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History 
 
 f the 
 
 ot the 
 
 One Hundred and r ortieth Kegiment 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers 
 
 BY 
 
 PROFESSOR ROBERT LAIRD STEWART, D.D. 
 
 HISTORIAN 
 
 PL) BUSHED BY AUTHORITY OF THE 
 REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION 
 
 1912 
 
 ,' 
 

 
 
 Copyrighted 1912 
 
 by 
 
 WILLIAM S. SHALLENBERGER 
 
 Chairman t'ub. Com. 
 
 t 
 
 ©0.A32885* ft 
 
Dedicated to the memory of 
 our comrades who died in the 
 bloom of their young manhood 
 
 beforf the morning came; and 
 to ///o.w who have since finished 
 their earthly course, after enjoy 
 ing for awhile the priceless 
 privileges for which they con 
 tended in the days that tried 
 men's souls. 
 
Hon. Wm. S. Shallenberger, Chairman Publication Committee. 
 
 Rev. John R. Paxton, D.D. Lieut.-Col. Thus. Henry. 
 
 Prof. Robt. Laird Stewart. !).!>.. Historian. 
 
 Harry J. Boyde, Secretarj Reg'mental Association. 
 
FOREWORD. 
 
 In the preparation of this work, which was authorized by the 
 Regimental Association a year ago, no pains have been spared to 
 make it an accurate, concise and readable history. In addition to the 
 material accumulated from official records in the War Department 
 and Congressional Library, many interesting facts and war-time inci- 
 dents have been gleaned from local newspaper files, from note books 
 kept by comrades, and from letters, brown with age and sometimes 
 scarcely legible, which were written to the homefolk, in the camp, 
 on the picket line or on the battlefield. In the verification of uncer- 
 tain statements, the systematically conducted search for additional in- 
 formation, and the accumulation of material of every sort, the author 
 has had the hearty support and invaluable assistance of his associates 
 on the Historical Committee. 
 
 With General Shallenberger, Chairman of the Publication Com- 
 mittee, wise in council, sane in judgment and unwearied in his devo- 
 tion to the "dear old Regiment," at the Headquarters of official infor- 
 mation, and with the Secretary of the Association, Harry J. Boyde, 
 at its Headquarters in Western Pennsylvania, the writer has been in 
 almost constant communication. Most generously and unselfishly 
 have these comrades responded to every demand for additional assis- 
 tance or information, which was made upon their time or patience. 
 
 Not less of honor and grateful appreciation should be accorded 
 also to Dr. John R. Paxton of the Committee, whose generous initia- 
 tive has made the publication of the book a possibility, in a style 
 worthy of the noble Regiment, whose achievements it records, and 
 to Major Henry who gave his cordial assent to the plans of the His- 
 torian, and who, in the intervals between periods of extreme suffer- 
 ing, and but a short time before his death, dictated valuable informa- 
 tion for his use. 
 
 With the sanction of the committee this volume goes forth on its 
 mission, in the hope that it may worthily revive the stirring memories 
 of the past and help to kindle anew the fires of patriotism which 
 burned so brightly in the dark days of civil strife. 
 
HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ENLISTMENT ORGANIZATION — EQUIPMENT. 
 
 All the uniforms were blue, all the swords were bright and 
 new, 
 When the Regiment went marching down the street. 
 All the men were hale and strong as they proudly moved 
 along, 
 Through the cheers that drowned the music of their feet. 
 Oh, the music of the feet keeping times to drums that beat, 
 
 Oh the splendor and the glitter of the sight, 
 As with swords and rifles new and in uniforms of blue, 
 The Regiment went marching to the fight. 
 
 Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 
 
 THE One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment of Pennsyl- 
 vania Volunteers was recruited and hastily equipped 
 for service in one of the darkest hours in the history 
 of the Civil War. 
 
 The disastrous campaign on the Peninsula of Virginia, 
 in the series of desperate conflicts which had been fought in 
 the vicinity of Richmond, opened up the way for a direct 
 advance of the Confederate Army upon Washington City. 
 
THE ONE HUXDRED AXD FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Its defenceless condition at this time, and for several 
 weeks following-, was a matter of grave concern to President 
 Lincoln and his Cabinet. 
 
 The Army of the Potomac, which should have been its 
 safeguard, was far away from the line of attack, and power- 
 less to repel the forces which threatened it. 
 
 In this emergency the President issued a call for 300.000 
 volunteers. As the situation became more acute, the loya! 
 men of the Nation were aroused as never before, to a sense 
 of impending peril and the necessity for prompt and vigorous 
 effort to avert it. 
 
 On the J 1st oi July, Governor Curtin. the alert and 
 intensely loyal "War Governor" of Pennsylvania, issued a 
 proclamation authorizing the immediate enlistment o\ twenty- 
 one new regiments of volunteer infantry, to serve for three 
 years or during the war! 
 
 At a notable public meeting, held on the West Common 
 of Allegheny City, three days later, the Governor prefaced an 
 impassioned appeal in behalf of the Union cause with three 
 blunt, startling sentences : 
 
 "The Peninsula campaign is a failure!" "The Union 
 armies haze not been victorious!" "They have been driven 
 back to the gates of Washington, notwithstanding all reports 
 to the contrary f 
 
 These humiliating facts, uttered with great deliberation 
 in the presence of an assemblage of more than 1 5,001) persons. 
 made a profound impression and prepared the way. as no 
 overwrought, optimistic statement could have done, ior the 
 thrilling appeals which followed. On this memorable occa- 
 sion, addresses t>\ rare eloquence, pathos and power were 
 made bv the venerable chairman, Judge William W'ilkins. 
 ex-Governor Johnson. Judge McCandless, Hon. Thomas M. 
 Marshall, Hon. John R. Hampton. Dr. Samuel J. Wilson, 
 Professor in the Western Theological Seminary, and other 
 notable speakers and leaders o\ the people. The spirit of this 
 meeting was as contagious as it was enthusiastic. Its appeals, 
 sent out through its representatives, and the reports of the 
 dailv papers, made a like impression throughout the whole of 
 
ENLISTMENT— ORGANIZATION— EQUIPMENT 3 
 
 the western portion of the State. In every village and district 
 and hamlet of this loyal and law-abiding section mass meet- 
 ings, addressed by able and eloquent speakers, were held; 
 pledges of loyalty were renewed ; money was freely subscribed ; 
 recruiting offices were opened ; and, with shrill of fife and roll 
 of drum, the newly gathered bands of volunteers went about 
 the streets. 
 
 About two weeks after Abraham Lincoln had issued his 
 call for volunteers, Mr. John S. Gibbons, of New York City, 
 wrote the words of the familiar song, "We are coming. 
 Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more." The author 
 of this stirring lyric, says his friend James H. Morse, "was 
 a Hicksite Quaker with a reasonable leaning, however, toward 
 wrath in cases of emergency." The words of the song were 
 published in the New York Evening Post of July 16th, and 
 the next evening were read by Josiah Quincy at a large meet- 
 ing held in Boston, the authorship being attributed to the 
 poet Bryant. It was set to music and sung by the Hutchinson 
 family with telling effect. It fell in at once with the sentiment 
 of the hour and perhaps did more in the way of securing 
 recruits and of "bringing the uprising it declared" than all 
 the fervid appeals that were uttered by orator or statesman. 
 "From Mississippi's winding stream and from New England's 
 shore" thousands of marching battalions, and newly gathered 
 companies of raw recruits took up the grand refrain, "We 
 are coming, Father Abraham, three hundred thousand more." 
 There were sore hearts at this time among the fathers and 
 mothers, the sisters and sweethearts of the young men who 
 were available for active service in all these places; but they 
 could not say nay to the earnest pleadings of those who were 
 burdened with the conviction that their time had come to 
 join the ranks of the country's defenders. 
 
 There were but few of the rank and file who responded 
 to the call to arms, at this time, who were carried away by 
 the pomp and glamour of military life, or who anticipated a 
 speedy ending to the struggle which had already proved so 
 disastrous to our arms. With many a bright young man the 
 act of enlistment meant the giving up of prospects which for 
 
4 THE OX E HI'. X. AND FORTIETH RE< NT 
 
 years had stimulated him to study and self-denial. It meant 
 the relinquishment oi the advantages and amenities of home 
 and society; the surrender oi personal liberty to the arbitrary 
 rule or tickle caprice of some whipper-snapper of an officer, 
 
 who might at any time be placed over him. It meant certain 
 exposure to peril, hardship and suffering; and. perchance, to 
 an early death in the hospital, prison pen or on the field oi 
 battle. Over against all these things, which were not lightly 
 regarded, were the interests, for all time, of the imperilled 
 country, the degradation and dismemberment of its tlag, and 
 the clear, unmistakable call to duty, heard in every drum beat 
 and voiced insistently in every form of public appeal and 
 proclamation. Moved by such considerations it is not strange 
 that love of country dominated every other influence and in 
 the end prevailed. 
 
 "It is difficult at this time."' says General Francis A. 
 Walker, historian of the Second Corps, "it was difficult even 
 in 1805, to go back to the sentiments and feelings which 
 moved the citizen soldiery of 1861-iSeo. before custom had 
 staled the ideas of patriotic sacrifice and martial glory; 
 before long delays and frequent disappointments had robbed 
 war of its romance; before the curse of conscription had 
 come, to make the uniform a thing of doubtful honor, anil to 
 substitute the "bounty jumper' for the generous volunteer; 
 while yet all the soldiers in the field were those who sprang 
 to arms in that great uprising of a free people." 
 
 With few exceptions the volunteer soldiery of Western 
 Pennsylvania were remarkable for their intelligence ami an 
 exceptionally high standard of manhood and morality. They 
 were the choicest representatives oi the village and com- 
 munity; of the otYice and shop: of the school and farm; of the 
 college and church. 
 
 The several companies which made up the complement of 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment were recruited in 
 four of the counties on the western border line of the State, 
 viz. : Washington, Greene. Reaver and Mercer. The volun- 
 teers who flocked to their standards were, with few excep- 
 tions, from the rural districts; were in the same rank and 
 
ENLISTMENT— ORGANIZATION— EQUIPMENT 5 
 
 circumstances of life, and readily affiliated with each other 
 in the new relationships and experiences incident to army life 
 and discipline. 
 
 There were worthy representatives of the German and 
 Irish settlements of this region in all of the companies, but 
 for the most part the recruits which made up the rank and 
 file of the Regiment were descendants of the sturdy, God- 
 fearing, Scotch-Irish race. With few exceptions, also, they 
 were boys in years, with all the exuberance and not a little 
 of the indiscretion of youth; but deep down in heart and life 
 there were veins of serious thought, and solid, unshaken con- 
 victions concerning truth and duty. And, when the hour of 
 decision came, they went to the front with as sublime courage 
 and as steadfast confidence in the orderings of God's prov- 
 idence as the Ironsides of Cromwell or the defenders of the 
 Covenant in Scotland. 
 
 A characteristic incident illustrative of this type of our 
 citizen soldiery, and also of many similar experiences in those 
 never to be forgotten days of tense feeling and prompt deci- 
 sion, has been preserved among the records of the company 
 recruited in Greene county — Company A — of the regimental 
 organization. The manuscript from which we quote was 
 written by Professor James C. Burns, of Macomb, Illinois, 
 a younger brother of John A. Burns, one of the recruits, to a 
 daughter of this comrade, after her father's death: 
 
 When the President's call was issued your father lacked 
 one day of being nineteen years of age. At the time of the 
 call he was a Freshman in Waynesburg College. Without 
 consulting his father or mother he enlisted, packed his books 
 and his clothing, and came home. How well I remember the 
 day. I was a lad of eleven years. Father was plowing corn 
 at tbe upper end of the farm and I was playing under a 
 service tree. At ten o'clock the dinner horn blew. "Some- 
 thing is wrong at the house," said father; and, unhitching 
 the horse, we went home. As we nearcd the house my 
 mother, with restless step and tearful eye, came out to meet 
 us. "John has enlisted," she said. Going into the house, we 
 found him there with J. J. Purman, a fellow student, who 
 had taught our district school the winter before. Securing: 
 
6 THE ONE HUNDRED AXD FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 horses from my father, they rode over the township, soliciting 
 and urging other young men to enlist. They secured a dozen 
 or more. * * * One summer morning about the last of 
 July, these recruits assembled at our house to leave for the 
 front. Many friends came with them. The parting was a 
 sad one. I can see them even now, and feel the same 
 swelling in the throat that I felt that July morning as I saw 
 these men clamber into the two-horse wagons, father driving 
 one of them, to be driven to Waynesburg. Here they were 
 joined by eighty or ninety more men from other parts of the 
 county. 
 
 From fragments of realistic experiences such as these 
 we get the inner history — the real history — of the war for the 
 preservation of the Union. This student-lad of nineteen, who 
 could not wait to come home before pledging his young life 
 to the service of the imperilled country, became one of the 
 most efficient officers in his company bringing the remnant of 
 it home, after the war had ended, with the well deserved rank 
 of Captain. Like many of his comrades in the Regiment, 
 whose studies had been interrupted by the war. Captain Burns 
 returned to college and after graduation in the usual course 
 of theological study, entered the ministry. In this service, 
 which became the joy of his life, he fought the good fight 
 under direction of the great Captain of his salvation and, at 
 length, in peace and confident assurance finished his earthly 
 course and was summoned to his rest and reward. His college 
 friend, Mr. Purman. with whom he sallied forth in the hunt 
 for recruits on that memorable July day, was made First Lieu- 
 tenant at the organization of the company, and, at Gettysburg, 
 where he was twice wounded, lost a leg. For bravery and 
 meritorious conduct in that battle he received a Congressional 
 medal. 
 
 Washington County, which had at this time two notable 
 colleges within its bounds, contributed five of the companies 
 which made up the regimental organization. At the county 
 seat, which was also the seat of Washington College, a fine 
 company was recruited by David Acheson, a student of the 
 College at the outbreaking of the war. and two friends — 
 Isaac Vance and Charles Linton — who had been associated 
 
EN LI ST MEN T—ORGA NIZ. i TION—EQ U IP MEN T 7 
 
 with him during a three months' term of service in the Twelfth 
 Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 At the date of its organization, Acheson was elected Cap- 
 tain and his comrades were made its First and Second Lieu- 
 tenants. It was not distinctively a college company, but the 
 undergraduates and alumni of the College furnished a goodly 
 number of its best members and most efficient officers. Cap- 
 tain Acheson was killed at the head of his company on the 
 second day of July at Gettysburg. He was at this time the 
 ranking captain of the Regiment. A man of fine physique 
 and of rare nobility of character, he was greatly beloved by 
 all who knew him. His First Lieutenant, Isaac Vance, lost 
 his left hand in the same engagement. 
 
 Another company, known in the regimental organization 
 as Company "G," was recruited at Canonsburg, the seat of 
 Jefferson College, by Professor John Fraser. He was assisted 
 in organizing the company by two alumni of the College, 
 Wilson N. Paxton and William H. H. Bingham. Bingham 
 was afterward promoted to the rank of Brevet Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral and for many years was member of Congress from the 
 First District of Pennsylvania, and "father of the House." 
 
 As originally constituted all the commissioned officers of 
 the company, with one exception, and a large proportion of 
 the rank and file were then, or had been connected with this 
 College. The farewell service on the morning of the depar- 
 ture of the company — who that was present can ever forget 
 it — was held in the college chapel. When a little remnant of 
 its survivors returned, nearly three years later, a royal welcome 
 was accorded them in the same sacred place of assembly. 
 Thus it will be seen that in the gathering of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment three colleges were represented. It 
 should be noted also that the companies which were recruited 
 outside these college towns had, together with a fair propor- 
 tion of men of college training, an unusually large force of 
 alert, intelligent and resourceful men who had been trained 
 for business careers or in other schools of mental development 
 and activity. 
 
 The following quotation from an address made by the 
 
S THE ONE HUNDRED AS'D FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Hon. A. A. Purman at Waynesburg, Pa., October, 1887, on 
 the occasion of the annual reunion of the Regiment, gives an 
 inside view of the steps which were taken to affect the con- 
 solidation of these independent companies. For that reason, 
 as well as for its kindly words of appreciation, it should have 
 a place in this record : 
 
 The struggle to form the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Regiment out of companies from Washington, Beaver and 
 Greene Counties was spirited, requiring a hasty journey of 
 Captain Fraser to Beaver to see Colonel Roberts, and tele- 
 graphic correspondence between Roberts and Governor 
 Curtin, ending with the kind words of Governor Curtin and 
 the answer that these companies should be formed into one 
 regiment. 
 
 The effort to form these companies into one regiment 
 was because of the homogeneity of the men composing the 
 companies. They were all young men, either from the plow, 
 or the mechanic's shop, the store counter or the college halls. 
 * * * What a glorious Regiment it was ! What noble 
 men composed it, and how nobly the men who have survived 
 the conflicts of battle and the struggles of the camp and the 
 field have since borne themselves in all the walks of life. 
 
 The three companies from Beaver County, known after- 
 wards as F, H and I, were mustered into the service of the 
 United States August 21, 1862, on the public square in front 
 of the Court House in the town of Beaver by Captain Thomas 
 H. Norton, of the regular army. "Norton/' says Major 
 Henry, "had a tine presence and a rich melodious voice, and 
 the oath was administered in a most impressive manner. This 
 was on the ground where the soldier's monument now stands, 
 and it has become historic." 
 
 The companies from Washington County were ordered 
 to Camp Howe, near Pittsburgh, as soon as their organiza- 
 tions were completed. Here each man in turn was carefully 
 examined — in puris natural ibis — by a surgeon of the army, 
 and those who were regarded as physically unfit for the 
 demands of the service were dropped from the rolls. The 
 men who were accepted were then mustered as a body into the 
 service. As each company stood at attention the oath was read 
 
ENLISTMENT— ORG A NIZA TION—EQUIPMEN T g 
 
 by an army officer, appointed for that purpose, and every man 
 with uplifted hand swore allegiance and loyalty to the Gov- 
 ernment and the flag. From that moment the raw recruit 
 became a soldier in the army of the United States, subject to 
 the will of his superior officers and pledged to obey their com- 
 mands in the battle line or at the cannon's mouth. 
 
 In keeping with this new relation he laid aside the garb 
 of the citizen for the livery of the Nation's defenders. To 
 facilitate this transfer of garments a tailor from the Quarter- 
 master's Department measured each man of the company ; and 
 then, from the stock of ready made clothing- on hand, selected 
 such pieces as in his judgment appeared to be the nearest to 
 his record of measurements. It goes without saying, that 
 some of the recipients of these "ready mades" presented a 
 very ludicrous appearance as the result of this apportionment. 
 Jn some cases, exchanges were made to advantage with com- 
 rades and in others direct appeals to the Quartermaster, on 
 orders from the company commanders, resulted in the issue 
 of a iarger supply from which to make selections. Those who 
 could not be "suited" in either of these ways, were obliged to 
 make alterations ae their own expense; or to be content with 
 a decision which virtually amounted to "Hobson's choice." 
 
 The outfit provided by the Government for the rank and 
 file in those days consisted of a dark blue blouse, light blue 
 trousers, a smart looking frock coat with brass buttons for 
 dress parade and special occasions, a woolen or mixed wool 
 and cotton shirt, a suit of underwear, a forage cap, stout 
 broad-soled shoes and a blue overcoat with heavy cape. While 
 in this camp the men of the "awkward squad" took their first 
 lessons in wheeling and facing, saluting and marking time. 
 Guard mounting, company drill and guard duty occupied the 
 remaining part of the time which, weather permitting, was 
 allotted to drill and discipline. 
 
 Our stay in this rendezvous camp was suddenly cut short 
 by the arrival of marching orders. In pursuance of the in- 
 structions given we left Pittsburgh on the evening of Septem- 
 ber 4th and arrived at Camp Curtin in the forenoon of the 
 next day. Here we received a supply of A tents and at once 
 
io THE ONE HL'.XDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMEN f 
 
 entered upon the routine of camp life. On the Sabbath fol- 
 lowing-, the company recruited by Professor Fraser, of Jeffer- 
 son College, was invited to attend the morning service of the 
 Pine Street Presbyterian Church. This invitation came 
 through the pastor, the Rev. Dr. William C. Cattell, a warm, 
 personal friend of Captain Fraser, 
 
 After much washing and scrubbing, we donned our dress 
 uniforms and falling into line at the hour appointed, marched 
 away to the church. We expected to be shown to reserved 
 seats somewhere in the rear of the building, or perchance in 
 the gallery, but to our great surprise, were marched to the 
 front pews of the middle block. Opening the hymn book on 
 the rack before him, the writer saw on its title page the name 
 of its owner — Simon Cameron — who was then serving his 
 country as the Secretary of War in the cabinet of Abraham 
 Lincoln. 
 
 It is an interesting fact that one of the young soldiers of 
 this company, John R. Paxton, an undergraduate of Jefferson 
 College, became, within a little more than a decade following 
 this service, the pastor of the Church which had so cordially 
 invited us to this service. Little did the good doctor, who 
 addressed us that morning, dream that one of the boys in 
 blue before him, a private of the rank and file, should be his 
 successor in that pulpit ; should be famous all over the land for 
 his brilliant gifts and unique modes of exxpression; and at 
 length, should go to places of still higher position and influ- 
 ence at the capital of the Nation and in New York City, where 
 presidents and congressmen, generals of the army, judges of 
 the Supreme Court, and millionaires of note would be his 
 hearers and supporters. 
 
 By the consolidation of the companies already mentioned, 
 the regimental organization was consummated on the eighth 
 day of September and received the official designation of the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment of Pennsylvania Vol- 
 unteers. Its companies, in conformity to army regulations, 
 were then designated by letters. The position in the line as 
 originally indicated was A, F, 1), T. C. H, E, K, G, B. At 
 

 COLi »NEL RICHARD P. ROBERTS. 
 
ENLISTMENT— ORGANIZATION— EQUIPMENT n 
 
 a later date this order was changed.* Companies A and B 
 were from Greene and Mercer counties respectively; Com- 
 panies C, D, E, G, and K, from Washington County and 
 F. H and I from Beaver. 
 
 The field officers chosen at the date of the regimental 
 organization were Richard P. Roberts, of Beaver County, 
 Colonel; Captain John Fraser, of Washington County, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel: Captain Thomas B. Rodgers, of Mercer 
 County, Major. 
 
 The staff appointments were: First Sergeant, William S. 
 Shallenberger, of Company F. Adjutant; Dr. John Wishart, 
 Surgeon; Drs. W. W. Sharpe and Benj. F. Barrah, Assistant 
 Surgeons; Rev. Marcus Ormond, Captain of Company H, 
 Chaplain: and Samuel B. Bently, Quartermaster. 
 
 The line officers at date of organization were as follows : 
 
 Company A — Captain. John F. McCullough ; First Lieu- 
 tenant, James J. Purman ; Second Lieutenant, David Taylor. 
 
 Company B — Captain, J. T. Giebner; First Lieutenant, 
 Abram C. Grove ; Second Lieutenant, George Tanner. 
 
 Company C — Captain. David Acheson; First Lieutenant, 
 Isaac N. Vance ; Second Lieutenant, Charles L. Linton. 
 
 Company D — Captain, Silas Parker ; First Lieutenant, 
 Tames Mamon; Second Lieutenant. Matthias Minton. 
 
 Company E — Captain, Aaron Gregg; First Lieutenant, 
 Thomas A. Stone ; Second Lieutenant, Irwin F. Sansom. 
 
 Company F — Captain, Thomas Henry ; First Lieutenant, 
 John B. Stokes ; Second Lieutenant. Alex. H. Calvert. 
 
 Company G — Captain, H. H. Bingham : First Lieuten- 
 ant, Wilson N. Paxton ; Second Lieutenant. Joseph W. Mc- 
 Ewen. 
 
 Company H — Captain, Samuel Campbell : First Lieuten- 
 ant, Austin Miller ; Second Lieutenant, John B. Vance. 
 
 Company I — Captain, James Darrah ; First Lieutenant, 
 Wm. McCallister ; Second Lieutenant, George A. Shallen- 
 berger. 
 
 Company K — Captain, W. A. F. Stockton : First Lieu- 
 
 *For date and order of change see page 68. 
 
12 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 tenant, Alex. Sweeney; Second Lieutenant, Wm. B. Cook. 
 
 On the ninth of September, the day following the organ- 
 ization of the Regiment, marching orders were received and 
 instant preparations were made, as we supposed, for a move 
 to the front. Knapsacks, haversacks, muskets and cartridge 
 boxes were furnished promptly to each company. Forty 
 rounds of cartridge per man were also issued, and, with no 
 little excitement and wonderment as to what the future had 
 in store for us, we took our first lessons in "packing up." To 
 our great disappointment, we were furnished with antiquated 
 "Vincennes" muskets, heavy and cumbrous to handle, with 
 sabre bayonets, which hung in broad scabbards by our sides. 
 We were assured that some day these awkward weapons 
 would be exchanged for brand new Springfield rifles, but this 
 assurance was not made good until some four months later. 
 
 On the evening of the 9th, we left Camp Curtin in com- 
 pany with the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, 
 and marched to the station of the Northern Central Railway. 
 The One Hundred and Forty-eighth, which was thus thrown 
 into close relations with our Regiment for the first time, was 
 ever afterward, — until the war closed, — within hailing dis- 
 tance of it in camp, on the march, and on the battlefield. It 
 was in touch with the One Hundred and Fortieth for three 
 months of service on the line of the Northern Central Rail- 
 way; it marched with it in the beginning of the winter to the 
 Rappahannock from Washington City; and during its entire 
 service with the Army of the Potomac, was in the same divi- 
 sion of the Second Corps. Its young and sprightly Com- 
 mander, James A. Beaver, was a personal friend of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel John Fraser who had been the favorite professor 
 of his college days, and there were many among the rank and 
 file of each regiment who had much in common and readily 
 affiliated together. The One Hundred and Forty-eighth 
 ranked as one of the best drilled regiments in the volunteer 
 service, and had a splendid record for service at the front in 
 the famous Division to which it belonged. 
 
 The train which had been engaged for our transportation 
 was not at the railwav station when we arrived, and no one 
 
ENLISTMENT— ORGANIZATION— EQUIPMENT 13 
 
 seemed to know when it might be expected. After waiting 
 for two or three hours by the side of the road, we unrolled our 
 blankets and disposed ourselves as best we could on the 
 ground for rest and sleep. About four o'clock in the morning 
 the belated train appeared. We boarded it at once without 
 any knowledge of our destination except the apparent fact 
 that we were heading towards Baltimore. In the afternoon, 
 about two o'clock, the train came to a stop at Parkton Station 
 in Maryland, where to our great surprise, we were ordered to 
 leave it and fall into line by the roadside. After a short 
 period of rest in a dusty field, we were marched to a position 
 on higher ground. Here we pitched our tents and for a period 
 of about three months guarded a section of the railroad which 
 had been assigned to us. This was not the kind of service 
 we had expected, but we were all glad to get away from bar- 
 racks and rendezvous camps, and out into the open, where we 
 could take our part with those already in the field and realize 
 that we were closely associated with them in the desperate 
 contest for the saving of the Nation. Aside from guard duty, 
 our time was fully occupied while at Parkton in company and 
 battalion drills and the ordinary routine of camp life. 
 
14 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 CAMP SEWARD PARKTON, MARYLAND. 
 
 'Tis the cause makes all 
 Degrades or hallows 
 Valor in its fall. — Byron. 
 
 THE immediate occasion of our hurried departure from 
 Camp Curtin was the invasion of Maryland by the 
 Confederate Army. On the 5th of September, the 
 day of arrival at Harrisburg, General Lee crossed the Potomac 
 and pushed rapidly northward in the direction of Frederick. 
 When midway across the river, as the story goes, he paused, 
 took off his hat, and rising in his saddle, pointed toward the 
 Maryland shore. Catching his meaning — or was it arranged 
 beforehand? — the bands of the regiments following him 
 struck up the tune of "Maryland, my Maryland." 
 
 At once the men within sight and hearing took up the 
 strain and joined heartily in singing the verses of the song 
 which from the early days of the Confederacy had been asso- 
 ciated with it.* It was the general impression of the people 
 of the South that the inhabitants of this border State were in 
 full sympathy with the Confederate cause and were only wait- 
 ing the opportunity to co-operate with them, as they advanced 
 in destroying railroads and bridges, and in rallying to their 
 side to repel, as they were wont to put it, the "northern 
 invader from their shores." This proved to be a fallacious 
 hope so far as the masses of the people were concerned, but 
 
 *Some of the stanzas of this song in the original are more 
 forcible than elegant, as, for example, the couplet : 
 
 "She is not dead, nor deaf, nor dumb: 
 Huzza ! She spurns the Northern scum." 
 
CAMP SEWARD— PARKTON, MARYLAND 15 
 
 there were enough of these sympathizers to act as spies within 
 our lines and to threaten the security of the bridges and other 
 vulnerable points on the line of the railroads, upon which 
 the Union forces were relying for re-inforcements and sup- 
 plies. Anticipating the evident plan of the enemy to destroy 
 communications on the Baltimore and Ohio and the Northern 
 Central roads, the authorities at Washington at once took 
 steps to defend them. The task assigned to our Regiment, 
 in connection with the One Hundred and Forty-eighth, was 
 to guard a portion of the last named road extending from 
 Parkton to Lutherville, a distance of about twenty miles. 
 While on this duty, the Regiment was under the command of 
 Major General Wool, of the eighth army corps, whose head- 
 quarters was at Baltimore. At Parkton, the headquarters of 
 the Regiment, four companies, B, F, G, and I, went into camp 
 as a reserve force, while the rest were distributed along the 
 road. At times these companies were called to Parkton for 
 drill or inspection and so long as the weather was favorable 
 the time, not spent upon guard duty, was fully occupied with 
 squad, company and battalion drill. In general, the detail for 
 guard duty came to each man, in turn, every fifth day. From 
 this service, unless excused by the surgeon, there was no es- 
 cape. During the twenty-four hours of its continuance, each 
 man had the round of two hours on his beat and four hours 
 off. At any time during this period, he was liable to be called 
 out on the line and was expected to keep his accoutrements on 
 his person in order that he might be ready for instant duty. 
 Every survivor of the Regiment, — who was fit for duty — can 
 recall some dismal nights and dreary days when the rains de- 
 scended and the floods came and the cold winds blew unmer- 
 cifully upon him, as he paced his lonely beat, marking off the 
 long hours of his appointed watch. At such times, when it was 
 not possible, and would not have been permissible, to have 
 exchanged one's water-soaked attire for warm, dry clothing, 
 not even in the interval of the "four hours off," what wonder 
 if the shivering soldier of the line would be tempted to join 
 in the old-time wail of the Irish recruit: "Oh-o-ne! Oh-o-ne! 
 why did I come for a soger!" There were some who took 
 
16 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 such hardships seriously to heart, and actually died of des- 
 pondency and home sickness. But with others, and these 
 were by far the larger number, they were lightly regarded 
 and quickly forgotten, when the days of sunshine and happier 
 surroundings returned. 
 
 One day, during the early part of our stay in Camp 
 Seward, the Colonel received an intimation that a Confederate 
 scouting party, some eight miles away, was heading toward 
 our camp and would probably attempt to surprise its defenders 
 during the night. To guard against this danger, sixty men 
 from each company of the battalion were detailed for a recon- 
 naissance, and were deployed at intervals by the roadside, a 
 mile or more outside the camp. 
 
 Soon after nightfall the command was given to load our 
 muskets and keep quiet. There was something weird and 
 uncanny in the hour and the place, as well as in these mys- 
 terious preparations, and with tense nerves and bated breath, 
 we awaited the approach of our expected foes. Suddenly, 
 there came to our attent ears the sharp report of a musket, 
 and in an instant every man was in his place and ready to 
 repel an attack. It proved to be a false alarm, however, occa- 
 sioned by the indiscretion of a nervous sentinel, who thought 
 he had discerned a lurking enemy amid the dark shadows of 
 the wood beyond him. After a wait of an hour or more, most 
 of the men fell into fitful slumbers, trusting to their comrades 
 on the outposts to give warning of coming danger. We re- 
 mained in our several positions in the woods all night, but 
 the enemy for reasons best known to themselves, did not dis- 
 turb us. We captured one solitary horseman returning from 
 a store and detained him until morning. He was the only 
 prisoner who fell into our net and was able to give so good 
 an account of his movements, that he was allowed to go to 
 his home in peace. There were some suspicious characters 
 who were found prowling about the camp, at times, during the 
 Confederate invasion, who could not give satisfactory evi- 
 dence of their presence or intentions to the officers of the post 
 and were sent for further examination, or for safe-keeping, to 
 Fort McHenrv. 
 
CAMP SEWARD— PARKTON, MARYLAND 17 
 
 Access to the camp was allowed, for awhile, to the ven- 
 ders of pies, doughnuts and cakes of very questionable char- 
 acter and of various degrees of indigestibility, but when some 
 persons, who were supposed to be spies, found entrance under 
 that guise, this inside traffic was summarily prohibited. This 
 proved to be a wise precautionary measure in the interests of 
 the health of the men as well as for the safety of the Post. 
 
 The "goodies" in general, which men weary of hard tack, 
 beans and butterless bread eagerly bought of these neighbor- 
 hood venders, were aptly described — as the boys interpreted 
 it — by one old woman, not overtidy in appearance, who was 
 wont to call out as she went up and down the company streets : 
 "Here's yer cakes and pies en (pizen) things." 
 
 One night, in the month of September, the occupants of 
 a tent — six in number — were rudely awakened by the collapse 
 of their canvas house, which, as it fell, enmeshed them in its 
 dripping folds. As one by one they struggled out of the mass 
 of prostrate canvas, blankets, overcoats, muskets and equip- 
 ments, a cold, drenching rain poured down upon their un- 
 sheltered heads and scantily clothed bodies. To right and 
 repitch the tent under such circumstances was not an easy 
 matter, and, after it was accomplished, its occupants were, 
 perforce of circumstances, obliged to sleep the rest of the night 
 under wet blankets and in wet clothing. It relieved the situa- 
 tion somewhat, in so far as the feelings of these wrecked tent- 
 mates were concerned, to know that many of their associates 
 were involved in the same calamity. In that dark night of 
 surprise and consternation there were only six tents out of 
 sixteen in the company street which weathered the gale and 
 stood erect. On every hand was heard the shouts and calls 
 of men, who, like the occupants of their own mess, were 
 crawling out from heavy folds of canvas into the driving 
 rain. Some were scolding and fretting, some indulging in 
 the "speech of Ashdod," while others bewildered, or about half 
 asleep, were sitting still and helpless in the driving rain. The 
 ludicrous side of the situation soon appealed to everyone 
 and under the healthful stimulus of this reaction, the damage 
 to the tents was soon repaired. The day following this un- 
 
18 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 toward experience, we received some practical lessons with 
 respect to the manner of pitching tents and driving pegs so 
 as to resist the strain of the contracting canvas when thor- 
 oughly soaked by heavy or continuous rains. 
 
 Our camp, being in an exposed location on a little swell 
 of ground at the edge of a broad valley, was favorably situ- 
 ated for the warm weather period of our stay, but when the 
 cold blasts of November and December overswept it, we fre- 
 quently had occasion to wish for housing of a more substan- 
 tial kind than the canvas walls and flapping folds of our 
 regulation tents. 
 
 One morning, about the first of November, we awoke 
 to find a furious snowstorm raging about us. A cold north- 
 east wind had drifted the snow against the sides of our tents 
 and sifted it inside whenever an opening could be found. As 
 the day wore on the wind increased in velocity and the snow 
 continued to fall in great feathery flakes covering the ground 
 outside to the depth of several inches. This was our first 
 experience of wintry storms in tent life and, because of our 
 lack of foresight in preparing for it, was a decidedly uncom- 
 fortable one. 
 
 Inside the canvas walls, which were dripping with mois- 
 ture, there was not enough of dry space to accommodate all 
 of the ordinary occupants and to those who ventured outside 
 there was no shelter for their heads and no place to which they 
 could go, except to the camp fire in the company street. Here 
 there seemed to be enough smoke at all times to go around, 
 but it was a difficult matter to get near enough to the fire 
 to realize any compensating benefit for the outside exposure 
 to storm and snow which had to be endured, in order to 
 enjoy it. 
 
 Acting on a hint which came from Headquarters the 
 afternoon of that dismal and long to be remembered day was 
 spent in collecting stones from the bed of the stream below 
 the camp with which to build rude fireplaces, topped out with 
 sticks and mud, inside the tents. Some of them smoked the 
 occupants out and had to be built over again, but in general 
 they did good service and made our canvas houses much 
 
CAMP SEWARD— PARKTON, MARYLAND 19 
 
 more comfortable during the remaining days of our stay. 
 Most of the companies along the line of the road had the 
 use of barracks and were not so much exposed to the rigors 
 of these fitful and exceptionally severe climatic changes. 
 
 Because of these changes, and for other reasons, not so 
 apparent, there were many cases of serious illness in the sev- 
 eral companies of the Regiment. The prevalent types of 
 the most dangerous diseases were malarial and typhoid fevers. 
 From the first of October until the middle of November the 
 hospital tent was overcrowded, and ten deaths were reported 
 up to the date of our transfer from Maryland to Virginia. 
 
 In the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment there was, as 
 already intimated, a large proportion of professing Christians 
 who were as loyal to the Master, whose name they bore, as to 
 the country and the flag they had sworn to defend. In this 
 Maryland camp, and, where the conditions were favorable, in 
 other camps, a brief public service of prayer was held morning 
 by morning in the company streets. This service, led by an 
 officer or someone selected from the ranks, was held while 
 the men were in line, immediately after the roll call. The long 
 line of bowed, uncovered heads in the grey of the morning, 
 as someone voiced the petitions of the company, was a most 
 impressive sight, suggestive in many cases of home memories, 
 and prophetic, also, of a better day when each man, who might 
 be spared to see it, should be free to worship God once more 
 at the home altar, with none to molest or make him afraid. 
 
