"They will not be forgotten": A Narrative History of the 138th Pennsylvania.
by Stephen Light
"ADAMS COUNTY TO ARMS!" read an advertisement in Gettysburg's Star and Banner
newspaper on July 17th, 1862. President Lincoln had issued a call for 300,000
more troops, and Gettysburg was preparing to answer that call. The ad which
appeared that day appealed to the "patriotic, able-bodied men of Adams County
to come forward immediately and enroll themselves in the defense of the
Union."[1] Thus began the recruitment of Companies B and G of the 138th
Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. This regiment, like many of the regiments
in the Civil War, was composed of citizen soldiers who had volunteered to leave
their families, homes, and jobs to serve the United States. In fulfilling their
duty to their country, many men would fall wounded, killed, or victim to
disease. Others would survive the war and go on to do great things in their own
private lives. All should be remembered. This is a narrative history of the
138th regiment.
The 138th Pennsylvania was formed in response to President Lincoln's call for
300,000 troops in the summer of 1862. Originally, many of the troops answering
this call enlisted for nine months of service. The War Department, however,
issued an order outlawing the acceptance of these nine month troops, and the
138th was the first regiment under the call for 300,000 accepted for three
years of service.[2] Companies A,C,I, and K were recruited from Montgomery
County, while Companies D, E, and F consisted of men from Bedford County.
Company H was recruited in Bucks County.[3]
Company B of the 138th was raised in Adams County, specifically in the town of
Gettysburg, and was originally captained by John F. McCreary. The men in
Company G called the Adams County towns of Bendersville and Heidlersburg home.
James H. Walter originally captained this company.[4] The following essay,
while an overall study of the 138th, focuses particularly on the two companies
raised in Adams County. The reason for this is that the three newspapers in the
town of Gettysburg at the time were used extensively as sources, and their
reporting was understandably more focused toward their hometown soldiers.
John F. McCreary's involvement with the town of Gettysburg in the Civil War
began well before his efforts at raising a company in 1862. At the outbreak of
the war McCreary was a student at Pennsylvania College, located at the northern
end of town. In the spring of 1861, following the firing on Fort Sumter, rumors
spread throughout Gettysburg that secessionists from Baltimore planned to march
on the town. In response, McCreary organized a student militia company to aide
in the town's defense.[5] The students, led by their elected Captain McCreary,
drilled nightly behind the main edifice of the college, Pennsylvania Hall.
Occasionally they would put on a show for the local townspeople by performing
drill in the town square.[6]
By the summer of 1862, the federal and state governments in the North began to
consider calling more troops into service, either through volunteering or
drafting. In June the Governors of several states, authored a resolution
requesting that Lincoln "at once call upon the several States for such number
of men as may be required to fill up all the military organizations now in the
field." In response, the President issued a proclamation calling for 300,000
men.[7]
Following the President's proclamation, a recruiting office was set up in the
clothing store of Gettysburg businessman George Arnold, located on the
southwest corner of the town square on Chambersburg Street.[8] In order to
encourage enlistment, inducements such as bounties were more liberal than they
had ever been before.[9] On July 26th, a war meeting held in the Courthouse on
Baltimore Street resolved to raise appropriations to pay a bounty of fifty
dollars to any soldier enlisting from Adams County.[10]
In addition to these monetary inducements to enlist, media propaganda was also
used extensively. The newspapers invoked the ideals of patriotism, duty and
honor, and made full use of the commonly accepted perceptions of manhood to
pressure men to enlist. "Break from the arms that would fondly caress you," a
poem printed in the Star and Banner instructed, "Maidens shall weep
for you when you are gone! Hark the bugle blast! sabers are drawn! Never or
now! cries the blood of the nation."[11] The local Democratic newspaper, the Gettysburg
Compiler , also urged on the recruitment process, stating that the
country was "a common inheritance, the birthright of all, and should be
defended by ALL, as well against external as internal foes."[12]
The threat of conscription was yet anther method used to encourage enlistment.
At the beginning of the recruitment stage, the national government assigned
each county a quota to fulfill. Adams County's quota was set at two companies.
If the county did not meet this requirement, then a draft would complete the
quota.[13] This served to pressure men to volunteer and receive an enlistment
bounty rather than waiting for a draft notice. In the end, Adams County would
fulfill the quota that had been set.
By the 12th of August Captain McCreary had enlisted about one hundred men in
Gettysburg, and was preparing to leave the town to be mustered in at
Harrisburg. Captain Walter had enlisted about 70, with more enlisting every
day, and also expected to leave soon.[14] Captain McCreary's company boarded
railroad cars to report to Camp Curtin in Harrisburg on August 13th. The trip
was made in cars "generally used for carrying 'swine.'" The men arrived at the
capital city at 1 P.M. and then moved out to Camp Curtin, situated about 1 mile
outside of the city.[15] Three days later Captain Walter's company would
follow.[16]
It was at Camp Curtin that the 138th regiment first took shape. Until this
point in time, the two companies from Adams County had no regimental
designation, but rather were independent companies. At Camp Curtin, aside from
being organized into a regiment, the men received their first military
instruction and were issued their equipment and uniforms for the first
time.[17] The camp atmosphere at this time must have been one of great
excitement, as companies from all over Pennsylvania arrived in response to the
President's call. Troops poured in by the thousands as companies consolidated
and regiments formed as rapidly as possible.[18]
Camp Curtin was according to one soldier of the 138th a "dusty, filthy, and
very loathsome" place to stay.[19] Another soldier, writing to the Star and
Banner under the pen name of "Star," reported that dust in camp was
about four inches deep. Despite this, the soldier stated that the camp was well
supplied with good water through wells, hydrants and a canal.[20] By August
26th the organization of the regiment was complete and it was mustered into the
service of the United States. Charles L. K. Sumwalt was appointed the Colonel
of the regiment. Captain McCreary's men were designated Company B, while
Captain Walter's men became Company G.[21]
The appointment of Colonel Sumwalt at the time was largely engineered by the
companies from Adams County. Sumwalt lived in the area and was well known to
the people there as a man of high religious character.[22] In the town of
Gettysburg, the news of his appointment was received very well. "He possesses
capital qualifications," the Compiler reported, "and the boys of the
147th [sic] may congratulate themselves on having so gallant a leader."[23] As
will be seen later, the regiment would soon regret this appointment. Underneath
Colonel Sumwalt was Lieutenant Colonel Matthew R. McClennan, an appointment
that no one would regret.
At Camp Curtin that summer assembled many of Adams County's youngest and
brightest, as they readied to go to war. Company G contained Jacob Hankey,
Pennsylvania College class of 1861, and 14 year old Isaiah B Crist, who would
graduate from the college in 1872. Company B had its share of past and future
college students, including George W. Hemminger, Lewis W. Detrich, and Henry
Grossman. One student soldier, Harvey W. McKnight, would go on to become
president of Pennsylvania College after the war.[24]
Also a member of Company B was Corporal Peter Thorn, gatekeeper of the
Evergreen Cemetery in the town of Gettysburg. His wife Elizabeth would later
dig 105 graves after the battle of Gettysburg while six months pregnant, and is
today immortalized by a monument in the cemetery.[25] Nicholas G. Wilson of
Company G and J.A. Kitzmiller Company B would see battle close up with their
comrades over the next three years, would survive and go on to become prominent
members of the Gettysburg community following the war.[26] Elias Hartzell would
see many of the same battles as Kitzmiller and Wilson,[27] though sadly he
would not return home alive. These citizen soldiers were the makeup of the
138th as it rapidly prepared for war. They were blacksmiths, such as
Kitzmiller, Teamsters, such as Wilson, and farmers, such as Hartzell.[28] They
were supporters of the war and by extension mostly favored the Republican
Party.[29] There is not enough information available, however, to say whether
or not a majority were abolitionist.
