union
loss, 907, Confederate loss, 485.
June 15th, battle at Winchester, General Milroy was attacked by
the Confederate General Ewell, and after a severe engagement the Union
troops retreated to Harper's Ferry and thence to Maryland Heights, and
Hancock. Ewell captured 4000 prisoners, 25 cannon, and 11 flags, then
crossed the Potomac to Hagerstown and Sharpsburg, and sent a cavalry
brigade under General Jenkins towards Chambersburg.
June 2 ist, General Pleasanton with cavalry and infantry attacked
General Stuart's cavalry brigade at Upperville, and drove him back to
Ashby's Gap.
June 23rd, to June 27th, the cavalry under General Imboden (Con
federate) ordered on General Ewell's left were due as far north as
McConnellsburg, but halted at Hancock {from Longstreet's book).
The Confederates stopped two days at Chambersburg, Pa.
June 28, General Lee issued orders for the march on Harrisburg,
General Ewell then occupying Carlisle. The failure of the Imboden
cavalry on his left caused General Ewell to send General Geo. H. Stewart
through McConnellsburg to guard that flank. {Longstreet.)
June 27th, General Geo. G. Meade took command of the Army of the
Potomac, in place of General Hooker, who resigned because General Hal
lock refused him the use of troops at Harper's Ferry, with which to
strike the Confederate line of communication. {General Longstreet since
says their trains were exposed from Chambersburg to the Potomac,
without cavalry to report trouble.)
July ist, battle of Gettysburg. General John F. Reynolds, commander
of the right wing of the Union Army (ist, 3rd, and nth corps) advanced
to the support of General Buford's cavalry, which had met Heth's division

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at 10.00 o'clock a. m. and been forced back to Willoughby Run, and
was killed in the severe engagement that followed. General Doubleday's
division arriving, and the Confederates likewise being reinforced, a
general engagement followed. General Howard of the nth Corps, had
occupied Cemetery Hill, and sent two divisions (Barlow and Schurz)
to support Doubleday. At 2.45 p. m. the Union forces were compelled
to withdraw to Cemetery Hill, followed by the Confederates through the
streets of Gettysburg at 4.00 p. m. General Hancock having arrived on
the field at 3.00 o'clock p. m. assumed command, and, assisted by General
Howard, formed a new line.
July 2nd, at 12.00 o'clock noon, a skirmish between the 3rd Maine and
the ioth Alabama, reinforced by the nth Confederate Regiment, resulted
in the withdrawal of out skirmishers to the main line at 3.00 p. m.
The combat opened by the Confederate artillery upon the Union left,
followed by an advance of Hood's troops towards " Little Round Top,"
the " Battle was on " and the fighting desperate and bloody. General
Hood fell seriously hurt, and General Law succeeded him in command;
on the Union side, General Sickles was badly wounded and lost a leg;
General Hancock reported sixty per cent, of his men lost; the battle
of this day ended by the recall of the Confederates at sundown, and the
result was a heavy loss on both sides, but the Union loss exceeded that
of the Confederate.
July 3rd, the Confederate General Geo. E. Pickett with 15,000
troops, made a daring assault on the Union line across an open space
a mile in width, and suffered so disastrously from the artillery and
rifles of the Union forces, that the slaughter was unparalleled in the
annals of the war. .
July 4th, General Lee issued orders for the retreat of the Confederate
Army and this ended the Battle of Gettysburg.
Union forces engaged, 99,131 ; Union loss, 23,049, killed and wounded.
Confederate forces engaged, 75,568; Confederate loss 21,637, killed
and wounded.
July 4th, Vicksburg surrendered to General Grant, which gave the
control of the Mississippi to the Gulf.
July 13th, General Kilpatrick's cavalry came upon the rear of the
Confederates and captured General Pettigrew and 200 prisoners. Petti-
grew was mortally wounded, and died in a few days.
July 18th, assaults on Fort Wagner. July 27th, Rebel cavalry leader,
John Morgan, captured.
Sept. 29th, General Frazee, with 2000 Confederate troops, surrendered
to General Burnside at Cumberland Gap, Tenn.
Sept. 20th, Chickamauga Campaign.
Oct 19th, General Grant took command of the departments of
Tennessee, Cumberland and Ohio, with General Thomas in command of
the Cumberland, and General Sherman in command of the Tennessee.
The points on . Lookout Mountain commanding the river were recap
tured by General Hooker, on October 29th. On November 24th,
Sherman marched up the Tennessee and crossed it, -and captured the east

342
end of Missionary Ridge. General Thomas formerly held the centre and
Hooker drove the enemy from Lookout Summit, and on Nov. 25th,
the enemy were completely routed. Union loss 4000 killed, wounded and
missing; Confederate loss, 6000 prisoners, 42 cannon, 600 guns, besides
thousands in killed and wounded. "
1864, Feb. 20th, battle of Olistee, Florida.
April 20th, Plymouth, N. C. captured.
May 15th, battle of Resaca, Ga.
June 2nd, battle of Cold Harbor, Va.
June 5th, battle of Piedmont, Va.
June nth, Sherman reached Kenesaw.
June 19th, Rebel ram Alabama sank by the Kearsarge.
July 22nd, Major General McPherson killed.
July 28th, fighting ends at Atlanta, Ga.
July 30th, Chambersburg invaded and burned by the Confederates.
Aug. 5th, Mobile forts attacked.
Aug. 6th, ram Tennessee captured.
Aug 31st, battle Of Jonesboro, Ga.
Sept. 4th Rebel General Morgan killed.
Sept. 22nd, battle of Fisher's Hill, Va.
Sept. 28th, Fort Harrison, Va. captured.
Oct. 20th, Rebel steamer Florida captured.
Oct. 27th, ram Albemarle destroyed.
Nov. 14th, General Sherman marched to the sea.
Dec. 21st, Savannah captured.
Dec. 24th, Fort Fisher stormed.
1865, Feb. nth, Charleston, S. C. evacuated.
Feb. 17th, Columbia, S. C. burned.
April ist, battle of Five Forks.
April 9th, General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox.
April 14, President Lincoln assassinated.
April 26th, Confederate General Johnston surrendered to General
Sherman. May ioth, Confederate President Jefferson Davis captured.
July 29th, Confederate soldiers paroled to their homes.