 Following this service, the men usually sprinted in a body 
 to the stream several rods below the camp for their morning 
 ablutions. Later in the season it was necessary to break holes 
 in the ice in order to avail themselves of this privilege. 
 
 While at Parkton, a committee of officials, appointed by 
 Governor Curtin, presented the State colors, — a beautiful silk 
 flag — to the Regiment. This stand of colors was borne along- 
 side the National flag from that date, and it is now in the 
 Museum of the new Capitol of the State, with scarcely enough 
 of its original fabric remaining to make its identity certain. 
 
 About the first of December a lot of lumber was deliv- 
 ered at the railroad station, and a few days later a band of 
 
20 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 carpenters brought it over to the camp and commenced the 
 construction of company barracks. We naturally inferred that 
 this meant the continuance of our stay in winter quarters, but 
 in military affairs it is usually the unexpected that happens. 
 While the hammers were vigorously pounding away on the 
 new structure, an order was on its way from Headquarters in 
 Baltimore, to report at once to Brigadier-General Casey in 
 the Department of the District of Columbia. The "boys" 
 were delighted to hear the news of this forward movement 
 and with hearty enthusiasm began to pack up and prepare for 
 it. For lack of transportation we did not get away until the 
 evening of the ioth of December, almost three full days after 
 the order was received. Had we gone at the date indicated, 
 we should have reached the Army of the Potomac in time to 
 take part in the disastrous battle of Fredericksburg. Through 
 no fault of our officers Ave were hindered from going at that 
 time, and, looking back from the standpoint of to-day, we are 
 content that it was otherwise ordered by the Disposer and 
 Overruler of human events. 
 
■ 
 
 
 
 •v 
 
 ^w 
 
 ■jk 
 
 
 
 Brev. Brig. -Gen. John Fraser. Lt.-Col. Thos. B. Rodgers. 
 
 Wm. S. Shallenberger, Adjutant. J. L. Milligan, Chaplain. 
 
 Dr. I. Wilson Wishart, Surgeon. Brevet Brig. -Gen, II. II. Bincham. 
 
SOUTHWARD FROM MARYLAND TO DIXIELAND 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SOUTHWARD FROM MARYLAND TO DIXIELAND. 
 
 On ! brothers on ! for the Flag that is peerless ! 
 
 Striped from the rainbow and starred from the sky; 
 On with a sturdy step ! dauntless and fearless ! 
 
 On to unfurl it in triumph or die. 
 
 THE Northern Central Railroad, which we had guarded 
 with ceaseless vigilance, by day and night, for three 
 months, furnished the Regiment with transportation 
 to its terminus in Baltimore in rough freight cars of various 
 types and patterns. We were favored in having a clear track, 
 however, and the journey, which covered a stretch of twenty- 
 nine miles, was shorter than we had anticipated. At the station 
 we joined forces with the One Hundred and Forty-eighth and 
 marched through the city, with bands playing and flags flying, 
 to the station on the Washington side, a distance of nearly 
 two miles. 
 
 All along the line of this march, although at a late hour 
 of the night, we were welcomed by crowds of enthusiastic 
 residents who waved flags from windows, doors and balconies, 
 or came out to the very curb of the pavements to wave hand- 
 kerchiefs and call out "God Bless you boys," "The Union 
 forever!" We entered this fair city with forty rounds of 
 cartridges apiece, not knowing what might befall us there, but 
 this enthusiastic welcome took us by surprise, and in response 
 we made the long avenue on which we were marching ring 
 with cheers and the soul stirring strains of our National an- 
 thems. At the end of this march we were directed to the 
 Union Association Hall, where we sat down to a home-like 
 table covered with clean, white linen and enjoyed an excellent 
 midnight supper, which had been provided for us. We were 
 comfortably quartered in the same building for the night and 
 
22 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 until the evening of the next day. This generous entertain- 
 ment was given at the expense of the city. Up to this date 
 her loyal citizens had fed and cared for more than fifty 
 thousand troops, who, like ourselves, were on their way to 
 the front. 
 
 During the daylight period of our stay in Baltimore, the 
 opportunity was given to those who were not on duty to see 
 the public buildings, the notable monuments, the bay, the 
 shipping, and at all these places every courtesy and kindness 
 was shown them. In the evening the Regiment was entrained 
 once more as live frcigJit, for the long night run to Wash- 
 ington. The box cars into which we were crowded, were pro- 
 vided with rough planks for seats, and the only heating 
 arrangement within our cramped enclosures was the aggregate 
 of the blood heat of our bodies. This proved to be insufficient 
 in its counteracting influence to offset the wintry temperature 
 outside, and we suffered not a little from chilled hands and 
 feet as the long night wore away. In the floor of the car 
 which was occupied by Company G there were two large 
 circular plates of iron, which suggested to someone the pos- 
 sibility of using them as makeshift fireplaces. Acting on 
 his own conception of the fitness of things, the author of this 
 brilliant idea deliberately cut a little heap of shavings and 
 slivers from the inside lining of the car and placing them on 
 the iron plate beside him, called for a match. This was fur- 
 nished by a comrade beside him and soon the little pile was 
 blazing merrily. A careful watch was necessary to keep the 
 fire from spreading to the woodwork around the plate by 
 those who were fortunate enough to enjoy the benefit of this 
 novel, but somewhat hazardous, method of toasting their 
 chilled hands and feet. After feeding the flames for a while 
 with such material as could be easily secured, there remained 
 a little bed of glowing coals, which for a few moments, did 
 good service. To guard against the outbreaking of the fire 
 to the woodwork by a sudden lurch of the cars or by reason 
 of the rapid progress of the train, a squad of volunteer firemen 
 were at hand with a good water supply in canteens. 
 
 When the train came to a dead stop on a siding a few 
 
SOUTHWARD FROM MARYLAND TO DIXIELAND 23 
 
 hours later, someone ran out to a hay stack near by, and set 
 it on fire. There were but few, perhaps, of the shivering occu- 
 pants of the cars on the long- train at rest, who approved of 
 this act, but no one hesitated to join the rapidly growing 
 crowd of unfortunates who danced around it and warmed 
 their chilled limbs by the roaring flames. In view of the 
 extenuating circumstances it is fair to presume that "Uncle 
 Sam," upon application of the owner, good-naturedly paid 
 the bill. 
 
 After a wearisome, sleepless journey of ten hours, a con- 
 siderable part of which was spent upon sidings, we reached 
 the outskirts of the city. Here we were quartered, awaiting 
 further orders, until the afternoon of the next day. Wash- 
 ington at that time was a great military camp and distributing 
 station for troops and army supplies. The streets were cut 
 into holes and deep ruts by the almost continuous passage of 
 army wagons and artillery trains, and all the elevated sites in 
 and around it were strongly entrenched. Army officers of 
 all grades were prominent in public places and on the streets, 
 and everywhere the rumble of wheels, the click of horses' hoofs 
 and the clang of trailing sabres were heard. Around the 
 Capitol and especially in the vicinity of its unfinished wings, 
 there were acres of ground covered with rough-unhewn or 
 partly dressed stones. The Washington Monument was an 
 unsightly pile which had been halted in mid air to await the 
 coming of a better day, but the work of reconstruction and 
 addition, which had been undertaken before the war, in con- 
 nection with the great building which represented the hope 
 as well as the power and dignity of the Nation, went steadily 
 on through all its vicissitudes and reverses. With pride and 
 admiration, we looked upon the swelling dome which crowned 
 the great building, even then of magnificent dimensions ; but 
 the bronze statue of Liberty, which now towers high above it, 
 was not swung into its place until a few months before the 
 close of the war. Was it not a wise ordering of the Great 
 Ruler of the nations that the place provided for it should 
 remain vacant until the integrity of the Union should be 
 assured : until the Nation welded together by indissoluble 
 
24 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 bonds in the furnace blast of war should receive its "new birth 
 of freedom," and so make good the old-time jubilee proclama- 
 tion of liberty throughout the land, unto all the inhabitants 
 
 thereof. 
 
 At three o'clock on the afternoon of the thirteenth of 
 December, the Regiment left Washington City under orders 
 to march to Liverpool Point, about sixty miles distant. 
 
 We crossed the cast branch, or estuary of the Potomac, 
 and bivouacked for the night in a muddy field thickly studded 
 with stubs of cornstalks. In obedience to orders we had 
 turned in our large mess tents to the Quartermaster's Depart- 
 ment and had not received the shelter tents, which were to 
 take their places, when we left Washington City. With a 
 view to making the best of the situation, we made a frame- 
 work of fence rails, which fortunately were close at hand, to 
 keep us out of the mud. Spreading our blankets upon them, 
 we slept soundly under the stars, within sight of the Dome 
 of the Capitol. The next day the shelter tents were distributed 
 and from this time until the close of the war. they were the 
 only covering provided for the troops, who were in active 
 service. This tent consisted of four sections. Each section 
 had button holes on one side and buttons on the other and 
 every man of the mess was expected to carry one. which he 
 could utilize in the construction of the tent or as a cover for 
 his couch. When in camp two of the side pieces were but- 
 toned together, stretched taut over a slender ridge pole and 
 made fast on the ground. The third piece formed the back 
 oi the tent, and a fourth was sometimes utilized as a screen 
 or veil before the door. When on the march two muskets, 
 with bayonets placed in the ground, one at either end. fre- 
 quently served as a substitute for a ridge pole. When pitched 
 this canvas hut had a maximum height of less than three 
 feet. It would keep its occupants dry in a heavy shower of 
 rain, except when someone touched the muslin roof. This 
 overt act. whether by accident or design, brought the water 
 down in a continuous stream. On this march our personal im- 
 pedimenta, including overcoat, blanket, knapsack, haversack, 
 with three days' rations, shelter tent section, cartridge box, with 
 
SOUTHWARD FROM MARYLAND TO DIXIELAND 25 
 
 forty rounds of ammunition, — heavy Belgian muskets, with 
 sabre bayonets and accoutrements, — averaged sixty-five or 
 seventy pounds per man. Two of the nights which we spent 
 while on this march were bitterly cold. The chill wind which 
 blew up the river came into our tents at every unguarded 
 opening and the water in the canteens was frozen solidly. 
 Sometimes when it was too cold to sleep, one or more of 
 the occupants of the little tents would crawl out and sit for 
 awhile around the camp fire of the company. But the fires 
 usually burned provokingly low during the night watches and 
 when fresh fuel was added, the smoke became so intolerable, 
 at times, that it became necessary to retreat beyond the zone 
 of possible heat, or disgustedly to crawl back to the shelter 
 of the tent. At Liverpool Point where we rested for a few 
 hours, a Government transport carried the Regiment down 
 the River and across its broad bosom, — about four miles wide 
 — to the mouth of Acquia Creek on the Virginia side. Here 
 we heard for the first time of the repulse and crushing de- 
 feat of Burnside's army at Fredericksburg. We had hoped 
 to hear of a great victory which would turn the tide in favor 
 of the Union, but instead, we were coming to an army which, 
 while noted for its splendid heroism in reverses, as well as 
 in battle, was nevertheless defeated, baffled, discouraged and 
 dispirited. The railroad which was in working order from 
 Acquia Creek to Falmouth, was crowded with trains filled 
 with wounded men, who were being transferred from the 
 field hospitals to Baltimore and Washington City. 
 
 After a brief rest at Acquia Creek, — our first bivouac on 
 Virginia soil, — we marched over a muddy, deeply gashed road, 
 to Falmouth, a distance of sixteen miles, where a site for a 
 permanent camp had been selected within sight and almost 
 directly opposite the city of Fredericksburg. This selection 
 was made for the reason that an order had been already issued 
 assigning the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment to the 
 First Division of General Couch's Corps, then commanded 
 by General Winfield Scott Hancock, whose fearless conduct 
 in battle and superb bearing in the presence of his troops 
 had already made him one of the most notable and con- 
 
26 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 spicuous leaders of the Potomac Army. In this Division, 
 which was the largest in the Army, there were four Brigades. 
 Our Regiment was assigned to the Third and the One Hun- 
 dred and Forty-eighth to the First. Our position, including 
 all the relationships with which we were concerned, was in 
 the Third Brigade, First Division, Second Army Corps, Right 
 Grand Division, Army of the Potomac. The Brigade was 
 commanded by General S. K. Zook, and the Right Grand 
 Division by Major General Edwin V. Sumner. Referring to 
 the arrival of reinforcements to the ranks of the First Divi- 
 sion, General Francis A. Walker, the historian of the Second 
 Corps, says : "Three days after the First Division returned 
 to camp, it, as the most depleted division, received a reinforce- 
 ment in the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania, 
 Colonel James A. Beaver, a regiment which was thereafter, 
 through all the terrible struggles to the glorious end, to be 
 associated with the Second Corps, and never to be named 
 without honor. Two days later, viz., on the 20th of Decem- 
 ber, came another fine regiment from Western Pennsylvania, 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth, Colonel Richard P. Roberts, 
 which was assigned to Zook's Brigade." To it was given the 
 distinction of serving also, but with a heavier loss, in the same 
 notable Division until the close of the war. 
 
 As we marched to our place of encampment through the 
 open ranks of a host of spectators from the Irish Brigade and 
 other neighboring commands, with our comparatively new 
 uniforms and equipments and full companies, we were chaffed 
 not a little on the newness of our appearance and the fullness 
 of our ranks. One called out, "Whose brigade is this?" 
 "Aw," chimed in another, who had caught sight of our heavy 
 muskets, "them's the walking artillery." "Luk at them twelve 
 pounders." Farther on we hear the greeting, "Glad to see 
 you bys, but ye ought to have been here three or four days 
 ago. Niver mind bys, ye'll catch it yet," and the like. The 
 men who were thus disposed to criticise our freshness and 
 lack of military experience, were the veterans of the Potomac 
 Army who had just returned from the bloody field of Fred- 
 ericksburg, and it was pathetic to see the little groups which 
 
Major-Gen. A. Burnside, Commander Army of Potomac. 
 
 Major-Gen. E. V. Sumner, Commander Right General Division Army of Potomac. 
 
 Major-Gen. Darius Couch, Commander Sec nd Army Corps. Colonel Richard P. Roberts. 
 
 Major-Gen. Winfield S. Hancock. Commander First Division Second Corps. 
 
 Urig.-Gen. S. K. Zook. Commander Third Brigade, Firsl Division. 
 
SOUTHWARD FROM MARYLAND TO DIXIELAND 27 
 
 remained in their company streets, or rallied around their 
 colors, where once had been full companies and regiments like 
 our own. From official sources, as well as from the men 
 themselves, we learned that Hancock's Division had been in 
 the very thick of the fight over the River and that every 
 regiment belonging to it had suffered phenomenally heavy 
 losses in the vain attempts which had been made again and 
 again to take the impregnable defences on Marye's Heights. 
 
28 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 
 
 We wait beneath the furnace blast 
 
 The pangs of transformation; 
 Not painlessly doth God recast 
 And mould anew the Nation. — Whittier. 
 
 THE location selected for our camp was an open space at 
 the edge of a strip of woodland, which up to this time 
 had escaped the hand of the spoiler. It was directly 
 behind the town of Falmouth and over it could be seen the 
 spires and fortified heights of the City of Fredericksburg. A 
 ground plan of the regimental camp was prepared, before any 
 of the winter huts were erected, on which were laid out w r ith 
 mathematical skill the company streets and lots, and even the 
 exact position of each mess of the several companies. Going 
 into the strip of timber-land beside us with axes furnished by 
 the Quartermaster's Department, we felled trees, mostly of 
 pine, right and left, shaped them into logs of suitable length, 
 and with these constructed the framework of our winter huts. 
 As only four or five days remained before Christmas, we 
 worked like beavers to complete our quarters in time for its 
 celebration. The enclosure of logs which was usually about 
 four or five feet high was plastered inside with Virginia mud 
 or clay. An opening large enough for a fireplace was cut 
 on the back side, and outside this opening a semicircular back 
 wall was made by driving stout stakes closely together. In- 
 side this, about eight inches or more, a corresponding wall 
 of lighter stakes was constructed after the same fashion. The 
 spaces between these curved lines of staves was then filled 
 with a mixture of clay. 
 
 The portion of the chimney above this rudely constructed 
 fireplace was made of split sticks, built up like the corncob 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 29 
 
 houses of our childhood days, and thickly plastered with mud 
 within and without. The inner row of stakes which gave 
 direction to the curve of the fireplace burned out gradually, 
 as they became dry, but by that time the mass of mud which 
 they supported, had become sufficiently hardened to make a 
 safe and substantial back wall. A drop curtain made of a 
 section of a shelter tent screened the entrance to the hut 
 and to a limited extent protected its inmates from the cold 
 blasts which swept through the company streets. 
 
 The roof was made of joined sections of shelter tents. 
 A ridge pole, supported on notched boards nailed as uprights 
 to the logs, gave the desired pitch and the muslin cover, 
 which was stretched over it, was nailed fast to the upper tier 
 of logs on either side. For a few days following our arrival, 
 a supply of cod fish was issued to the troops. This ration 
 was not popular as an article of diet with the men from the 
 interior, and frequently the larger ones, spread out to their 
 utmost limit, were utilized as windbreaks on the tops of the 
 chimneys. Six occupants, designated as bunkmates, were 
 allotted, at the outset, to each hut. At night they were stowed 
 away on an upper and lower berth made of a log frame and 
 slatted with long flexible poles placed closely together, length- 
 wise. The mattress, which was regarded as an essential fea- 
 ture of this spring bed, for reasons that are evident, was 
 usually made of muslin or gunnysack filled with hay, dried 
 grass, leaves or straw. The lower berth was made a foot or 
 more wider than the upper one and in the daytime was used 
 as a divan or sofa. There was enough space between the 
 berths and the fireplace to admit of seats, including the pro- 
 jection of the lower berth, for all the occupants. This space 
 was designated as the kitchen, and the cook for the week had 
 the post of honor in the chimney corner. 
 
 In less than a fortnight, the Regiment cleared five acres 
 of ground for building and firewood. While in the midst of 
 this work, an order came from General Burnsides to pack 
 our belongings, prepare three days' rations and be ready to 
 move at short notice. 
 
 This arrested all our activities and for three days we 
 
30 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 awaited orders to break camp. At the end of this period, the 
 original order was countermanded, and we resumed the work, 
 which had been so summarily suspended, on our winter 
 quarters. 
 
 It was evident, however, from several disquieting indi- 
 cations, that another movement was contemplated against the 
 enemy before settling down to the quiet and security of a 
 winter encampment. 
 
 The first of January was one of the coldest days of the 
 season, and the men who were on picket or detailed for other 
 w r ork outside the camp suffered severely. The days follow- 
 ing, until a day or two beyond the middle of the month, were 
 for the most part clear and cold. The ground was frozen so 
 firm and hard that it was comparatively easy to maneuver 
 with troops or artillery, and within this time, there was a 
 succession of daily drills, reviews and inspections of the 
 Brigade, the Division and the Corps. 
 
 The most notable of these parades was the review of the 
 Second Army Corps, which took place on the seventeenth of 
 the month. The day was clear and frosty and the sun shining 
 upon the glittering lines of polished muskets and the swiftly 
 moving columns of the several brigades and divisions made 
 the display a memorable one, even to those who had long been 
 accustomed to such exhibitions of the pomp and circumstance 
 of war. Generals Burnside, Sedgewick, — temporarily in com- 
 mand of the Corps in the absence of General Couch — Sumner, 
 Hancock and other noted leaders of high rank were present 
 and participated in this grand review. On its rolls the Corps 
 had a numerical force of about 35,000 men, but the battle of 
 Frederickburg, sickness, from exposure, and other causes had 
 greatly reduced this number. To those of us who had not 
 been accustomed to see such large bodies of men it seemed like 
 a very great army, despite the record of its losses, and present 
 day absentees. As the commanding officers rode down the 
 lines General Sedgewick remarked to Burnside when directly 
 opposite our front : "General, this is a very fine looking regi- 
 ment." "Yes," replied Burnside, "Very fine, Sir. Everything 
 about them looks complete." We were raw enough — "green 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 3* 
 
 enough," as some one in the Irish Brigade expressed it, — 
 to cheer the brave old commander, for brave he was in his 
 misfortunes, as well as in his conduct before the face of the 
 enemy. The most beautiful sight of the day to many of us 
 was the review of the artillery connected with the Corps. 
 There were about forty-five guns in this parade and the 
 marching and countermarching of the several batteries was 
 a marvel of precision and soldierly discipline. 
 
 Immediately following this review orders were issued to 
 the men of the several divisions to hold themselves in readi- 
 ness for an advance movement. This was followed on the 
 20th of January by a general order announcing that the time 
 had arrived when the commander purposed again to lead the 
 Army of the Potomac against the enemy and asked the co- 
 operation of every officer and soldier in the army to the intent 
 that this undertaking might issue in driving him from his 
 defences. 
 
 There was a brave ring in the wording of this order but 
 to many, apart from the fickle behavior of the weather at this 
 season, the conditions for such an advance were not favorable. 
 The depression which followed the disastrous attempt to carry 
 Marye's Heights by storm was still felt and many of the men 
 who had attempted to do that apparently impossible thing 
 were sore at heart. They were willing to follow the com- 
 mander who had been appointed over them, since it must be so, 
 but they felt that in the former campaign they did not have a 
 fair chance and were not enthusiastic over his leadership. As 
 a man General Burnside was highly esteemed by all who knew 
 him and as a Corps commander he had been notably success- 
 ful, but his failure at Fredericksburg, the whole blame lor 
 which he generously took upon himself, had discouraged and 
 well nigh demoralized the entire army. Smarting under the 
 criticisms which were made by high officials of the govern- 
 ment as well as in the columns of the public press, he resolved 
 to make another attempt to engage the enemy before going 
 into permanent quarters for the winter. 
 
 On the 1 8th of January, two days before the beginning 
 of this movement, the Regiment received a supply of new 
 
32 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Springfield rifles in exchange for the old Vincennes muskets. 
 There was great joy among the men when this exchange was 
 made, for the "shoulder cannon," as they were termed, had 
 become a reproach as well as a burden. 
 
 With this new, light and effective weapon in our hands 
 we felt that we could take our rightful place by the side of the 
 old campaigners and manfully do our part. 
 
 When the movement which General Burnside had care- 
 fully planned began the weather was all that could be desired. 
 The sky was clear, the air crisp and frosty, and the roads were 
 hard frozen and solid. On the left of the line the Grand Divi- 
 sion under command of General Franklin took the initiative; 
 for it was a movement from left to right up the river. For 
 two days the troops of this Division could be seen as they 
 filed past on some of the hill tops in the rear of our camp. 
 They were followed by Hooker's Grand Division in the centre. 
 With blankets rolled up and three days' rations in our haver- 
 sacks we awaited the order to break camp. 
 
 This order was not given to Summer's Grand Division 
 for the reason that his camps were in full view of the enemy 
 and also, as we learned afterwards, because it was General 
 Burnside's intention to follow up the turning movement by a 
 direct attack, under the lead of General Sumner, on the de- 
 fences of the City of Fredericksburg. 
 
 During the night which followed the movement of Gen- 
 eral Franklin there was a storm of wind and pelting rain, 
 which continued with slight intermission or abatement for 
 two days and nights thereafter. The poor fellows who moved 
 on Tuesday — the first day of the march — were drenched with 
 rain and chilled with the wind. — which blew a gale all night 
 long — as they cowered under the trunks of nearby trees or sat 
 disconsolately around huge bonfires of pine logs, which with 
 no little exertion and difficulty were kept burning. On Wed- 
 nesday the movement was continued, and by that time the 
 whole of Burnside's army, except our Grand Division, with 
 its artillery and equipment, was out and exposed to the piti- 
 less storm. The incessant rain had not only swamped the 
 surface of the ground in many places but had brought on the 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 33 
 
 "January thaw." The roads and fields were well nigh im- 
 passable, even for infantry, and the men who were strug- 
 gling on to reach the points they were expected to occupy 
 that night, waded at times through mud and slush almost to 
 their knees. The heavy wagons which carried the pontoons 
 were mired all along the way and there were not enough 
 horses or mules in the p^Tiy to pull them out. In some places 
 batteries were held fast in the mud up to the cannon's mouth. 
 In one case the attempt was made, without success, to pull out 
 one piece of artillery near our camp with thirty horses. It is 
 scarcely possible for one who was not a spectator of such sights 
 to conceive of the condition of a break-up on Virginia soil 
 after an immense army, regardless of roads, had passed over 
 it. The artillery alone which filed past our camp moved in an 
 almost continuous procession for over twenty-four hours. 
 Further advance under such conditions was impossible and on 
 Thursday the wearied, mud-covered and discouraged troops 
 were ordered to return to their camps. This movement had 
 gone down into history as Burnside's "Mud Campaign." He 
 was not to blame for the weather conditions which no one 
 could foresee, and yet he took a great risk, pre-doomed, as 
 some regarded it, to failure in making such a venture with a 
 great army in one of the most uncertain months of the winter 
 season in the latitude of Virginia. This disastrous attempt 
 silenced the clamor of the critics in the North who had been 
 urging a forward movement of the Army of the Potomac, 
 regardless of time or season, and, for the first time since the 
 Fredericksburg disaster, the men were encouraged to settle 
 down and make themselves comfortable in winter quarters. 
 As soon as the troops of the several commands had returned 
 to their camps, General Burnside tendered his resignation. 
 It was accepted and General Hooker was appointed by the 
 President in his place. Coming to this responsible position at 
 a time of great discouragement with a brilliant record based 
 on his fighting qualities, the new commander at once secured 
 the esteem and confidence of his men by his liberality in grant- 
 ing furloughs and his unremitting attention to their present 
 every-day needs. Ovens were built at convenient locations 
 
34 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 within the lines for the baking of soft bread and orders were 
 issued at once for a generous supply of potatoes, carrots, 
 onions and other kinds of nourishing foods and vegetables. 
 The first instalment of these luxuries was hailed with delight. 
 For nearly two months we had subsisted upon salt bacon, hard 
 tack and beans and it was good to see a bountiful supply of 
 bread, vegetables and fresh meat once more. It was not so 
 strange therefore that the recipients of these luxuries began 
 to look on the brighter side of the situation, or that with one 
 accord they were disposed to bless "Fighting Joe" in their 
 hearts. At a later date boxes from relatives and friends sup- 
 plemented the "extra rations" of General Hooker; and there 
 were few messes that did not share in a portion of the good 
 things that were enjoyed by the folks at home. In one week 
 near the close of the month of February, 15,000 boxes arrived 
 from the North and were stacked up in huge piles at the rail- 
 road station. 
 
 During this period of suspended hostilities there were 
 several visitors from the sections in Western Pennsylvania, 
 which had representatives in the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Regiment, who were always cordially welcomed and in so far 
 as our limited means and space permitted, were hospitably 
 entertained. Among those who came from Washington 
 County were two highly esteemed citizens from the neighbor- 
 hood of Canonsburg. the Rev. James Sloan, D.D., and Dr. 
 Emery — a doctor of medicine. — each of whom had a son in 
 Mess Xo. o of Company G. Both were heavy weight men 
 physically, as well as mentally, and on their road from the 
 station to the camp had great difficulty in making their way 
 through the swampy ground intervening. Dr. Sloan, the 
 heavier man of the two. was extricated from a slough of the 
 treacherous Virginia mud, when almost exhausted, by a pass- 
 ing soldier who kindly came to his aid. There were others 
 nearby not so considerate, who could not resist the temptation 
 to call out to their fellows : "Come boys and see the big citi- 
 zen stuck fast in the mud!" "Oh my!" "Why don't the Arm> 
 of the Potomac move." At the door of the hut to which 
 these unexpected visitors were directed an enthusiastic wel- 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 35 
 
 come was given them, but the door itself proved to be too 
 strait for the admission of the whole of their bodily frames. 
 After a few moments delay a hand saw was procured and the 
 entrance was made wide enough to admit them to the com- 
 forts and generous hospitality of their friends inside. 
 
 In Hancock's Division the prescribed routine of camp 
 life and army regulations was scrupulously observed. 
 
 At 6 o'clock in the morning, the bugle at headquarters 
 sounded the reveille and immediately after the bands of the 
 several regiments took it up and made the air vibrate with the 
 rattle of their noisy drums. This was the signal for the awak- 
 ing of an army of over 100,000 men whose camps occupied a 
 broad belt in continuous succession from the outposts of Sum- 
 ner's Grand Division on the right to the outposts of Frank- 
 lin's on the left, a distance of about nine miles. Before the 
 ending of this noisy demonstration every man was expected 
 to be in his place on the company street to answer to his name. 
 At this time the details for camp, picket or fatigue duty were 
 announced. A brief space after breakfast was usually spent 
 in the brushing and dusting of clothing, cleaning and scouring 
 of guns, brasses and equipments and in putting our little 
 houses in order for the day. At 8 o'clock the detail for duty 
 assembled on the color line for "guard mounting" which in- 
 cluded a thorough inspection of arms, clothing and accoutre- 
 ments. The detail for picket duty reported for a still more 
 rigorous inspection at an earlier hour of the morning. Those 
 who regarded themselves as unfit for duty were summoned to 
 the surgeons' tent by the "sick call." This was unlike all the 
 other bugle or drum calls and was interpreted by the boys to 
 mean: "Come and get your quinine" "come and get your qui- 
 nine." At 8 o'clock the companies were called out, if the 
 weather was favorable, for an hour or two of drill and general 
 maneuvers. In the afternoon at 2 or 3 o'clock the regiments 
 with flags flying and drums beating, were usually assembled 
 under the direction of the brigade or division commander for 
 field evolutions, and the more intricate forms of maneuvers 
 by regiments and brigades. 
 
 The great event which closed the active duties of the day 
 
36 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 was the dress parade. The writer of the "History of a 
 Famous Regiment/' the Sixty-third Pennsylvania, gives the 
 following description of this beautiful and imposing cere- 
 monial : 
 
 The regiment, dressed in its best, with everything as 
 bright as it could be made, the men fell into line by com- 
 panies and in a few moments a line of iooo men (when the 
 regiment had its full complement) stood silent and immov- 
 able like statues. The band, standing on the right of the line, 
 led by the drum major with his big brass-headed staff, 
 struck up a slow and solemn air and marched down the 
 front of the line to the extreme end, then wheeled, and 
 changing the air to a lively one, returned briskly to their 
 position at the head again. About one hundred feet in front 
 of the center of the line the Colonel took his position. At a 
 command from the Adjutant, the orderly sergeants of the 
 companies advanced to the front and center, and saluting, 
 gave their report of the officers and men present and absent. 
 After the orderlies had returned to their position, the 
 Adjutant read any orders that related to matters concerning 
 the service. The commissioned officers then advanced in line 
 to front and center and saluted the Colonel, who acknowl- 
 edged it and the parade was dismissed. 
 
 After this, until the hour of taps, the men were free to 
 write letters, play games, tell yarns to entertain their bunk- 
 mates, or enjoy themselves in any legitimate way that seemed 
 good to them. When the weather was unusually severe or 
 stormy those who were not on guard or picket duty, had an 
 abundance of time at their disposal, and many were the de- 
 vices with which to while away the passing hours within the 
 close confines of the winter hut or the regimental camp. 
 
 On Washington's birthday the troops in camp had some 
 experiences which were not so agreeable. A leaf from the 
 records of Sergeant Fowelson of Company K. gives an inside 
 view of the manner of its observance in the mess to which he 
 belonged : 
 
 During the night of February 21st there was a heavy 
 fall of snow accompanied with a strong northeast wind. 
 When we awoke on the 22d (Sabbath morning) we wit- 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 37 
 
 nessed to satisfaction the romance of soldier life. We found 
 ourselves literally in a snow drift. The snow had been 
 forced in by the wind through the many crevices of our 
 shanty, till everything within was whitened by the intruder. 
 We were pretty comfortably located when we were wrapped 
 up in our blankets, covered with snow, and preferred to 
 remain there, till Boyd, whose turn it was, had "built the 
 fire and put the kettle on." And then we broke the crust and 
 huddled around the fire to eat our scanty meal. The storm 
 continued to rage with unabated fury throughout the day. 
 The wind howled around our homely shelter like a pack of 
 wolves. Huddling about the fire with our toes in the ashes 
 and shivering with the cold, we found some diversion in 
 listening to the roar of artillery, above the howling of the 
 storm, as different parts of the army were celebrating the 
 birthday of Washington. Then followed a night of intense 
 cold, during which some on sentinel duty froze to death. 
 
 Some of the most trying experiences of this exceptionally 
 severe and stormy winter were on the picket line of the Divi- 
 sion which was quite close to the river and had no protection, 
 such as we enjoyed further back in the camps, from the cold 
 winds, which frequently swept up the valley from the sea. 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances every one who was fit for 
 duty was included in this detail once in a period of five or 
 six days. It meant to every man on this list a night bivouac 
 without shelter and for the greater part of it without fire. 
 The time limit while on this service was two days. 
 
 After the regimental inspection, to which reference has 
 been already made, the picket guard joined the pickets of the 
 Brigade and were then marched to the Division headquarters 
 about a half a mile in rear of our camp. Here the body as a 
 whole was reviewed by General Hancock or some member of 
 his staff. Then with the consolidated drum corps at the head, 
 and the drum major dancing and twirling his baton in front 
 of it, the guard marched and countermarched in the open 
 space in front of the general's tent. When this performance 
 was over the pickets of each regiment were taken back to the 
 front and thence by the most direct route to the station as- 
 signed them on the line. 
 
 During the two days and one night of this service the 
 
38 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 pickets occupied three positions designated as the reserve, the 
 support and the advanced post. At the first, which was the 
 nearest to the camp, the luxury of a fire was allowed and 
 permission was given to rest or sleep. At the second the 
 occupants were expected to be ready to fall in and go to the 
 support of the men on the outposts at any hour of the day or 
 night. At the outposts, which in general were in plain view 
 of the enemy, the men were stationed in groups of four and 
 the changes were made every two hours so that each man 
 served two hours on "post" and four hours off. A portion 
 of the line assigned to our Division was directly opposite the 
 City of Fredericksburg, and the whole stretch covered a dis- 
 tance of about two miles. 
 
 Soon after our arrival at Falmouth, a large detail from 
 the regiment was taken out to the picket line by a German 
 field officer, who spoke in very broken English. At the picket 
 reserve we were halted and permission was given to stack 
 anus and rest. A few moments later we were surprised to 
 hear the order "fall in." As we were about to move the com- 
 manding officer said to a lieutenant nearby, "Pis ground vill 
 not do. It is licv." This announcement was a revelation 
 to most of us. It meant that some of the old troops were so 
 plagued with that notorious pest of the march and bivouac, 
 familiarly known as "gray backs'" that they actually infested 
 the ground where the pickets had been stationed for a con- 
 siderable length of time. Knowing that we had no: yet en- 
 tered upon this experience our German officer was considerate 
 enough to move us to a new location. Despite every precau- 
 tion these blood-thirsty parasites, which were no respecters of 
 persons, would appear suddenly and a: every opportune mo- 
 ment would sally forth from their hiding places inside the 
 seams and folds of shirts and undergarments to carry on 
 their insidious work. When once established in these hidden 
 retreats the only effective remedy was to plunge the garments 
 which sheltered them into boiling hot water. While in camp 
 this could be easily done by those who would take the trouble 
 or the time from other things, but on the march it was well 
 nigh impossible. 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 39 
 
 Some of the clays and nights spent upon the picket line 
 during this winter season were bitterly cold and the men, who 
 were exposed to the stormy elements without fire or com- 
 fortable shelter for two-thirds of the time of their period of 
 duty, had experiences of discomfort and suffering which were 
 scarcely equalled by Washington's command at Valley Forge. 
 On the Confederate side we could often see blazing fires on or 
 near the advance line, while we stamped around on the picket 
 line or its support to keep our chilled limbs from becoming 
 frost-bitten or paralyzed with the cold. Directly behind us 
 wood for fuel was plenty enough, but because of orders, as 
 changeless as the code of the Medes and Persians, no fires, 
 except on the reserve, were allowed. On the night of the 
 22d of February, the exceptionally cold night already alluded 
 to in the record quoted from Sergeant's Powelson's diary, 
 twenty-three men of Company D came from the picket line 
 with frozen feet. The larger number of this detail were so 
 seriously injured as the result of this exposure that for a 
 long time they were not able to walk. The officer in charge 
 of this section of the line conceived it to be his duty, in view 
 of the situation, to march his detail to their quarters in the 
 camp. This assumption of responsibility, without orders from 
 his superior officers, was regarded as a serious offence. A 
 court martial, convened in haste, listened to the admissions of 
 the party with respect to this violation of the letter of the law 
 and sentenced every man belonging to it to a severe punish- 
 ment, including loss of pay and other privileges and per- 
 quisites; the heavier penalty being meted out to the officer, 
 who to save his men, as he supposed, from freezing to death, 
 had assumed this responsibility. When the plea was made 
 in his behalf that the act was inspired by a desire to save life, 
 the general commanding the Division replied that it was not 
 an unusual thing for men to lose their lives on the picket line. 
 From his standpoint nothing but an order for recall could 
 justify such an act, for the reason that these men were placed 
 on that outpost for the defence of the entire army. The 
 writer can distinctly recall another experience of prolonged 
 discomfort a little later in the season. When the reveille 
 
40 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 awoke the men from their slumbers at daybreak that morn- 
 ing the air was darkened with falling flakes of soft snow. 
 By the time the usual inspect ions were over the unbroken 
 mass of snow through which it plodded was more than a foot 
 in depth. When we arrived at the first station the snow was 
 Still falling, and. as no shelter had been provided for such an 
 emergency, we found that the best and only thin? we could 
 do was to tramp around in a limited space to make a solid 
 standing place. The temperature was comparatively mild, 
 but the soft snow had melted on our clothing' as it fell and. 
 as a result, we were uncomfortably damp through and through. 
 During the eight hours which we spent in that place some of 
 the men huddled together in groups on their feet, while others 
 spread their rubber blankets on the beaten bed of snow and 
 do.:ed or dreamed the long hours away. When night came on 
 we were in another position, similar in many respects to the 
 first, on the support. Here we were to stay until after mid- 
 night and were permitted to spread our rubber blankets upon 
 the unbroken bed oi snow. Then in groups of four or five 
 we lay down to rest, using some of our woolen blankets for 
 bedding and the rest for a cover. As the snow continued to 
 fall we soon had more heat than we wanted. The light 
 downy quilt of closely compacted tlakes of snow which 
 covered the blankets was warmer than a comforter of down 
 and almost smothered those beneath it. Shaking this off we 
 slept on that bed of snow more soundly, perhaps, than when 
 under more favorable surroundings, we had laid us down to 
 sleep on our mother's feather beds. 
 