On the 30th of August, just four days after having been mustered in, the
regiment received its arms, equipment, and clothing.[30] At one in the
afternoon that same day, the regiment started for the front, believing their
destination to be Washington D.C. Instead, the regiment was taken to Relay
Station, a railroad junction about nine miles outside the city of
Baltimore.[31] That first night the regiment stayed in the railroad cars,
packed in very tightly. Despite the cramped conditions, there were "but few
murmurs, and the cry was don't mind this boys, we are going to fight for Uncle
Sam."[32]
The next morning the regiment was marched off to their new campground near the
station. It was decent place to stay, with plenty of shade provided by a grove
of trees. According to one soldier there was plenty to eat, including fresh
bread and plenty of good beef. The regiment received the task of guarding the
Baltimore and Ohio railroad lines from Confederate raiders and
sympathizers.[33] "We have not much excitement but plenty of life to keep all
in good spirits," a soldier reported to the Star and Banner .[34]
Another stated that according to reports the regiment would soon see
battle.[35]
What the men reporting to the Star and Banner did not realize was that
those reports of impending battle would soon prove to be false, at least as far
as the 138th was concerned. Despite the men's desire to "fight for Uncle Sam,"
they would be stationed in and around Relay Station for quite a while. From
September of 1862 until the end of June 1863 they would guard the railway
lines, keeping the valuable Baltimore and Ohio running smoothly. Activities
during this time were regimented and included drill, guard duty, and fatigue
duty. While stationed here the regiment was instilled with discipline and
became familiar with the battlefield tactics that they would need later on in
the war. The drill was mostly handled by Lt. Colonel McClennan.[36]
Although guarding railroads seemed dull and inglorious, the 138th's job was
necessary. Relay Station was an important junction where the B&O and
Washington railroads ran through. Over the tracks large trains continually ran,
carrying soldiers and supplies to the armies at the front. The junction was
situated at the Patapaco River, and a substantial railroad bridge crossed it
nearby. Any trains headed towards Washington, Harper's Ferry, or the Army of
the Potomac front had to first pass through Relay Station. Union troops guarded
the station from the beginning of the war.[37]
The regiment spread out at different points all along the railroad. Four
companies were stationed at Relay Station, two on duty one day, the other two
on duty the next. Company G was stationed at Fort Dix, near to the junction,
while Company B was stationed at the village of Ellicott's Mills. Life for the
soldiers here contained considerably fewer hardships than life for at the
front. The men had plenty of food to eat, and a number of ladies visited the
camps often. "Why, there seems to be a whole regiment of ladies quartered up
here," a soldier writing under the pen name of "Typo" reported. For many the
only serious concern was the absence of their paychecks, which they failed to
receive for quite some time in their first months of service.[38]
Though protected from the hardships of campaigning and battle, the regiment did
not escape suffering from some of the common occurrences that threatened every
Civil War soldier. On the 28th of October the Sentinel reported that a number
of the men from the regiment had taken sick, and asked the townspeople to
forward anything that would serve to cheer the sick soldiers.[39] A few weeks
later, the paper carried the news of the death of William Walker and David
Stoner, from Company G. Both soldiers had died of typhoid fever.[40] Disease
was the most common cause of death among soldiers throughout the war.
During their stay at Relay Station the 138th had to put up with a humiliating
episode involving their very own Colonel Sumwalt. Despite his "capital
qualifications"[41] as the Compiler had put it, Colonel Sumwalt's
military career was destined to be short-lived and ill fated. While the
regiment was stationed in and around Relay Station, Sumwalt set up headquarters
at a local hotel and, according to the regimental historian, rode a "high
horse" throughout their stay. If this was not enough to win the displeasure of
the regiment, it soon became clear that Sumwalt was an alcoholic. On March
30th, 1863, after a court martial, Sumwalt was dismissed from the service,
Lieutenant Colonel McClennan taking over in his stead.[42]
Unfortunately for Sumwalt, this was not the last the regiment would hear from
him. The ex-Colonel stayed around the village of Ellicott's Mills after his
removal. Sumwalt had become known for making statements that many in the
regiment deemed disloyal, and following the death of Stonewall Jackson in May
of 1863, he appeared in front of Company B wearing a crape in mourning of the
general. When told to take it off, Sumwalt dared the soldiers to remove it
themselves. This "was done in double quick time, and before this rebel was
aware of it there was a guard over him." Sumwalt was imprisoned until taking an
oath of allegiance.[43]
As the drama surrounding Colonel Sumwalt unfolded, the regiment continued to
mark time at Relay Station, drilling and guarding the railway lines in the
area. Occasionally the men would capture and imprison Confederate sympathizers
living in the surrounding villages and towns.[44] Despite the relative comfort
of the 138th's life at Relay Station, the soldiers longed to see action. "The
men are becoming dissatisfied with the inactivity of service," reported Typo.
"They are anxious to be led forward where they can not only win laurels for
themselves but help their brethren in arms to put a speedy end to this most
wicked rebellion."[45]
The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's invasion of Pennsylvania in June of
1863 ended the dull life of guarding railroads for the 138th regiment, and
marked the beginning of their active service that the soldiers would in later
years talk about most. At midnight of June 13th Company B woke to the sounds of
the long roll and received orders to throw out a picket line in anticipation of
an expected cavalry raid. While no cavalry appeared, the company was ordered
out the following two nights to keep watch again. Then, on the 16th of June
marching orders were received. At ten that night the soldiers boarded a train
headed toward Frederick. "We were left under the impression that we were only
going on a scout," Typo reported, but he soon found out otherwise when the
train arrived at Sandy Hook, Maryland. Getting off there, the men marched to
Harper's Ferry, a march Typo found very fatiguing for "Sunday Soldiers" used to
guard duty.[46]
Upon arrival at Harper's Ferry, the 138th was organized into Elliot's Brigade
and ordered to Maryland Heights, a high piece of ground opposite the town and
on the Maryland side of the Potomac River.[47] Stationed on the heights, the
regiment constantly picketed the area, and remained in line of battle,
expecting a fight at any moment. At night, according to soldier correspondent
Typo, Rebel campfires could be spied through telescopes. The soldiers in the
regiment felt as if they had instantly been transformed from dull garrison
troops into hardy campaigning troops. "We were playing soldier for 10 long
months," Typo wrote, "and now we are experiencing reality."[48]
In the excitement of all the activity surrounding the move to Harper's Ferry,
the soldiers of the 138th seemed to forget the fact that, though they were now
very close to the Army of Northern Virginia, they were not yet soldiers at the
front. As the battle of Gettysburg raged in the beginning of July, the 138th
and the rest of Elliot's brigade was in the midst of guarding war material as
it was transferred from Harper's Ferry (which General Meade decided to abandon)
to Washington. Arriving at the Capital after successfully accompanying the
supplies, Elliot's brigade boarded cars and traveled by rail to Frederick
Maryland. They arrived at this place on July 7th, just a few days after Lee had
been turned back at the home town of the men from Company B.[49]
At Frederick the troops who had been at Harper's Ferry were organized into a
division under General William H. French and placed into the Third Corps of the
Army of the Potomac. Owing to the wounding of General Dan Sickles, General
French took over command of the corps, leaving General Elliot in charge of the
division. Now officially part of the Army of the Potomac, the 138th
participated in the pursuit of Lee's army. On the 16th of July the regiment
crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry, entering Virginia.[50] For a brief
period of time between July 22nd and July 29th Captain McCreary found himself
in command of the regiment, Colonel McClennan and Major Lewis May having been
placed under arrest on the accusation of having not properly mounted a picket
post. It was during this period of time in which the regiment first came under
fire, at Wapping Heights, Virginia. The regiment never became engaged and no
one was wounded, however. The accusations against McClennan and May were
decided to be only a misunderstanding, and on the 29th the two returned to the
regiment.[51]
Throughout the rest of the summer and early autumn, the 138th continued to
adapt to life at the front. Nothing much happened on either side during these
months. The Armies remained in and around the Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers,
resting and refitting from the Gettysburg Campaign, and looking for an opening
to seize the initiative. The days were exceedingly hot, and when ordered to
march, many of the men died of sunstroke. The camp of the 138th was moved
several times throughout the summer and early fall, and for the most part their
duties consisted of mounting picket guards. While on picket duty, often the
mosquitoes posed more of a problem than enemy soldiers did. Meanwhile, rumors
circulated among the men that their attachment to the Army of the Potomac had
only been temporary, and that they would soon be returned to their former
duties.[52]
During the lull in the action, the soldiers of the 138th took to the time to
speak their mind on political matters back at home. In the November elections
of 1863 Governor Andrew Curtin faced off against Democratic challenger George
Woodward, who as a judge had ruled that the soldiers at the front would not be
able to vote. Having been deprived of this privilege, the soldiers looked for
other ways to voice their political opinions. The October 8th edition of the Star
and Banner ran a series of resolutions that they had passed at a camp
meeting. These resolutions declared support for Curtin, the Republican
candidate, and equated a vote for Curtin with loyalty and a vote for Woodward
with disloyalty. The resolution was signed by about 70 men in Company G and
more than 70 men in Company B, showing the widespread appeal of the Republican
Party in the regiment, as has been earlier stated.[53]
The publishing of the resolutions in support of Curtin was not the only time in
which the men from the 138th expressed their political opinions to their
hometowns through the news media. In fact, their letters to the Star and Banner
(an admittedly Republican paper) frequently condemned the actions of
"Copperheads," or peace Democrats, causing trouble at home. These letters often
called Copperheads cowards for not joining to fight for the Union, and claimed
that they were a worse set of men than Confederate soldiers. In one such letter
Typo from Company B threatened to "send to Headquarters and receive permission
to have a squad of Adams County soldiers sent there, who will arrest every
villain of them, and have them tried for High Treason, after which they will
receive the traitors doom."[54] Without a doubt the soldiers of companies B and
G despised Copperheads. For these soldiers supporting the war, and by extension
the Republican Party, was a question of patriotism. At this point in time, it
was the only political question that seemed to matter to them.