 When we reached the outposts on the edge of the river 
 the heavy snow clouds that had SO long obscured the sky. 
 cleared away, and a cold, searching wind swept up the valley. 
 In a short time the sleeves and breasts of our damp overcoats 
 were fro.cn stiff, encasing us. like the soldiers of medieval 
 times, in a cumbrous armor exceedingly difficult to manage 
 while on. and which when on sentry duty we could not take off. 
 After our release from service on this part of the line we found 
 a resting place beside a well furnished house which had been 
 abandoned by its owner or occupants. Either by design or 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 41 
 
 accident, presumably the former, a fire broke out inside the 
 house and around its blazing timbers we thawed and dried our 
 clothing and warmed our chilled and stiffened limbs. 
 
 These experiences of almost continuous hardships and 
 discomforts were exceptional. Over against them we can 
 recall many days of this service, especially in the early spring 
 time, when it was more enjoyable to be on the picket line 
 than in the camp. It was an understood arrangement that 
 there should be no firing on the picket line during the period 
 when offensive movements were suspended. When a move- 
 ment was in progress by either army this suspension of hos- 
 tilities did not apply. In most cases the sentries on the Con- 
 federate side were near enough to be heard in tones a little 
 above ordinary conversation, as well as to be seen. In Gen- 
 eral Orders conversation with the pickets of the enemy was 
 prohibited, but it was a difficult matter to enforce these 
 orders when two men facing each other were practically alone, 
 and wanted to say something. 
 
 Hence in general the rule was more honored in the breach 
 than in the observance. On the one side the common appella- 
 tion was "Johny Reb" or "Johnnie" on the other it was 
 "Yank" or "You Yank." In these conversations opinions 
 relating to the war and its continuance, the merits or demerits 
 of the several commanders, the probable outcome of the next 
 movement and other matters of common interest were freely 
 and frankly discussed. There was at times a great deal of 
 sharp hitting back and forth and of friendly invitations to 
 come across and be sociable. This was not always intended to 
 be understood as banter. At some points where the water was 
 shallow the opposing parties would wade in and meet each 
 other, shake hands, and proceed to "swap" tobacco and Rich- 
 mond papers for coffee and New York Tribunes or Heralds. 
 Sometimes the "Yanks" would rig up a little boat with these 
 articles of traffic, set the sail carefully to catch the breeze, 
 while the pickets of both sides watched with eager interest its 
 progress from shore to shore. Frequently the little vessel 
 was captured a good distance from the shore by a Johnnie 
 who waded or swam out to meet it. Of course this evidence 
 
4-- THE ONE HUNPKED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 of good will was reciprocated ami the little boat was returned 
 with its cargo of Southern commodities. 
 
 In General Gordon's Reminiscences of the Civil War there 
 LS an instance given of this sort of friendly intercourse which 
 happily illustrates its nature and significance: While riding 
 along the line of Confederate posts he noticed some confusion 
 at one point with an evident attempt to conceal a sudden move- 
 ment in the high weeds which lined the river hank. 
 
 "What is the matter.*' he demanded of one of the sen- 
 tries, "with those weeds?" 
 
 "Nothing at all. sir." was the response; "but," says the 
 General, "1 ordered him to break the weeds down." There 
 I found a soldier almost naked. I asked: 
 
 "Where do you belong?" 
 
 "Over vonder." he replied, pointing to the Union Army 
 on the other side. 
 
 "And what are you doing here, sir?" 
 
 "Well. General,* he said. "I didn't think it was any harm 
 to come over and see the boys just a little while." 
 
 "What boys." I asked. 
 
 " These Johnnies," he said. 
 
 "Don't you know. sir. that there is war going on in this 
 country?" 1 asked. 
 
 "Yes. General," he replied; "but we are not fighting 
 now." This was almost too much for the dignity of General 
 Gordan, but. assuming a stern aspect, he said: 
 
 "I am going to teach you. sir. tbat we are at war. You 
 have no rights here except as a prisoner of war. and 1 am 
 going to have you marched to Richmond, and put you in 
 prison." This terrible threat brought the "Johnnies" to his 
 defence, and they cried out, "Wait a minute, General. Don't 
 send this man to prison. We invited him over here and we 
 promised to protect him, and if you send him away it will 
 iust ruin our honor." 
 
 The object of my threat had been accomplished. I had 
 badlv frightened the Northern guest and his Southern hosts. 
 Turning to the scantily clad visitor. I said: "Now. sir. if I 
 permit you to go back to your own side, will you solemnly 
 promise me on the honor of a soldier, that — " But without 
 waiting for me to finish my sentence, and with an emphatic 
 "Yes. sir." he leaped like a bullfrog into the river and swam 
 back. 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 43 
 
 The Second Brigade of Hancock's Division, consisting 
 originally of the Sixty-third, Sixty-ninth and Eighty-eighth 
 New York Volunteers, was recruited at the beginning of the 
 war, from men of Irish birth by Thomas Francis Meagher, 
 the famous orator who had been exiled from his native land, 
 because of the prominent part he had taken in the rebellion of 
 1848. To this brigade were added, when reduced by frequent 
 losses, the Twenty-eighth Massachusetts and One Hundred 
 and Sixteenth Pennsylvania. 
 
 It was designated from the first as the "Irish Brigade" 
 and because of the glamour associated with the name it fre- 
 quently received special mention from the newspaper corres- 
 pondents for deeds of valor, which it shared in common with 
 other regiments and brigades of the same command. It was 
 without doubt a notable brigade, suffered heavy losses as did 
 all the regiments of its Division, and, as General Walker puts 
 it, "was until the close of the war one of the most picturesque 
 features of the Second Corps, whether in fight, on the march 
 or in camp." 
 
 On reviews and other special occasions its gaily attired 
 commander was always a conspicuous figure. He wore a 
 handsome silver scabbard by his side, the gift of his Irish 
 admirers, and rode a well groomed, white horse, with easy 
 grace and abandon. In each of the regiments of this com- 
 mand the green flag of Ireland was carried by the side of the 
 National colors. 
 
 One of the events which helped to while away the hours 
 of the winter cantonment by the Rappahannock was the old- 
 time celebration of St. Patrick's Day by the officers and men 
 of this brigade. The director and prime mover was General 
 Meagher. It was a public affair to which all the troops of 
 the Corps who were not on duty were invited. 
 
 On a high platform erected for the occasion were most 
 of the notable generals of the army and a score or more of 
 ladies, who were visitors from the North. The day, March 
 17th, was fine and the sports of the morning came off blithely 
 and according to program. 
 
 There were hurdle races, foot races, sack races and 
 
44 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 athletic contests of the Irish type. Three of the jockey riders 
 were thrown at the hurdles in the first course, for the ditches 
 were wide and the barriers high, and before the race was 
 ended, several of the contestants were badly bruised and 
 shaken up. When the horses came in on the home stretch. 
 General Meagher and his staff had all they could do to keep 
 the excited Irishmen from crowding in upon the race course, 
 and freely belabored the offending ones by striking them over 
 the head and shoulders with his riding whip, — all of which 
 they seemed to take in good part. After a brief pause for 
 lunch some ludicrous attempts were made by several contest- 
 ants to climb a greased pole. The catching of a greased pig, 
 which had been closely shaved and freely anointed, was the 
 next item on the program. While preparations were being 
 made for this contest an unexpected interruption was an- 
 nounced by the dull roar of artillery on the right of our line. 
 
 A few moments later General Meagher received a mes- 
 sage from headquarters and mounting his horse shouted out 
 the command, "Back to your quarters every man. The enemy 
 is making an attack on our right." Instantly there was a 
 scattering of officers and men in everv direction. On our re- 
 turn to camp orders were given to be ready to move at a mo- 
 ment's notice. The roar of artillery was heard for some time, 
 but we were not called out from the camp. We afterwards 
 learned that the commotion which had so suddenly broken up 
 the merrvmaking of the afternoon was caused bv an attack 
 of our cavalry under General Averill. who for some reason 
 was pushing the Confederates on the outposts of their left 
 wing. 
 
 A few weeks later the entire Division, including its 
 ambulance corps, artillery mule drivers and musicians, was 
 ordered out to witness a military punishment of unusual char- 
 acter. Three men who had been convicted of cowardice and 
 desertion in the face of the enemy, at Antietam and Fred- 
 ericksburg, had been sentenced to the disgraceful ordeal of 
 "drumming out of the service," and the assemblage of the 
 Division was for the purpose of carrying out that sentence. 
 After the men of the several commands had been formed into 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. 45 
 
 a hollow square the prisoners were brought inside it at one 
 end, under the charge of the Provost Guard. One-half of 
 their heads had been closely shaven, and a broad board with 
 the word, COWARD, writ large, was fastened on their backs. 
 Three soldiers with bayonets at a charge were then placed 
 close behind them. At the word of command the men started 
 forward with about a hundred drums and half as many shrill 
 fifes playing the "rogues march" behind them. Its suggestive 
 "Tee-hee, Tee-hee," sounded in their ears every step of the 
 long way up one line and down the other. These miserable 
 men with downcast eyes and tottering limbs, with buttons and 
 facings cut from their uniforms, had to march about a mile 
 before they reached the point where they were formally ban- 
 ished from the camp and the service. 
 
 During the three months which were spent in winter 
 quarters, under command of Major-General Hooker, the men 
 of all branches of the service had gained greatly in discipline, 
 effectiveness, military bearing, and the army as a whole was 
 hopeful, loyal and in splendid condition. The Grand Divi- 
 sions which had been in existence for some time were broken 
 up under Hooker's administration, and more stress was laid 
 upon the organization, equipment and leadership of the several 
 corps. One excellent feature of his ordering and initiation 
 was the adoption of "corps badges" to be worn alike by the 
 officers and men. "These badges," says General Walker, 
 became very dear to the troops, a source of much emulation on 
 the part of the several commands, and a great convenience to 
 the staff, in enabling them, quickly and without troublesome 
 inquiries, to identify divisions upon the march or along the 
 line of battle." 
 
 While the corps badges differed in form and outline from 
 each other, they all had red for the First Division, white for 
 the Second and blue for the Third. The device assigned to 
 the Second Corps was the trefoil or shamrock. The adoption 
 of this form of badge was probably suggested by General 
 Meagher, or given out of courtesy to the men of the corps 
 who had borne aloft in every battle, with the colors of the 
 Nation, the green flag of Erin's Isle. The flag which led the 
 
46 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Division, Hancock's flag, as it was called at that time, had a 
 large, blood-red trefoil in its centre and was a very conspic- 
 uous object at headquarters, as well as on the march and in 
 time of battle. 
 
 On Wednesday, the eighth of April, four corps of the 
 army, including our own, were reviewed by President Lincoln, 
 who was accompanied by Secretary Seward, Mrs. Lincoln and 
 her two boys. The vast field in which this display took place 
 was in plain view of the Confederate signal stations in Fred- 
 ericksburg, and also of thousands of their soldiers, who 
 crowded the summit of Marye's Heights and the elevations 
 south of it to witness it. The formation was in three "lines 
 of masses" of two corps each. The length of each line was 
 estimated to be more than a mile, and the depth of the three 
 lines from front to rear, including the spaces between, at about 
 one-fifth of a mile. The number of men present was esti- 
 mated at 80,000. The marching of the troops after the caval- 
 cade, including the commanding general, the President, the 
 officers of the staff and their escorts, had swept through the 
 open spaces in the lines of formation, moved in the same 
 compact order past the reviewing stand. On this, as on every 
 other visit to the Potomac Army, the President received a 
 hearty and enthusiastic welcome. 
 
 For magnificence of display and widely extended reach 
 of vision this was, without doubt, the finest military pageant 
 ever witnessed on this continent. A considerable number of 
 the men of our Regiment were on the picket line that day 
 and missed the most imposing features of this great parade. 
 
 It was General Hooker's intention to open the campaign 
 of 1863 by a movement to the right, on the 15th of April, and, 
 with this in view, our overcoats and other clothing in excess 
 of present needs was sent to the Quartermaster's Department 
 for storage during the summer months. Orders were issued 
 to all the troops to provide themselves with eight days' rations, 
 five to be carried in the knapsacks and three in the haversacks. 
 This movement was prevented by heavy rains and well nigh 
 impassable roads for several days. There was no recall, how- 
 ever, of the orders, and the men were held in readiness for an 
 
WINTER QUARTERS ON THE RAPPAHANNOCK. a7 
 
 advance at the earliest possible moment. The appearance of 
 the paymaster on the 20th of April, with two months' pay 
 for each man in crisp greenbacks, was hailed with delight and 
 contributed not a little to the general good feeling which pre- 
 vailed throughout the army on the eve of this memorable 
 campaign. 
 
48 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 April 28th to May 3d. 
 
 Many and many a weary day 
 Our lion-hearted legions lay, 
 Waiting and hoping for the strife, 
 Weary of an inglorious life. 
 At last the onward orders given, 
 With cheer on cheer the air is riven! 
 And 'mong themselves the soldiers say, 
 Hurrah ! Hurrah ! boys, this the day 
 We cross the Rappahannock. 
 
 Now the encampment's all alive, 
 And seems like some vast human hive, — 
 Now rattle and roll the noisy drums, 
 The long roll beats and calls to arms ! 
 Then "Forward" the commander saith, 
 The soldiers almost hold their breath 
 And in the very face of death 
 
 They cross the Rappahannock. 
 
 THESE beautiful verses happily depict the spirit of tke 
 Army of the Potomac, as well as the stirring events 
 Which inaugurated the opening of the campaign of 
 1863. 
 
 A more favorable initiative for the great turning move- 
 ment which General Hooker had so carefully planned could 
 scarcely have been imagined. The splendid army which he 
 had brought up to a high state of discipline and efficiency, 
 and had inspired with confidence in his leadership, was the 
 largest and the best equipped military force which had ever 
 been called into service on this continent. Including all the 
 arms of the service it numbered nearly 130,000 men. the most 
 of whom had already proved their mettle and won imperish- 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 49 
 
 able renown on many a hard fought battlefield of the pre- 
 ceding campaigns. 
 
 On the 2 1 st of April a feint was made of crossing the 
 river at Port Royal, twenty miles below Fredericksburg. The 
 real movement, so long delayed, began on the 27th, when 
 the Eleventh, Twelfth and Fifth Corps, under the command 
 of Howard, Slocum and Meade, were sent to occupy Kelly's 
 Ford, twenty-seven miles above Fredericksburg. This point 
 was reached on the day following. On the night of the 28th 
 and the morning of the 29th, this turning force crossed the 
 river and began the march down its right bank, uncovering as 
 they advanced the lower fords in the direction of Fredericks- 
 burg. The Rapidan was crossed at Ely's and Germanna Fords, 
 and without any serious opposition the flanking column pushed 
 on toward the Chancellorsville House. To co-operate with it 
 and carry out the plan, which General Hooker had so care- 
 fully and skillfully outlined, the First and Third Divisions 
 of the Second Corps were ordered to hold themselves in readi- 
 ness to cross the river at United States Ford. The Second 
 Division was not included in this order and afterwards co- 
 operated with General Sedgewick's command on the left wing 
 of the army. As already indicated, every preparation for the 
 movement on our part was made on the evening of the 27th. 
 At three o'clock on the morning of the 28th, the reveille 
 sounded and every man who was fit for duty answered to his 
 name on the company streets. A short time was allowed for 
 breakfast after which the blankets were rolled up, the huts 
 unroofed, and the sections of shelter tents, which for four 
 months had covered them, were distributed among the mem- 
 bers of the several messes. While we were all awaiting the 
 order to move, an incident took place in the company street, 
 where the writer stood with his comrades, which made a 
 deep impression upon all who were present. At a given signal, 
 a young officer stepped to the front and announced that it had 
 been suggested — the suggestion came from the Lieutenant- 
 Colonel, as we supposed — that a few moments should be spent 
 in devotional exercises. To have morning prayers in our 
 company street on the Sabbath and at other times when the 
 
50 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 weather was favorable, was not an unusual thing, and at this 
 time, when we were about to face unknown dangers and 
 unusual experiences, the suggestion seemed to be peculiarly 
 timely and appropriate. As we bared our heads in the gray 
 dawn, the leader read in distinct, impressive tones, the beauti- 
 ful sentences of the 121st Psalm — "I will life up mine eyes 
 unto the hills." Then followed a brief prayer to Jehovah, the 
 Keeper of Israel, who made the heaven and earth, beseeching 
 Him to defend us from all evil in our outgoing and incoming, 
 whatever might befall, from henceforth and forevermore. The 
 bugle call to "fall in" quickly followed the ending of this 
 brief service, and slinging our heavy knapsacks, we awaited 
 the note which meant "forward." At the word of command, 
 as it rang out on the still morning air, every musket came to 
 a shoulder, then to a right shoulder shift, and every foot 
 instinctively obeyed the familiar signal. At last the command 
 to which we belonged was in motion, and for us the campaign 
 of 1863 was begun. 
 
 We marched about five miles that morning, and, as we 
 had more than enough time for our part in the concerted 
 movement, went into camp in the midst of a dense forest of 
 pine and cedar. During the night, the pontoon train passed 
 us on its way to the designated place of crossing, United 
 States Ford. There was a heavy rain fall during the after- 
 noon of the day on which we started, and at some places the 
 road over which we expected to travel was almost impassable. 
 On Wednesday the 29th, there were showers at intervals and 
 a force of 2,000 men were out all day in our front making 
 corduroy roads. In the evening the Division marched about 
 four miles and bivouacked in the vicinity of the ford. The 
 Third Division crossed the pontoon bridge soon after its 
 completion on Thursday. When our turn came the evening 
 shadows were beginning to fall. On the other side no stops 
 were made, except to close up the long drawn out files. At 
 times as the night wore on, we were permitted to rest on 
 our backs for a few moments, but the orders were imperative 
 to refrain from unslinging our heavy knapsacks and haver- 
 sacks until the designated place of bivouac should be reached. 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 5.1 
 
 This resting place was about a mile from Chancellorsville, 
 and we did not reach it until near midnight. Here we con- 
 nected with the troops of the Fifth Corps in accordance with 
 the program which had been outlined by General Hooker, be- 
 fore the movement began. Thus far his plans had been car- 
 ried out successfully and in view of all the difficulties with 
 remarkable promptness. With very slight loss he had placed 
 a strong force of infantry and artillery in a position which 
 threatened the safety of General Lee's left flank, and on his 
 own left wing had effected a crossing of the river below and 
 in front of Fredericksburg. Acting in concert with the flank- 
 ing forces, General Sedgewick had carried and was actually 
 occupying the heights which Burnside had tried in vain to 
 take a few months before. 
 
 There was a basis, therefore, for the somewhat boastful 
 General Order No. 47, which "announced to his army that 
 the operations of the past three days have determined that our 
 enemy must either ingloriously fly, or come out from behind 
 his defences and give battle on our own ground, where certain 
 destruction awaits •him." 
 
 It seems passing strange that the man who dictated these 
 words should be hesitating and undecided, and finally fall 
 back to a defensive position without a struggle when in the 
 very moment of realizing the fruition of his labors and antici- 
 pations. 
 
 Alluding to this unaccountable change of purpose the 
 historian of the Second Corps says : 
 
 While the movements of the Union commander, from 
 the 27th to the 29th of April, had been not only brilliant but 
 audacious, it had been observed that, even on approaching 
 Chancellorsville, General Hooker showed signs of that hesi- 
 tation which was two days later to thwart his own project. 
 The concentration of the right wing on the 30th of April 
 had been effected much less rapidly than it might have been 
 without distressing the troops, and the morning of the 1st of 
 May found General Hooker irresolute when victory was 
 already within his grasp. Sickles' Third Corps, which had 
 been called up from the left so soon as the occupation of 
 Chancellorsville was assured, was now crossing at United 
 
52 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 States Ford. With such superiority of numbers on the 
 Union side, there was no justification for an hour's delay. 
 The cry should have been "forward," at least until the 
 turning column, consisting now of four corps and two 
 divisions, should be deployed before Lee's positions. 
 
 The advance which General Hooker finally ordered in 
 the direction of Fredericksburg, did not begin until about 
 eleven o'clock. There were three roads available for this pur- 
 pose and down each one of them detachments of the leading- 
 corps were sent, preceded by cavalry and a heavy force of 
 skirmishers. Two divisions of the Fifth Corps taking the 
 lead, moved on the road next the river and advanced to a 
 position a little more than two miles beyond Chancellorsville. 
 Slocum, with the Twelfth Corps, moved down the plank road, 
 while Sykes Division, supported by Hancock's command, took 
 the turnpike road which lies between the river and the plank- 
 roads. 
 
 On this advance we had our first experience of the grim 
 realities of war. The rattle of musketry on the skirmish line 
 and the bursting here and there of a shell within our lines 
 were the first intimations that the enemy were in our im- 
 mediate vicinity. Farther along we met wounded men com- 
 ing back to the rear. The first of this blood-stained procession 
 had a handkerchief bound about his forehead, covering, as he 
 said, a furrow which a ball had made on the side of his head. 
 When we reached the crest of a low ridge where a halt was 
 called, shells from the Confederate batteries began to fall in 
 lively fashion in our immediate vicinity. For some reason, 
 unknown to us at the time, there seemed to be a great com- 
 motion among the troops which had preceded us and appar- 
 ently a number of them were falling back. 
 
 A few moments later, an officer of General Hancock's 
 staff came with an imperative order to fall back at once. 
 This was quickly followed by the command, "By the right of 
 companies to the rear." In the execution of this movement, 
 which had become familiar by frequent repetition on the drill 
 ground, the several companies were supposed to retire from 
 the line of battle in parallel lines, thus facilitating a rapid 
 
G h. J. C I . Com. i-t Div. --mi Corp*. Major-Gen. Jos. Hooker, Com. A. of P. 
 
 Maj r-Gen. Geo. G. Meade, Com. A. of P. Lieut.-Gen. N son A. Miles, Com. of ist Brigade. 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 53 
 
 and orderly retreat. In this case, however, the wilderness 
 through which we had passed, and in which we had been 
 deployed, was so dense that we could see but a few steps 
 ahead, and could only guess at the general direction which 
 the companies nearest to us were taking. We were happily 
 unconscious of the fact, which was known to the general 
 officers, that at this time most of the troops which had preceded 
 us had been withdrawn and that a large force of Lee's veteran 
 army under "Stonewall" Jackson, was bearing down with all 
 speed on our flank, with the hope of cutting us off from the 
 main body at Chancellorsville. As we struggled along through 
 the underbrush, we could see but little about us until we came 
 to an open space in the midst of which was a broad but com- 
 paratively shallow swamp. While the men were trying to 
 pick their way around it General Hancock suddenly appeared 
 on horseback, his face blazing with the heat and excitement, 
 and with expletives and gestures, which, at times, were charac- 
 teristic of the man, emphasized his short, curt command : — 
 "Dash through that swamp or you will all be taken by the 
 enemy." At this moment he was "Hancock, the Superb." 
 Then for the first time we realized that the enemy in strong 
 force was close behind us. 
 
 As we reached the turnpike road, we saw before us on the 
 crest of a steep little hill, the double line of Sykes' regulars, 
 the command which had preceded us, stretching across the 
 road and evidently in momentary expectation of receiving the 
 enemy. There were several guns of the batteries belonging 
 to this Division, charged with grape and canister, and every 
 gunner was standing at his post with lanyard in hand, and 
 ready for the word — "Fire." As we rushed up panting and 
 breathless between the lines which open to admit us, we were 
 hastily assigned to a position a few rods back of the Division 
 which had appeared so timely for our rescue from destruction 
 or capture. Before we had time to look about us, the Con- 
 federates charged the line with a terrible blood curdling yell, 
 — the "rebel yell" — heard by the men of our Regiment for the 
 first time. With an answering shout of defiance from the 
 Union side came a crash of musketry and artillery which 
 
54 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 drowned every other sound and darkened the air with clouds 
 of smoke, heavily charged with sulphurous fumes. 
 
 Unable to bear up against the leaden hail which swept 
 through their ranks from that line of fire on the crest of the 
 hill, the charging columns of the enemy hesitated, wavered, 
 and then fell back to the shelter of the woods. 
 
 General Walker, in his history of the Second Corps, gives 
 as a reason for our tardy withdrawal, the fact that General 
 Couch delayed to give the order allowing Sykes' men to fall 
 back in rear of his Division, in the hope that the Commander 
 would reconsider what he regarded as a fatal blunder. 
 
 "As the retiring column came nearer to Chancellors- 
 ville," he says, "the efforts of the enemy to interrupt their 
 retreat became more vigorous, but, by the skilful conduct of 
 Hancock's skirmishers, and by the assistance promptly 
 rendered by Sykes' 'regulars,' Hancock came off safely, 
 and took position across the turnpike between divisions of the 
 Fifth Corps on the left and on the right." 
 
 With respect to the ground which the advance of the 
 reconnoitering column had abandoned, the same author 
 writes : 
 
 The position reached, somewhat more than two miles 
 from Chancellorsville, was one in every way easy to hold. 
 It afforded room and range for a powerful artillery force, 
 and could readily have been crowned before night by ninety 
 guns. The ground in front was largely open; the roads 
 behind sufficiently numerous for a rapid reinforcement of the 
 line or for a safe retreat. The field was exactly such a one 
 as the men of the Army of the Potomac had always been 
 crying out for — one on which they could see the enemy they 
 were called to fight. Yet this position General Hooker, in 
 an evil hour, determined to abandon, not for one further 
 advanced, but for the low and wooded ground about Chan- 
 cellorsville, relinquishing the very form and show of aggres- 
 sion, retreating before the enemy, and taking up a line which 
 was completely commanded by the high ground already 
 occupied. 
 
 Elsewhere, he savs : 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 55 
 
 As Generals Couch, Meade, Sykes and Hancock sat on 
 their horses in a group close behind the division of the last 
 named officer, General Meade, looking up the road, ex- 
 claimed, with great emphasis, "My God, if we can't hold the 
 top of a hill, we certainly cannot hold the bottom of it." 
 
 Colonel Beaver, the Commander of the One Hundred 
 and Forty-eighth Regiment, was present when an Aide from 
 Hooker's headquarters delivered the order for withdrawal to 
 General Couch. The General was much surprised, he tells 
 us, and said : 
 
 "That cannot be, sir!" The Aide insisted upon it, but 
 the General refused to retire, until he had sent one of his own 
 staff to ascertain that the order was peremptory. From the 
 hour of this unfortunate blunder, General Hooker's good 
 judgment seemed to forsake him. There were those who had 
 opportunity to see him after his arrival at Chancellorsville, 
 who openly asserted that he had been drinking freely to cele- 
 brate his success in the flanking movements and that the dis- 
 asters which followed the placing of his splendid army in a 
 defenceless position, together with other strange actions and 
 omissions on the days following, were directly traceable to the 
 condition of a befuddled brain. 
 
 The historian of the One Hundred and Eighteenth Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers, who had the opportunity to see the con- 
 dition of affairs at Army Headquarters on Sunday, the 3d 
 of May, says : 
 
 The libations, in view of the character and surround- 
 ings, were quite imposing, and the beverage luxuriant and 
 expensive. The many abandoned bottles, the broken and 
 empty baskets, the frequent and suggestive popping of cham- 
 pagne corks, indicated a free and liberal allowance of this 
 intoxicant, just then so exclusively confined to army head- 
 quarters. 
 
 Shortly before his death, Carl Schurz summed up the 
 conflicting opinions relating to General Hooker's condition at 
 this time in these words : 
 
50 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 There has been much speculation as to whether those 
 who accused General Hooker of having been intoxicated 
 during the battle of Chancellorsville were right or wrong. 
 The weight of the testimony of competent witnesses is 
 strongly against this theory. It is asserted, on the other 
 hand, that he was accustomed to the consumption of a certain 
 quantity of whiskey every day, that during the battle he 
 utterly abstained from his usual potions for fear of taking 
 too much inadvertently, and that his brain failed to work 
 because he had not given it the stimulus to which it had 
 been habituated. Whichever theory be the correct one, 
 certain it is that to all appearances General Hooker's mind 
 seemed, during those days, to be in a remarkably torpid, 
 dazed condition. 
 
 It is certain, also, that General Lee was quick to take 
 advantage of the change in situation. Ignoring the demon- 
 stration of Sedgewick, for the present he threw his whole 
 available force upon Hooker with a view to prevent his ad- 
 vance beyond the low and practically defenseless position to 
 which he had retired at Chancellorsville. 
 
 While the Confederates were rallying their forces in 
 front of General Sykes' Division for a second attack, we were 
 sent to the support of a battery directly behind this line. 
 When the attack was renewed, we were ordered to lie flat on 
 our faces in order to allow one or two batteries on slightly 
 higher ground to fire over us. While in this humiliating 
 position, with most of our heads lower than our heels, a 
 score or more of rifled guns worked with a rapidity which 
 was amazing, sending one screaming shell after another over 
 our heads into the dense timber in which the enemy were 
 hiding. While in this uncomfortable situation a sergeant and 
 four or five men of the Regiment were injured by shells which 
 had bursted prematurely and scattered their whizzing frag- 
 ments among us.* The second attempt to carry our position 
 by assault was as much of a failure as the first and for the 
 time the contest was ended. 
 
 *A fragment of a shell which had struck the ground within 
 reach of someone was passed down the line of prostrate men from 
 hand to hand. It was more of a curiosity then than it would have 
 been a few days later. 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 57 
 
 As the Regiment was marching to a new position a herd 
 of Texas steers, which had been driven, for slaughter, into 
 the edge of the woods, were stampeded by some bursting 
 shells and charged madly, with heads down and tails up, 
 across the open space in which we were moving. To meet 
 the onslaught of this new enemy, the men who were directly 
 in the line of their approach were quickly halted and faced 
 about. As the line of muskets were brought down quickly to 
 a charge, the frightened animals threw up their heads and, 
 veering off by the flank, left us in undisputed possession of 
 the field. This encounter was designated, by "the boys" who 
 were immediately concerned, as the "charge of the Texas 
 Steers." 
 
 Our new position was in a dismal woods where we spent 
 the night as a support to the troops in our front. The Con- 
 federates had planted some batteries on the high ground which 
 we had abandoned and at intervals through the long hours 
 of darkness, shelled the section of the woods in which we 
 were lying. At one time their deadly missiles came so near 
 to us that we had to hunt for trees to shield us. 
 
 The available ones were all so small in girth, however, 
 that they afforded but a slight protection. Under the circum- 
 stances, it was almost impossible to sleep. From our position 
 in the woods, we could see the broad sheet of flame which 
 issued from the mouth of the guns before we heard the racket 
 of the shell and this more than anything else, unless we except 
 the insistent call of a disturbed whip-poor-will, seemed to get 
 on our nerves. 
 
 About three o'clock in the morning, we were moved from 
 this uncanny location to a position, with the rest of the Corps, 
 on the line of battle. This was in front of the Chancellor 
 House, directly across the turnpike road which leads to Fred- 
 ericksburg. The Union line as a whole, was in very nearly 
 the form of a horseshoe. The disposition of the troops, May 
 ist, as given by General Walker, was as follows: 
 
 The left was held by Meade's Fifth Corps, extending 
 southwesterly from Scott's Dam on the Rappahannock, his 
 front covered by Mineral Spring Run. The Second Corps 
 
58 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 here took up the line — French on the left, with Hancock ex- 
 tending across the turnpike and connecting with Geary's Divi- 
 sion of the Twelfth Corps, not far from the plank road. On 
 the right of Geary, and somewhat advanced, was Williams' 
 Division of the same corps, and beyond this the powerful 
 corps of Sickles, while upon the extreme right lay the Elev- 
 enth Corps, under Howard, most dangerously "in the air." 
 
 Hancock's position was the most exposed on this portion 
 of the line, and if the attack of May 2d had been made from 
 the direction of Fredericksburg, as on the day previous, it 
 would have been the very center of the conflict. 
 
 When the Regiment reached the position indicated in 
 the sketch above, we were provided with tools to construct a 
 rifle pit. Not knowing what moment we might be attacked, 
 it was to the interest of every one to work with might and 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 59 
 
 main, and in an incredibly short time we had a strong- line 
 of defense. This was made still more secure by slashing the 
 timber in our front. The men on the outposts took advantage 
 of a line of rifle pits which had been constructed the day 
 before by General Sykes of the Fifth Corps. Owing to the 
 advanced position of the Division which seemed to invite 
 attack, the skirmishers, under the command of Colonel Nelson 
 A. Miles, were posted about three paces apart with strong 
 reserves and practically formed a single battle line. Company 
 A, of the One Hundred and Fortieth, was detailed for duty 
 on this line and shared in the perils to which it was exposed 
 in the frequent and persistent attacks which were made upon 
 it that evening and the next day. 
 
 At intervals during the day, attacks were made on por- 
 tions of the line to our right, but these were of short con- 
 tinuance, and, as we afterwards learned, were diversions to 
 cover the flanking movement of General Jackson, who spent 
 most of the long day in moving his compact force of over 
 twenty thousand men to a point where he could hurl them 
 with resistless fury upon the unready and unprotected troops 
 of Howard's Corps, who were posted a mile or more in ad- 
 vance of any other forces, on our right wing. This moving 
 column, which made a detour of about fifteen miles, had been 
 discovered at several points, but Hooker and Howard had 
 both been obsessed with the idea that it meant a retreat of 
 the Confederates, and no immediate danger was anticipated. 
 General Carl Schurz, who commanded a division of the Elev- 
 enth Corps, says that the first intimation that a heavy force 
 was bearing down upon them, was given by a number of 
 deer and rabbits which came bounding out of the woods in 
 their front. Close behind them were the solid columns of 
 Stonewall Jackson, and they fell upon the advance line of 
 Howard's First Division, taking the men who belonged to it 
 completely by surprise, and crumpling up the feeble force which 
 opposed them before the troops in their rear could get into 
 position. Some heroic attempts were made by General How- 
 ard and his division commanders to rally the panic stricken 
 men who were thus overpowered, but it was too late to recover 
 
60 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 the lost ground or impede the terrific onslaught of the exulting 
 enemy. In a few moments of terrible confusion and amid a 
 pandemonium of discordant noises above which could be dis- 
 tinctly heard the "savage screech of the rebel yell," the right 
 flank of Howard's Corps was completely turned and his entire 
 command forced to flee in helpless rout and confusion. Before 
 this attack was made the Eleventh Corps was directly in the 
 rear of our position, or in other words, Howard's men were 
 facing in an opposite direction on the other side of the horse- 
 shoe bend. Hence in their mad rush for the rear, hundreds of 
 them came down pell-mell to our rifle pits and would have 
 dashed through them, if they had not been opposed, into the 
 enemy's lines. A few were rallied by General Hancock and 
 his staff and were placed in position in the rear and to the left 
 of our line, but the greater number made good their escape 
 in the direction of the United States Ford. 
 
 "The stampede of the Eleventh Corps," says General 
 Morgan, Chief of the Corps Staff, ''was something curious 
 and wonderful to behold. I have seen horses and cattle 
 stampeded on the plains, blinded, apparently by flight, rush 
 over wagons, rocks, streams, any obstacle in the way but 
 never, before or since, saw I thousands of men actuated 
 seemingly by the same unreasoning fear that takes possession 
 of a herd of animals. As the crowd of fugitives swept by 
 the Chancellor House, the greatest efforts were made to 
 check them; but those only stopped who were knocked down 
 by the swords of staff officers or the sponge-staffs of Kirby's 
 battery, which was drawn up across the road leading to the 
 ford. Many of them ran right on down the turnpike 
 toward Fredericksburg, through our line of battle and picket 
 line, and into the enemy's line ! The only reply one could 
 get to argument or entreaty was, All ist veloren ; vere ist 
 der pontoon?'" 'Although the appearance of thousands of 
 fugitives from battle, with ambulances, wagons and caissons, 
 all in a wild stampede," says General Walker, "is apt to be 
 very disconcerting and demoralizing to a line of battle, the 
 troops of the Second Corps did not appear in the smallest 
 degree affected." 
 
 It has been said with truth that "there is no logic in a 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 61 
 
 panic which for the time deprives brave men of self control," 
 but usually such senseless frights are limited to commands 
 which have not learned in the rigid school of drill and disci- 
 pline, to stand by each other and rally from the shock of an 
 unexpected attack. More remarkable, however, than this 
 illogical panic, is the historic fact that the troops which fled 
 so ingloriously that day were afterwards numbered among the 
 heroes who so gallantly stormed the heights of Missionary 
 Ridge. 
 
 In the midst of the noise and confusion which followed 
 the driving in and breaking up of the Eleventh Corps, and 
 while as yet the issue of the battle was not definitely known 
 to us, a military band of brass pieces took position in an open 
 space between the lines and with shot and shell crashing 
 around them, played a succession of National airs for ten or 
 fifteen minutes, beginning with the stirring strains of the 
 grand old song, born amid battle scenes : — "The Star 
 Spangled Banner." The effect was indescribable. Sponta- 
 neously, the men who were yet standing by the flag broke 
 out into cheers and took heart again. The band which stood 
 its ground and did this splendid service when pandemonium 
 seemed to have broken loose, and everything appeared to be 
 going to pieces, belonged to the Fourteenth Connecticut Regi- 
 ment. It is said that one or two of the men belonging to it 
 were slightly wounded by fragments of flying shell and that 
 some of the instruments were borne away with honorable 
 scars. 
 
 A discordant note, wild, weird and thrilling, which was 
 heard before this concert began and continued for some time 
 afterward, was the "rebel yell." At first it came to our ears, 
 mingled with the awful din indistinctly, then clearer and 
 nearer indicating unerringly the success of the Confederate 
 attack. This battle-cry, unlike anything we had ever heard 
 before, has been described as "a falsetto yelp, which, when 
 heard at a distance, reminded one of a lot of school boys at 
 play." The high strung monosyllables "Ki-yi-yi-yi" which 
 made up the sum and substance of it, when once heard in 
 their battle setting, could never be forgotten. The marked 
 
62 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 difference between the attacking columns of the blue and the 
 gray described by the historian of the Sixty-third Pennsyl- 
 vania in the sentence following, will be recognized as an accu- 
 rate representation by the veterans of either army : 
 
 "When the Union men charged, it was with heads erect, 
 shoulders squared and thrown back and with a deep-chested 
 ringing cheer, but when the Johnnies charged it was with a 
 jog trot in a half-bent position, and though they might be 
 met with heavy and blighting volleys, they came on with the 
 pertinacity of bulldogs, filling up the gaps and trotting on 
 with their never-ceasing 'ki-yi' until we found them face to 
 face." 
 
 It was about half past five o'clock in the evening when 
 Jackson broke through the lines of the Eleventh Corps. Be- 
 fore his progress was checked by the hastily formed lines of 
 Sickles' Corps, the nearest of the Union forces at hand, he 
 had advanced nearly a mile and a half to a position directly 
 in our rear and within a mile of the Chancellor House. While 
 the issue between the forces hotly engaged at this part of the 
 battlefield was still in uncertainty, several attempts were made 
 by the Confederates under McLaws, to drive Colonel Miles 
 from his entrenched picket line in our front. With rare 
 courage and ability, this young officer held back again and 
 again the assaulting columns sent against him and kept his 
 line intact until after nightfall. In his history of the battle, 
 Mr. Swinton says : 
 
 So delighted was Hancock at the splendid behavior of 
 his skirmish line that, after one repulse of the enemy, he 
 exclaimed, "Captain Parker, ride down and tell Colonel 
 Miles he is worth his weight in gold:" while Couch, turning 
 to his major-generals who commanded his two divisions, 
 said, in his quiet but emphatic way, "I tell you what it is, 
 gentlemen, I shall not be surprised to find myself, some day, 
 serving under that young man." 
 
 While we were thus temporarily at rest between two 
 fires, one on our skirmish line and the other a mile away in 
 our rear, General Zook, the commander of our Brigade, came 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 63 
 
 down the line with a pale, anxious face and briefly told us 
 the peril of the situation. "If," said he, "the line in our rear 
 gives way, you are the last hope of this army. I mean to 
 hold my ground right here. Will you stand by me?" "Yes, 
 yes," was the response from every hand. "We are with you, 
 General." "Yes," cried one of the boys just beside him, "we 
 will stand by you as long as there is a button left on our 
 breeches." 
 
 Turning our backs on our strong line of defense, we 
 formed a temporary breastwork with our knapsacks and 
 awaited the result. For several hours after nightfall, the 
 battle raged almost continuously, but the progress of the 
 exulting foe was at length checked in the vicinity of Hazel 
 Grove, by the determined men who had gone to fill in the 
 
 gap- 
 
 While trying to reform his troops who had been thrown 
 into a condition of disorder and inefficiency while charging 
 through the underbrush, "Stonewall" Jackson was mistaken 
 for an enemy, and mortally wounded by his own troops, 
 Heavy losses at other points had made this day's advance a 
 dearly bought victory, but the Confederates had gained an- 
 other advantage in position which practically broke up the 
 Union line of defense and told disastrously upon the still more 
 desperate and bloody battle of the day following. 
 
64 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 May 3rd to May 6th. 
 
 Picket line and battle fray, 
 
 And weary marching night and day. 
 
 WHILE holding his position at the Chancellor House, 
 General Hooker contracted his lines, necessitating 
 the moving of troops and the placing of artillery on 
 the high ground in our immediate vicinity. Hence there was 
 but little opportunity for sleep that night. Before the dawn- 
 ing of that Sabbath day, the third day of the conflict, those 
 who had fallen asleep by the rifle pit were rudely awakened by 
 the roar of artillery and the bursting of shell. It seemed as if 
 the little knoll above us was literally crowded with batteries, 
 and all of them seemed to be vigorously at work. 
 
 The ground beneath us heaved and trembled and the 
 atmosphere was dense with smoke and sulphurous fumes. 
 Following this came the rattle of musketry, at first like the 
 popping of fire crackers, and then in a few moments more, 
 a steady and almost unbroken roar, which told us plainly 
 enough that the men of Jackson's Corps, commanded now by 
 General "Jeb" Stuart, were bent upon following up the advan- 
 tages which they had gained the night before. The object 
 of this fearful onslaught was to carry the open space, or 
 platform, on which the Chancellor House stood. Fearful that 
 he could not hold his ground here, Hooker had constructed a 
 new line of defense, under the direction of his Engineer 
 Corps, at Bullocks' clearing to the left and rear of our posi- 
 tion, for it was of vital importance that the approach to the 
 river fords should be held. 
 
 As matters now stood, the salvation of the army de- 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 65 
 
 pended upon holding this line of communication and the 
 Fifth Corps which had been on our left was shifted to the 
 new line. During the night the First Corps, under General 
 Reynolds, came down from United States Ford and was so 
 aligned as to support the Fifth Corps, if necessary. Mean- 
 while, the contest for the possession of the plateau, raged 
 with undiminished fury. 
 
 Again and again attempts were made, also, to carry the 
 line of defense in our front which Colonel Miles was charged 
 to hold at all hazards. To strengthen it still more, details 
 of two companies from the One Hundred and Fortieth — A 
 and B — and other contiguous regiments were added to the 
 force, which had held it the day before, and with the same un- 
 flinching courage every attempt to rush it was foiled. "At 
 last," says General Walker, "after miraculously escaping injury 
 through nearly four hours of constant exposure, the heroic 
 young officer, who had so long conducted this gallant defense, 
 was shot through the body and carried from the field." From 
 half past five o'clock in the morning until nine, the battle 
 raged on the right and center with varying degrees of success 
 and failure. In several spirited dashes, colors and prisoners 
 had been taken by the men of either side. Thousands had 
 fallen or were unfitted for duty and yet our battle line in the 
 main, up to this hour, was still intact. Then came a lull — an 
 ominous silence on the part of the Confederate Army. It 
 did not mean withdrawal, but the gathering up of the deci- 
 mated ranks of the assailants for a final assault. When it 
 came, it found our troops in that quarter almost out of ammu- 
 nition. Repeated and earnest requests had been made to 
 General Hooker for a fresh supply both for the artillery and 
 infantry, but those whose duty it was to supply it, whether 
 for lack of orders or some other reason did not deliver it. 
 As the Confederates advanced from right to left all along 
 the line with their blood-curdling yells, some of the troops, 
 who had nothing but the bayonet to resist them, fell back. 
 In the confusion which followed, a general retreat was ordered 
 on the right, followed by a giving way in the center. Sullenly 
 and in comparatively good order, our men withdrew in the 
 
66 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 face of the enemy. In eager, but somewhat cautious pursuit, 
 the Confederates from two sides of the circle swarmed over 
 a section of the open space upon the Chancellorsville plateau. 
 As the troops of the several commands which had faced to 
 the south, made their way back toward the new line, they 
 passed close to the line of our Division, which quietly remained 
 in its place. As on the evening before, our backs were turned 
 toward the strong intrenchments which we had built for our 
 protection from the enemy in front. Facing now in the same 
 direction, we watched with growing anxiety and concern, the 
 broken columns of the troops who were falling back by com- 
 panies and squads, followed by the vengeful shells of the 
 enemy. A few rods from our line, a little group of powder- 
 begrimed men paused for a moment for some reason and 
 while clustered together, a well-aimed shell burst in their 
 midst. Instantly the survivors scattered to right and left, 
 but some of their number had fallen, perhaps to rise no more, 
 while others who were wounded were helped off by their 
 comrades. 
 
 Among those who sought the rear with greatly acceler- 
 ated speed, by reason of the shells which were bursting around 
 them, was a beautiful young woman, who had fled from the 
 Chancellor House, now the very center of the concentrated 
 fire of the enemy. There was a dash of crimson on one side 
 of her pallid face which indicated a slight hurt. Her strength 
 and courage seemed to be equal to the occasion, however, and 
 she was soon beyond the range of our vision as well as of 
 the destructive fire of her friends — the enemy. 
 
 A graphic description of the perilous situation of the 
 Division as a whole, at this time, and the reason for the delay 
 in its withdrawal, is given in the History of the Second Corps 
 by its accomplished Adjutant-General, Francis A. Walker, 
 from which we take the following quotation : 
 
 The field was lost. The center and right had gone out, 
 and the Confederates were swarming over the plain from 
 the south and west and establishing their batteries on the 
 crest they had just captured. But there still remained the 
 divisions of Hancock and Geary, receiving fire at this time, 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN (fj 
 
 of musketry and artillery, from three-quarters of the circle. 
 Colonel Cross' command had once during the morning 
 changed front and formed line of battle to meet the troops 
 of Anderson's division, then threatening to break through 
 Geary's right. So that when the right and center fell out, 
 Hancock was in two lines of battle, — one facing toward 
 Gordonsville, the other only a few hundred rods away 
 fronting east toward Fredericksburg. Only fourteen guns 
 were at command, and of these but nine were in condition 
 to be effective. The nine mentioned, Pettit's six and three 
 of Thomas, under Lieutenant Donahue, were directed to fire 
 up the turnpike: the remaining five, belonging to Lepine's 
 Fifth Maine Battery from the First Corps, had been taken 
 possession of by General Couch and placed in the peach 
 orchard behind the Chancellor House. Geary's division at 
 this moment held the approach from the south along the 
 plank road. All the other troops were gone; but this little 
 army lingered on the field to cover the retreat. The gallant 
 bearing of these troops checked the progress of the enemy's 
 infantry, who, fearfully punished in the great battle of the 
 morning, in which they had lost nearly eight thousand killed 
 and wounded, conceived that they had a new battle to fight: 
 but the fire of the Confederate artillery had now become 
 infernal. Lieutenant Donahue, in command of Thomas' 
 three guns, was mortally wounded. Lepine's battery, in the 
 peach orchard, was almost instantly cut to pieces; every 
 officer was killed or wounded, whereupon General Couch re- 
 quested Lieutenant Kirby, of the First Artillery, to take 
 command of the battery. Hardly had Kirby reached his new 
 position when his horse was killed, and a few minutes later 
 this most heroic and promising young officer fell mortally 
 wounded. And now a heavy infantry column fell upon the 
 front which General Geary had maintained with so much 
 spirit across the plank road. Stubbornly the men of the 
 Twelfth Corps resisted; but at last that part of the line fell 
 out, and Geary's command passed, in no disorderly column, 
 down the road to the Bullock clearing, where the new posi- 
 tion was being taken up. It was still of great importance to 
 gain time; to hold the enemy at bay as long as possible, 
 until the roads leading to the rear should be cleared of 
 troops, and the broken and disordered brigades should be re- 
 formed. This necessity pressed strongly upon General 
 Couch, and nobly did he set himself to discharge the duty. 
 His example was superb. Of slight stature, and usually of a 
 simple and retiring demeanor, he became sublime as the 
 passion of battle and the high-mounting sense of duty took 
 
68 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 possession of every power and faculty, every thought and 
 feeling, every limb and nerve. His horse was killed ; he wa9 
 himself twice hit. Nobly, too, was he seconded by the chief 
 of his First Division (Hancock), whose horse was killed, 
 and who was only able to secure a re-mount on an animal 
 hardly large enough to allow the general's feet to clear the 
 ground. 
 
 The Chancellorsville plateau was now a hell of fire — shot 
 screaming over it from every direction but the northeast; 
 the house itself in flames; yet Hancock's division, alone 
 where seven divisions had been, stood in two lines of battle, 
 back to back, east and west, while the fourteen guns held 
 the enemy at bay on the south. 
 
 At last the word came that the First Division might 
 withdraw. The long skirmish line, which had so nobly done 
 its work all the morning and the day before, upon the left, 
 was quickly, and but for a blunder of one officer would have 
 been cleanly withdrawn. The guns of Lepine's battery, which 
 had lost all its officers, all its cannoneers, and all its horses, 
 were drawn off by the hands of the men of the Fifty-third, 
 One Hundred and Sixteenth and One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania; the wounded were removed from the burning 
 house by Lieutenant W. P. Wilson, of General Hancock's 
 staff, one of the bravest and coolest of men, with a detail 
 from the Second Delaware ; and then the heroic rearguard 
 fell slowly and steadily back toward the new line at the 
 Chandler House.* 
 
 Evidently General Walker relied on official records to 
 describe the removal of the wounded from Chancellor House. 
 Zook's report, not filed for so many years, makes clear the 
 reason for Hancock's eleventh-hour supplementary and per- 
 sonal appeal to the One Hundred and Fortieth for detail of 
 Company to complete the work going forward under Lieu- 
 tenant W. P. Wilson's charge. 
 
 From this general description, which throws much light 
 upon the situation, we come back to the part taken in this last 
 stand by the men of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment. 
 At the critical moment when all the divisions were falling back, 
 except our own, we were ordered up to the support of the for- 
 lorn hope which was still holding the section of the plateau 
 by the Chancellor House. Leaving our knapsacks at the edge 
 
 *See page 317 for mention of additional details for this purpose, 
 including Company F of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment. 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN tg 
 
 of the rifle pit, we advanced in double line of battle through 
 the intervening strip of timber land at such a pace that General 
 Zook, who superintended our part of the advance in person, 
 could hardly keep his place ahead of the line. It seemed to 
 be the eager desire of every man in it to get to the end of 
 this perilous course, whatever it should bring to him, as soon 
 as possible. When the Regiment reached the edge of the 
 woods which came up almost to the house, we were ordered to 
 lie flat on our faces as a support to Lepine's Fifth Maine Bat- 
 tery. Here we remained for something over a half hour amid 
 a tempest of iron hail which might well have appalled the 
 stoutest veteran. The deadly missiles which were hurled 
 against this battery ploughed the ground behind it, scattering 
 dust and gravel over our prostrate bodies, while those which 
 were aimed a little higher tore the limbs from the trees above 
 us. Again and again they struck within our lines, also, killing, 
 wounding and maiming for life, one and another by the side 
 of those who remained unhurt. The morning was hot and 
 sultry, and so intolerable was the thirst which parched throat 
 and lips in this terrible place that some of the men, including 
 the writer, took the risk of losing life or limb in order to get 
 a mouthful of tepid water from the canteens by their sides. 
 As the leaden moments passed, the responses from our battery 
 became less frequent, as one after another the guns were dis- 
 abled, and the men who had manned them were killed or 
 wounded. In his official report of this cannonade, General 
 Couch says : "The enemy had thirty pieces in position on our 
 right and advanced some of their guns to within 500 or 600 
 yards of the Chancellor House." To add to the terror of the 
 scene, the immense building, in which were nearly two hun- 
 dred wounded men and several women, was set on fire by 
 a bursting shell. 
 
 Desperate attempts were made by the surgeons in charge 
 to remove their helpless patients, but outside help was needed, 
 for the house was burning rapidly, and there was not a 
 moment to be lost. Riding up to our Regiment, then the 
 nearest to the burning building, General Hancock directed 
 Wm. S. Shallenberger, adjutant, to make a detail to assist 
 
7o THE ONE HUNDRED AXD FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 in the rescue. Company F, in the immediate vicinity, was 
 promptly selected by him for this perilous duty. Thomas 
 Henry, the Captain of the company, at once sprang- up and 
 calling to his men to follow, rushed up to the building, and, 
 entering- it by the east door, brought out 33 wounded soldiers 
 and three women. The provost guard and details from some 
 other regiments in reach assisted in this rescue. So far as 
 known all of the occupants of the house were removed or 
 went out unaided, before the roof and side walls fell in. Dr. 
 Fisher, Assistant Surgeon of the One Hundred and Forty- 
 eighth Pennsylvania, who had been detailed for duty with the 
 wounded in the Chancellor House makes mention of a room 
 full of wounded Confederate, and of several women, all of 
 whom were taken out by the rescue parties. Captain Henry, 
 (afterwards promoted to rank of Major) mentions the fact 
 that he came out of the house with one woman on each ami, 
 the other holding to his coat tail. They were taken to the 
 Chandler House, then occupied as a hospital inside the new 
 line of battle. Alvin Taylor, of Company F. one of the rescue 
 party, makes the statement, which is corroborated by others, 
 that Tames A. Carson, the first man to rise in response to his 
 Captain's command was instantly killed ; another. Joseph 
 Baker, quickly met the same fate, while four others were 
 wounded in attempting- to do the work for which they were 
 detailed. 
 
 Meanwhile, at the same end of the line, a detad was 
 made under charge of Captain Linton, to take off the guns and 
 caissons of the disabled battery, which had lost all its officers 
 and nearly all its horses and men. In response to this call, 
 a number of men from Companies D. C and II. rose to their 
 feet, threw down their ritles, and following the lead of Cap- 
 tain Linton, took off two guns and as many caissons into the 
 woods where they were out of sight and range of the e iemy.* 
 It is evident from a comparison of records that details of 
 other commands assisted in the removing- of the remaining 
 
 ♦For the names of several men on this detail and other interest- 
 ing facts see page 317. 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 71 
 
 pieces. This fact, which we willingly concede, detracts nothing* 
 from the honor due to the brave men of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment, who took the initiative in this act. Neither 
 does it detract in the least from the honor due to the men 
 of Company F, that brave men of other commands assisted 
 in the rescue of the imperilled occupants of the Chancellor 
 House. 
 
 The silencing and removal of the battery in our front 
 opened the way for the unhindered advance of the enemy; 
 and, as nothing- further could be gained by holding our 
 perilous position, the order was given to withdraw. This 
 was followed by another order to "fix bayonets," as the men 
 rose to their feet. It was given in anticipation of a charge 
 by the Confederate forces, whose skirmishers had already 
 reached the plateau which we had been holding. Happily for 
 us the enemy hesitated to take advantage of his opportunity 
 at this critical moment and we lost no time in falling back 
 to the rifle pits which we had left. Here we picked up our 
 knapsacks and under the cover of the guns on the new line, 
 reached the place assigned us within its defenses. 
 
 At the roll call of the several companies it was found 
 that the heaviest losses had been among the men who had been 
 posted on the extreme right and left of the regimental line. 
 In Company F, at the head of the Regiment, three were killed 
 and two wounded; in Company D, two were killed and four 
 wounded; in C, one killed and one wounded; in K, four 
 wounded, while in Company G, at or near the other end of 
 the line, four, including the Second Lieutenant, Joseph W. 
 McEwen, were killed. Two of this Company met with the 
 loss of an arm, one a right arm and the other the left. Three 
 or four more were injured slightly by fragments of shells.* 
 
 *A young soldier belonging to the One Hundred and Forty- 
 eighth Pennsylvania, who had got lost from his own regiment, fell 
 in with Company G as we were about to advance to the Chancellor 
 House, remarking as he did so that he would stand by the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth. He was in the rear rank of the company in 
 support of the battery and was killed by a shell. No one present 
 seemed to know his name or company, and his body, which was 
 mangled beyond recognition, doubtless fills an unknown grave some- 
 where on that bloody field. 
 
72 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Two of the companies were absent on the picket line which 
 had been held so bravely by Colonel Miles. The position of 
 the companies present was as follows : F, D, I, C, H, E, K, 
 G. In this position. Company F was nearest the Chancellor 
 House and on the left of the line owing to the fact that the 
 Regiment had been about faced before we went up to the 
 Chancellor House. 
 
 The losses in the Fifth Maine Battery were six men killed 
 and nineteen wounded. Captain Lepine, the Commander, was 
 killed before the battery could be put into position and soon 
 after both of his Lieutenants were carried off the field des- 
 perately wounded. Forty-three horses belonging to the bat- 
 tery were killed or disabled. In a magazine article published 
 some years ago, a sergeant who stood by his gun until all the 
 remaining pieces were silenced, gives a thrilling account of 
 the scene at the Chancellor House in which he was both a 
 witness and an actor. From this description entitled, "A 
 Battery at Chancellorsville," we give some brief extracts 
 which bear directly upon the incidents above mentioned: 
 
 When we reached the crest, he says, our Captain rode 
 rapidly forward to inspect the ground. Turning to the Aide 
 (of General Couch) he said: "I can take my battery in 
 here, but no power on earth can take it out again." "Take 
 it in." And without a thought, except for the doomed men, 
 and that he might do his duty, he ordered his battery in. It 
 was past ten o'clock of that sultry Sunday morning. Before 
 the battery could be put into position Captain Lepine was 
 mortally wounded and removed from the field. 
 
 As we moved out of the belt of woods into the open, a 
 line of infantry, perhaps six hundred yards from us, opened 
 from the center to right and left, and moved into the woods 
 to cover, unmasking three batteries which knew our distance 
 to a foot, as it seemed to us, so deadly accurate was their 
 fire. Our right rested on the woods and our left on the 
 Chancellor House. It did not seem a minute before the air 
 was full of the pieces from bursting shell, or crackling 
 spherical case shot, or whistling minnies. No one dared to 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 73 
 
 raise a hand unnecessarily for fear of having it pierced by 
 the one or the other. The air was beaten by the sudden 
 and doubly continuous shocks of the rapid discharges, till 
 it palpitated like the heart of an animal too frightened to run 
 away. A bird would have been beaten about by these com- 
 mingling waves as a boat is tossed by the whirlpools below 
 Niagara. The trees in the open were torn into fragments. 
 The wooden outbuildings were blown into splinters. The 
 Chancellor House was set on fire. Men and horses dropped 
 on either hand. Within twenty minutes the four guns next 
 the woods were silenced. Then those eighteen guns in our 
 front and the infantry lurking all around us poured all their 
 fire unchecked on the two guns next the house, which still 
 kept pounding away at the enemy concealed in the woods. 
 A chest of ammunition with over forty pounds of powder in 
 it exploded close by, but no one knew it until the eye noted 
 its absence. After each of the two guns left had fired 
 about sixty round there remains one gun with a battered 
 face and with only the sergeant left to work it : another with 
 a broken wheel and only the gunner left for duty. All the 
 rest, officers and men, are dead or wounded or have been 
 driven back into the woods. The two who are left could do 
 no more. The gunners spike two of the guns which seem 
 in danger of immediate capture. The sergeant, however, 
 succeeds in finding a detail of infantry who fix the prologue 
 and draw the guns back into the woods.* 
 
 This vivid description of one of the most heroic stands 
 against overwhelming odds in the history of the Civil War, 
 corresponds in every detail with the observations and experi- 
 ences of men of the supporting regiments. The report of Gen- 
 eral Zook, the Brigade commander, which had been lost for 
 many years, has at last come to light and gives some valuable 
 information with respect to the events just described. The fol- 
 lowing quotation is from the portion of it which relates to 
 the part taken by the One Hundred and Fortieth on the 3d 
 of May. 
 
 On the morning of the 3rd some regiments having been 
 withdrawn from the rifle pits on my right, the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth was moved in that direction to maintain con- 
 
 *See Report of General Zook, page 74. 
 
74 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT . 
 
 nection with those which remained. In this new position 
 the regiment lost some men killed and wounded. Subse- 
 quently the One Hundred and Fortieth was moved to the 
 support of a battery on the right of the Chancellorsville 
 House, the Fifth Maine. 
 
 Half an hour after taking this position the house caught 
 fire. Being filled with our wounded, a company of the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth was ordered to assist in their removal, 
 which duty was well performed under very severe fire. 
 Another detail of forty men was made to bring off the guns 
 of the battery above named, which had lost all its officers 
 and nearly all of its men and horses. This detail first drove 
 two caissons into the woods out of the enemy's sight and 
 then returned and removed two guns to the same position. 
 It was then and there they first saw men of any other brigade. 
 Some men of the Second and Fourth Brigades assisted part 
 of the detail to bring off their guns, whilst the remainder 
 went back for the other three, which they found some men 
 of the Second and Fourth Brigades were endeavoring to 
 remove. Lieutenant Linton, of the One Hundred and For- 
 tieth, in charge of the detail, ordered some of his men to 
 assist with each gun until they reached a place of safety, 
 which was done. The gun detail and that for the removal 
 of the wounded necessarily left their arms with the regiment, 
 which moved away in obedience to orders during their 
 absence. In this way some rifles were lost, although many 
 of the men and some of the officers carried off quite an 
 armload of pieces. Conspicuous among the latter was Lieu- 
 tenant Stokes, who abandoned his rations, blankets, etc., for 
 that purpose. * * * I am happy to express entire satis- 
 faction with the conduct of my command. 
 
 (Signed) S. K. Zook, 
 Brigadier-General. 
 Headquarters Third Brigade, First Division, 
 
 Second Corps. 
 May 12, 1863. 
 
 This official statement made by the Brigade Commander, 
 May 1 2th, 1863, — nine days after the events it describes — 
 effectually disposes of the random assertion, first made by 
 irresponsible newspaper correspondents, that all the guns of 
 Lepine's battery were taken off by men of the Irish Brigade. 
 This famous organization was — in the estimation of some of 
 these imaginative writers, like the "Black Horse Cavalry," 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 75 
 
 or the "Louisiana Tigers," — supposed to be everywhere pres- 
 ent and to perform all the deeds of heroism, which were done 
 in the command to which they belonged. This we might pass 
 without further comment were it not for the published state- 
 ment in the sketch of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Penn- 
 sylvania, prepared for Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volun- 
 teers, which affirms without qualification that the battalion 
 then commanded by Colonel Mulholland, regardless of the 
 deadly missiles which swept that devoted ground, rushed for- 
 ward, seized the guns and through the mud and mire into 
 which the ground had been trodden, dragged them off, and 
 brought them all safely to the point where the reserve artil- 
 lery was parked." The statement attributing all the credit of 
 this action to the battalion above named is so manifestly un- 
 fair, and so flagrantly at variance with the report of General 
 Zook and the statement of General Walker, already quoted, 
 who connects with it the Fifty-third and the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiments — as well as with an accumulation of 
 evidence furnished by those who were witnesses of it — that 
 it defeats its own purposes and makes a fuller refutation unnec- 
 essary. At a later date, January 5th, 1905, Colonel Mulhol- 
 land admits that in passing down the road after hauling off 
 the guns he found about a dozen men of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, who had come out of the woods, apparently "off 
 the picket line," who took hold and "helped us off with one 
 of the guns." In making this statement, we presume that 
 he was not aware of the fact that Captain Linton's detail 
 had already taken off two guns with their caissons into the 
 woods, nor that the men whom he found coming out of the 
 woods were not "coming in off picket," but were returning 
 for the remaining guns which they, his brave men, helped 
 them to haul off. More than is justly our due as a Regiment, 
 we do not claim, but we do assert that the initiative was taken 
 by the detail taken from it under Captain Linton, and that 
 it afterwards shared in the honor of removing the pieces 
 which still remained. After a lapse of nearly fifty years, it 
 seems to be high time to correct such misapprehensions and 
 misstatements as the above mentioned, founded on imperfect 
 
76 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 knowledge ; and in all fairness, to give honor where honor 
 is due. 
 
 Behind the strong defenses of the new line of battle the 
 wearied, powder-begrimed men of Hancock's Division, in 
 whose ears the din of battle had sounded continuously for 
 seven hours of that Sabbath morning, a quiet, much needed 
 rest was enjoyed for the remainder of the day. On the after- 
 noon of the day following a heavy detail was made from the 
 Regiment for picket duty outside the broad belt of slashed 
 timber in front of our line. A narrow pathway led down to 
 the position which was occupied by the men we were expected 
 to relieve: and the moment we appeared on the other side of 
 the breast-work, a battery which had been trained upon it 
 opened fire upon us. This unexpected demonstration greatly 
 accelerated the speed of the little party, some of whom were 
 seen to dodge as they ran, but no serious harm was done by the 
 flying missiles which were hurled against them. Several at- 
 tacks were made by the enemy on this part of the picket line 
 during the night, and at intervals the next day. So dense was 
 the undergrowth in the wilderness section below us that we 
 could hear the approach of the enemy's skirmish line before 
 we could see them. During the night it was necessary to be 
 on the alert every moment to guard against surprise, and yet, 
 despite this danger, many of the sentries were so overpowered 
 with weariness that they fell asleep at their posts. When the 
 officer who was in charge of the picket detail came to the 
 posts in our section he was greatly excited and cried out in a 
 despairing tone: "My God! What shall I do! Nearly every 
 man along this line is asleep." Fortunately for all concerned 
 our picket line was not attacked at that hour of the night, and 
 probably for the reason that our opponents had as much as 
 they could do, at the same time, to keep awake. When the 
 supports were called out to assist in repelling an attack each 
 man took to a tree and behind this cover did his part in keep- 
 ing up a fusillade until the enemy came to a realization of the 
 fact that we were not to be caught napping. During one ot 
 these minor engagements Samuel McBride, of Company G, 
 was struck by a minie ball in the forehead, directly above the 
 
THE CHANCELLORSVILLE CAMPAIGN 77 
 
 bridge of the nose and fell to the ground, as one dead. To 
 the great surprise of those who were near him he sprang to 
 his feet after a brief moment of unconsciousness and with a 
 dazed look staggered back along the pathway through the 
 slashed timber to the main line. Supposing that he was try- 
 ing to escape from his post of duty an officer on the works 
 halted him with a drawn revolver. His attitude toward him 
 quickly changed, however, when he saw the ball sticking 
 fast in his forehead. This missile, which the writer held 
 for a moment in his hand, a few days later, had penetrated 
 the outer layer of the frontal bones and made a deep dent in 
 the forehead without inflicting a mortal wound. With this 
 visible token of devotion on the forefront of his honest face, 
 young McBride was discharged from the service ; and, for 
 well nigh forty-five years, has been a preacher of the gospel 
 in Western Pennsylvania. After one of these encounters with 
 the enemy the undergrowth below us was set on fire, whether 
 by accident or design we do not know, but inasmuch as a 
 brisk wind was blowing our direction it spread rapidly and 
 came like the crest of an advancing wave upon us. Falling 
 back from the outposts we joined forces with a body of men 
 who came to our relief and at last succeeded in beating out 
 the flames at the very edge of the broad belt of slashed timber. 
 This accomplished, we went back, through the blackened 
 waste and smoldering embers, to form the line anew at or near 
 its former location. 
 
 At three o'clock in the afternoon a storm of wind and 
 rain burst upon us and quickly drowned out the smouldering 
 fires. For three hours or more the rain came down in tor- 
 rents, cooling the atmosphere and drenching all who were 
 exposed to it to the skin. About this time vague rumors came 
 to our ears that the men on the main line were falling back 
 from the entrenchments with a view to recrossing the river. 
 This was confirmed by the arrival of a relief force who took 
 our places in order that we might have the opportunity to 
 return to the main line, gather up our belongings and take a 
 brief rest. A good while before daybreak we were aroused 
 from the deep sleep into which we had fallen, regardless of 
 
78 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 rain, watersoaked ground or garments, and were hurried off 
 after those who had preceded us, in the direction of the United 
 States Ford. The artillery, wagon trains and ambulances 
 which had gone on during the night made the roads almost 
 impassable. The mud and water through which we waded 
 was frequently knee deep and some of the men had its un- 
 sightly discolorment on their clothing almost to their armpits. 
 When we reached the open space near the Ford, we 
 found a great host of men, massed by divisions and corps 
 waiting for their turn to cross on the pontoon bridges. 
 
 "Had the enemy known this," says Carl Schurz, "and 
 succeeded in planting one battery in a position from which 
 it might have pitched its shells into this dense mass of 
 humanity, substantially helpless in its huddled condition, 
 the consequences would have baffled the imagination. A 
 wild panic would have been unavoidable, and a large part of 
 the Army of the Potomac would have perished in the 
 swollen waters of the Rappahannock. But, as it turned out, 
 General Lee did not disturb our retreat, and by four o'clock 
 in the afternoon — Wednesday — the whole army was safely 
 over." 
 
 When the Brigade had crossed the order was given to 
 march. It was obeyed with alacrity and before nightfall we 
 were back in our old camp. We occupied the huts we had 
 left and made ourselves as comfortable as possible until we 
 could get new supplies to supplement our imperfect and in- 
 adequate outfit. 
 
 The rain continued at intervals for two or three days 
 after we had reached Falmouth. We left it on the morn- 
 ing of April 28th. We returned to it on the evening of the 
 6th of May — eight days thereafter. We left it in high hopes 
 and with no thought of returning that way. Despite all our 
 efforts we had suffered a disastrous defeat, the outcome of 
 which meant the undertaking of a new campaign under cir- 
 cumstances which could hardly be more favorable or promis- 
 ing. It goes without saying that the Army of the Potomac 
 was discouraged and humiliated, but it was not demoralized 
 nor unwilling to make a new attempt when the order should 
 
THE CHANCELLORS^ ILLE CAMPAIGN 79 
 
 again be given. To the men in the ranks there seemed to be 
 no good reason for abandoning the second line of defence; 
 for in this we felt secure against any attack which might be 
 made upon it until the Union army should have been ready to 
 resume the offensive. 
 
 We did not know until it came out later that several 
 of the leading commanders of divisions and corps favored 
 the return of the army, because they had lost confidence in 
 the judgment and efficiency of the General commanding. 
 
 "Among those who voted to retreat," says General 
 Walker, "was the Commander of the Second Corps, whose 
 observation of General Hooker, from the first to the fifth of 
 May, had convinced him that no change of disposition and 
 no accession of numbers would serve to enable that officer to 
 win a victory, in the condition of mind into which he had 
 fallen and that a renewal of the fighting would simply mean 
 fresh disgrace and increased losses."* 
 
 This judgment was based upon the ill chosen site of the 
 low ground about the Chancellor House; upon the failure to 
 guard his right flank against sudden attack; upon the failure 
 to meet the emergency arising from lack of ammunition from 
 supplies near at hand on the morning of the 3rd of May ; 
 upon the refusal to reinforce the hard-pressed divisions at the 
 front with fresh troops in easy reach ; and the fact that in the 
 most critical moments of the same day there were two large 
 corps of his army, comprising nearly one-half of his present 
 command, — 37,000 men — who were not called into action to 
 recover the ground which had been lost or to assist those who 
 had been compelled for lack of support to abandon the plateau 
 which they had so long and so courageously held. 
 
 The bulk of the losses, according to the official report, 
 in the Second Corps, amounting to 1,923, had fallen upon 
 Hancock's Division, whose killed, wounded and missing 
 reached a total of 1,123. 
 
 In the closing of this campaign as a recent writer has 
 happily expressed it : 
 
 ♦Walker's History of the Second Army Corps, page 250. 
 
So THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 The Army of the Potomac sounded the depths of humil- 
 iation for the last time. It is to be baffled and resisted by the 
 rebels with deathless valor. It is to make appalling sacri- 
 fices, to fight battles more bloody than any it has yet seen. 
 It is to witness carnage the historian staggers to describe. 
 But it is to leave no battlefield except as a victor. Though 
 its commander is to be changed once more, its defeats have 
 been chronicled for the last time. While its losses will 
 startle the world, its failures will furnish no more glaring 
 headlines. 
 
 * Brewer's History of the Sixty-first Regiment, Pennsylvania, 
 page 58. 
 
 fSee General Hancock's letter to his wife, page 417. 
 
NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG 81 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG. 
 
 THE initiative in the new campaign, which was to carry 
 us northward to the defense of our own native State, 
 was made by the Confederate commander on the third 
 day of June, a little less than a month after the return of the 
 Union army to its winter camp on the Rappahannock. During 
 this interval General Lee reorganized his army, dividing it into 
 three large corps, which he placed under command of his able 
 Lieutenants Ewell, Hill and Longstreet. The last named 
 officer joined the Army of Northern Virginia with two divi- 
 sions of well-seasoned troops soon after the battle of Chan- 
 cellorsville. Additions were received from other sources at 
 later dates, making an effective force of about 70,000 or 75,- 
 000 men. 
 
 It was an army elated with recent achievements, proud 
 of its able Commander, and, as Longstreet has expressed it, 
 "was in condition to undertake anything." 
 
 In the several engagements on the south side of the Rap- 
 pahannock — May 1st to 5th — the Army of the Potomac had 
 lost, in killed, wounded and missing, an aggregate of 17,197 
 men. 
 
 A still larger number of "two years" and "nine months" 
 men whose terms of enlistment had expired on or about the 
 first of May, withdrew from it, after the return to the north 
 side of the river. It is true that a number of these honorably 
 discharged men re-enlisted for a further term of three years, 
 but to all such a furlough of one month was granted. It 
 meant much therefore to this army and its Commander to 
 secure a respite, if possible, from active operations for that 
 or a longer period of time. 
 
 With all the accessions which could be secured up to the 
 first of June, the Union Army, which before the battle of 
 
82 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Chancellorsville numbered 124,000 men, had an effective force 
 all told, of less than 85,000. 
 
 The days of preparation which were thus necessarily spent 
 in our winter camp on the Rappannock, were not days of idle- 
 ness. As soon as we were safely housed and rationed, the old 
 routine of camp life, guard duty, daily drill and dress parades 
 was resumed. Picket duty, at regular intervals, was always 
 in order, but with the return of the springtime, these two- 
 day excursions by the riverside were regarded as a pleasant 
 diversion from the ordinary experiences of army life. 
 