The relative quiet that allowed the 138th time to draw up resolutions in favor
of Governor Curtin was broken up on October 10th. With two corps of the Army of
the Potomac heading westward to reinforce Chattanooga, General Lee attempted to
flank the federal army. In response, the Army of the Potomac retreated to
Centreville, where the game was turned and the Confederates were forced to
retreat themselves.[55] The activity between Lee and Meade resulted in little
fighting aside from a small battle at Bristoe Station. Throughout this time
period, the regiment was divided, with part guarding wagon trains and another
part guarding the corps ambulances. Still, the 138th had not seen its first
engagement.[56]
By the end of the month the Confederates had retreated all the way back to the
Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers, and the 138th had been relieved of guard duty
and returned to its brigade to participate in the pursuit. On November 6th,
Colonel J. Warren Keifer, commanding the brigade which included the 138th
regiment, received orders to be ready to march the next morning with eight days
rations on each soldier. The next day the march began, and the regiment crossed
the Rappahannock River at five in the evening. The march continued on the 8th
of November, Keifer's brigade leading the entire Army of the Potomac as it
marched towards Brandy Station, Virginia. Nearing Brandy Station, a Confederate
rearguard was found deployed atop a hill, disposed to contest any advance.[57]
The 138th, along with the 110th Ohio, was ordered to push forward and drive the
Confederates from the hill. The men advanced swiftly. Regimental historian
Osceola Lewis remembered that "Shells whizzed over our heads and through our
ranks, tore up the turf before and behind us; fragments of shrapnel hummed
about our ears; and solid shot bounded over and around us."[59] Shortly after
the engagement began a shell slammed into the center of the 138th's line,
exploding as it hit Captain Lazaras C. Andress, mortally wounding him. The
shell burst also carried away Sergeant Abraham Rapp's left arm. In the
engagement five other men from the 138th would fall, but the hill would be
carried, the Confederate artillery barely making an escape. Despite the loss of
Captain Andress, the skirmish at Brandy Station proved to be a successful
introduction to combat for the regiment. In his report Colonel Keifer would
offer special commendation to the men for their "splendid conduct" in their
first battle.
Following the skirmish, the Army of the Potomac halted at Brandy Station,
remaining there until the end of November, when it moved out again on what
would later come to be known as the Mine Run campaign. On November 26th the
138th marched away from Brandy Station and crossed the Rapidan River. The march
continued the next day, until the Confederates were encountered at about noon.
The 138th and the rest of Keifer's brigade received orders to form upon the
left of troops in front already engaged. The order was executed, and the
brigade was formed, with the 138th occupying the extreme left of the brigade
line.[60]
The brigade's position rested atop the crest of a hill and behind a fence,
except for the men of the 138th, who found themselves resting in an open field.
At about three in the afternoon the line was assaulted by the famed Stonewall
Brigade. "I cannot pause to describe the constant roar of musketry and the
terrific fire," Sergeant Major Henry Grossman reported to the Star and Banner
. "[The Confederates] twice massed their forces," he continued, "and displaying
their colors advanced with the evident design of charging upon us, but the
'boys' poured in so terrific a fire of buck and ball that each time they fell
back in confusion." The Rebel Colors surged forward three times, and were shot
down three times, as was a mounted officer urging on his men.[61] "The opposing
lines became wrapped in one dense sheet of musketry and from left to right the
terrible crash of arms resounded," wrote Lewis. Late in the fight Colonel
McClennan would fall with a wound in the foot, which caused a great deal of
anxiety amongst the soldiers who were seeing their first battle of any
substance.[62]
At one point in the engagement Nicholas G. Wilson—1st Sergeant of Company
G—received quite a scare. A rebel bullet ripped into his knapsack, in which he
had stored forty rounds of ammunition. The bullet ignited the other rounds and
the knapsack was blown right off his back. He was otherwise unhurt.[63] Private
John T. Weikert of Company B remembered shooting down an officer moments before
he himself went down with a wound in the right arm,[64] while Isaac Moore of
Company G later ranked the engagement as one of the hottest battles he had been
in.[65] This statement seems quite impressive considering the battles he would
later see.
The battle of Locust Grove, as the engagement came to be called (Or Paines Farm
as the Confederates called it) ended for the 138th after the repulse of the
second Confederate charge. While the skirmish at Brandy Station in early
November was the regiment's first experience under fire, Locust Grove was
considered by most their first real battle. Total losses for the regiment were
three officers and fifty-two enlisted men.[66] Three men of Company B and two
of Company G were killed, while five men in the former and six in the latter
were wounded.[67] It is clear that the men of the regiment were proud of their
service in the battle. Sergeant Major Grossman reported that "The Adams County
Companies, B and G, bore their part bravely, and though under heavy fire, stood
their ground and fought like heroes."[68] In later years the veterans of the
regiment would accord Locust Grove a high place among their list of
accomplishments, certainly higher than many other regiments of the Army of the
Potomac would have rated it. The fact that the men first saw heated battle at
Locust Grove seems to have given it a special meaning. Certainly the engagement
was heated and many fell, but the men also remembered it as the place where
they first passed the test of courage.[69]
At nightfall the regiment was withdrawn and supplied with more ammunition. The
men bivouacked within hearing distance of the groans and cries of the
Confederate wounded, which had been left on the field. That night the
Confederate army retreated westward to its defenses around Mine Run creek. On
the 28th of November the Army of the Potomac followed. For the next few days
Meade searched for a way to attack the Confederates, who were strongly
entrenched. Twice the 138th received orders to prepare to make a charge, and
both times the regiment stood in battle line awaiting the order to advance.