 If General Hooker had remained in the strongly en- 
 trenched defenses at Bullock's clearing, to which he fell back 
 on the third of May, until he was prepared to assume the 
 offensive, a secret movement looking to the invasion of north- 
 ern territory would not have been possible and the "Wilder- 
 ness Campaign" would then have been fought out to the 
 finish under circumstances more favorable than any that ob- 
 tained under Grant, one year later. But it was not so ordered 
 and Gettysburg became a necessity. On the 28th of May, 
 General Hooker telegraphed to the Secretary of War that the 
 enemy was preparing for an important movement, but the 
 object of it was not known to him. In anticipation of this 
 movement he issued marching rations to his army on the 
 second of June. Four days later, by his order, Sedgwick's 
 Corps crossed the river on pontoons and held an intrenched 
 line on the Fredericksburg side for several davs. He met 
 with spirited opposition at times from the troops of Hill's 
 command, but could not get any definite information with 
 respect to the movements of the rest of the army. 
 
 On the 9th of June, General Pleasanton, the Commander 
 of the Union Cavalry Corps, crossed the river at Beverly Ford 
 and at Brandy Station met the Confederate cavalry under 
 General Stuart. As the result of a hard day's battle, one of 
 the most brilliant cavalry engagements of the war, Stuart's 
 purpose in screening the march of the Confederate forces was 
 thwarted and information was obtained which made it certain 
 that General Lee was heading northward with two of his army 
 corps, on the westward side of the Blue Ridge, while Hill was 
 
NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG 83 
 
 still confronting the Army of the Potomac at Fredericksburg. 
 
 With a view to guarding the approaches to Washington 
 from the lower gaps of the Ridge, Hooker at once put the 
 vanguard of his army in motion. Thus it came about that the 
 rival armies moved northward to the Potomac, one on the 
 west side of this great mountain wall and the other on the 
 east, crossing it many miles apart, from Virginia to Maryland. 
 The Second and Sixth Corps were left in the positions they 
 were occupying until they had sufficient evidence that Hill's 
 command had also started on its northward march. 
 
 On the eve of these great events some important changes 
 were made in the leadership of the Corps and Division. After 
 the battle of Chancellorsville, General Couch, for reasons 
 already hinted at, requested to be relieved from his command 
 and assigned to duty in another department of the Army. 
 This request was granted and General Hancock was assigned 
 to the command of the Second Corps, in his stead. 
 
 Brigadier-General Caldwell, who had rendered signal 
 service as the commander of the First Brigade, was given the 
 command of the First Division, which up to this and for a 
 long time after was popularly designated as "Hancock's Di- 
 vision." 
 
 On or about the 20th of June, the positions of the com- 
 panies in our Regiment were changed for the third and last 
 time. The order designated, reading from left to right, was 
 as follows : A, E, H, B, I, K, D, G, F, C. This gave to 
 Company K the position of color company. 
 
 On the night of the 14th, Sedgwick's troops recrossed 
 the river and followed the corps which had preceded it. The 
 First Division of the Second Corps, which now became the 
 rear guard of the entire army, drew in its pickets by the river 
 side at daybreak in the morning of the 15th, and as soon as 
 as this detail, which was larger than usual, had reached the 
 camp the order was given to march. Enveloped in clouds of 
 finely powdered dust, which had been pulverized and stirred 
 up by passing trains and troops, we took our place in the line 
 and moved out to the Alexandria road which led directly to 
 Acquia Creek. This was the beginning of our long northward 
 
84 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 march — a march of over two hundred miles, including its zig- 
 zags and detours — which did not end until we had reached 
 Gettysburg, in our native State. 
 
 At Stafford Court House we halted for a brief rest and 
 then pushed on to Acquia Creek where we bivouacked for the 
 night. The 15th of June was one of the hottest days in that 
 unusually torrid summer, and the march over the dusty roads 
 under the burning sun, was the most trying and fatiguing we 
 had yet experienced. Hundreds of strong men fell out by the 
 wayside and were left under the protection of the rear guard 
 to come up more slowly. All the available ambulances were 
 rilled by those that were unable to walk and the surgeons re- 
 ported the death of fifteen men who had fallen in their tracks 
 from fatigue or sunstroke. The next day was but little better, 
 and the same experiences of dust and excessive heat were met 
 and endured. 
 
 We camped that night at Wolf Run Shoals on the Ocu- 
 quan River. A few moments after the order had been given 
 to break ranks, the stream was fairly alive with bathers. How 
 refreshing it was to plunge into this clear flood of running 
 water after the long day's march under a burning sun and 
 amid the ever present clouds of dust. Up to this time the men 
 had suffered from excessive thirst. The only opportunity to 
 get water while on the march, was to make a dash from the 
 ranks and as quickly to return to them, in order to avoid the 
 imputation of straggling. Sometimes there was not a drop of 
 water in sight for miles and too often the only supply we did 
 find by the way was in muddy streams or stagnant pools, 
 along whose borders dead horses or mules were lying. 
 
 On the 17th the march was resumed to Fairfax Station 
 on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, where we remained 
 in line of battle in anticipation of an attack from Stuart's 
 cavalry, until the afternoon of the 19th, when the corps pushed 
 on to Centreville. 
 
 On the 2 1 st we moved to Thoroughfare Gap, encamp- 
 ing for the night near the town of Gainsville at the entrance to 
 the Gap. On our way to this place, we passed directly over 
 the battlefield of Bull Run. The second great battle on this 
 
NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG 85 
 
 bloody field, under General Pope, had been more disastrous 
 to the Union Army than the first, and the evidences of this 
 fearful conflict were visible on every hand. Many mounds 
 were passed where the dead had been hastily buried by heaping 
 loose soil over them, which the rains had washed away, leav- 
 ing skeletons of arms, hands, feet, skulls and other part of 
 the body more or less exposed. Broken equipments, buckles, 
 cartridge boxes, belts and torn clothing, some blue and others 
 gray, were still lying on the surface of the ground. Every 
 tree and house in sight was riddled with minie balls or torn 
 and gashed with shot and shell. It was a sad, gruesome and 
 never-to-be-forgotten sight. 
 
 Our object in making this detour from the course to 
 Thoroughfare Gap was to find out, if possible, what General 
 Hill was doing with the rear guard of the Confederate Army. 
 On the evening of the first day of our stay at Gainsville there 
 was some cannonading in our front, and we were cautioned 
 to be on the alert against a night attack. A little after 
 midnight there were indications of a fierce conflict at Hay- 
 market, about three miles nearer to the Gap, during the con- 
 tinuance of which the town of Haymarket was burned to the 
 ground. This conflict, as we afterwards learned, was between 
 some of our cavalry and the advance guard of General Stuart's 
 command. The appearance of the famous cavalry commander 
 of the Confederates at this time, was entirely unexpected and 
 the disposition which he made of his forces with a view to 
 cutting off the Second Corps from the rest of the army, made 
 the situation of Zook's Brigade at Gainesville extremely peril- 
 ous. For several hours it was entirely cut off from communi- 
 cation with the rest of the troops of its own division and corps. 
 From this perilous position we escaped by a rapid march and 
 by a different route than that which we had expected to take, 
 on the morning of June 25th. With reference to this critical 
 situation, General Walker says: 
 
 It chanced that, just as the corps was withdrawing from 
 the Gap, the Confederate cavalry, under General Stuart, 
 were passing through New Baltimore toward Gainesville, 
 
96 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 upon that raid which was destined to cause to Lee the loss 
 of nearly his whole cavalry force throughout the highly 
 critical movement he was conducting. At the little town of 
 Haymarket, where Hancock's line of march turned to the 
 north, Stuart opened fire upon our rear division, the Second, 
 killing or wounding several men. Still further annoyance 
 was caused hy this unexpected appearance of the Confed- 
 erate cavalry, inasmuch as Zook's brigade of the First 
 Division, which was at Gainesville, was temporarily cut off 
 from communication with the rest of the corps, and several 
 messengers passing between Hancock and Zook were cap- 
 tured, among them Captain Johnson, of the Sixth New York 
 Cavalry, the commander of the corps headquarters' escort. 
 
 The hurried march which was made to extricate ourselves 
 from this Confederate trap was one of the most trying and 
 wearisome on the long journey northward in pursuit of Gen- 
 eral Lee. From early morning until far into the night there 
 were almost continuous showers of rain. Much of the way 
 before us was up grade and the red Virginia clay clogged our 
 feet and seriously impeded our progress. At Gum Springs, 
 one of the halting places of General Braddock on his way to 
 Fort Duquesne, one hundred and eight years before, we 
 bivouacked for the night. It was about nine o'clock when 
 we reached this place and here we rejoined our corps after 
 several days of isolation and anxious solicitude. We were 
 wet to the skin and too weary and indifferent to make fires, 
 much as we longed for a steaming cup of coffee. In some 
 cases shelter tents were hastily pitched, but most of the men 
 wrapped their blankets about them and slept under the drip- 
 ping branches of the pine grove in which we had been halted. 
 Next morning we started early and marched rapidly through 
 rain and mud until noon, the rain having ceased a short time 
 before. By this time the warmth of our bodies had dried the 
 water-soaked clothing in which we had marched and slept and 
 when the sky cleared, the discomforts of the way were speedily 
 forgotten. In the evening we reached Edwards' Ferry on the 
 Potomac, where we found a long pontoon bridge which had 
 been recently constructed by the Engineer Corps. Some of 
 the Army Corps which had preceded us were here in the im- 
 
NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG 87 
 
 mediate vicinity. We went into bivouac by the riverside 
 awaiting our turn to cross, which did not come until after 
 midnight. We then marched about four miles farther and 
 wene into camp for a few hours of rest. On the 28th we 
 reached Monocacy Junction, near Frederick. Before cross- 
 ing the Potomac, the troops were cautioned against the appro- 
 priation of live stock or food products of any kind and this 
 injunction was strictly observed. It was not so easy, however, 
 to give up the privilege of appropriating the rails or boards 
 of the fences in the vicinity of the places of encampment. To 
 provide camp fires for a great army like ours in a friendly 
 country was not an easy matter, especially where the stay 
 was only for one night. The men could not go to the forests 
 and cut wood, nor could they get it anywhere in quantities 
 sufficient for their needs unless they took it from the fences 
 beside them. One order was to the effect that we might 
 take broken rails. This was literally interpreted and the man 
 who could not find a broken rail to cook his coffee, straightway 
 proceeded to break the first one that came to hand, and then 
 carried it away in triumph. The portion of Maryland into 
 which we were so unceremoniously conducted was rich and 
 singularly beautiful. This was especially true of the country 
 in the vicinity of Frederick and the South Mountain. 
 
 On the 29th of June the Second Corps made the most 
 memorable march of this wearisome northward journey. The 
 order directing it was carelessly laid upon the desk of the 
 Adjutant-General of the Corps, by the orderly who brought 
 it, and was not noticed until about eight o'clock in the morn- 
 ing. It proved to be an imperative order for a march to a 
 point beyond Uniontown, Md., w r hich was 32 miles from our 
 place of bivouac. Through that long, sultry day and a part 
 of the night following, we tramped over the dusty road with 
 blistered feet and heavy loads without pausing long enough to 
 make coffee or cook a meal. General Walker speaks of it as 
 "a day of tremendous exertions" and such in truth it was. 
 The only drink we could take, without delaying the column, 
 was the warm, insipid, and oftimes muddy water in our 
 canteen, and the only solid food available was a mouthful of 
 
SS THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 "hardtack," now and then, which we munched as we moved 
 along. Giving the bridges to the wagon trains and artillery, 
 we forded all the streams in our way. as we had done for 
 days before. Sometimes we stopped long enough on the far- 
 ther side to pour the water out of our shoes, but in no case 
 could one tarry long, lest the men behind should be delayed 
 or thrown out of their position in the line. During the day. 
 and especially toward evening, hundreds fell out by the way 
 from mere exhaustion. It was near midnight when the ob- 
 jective point of the long march was reached and those who 
 attained to it were probably less than one-third of the entire 
 corps. 
 
 Many of these overspent marchers came up during the 
 night, and still more, perhaps during the following day, which 
 was passed quietly in camp. 
 
 A pleasant feature of this memorable day was the warm 
 and enthusiastic greetings we received from men, women and 
 children in every one of the Maryland towns through which 
 we passed. At Frederick and Uniontown refreshments were 
 freely offered at the gates of residences and by the side of the 
 streets, and many a kind word and "God bless you, boys," 
 rang in our ears and cheered our hearts, as we pressed onward 
 to the greatest battlefield' of the war. 
 
 One of the most depressing and painful experiences of 
 the forced marches which the troops were compelled to make, 
 during these long summer days, was caused by foot sores in 
 varying degrees of chafing and inflammation. Some of the 
 men suffered so much from blistered and swollen feet that 
 they could not wear their shoes, and there were many, as we 
 neared the border of Pennsylvania, who had to be carried a 
 part, or the whole of the time, in ambulances. The man who 
 did not have a limp in his gait in those trying days was a rare 
 exception among his fellows. 
 
 While in this camp awaiting further developments, we 
 received the official notification that General Hooker, at his 
 own request, had been relieved from the command of the 
 Army of the Potomac, and that Major-General George G. 
 Meade, the Commander of the Fifth Corps, had been assigned 
 
NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG 
 
 to this responsible position in his stead. This was a genuine 
 surprise to the men of the rank and file, but in general it 
 was received with favor and ready acquiescence. 
 
 Upon assuming the command, General Meade issued the 
 following order : 
 
 J J E A IXJ U A KT Kl< S Al(MY I- 71 J h POTO M A C. 
 
 June 28, 1H63. 
 By direction of the President of the United States, I 
 hereby assume command of the Army of the Potomac. As a 
 soldier, in obeying this order — an order totally unexpected 
 and unsolicited — I have no promises nor pledges to make. 
 The country looks to this army to relieve it from the devas- 
 tation and disgrace of a hostile invasion. Whatever fatigues 
 and sacrifices we may be called upon to undergo, let us have- 
 in view constantly the magnitude of the interests involved, 
 and let each man determine to do his duty, leaving to an all- 
 controlling Providence the decision of the contest. It is 
 with just diffidence that I relieve of the command of this 
 army an eminent and accomplished soldier, whose name must 
 ever appear conspicuous in the history of its achievements; 
 but I rely upon the hearty support of my companions in 
 arms to assist me in the discharge of the duties of the 
 important trust which has been confided to me. 
 
 George G. Mkade, 
 
 Major-General Commanding. 
 
 On the first of July, little knowing what the day was to 
 bring forth, we started out early from our temporary camp 
 near Uniontown. After going a few miles on the road we 
 were halted and ordered back to it. We then took the direct 
 road to Taneytown, which we reached at noon, having covered 
 a distance of about fourteen miles. We had heard the boom 
 of artillery at intervals during the morning, but supposed 
 it was an indication that the cavalry in our front had met with 
 some of the advance guards of the Confederate Army. While 
 we rested at the c<]^c of Taneytown awaiting an order to go 
 into camp, a messenger came from the front with the start- 
 ling intelligence that a great battle was in progress with Lee's 
 army on the northwest side of the town of Gettysburg in 
 Pennsylvania. There were vague rumors, also, which proved 
 
90 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 to be only too true, that the two corps, which had met the 
 enemy, the First and Eleventh, had been overpowered and 
 badly worsted in the conflict, and that General Reynolds, the 
 commanding officer, had been killed or seriously wounded. A 
 little later it was reported among the troops that General Han- 
 command. The official order which explained this hurried 
 cock had started for the front in hot haste in advance of his 
 departure was as follows: 
 
 Headquarters Army of the Potomac 
 July i, 1863, 1.10 P. M. 
 Command ins;- Officer Second Corps: 
 
 The Major-General Commanding has just been informed 
 that General Reynolds has been killed or badly wounded. 
 He directs that you turn over the command of your corps to 
 General Gibbon ; that you proceed to the front, and by 
 virtue of this order, in ease of the truth of General Reynolds' 
 death, you assume command of the corps there assembled, 
 viz, the Eleventh, First and Third, at Errrmitsburg. If you 
 think the ground and position there a better one on which 
 to fight a battle under existing circumstances, you will so 
 advise the General and he will order all the troops up. You 
 know the General's views, and General Warren, who is rally 
 aware of them, has gone out to see General Reynolds. 
 
 (Signed) George G. Meade, 
 
 Major-General Commanding. 
 
 At half past three o'clock. Hancock appeared on the 
 ridge, tiow known as Cemetery Hill. On the left the remnants 
 of the First Corps were forming- under cover of Buford's cav- 
 alrv brigades, while a broad tumultuous stream of panic- 
 stricken men, mingled with ambulances, artillery and ammu- 
 nition wagons were hurrying out along the Baltimore Road. 
 Behind the rearmost of this struggling host were the advance 
 of the Confederates who had pursued them closely through 
 the town. To stop the rush 0! these shattered regiments and 
 reform them along the line of Cemetery Hill was Hancock's 
 first and most pressing duty ami in this he was ably seconded 
 by General Howard, the commander of the Eleventh Corps. 
 With the splendid tact and ardent enthusiasm which ever 
 characterized this prince of leaders in the heat of battle, the 
 
EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF MAJ.-GEN. W. S. HANCOCK 
 SCENE OF PICKETT'S CHARGE. 
 
NORTHWARD FROM FALMOUTH TO GETTYSBURG 91 
 
 hesitating were brought to decision, the disheartened were 
 rallied to their colors, the lines were rectified, batteries of 
 artillery were planted on the heights and at every available 
 point a brave front was presented to the enemy. At half past 
 four a semblance of order had been brought out of the con- 
 fusion and Hancock sent an officer of his staff to General 
 Meade with the message that Gettysburg offered a suitable 
 position for a battle and advised the concentration of the army 
 at that point. Meanwhile the Second Corps, in anticipation 
 of this decision, was making a forced march toward it. Gen- 
 eral Meade was with it when the message of Hancock was 
 received, and a few moments later, hurried forward with his 
 staff to the front. An ambulance containing the dead body 
 of General Reynolds, which was being sent to the rear, passed 
 us in the evening. Crossing the line between Maryland and 
 Pennsylvania after nightfall we push on through the dark- 
 ness, with brief pauses of a few moments only for rest, until 
 nearly two o'clock on the morning of the 2d of July. We 
 were then about two miles from Gettysburg and within sup- 
 porting distance of the troops already assembled there. By 
 direction of General Hancock, who met us at this point, we 
 unslung our knapsacks and rested until near the hour of day- 
 break. Our halting place was in a wheat field and the golden 
 grain upon which we slept was almost ripe for the sickle. 
 Some of the men were so overpowered with weariness that 
 they fell asleep almost as soon as their bodies touched the 
 ground. There were others, however, equally wearied, per- 
 haps, in body, whose minds were too active with thoughts of 
 home and of the day of decision just before them to yield so 
 quickly to the insistent strain of overwrought nerves or the 
 drowsy influences about them. 
 
 Resting side by side in the grainfield that night were two 
 young men of the same company, who were residents of the 
 same town and had been students of the same college. After 
 a few moments of silence one said to the other: "Stewart, do 
 you think you will come out of this battle alive and some day 
 get back to the old home again?" "Well 'Ben' " said his friend 
 in reply. "We're going into a great battle to-day. Many 
 
92 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 must fall before it is ended. God only knows how it will be 
 with us." After another brief pause the first speaker replied: 
 "I've been thinking about this for some time and I have a pre- 
 sentiment that I will see the end of this war and get back to 
 old Canonsburg. I would like to sing again in the choir of 
 the old church on the hill and somehow I feel that this desire 
 of my heart will be realized." These in substance were the 
 words spoken. Before the shadows of the night of July 2nd 
 had fallen over the earth the young soldier, who on the eve of 
 battle had expressed this hope, was sleeping his last sleep on 
 the advance line of battle beyond another wheat field, which 
 will ever be known as the "whirlpool" of the Gettysburg battle. 
 
 After a rest of about two hours we were aroused from 
 sleep, and without waiting to make fires, the command was 
 given to "fall in," this, as it turned out, was to be the last 
 stage of the northward journey. The Taneytown road on 
 which we were marching, brought us past the Round Tops 
 to the left of the Union line. The Third and Second Divisions 
 which had preceded us were posted farther to the right along 
 the ridge of Cemetery Hill. 
 
 For some time after its arrival the First Division was 
 massed in the woods to the right of the Taneytown road. 
 
 Here at last we reached the objective point of our long 
 series of marches and here, as an overruling Providence had 
 decreed it, was to be settled the issue for weal or woe of Gen- 
 eral Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 93 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG. 
 
 Once this soft turf, this rivulet's sands 
 Were trampled by a hurrying crowd, 
 
 And fiery hearts and armed hands 
 Encountered in the battle cloud. 
 
 Ah ! never shall the land forget, 
 
 How gushed the life-blood of her brave, — 
 
 Gushed, warm with hope and courage yet, 
 Upon the soil they fought to save. 
 
 Now all is calm and fresh and still; 
 
 Alone the chirp of flitting bird, 
 And talk of children on the hill, 
 
 And bell of wandering kine, are heard. 
 
 No solemn host goes trailing by 
 The black-mouthed gun and staggering wane; 
 
 Men start not at the battle cry, — 
 O, be it never heard again ! 
 
 William Cullen Bryant. 
 
 There are more monuments on the Gettysburg field 
 than on all other battlefields that have marked the history 
 of the human race. — Nelson A. Miles, Lieutenant-General, 
 United States Army. 
 
 Waterloo decreed the destiny of France, of England, 
 of Europe. Gettysburg, not so directly or immediately, but 
 practically decided the fate of the Confederacy. — General 
 John B. Gordon, of the Confederate Army. 
 
 IN the clear light of the sun, which had risen in a cloudless 
 of the singularly beautiful and varied landscape which 
 sky on the morning of the Second of July, all the features 
 was now spread before us, came out sharply and distinctly. 
 
94 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Our position was on the lower slope of a well defined 
 ridge which extended almost due south from the Gettysburg 
 Cemetery, on the crest of the ridge, to Little Round Top, a 
 bold, rock-covered peak, which closed the view in that direc- 
 tion. Behind us was the broad, shallow, rock-strewn bed of a 
 stream, appropriately designated as "Rock Creek." This val- 
 ley was edged by a strip of timber land, which with breaks 
 here and there, extended to a more densely wooded section at 
 the base and along the ridge of Little Round Top. In the 
 foreground, facing to the west, was a broad, undulating plain, 
 divided for the most part into fruitful fields with here and 
 there a clump of trees, or a farmhouse with its outbuildings 
 and barn. On the horizon line beyond was another ridge 
 almost parallel with the one upon which we were standing 
 which bounded the western side of the plain before us. This 
 we were told was the defensive line of the Confederate army, 
 but they were so well concealed by a strip of woodland which 
 skirted the ridge in our front that we should not otherwise 
 have known of their presence in that location. 
 
 It does not appear to have been the original intention of 
 either of the commanding officers who faced each other on 
 these ridges to select this place for a decisive battle. It was 
 rather the logic of events partly beyond control which brought 
 them here. And yet there were two remarkable features of 
 the landscape as they found it which made it a most favorable 
 site for such a contest. 
 
 One was the two parallel ridges running north and south, 
 to which reference has just been made. The western ridge 
 took its name from the Theological Seminary of the Lutheran 
 Church which for several years had crowned a well-chosen 
 outlook on its summit. It was almost continuous and afforded 
 some choice locations for the planting of artillery. Behind it 
 the Confederates found a sufficient water supply in Willough- 
 by Run. Directly south of the town the eastern ridge bends 
 sharply to the right, forming two rocky and densely wooded 
 knolls, known as Culp's and Spangler's Hills. In outline it 
 resembled a fish hook. "Cemetery Ridge forming the shank, 
 Cemetery Hill the curve, and Culp's Hill the end of the hook." 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 95 
 
 The line of battle which was formed on the crest of this ridge 
 was about four and a half miles long. The Confederate line 
 was nearly the same in outline, but being the outer line was 
 about five and a half miles long. The right of this line was 
 held by Longstreet ; the center by Hill ; the left by Ewell.* The 
 distance between the two ridges varied from fourteen to six- 
 teen hundred yards. 
 
 The second remarkable feature is the convergence of ten 
 well-kept roads, centering from every point of the compass in 
 this quaint old Pennsylvania town; almost as regularly as the 
 spokes of a wagon wheel at the hub. This is the more re- 
 markable in view of the fact that Gettysburg at that time had 
 less than three thousand inhabitants. 
 
 General Meade utilized four of these roads in concentrat- 
 ing his army. On the Emmitsburg road Buford's Cavalry, 
 the First, Third and Eleventh Corps, coming from the south- 
 west, made their march. From the south the Second Corps 
 approached by the Taneytown road ; from the southeast the 
 Sixth and Twelfth Corps by way of the Baltimore Pike, while 
 from the east came the Fifth corps and the cavalry divisions 
 under Gregg and Kilpatrick. 
 
 On the other side of the town the Confederate forces 
 under command of Ewell approached from the north and 
 northeast over the Mummasburg, Carlisle, Harrisburg and 
 York roads, while those under Hill and Longstreet came 
 from the northwest and west over the Chambersburg roads. 
 
 Thus it appears that General Meade made use of four 
 of these lines of approach and General Lee of six. As a 
 recent writer has put it : 
 
 From these unusual facilities for the movement and 
 concentration of large bodies of troops, together with the 
 conformation of the surrounding hills and fields, it would 
 seem as if Gettysburg had been designed by nature for a 
 battlefield. 
 
 ♦The Confederate corps corresponded with the grand divisions 
 of Burnside's army. Hence these were only three corps in number. 
 
96 THE ONE HUNDRED AXD FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 YVe should rather say, in view of all the facts before us, 
 that it was designed by the Lord of Hosts, the Supreme Ruler 
 of the Universe, who watches over the destinies of men and 
 nations, to be the "valley of decision," in which the great ques- 
 tions so long at issue between the North and the South, relat- 
 ing to the integrity of the nation and the perpetuation of 
 human slavery, were to be settled at once and for all time. 
 
 The troops which had arrived on the ground up to noon 
 of July 2d, were disposed as follows: 
 
 On the right wing, under General Slocum, were the 
 Twelfth and First Corps, extending from Culp's Hill to Zeig- 
 ler's Grove on Cemetery Hill, — the right centre of the line. 
 South of Zeigler's Grove was the Second Corps ; Hay's Divi- 
 sion being on the right. Gibbon's in the centre and Caldwell's 
 First Division on the left. This Division occupied the left 
 centre of the line, connecting with the Third Corps which ex- 
 tended to the base of Little Round Top. The Fifth Corps, 
 under Sykes, marched from Hanover during the night and 
 on its arrival took position in reserve on or near the base of 
 Round Top. The Sixth Corps, under Sedgwick, which made 
 a forced march of about thirty-four miles in eighteen hours, 
 did not reach the field until four o'clock in the afternoon. It 
 was posted, as the several divisions arrived, in the rear as a 
 reserve and portions of it did good service where most needed 
 in the final conflict on the left, about nightfall. 
 
 In connection with the rectification of the line during the 
 forenoon the First Division was moved from its first halting 
 place to a position on the west side of the Taneytown road 
 directly behind the main line of battle. Here in touch with 
 Gibbon's Division on the right and the Third Corps on the 
 left, it was massed by brigades in column of regiments.* 
 
 While in this position someone remarked that it was an 
 unusual thing for Hancock's old Division to be held in reserve. 
 
 *& 
 
 *In the accompanying sketch the positions of the several corps 
 at 9 o'clock A. M. July 2d is indicated. The Fifth and Sixth did 
 not arrive until later, and were then assigned temporarily to positions 
 on the left of the line. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 
 
 97 
 
 GettysBurg 
 
 July 2*1863 \l '?i&und Top ^ ^ 
 
 Union Lines —____<!?• * 
 
 Confederate Lines 
 
 = 
 
98 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 "Yis," said an Irishman, nearby, "resarved it is, for the hard 
 fight in'." This proved to be a correct forecast of the after dis- 
 position of the Division when ordered to leave this defensive 
 outlook for the whirlpool of the day's strife at the forefront 
 of the Union army's advance. 
 
 As the morning wore away the heat of the unclouded sun 
 became oppressive. There were some so overcome with fatigue 
 that they slept under its burning rays and thus for the time 
 were oblivious of the heat and the thirst which tortured their 
 comrades, who, while on the alert, were confined to a post of 
 duty which offered no grateful shade or immediate prospect 
 of relief. 
 
 About ten o'clock the presence of some skirmishers, who 
 had been hidden by the tall grass or grain in which they were 
 lying, was disclosed by an occasional puff of smoke, but in 
 every other respect the scene in our immediate front was 
 quiet and peaceful. There was nothing to indicate, even to 
 the most practised eye, the presence of an enemy in force, or 
 an immediate collision of opposing forces, which was to shake 
 a continent for two days; and. with wild tumult and roar, 
 to rage around the bases of the Round Tops, Devil's Den, 
 Cemetery Heights and Culp's Hill, ceasing not until many 
 thousands should fall, and the whole vast field should be fur- 
 rowed with shot and shell and drenched with human blood. 
 
 About three o'clock in the afternoon there were evidences 
 of unusual activity to the left of the position we occupied. 
 The skirmishers in front, lying flat on their faces, began to fire 
 more rapidly and continuously. A few moments later a strong 
 force of the pioneer corps in Sickles' front went out with axes 
 and levelled the board and rail fences directly before them. 
 Then it was given us to witness one of the grandest and most 
 inspiring sights of the war. It was the advance of the Third 
 Corps to a secondary ridge along the line of the Emmitsburg 
 road. While the brave, but somewhat reckless, commander of 
 this corps had the privilege of rectifying the line he was 
 directed to occupy, — viz, from the left of our division to Little 
 Round Top — he was not authorized by General Meade to 
 take a position almost three-fourths of a mile in advance of the 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 99 
 
 Union lines, or to cut himself off from close touch with all 
 the forces then on the left of the line. This he did in making 
 that movement on his own responsibility, and unquestionably 
 the effect was to imperil thereby the safety of the entire army. 
 
 When General Meade rode out to the left of his line and 
 discovered the advanced position which Sickles was taking 
 he immediately sent for him, expressing his disapproval of it 
 and pointed out the line he expected him to hold. Sickles at 
 one proposed to withdraw, we are told, but Meade told him 
 he did not think the enemy would permit him to do so without 
 a fight. To avert as far as possible the disaster which in his 
 judgment was impending, General Meade then ordered the 
 Fifth Corps to occupy the position on the line which Sickles 
 had abandoned as a rallying place for the Third Corps in 
 case it should be driven back. 
 
 Whatever may be said about the wisdom or folly of this 
 movement it was certainly executed with great precision and 
 skill. The corps was massed in line of battle by brigades with 
 flags flying and burnished muskets, at right shoulder shift, 
 glittering in the clear sunlight. Those who have described 
 this scene almost invariably speak of the bayonets which re- 
 flected the brightness of the sunlight, but as every old soldier 
 knows, bayonets are never used in battle where cartridges are 
 expected to be used. The order to fix bayonets was seldom, 
 if ever given, except to make or repel a charge at close range, 
 where firing by volley would be inexpedient or impossible. 
 
 In this advance, as far to the left as the eye could see, 
 batteries of artillery, ambulance trains and stretcher carriers 
 moved in parallel lines in rear of the troops, while staff officers 
 and orderlies flew back and forth directing the movements or 
 bearing orders from one command to another. While we 
 watched with breathless interest the successful occupation of 
 the ridge which General Sickles had risked so much to reach 
 we were not in a position to see the batteries of nearly sixty 
 guns which Longstreet was planting to sweep the crest of 
 that ridge or the force of more than 20,000 veteran troops 
 which he was massing on the other side of it with a view to 
 crushing the Union troops, who had been so unexpectedly 
 
ioo THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 thrust out from the main line on Cemetery Hill, before they 
 could get back to the shelter and defenses of that line. 
 
 From Sherfv's peach orchard, the farthest point reached 
 by Sickles, his right wing was extended northward a consider- 
 able distance along the Emmitsburg road. His left wing 
 under Birnev made a right angle at the peach orchard and 
 extended in a southeast wardly direction, following the con- 
 formation of the ridges to the Devil's Den at the base of Little 
 Round Top. Thus while the left flank was "in air" the right 
 was long drawn out and the angle at the peach orchard ex- 
 posed the troops to a destructive enfilading fire. 
 
 For a brief period of time the only evidence of the im- 
 pending conflict was the bursting of a shell here and there 
 as if to get the range of the Union line. Then suddenly while 
 we looked and wondered what the outcome might be, the dark 
 masses of woodland beyond the Emmitsburg road were lit 
 up with flashes of flame from the brazen throats of the guns 
 which Longstreet had placed in position. 
 
 The rapid discharges from these guns were quickly fol- 
 lowed by the continuous roll of musketry and the duller roll 
 of the cannon which were heavily charged with canister, tell- 
 ing the story of a desperate conflict at close range. For an 
 hour or more the brave men of this veteran corps held their 
 ground against overwhelming odds, vainly attempting to hold 
 a position which was so far removed from the main line and 
 the support which could be sent from it, as to be practically 
 untenable. At length Birney's Division was forced back from 
 its perilous position toward the Trostle house. To meet this 
 emergency Barnes' division of the Fifth Corps was hurried 
 out to the assistance of the sorely pressed troops. With their 
 co-operation the conflict was renewed, but in a short time 
 the whole line in this portion of the field was outflanked and 
 swept back to the wheatfield, which from that hour has been 
 one of the most notable places in the history of this great 
 struggle. 
 
 The roar of battle breaking out now in the direction of 
 Little Round Top was ominous of a determined purpose to 
 turn the left flank of Sickles' command and occupy that coveted 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 101 
 
 stronghold, so essential to the safety and success of the Union 
 arms. How near Longstreet came to the accomplishment of 
 this purpose, and how he was thwarted in it by the quick per- 
 ception and prompt action of General Warren, was not then 
 known to us, but it belongs to the history of that ever-memor- 
 able hour of destiny. We did know, however, as these events 
 were transpiring, that we could not remain longer in the posi- 
 tion of spectators when so much was at stake in the field of 
 conflict beyond us. 
 
 In his description of the battle Major Mulholland of the 
 Irish Brigade mentions the interesting fact that while he was 
 talking with Generals Hancock and Caldwell, who had come 
 to that point to view the contest, a staff officer rode up with 
 an order to the commander of the Second Corps to send a 
 division to report to General Sykes on the left. As he read 
 the order, Hancock quietly remarked : "Caldwell, get your 
 division ready." 
 
 From the point of view of the man in the ranks the first 
 indication of an advance was the appearance of a staff officer 
 at brigade headquarters. As he delivered his message the 
 familiar word of command rang out, and was passed down 
 the lines "fall in." In a moment every man was in his place. 
 The next command was delayed for a few moments and dur- 
 ing that interval we were witnesses of an unusual scene which 
 made a deep impression upon all who witnessed it. The Irish 
 Brigade whose green flag had been unfurled on almost every 
 battlefield from Bull Run until this hour, stood in column of 
 regiments in close order with bared heads while their Chap- 
 lain-priest, Father Corby, stood upon a large boulder and 
 seemed to be addressing the men. At a given signal every 
 man of the command fell on his knees and with head bowed 
 low received from him the sacrament of extreme unction. In- 
 stinctively every man of our Regiment took off his cap and no 
 doubt many a prayer from men of Protestant faith, who could 
 conscientiously not bow the knee in a service of that nature, 
 went up to God in that impressive and awe-inspiring moment. 
 
 General Hancock and his staff were witnesses of this 
 service, and withheld the order to march until it was ended. 
 
102 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 At the word of command, which followed the priest's Amen, we 
 moved out quickly by the left flank in the direction of Little 
 Round Top. In his report of the battle General Caldwell says 
 he received the order to report to General Sykes between rour 
 and five o'clock and this accords with the observation of the 
 Adjutant of the Regiment and others who took note of the 
 time. 
 
 As we came nearer to the scene of conflict it became evi- 
 dent that our closely pressed troops were gradually falling 
 back, and our pace was accelerated to a double quick. For 
 about three-quarters of a mile we had been partially screened 
 from the observation of the enemy by ridges and strips of 
 woodland, but as we reached the vicinity of the Trostle house 
 we came into the range of some of the enemy's outlooks and 
 were vigorously shelled by their batteries. Halting for a 
 moment near the edge of the wheatfield, the order was given 
 to load, and then by an oblique movement we entered it and 
 moved rapidly across its northwest section. Here we were met 
 with deadly volleys at close range, and one of the first to fall 
 was our brave and highly esteemed brigade commander, Gen- 
 eral S. K. Zook. His monument, one of the first erected on 
 that blood-stained field, indicates the spot where he fell. This 
 historic field seems to have been greatly reduced at the present 
 time by the encroachment of trees and undergrowth on its 
 borders, but at the time of the battle was quite a large open 
 space in the landscape spread before us. For a short time the 
 conflict within it and around it raged with unprecedented tur- 
 moil and fury. With fearful losses but splendid courage each 
 of the four brigades charged across some portion of it, driving 
 the Confederates from the stone fences which sheltered them 
 and capturing a number of prisoners. Colonel Cross, com- 
 manding the First Brigade, was mortally wounded while cheer- 
 ing on his men; and, like General Zook, was carried back to 
 the rear to die amid the din of the awful conflict. In a note 
 written before the battle of Chancellorsville Colonel Cross said : 
 
 Having received nine wounds in the present war and 
 three in other wars, I am not afraid of rebel bullets. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 103 
 
 His last words were as pathetic as ever came from dying 
 lips on the battlefield : 
 
 I did hope I would live to see peace, and our country 
 restored. I have done my duty. I think the boys will miss 
 me. O welcome death. All my effects I give to my mother. 
 Say farewell to all. 
 
 Let it not be forgotten that with such patriotic sacrifices 
 as these a lasting peace has been purchased and a dismembered 
 country restored. 
 
 The part taken by each of the brigades in the wheatfield 
 has been definitely given by General Caldwell in his official 
 report, from which we quote as follows : 
 
 The position assigned me was on the right of the Fifth 
 and the left of the Third Corps and I was ordered to check 
 and drive back the enemy who were advancing at that point. 
 I ordered Cross to advance in line of battle through the 
 wheatfield, his left resting on the woods which skirted the 
 field. He had advanced but a short distance when he en- 
 countered the enemy and opened upon him a terrific fire, 
 driving him steadily to the farther end of it. In the mean- 
 time I had put the Second Brigade in on the right of the 
 first and they advanced in like manner, driving the enemy 
 before them. The Third Brigade I ordered still further to 
 the right to connect with the Third Corps, while I held the 
 Fourth in reserve. The First, Second and Third Brigades 
 advanced with the utmost gallantry, driving the enemy 
 before them over difficult and rocky ground, which was 
 desperately contested by the slowly retreating foe. The 
 First Brigade, which had been the longest engaged, had 
 expended all its ammunition, when I ordered Colonel Brooke, 
 of the Fourth Brigade, to relieve it. He advanced with his 
 usual gallantry and drove the enemy until he gained the 
 crest of the hill, which was afterwards gained by my whole 
 line. 
 
 This clear statement of facts gives a reason for the 
 placing of the Fourth Brigade on the left of the line instead 
 of the right, where it properly belonged, in the order in which 
 it reached the field. It also proves conclusively that the Third 
 
104 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Brigade held the right of the division on the crest of the hill, 
 which was afterwards gained. With these facts in mind a 
 better understanding of the part which the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment took in the advance bevoncl the wheat- 
 field may be obtained. 
 
 In the official report of Lieutenant Colonel Fraser, the 
 ranking officer after the battle, it is stated that the Third Bri- 
 gade was formed by General Zook in order of battle, having the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania on the extreme right, 
 the Sixtv-sixth New York in the center, the Fiftv-second New 
 York on the left and the Fifty-seventh New York a short 
 distance in the rear as a reserve. Although greatly reduced 
 in number since the battle of Chancellorsville, our Regiment 
 was about double the size of the two regiments on its left, and 
 the whole front was probably less in extent than that of a 
 complete regiment, such as the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 was when it entered the service. 
 
 After the wheatfield had been swept of the enemy no orders 
 were given to halt and we dashed forward, eager to hold our 
 place in the line. Crossing the stone fence which bounded the 
 western side of the field, we entered a rocky woodland in which 
 were scores of huge uprising boulders, so thickly set that \\ e 
 had great difficulty to preserve our alignment. Forward amid 
 the dead and wounded, for many had fallen here, we pushed 
 on, over and around the rocks and through a dense pall of 
 smoke and stifling heat, until we saw a blaze of light in front, 
 revealing the dark forms of a double line of men who were 
 actively engaging the enemy. In our course through the 
 woods we had veered too far to the left and our line had 
 overlapped Major Mulholland's battalion on the right of the 
 Irish Brigade. This error was promptly rectified by a right 
 flank movement, which cleared our front and carried the right 
 of the Regiment out into the open at the edge of the w r oods. 
 With ringing cheers we gained this position and immediately 
 came into close quarters with the enemy. The "Peach 
 Orchard," where so many had fallen during the period which 
 Sickles had tried to hold his advanced line, was only a short 
 distance from our position, on the right of the division, and, 
 
Monument erected by the Regimental Association to mark the advanced position of the 
 140th P. V. ;it Gettysburg, July 2nd, 1863. Unveiled and dedicated August nth, 1885. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 105 
 
 when the smoke lifted for a moment, could he seen, but no 
 troops of the Third Corps, with whom we were expected to 
 join forces, were then in sight. In our front, and but a few 
 rods away, there was an almost continuous blaze of light, 
 behind which we could dimly discern the forms of the men 
 who confronted us. While our persons were fully exposed, 
 they were on the slope which fell away from the ridge 
 we were occupying. "Load and fire at will," was the order 
 given the moment we were halted, and every instinct of self- 
 preservation as well as of patriotic impulse nerved the men of 
 that blazing line to obey it. As our brave Colonel, with pale, 
 set face, passed down the line to the right, his words rang out 
 above the din of battle : "Steady men," "Fire low," "Remem- 
 ber you are Pennsylvanians." The first volleys from the side 
 of the enemy were aimed too high and the balls rattled and 
 crashed among the limbs of the trees behind and above us. 
 This was not for long, however. With steadier nerves they, 
 too, began to "fire low," and awful was the carnage which 
 followed. Men reeled and fell on every side, but with daunt- 
 less courage those who survived stood their ground until the 
 order came to fall back. The three companies on the right of 
 the Regiment, C, F and G, being in the open and exposed to 
 an infilading fire met with the heaviest losses. 
 
 At the head of the first mentioned company Colonel Rob- 
 erts was mortally wounded. A few moments later David 
 Acheson, the ranking Captain of the Regiment, a young officer 
 of rare ability and winsome personality, was killed almost al 
 his side. Out of seventy-two men on the muster roll of his 
 company thirty-two were killed or wounded. 
 
 In Company F, which took three officers and fifty-five men 
 into action, seven w r ere mortally wounded and seventeen were 
 more or less seriously injured. Out of a total of sixty-four 
 officers and men which Company G took into action on this 
 blood-stained hillcrest, nine, including the Second Lieutenant, 
 Alexander Wilson, were killed, and thirteen wounded. Among 
 the latter was the First Sergeant, John F. Wilson, who was 
 shot in his right arm. His musket fell from his hand, and as 
 he turned about he received another minie ball in his left arm ; 
 
io6 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 and so, with arms hanging helpless on either side, went off 
 the field. Close by the writer's side a stalwart young country 
 lad, — John McNutt — who was always on hand when duty 
 called, was mortally wounded and fell forward at his feet. A 
 few paces away two college classmates — Alex Wilson and 
 Hugh Wier — were stricken with mortal wounds. The cas- 
 ualties among the officers were unusually large. The names 
 of those who were killed, including Colonel Roberts, have been 
 already mentioned. Those disabled by wounds were Captains 
 McCallister, McCullough and Campbell, of Companies I, A 
 and H ; Lieutenant Pipes and Purman, of Company A — the 
 latter of whom lost a leg — and Lieutenant Vance and Stokes, 
 of Companies C and F, each of wdiom lost an arm. The 
 Adjutant of the Regiment, William S. Shellenberger, was 
 severly wounded, falling for a short time into the hands of 
 the enemy: and the Major, with two Lieutenants, Cook and 
 Paxton, of Companies K and G, were captured by a flanking 
 party of Confederate in or near the wheatfield. 
 
 Three of the color guard, including the bearer, Sergeant 
 Robert Riddle, of Company F, were wounded on the hillcrest, 
 not far from the present site of the old monument erected by 
 the Regiment. Sergeant Riddle was shot through the left lung 
 and fell with the flag in his hands. It was taken from his 
 prostrate body, he having fallen upon it, by one of the nearest 
 of the guards, Corporal Joseph Moody, of Company H, who 
 passed it into the hands of another guard, Corporal Jesse T. 
 Power, of Company E, while he attempted to place his fallen 
 comrade in a more comfortable position. 
 
 By this time the whole line had fallen back and the Con- 
 federates, but a short distance away, were calling out to him 
 to surrender. Refusing to obey this summons he ran the 
 gauntlet of the flankers and escaped without injury. Mean- 
 while Corporal Power, seeing that the line was giving way, 
 carried the flag back at once through the wheatfield, and 
 retained possession of it the rest of the day. 
 
 Major Henry gives the additional information that the 
 colors were placed on the left of the One Hundred and Forty- 
 eighth Pennsylvania after the crossing of the wheatfield, and 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 107 
 
 ■ 
 
 as many of the scattered Regiment as could be gathered in 
 the darkness and confusion immediately following were rallied 
 around them.* 
 
 In a graphic description of the conflict of this ever 
 memorable day, on the occasion of the dedication of the State 
 Monument of the Regiment, September 11, 1889, the Ad- 
 jutant, Hon. W. S. Shellenberger, said: 
 
 Terrible beyond words to picture the tempestuous rattle 
 of the musketry, as it sweeps over our heads in the heavy 
 timber and plows through our ranks. A rebel battery gains 
 position and pours its infilading fire down our lines. With 
 intrepid courage and reckless daring our Colonel rushes in 
 front of his Regiment to lead it by the right flank and by 
 change of line to meet and check, if possible, the flanking 
 party coming against our right, but before he reaches 
 position to command he falls to the ground pierced by sev- 
 eral bullets. Loving hands carry him back a short distance 
 and the fight goes on. Looking down our line to the left we 
 see our Division rapidly retiring and our own left quickly 
 following. None too soon, indeed, for already the rebel 
 infantry is turning our right and passing down our 
 rear. * * * 
 
 It was just six o'clock by the watch I carried when we 
 crossed the corner of the wheatfield going into action. By 
 count of the Regiment which I made that day we numbered 
 twenty-five officers and four hundred and ninety enlisted 
 men at that moment. Less than two hours later we had lost 
 in action, by official records, fourteen officers and two hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven enlisted men. Your own Lieutenant- 
 Colonel was left the ranking officer of the Brigade. Sad and 
 sorrowful was your duty that night rallying the remnant of 
 a splendid Regiment.f 
 
 When the flanking party of the Confederates swept 
 through the open space on our right, which had been left by 
 
 ♦There are some apocryphal stories afloat regarding the saving 
 of the flag at Gettysburg, but the above mentioned facts seem to 
 cover the whole ground and are well substantiated. 
 
 fFor additional information relating to the choice of location 
 for the monument and of disputed points concerning the exact posi- 
 tion of the Regiment see page 407. 
 
io8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 the withdrawal of Sickles' overspent and overpowered men, 
 they were in plain view of the companies nearest to this gap, 
 but at first were supposed to be our own men who were falling 
 back from the peach orchard or its vicinity. On this sup- 
 position orders were given to cease firing. We were soon 
 undeceived, however, by a volley of musketry which enfiladed 
 our line and revealed the intention of the enemy to envelop 
 our flank in such a way as to make escape impossible. Fortu- 
 nately the word to let go came before this was accomplished, 
 but it was not soon enough to save some, who were the last 
 to leave the line, from capture. Those reported as missing 
 from the several companies were nearly all among the unknown 
 dead or had fallen into the hands of the enemy. There were 
 many more who ran the gantlet of the deadly missiles which 
 swept the wheatfield and all the open spaces about it; some to 
 fall in the attempt and others, heedless of the demand to sur- 
 render, to hold on their way until they reached some portion 
 of the Union line. Those who were not so hard pressed by 
 the exulting foe or had left the firing line more promptly 
 came off in squads and detachments and formed the nucleus 
 of the remnant which remained around the tattered and battle- 
 stained flag on the main line. 
 
 One of the last to leave the crest of the hill was Sergeant 
 Burns, of Company A, for the reason that he did not hear the 
 order to fall back. His experience in "getting back," which 
 tallies very closely with that of others who were in the same 
 case, was given by a friend, as follows : 
 
 The Sergeant had heard of the terrors of Andersonville 
 and was determined not to be taken prisoner. So, throwing 
 his knapsack, but retaining his gun, he started back through 
 the tangled wheat. He heard the Confederate shout "Halt, 
 
 you d d Yank," but on he went with bullets whistling 
 
 lively around him. The trampled wheat would trip him and 
 down he would fall, but up and on again. At last, however, 
 he was exhausted. His breath had failed, and falling he was 
 unable to rise. Looking through the ripening wheat a few 
 feet in front he saw the Union line of battle. The men — 
 presumably of Crawford's division of the Fifth Corps — 
 were lying down and concealed by the standing grain. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 109 
 
 Waiting a moment until his breath returned he arose, 
 plunged forward and fell exhausted just behind the battle 
 line. 
 
 The First Lieutenant and Orderly Sergeant of the same 
 company, James J. Purman and James M. Pipes, had an 
 experience in running this gantlet which proved to be much 
 more serious in its results. When the company fell back they 
 took hold of a seriously wounded comrade and carrying him 
 some distance placed him between two boulders, where he was 
 partially sheltered from the storm of balls which swept over 
 the field, and where a day or two later he was found dead. 
 While intent on doing this act of kindness the flanking party 
 of the Confederates had gained upon them, and at close range 
 was demanding their surrender. Disregarding this demand, 
 they attempted to reach the farther side of the field, but were 
 both stricken down by minie balls. Lieutenant Purman was 
 shot in the left leg above the ankle by a ball which crushed 
 both bones and made amputation a necessity a day or two 
 later. Sergeant Pipes, who was also shot in the leg, was not 
 so seriously wounded. With the aid of his rifle, which he 
 used for a support, he attempted to hop off the field, but was 
 captured by the enemy's flankers and held by them as a 
 prisoner until the Union forces advanced in the evening of 
 the next day and carried him back to a field hospital.* 
 
 The official report of the part taken by the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment in the Gettysburg battle, by Lieutenant 
 Colonel Fraser, who succeeded to the command on the death 
 of Colonel Roberts, gives some additional items of special 
 interest, and because of its intrinsic and historic value is here- 
 with given in full : 
 
 On the morning of the 2d of July the Regiment under 
 the command of Colonel R. P. Roberts arrived on the battle- 
 ground, where it remained for several hours in order of 
 column by wings, right wing in front, a few paces in rear 
 
 *See page 118 for fuller account of these wheatfield experi- 
 ences. 
 
no THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 of the Second Brigade. About four P, M. the brigade was 
 marched rapidly to the left to assist the Third Corps, 
 which was sustaining a fierce attack. When it arrived 
 nearly opposite the place assigned to it the Brigade was 
 formed in line of battle with the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers on the extreme right, and was 
 moved rapidly forward to engage the enemy. As soon as 
 the order was given this Regiment opened a brisk fire, which 
 it kept up with great firmness and coolness, steadily driving 
 the enemy before it until we reached the crest of a small 
 hill. During the advance to this crest the four left com- 
 panies of the Regiment, with regiments to the left, gradually 
 made a considerable wheel to the right. Shortly after 
 reaching the crest, I observed a great many to the left of 
 the brigade moving rapidly to the rear, and the rebels, 
 apparently fresh troops, in large numbers and in good order 
 marching to outflank us on the right. Anxious to know 
 what orders General Zook had to give in this crisis, 1 sent 
 twice to get instructions from him, but neither the General 
 or any of his staff could be found. I did not know at the 
 time, nor until after the fight was over, that General Zook 
 had been mortally wounded when leading the brigade into 
 action. Inferring from the large number of men who to the 
 left of my Regiment were continually rushing to the rear that 
 a large portion of our division was actually retreating, I 
 judged it necessary for the safety of those who had wheeled 
 considerably into the enemy's ground, to maintain my posi- 
 tion and keep the enemy at bay as long as possible. I, 
 therefore, held my position until I considered it necessary 
 to order my men to march in retreat, which they did at first 
 in good order, the four right companies halting several 
 times and firing to check the pursuit of the enemy. After 
 this engagement on the 2d the Regiment assembled with the 
 brigade and formed in line of battle on the left center of the 
 battleground, and about fifty paces in rear of the Second 
 Brigade. 
 
 (Signed) John Fraser, 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
 This portion of the report above given which deals with 
 the events of the second day's battle, accords at all points with 
 the reports of the operations of the brigade and division. 
 Major Favill, of General Zook's Staff, asserts that the Third 
 Brigade was diverted from its line of march by an order from 
 
THE TURNING Oh THE Tin I: AT GliTTYSIWRG III 
 
 Major Tremain, of Sickles Staff, who led it in person to save 
 the shattered forces of the Third Corps at a point on the line 
 where danger was imminent. It is not easy to reconcile this 
 statement with the official reports above quoted, and it is a 
 fact that by whomsoever led the brigade did go in on the 
 right of the Second Brigade and reached the crest of the hill 
 in touch with the rest of the command, as stated by General 
 Caldwell, on the right of the division. 
 
 The language of the Division Commander is very definite 
 on this point. "The Third Brigade," he says, "I ordered still 
 further to the right (of the Second) to connect with the 
 Third Corps, while I held the Fourth in reserve." This might 
 imply assistance from a staff officer of General Sickles to 
 locate Zook's position, but, as a matter of fact, there were no 
 forces of the Third Corps then in sight with which to connect. 
 In our advance many of them had passed through our lines, 
 in an utterly exhausted state, to the rear. 
 
 However this may be, General Caldwell does not speak 
 of any diversion from his command. On the contrary, he 
 adds, "The First, Second and Third Brigades advanced with 
 the utmost gallantry, driving the enemy before them over diffi- 
 cult and rocky ground, which was desperately contested by 
 the slowly retreating foe." After the advance of Brooke's 
 brigade, he says, "The crest of the hill was gained by my 
 whole command." This certainly implies that the Division as 
 a whole moved together in the line of advance and under its 
 own commander. 
 
 With respect to the conduct of his command as a whole 
 General Caldwell says: 
 
 The Division on the afternoon of the 2d fought with 
 its accustomed gallantry, and performed everything that 
 could be expected of either officers or men. The large 
 number of killed and wounded attest its desperate valor. 
 That it fell back was owing to the breaking of the troops on 
 the right, permitting the enemy to get on its flank and rear. 
 
 While driving the enemy triumphantly before them two 
 of my Brigade Commanders, General Zook and Colonel 
 Cross fell mortally wounded. They were both old and tried 
 
H2 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 soldiers and the country can illy spare their services. They 
 both fell in the front of battle while driving back the invader, 
 and lived long enough to know that the enemy had been 
 driven back with terrible repulse. 
 
 A grateful country will remember their virtues and hold 
 them up to the admiration of posterity. 
 
 Colonel Roberts, of the One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers, and Lieutenant-Colonel Merwin, 
 Twenty-seventh Connecticut, were instantly killed : both 
 gallant officers and brave men. * * * 
 
 The conduct of Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser, One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, and Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Chapman, Fifty-seventh New York Volunteers, was 
 worthy of all praise. 
 
 (Signed) J. C. Caldwell. 
 
 The following- quotations from official and semi-official 
 sources give in its true and wider setting the important part 
 which Caldwell's Division took in this brief but truly titanic 
 conflict : 
 
 But at this moment, says the historian of the Second 
 Corps (the moment of Sickles' imminent peril), when all 
 seems lost a powerful reinforcement is approaching the field. 
 It is the division which Sumner organized in Camp Cali- 
 fornia in the winter of 1861, and which Richardson and 
 Hancock had led into action, commanded to-day by Cald- 
 well. The scene of the conflict is the wheatfield so famous 
 in the story of Gettysburg. This and the woods on the south 
 and west are now full of the exulting enemy. Through this 
 space charges the fiery Cross of the Fifth New Hampshire, 
 with his well approved brigade. It is his last battle. He 
 indeed has said it, as he exchanged greetings with Hancock 
 on the way : but he moves to his death with all the splendid 
 enthusiasm he displayed at Fair Oaks, Antietam and Fred- 
 ericksburg. On his right Patrick Kelly formed the Irish 
 Brigade and these two comrades in so many fights dash 
 across the field capturing several hundred prisoners, but are 
 received by a withering fire from the wall which lines the 
 farther edge, now held by Kershaw's South Carolinians. 
 
 Cross falls, mortally wounded, with hundreds of his men. 
 Of the 530 Irishmen who have entered the wheatfield, more 
 than one-third are killed or wounded before the brigade is 
 brought to a stand. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 113 
 
 And now from the rear approaches Brooke. Relieving 
 the regiments of Cross, which fall back to the road, he flings 
 himself upon the enemy with one mighty effort. He will not 
 be denied. On through the wheatfield, in spite of all, across 
 the runlet choked with the dead, into the woods, up the rocky 
 slope, clear to the open space beyond, into the very sight of 
 the Emmitsburg road, Brooke pushes in his splendid charge, 
 driving Semmes' Georgia brigade before him. 
 But impetuous as has been his advance he has not out- 
 stripped Zook's brigade, which comes up on his right. Zook's 
 no longer, for that intrepid leader has fallen with a mortal 
 wound. Roberts, too, of the One Hundred and Fortieth is 
 killed. Brooke assumes command of the line thus thrust out 
 on the extreme verge, far beyond Birney's original position, 
 and there anxiously waits for reinforcements which shall 
 make his flanks secure. But none appears; the enemy are 
 pressing him actively in front and on both flanks ; his retreat 
 is threatened. Brooke sees that he must retire; at the word 
 his regiments let go their hold and fall back. Strieker, on 
 the left, handles the Second Delaware with great courage 
 and address, beating back the enemy, who seek to cut off 
 the retreat; while Fraser, with the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, performs a like soldierly office on the right; and 
 thus this gallant command falls back to the road, having 
 lost one-half its numbers. Walker's Second Corps, pages 
 278-281. 
 
 "The remnant of Birney's troops on the left," says J. 
 M. Vanderslice, director of the Gettysburg Memorial Asso- 
 ciation, "was almost surrounded when Caldwell's First Divi- 
 sion of the Second Corps, which Hancock sent to the 
 assistance of the Third Corps, arrived and moved into the 
 wheatfield which was to be afterwards known as the 'whirl- 
 pool' of the battle. This was Hancock's old division, the 
 largest in the Army of the Potomac, and one of the best. 
 It lost more men in killed and wounded during the war than 
 any other division." 
 
 After a description of the advance made by each brigade 
 and the ultimate necessity for withdrawal, Mr. Vanderslice 
 continues : 
 
 As Birney's and Caldwell's commands, each with a loss 
 of 1,200 men, and three out of four brigade commanders in 
 Caldwell's division were being forced from the field. Ayre's 
 
114 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 division of the United States Regulars, of the Fifth Corps, 
 moved into action on the right. 
 
 "We went down the hill on a run," says an officer of 
 this division, "and it was like descending into hell. The 
 enemy were yelling like devils. Our men were falling back. 
 It was terrible confusion — smoke, dust, rattle of musketry, 
 the roaring of cannons and the bursting of shells." 
 
 "The splendid regular division," as one has put it, 
 "charged two thousand strong; it only numbered eleven hun- 
 dred when it fought its way back to the hill. It remained 
 very appropriately that Pennsylvania's sons should finally 
 settle the dispute and crown with victory the tremendous 
 battle of the left wing; and when Crawford, hat in hand, 
 followed by 'Buck' McCandless and the Pennsylvania Re- 
 serves charged, the weary rebels gave way and the Union 
 flags were tossed in the ecstasy of triumph from the Round 
 Tops to the center." 
 
 General Longstreet declares of the engagement of the 
 afternoon of the 2d, that it was the "best three hours fight- 
 ing ever done on any battlefield." And again, "To press my 
 men to further effort would have been madness. I with- 
 drew them to the peach orchard." Says Pollard, the 
 Southern historian : "The results of the day on the right 
 (our left) were unfortunate enough. Our troops had been 
 repulsed at all points." "We salute our late enemies and 
 accept their decision.* 
 
 "The fighting in the wheatfield," says Joseph Hoke, 
 author of the Great Invasion, "has been called the whirl- 
 pool of the battle because of the confusion, the surging 
 back and forth, the whirling around and round which pre- 
 vailed. It is said that regiments from three corps and eight 
 to ten brigades were fighting there promiscuously. The 
 ground in this field and in the peach orchard was drenched 
 with human gore and covered with dead and wounded. Five 
 hundred Confederates were found dead in the wheatfield 
 alone. With probable exception of the bloody angle at Spott- 
 sylvania, on no other place of equal extent upon this conti- 
 . nent has so much human blood been shed. The fighting here, 
 and throughout the whole of the engagement of this after- 
 noon, was not excelled by any in all the previous history of 
 the war for stubborn pertinacity and destructiveness." — 
 The Great Invasion, page 328. 
 
 * Quotation from address of James P. Holt, Esq., at dedica- 
 tion of Monument of the 118th Pennsylvania, at Gettysburg, Sep- 
 tember 12, 1889. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG 115 
 
 It seems most fitting to close the record of this day's 
 struggle, which in reality was the turning of the tide, with a 
 brief extract from "Reminiscences of the Civil War," by one 
 of the bravest leaders and most chivalrous soldiers of the 
 Confederate Army, General John B. Gordon: 
 
 The fiercest struggle is now for the possession of Lit- 
 tle Round Top. Standing on its rugged summit like a lone 
 sentinel is seen an erect but slender form clad in the uni- 
 form of a Union officer. It is Warren, Meade's chief of en- 
 gineers. With practiced eye, he sees at a glance that, 
 quickly seized, that rock-ribbed hill would prove a Gibralter 
 amidst the whirling currents of the battle, resisting its heav- 
 iest shocks. Staff and couriers are summoned, who swiftly 
 bear his message to the Union leaders. Veterans from 
 Hancock and Sykes respond at a "double-quick." Around 
 its base, along its sides, and away toward the Union right, 
 with the forces of Sickles and Hancock, the gray veterans 
 of Longstreet are in herculean wrestle. Wilcox Alabamians 
 and Barksdale's Mississippians seize a Union battery and 
 rush on. The Union lines under Humphreys break through 
 a Confederate gap and sweep around Barksdale's left. 
 Wright's Georgians and Perry's Floridians are hurled 
 against Humphreys, and break him in turn. Amidst the 
 smoke and fury, Sickles, with thigh bone shivered, sick- 
 ens and falls from his saddle into the arms of his soldiers. 
 Sixty per cent, of Hancock's veterans go down with his 
 gallant brigadiers — Willard, Zook, Cross and Brooke. The 
 impetuous Confederate leaders, Barksdale and Semmes, fall 
 and die, but their places are quickly assumed by the next 
 in command. The Union forces of Vincent and Weed, with 
 Hazlett's artillery, have reached the summit, but all three 
 are killed. The apex of Little Round Top is the point of 
 deadliest struggle. The day ends, and thus ends the battle. 
 
 As the last rays of the setting sun fall upon the sum- 
 mit they are reflected from the batteries and bayonets of 
 the Union soldiers still upon it, with the bleeding Con- 
 federates struggling to possess it. The embattled hosts 
 sleep on their arms. The stars look down at night upon a 
 harrowing scene of pale faces all over the field, and of 
 sufferers in the hospitals behind the lines — an army of dead 
 and wounded numbering over twenty thousand. — Remi- 
 niscences, page 163. 
 
u6 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Thus ended the active operations on the left wing of the 
 Union Army on that ever memorable second of July. We 
 had met the enemy at close quarters, had driven them before 
 us, and had been, at length, outnumbered, outflanked and 
 driven before them. Over this bloody ground, the "whirlpool 
 of the battle," where more than 6,000 men had been killed or 
 wounded, the Union troops had advanced and receded five 
 times, and each time with fearful losses. And as nightfall 
 fell at the end of the strife on the left, we were back at the 
 line from which General Sickles had gone out so gallantly at 
 4 o'clock, but which he ought never to have left.* 
 
 The timely arrival of the rescue divisions of Barnes and 
 Caldwell in this crisis hour of the battle; the stubborn resist- 
 ance to the impetuous onslaught of the exulting enemy when 
 Little Round Top was almost in their grasp; the driving back 
 of the whole Confederate line from the Peach Orchard to 
 Devil's Den — thus delavins; the Confederate advance until 
 reinforcements could be sent to this imperiled mountain 
 stronghold — made it possible for those who followed to hurl 
 back the enemy, as the night shadows were falling, and pre- 
 serve the line, which Meade had proposed to hold, and but for 
 Sickles' mistake, would have held throughout the day. 
 
 As the result of this apparently aimless strife, apart from 
 the support and co-operation of the troops on the Cemetery 
 Ridge line, we, nevertheless, with the co-operation of those 
 who in turn were sent to our rescue, saved Little Round Top. 
 the key to the Gettysburg line : saving this we saved the day 
 and saved the LTnion. 
 
 We now know that the whole issue of the strife, as 
 General Gordon has intimated, turned upon the failure of 
 
 ^General Warren, in his account of the "Saving of Little Round 
 Top," says: "The full force of the enemy was now (4 P. M.) sweep- 
 ing the Third Army Corps from its untenable position, and no 
 troops nor any reinforcements could maintain it. It was the dread- 
 ful misfortune of the day that any reinforcements went to that line ; 
 for all alike, Third Corps, Second Corps and Fifth Corps, were 
 driven from it with great loss." History 155th Pennsylvania Vol- 
 unteers, page 188. 
 
MONUMENT OF nil' - K>TH REGIMENT. 
 H,ii C r< -i beyi nd W heatfield. 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE Al GETTYSBURG 117 
 
 Longstreet to capture that frowning citadel of rock on the 
 afternoon of the second day. It was this failure that made 
 the disastrous charge of the third day a necessity. It was not 
 
 111 vain, therefore, that so many of our brave hoys gave tO the 
 country and the flag, in that valley of decision, the last full 
 measure of devotion, dying that the nation might live. 
 
 On the eleventh of September, 18H9, a new and costly 
 monument, erected at the expense of the State, which marks 
 the farthest advance of the One Hundred and Fortieth 'vegi- 
 ment, was unveiled in the presence of a large number of the 
 surviving comrades. It bears on its face this official record : 
 
 Present at Gettysburg, July 2d, 588 officers and men. 
 
 Killed and died of wounds, 3 officers and 50 men. 
 
 Wounded, 8 officers and 120 men. 
 
 Captured or missing, 3 officers and 59 men. 
 
 Total of losses, 24i.f 
 
 About an hour after the noise of battle had died away on 
 the left, General Kwell made a furious attack at Gulp's Hill, 
 on the extreme right of our line, and a little later hurled a 
 strong force against the position held by the Klevcnth Corps 
 on East Cemetery Hill. From 8 o'clock that night until 
 10 these eastward ridges fairly blazed with the constant fire of 
 artillery and musketry, and the turmoil of the strife at times 
 was appalling. At Gulp's Hill the enemy finally succeeded in 
 taking a portion of the line of defensive works which had 
 been thrown up by Slocum's corps, but which, owing to the 
 urgent need for reinforcements for the defense of Little Round 
 Top, had been left without a sufficient force to hold them. 
 The attack on East Cemetery Hill was partly successful at 
 first, but in the end the Confederates were driven back and 
 the line was re-established as before. Thus it turned out, at 
 the end of this long day's strife, that the Union line through- 
 out its entire length, except at Gulp's Hill, had been firmly 
 held intact as originally established by Hancock and Meade. 
 The only ground on the left from which the Union Army had 
 been driven was the untenable position to which it had been 
 
 f All of the above losses occurred after 6 o'clock P. M. 
 
ti8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 committed by the unauthorized advance of General Sickles' 
 corps. 
 
 During the first half of the night which followed these 
 scenes of strife every effort was made to reach the wounded 
 men within the Union lines who were lying on the ground 
 and unable to help themselves, and all who could be found 
 were at once taken to the field hospital. There were thou- 
 sands, however, between the lines, or within the lines of the 
 enemv, who were left where they fell, without attention or 
 care from any one, to sutler or to die. One oi the most 
 pathetic incidents connected with this phase of the "Great 
 Conflict" has been preserved for us in the records of Company 
 D. This company was near the right of the line on the hill- 
 crest, and. in common with other companies in that position, 
 met with severe losses in killed and wounded. Among the 
 number of those who received wounds which afterwards 
 proved to be fatal was a corporal. Baden Bebout by name, who 
 was a devout Christian and a faithful soldier. Mis name is 
 on the honor roll of his company as one of the men who helped 
 to haul off the disabled guns of the Fifth Maine Battery at 
 Chancellorsville. As he lay on the ground awake and suf- 
 fering - that dark and terrible night Bebout. like Paul and Silas 
 in the inner prison at Philippi, lifted up his voice to God in 
 prayer. C. D. Sharp, a comrade and intimate friend, who 
 was not far away, heard the pleading tones of that midnight 
 petition and recognized the voice. He had been shot through 
 both thighs and another ball had struck him in the breast. 
 When he recovered from the shock he had found it deeply 
 imbedded in his pocket Bible. Neither of these desperately 
 wounded men were able to arise from the ground, but, locating 
 each other by the voice, began slowly and painfully to come 
 together. At length they succeeded, and side by side opened 
 their hearts to each other. Two comrades not far away, 
 Isaac Lacock and Charles Cunningham, recognized their 
 voices and after the same manner dragged themselves to their 
 sides. Here the four men, who were near enough to toss small 
 articles to each other, talked of the nature of their wounds, 
 the possibility or otherwise of their recovery, and each one, 
 
THE TURNING OF THE TIDE AT GETTYSBURG u<) 
 
 in view of his dangerous condition, requested the comrade or 
 comrades who might survive to bear the last message to the 
 dear ones at home. When the long looked for morning 
 arrived they were still between the lines and without any 
 prospect of immediate relief. At some time during the day 
 these weary sufferers were carried by some Confederate sol- 
 diers, to whom they engaged to j>ay two dollars each, to a barn 
 on the edge of Willonghby Run. Here the Confederate 
 surgeons amputated Cunningham's leg. Isaac Sharp, from 
 whose manuscript statement this story is condensed, makes 
 mention of the fact that an order had been issued to give no 
 more opiates to Union soldiers, and that for this reason prob- 
 ably the wounds of the other comrades were not treated. 
 However this may be, it is a well established fact that they 
 did not receive any surgical treatment until the morning of 
 the sixth of July, a period of four nights and three days of 
 indescribable suffering and apparently hopeless waiting. In 
 this pitiable condition they were found by Surgeons Wishart 
 and Sharp after midnight July 6th, and on the morning of the 
 same day were taken in ambulances to a house in Gettysburg, 
 where they received every care and attention. 
 
 Two of this quartette of sufferers, Bebout and Sharp, 
 died a few days later. The remaining two were sent home 
 with sadly maimed and crippled bodies, to live a few years 
 longer in the community from which they had gone out with 
 high courage and in the full bloom of young manhood in 
 defense of the imperiled country and its sacred institutions. 
 To these men, and many thousands who suffered with them, 
 this nation owes a debt of gratitude which it never can repay. 
 Through their toils and sacrifices it has obtained under God 
 a new birth of freedom and a prosperity unparalleled among 
 the nations of the earth. 
 
i.-o THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL. 
 
 July 3, 1863. 
 
 This is the costliest land beneath the sun, 
 'Tis priceless, purchaseless and not a rood 
 
 But hath its title written clear and signed 
 In some slain hero's consecrated blood. 
 
 ON the morning of the third of July, with the first streak 
 of dawn, the slumbering hosts on the Gettysburg hills 
 were rudely awakened by the clamor of human strife 
 breaking forth and "rising and swelling to fury along the 
 wooded and rocky slopes of Culp's Hill." It meant the 
 renewal of the battle for the possession of the works which 
 Slocum's corps had found occupied by the enemy on their 
 return to the right the evening before. Long and desperately 
 the Confederate General, Johnson, struggled to make good 
 his victory of the night before, but step by step he was forced 
 back and at length was compelled to withdraw altogether from 
 his advanced position. There was an occasional outbreak on 
 the skirmish lines for a little while after the noise of the 
 contest on Culp's Hill had ceased, but after 10 o'clock there 
 ensued a strange and unusual period of silence. On the Union 
 side, now that all the lost ground had been recovered, it meant 
 the complacent waiting for further developments on the part 
 of the enemy. On the Confederate side it meant the massing 
 of a number of batteries on the crest of Seminary Hill, 
 numbering in all one hundred and thirty-eight guns, with a 
 view to preparing the way for a desperate assault upon the 
 position held by the Second and Third Divisions of the Second 
 Corps. Hence every one of these death-dealing pieces were 
 trained upon this portion of the line. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 
 
 121 
 
 On this fateful morning the writer was in the field hospi- 
 tal of the Second Corps to which he had found his way the 
 night before with a bruised and stiffened limb, caused by the 
 stroke of a fragment of shell. It was situated on a little slope, 
 a part of which was woodland, on the edge of Rock Creek 
 somewhere behind the position held by the Second Division, 
 and not very far from General Meade's headquarters. Here 
 acres of ground were covered with wounded, dying or dead 
 men. At times the stretcher carriers separated the dead from 
 the living, but meanwhile others passed away in their place*. 
 Those who could care for themselves sat or lounged on the 
 ground at the foot of a tree or beside a great rock, but the 
 larger number were lying on their backs in long rows without 
 pillow or shelter, for as yet the hospital supplies, somewhere 
 in the rear, had not arrived. Between the rows of prostrate- 
 men there were narrow lanes to permit the attendants to pass. 
 At intervals in the open spaces were long rows of tables 
 around which faithful surgeons with sleeves rolled up to the 
 shoulder had been at work since daybreak in two or three 
 reliefs, each one working so long as his strength would hold 
 out. In all serious cases chloroform was administered and 
 thus much suffering was prevented; but, oh, the horror of 
 the carving and the heaps of human legs and arms on the 
 ground at the ends of the tables, and the pallid faces and the 
 smothered moans of anguish, which could not be repressed 
 These and other sights and sounds that may not even be men- 
 tioned will remain while life lasts as the saddest reminders 
 of those days of turmoil, suffering and fraternal strife. 
 