"The suspense was terrible," Grossman remembered. Eventually, no attack would
be made and the army would cross the Rapidan once again and settle into winter
quarters.[70]
Winter quarters were set up around Brandy Station, Virginia. The soldiers laid
out log huts of all different shapes and sizes, though the camps as a whole
were laid out in an organized fashion. They were properly drained and policed,
creating suitable living conditions through the winter.[71] As Typo put it, the
life in their winter quarters was "quiet cozy." The wives and children of most
officers were able to visit and live at the front during this time, making life
especially enjoyable for them. About once a month the regiment would go on
picket duty, but aside from that the regiment had no duties of any consequence
to speak of.[72]
Throughout the winter a number of activities went on to help make camp seem
more like home. On January 14th members of the regiment began to build a
church. Just two days later the makeshift place of worship was completed. On
the 25th of January a Grand Ball was held at Division headquarters, attended by
a number of women from Washington.[73] In February Colonel McClennan, who had
returned home to recover from his wound received at Locust Grove, visited the
regiment. McClennan by this point had become intensely popular with the men,
and was received heartily. He was unable to return to duty because of the
severity of his wound, though he expected that he would soon take command
again.[74]
Throughout the winter and early spring months the men put the regimental church
to a great deal of use. "A great revival is in progress throughout our
brigade," Elias Hartzell noted in his diary, "There has been a great many
converted in the past week, & more to their number, many more are added
daily." The soldiers swept up in the religious fervor held prayer meetings
three times a day.[75]
By March, the weather had begun to improve and preparations began for the new
campaigning season. On the 13th Colonel McClennan returned to take over command
of the regiment, and on the 18th the men turned in their old Harper's Ferry
smoothbore muskets for Springfield rifles. The old muskets, which fired buck
and ball .69 caliber shot, were great at close range, but evolving technology
had made them inferior, and the men were glad to get their hands on a rifle
that could fire at a much greater range. On March 24th the entire Army of the
Potomac was reorganized, as the 1st and 3rd corps were broken up and combined
into the 2nd, 5th and 6th corps. In the new organization, the 138th found
itself now a member of the proud 6th Corps, commanded by John Sedgwick.[76]
As the new campaigning season neared, the newly reorganized army drilled and
equipped themselves for what would soon prove to be their most difficult and
bloody campaign yet. Many of the regiments in the army that had enlisted in
1861 were nearing the end of their three year terms of service. Those
reenlisting received a furlough as a reward. According to Typo, the men of the
regiment were eager to reenlist, but as their original term of service was not
due to expire until 1865, they were not allowed to.[77]
Ulysses S. Grant had by this point taken over management of the entire war
effort, and decided to keep his headquarters with General Meade and the Army of
the Potomac. By the beginning of May, Grant was ready to launch an all out
offensive on the Confederacy. "Great preparations [are] being made for a move
of the army," Elias Hartzell noted in his diary for the 3rd of May. The next
day would find Hartzell and his comrades on the march toward more bloody
encounters.
May 4th, 1864 dawned with the Army of the Potomac on the move towards the
Rapidan River once again. Six days of rations were issued and the 138th took up
the march at 4 A.M. The day was hot and according to Hartzell, many soldiers
came down with sunstroke. The regiment's goal for the day was Germanna Ford, a
distance of 18 miles from their starting point.[78] A detachment of the 67th
Pennsylvania had been attached temporarily with the 138th, increasing their
numbers. Reaching the ford at about sunset the regiment proceeded across a
pontoon bridge and camped for the night on the south side of the Rapidan.[79]
In the regiment's engagement in November at Locust Grove, and since then,
Colonel J. Warren Keifer had been acting brigade commander for the 138th. On
the morning of May 5th a replacement would arrive for Keifer and he would
return to commanding the 110th Ohio in the same brigade. His replacement was
Brigadier General Truman Seymour. With their new commander in place, the 138th
and the rest of the brigade spent much of the morning of May 5th guarding the
ford and pontoon bridges. Meanwhile, just to the south, the battle of the
Wilderness (named for the dense undergrowth and forest it was fought in) had
commenced.[80]
In the afternoon the brigade was relieved of guarding the ford and ordered to
proceed to the 6th Corps front, which was heavily engaged already. After a
great deal of marching and countermarching, the brigade arrived at the extreme
right of the federal line and went into position in thick woods, the 138th
being in the second line of the brigade.[81] At dark orders were received
indicating that the brigade only had a Confederate skirmish line in their
front, and that they should attack. Obeying orders, the men went forward in the
growing darkness, only to find that they were not facing merely a skirmish
line, but rather an entrenched battle line. "A fierce infantry engagement at
night in a wilderness is an awful scene to behold," Lewis recorded, "and a most
terrible work in which to participate."[82] Elias Hartzell wrote that the
battle was tremendously hot, and he received a wound himself toward the end of
it.[83] After a prolonged fire fight with the Confederates behind their
earthworks, General Seymour decided that no chance existed for gaining a
decided advantage, and the brigade was withdrawn. The losses for the front line
regiments were heavy, and Colonel Keifer himself received a wound.[84] The
second line, including the 138th, received less damage, the regiment suffering
twelve to fifteen casualties.[85]
During the night the regiment laid in line of battle, and the soldiers could
clearly hear the sounds of Confederates chopping trees and strengthening their
works in front of and beyond the federal flank. Colonel McClennan, fearing for
the safety of the vulnerable flank, personally reported the noises to General
Seymour and recommended that action be taken to protect the flank. Nothing,
however, was done.[86]
At dawn of May 6th Hartzell, who had remained with the regiment all night
despite his wound received the day before, finally walked to the rear in search
of a hospital. It was the beginning of a convalescence period that would take
him away from regiment until the end of July, where he would rejoin it in an
unlikely place.[87] Meanwhile, at the front, instead receiving orders to
strengthen their lines and protect against a flank assault, the orders for the
138th on the morning of May 6th were to attack the enemy again.[88]
The enlisted men knew the ordered assault would fail. "[It] had no promises of
victory," Lewis recalled, "for every man who bore his part in it, from the
private soldier up to the Regimental commander, knew by the difficulties
already met, that such an attack in such force, was next to madness." The
assault had been attempted the night before, and had failed with heavy losses.
Now, after listening to the Confederates strengthen their works throughout the
night, the charge was to be repeated again, in broad daylight.[89]
For this morning assault, the 138th was placed in the front line. The regiment
moved forward through nearly impenetrable underbrush and under a destructive
fire from both their front and flank.[90] The fire cut down the men left and
right. Color Sergeant Samuel Aikens had his hand mangled by a bullet and
dropped the flag. Rushing to the flag Sergeant Charles H. Fitzgerald of Company
C seized it and planted it in the ground, then began to fire away with his
musket.[91] Cyrus G. Cook of Company G remembered that all the men on either
side of him for one hundred yards had been killed or wounded, excepting First
Sergeant Nicholas G. Wilson and Corporal William Reed. Finally Cook turned and
walked back to where a new line of survivors had been established, on the way
noticing that the impenetrable underbrush that had obstructed their advance had
been completely shot off.[92] Ultimately the regiment, along with the rest of
the assault troops, was compelled to retire to its original position. The
losses were heavy. For the entire day the 138th suffered 153 casualties. While
this includes fighting that occurred later in the day, most of the casualties
were suffered in this morning assault.[93]
The soldiers returned to their original works where they rested for much of the
day. Orders arrived toward evening allowing the soldiers to cook their dinner
and make coffee. In the process of doing so, the brigade on the right of
Seymour's was overrun by a surprise flank attack. Before the men could grab
their weapons and form into line, a mob of disordered federal soldiers was
thrown upon them, pursued by victorious Confederates. The 138th was caught up
amongst the panicked soldiers and a hastily retreated. The Confederates were
able to take many prisoners, including General Seymour himself. Eventually
however the line would be restored and nightfall ended the conflict.[94]
The flank attack that rolled up the 138th's line and forced it to retreat
marked the end of the battle of the Wilderness. Following a day of rest the
armies would move on during the night of May 7th, southwards towards
Spotsylvania Court House. Meanwhile the casualty lists made their way back to
home towns, where they would soon appear in local newspapers. "The recent heavy
battles in Virginia have resulted, of course, in large loss of life and limb,"
the Compiler informed the citizens of Gettysburg on May 16th. "As the
details shall be made public, mourning will spread throughout the land, and it
is hardly to be expected that our own county should escape."[95] As the
fighting continued during the spring of 1864, the casualty lists grew and the
papers continued to report the somber news. On the 24th of May the Sentinel
carried news of the casualties in Company B during the battle of the
Wilderness. Henry Grossman—who had been promoted from Sergeant Major to
Lieutenant a month before—was listed among the wounded along with 16 others.
Charles Dickson and Sergeant Findley Biesecker were listed as killed.[96]
On May 8th, as the 138th moved southward in Virginia to future battlegrounds,
Elias Hartzell lay in a field hospital near the old Chancellorsville
battlefield. From there he would head to Fredericksburg, where he would see the
body of Major General John Sedgwick, the commander of the 6th Corps (of which
the 138th was a part), pass on its way to Washington for burial. The following
day Hartzell would himself set off for a hospital in the Capital.[97] During
Hartzell's convalescence, he would write home to his father, giving some sense
of his experience in Virginia. "When you tell how the corn & other crops
are growing," he wrote, "I thought Nature still lived & [wondered] if it
had been dead & cursed in Virginia."[98]
Meanwhile at the front there was no rest for the weary men of the 138th.
Following the Wilderness Grant and Lee continued to spar with each other. There
was significant fighting every day and often major battles, including one of
the bloodiest of the war at the "Bloody Angle" at Spotsylvania on May 12th.
From the end of the Wilderness however, through to the end of May the 138th
avoided seeing action in any major pitched battles. Instead there was constant
skirmishing and sniping, which perhaps was no better. Indeed, many of the 138th
would become casualties during this time period, including J.A. Kitzmiller, who
would lose his left arm. "During this period untold hardships of exposure and
danger were endured," remembered Osceola Lewis.[99]
Continually the armies inched southward, closing in on the Confederate capital.
After an unsuccessful assault Grant would decide to swing around the
Confederate flank. Lee would counter the move and it would be repeated after
another assault with heavy losses. In this way the month of May passed with
constant fighting. The last day in May found the 138th in line of battle along
the south bank of the Totopotomoy River. That night at midnight the men took to
the road and began to march towards the crossroads of Cold Harbor.[100]
The next day at about 10:30 A.M. Cold Harbor was reached. The federal cavalry
which had been holding the crossroads was relieved by the troops of Colonel
Keifer's 110th Ohio. Throughout the rest of the morning and afternoon more
troops filled in and deployed on line and at 6 P.M. a general assault was
ordered. The luck that had kept the 138th out of the bloodier battles since
their unfortunate experience in the Wilderness had run out. At the appointed
hour the regiment, stationed in the front line of the brigade once again, moved
out. In order to reach the main Confederate line the men had to first cross a
swamp and then make their way up a thickly wooded ridge. Lewis would later
write of the action:
|
The shot and shell came upon us like a hailstorm. The whiz-zoo-oo of the
bullets, the rattle of the grape and the roar of shells—tearing up the earth
and wrenching large limbs from trees, hurling them in all directions—added to
the awful grandeur of the scene, and was well calculated to test the courage of
the stoutest heart.[101]
|
|
Despite the difficulties, the regiment swept up and over the rifle pits and
entrenchments of the Confederates, and many prisoners were taken in the
process. A battery of artillery narrowly escaped capture as well.[102]
The operation for the 138th and other regiments involved in the assault was
deemed quite a success, and perhaps some considered it somewhat redeeming after
having been swept away by the night flank attack in the Wilderness on May 6th.
The performance at Cold Harbor was exceptional enough to draw the praise of
General George Meade. Meade would write to the commander of the 6th corps,
asking him to give his thanks to General J.B. Ricketts—the commander of the
138th's division—"and his gallant command for the very handsome manner in which
they have conducted themselves to-day." Meade continued by saying that if the
success could be followed up, it would prove a great victory for the army.[103]
Two days later, on June 3rd, the Army of the Potomac would try to follow up the
success. Unfortunately for them, by that time the Confederates had made their
position impregnable, and this more famed assault would result in a great loss
of life on the Union side. Luckily for the 138th, they would see little action
in the second assault.[104]
After Cold Harbor the fighting continued, and the Army the Potomac would soon
cross over the James River and move south of Richmond in an effort to take the
city of Petersburg, where an important railroad network came together. Unable
to take the city right away, soon the armies would settle in for a long siege.
The 138th however, would only see the first weeks of the siege before they
would receive a strange order. On July 6th the regiment was ordered to proceed
to City Point—a vital supply and transportation base for the Army the Potomac
on the James River—and from there by water and railroad to Harpers Ferry. To
the men of the regiment the order to return to Harpers Ferry, the place where
they first became combat troops in June of 1863, seemed odd. What they did not
know was that a detachment from Confederate Army under command of Jubal Early
had been sent into the Shenandoah Valley with orders to invade the North and
threaten Washington. The 6th Corps was being sent to stop it.[105]
Aboard the steam ship "Jersey Blue" the regiment debarked from City Point on
July 8th and proceeded to Baltimore. Among the first troops to arrive there,
the men were boarded onto railroad cars and rushed toward Frederick, arriving
at the Monocacy River . Here local garrison troops were attempting to stop
General Early's advance towards Washington. The battle began the next day, July
9th. For the men of the 138th, the importance of the battle could not be
missed. The rest of the 6th Corps, hurrying to help protect Washington and
Baltimore, needed time enough to arrive, and the 138th, along with the rest of
the 3rd division, were to hold on until that could happen.[106]
The federal troops, outnumbered by a margin of about three to one, held on
stubbornly under the weight of a Confederate attack. After a long firefight
with however, the lines of the 138th began to give way as units on their flanks
began to retire.[107] Cyrus G. Cook remembered men on his left begin to run
away. He called for them to come back, but upon turning again he saw that the
entire line was in retreat and that only he and one other man were left. Cook
luckily escaped just before the advancing Confederates got to him, but the
other man—Corporal Amos Hummer—was captured. On his way to the rear Cook passed
by Sergeant Nicholas Wilson, who had been shot in the right hand. Cook
attempted to take Wilson's rifle but Wilson refused and carried it off the
field in his left hand.[108]
While technically a defeat, the action at the battle of the Monocacy bought
enough time for the rest of the 6th Corps of the Army of the Potomac to arrive
in Maryland. Early's troops in turn retreated into the valley. The 6th Corps
would spend much of the rest of the summer taking part in a series of advances
and retreats. Finally, Grant decided that the Valley needed to be cleaned out
of both Confederates and the food stuffs located there that fed them. To
accomplish this he created a Middle-Military Division encompassing the
Shenandoah Valley, and appointed General Phillip Sheridan to the task. The
138th made up part of this new military district.[109]
In the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864 the regiment would see more combat,
and more casualties. On September 19th about forty men from the regiment would
fall at the battle of Opequon. Among those casualties was Captain James H.