 At one o'clock the frightful cannonade, which will ever 
 be memorable in history, began. The hospital which seemed 
 to have been almost in the rear of the point selected by Gen- 
 eral Lee for the concentration of his attack, was, for a time 
 one of the most exposed sites behind the Union lines. In 
 swift succession scores of shrieking shells burst in the air and 
 on the ground scattering their deadly missiles in the midst of 
 this mass of helpless sufferers, killing some outright and 
 wounding others. In this emergency those who had the use 
 of their limbs at once laid hold of the poor fellows who were 
 
iM the o\'i-: nvsnRF.n .ixn fortieth REGIMENT 
 
 helpless pulling and dragging them as best they could, to 
 places of comparative safety. For a few moments the confu- 
 sion and distress which prevailed was terrible beyond expns 
 sion. Those who could not move were crying out for help 
 and many who were partially disabled were attempting to 
 drag- their maimed or helpless limbs as far as possible from 
 the immediate danger /one of the plunging shot and shells. 
 In a marvellously short space of time the most exposed places 
 were cleared, — for all who could work at this task were 
 desperately in earnest — and the new location to which all were 
 transferred in one way or other, afforded a safe refuge for 
 the rest of the day. 
 
 The horrid din of the cannonade which broke so unex- 
 pectedlv upon this part of the battlefield continued without in- 
 terruption for about an hour and a half. There were eighty 
 or more sruns along the ridge behind the Union line which 
 vigorously responded and it seemed at times that all the titanic 
 forces of the quaking earth and the rending heavens were 
 
 crashing together in deadly strife. 
 
 One of the most realistic descriptions of this terrific 
 cannonade is given by General Walker, the Assistant Adju- 
 tant-General of the Second Corps, from which we quote as 
 follows : 
 
 At precisely one o'clock two cannon shot in quick suc- 
 cession, gave the signal, and instantly the Confederate posi- 
 tion was, for three miles, wrapped in flame and smoke. 
 Nearly one hundred and forty guns opened at once on the 
 Union lines. The air shrieked with flying shot, the burst- 
 ing shells sent their deadly fragments down in showers 
 upon the rocky ridge and over the plain behind; the earth 
 was thrown up in clouds of dust as the monstrous missies 
 buried themselves in the gfound or glanced from the sur- 
 face to take a new and perhaps more fatal flight ; on every 
 hand caissons exploded, struck by iron balls which but a 
 half minute before bad lain in limber chests of batteries 
 a mile away. All that is hideous in war seemed to have 
 gathered itself together to burst in one fell tornado upon 
 Cemetrv Ridge. The effects of this unparalled cannonade, 
 as seen by the staff galloping along the lines, were, on one 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 123 
 
 side, very great, on the other comparatively slight. The 
 plain behind the ridge was almost immediately swept of all 
 camp followers and the unordered attendants of an army. 
 Headquarters and ammunition wagons went to the rear with 
 prodigious zeal ; a body of stragglers and men usually absent 
 from their regiments poured down the Baltimore road to 
 the rear; even General Meade's headquarters were broken 
 up by the intolerable bombardment, and the commander and 
 staff mounted their horses in haste and sought safety nearer 
 the line of battle. On the contrary, looking to the front, 
 one saw only thin lines of infantry crouching behind the 
 stone walls or clinging prone to the ground, the musket 
 clutched tightly in each soldier's hand as he waited for the 
 great charge which he well knew was to follow. 
 
 The main fury of the cannonade fell, of course, upon 
 the batteries of the Second Corps, occupying the ground 
 which Longstrect's columns were even now forming to as- 
 sault; and well did those gallant officers and men stand in 
 their place and make answer that day for their cause. Out of 
 those five batteries were killed two hundred and fifty horses, 
 and men fell by scores at the guns or bringing ammunition 
 up through a literal storm of shot and shell. But not a 
 cannoneer left his post. There was no flurry and no fuss. 
 Monotonous discharges followed the command, "Number 
 one, fire! Number two, fire!" as regularly as if the battery 
 were saluting an inspection officer. 
 
 The story of Pickett's charge which followed immediately 
 after the roar of the Confederate guns had ceased, has been 
 so often told that it need not be repeated here. It is said that 
 when Meade saw the retreating remnant of the Division, he 
 removed his hat and murmured, "Thank God." 
 
 A mile away from Meade was Lee ; and we can picture 
 him as he stood there and saw his last assault repelled, 
 his studied invasion fail, the flower of his army shot to 
 pieces, and knowing that his men on that field, lying and 
 standing, represented the careful gleaning of his country, 
 he must have seen in the battle smoke above that valley of 
 death the final end of the Confederacy.* 
 
 *The Last Day of Gettysburg, by Lt. Hon. Reeve, New York 
 Independent, July 7. 1898. 
 
124 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon General Hancock 
 was brought to the hospital in an ambulance. He fell from 
 his horse, while directing the movement of a flanking party, 
 with a painful wound in the groin, which at first was supposed 
 to be mortal. "While lying on the ground, his wound spout- 
 ing blood, he raised himself on his elbow and gave the order, 
 'Go in, Colonel, and give it to them on the flank." Not until 
 the issue was certainly decided did he allow the stretcher 
 carriers to take him to the rear. 
 
 "History," says Ex-Governor Daniel H. Hastings, "will 
 never record a grander sight than he presented, when with 
 Mitchell, and Bingham and other members of his staff he rode, 
 with corps flag flying, from the right out upon the field in 
 front of his men and along down the line of battle, whilst the 
 missiles of the enemy were filling the air about him, bowing 
 to his expectant men as politely and gallantly as upon review 
 day." Never was Hancock more superb in battle than on that 
 memorable day when the men of his command gathered up 
 thirty-three Confederate battle flags in their front and cap- 
 tured more than four thousand prisoners. 
 
 On him, next to General Meade, rested the responsibility 
 of checking the advance of the main forces of the enemy on 
 the second and third days of the conflict and nobly did he 
 execute the trust which had been committed to his hands. 
 
 When he was taken from the ambulance many of the 
 wounded men crowded about him in anxious solicitude, for 
 the word had gone out that he was desperately, if not mortally 
 wounded. Despite his intense suffering he roused himself 
 to speak to them, not of his wound, but of the result of the 
 battle. "Boys," he said in a voice that was still strong and 
 resonant, — "We have won a great victory." "It is the 
 victory of the war." With hearty cheers the men greeted 
 this response and then left him in the hands of the surgeons. 
 
 With respect to the part taken by the Regiment in this 
 day's conflict, Colonel Fraser, says in his official report : 
 
 On the morning of July 3d the Regiment, pursuant to 
 orders, constructed breastworks immediately in front of the 
 
(' \r i . 1 ) win \. M i SON. 
 
 Boulder on Gettysburg Battlefield wheri I tpl David Acheson was buried. 
 The Wheatfield "Whirlpool of the Battle" where more than 6,000 were killol or wounded. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 125 
 
 line. The severe and long-continued artillery fire which 
 the Confederates opened upon us, prior to their fruitless 
 attack upon our position in the afternoon of this day, did 
 no harm to anyone in the Regiment. 
 
 Here, in the evening of the same day, in its place among 
 the shattered regiments of the Third Brigade, the writer found 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth — a battalion now, — number- 
 ing about two hundred effective men. In their midst was the 
 tattered, battle-stained flag which more than five hundred had 
 followed on the previous day. Behind the slight barrier 
 which the men had erected they were privileged to see the 
 charge of Longstreet's troops, who did not so much as break 
 through their picket line. The storm of shot and shell which 
 had been so fatal farther to the right swept by them, or 
 passed over their heads. A few paces to the rear of the line 
 were a number of dead horses which had been killed beside 
 the batteries to which they had been attached. 
 
 In the history of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Regi- 
 ment of Pennsylvania Volunteers mention is made of an at- 
 tempt made by Lieutenant George McLaughlin and A. E. Lyon 
 of that command to reach the scene of the severe fighting of 
 the day before, beyond the wheatfield. 
 
 This was made possible by the temporary withdrawal 
 of the Confederate pickets after the repulse of the charging 
 column. 
 
 "These officers," says the writer, "had heard of the 
 death in battle of Sergeant (Captain) David K. Acheson, 
 of the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania, who had 
 been their classmate in Washington College. The officers 
 named found the position of the Regiment, and evidences 
 of the terrible fighting under Sickles in the Peach Orchard, 
 and of the losses sustained by the sight of the number of 
 unburied bodies of the slain. They were unable, however, 
 to find the body of their missing classmate, their search 
 having been interrupted by the opening of the firing by the 
 enemy, to whose lines they had unwittingly approached too 
 closely. On a huge boulder in the Peach Orchard ( ?) is 
 carved and visible to-day the name 'David R. Acheson, 140th 
 
126 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Penna.,' to mark the identical spot where this brave soldier 
 fell."* 
 
 From the records of the Confederate army we know that 
 General Lee prepared for a retreat by sending- his long- trains 
 of wagons, many of which were filled with wounded men, in 
 advance on the evening of the third of July. At the same time 
 nothing would have pleased him better than to have met a 
 counter attack that evening in his strong and well-chosen 
 position. The line on Seminary Hill, which he had held 
 since the first day's battle was still unbroken and there was 
 enough artillery in position upon it to have held at bay the 
 strongest force which could have been sent against it. Despite 
 all that has been said to the contrary a counter charge at this 
 time in the condition of exhaustion consequent upon the three 
 days and nights of hardship and peril to which the Union 
 army had been exposed, would almost certainly have been 
 foredoomed to failure. 
 
 There are many well-informed persons who have the 
 impression that the third day's battle was the greatest and 
 most sanguinary of the series of bloody conflicts on the Gettys- 
 burg field. But, as a matter of fact, it was not a general en- 
 gagement at all. It was a disastrous day for Picket's com- 
 mand, numbering with his supporters about 15,000 men, and 
 yet the greater part of the forces of General Lee, and also of 
 our own army were only spectators of this desperate assault 
 and its repulse. On the Union side the Second and Third 
 Divisions of the Second Corps with the troops adjacent who 
 were rushed to their assistance, were the only active partici- 
 pants at the real point of attack. This conflict notwithstand- 
 ing the limitations mentioned was the turning point of the 
 three days' battle and in a sense, of the war for the Union 
 also. Taken in connection with all that precedes it, the verdict 
 
 * The reference to the Peach Orchard seems to have been 
 owing to a confusion of locations, but the kindly impulse which 
 prompted this quest in the face of imminent danger will be appre- 
 ciated by all the comrades and their friends of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 127 
 
 of history will be in the future, as it has been in the past — 
 that the "High Water Mark" of the great rebellion was 
 reached at the bloody angle by the well known clump of trees 
 on Cemetery Hill, the third day of July, 1863. 
 
 During the night following a furious storm of wind and 
 rain broke over the heads of the thousands of prostrate men 
 who were resting on the battle line. As one has put it "the 
 downpour was in proportion to the violence of the cannonade'* 
 of the afternoon preceding. Everyone was drenched to the 
 skin in a moment. Floods of water swept down the slopes of 
 the hills and in some places almost submerged the weary 
 sleepers who could scarcely be roused to the danger of their 
 situation. The field hospital, which had been so directly in 
 range of the enemy's guns in the afternoon was now threat- 
 ened with a new peril. In the lower levels of the valley the 
 ground was quickly flooded and it required prompt action to 
 save some of the helpless patients from drowning. Among 
 those who were rescued from this danger were a number of 
 seriously wounded Confederates. The men at the front with 
 few exceptions had no blankets or wraps and slept behind their 
 breastworks in the fatigue suits which they had worn in the 
 heat of the day. So soundly did the writer sleep through that 
 tempestuous night, that he was not aware, until he awaked 
 at daylight that he was lying in a pool of muddy, bloody water 
 which had backed up from the slope of rifle pit. The water- 
 mark on his clothing, which registered the depth of this sub- 
 mergence, could never thereafter be effaced by rubbing or 
 washing. 
 
 The Fourth of July at Gettysburg was a day of lower- 
 ing skies and frequent showers, and yet despite its gloomy 
 enshrouding it will be regarded as the most memorable anni- 
 versary of Independence Day since the signing of the Declara- 
 tion, because of two historic events. One was the retreat of 
 the army which fought for the disintegration of the Union; 
 the other was the surrender of the City of Vicksburg to the 
 Union forces under General Grant. 
 
 The movement in retreat from the hills of Gettysburg 
 began during the day. In the dark and stormy night which 
 
128 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 followed the whole army was withdrawn and by daybreak 
 was in full retreat. Their unburied dead were left on the field 
 and thousands of their wounded were left in our hands. 
 
 "On the morning of the 4th," says General Morgan, 
 chief of the corps staff, "the field of battle presented a curi- 
 ous sight. Parties were gathering up the arms abandoned 
 by the enemy and sticking the bayonets in the ground, so 
 that there were acres of muskets standing as thick as trees 
 in a nursery." 
 
 The cavalry and one or two of the army corps were 
 started in pursuit of Lee's army on the morning - of the fifth. 
 They captured a number of prisoners and destroyed some be- 
 lated wagon trains, but the main body of the enemy made 
 good their escape through Fairfield Gap and other adjacent 
 openings in the solid mountain wall which had been their 
 screen, and defence from direct attack, on the upward journey 
 from Virginia. 
 
 In order to reach Williamsport, the objective point of the 
 Confederate army, it was necessary for General Meade to 
 make long detours by way of the lower gaps and hence several 
 days elapsed before the two armies again confronted each 
 other. 
 
 One of this retreating host has given us a glimpse of 
 some of the dismal experiences which attended the beginning 
 of this retrograde march toward the Potomac. 
 
 The great battle had been fought and lost; the tide of 
 Southern invasion, which had poured through the moun- 
 tain passes and surged northward to the Susquehanna, had 
 touched its high-water mark, and now freighted with debris, 
 which the war billows had gathered in their shock against 
 Cemetery Ridge, the ebbing current set steadily toward the 
 Potomac. An interminable throng of wagons, worn-out 
 horses and wounded men choked the highways and, ever 
 passing, still came and came. All arms of the service were 
 there commingled without distinction ; hundreds of Stuart's 
 troops, dismounted or rendered temporarily unserviceable 
 for active duty with their commands, and driving or lead- 
 ing their broken-down charges, were marching afoot as 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 129 
 
 train-guards; but by far the greater part of this doleful 
 procession bore slung arms, or bandaged heads, or hobbled 
 painfully as they went while the transportation was taxed to 
 its utmost capacity for the conveyance of the more severely 
 wounded. Through the dismal rain and the muddy paste 
 of the roads which flowed like thin batter, the teams with 
 dripping girths plodded and splashed their weary way, send- 
 ing showers of the hideous mixture right and left over the 
 pedestrians toiling single file along the narrow, slippery 
 footpath, or by twos and threes in the fields beyond. It 
 was a vast moving panorama of misery; the stolid farmer- 
 folk by the roadside almost forgot their ruined harvests 
 in the contemplation of so much suffering, and women who 
 had come to their doorways to see the discomfited "rebels" 
 go by — remembering, possibly, husbands, sons and brothers 
 back yonder, and as yet unheard from — turned away from 
 the spectacle with tears in their honest eyes.* 
 
 Gettysburg was the only battle of the war which was 
 fought north of the Mason and Dixon line and the losses of 
 the contesting armies were greater than in any other single 
 battle which was ever fought upon American soil. 
 
 "The revised returns," says one of the best authorities, 
 "show for the Army of the Potomac: killed and wounded, 
 17,555; rnissing 5,435, total 22,990; and for the Confederate 
 Army: killed and wounded, 15,298; missing, 5,850, total, 
 20,448.1 But the returns for the Confederate army are based 
 upon reports which are confessedly imperfect and conflicting, 
 some commands are not reported, and in others the regimental 
 show larger losses than do the brigade returns from which the 
 foregoing numbers are compiled." General Bingham, in his 
 address at the unveiling of the monument to General Hancock 
 at Gettysburg, gives 27,525:}: as the sum of the Confederate 
 losses, and this is probably nearer the correct number than the 
 
 * A Boy in Gray, Scribner's Monthly, Vol. xxii, pages 647 
 and 648. 
 
 ■j- General H. J. Hunt, Third Day at Gettysburg, The Century, 
 Vol. xi, page 463. 
 
 I The estimate of 27,525 includes 700 of wounded and prisoners 
 whose names were omitted from list but appear in the record at 
 Washington. 
 
ijo THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 total above quoted.*** This would make the total of losses ou 
 both sides nearly, if not altogether so.ooo. On both sides a 
 very large number of those reported as missing- were either 
 killed or captured and many of the wounded as well as of the 
 captured, died after the official returns of the battle had been 
 made out. 
 
 The data for the comparative strength of the two armies 
 on the field of battle on the second and third days is also very 
 unsatisfactory. The losses of the Union army, especially in 
 prisoners, on the first day were much larger than those in 
 General Lee's army and to this extent should be counted out. 
 It should be noted also in making even an approximate esti- 
 mate that while all but Picket's Division were in the engage- 
 ment of the second day, that Sedgwick's corps, then the larg- 
 est in the army did not reach the field until four o'clock in the 
 afternoon, and but two of its eight brigades were in a posi- 
 tion to repel the persistent attacks of the enemy. Hence the 
 total of casualties in this splendid body of veteran troops, 
 whose courage and endurance was tested to the utmost in their 
 long march, was only 242. "At the 'points of contact,' " as 
 General Hunt has expressed it, "the Confederates were almost 
 always the stronger. On July 1st, 18,000 Federal combatants 
 contested against at least 25,000 Confederates, and got the 
 worst of it. On July 2d, Longstreet's 15,000 overcome 
 Sickles' 10.000 and had to halt when a larger force was op- 
 posed to them. Williams' Twelfth Corps retook its works 
 from a larger body of Ewell's troops, as at the contested point 
 they were opposed by an inferior number; ami then held them, 
 for Johnson's superior force was as much hampered here by 
 the nature of the ground as was Meade's on the left, the even- 
 ing before." 
 
 "The Second Corps," says Walker, "had taken into the 
 fight fewer than 13,000 men. It had lost 4,350, of whom 
 349 were commissioned officers. Of the total loss only 
 368 were among the missing. The corps had captured, on 
 the second and third days, 4,500 prisoners. Gibbons' divi- 
 sion had lost 1,634; Caldwell's, 1,269; Hay's. 1,291; the 
 
PENNSYLVANIA STATE MONUMENT. 
 
 TABLET 140TH REGIMENT IN POSITION. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 131 
 
 artillery brigade, 149; the headquarters' cavalry squadron, 
 4; the corps' staff, 3. 
 
 In this battle on her own soil the State of Pennsylvania 
 had a force of sixty-eight regiments of infantry, eight of 
 cavalry and five notable batteries of artillery, making a total 
 of 26,628 men. The general casualties in this little army of 
 her defenders was 5,907. 
 
 "The people of each State," says John M. Vanderslice, 
 "can be justly proud of its troops who fought at Gettys- 
 burg, and may well render unto them tributes of admira- 
 tion and homage. And the people of our whole country can 
 rejoice that there was nothing done by any to tarnish their 
 record as soldiers. The two great armies of America, 
 which, for those three memorable days, in the heat and 
 glare of the July sun of 1863, met in determined, fierce 
 and deadly combat upon the field of Gettysburg, by their 
 fidelity, their fortitude and valor, carved the highest niche 
 in the temple of martial fame and glory for the American 
 soldier. 
 
 " 'All time will be the millennium of their glory.' One 
 was right and the other wrong. But, in the knowledge of 
 the subsequent development, progress, peace and prosperity 
 of our united, common country, victor and vanquished now 
 alike, believe that in the Providence of God it was right 
 and well that the issue was determined as it was."f 
 
 On the 27th of September, 19 10, one of the most costly 
 and imposing structures on the Gettysburg field was dedicated 
 by Governor Stuart, on behalf of the Commonwealth of Penn- 
 sylvania, to the memory of the soldiers who participated in 
 the battle. A great concourse of people, including several 
 thousand veterans, the survivors of the Pennsylvania organ- 
 izations which took part in the engagement, was present to 
 witness the ceremonies and listen to the addresses on this 
 memorable occasion. By an act of the Legislature, free trans- 
 portation was furnished to all of the surviving participants 
 
 * The Third Day of Gettysburg, The Century, Vol. xi, page 463. 
 f Gettysburg Then and Now, page 328. 
 
132 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 connected with these organizations from every portion of the 
 State. 
 
 Four acres surrounding this memorial structure have been 
 set aside and designated as Pennsylvania Park to give to it a 
 worthy and befitting setting. 
 
 The space around the base of the memorial arch, or 
 monument proper, is filled with inscriptions and on the inside 
 of the arch are recorded the names, beginning with General 
 Meade, of thirty-four general officers of Pennsylvania who 
 were intrusted with important commands during the engage- 
 ment. The most unique feature of the monument, however, 
 is the record on eighty-six bronze tablets of each command 
 organized by the State, and the names of every soldier in their 
 respective commands; thus forever perpetuating the record of 
 the sons of Pennsylvania who participated in the battle. 
 
 The dedication legend, cut deeply into the granite at the 
 base of this memorial structure reads thus : 
 
 "The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in honor of her 
 sons who on this field fought for the preservation of the 
 Union, July I, 2, 3, 1863." 
 
 On another granite slab is a record of the commands 
 present. It reads : 
 
 Pennsylvania at Gettysburg: 69 regiments infantry, 9 
 regiments cavalry, 7 batteries artillery. Total present, 34,- 
 530. Killed and mortally wounded, 1,182; wounded, 3,177; 
 missing, 860; total, 5,219. 
 
 At the request of the chairman of the Memorial Com- 
 mission a carefully revised list of the officers and men of the 
 several companies who were present for duty at Gettysburg, 
 was prepared by committees representing the companies. 
 These lists after rigid inspection by the Commission were 
 accepted and the names appearing upon them were then trans- 
 ferred to the bronze tablet which appears in its place at the 
 base of the monument. The record thus prepared and safe- 
 guarded is of more than ordinary historic value, and is here- 
 with appended without change or abbreviation. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 133 
 
 ROSTER. 
 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, Pennsylvania 
 Volunteers, July 1, 2, 3, 1863. 
 
 FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. 
 Colonel, *Richard P. Roberts. 
 Lieutenant-colonel, John Fraser. 
 Major, ^Thomas B. Rodgers. 
 Surgeon, J. Wilson Wishart. 
 Assistant Surgeon, William W. Sharp. 
 Adjutant, fWilliam S. Shallenberger. 
 Regimental Quartermaster, Saml. B. Bentley. 
 Assistant Surgeon, Benjamin F. Hill. 
 
 NON-COMMISSIONED STAFF. 
 Sergeant Major, JHenry J. Boatman. 
 Quartermaster, *R. G. S. Smith. 
 Commissary Sergeant, Thomas L. Noble. 
 Hospital Steward, Joseph W. Lawrence. 
 Killed, 2; wounded, 1; captured, 2. 
 
 COMPANY A. 
 
 Captain, **fJohn F. McCullough. 
 First Lieutenant, f James J. Purman. 
 
 Sergeants, fjames M. Pipes, John A. Burns, *William A. 
 Brown, -j-Henry Zimmers. 
 
 Corporals, Mark G. Spragg, *Leroy S. Greenlee, Kramer Gabler, 
 Cornelius J. Burke. 
 
 Fifer, Morgan Dunn. 
 Drummer, James Woods. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 **John Acklin John M. Lancaster 
 
 Oliver Armstrong **Hiram McCullough 
 Harrison Anderson Lindsey McCullough 
 
 Joseph Bane William Ogden 
 
 Oliver Burson Joseph Pettit 
 
 John Bennett James B. Rinehart 
 
 John F. Coen John A. Rush 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg, f Wounded at Gettysburg. J Captured 
 at Gettysburg. 
 
134 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 John Cox, Jr. 
 George N. Dornan 
 **Bcnjamin Dunstan 
 Jfjohn VV. Eddy 
 Michael Eddy 
 John Fisher 
 David Frays 
 
 •(■George Freeland 
 ♦♦-{-John Gray 
 
 •{•George Gray 
 Simon Geary 
 Stephen C. Harris 
 David R. Hoge 
 Joseph Herrington 
 John C. Jones 
 Rezin S. Kent 
 
 ♦Benjamin F. Loaf. 
 
 ■{■John Long 
 
 f John Meighen 
 
 Edward Steel 
 Nicholas Steel 
 Simon P. Scott 
 
 ■{■Henry Scott 
 ♦♦John M. Spragg 
 
 fjesse Sprowls 
 Jesse Stewart 
 Caleb Strosnider 
 Keener L. Strosnider 
 Spencer Stephens 
 ♦♦fNorval L. Troy 
 
 fLevi Taylor 
 Abner W. Taylor 
 Harrison Woolum 
 
 -{■Daniel B. Wychoff 
 John R. H. Wilson 
 George W. Wilson 
 
 ^Benjamin F. Wallace 
 Oregon Walters 
 
 Killed and died of wounds, 3; wounded, 15; captured or mis- 
 sing, 2, one of whom, John W. Eddy, died in prison at Richmond, 
 January 27, 1864. Bates' history says Benjamin F. Loar died in 
 Philadelphia. August I, 1863, of wounds received at Getysburg. 
 
 COMPANY B. 
 
 Captain, Jason T. Giebner. 
 
 First Lieutenant, George Tanner. 
 
 Segeants, flames C. Nolan, Ranels C. Craig, John Satterfield, 
 John Johnson, John Fox. 
 
 Corporals, ♦♦fGeorge D. Moore, ♦♦Robert B. Porter. JCharles 
 W. Giebner, Price Dilley, George Perrine, ♦Thomas G. Eagles, 
 f James L. Griffin. 
 
 Musician. J Thomas J. Cozad. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 Wilson Bean 
 William Blair 
 
 J Aaron Bolinger 
 Joseph Breackle 
 William Brannou 
 Nathaniel Breast 
 
 ♦John Buckley 
 
 Daniel B. Mayer 
 Alexander Patten 
 William Perrine 
 James B. Porter 
 Benjamin A. Posten 
 Samuel B. Rodgers 
 Tames M. Robb 
 
 ♦ Killed at Gettysburg, f Wounded at Gettysburg. J Captured 
 or missing at Gettysburg. ♦♦ Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 
 
 1 35 
 
 George M. Bennett 
 Wilson Calvert 
 ■J- Adam C. Dilley 
 fLewis F. Egbert 
 John W. Gardner 
 Adam George 
 William M. Griggs 
 ^Martin Henderson 
 ^Samuel Holmes 
 John Jones 
 ♦Allen Kirby 
 Michael I). Maghan or Mc 
 Gehan 
 ^George Mears 
 JCyrus Moreland 
 ♦♦James McCoy 
 
 ^Samuel McKindley 
 ♦♦Henry C. Montgomery 
 Killed, 2 ; wounded, 1 1 ; 
 and Cozad, Holmes, Patton, 
 prison. 
 
 George Rose 
 
 John Roberts 
 
 John H. Seiple 
 J William Shaw 
 (Hugh Shaw 
 
 James J. Smith 
 fGilmer Smith 
 
 George W. Smail 
 
 Charles Smoyer 
 fWilliam P. Sutherland 
 
 David B. Sinclair 
 
 Madison Thompson 
 fWilliam H. Turner 
 
 Charles Vath 
 
 Samuel J. Weir 
 
 Thomas M. White 
 ♦♦George Young 
 
 captured or missing, 9. William Shaw 
 Moreland subsequently captured, died in 
 
 COMPANY C. 
 
 Captain, *David Acheson. 
 
 First Lieutenant, f Isaac Vance. 
 
 First Sergeant, ♦James D. Campbell. 
 
 Sergeants, J. Milton Ray, ♦♦William J. Cunningham, fjames 
 McFarland. 
 
 Corporals, James Blake, Eli H. Linton, fjames P. Sayer, •Wil- 
 liam Horton, Richard Jones, f Samuel Fergus. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 I William Armstrong John Moore 
 
 John Billick fTillinghast Mourie 
 
 fjohn Blair ♦Anthony Mull 
 **Ephraim Brown George Norris 
 
 James B. Clemens *Alvin Newman 
 
 flsaac Cleaver, Jr. ♦Albertus Patterson 
 
 David W. Cleaver Andrew Plants 
 
 *Ellis J. Cole William H. Pollock 
 
 Philip A. Cooper William Pollock 
 
 Samuel Curry Esau Powell 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. ^Captured or 
 missing at Gettysburg. ♦♦Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
ijo THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 tjohn A. Dickey 
 **I. N. Dowling 
 
 Alexander S. Duncan 
 fNehemiah Gilbert 
 
 Aaron Gunn 
 
 Mason Hart 
 
 Alex. F. Hartford 
 **Lewis Henry 
 ■{•Clark Irey 
 fjohn J. Jordan 
 ♦Daniel L. Keeney 
 ♦James S. Kelley 
 ♦♦Thomas W. Long 
 ♦Thomas B. Lucas 
 ^Robert H. Lindsay 
 fFrank B. McNear 
 
 David McCoy, Jr. 
 fThomas McCune 
 
 Hugh B. McNeil 
 ♦Richard Miller 
 
 Samuel Mills 
 
 ♦♦Jackson Prall 
 ■{■Charles Quail 
 
 William J. Radclift 
 
 Charles Rentz 
 
 Samuel Rettick 
 
 Austin M. Richards 
 ♦♦Gales Rose 
 
 Silas A. Sanders 
 fPresley H. Shipley 
 
 John Smalley 
 ♦*William S. Stockwell 
 IJames S. Stockwell 
 
 John Stockwell 
 
 Jonathan Tucker, Jr. 
 *Simeon VanKirk 
 
 William VanKirk 
 fColin Waltz 
 ♦♦James Wise 
 jSamuel Wise 
 fjohn D. Wishart 
 tTefferson Yonker 
 
 Lindsay and Wishart not on muster roll. 
 Killed, 12; wounded, 20; captured or missing, 2. 
 Lindsay, who died in Richmond, December, 1863. 
 
 Armstrong and 
 
 COMPANY D. 
 
 Captain, Charles L. Linton. 
 
 Sergeants, James B. Vandyke, Henry C. Swart, Fulton Bell, 
 ♦Cephas D. Sharp. 
 
 Corporals, JJohn A. Black, jCalvin Ramsey, Leroy W. Day, 
 ♦Beden Bebout, ♦James A. Bebout, fjames M. Hughes. 
 
 Musicians, Alpheus Cunningham, Hamilton Parker. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 J Enoch Baker 
 
 Zachariah Baker 
 fSample S. Bell 
 ♦♦fAbner L. Birch 
 ♦♦James Birch 
 f Robert Birch 
 Miller Blatchley 
 
 flsaac Lacock 
 ♦♦John W. Lewis 
 Cyrus Lindley 
 Jacob McAfee 
 John B. McDonald 
 Joseph Meeks 
 James Miles 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. ^Captured or 
 missing at Gettysburg. ♦♦Killed in subsequent battle. Curry died in 
 Andersonville. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 137 
 
 **John L. Brannon **James M. Miller 
 
 Charles II. Caine fGeorge S. Moore 
 
 fjohn W. Cooper **Judson Peden 
 
 fSilas Crispin **Philo Paul 
 
 fCharles Cunningham **Peter Phillips 
 
 *Lewis Dilley George Redd 
 
 **fThomas Doty. William Rutan 
 
 fWilson Doty *Simon Sanders 
 
 Abner Enox **Emmet Smalley 
 
 **Samuel Evans **Amos Swart 
 
 JNathan B. Evans -j-Andrew J. Swart 
 
 Jacob Frazee Harvey Swart 
 
 Enoch French Joseph Swihart 
 
 Thomas Glennon **Wm. H. Teegarden 
 
 Charles Guttey or Guttery George W. Teegarden 
 
 John L. Hathaway Andrew J. VanKirk 
 
 James Hathaway yWilliam Williams 
 
 Jonathan W. Hughes JHenry Watson 
 
 James A. Jackson fjacob Yoders 
 fjohn Kelley 
 
 Killed and died of wounds, 5; wounded, 15; captured or miss- 
 ing, 4- 
 
 COMPANY E. 
 
 First Lieutenant, Irvin F. Sansom. 
 
 Sergeants, Samuel Potter, **B. F. O'Bryson or O'Bryon, Albert 
 G. Beeson, John Barkley. 
 
 Corporals, Jesse T. Powers, Abraham Moore, JSamuel E. Pritch- 
 ard, Simon Inks, **Robert Herron. 
 
 Musician, Charles King. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 fLevi Keenan 
 
 fjackson Ballsinger George B. Kistler 
 
 fHarvey Ballsinger William Lawery 
 
 Benjamin Behanna Christopher Lickel 
 
 **Franklin Barringer JJames Lytle 
 
 fSamuel W. Cady George McMillin 
 
 fSamuel Cashdollar William P. McMasters 
 
 James Caskey Hugh Patterson 
 
 *Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. ^Captured or 
 missing at Gettysburg. **Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
 Joseph Meeks, in Andersonville, from October 14, 1863, to May, 
 1865. Died at Annapolis on release, May 13, 1865. 
 
138 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 James Chubbeck 
 
 wiiiiam Chester 
 
 Isaiah Collins 
 **Francis M. Daniels 
 
 H. C. Diffenderfer 
 *Francis M. Hansel 
 
 Plummer F. Hall 
 
 Daniel Handlin 
 
 John S. Hindman 
 **William Hirst 
 **Jeremiah Huttenhouer 
 
 Benjamin Ingles 
 
 John Johnston 
 •{•Andrew Johnston 
 
 Thomas Kelly 
 Killed, I ; wounded, 6. 
 
 William Pile 
 
 George W. Pritchard 
 
 Alden Rose 
 
 Sparks C. Roberts 
 **Robert Russell 
 
 Robert Rudge 
 
 William H. Sickles 
 
 Jesse Stricklin 
 
 William Turner 
 
 Robert Wall 
 
 William F. White 
 **Solomon Williams 
 
 Joseph Wiltsee 
 **Joseph J. Woodward 
 
 COMPANY F. 
 
 Captain, Thomas Henry. 
 First Lieutenant, fjohn D. Stokes. 
 Second Lieutenant, **Andrew M. Purdy. 
 First Sergeant, *John E. Harsha. 
 
 Sergeants, Joseph R. Harrah, fRobert Riddle, Carmen Nelson. 
 Corporals, f Alonzo B. McKenzie, Joseph W. Appleton, ^Joseph 
 R. Dunlap, f John B. Clark, fSeth Strock, Andrew G. White 
 Musicians, Taylor M. Stokes, Thomas M. Anderson. 
 Wagoner, William Pyle. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 **John Anderson 
 
 (on detached duty) 
 Thomas O. Anshutz 
 
 (detached, clerk at bri- 
 gade headquarters) 
 Jacob A. Baker 
 
 (detached, in ambulance 
 corps) 
 *John S. Bell 
 ^George Bell 
 {Benjamin A. Bonewell 
 •{•William Bruce 
 
 James T. Hays 
 Seth W. Irwin 
 **Francis N. Johnston 
 Samuel A. Johnston 
 Hugh M. Kerr 
 Adam H. Kerr 
 
 (detached, in ambulance 
 
 corps) 
 James A. Lockhart 
 James R. Lockhart 
 Martin W. May 
 
 (detached, teamster) 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. **Killed in 
 subsequent battle. ^Captured in subsequent battle and died in prison. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 
 
 139 
 
 William H. Bruce 
 
 (detached in Thompson's 
 battery) 
 Benjamin Buckley 
 
 (detached, in regimental 
 hospital) 
 Thomas Clark 
 Robert H. Cooper 
 
 (detached, in Thompson's 
 battery) 
 William J. Cooper 
 
 (detached, in Thompson's 
 battery) 
 •{•Jonathan I. Davis 
 ♦William H. Dinsmore 
 Samuel M. Dinsmore 
 fWilliam Doak 
 **John B. Douds 
 John Douglass 
 
 (detached, in regimental 
 hospital) 
 John S. Ewing 
 Henry Edwards 
 
 (detached, in bakery) 
 Joseph Graham 
 *Alvin L. Greenlee 
 fRobert N. Gillen 
 
 **+ 
 
 John E. Moore 
 
 (detached, clerk) 
 Madison Moore 
 George W. Minesinger 
 Harrison Miller 
 Alfred M. McCaskey 
 {•John ivkManamy 
 $f John McCullough 
 Andrew McCullough 
 George M. Nevin 
 Andrew Robinson 
 Madison Reisinger 
 Henry Stevens 
 *John P. Small 
 fThomas Small 
 Enoch Strain 
 
 (in battle, but deserted July 
 nth, 1863) 
 |Joseph O. Schley 
 John H. Short 
 William Swearingen 
 *Lewis Swearingen 
 fRuel W. Strock 
 |f Alvin M. Taylor 
 Lewis J. Wagner 
 ♦♦Alexander White 
 Michael B. Wilson 
 
 Total in company, 88 ; total on roster above, j$ ; present in line 
 of battle with company, three officers and 55 men ; on detached duty, 
 13 men; musicians, two; absent sick, 15; killed July 2, 1863, three 
 men; wounded, officers, 1; men, 16; captured, five; subsequently died 
 of wounds, three men, W. H. Dinsmore, Alvin L Greenlee and J. P. 
 Small; effectives July 5, 33. 
 
 COMPANY G. 
 
 Captain, fHenry H. Bingham, detached on staff. 
 
 First Lieutenant, |Wilson N. Paxton. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, ♦Alexander M. Wilson. 
 
 First Sergeant, ♦♦f John F. Wilson. 
 
 Sergeants, *Benjamin M. Black, William T. Pollock. 
 
 Corporals, James M. Patton, David L. Taggart, fEbenezer H. 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. ^Captured at 
 Gettysburg. ♦♦Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
i 4 o THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Martin, fDunning Hart, ^Joseph L. Moore, James G. Sloan, **f Bank- 
 head B. Barr. 
 
 Musician, Josiah H. Carroll. 
 