Walter, who fell with a serious wound. Walter had commanded Company G since it
had been first recruited. Also listed among the wounded was Corporal Peter
Thorn, Evergreen Cemetery caretaker.[110] On the 22nd at Fisher's Hill,
Virginia the regiment took part in a charge that completely routed Early's
forces.[111] On October 19th, as the men of the slept in their camps near Cedar
Creek, the army was surprised and flanked by Early's troops. The regiment
quickly woke and formed up under arms. The army was pushed back a number of
miles, but in the afternoon, upon the arrival of General Sheridan, who had been
away from his troops, the 138th took part in the counter attacks that drove
Early's army off of the field. A total of 42 men were listed as
casualties.[112]
Following the battle of Cedar Creek, the regiment would not see any more major
action before winter. On November 2nd the regiment was sent to Philadelphia and
was stationed there during the Presidential Election, returning to the
Shenandoah Valley on November 11th. On December 3rd, the regiment made its way
back to Washington—via the B&O railroad, thus passing by their old stomping
grounds at Relay Station—and from there on to City Point on a steamer. On the
6th of December they would take the military railroad—which had been
constructed by the Army of the Potomac for supply and troop movement around
Petersburg—out to Fort Dushane. The regiment would remain at Fort Dushane
through the winter, guarding the Weldon Railroad. "The winter of 1864-5 was
bleak and dreary," Lewis wrote afterwards, "and the unabated vigilance they
were required to preserve in the cold and inclemency of the weather, entailed
much hardship on the troops of both sides."[113]
Throughout the winter and early spring the regiment remained at its post. Yet
most knew that the war was coming to an end. The siege of Petersburg had
continued uninterrupted while the 138th had been off fighting in Maryland and
in the Shenandoah Valley, and the Confederate army under Lee was on its last
legs. Elias Hartzell, who had recovered from his Wilderness wound and rejoined
his comrades in Maryland following the battle of Monocacy, wrote to his father
expressing this opinion on March 5th, 1865. "I tell you Rebeldom will fail,
& that before three months more," he wrote. "Deserters never came in so
fast as at present. And if Lee is here two months more he will be minus of an
army to do his fighting."[114]
Hartzell proved to be correct in his assertion. In April the final campaign of
the war in the east started in earnest. On April 2nd the regiment took part in
the assault upon the Confederate works that finally broke through and ended the
siege of Petersburg. The assault began at 4 A.M., after artillery nearby was
discharged to signal the advance. J. Warren Keifer, having by this point
returned to Brigade command and received a promotion to Brigadier General,
remembered that the troops swept forward and did not suffer even a temporary
check before they broke through the Confederate lines. After the breakthrough
the brigade fanned out in many directions, and some confusion ensued owing to
the predawn darkness. The 138th, which had been in the second line, continued
straight ahead after passing over the entrenchments.[115]
Realizing they had gone too far into the enemy rear, the regiment halted,
although some must not have received the order. Two men from Company F,
Corporal John W. Mauk and Private Daniel Wolford, went farther than the rest,
and soon encountered two mounted Confederates with pistols demanding their
surrender. Instead of surrendering, they fired, and Corporal Mauk brought one
down, while the other galloped away. Later, this event would become perhaps the
most famous episode of the 138th's service. The men on horseback were none
other than Lieutenant General Ambrose Powell Hill, commander of the Army of
Northern Virginia's 3rd Army Corps, along with one of his aides. Reading
Confederate accounts of Hill's death, the regiment soon determined that it was
Corporal Mauk who in fact had killed the general.[116]
Following the assault on April 2nd, the pursuit of Lee's army began. On April
6th the regiment would see its final battle at Sailor's Creek, in which a large
portion of Lee's army would be cut off and captured. Unfortunately, the last
battle of the war for the 138th would also be Elias Hartzell's last day of
life. Lieutenant Charles Walter buried Hartzell on the field where he
fell.[117] Three days later, Lee would surrender. Osceola Lewis remembered the
scene upon hearing news of the surrender:
|
Camps were alive with indescribable excitement: men crazed with enthusiasm,
though scarcely realizing the true aspect of the situation, shouted and leaped
for joy, embraced and greeted each other, tossed up hats, and sent to the
heavens such cheers as never before ascended from human throats.[118]
|
|
The war was not quite over for the 138th. Following the surrender the regiment
would make a four day, 110 mile march to Danville, Virginia, in an effort to
reinforce William Tecumseh Sherman's army. Upon arriving however, it was found
that the Confederates facing Sherman had already surrendered. From Danville the
regiment went by rail back to Richmond, and then on to Fredericksburg and
eventually Washington D.C., where the men laid out their last camping grounds.
On Friday, June 23rd they were officially mustered out, and on the 24th they
paraded in illumination and visited other camps, saying their farewells. The
next day the men boarded railroad cars and proceeded to Harrisburg, where they
received their final pay and were discharged on the 27th.[119]
On the 30th of June, the citizen soldiers of Adams County returned home to a
hero's welcome. As the train pulled up at the railroad station, the men were
met by a procession of citizens and an escort of the 1st Connecticut Cavalry,
which had arrived to celebrate the 4th of July in Gettysburg. The men paraded
through the principal streets in the town and then halted in the town square,
where they were welcomed home by a reverend from the town by the name of
Warner, and the citizens gave them three cheers. Captain Earnshaw, who had
taken over command of Company B when John McCreary was discharged for health
reasons in September of 1864, responded with a few words for the citizens. As
the soldiers had endeavored to do their duty in the field the past three years,
he explained, they would now show that they could be good citizens as well. The
Adams Sentinel , reporting on the ceremony, closed its article by
saying: "They will not be forgotten."[120]
Following the war, many members of Companies B and G would go on to become
accomplished citizens of Adams County and the United States as a whole. Harvey
McKnight, who had been a member of the regiment before being discharged on
account of sickness in 1863, would see later service with other Civil War
units, including the 26th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia. He graduated from
Pennsylvania College in 1865, the Lutheran Theological Seminary in 1867, and in
1880 would be elected President of Pennsylvania College.[121] Meanwhile,
Nicholas G. Wilson recovered from his hand wound received at Monocacy, although
two fingers were shot off. In 1873 Wilson was appointed the Superintendent of
the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg, and in 1880 he was elected
Director of the Battlefield Memorial Association.[122] J.A. Kitzmiller, who
lost his left arm at Spotsylvania, returned to Gettysburg and in 1869 began to
study law under David Wills. He would eventually pass the bar, become an
attorney, and quickly rise to become a powerful figure in both local and
national politics for the Republican Party.[123]
Many other men in the regiment returned to their homes, took up their previous
occupations, and became citizens again. The 138th regiment perhaps did not
fight the most battles of any regiment, or suffer the most battle losses. They
did not even see active service from the beginning of the war straight through
to the end. In this regard, it can be said that compared to other regiments in
the Civil War, there was nothing special about the 138th. Yet their story
deserves to be told as much as any. They were citizens, soldiers, and comrades
above all, and they offered up their lives in an effort to preserve the Union.
At the close of the war, those that survived returned home and resumed their
lives as best they could. Yet none ever forgot the things they did and saw
between 1862 and 1865. The terrible memories of the Wilderness and Cold Harbor
would never go away. Neither would the memory of the thrilling news of ultimate
victory at Appomattox Court House. Hopefully their stories, along with those of
all Civil War veterans, continue to be told.
Show Footnotes and
Bibliography
Footnotes
[1]. "Adams County to Arms!," Star and Banner , 17 July 1862, p. 3,
column 4.
[2]. Osceola Lewis, History of the 138th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer
Infantry (Norristown: Wills, Iredell & Jenkins, 1866), 9.
[3]. Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 Volume
IV (Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1870) , 351-352.
[4]. Lewis, History of 138th Pennsylvania , 10-11.
[5]. Robert L. Bloom, "Gettysburg College during the Civil War," Gettysburg
College Bulletin Volume 53, No. 5 (July 1963): 7. Found at Gettysburg
National Military Park Library.
[6]. Samuel Gring Hefelbower, The History of Gettysburg College 1832-1932
(Gettysburg: Gettysburg College, 1932), 179-180.
[7]. "More Troops Offered by the Loyal States to the Government," Adams
Sentinel , 8 July 1862, p. 2 column 4.
[8]. "Attention!" Adams Sentinel, 5 August 1862, p. 2 col. 4.
Information on location of George Arnold's store taken from: William
Frassanito, Early Photography at Gettysburg (Gettysburg: Thomas
Publications, 1995), 92-94.
[9]. "Let Adams County Awake," Star and Banner , 17 July 1862, p. 2,
column 7.
[10]. "War Meeting," Adams Sentinel , 29 July 1862, p. 2, column 5.
[11]. "The New Call for Volunteers," Star and Banner , 7 August 1862,
p. 4, column 1.
[12]. "Democrats, Stand by your Country, and your Party," Gettysburg Compiler
, 18 August 1862, p. 1, column 6.
[13]. "The Call for Volunteers," Gettysburg Compiler , 28 July 1862,
p. 2, column 3.
[14]. "Adams County Volunteers," Adams Sentinel , 12 August 1862, p. 2
column 4.
[15]. "From Capt. McCreary's Company," Star and Banner , 28 August
1862, p. 3, column 2.
[16]. "Local Department: Adams County," Gettysburg Compiler , 18
August 1862, p. 2, col. 7.
[17]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 15.
[18]. Adams Sentinel, 19 August 1862, p. 2, column 3.
[19]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 15.
[20]. "From Capt. McCreary's Company," Star and Banner , 28 August
1862, p. 3, column 2.
[21]. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers , 351-352.
[22]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 12-13.
[23]. "Colonel Sumwalt," Gettysburg Compiler, 1 September 1862, p. 2, column.
3.
[24]. Hefelbower, The History of Gettysburg College 1832-1932 ,
179-180.
[25]. Gerald R. Bennet, Days of "Uncertainty and Dread" (Littlestown,
PA, Gerald R. Bennet, 1997), 40,79.
[26]. H.C. Bradsby, History of Adams Cou nty, Pennsylvania (Chicago:
Beers & Co., 1886), 361, 376-377.
[27]. History of Adams County, Pennsylvania (Chicago: Beers & Co.,
1886), 361, 376-377.
[28]. See Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County Historical Society. Hartzell
often makes references to the family farm in his letters home which lead to the
conclusion that he worked on the farm, living with his parents.
[29]. "The Voice of the Soldiers," Star and Banner , 8 October 1863,
p. 1 columns 5-7. This article is a statement from the 138th supporting
Republican Governor Andrew Curtin, signed by 76 members of Company B and 70
members of Company G.
[30]. Lewis, History of 138th Pennsylvania , 15.
[31]. "From Capt. McCreary's Company," Star and Banner , 4 September
1862, p. 2, column 7.
[32]. "From Capt. Walter's Company," Star and Banner , 11 September,
1862, p. 2, column 7.
[33]. "From Capt. McCreary's Company", Star and Banner , 11 September
1862, p. 2 column 7.
[34]. "From Capt. Walter's Company," Star and Banner , 11 September,
1862, p. 2, column 7.
[35]. "From Capt. McCreary's Company", Star and Banner , 11 September
1862, p. 2 column 7.
[36]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 16-18.
[37]. "Capt. Walter's Company," Star and Banner , 30 October 1862, p.
2, column 7.
[38]. "From the 138th Regiment" Star and Banner , 5 February, 1863, p.
2, column 5.
[39]. "Col Sumwalt's Regiment," Adams Sentinel , 28 October 1862, p. 2
column 4.
[40]. "Death of Two Soldiers," Adams Sentinel , 18 November 1862, p. 2
column 2.
[41]. "Colonel Sumwalt," Gettysburg Compiler , 1 September 1862, p. 2,
column. 3.
[42]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 22.
[43]. "From the 138th Regiment P.V.," Star and Banner , 28 May 1863,
p. 1, column 7.
[44]. "From Capt. McCreary's Company," Star and Banner , 2 April 1863,
p. 1, column 6-7.
[45]. "From the 138th Regiment" Star and Banner , 5 February, 1863, p.
2, column 5.
[46]. "From the 138th Regiment," Star and Banner , 2 July 1863, p. 1,
column 6. It appears that on account of the Battle of Gettysburg, this issue of
the paper was not printed until the following week. The date however on the
front page still appears on July 2nd, and it appears that the front page had
been completed by then, therefore the note here and in notes after cite the
article as being from the July 2nd edition.
[47]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 27.
[48]. "From the 138th Regiment," Star and Banner , 2 July 1863, p. 1,
column 6.
[49]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 27.
[50]. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers , 352-353.
[51]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 30-34.
[52]. "From the 138th Reg't P.V.," Star and Banner , 20 August 1863,
p. 2 column 5.
[53]. "The Voice of the Soldiers," Star and Banner , 8 October 1863,
p. 1, column 5-7.
[54]. "A Letter from a Soldier," Star and Banner , 2 April 1863, p. 1,
column 6.
[55]. Lewis, History of 138th Pennsylvania , 34-39.
[56]. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers , 352-353.
[57]. War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies Series 1, Volume 29, Part I (Gettysburg: National
Historic Society, 1972), 562-563. This 130 Volume Series originally published
in Washington by the Government Printing Press between 1880-1901. Hereafter
citations refer to Series 1 unless otherwise noted.
[58]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 43.
[59]. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers , 352-353.
[60]. Official Records , Volume 29 Part I, 780-781
[61]. "From the 138th Regiment," Star and Banner , 24 December 1863,
p. 2, column 4-5.
[62]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 53, 55.
[63]. Gettysburg Compiler, 18 December 1907. Photocopy located as part of Personal
Sketches Presented to Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post 9 at the Adams
County Historical Society.
[64]. "Personal Sketch of John T. Weikert," Personal Sketches Presented to
Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post 9 , Adams County Historical Society
(1892), 112.
[65]. "Personal Sketch of Isaac Moore," Personal Sketches Presented to James
Dixon G.A.R. Post , Adams County Historical Society, 21.
[66]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 58.
[67]. "From the 138th Regiment," Star and Banner , 24 December 1863,
p. 2, column 4-5.
[68]. Ibid.
[69]. This assertion is drawn from a number of different sources, including
Lewis's regimental history and personal reminiscences found in Personal
Sketches Presented to Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post and Personal Sketches
Presented to James Dixon G.A.R. Post .
[70]. "From the 138th Regiment," Star and Banner , 24 December 1863,
p. 2, column 4-5.
[71]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 62.
[72]. "Army Letters," Star and Banner , 11 February 1864, p. 2, column
5.
[73]. Diary of Elias N. Hartzell, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County
Historical Society.
[74]. "From the 138th Penna. Vols," Star and Banner , 10 March 1864,
p. 1, column 7.
[75]. Diary of Elias N. Hartzell, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County
Historical Society.
[76]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 71-73.
[77]. "From the 138th Penna. Vols," Star and Banner, 10 March 1864, p. 1,
column 7.
[78]. Diary of Elias N. Hartzell, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County
Historical Society.
[79]. Official Records Volume 36 part I, 730.
[80]. Ibid.
[81]. Official Records , Volume 36 part I, 751.
[82]. Lewis, History of 138th Pennsylvania , 82-83.
[83]. Diary of Elias N. Hartzell, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County
Historical Society.
[84]. Official Records Volume 36 part I, 728.
[85]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 83.
[86]. Official Records , Volume 36 part I, 751.
[87]. Diary of Elias N. Hartzell, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County
Historical Society.
[88]. Official Records Volume 36 Part I, 751.
[89]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 85.
[90]. Official Records Volume 36 Part I, 751.
[91]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 86-87.
[92]. "Personal Sketch of Cyrcus G. Cook," Personal Sketches Presented to
Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post 9 , Adams County Historical Society
(1892), 51.
[93]. Official Records Volume 36 Part I, 729.
[94]. Ibid.
[95]. "Town & County," Gettysburg Compiler , 16 May 1864, p. 2,
column 7.
[96]. "Killed and Wounded," Adams Sentinel , 24 May 1864, p. 2, column
3.
[97]. Diary of Elias N. Hartzell, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams County
Historical Society.
[98]. Elias N. Hartzell to father, 8 June 1864, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams
County Historical Society.
[99]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 101.
[100]. Official Records Volume 36 Part I, 734.
[101]. Lewis, History of 138th Pennsylvania , 104-105.
[102]. Official Records Volume 36 Part I, 752-753.
[103]. Ibid., 734.
[104]. Ibid., 754.
[105]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 111.
[106]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 112-117.
[107]. Ibid., 114.
[108]. "Personal Sketch of Cyrcus G. Cook," Personal Sketches Presented to
Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post 9 , Adams County Historical Society
(1892), 51.
[109]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 120-122.
[110]. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers Volume 4, 361, 370.
[111]. Official Records Volume 43 Part I, 269.
[112]. Ibid., 270.
[113]. Lewis, 140-141.
[114]. Elias N. Hartzell to father, 5 March 1865, Elias N. Hartzell file, Adams
County Historical Society.
[115]. Official Records Volume 46 Part I, 993.
[116]. Official Records Volume 46 Part I, 993.
[117]. Gettysburg Times , July 1938 Anniversary Edition; and Adams
Sentinel, 14 November 1865, photocopies of both are located in the Elias N.
Hartzell file, Adams County Historical Society.
[118]. Lewis, History of the 138th Pennsylvania , 160.
[119]. Ibid., 161-162, 195-197.
[120]. "Returned Soldiers," Adams Sentinel , 4 July 1865, p. 2, column
2.
[121]. Hefelbower, The History of Gettysburg College 1832-1932 ,
179-180.
[122]. H.C. Bradsby, History of Adams County, Pennsylvania (Chicago:
Beers & Co., 1886), 377.
[123]. Ibid., 361.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Books
War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of The Union and
Confederate Armies . Volumes 29, 36, 43, and 46. Gettysburg: National
Historic Society, 1972.
Lewis, Osceola. History of the 138th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
. Norristown: Wills, Iredell & Jenkins, 1866.
Newspapers
(Articles are listed according the date)
Adams Sentinel
"More Troops Offered by the Loyal States to the Government," 8 July 1862, p. 2.
"The Call for Volunteers," 15 July 1862, p. 2.
"War Meeting," 29 July 1862, p. 2.
"Attention," 5 August 1862, p. 2.
"Adams County Volunteers," 12 August 1862, p. 2.
Untitled (concerning Camp Curtin), 19 August 1862, p. 2.
"Colonel Sumwalt's Regiment," 28 October 1862, p. 2.
"Death of Two Soldiers," 18 November 1862, p. 2.
"Colonel Sumwalt," 26 May 1863, p. 2.
"Killed and Wounded," 24 May 1864, p. 2.
"More Wounded," 14 June 1864, p. 2.
"The Battle of Monocacy," 19 July 1864, p. 2.
"Returned Soldiers," 4 July 1865, p. 2.
Gettysburg Compiler
"Drafting," 14 July 1862, p. 2.
"Proclamation of Governor Curtin," 14 July 1862, p. 2.
"The Call for Volunteers," 28 July 1862, p. 2.
"Important War Order," 11 August 1862, p. 2.
"Adams County Volunteers," 11 August 1862, p. 2.
"The Draft for Militia," 18 August 1862, p. 1.
"Local Department," 18 August 1862, p. 2.
"Drafting," 25 August 1862, p. 2.
"Colonel Sumwalt," 1 September 1862, p. 2.
"Highly Interesting Letter from the 87th Reg., P.V." 14 December 1863, p. 2.
"Town & County," 16 May 1864, p. 2.
"Town & County," 23 May 1864, p. 2.
Untitled (concerning wounded), 13 June 1864, p. 2.
"From the 87th," 18 June 1864, p. 2.
Casualty List, 20 June 1864, p. 3.
"Town & County," 18 July 1864, p. 2.
"The Killed and Wounded," 25 July 1864, p. 2.
"Monocacy," 15 August 1864, p. 1.
Star and Banner
"Pennsylvania to the Rescue," 10 July 1862, p. 2.
"Let Adams County Awake," 17 July 1862, p. 2.
"Adams County to Arms!" 17 July 1862, p. 3.
"War Meeting in Gettysburg," 31 July 1862, p. 2.
"The New Call for Volunteers," 7 August 1862, p. 4.
"Why Not Enlist?" 28 August 1862, p. 1.
"From Capt. McCreary's Company," 28 August 1862, p. 2.
"From Capt. McCreary's Company," 4 September 1862, p. 2.
"From Capt. McCreary's Company," 11 September 1862, p. 2.
"From Capt. Walter's Company," 11 September 1862, p. 2.
"From Capt. McCreary's Company," 2 October, 1862, p. 3.
"Capt. Walter's Company," 30 October 1862, p. 2.
"From the 138th Regiment," 5 February 1863, p. 2.
"From the 138th Regiment," 5 March 1863, p. 2.
"List of Officers and Privates," 19 March 1863, p. 1.
"From Capt. McCreary's Company," 2 April 1863, p. 1.
"From the 138th Regiment," 9 April 1863, p. 2.
"From Capt. McCreary's Company," 16 April 1863, p. 1.
"Another Letter from a Soldier," 23 April 1863, p. 2.
"From the 138th Regiment, P.V." 30 April 1863, p. 2.
"From the 138th Regiment, P.V." 28 May 1863, p. 1.
"From the 138th Reg't. P.V." 11 June 1863, p. 1.
"From the 138th Regiment," 2 July 1863, p. 1.
"From the 138th Reg't P.V.," 20 August 1863, p. 2.
"The Voice of the Soldiers," 8 October 1863, p. 1.
"From the 138th Regiment, P.V." 15 October 1863, p. 2.
"From the 138th Regiment," 24 December 1863, p. 2.
"From the 138th Regiment P.V." 11 February 1864, p. 2.
"From the 138th Penna. Vols," 10 March 1864, p. 1.
Unpublished Materials
Adams County Historical Society
Personal Sketches Presented to Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post 9 .
Personal Sketches Presented to James Dixon Post G.A.R .
Elias N. Hartzell Collection.
Secondary Sources
Books
Bates, Samuel. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 . Volume
IV. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1870.
Bennet, Gerald R. Days of "Uncertainty and Dread." Littlestown, PA:
Gerald R. Bennet, 1997.
Bradsby, H.C. History of Adams County , Pennsylvania. Chicago: Beers
& Co., 1886.
Hefelbower, Samuel Gring. The History of Gettysburg College 1832-1932 .
Gettysburg: Gettysburg College, 1932.
Rhea, Gordon, Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864 . Baton
Rouge. Louisiana State University Press, 2002.
Rhea, Gordon. The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864 . Baton
Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1994.
ARTICLES
Bloom, Robert L. "Gettysburg College During the Civil War." Gettysburg College
Bulletin 53, No. 5 (July 1963).
Copyright © 2006 Stephen Light
Written by Stephen Light. If you have questions or comments on this
article, please contact Stephen Light at:
lighst01@gmail.com.
About the author:
Stephen Light is currently a graduate student working towards a Masters in
History Museum Studies at the Cooperstown Graduate Program in Cooperstown, NY.
He is a 2005 graduate of Gettysburg College, majoring in history with a
concentration in the Civil War Era. He is originally from upstate New York.
Published online: 08/05/2006.
* Views expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent
those of MHO. |
Ft.
Sumter 