 Wagoner, John M. Watson. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 James Allison 
 ♦♦William Armstrong 
 ♦Simon Arnold 
 
 John Arnold 
 ♦John Barr 
 ♦♦David W. Berry 
 
 James L. Berry 
 ♦David W. Boyd 
 
 Addison A. Coleman 
 
 James H. Crawford 
 
 James M. Daggs 
 ^George Davis 
 
 John C. Davis 
 
 Ebenezer G. Emery 
 ♦*Alexander Gaston 
 
 John L. Gow 
 ♦♦Levi Griffith 
 
 James W. Griffith 
 ■{•William S. Greer 
 
 David Havlin 
 fWilliam A. Helt 
 
 Joseph Hemphill 
 •{•James Hinneger 
 flames W. Hodgson 
 ♦♦Frank lams 
 J Robert S. Jackson 
 
 Joseph B. Johnson 
 
 Cornelius D. B. Kirk 
 
 James P. Kerr 
 ♦Joseph Lawson 
 
 William H. Lemon 
 ♦James Lynn 
 
 George W. McGibbony 
 |James S. McGlumphey 
 
 Thomas M. McNary 
 ♦John McNutt 
 jGeorge R. Murray 
 
 John R. Paxton 
 -[Wayne J. Phillips 
 
 James W. Pollock 
 JJames S. Rankin 
 
 John M. Speer 
 
 John M. Stewart 
 y Robert L. Speer 
 -j-Robert L. Stewart 
 
 David H. Sumney 
 
 Joshua Weaver 
 ^Thomas Weaver 
 ♦Hugh Weir 
 
 Joseph Wilson 
 
 David White 
 
 James Young 
 
 Thomas Weaver died in Richmond, Va., November 2, 1863. 
 
 William H. Lemon, wounded and captured in Wilderness, died 
 in Andersonville, August, 1864. 
 
 On roster above 67 names — at Gettysburg 9 killed, 13 wounded, 
 6 captured. Total, 28. Effectives July 5, 39, details included. 
 
 COMPANY H. 
 
 Captain, y Samuel Campbell. 
 First Lieutenant, Austin Miller. 
 Second Lieutenant, Tohn B. Vance. 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. -j-Wounded at Gettysburg. ^Captured at 
 Gettysburg. ♦♦Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HI EL 
 
 141 
 
 Sergeants, **Samuel S. Kerr, Thomas N. Thornburg, fArthur 
 Shields, **James M. D. Mitchel, Addison Lance. 
 
 Corporals, William Ewing, Alexander Greer, Walter M. Law- 
 rence, John G. Robb, Joseph Moody, fThomas Miller. 
 
 Musicians, John S. Bryan, Timothy Shane. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 -{-Hugh Q. Adams 
 *John Blackmore 
 James D. Babb 
 *Johnston Berlin 
 ♦*f William A. Brunton 
 Thomas Bryerley 
 ♦Samuel W. Barnes 
 **fjames H. Beal 
 *William Conlin 
 William G. Cowan 
 James Cameron 
 Richard N. Crouse 
 John Criswell 
 James Crooks 
 ♦♦Stewart Campbell 
 
 James Dornan 
 ♦♦Alexander Ewing 
 James Finnegan 
 **fGeorge Fox 
 ♦♦JJacob R. Fleegel 
 Robert M. Galbreath 
 ♦John C. Gibb 
 ♦♦William W. Herron 
 Gibson Hood 
 James Hood 
 John W. Hall 
 ♦♦David Keifer 
 William Kennedy 
 Wilson W. Latham 
 Killed and died of wounds, 9 ; 
 
 William Martin 
 James H. Melvin 
 Thomas E. Moore 
 David N. Minesinger 
 James Miller 
 William McCreary 
 
 fCharles M. McCoy 
 Andrew R. Miller 
 
 ^Washington McHenry 
 
 *James M. Phillips 
 
 fjohn Purdy 
 
 John A. Robb 
 Junius M. Strouse 
 Joseph Swearingen 
 Samuel Swearingen 
 James S. Smart 
 ♦♦Hezekiah N. Swaney 
 David G. Scott 
 George Summerville 
 John W. Stephens 
 ♦♦Robert G. Savage 
 
 *James A. Taggart 
 William Thornburg 
 
 William N. Uncapher 
 
 Jasper Whims 
 ♦♦JDavid R. Whitehill 
 
 John M. Green 
 
 Alexander Flanegan 
 *Henry Ewing 
 wounded, 9; missing, 3. 
 
 COMPANY I. 
 Captain, fWilliam McCallister. 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. JMissing at 
 Gettysburg. ♦♦Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
142 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 First Lieutenant, Thomas C. Nicholson. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, Lewis R. Darragh. 
 
 Sergeants, fDavid W. Scott, ^James H. Springer, **William C. 
 Smith, f William A. McMillen, Benjamin F. Wehster. 
 
 Corporals, ^William M. Agnew, Thomas B. Hunter, John E. 
 Harton, James H. Douds, Robert Dickey, Robert W. Anderson. 
 
 Musicians, Washington D. Tallon, Henry C. Johnston. 
 
 Wagoner, Thomas McCoy. 
 
 Robert Baker 
 George S. Bailey 
 
 *John Black 
 Daniel Bowen 
 John Borden 
 George M. Brooks 
 David D. Brennard 
 J. Dickson Craig 
 Joseph H. Champion 
 
 fMartin V. B. Chambers 
 **Samuel Erwin 
 
 William H. H. Ewing 
 Jacob Fisher 
 
 fWilliam Frazier 
 **Israel Ferguson 
 James B. Fawcett 
 William P. Gibson 
 John S. Gillen 
 Joseph Gilmore 
 Alexander Gilmore 
 George E. Hamilton 
 James Hammond 
 Joseph T. Johnston 
 
 ^Marshall T. Johnston 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 John Mitchell 
 *Edward McMahan 
 
 James Miller 
 ^George Marks 
 
 David D. McCallister 
 
 Lemuel Neville 
 f James W. Orr 
 
 William A. Fribble 
 **Levi Rhodes 
 
 Henry G. Robb 
 
 Samuel Reed 
 
 Joseph Rodenbaugh 
 
 Thomas Rambo 
 JThomas Shawness 
 
 Daniel Shafer 
 
 Peter Shevlin 
 
 Otis Seely 
 
 John F. Southwick 
 
 William Usselton 
 
 John Todd 
 
 William D. Welch 
 
 Eli Watson 
 
 James Wise 
 ^Patrick Wise 
 fjohn W. Zimmerly 
 
 **Milo McCoy 
 
 Killed, 3; wounded, 8; captured or missing, 1. Bates' Records — 
 Agnew, M. T. Johnston, Marks, Shawness and P. Wise captured at 
 Gettysburg; all but latter died in prison. 
 
 COMPANY K. 
 Captain, William A. F. Stockton. 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. ^Captured at 
 Gettysburg. **Killed in subsequent battle. 
 
THE HIGH WATER MARK ON CEMETERY HILL 
 
 143 
 
 First Lieutenant, Alexander Sweeney. 
 
 Second Lieutenant, J William B. Cook. 
 
 First Sergeant, Benjamin F. Powelson. 
 
 Sergeants, Milton R. Boyd, fEdward S. Alexander, *Thomas C 
 Hays, JSamuel K. Shindle. 
 
 Corporals, William R. H. Powelson, George Ralston, fWilliam 
 Hanhn, ♦♦Joseph S. Graham, John A. McCalmont, David M. Pry. 
 
 Musicians, George W. McConnell, Jesse J. Norris. 
 
 PRIVATES. 
 
 James B. Allison 
 Abram Andrew 
 James Arthurs 
 James S. Berryhill 
 Lazarus Briggs 
 George W. Carter 
 ♦Thomas J. Carter 
 Jesse M. Carter 
 Andrew Chester 
 flsaac W. Chisholm 
 James E. Cochran 
 fjoseph A. Corbin 
 Ezra Conway 
 Benjamin H. Cummins 
 John M. Day 
 Michael Dougherty 
 Henry Dickson 
 Robert B. Dungan 
 fBenjamin F. Earnest 
 James A. Fordyce 
 William M. Geary 
 ♦♦Joseph S. Guess 
 
 Benjamin Hawthorn 
 ♦Robert W. Hull 
 George W. Johnson 
 James C. Lyle 
 
 James K. P. Magill 
 **John Makeown 
 ♦♦John Maloy 
 
 Robert W. McClurg 
 
 James K. McCurdy 
 
 Benjamin McCullough 
 
 Owen McElfish 
 
 fRobert Meldoon 
 
 Norris Metcalf 
 ♦William Miller 
 
 Isaac Miller 
 fColin R. Nickeson 
 
 James L. Noah 
 
 William Porter 
 
 Robert A. Pry 
 
 William M. Rea 
 
 William Scott 
 
 Nathaniel Seese 
 ♦Jesse Sprowls 
 
 George Sprowls 
 
 Oliver Staley 
 f Johnson Toppin 
 ♦Robert Virtue 
 
 Ulysses S. Wheeler 
 
 Thomas Wilkins 
 
 James Worstell 
 
 ♦Killed at Gettysburg. fWounded at Gettysburg. tCaptured at 
 Gettysburg. **Killed in subsequent battle. Corporal Shindle died in 
 Andersonville, March 17, 1864. Robert Virtue, wounded, lingered 
 until September 9, 1863. 
 
 It will be noted that some of the sick and some on detail were 
 mustered on June 30, 1863, and some not. 
 
 On detached duty: Corporals, John F. Gardner and James L 
 Noah with artillery train, later in Thompson's battery; Enoch Mounts 
 
144 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 and Benjamin McCullough, with ambulance train: James Arthurs and 
 Michael Daugherty, with wagon train; Robert McQurg, with Pioneer 
 
 Corps; James K, NfcCurdy, with hospital steward; Nathaniel Seesc, 
 with commissary department. 
 
 Siek in hospitals: Corporals, Silas Cooke, George Ralston. Pri- 
 vates, Peter Andrews. Daniel Puttertoss. John M. Day, Joseph C 
 
 Fraiier, George A. Elanlin, John W. Mickeson. (Wounded Chan* 
 cellorsville, William Stollar and Marshall Wright.) 
 
 Total on roster of company, 70 ; details, 0; siek, 10: deserted 
 ]ulv 1. I. Present for duty in action, 50; killed and died ot" wounds, 
 <>. wounded. 8; captured, 2; deserted. 1 ; effectives July 5. [863, a_\ 
 
•II [OR! \L TABLET 140TH PENNA. VOL. 
 
THE RETURN TO VIRGINIA 145 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE RETURN TO VIRGINIA. 
 
 Tracks of blood, even to the forest's depths, 
 And scattered arms, and lifeless warriors, 
 Whose hard lineaments, 
 Death's self could change not, 
 Marked the dreadful path 
 Of the outsallying visitors. 
 
 AT eleven o'clock on the morning of the fifth of July, the 
 Second Corps left its position on the line of battle and, 
 striking across lots, reached the Baltimore Pike which 
 was followed to Littleton, Pa. While crossing the battle- 
 ground near Culp's Hill we entered a strip of woodland which 
 was literally riddled with musket balls. Some of the limbs of 
 the trees bore the marks of more than a score of missiles, and 
 there was scarcely a tree in sight the bole of which was not 
 chipped and gashed with minie balls or fragments of shells. 
 We bivouacked at Two Taverns, a little town about five miles 
 from Gettysburg, where we remained, because of lack of food 
 supplies, until the morning of the 7th. Meanwhile each man 
 of the command was obliged to forage on his own account. 
 We paid in cash, however, for all the provisions we could 
 secure. At Taneytown, our next halting place, for we had 
 diverged from the Baltimore Pike at Two Taverns, the women 
 of the several households worked continuously, from morning 
 to late at night, to cook for us, but could not fully supply the 
 wants of so many hungry men. In all the Maryland towns 
 on our route of march the residents did their best to furnish 
 us with bread, cakes and other articles of food at reasonable 
 rates, and always had for us words of encouragement and 
 cheer. On the night of the 7th we had heavy showers and 
 all of the next day marched through the pelting rain and pools 
 of soft mud. We reached Frederick, Md., in the evening and 
 
i 4 o THE ONE HUNDRED AXD FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 bivouacked in our water-soaked clothing, on the edge of the 
 town. Here, as on the upward journey, we found flags flying, 
 
 apparently from every house, and despite our seedy appear- 
 ance and mud stained garments, the good people gave us, as 
 we passed through, a most cordial welcome. On the outskirts, 
 south of the city we saw the body oi a Confederate spy swing- 
 ing from the limb of an oak tree. This man. as we after- 
 wards learned, had frequently been in our camp at Falmouth, 
 selling Union medals and stencil plates to the soldiers. These 
 visits gave him the opportunity to find out all he wished to 
 know about the strength, equipment and prospective move- 
 ments oi the army. He was a Virginian and was known, 
 where he traded, as Richardson. At Frederick he was 
 arrested on suspicion, tried and and convicted mainly by evi- 
 dence found on his person. In connection with the death 
 sentence it was ordered that his body should hang, as a warn- 
 ing to others who might pass that way. for three days. From 
 Frederick we marched to the Antietam battlefield on the other 
 side of the mountain range and bivouacked for seven hours. 
 Later the Division moved to the vicinity of llagerstown and 
 halted for a few hours on the campus oi St. James' College. 
 At the outtlow of a copious fountain, which gushed from the 
 hillside, the writer undertook to wash a much soiled under- 
 vest It was impossible to heat water for this purpose, and 
 with much soaping, plunging and rubbing in cold water, the 
 garment was carefully rinsed and hung- upon the bayonets of 
 a stack of guns to dry. About two minutes thereafter the 
 bugle call rang out — "fall in." By a quick movement it was 
 saved from a tumble to the dusty ground, as the guns were 
 being- withdrawn, and when the order was given to march, 
 and that too in line of battle, it was plain that something- 
 must be done to get rid of the dripping supernumerary, and yet 
 quite necessary, garment. The owner had no use for it any- 
 where, under the circumstances, except on his back and. 
 despite the claminess of this resisting vesture, which clung 
 like a tight fitting glove to neck and shoulders, there it had to 
 go. With much tugging- and pulling it was partly donned, 
 hastily covered with a blouse, and further operations were 
 
Till: RETURN TO VIRCINIA 147 
 
 suspended until it had time to dry out, and resume its normal 
 conditions. 
 
 At Jones' Cross Roads, in the vicinity of the Falling 
 Water Ford of the Potomac, we again confronted the enemy 
 in force, and in a strongly entrenched position, 
 
 General Lee, having had the advantage of the shortest 
 route through the mountain gaps, reached this point on the 
 nth of July. Finding the river, which had been much swollen 
 by the recent rains, too high for fording he constructed a 
 strongly fortified defensive line in semi-circular form, extend- 
 ing from Williamsport to Falling Waters, the usual fording 
 place of the river. General Humphreys, who has written a 
 valuable work entited "Getlysburg to the Rapidan," asserts 
 that Lee's intrenchments at Williamsport were not less form- 
 idable than those he occupied at Marye's Heights. It was a 
 position which could not be turned for each of the wings 
 rested securely on bends in the river. General Meade had 
 determined to make an effort to carry it by assault on the 13th, 
 but when he found the works were of unusual strength at 
 every point where an attack could be delivered, hesitated, 
 and called a council of war. Notwithstanding the fact that 
 five out of seven of his corps' commanders were opposed to 
 such a venture, he decided to make an attack on the next day. 
 During the night preparations were made to carry out this 
 purpose and at daybreak the troops were under arms and 
 ready for the signal to advance. 
 
 Caldwell's Division was ordered to take the lead in a 
 reconnoissance in force and at the word of command we 
 crossed the earthworks of our own line, passed the outposts 
 of the pickets, and, after a brief halt, the several companies 
 of our Regiment with other commands selected for the same 
 purpose, were deployed as skirmishers in front of the main 
 body. Advancing rapidly across the intervening space we 
 expected every moment to receive the fire of the enemy. 
 When their formidable works loomed up before us a rush was 
 made to occupy them, and then, to our great surprise and also 
 to our great relief — it must be admitted — we found them 
 almost deserted. 
 
[48 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Taking advantage of the dense darkness and heavy rains 
 of the preceding night, the Confederates had recrossed the 
 Potomac and made good their escape. When the main body 
 came up we started in hot pursuit toward the crossing place 
 at Falling Waters. We followed the cavalry in this pursuit 
 almost to the ford and gathered up a number of prisoners, 
 stragglers and deserters. These were all that remained of 
 General Lee's Army on our side of the Potomac. 
 
 Thus ended the "Great Invasion." 
 
 From this time onward General Lee fought to the 
 death in his own native State, for a cause which he must 
 have known was irretrievably lost. It is scarcely pos- 
 sible to give to one who was not a participant in the expe- 
 riences of this Gettysburg campaign an adequate impres- 
 sion of the hardship's endured by the men of both armies 
 during its continuance. From the day the Union Army left 
 the Rappahannock, the troops were exposed to the intense 
 heat of the mid-summer sun, the chilly dews of the night and 
 frequently recurring storms of wind and rain, without ade- 
 quate shelter or protection. Time and again they forded 
 swollen streams, knee deep or waist deep as they happened to 
 find them ; marched for days and sometimes by night, also, in 
 pelting rains, and slept on the ground in wet clothing under 
 the dripping sky. Some of the forced marches which were 
 made on the upward journey were in the hottest days of this 
 exceptionally hot season, and, at the terminus of the northward 
 course, without time for rest or sleep or even to cook an 
 ordinary meal, the men were thrown into battle line, and for 
 two days following were hotly engaged in one of the most 
 notable battles of modern times. There were some who could 
 not endure the torture of their shoes on the last days of the 
 march, and were declared by the surgeons to be unfit for duty, 
 who went into the battle with shoes partly cut away, and in 
 one case a comrade known to the writer, went through the 
 vvheatfield and into the rocky woods beyond without shoes 
 on his bruised and swollen feet. 
 
 The occasion for rapid movements ceased with the retreat 
 of the enemy to the other side of the Potomac, and, at a more 
 
THE RETURN TO VIRGINIA 149 
 
 leisurely pace, the Union Army marched down the river, 
 through Sharpsburg and thence by way of the Chesapeake & 
 Ohio canal, to Sandy Hook in the immediate vicinity of Har- 
 per's Ferry. Here for the purpose of receiving clothing and 
 much needed supplies, the corps remained for two or three 
 days. Early on the morning of the iSth we crossed the 
 Potomac on a pontoon bridge and later the Shenandoah on a 
 suspension bridge, and, entering Loudon Valley, went into 
 camp at Hillsboro. Loudon Valley will always be remem- 
 bered by "the boys" for its acres of ripe, luscious blackberries. 
 They were of the "Low Blackberry" or "Dewberry" family 
 and there seemed to be an ample supply at the several camp- 
 ing places for the entire army. 
 
 They were a veritable God-send to the men, who had so 
 long subsisted mainly on salt pork and hardtack, and the 
 recommendation of the doctors, to eat freely of them, was 
 universally and enthusiastically approved. 
 
 The series of zigzag journeys which brought us at length 
 to the Rappahannock, within a few miles of our starting point, 
 are briefly given by the historian of the Second Corps, as 
 follows: 
 
 On the 19th the march was continued from Millsboro 
 to Woodgrove ; on the 20th to Bloomfield, where the troops 
 rested through the 21st. On the 22d the march was re- 
 sumed, the corps reaching Paris that day, Linden on the 
 23rd, Markham Station on the 24th, White Plains on the 
 25th. At Germantown, which was covered hy the march of 
 the 26th, the corps rested through the three following days, 
 moving on the 30th to Elk Run, and on the 31st to Morris- 
 ville, where a long halt was destined to be made. The Army 
 of the Potomac was now back upon the Rappahannock; and 
 here opportunity was to be offered for refitting and recruit- 
 ing, after the terrible losses, both of men and of material, 
 which had been sustained. 
 
 Morrisville on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, 
 about six miles from Kelly's Ford, was in the midst of an open 
 stretch of country which was well adapted for camping pur- 
 poses. The distance from Falmouth to Gettysburg and re- 
 
ISO /'///•' ONIi HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 turn to this place lias been estimated, in round numbers, at 
 450 miles, With the exception of a reconnoissance in force 
 at United States Ford on the Rappahannock (Augusl 3] Sep- 
 tember |tli) the Regimenl with its associated commands, re- 
 mained quietly in this camp until the [2th o\ September, 
 
 when a new forward movement was made to prevent the 
 enemy from sending reinforcements to the hard pressed C 'on- 
 federate ai mics (A the West. 
 
 On the [2th of August, General G. K. Warren, who had 
 
 a short time before been made a Ma jor ( ".eneial of Volunteers 
 
 for gallantry and eminent service at Gettysburg, was assigned 
 to the command o\ the Second Corps. This splendid officer 
 was warmly welcomed by officers and men and SO long as 
 
 he remained in this responsible command proved to be a 
 
 worthy substitute for General Hancock, who tor several 
 months, was unfitted for active service by the severe wound 
 which he had received on the Gettysburg field. 
 
 On the morning i^ the [2th of September the Second 
 Corps broke eamp ami, marching to Rappahannock Station 
 by the edge ^^ the river, bivouacked for the night, 'flic next 
 morning we followed the cavalry across the river and assisted 
 
 in driving back the enemy through Culpepper, where a sharp 
 engagement took place. Then advancing rapidly to the Rapi- 
 
 dan we held the fords until the rest of tlu' army came up. 
 
 From this date until the Sth of October the two armies 
 Confronted each other along the line oi this narrow and 
 easily fordable stream. The Confederates held a Strongly 
 fortified position along the slope id' the Orange Mountain 
 range and at some points their line o! defence seemed to be 
 a very shoi t distance away. The pickets were so close to- 
 gether on either side of the river that it was exceedingly 
 dangerous to make any demonstration which involved the 
 exposure oi the sentinels or their officers. Aside from this 
 the troops were not exposed to serious danger or discomfort. 
 It was the season o\ the year when outdoor life was most 
 
 enjoyable ami the weather in general was Favorable for such 
 maneuvering and marching as was deemed to be necessary to 
 
THE RETURN TO VIRGINIA 151 
 
 prevent the enemy from sending reinforcements to the armies 
 of the West. 
 
 During the slay of the army at Morrisville and vioinily, 
 
 there was a number of military executions for desertion to the 
 
 enemy. Most of the men who suffered this extreme penally 
 were "bounty-jumpers" or "professional deserters." Accept- 
 ing the pay that was offered as a bounty for enlistment, they 
 
 took the first opportunity to desert to the enemy and then 
 working their way hack to the North were ready to repeal this 
 dastardly attempt at some other recruiting station where their 
 identity was not known or likely to he questioned. To meet 
 such cases of flagrant disloyalty and betrayal of trust it was 
 necessary to brand the crime of desertion with a form of 
 punishment which should be swift and sure, as well as shameful 
 and dishonorable. 
 
 The fust military execution for this crime in the Division 
 to which we belonged took place on the 2d of October in an 
 open space on the north side of the Rapidan l\ivcr. The 
 entire Division was drawn up in line on three sides of a 
 hollow square to witness this dread administration of military 
 justice. 
 
 When all the troops had arrived on the ground, and the 
 lines had been carefully dressed, the silence thai had become 
 oppressive was broken by a distant bugle call. 
 
 Then from the lit 1 1t: mound-like hill on which the Head- 
 quarters of the Division was located, came a slowly-moving 
 procession. I'ir.t came the I'rovosl Marshal wilh the in- 
 signia of his office; then the Division brass band, playing the 
 Dead March in Said, followed by a tile of thirteen picked men 
 with loaded muskets; next came four men bearing a rough 
 pine coffin on their shoulders, and, directly behind ibis grue- 
 some object walked the condemned man, a private of the 
 Sixty-sixth New York, arm in arm with the chaplain. An- 
 other file of men, the reserves, brought up the rear of this 
 
 mournful procession. With slow and measured tread, keeping 
 
 time to the funeral dirge, the prisoner and his escort wound 
 down the hill, passed between the lines and balled af ;i 
 freshly-dug grave, at the open end of the square. Here, amid 
 
152 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 solemn stillness, the warrant for the execution was read. This 
 was followed by the offering of a brief prayer, the last fare- 
 well of the officer in charge, and then the condemned man 
 unbuttoned his coat exposing a clean, white shirt. A hand- 
 kerchief was bound over his eyes and he took his seat on 
 the coffin. A moment later the Provost Marshal stepped aside 
 and unsheathed his sword. For an instant it glittered in the 
 air, and, with the flash came a rattling volley of musketry, 
 and all was over. After the file of men had fired they stood 
 at attention, like statues, in line. The Provost Marshal took 
 his position in front of them with drawn sword and there, 
 before their victim, they stood until the whole Division had 
 passed the spot. Then they all filed away to their camps, 
 the dead man was buried, and military justice was satisfied. 
 
 In the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment there was 
 but one conviction for desertion and this was at a later date 
 and had a happier issue than the case above mentioned. With 
 some of the extenuating circumstances which determined this 
 issue there is interwoven an interesting, true story which is 
 worth the telling in this connection. The substance of it is 
 gathered from approved documents belonging to the records 
 of one of the companies, but in view of these circumstances 
 and the good record for courage and fidelity to duty of this 
 soldier after his reprieve and return to his Regiment, we 
 withhold the name. 
 
 This deserter, at the time of his enlistment, was but nine- 
 teen years old. He was regarded by his comrades as a "bold, 
 heedless, profane dare-devil boy." He had seldom attended 
 either church or school and was utterly devoid of a sense of 
 restraint to the claims of home, church or society. As one 
 has put it, "he knew neither the meaning nor the nature of 
 a moral obligation, and obedience to others was a virtue yet 
 to be learned in an awful but effective experience. Withal 
 he had a kind heart and courage worthy of a Sheridan." 
 While at Camp Howe, near Pittsburg, he returned to his home 
 with some of his old associates, without permission, and after 
 a few days came back of his own accord. At Parkton, Mary- 
 land, in the fall of 1862. he stepped aboard a freight train 
 
////■ RETURN TO VIRGINIA | 
 
 .iiid in a few < I ■' i y s was hack in Western Pennsylvania, "enjoy 
 mg the wild, free life "I hi:, boyhood home " I'Yoin this csca 
 pade he was bronjdil back by a United States Marshal tO hi 
 Regiment, but for some reason no charges were |)ieferred 
 
 against him. In the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg 
 
 lie was brave lo recklessness and in no ease whric courage "■ 
 hardship was required did he shrink from duty or play false 
 
 to the rigorous demands «>f service required of a soldier m 
 
 the front. Willi Ihe sibling' scenes of army life he was in his 
 
 element, but he could noi endure the tedious monotony of the 
 camp during the long halls, and, when confined io iis routine 
 
 duties in winler quarters, was as restless as an nntanied animal 
 m a cage. In Ihe man Inn;- and countermarching of his Regi 
 menl in Virginia, during Ihe summer ami .hiIiiiiiii of [863, 
 he was always in his place and ready for duly, but when the 
 Army of the I'olomac. settled down on Ihe K'apidan for the 
 
 winier, he consulted his own preferences, stole quietly away, 
 
 and for Ihe (bird lime was reported as a deserter, lie was 
 found some lime afterward at his home by an officer who was 
 sent lo arrest him, was brought back to his Regiment, I ried 
 by a court niarlial and sentenced lo be shot to death with 
 musketry, at a dale which was designated by the presiding 
 Judge. "For Ihe first lime in his life," says one of the officer; 
 of his company, "the boy realized that there was an authority 
 above him which he was bound to obey." 
 
 lie ceased to lake food, to wash or comb, and with his 
 wan face and unkempt hair presented ;i ghastly appearance. 
 One of the officers of the company, who had persuaded this 
 country lad to enlist, and had pledged him his protection and 
 support in so far as thai was possible, was worried over the 
 imposition of this Sentence, which Seemed to him to be iiniiec 
 essarily severe, but the action of Ihe court martial had been 
 approved by the Commander of the Army and from that 
 decision ihere was no appeal. 
 
 During the interval between the sentence and its execu- 
 tion, President Lincoln made a brief visit to General Meade 
 and reviewed a part of Ihe army. Hearing of this visit the 
 young officer, who for the reason given was specially intei 
 
154 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ested in the condemned man's fate, determined on his own 
 responsibility to secure, if possible, an interview with the 
 President and lay the case before him. In this he succeeded. 
 With a directness of manner and evident honesty of purpose 
 which gave weight to his appeal, he rehearsed the facts which 
 had led to this conviction, placing over against them as the 
 basis of his appeal, the lack of education and moral training 
 of the young man and emphasized the unquestioned courage 
 he had shown in the performance of his duties at the battles 
 of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. In view of these extenu- 
 ating circumstances, he asked for a remission of his sentence. 
 The great-hearted President listened to this plea with close 
 attention. Then turning to General Meade, who was also 
 present at this interview, said : "General, we need such men 
 and we ought to bear with their frailties. Can you not post- 
 pone this execution until further orders?" It goes without 
 saying that the further orders never came, and the soldier 
 who was thus saved from a disgraceful death, was returned 
 to his Regiment and served with it faithfully until the close 
 of the war. In one of the battles before Petersburg he received 
 a painful wound in his hand, resulting in the loss of a thumb, 
 but he refused to go to the hospital or to be absent from 
 duty, and on the 21st of May was honorably discharged with 
 his company. 
 
 While in its most advanced position on the line of the 
 Rapidan, the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment was trans- 
 ferred from the Third to the First Brigade of the Division. 
 General Nelson A. Miles had recently been assigned to the 
 command of this Brigade and the transfer, for this reason 
 mainly, was enthusiastically endorsed by the rank and file, as 
 well as by the officers of the Regiment. 
 
 Our position on the Rapidan was the farthest point 
 reached on the return journey from Gettysburg. The reason 
 for its abandonment in more haste than was seemly, in the 
 judgment of the troops who occupied it, will be given in the 
 next chapter. 
 
A RACE FOR VANTAGE GROUND, NORTHWARD 155 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 A NOTABLE FLANK MOVEMENT AND A RACE FOR VANTAGE 
 GROUND, NORTHWARD. 
 
 ' Ah me ! what perils do environ 
 The man that meddles with cold iron; 
 What plaguey mischiefs and mishaps 
 Do dog him still with after-claps. 
 
 — Butler's Hudebras, Part 1, Canto in. 
 
 ON the 5th of October the Second Corps was relieved by 
 the Sixth and marched back about twelve miles, to the 
 north side of the town of Culpepper. The view from 
 this place was singularly beautiful and impressive. The cleared 
 land was level or gently rolling to the base of the Blue 
 Mountain Range which towered up, without any intervening 
 foothills, several thousand feet toward the sky. 
 
 On the 8th of October it was evident from several indi- 
 cations that General Lee was about to make an aggressive 
 march of some kind. In confirmation of this intention, the 
 movement of a column of troops was reported the day follow- 
 ing on our right. Under the impression that this was the be- 
 ginning of a flank movement in that quarter, the Union troops 
 were withdrawn to the north side of the Rappahannock. This 
 was accomplished on the nth. While at Bealton Station 
 awaiting further orders, General Meade received information 
 which led him to believe that the move to the right was a feint 
 and that the real point of attack was to be at or near Cul- 
 pepper. Acting on this erroneous information, which came 
 from the officer in charge of his rear guard, Meade, to the 
 surprise of everyone — the "J°'h. n m es " included — turned about 
 and recrossed the river with the Second, Fifth and Sixth 
 Corps. This force advanced on the south side as far as 
 Brandy Station and with the help of Buford's Cavalry, drove 
 
156 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 the Confederates back toward the town of Culpepper. The 
 advance of the Second Corps at Brandy Station on that beau- 
 tiful afternoon of the 12th of October, has been described as 
 one of the rare opportunities offered during the war for the 
 movement of troops in battle, in level, open country, affording 
 a fine view of their magnificent array and maneuvering that 
 could not fail to inspire all who witnessed it. 
 
 In a flat, open space about a mile wide the Second Corps 
 was drawn up in nine lines, a brigade in each line, with the 
 regiments formed in close columns by divisions. Between 
 each line were the brigade commanders and their staffs and 
 colors, with their aides riding rapidly from point to point, 
 as it became necessary to carry instructions to the regi- 
 mental commanders. Around each regiment were the sur- 
 geons and their helpers. Following in the rear of all was 
 the ambulance corps with the stretchers, ready to do their 
 humane work of caring for the wounded. Then to the left 
 could be seen the artillery, keeping up with the infantry, 
 all plainly seen at one time. Presently, in front, as far as 
 the eye could see, a flash was seen, then smoke; soon the 
 report is heard and a shell comes crashing toward us, burst- 
 ing over our heads, quickly followed by many others; yet 
 the lines slowly advanced, making no reply. The line of 
 skirmishers slightly in advance of Caldwell's Division, which 
 was in the lead, hurried rapidly forward, closely followed 
 by the main line, but when very near the enemy's guns, the 
 firing ceased and the battery with its supports quickly re- 
 tired. As they disappeared in the distance our lines halt 
 and the battle is over. Thus was one of the finest opportuni- 
 ties for a fair open-field fight lost. But that sight can never 
 be forgotten by those who saw and noted it. Over 15,000 
 men, veterans, tried by the fire of many battles, and by the 
 march of many campaigns, — there formed in line of battle, 
 advancing amid shot and shell as quickly and orderly as 
 if on parade or drill, and the whole field was seen at a 
 glance.* 
 
 It was evident from this adventure that the main body 
 of the enemy was to be found somewhere else and during 
 
 *Condensed from History of the One Hundred and Sixth Penn- 
 sylvania Regiment, page 221. 
 
A RACE FOR VANTAGE GROUND, NORTHWARD 157 
 
 the same evening positive information came through General 
 Gregg, of the Cavalry, that the Confederate Army in full 
 force, had turned the right flank of our army and was moving 
 rapidly northward with a view to cutting off our communica- 
 tion with Washington City. The necessity for prompt action 
 to meet this emergency had now become urgent and messen- 
 gers were sent in hot haste to the forces assembled around 
 Brandy Station, with orders to withdraw at once to the north 
 side of the river. The troops of the Second Corps started a 
 little before midnight and retraced their steps to Bealton Sta- 
 tion, crossing the Rappahannock for the third time in less 
 than as many days. From Bealton, which was reached about 
 daylight, the march was continued to Fayetteville in the vicin- 
 ity of the famous Sulphur Springs. Here a halt was made 
 to prepare a cup of coffee and in three-quarters of an hour 
 the march was resumed. On this forced march the Second 
 Corps was the rear guard of the army and the First Divi- 
 sion held the post of honor as the rear Division of the Corps. 
 
 "The day's march," says General Walker, "was long 
 and wearisome. The distance covered was not great, but 
 such were the delays and interruptions due to the pres- 
 ence of another corps (the Third) on the road in front and 
 to the necessity of guarding continually against attacks upon 
 our left flank, that it was not until nine o'clock in the even- 
 ing that the corps bivouacked on the south side of Cedar 
 Run, not far from the little village of Auburn." 
 
 Before daylight we were aroused from our broken slum- 
 bers and moved out like spectres in the fog which hung over 
 the valley. About a fourth of a mile from the fording place 
 of the stream the Division was halted on a bare knoll or 
 ridge to give time for the rest of the column to come up. 
 About this time a force of cavalry and infantry belonging to 
 Rodes' Division of Ewell's Corps fiercely attacked General 
 Gregg, who with his Cavalry Division, was holding the ap- 
 proaches to the road leading to the ford. Seeing that he was 
 hard pressed by superior numbers, General Warren sent Car- 
 roll's Brigade to his assistance. During the progress of this 
 
158 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 spirited contest, Caldwell's men were allowed to unsling knap- 
 sacks, stack arms and make preparations for a hurried break- 
 fast. 
 
 "While thus engaged," says the historian of the corps, 
 "in their domestic duties, a bolt, out of what was anything 
 but a clear sky, brought every man to his feet. Through 
 the mist down the road to Catlett's the very line of our 
 communication with the rest of the army, the destined ave- 
 nue of our escape, were seen flashes in quick succession, 
 and the rush of shells was heard, followed by the sharp 
 crack which told that the fuses had done their deadly work. 
 
 "The First Division, massed upon the hill, which was 
 literally packed, presented to the battery, thus terribly un- 
 masked, such a mark as few gunners ever had offered to 
 them. For the instant there was a great deal of excite- 
 ment and, of course, some confusion among Caldwell's men, 
 who ran instantly to arms, while the unexpected foe made 
 the most of his opportunity by a rapid and well-directed 
 fire." 
 
 The confusion referred to in a general way in the above 
 description was very great for a few moments in the imme- 
 diate vicinity of the bursting shells. Horses which broke loose 
 from their holders dashed madly across the field, promising 
 tins of coffee were upset on the fire or abandoned, batteries of 
 artillery were rushed up to positions in front of the troops 
 and neither officers or men seemed to know just what to do. 
 Some officers gave the command to lie down ; others to fall 
 back. Before anything could be done, eleven men were killed 
 and many more were wounded. As soon as possible our artil- 
 lery took position and opened upon the enemy while the men 
 of the Division were placed behind them on the reverse side 
 of the hill. 
 
 About the same time a charge was made by Hay's Divi- 
 sion in advance of ours and the daring foe, who, amid the 
 fog, had literally crept up under our noses, was driven from 
 his position. The leader of this force, who, on the lifting of 
 the fog, had found himself in a position to do this damage 
 was the famous General J. E. B. Stuart. His command at 
 
A RACE FOR VANTAGE GROUND, NORTHWARD 159 
 
 the time consisted of two brigades of cavalry and seven pieces 
 of artillery. He himself had been caught between the mov- 
 ing columns of the Union Army and not knowing how to 
 get out in the darkness, had hidden his troops in a dense pine 
 wood near the road to Catlett Station. It is said that this 
 hiding place was close to the headquarters of General Meade, 
 and that, had he known of that proximity, he might have 
 crowned his exploits by carrying to Richmond, the Com- 
 mander of the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 "The closeness with which the corps was environed at 
 this time," says General Walker, "may be judged from the 
 fact that shots from Stuart's guns passed clear over our 
 troops and fell among the advancing lines of Ewell on the 
 other side, actually checking their advance. And for a time 
 it seemed very much as if the Second Corps was caught in 
 a trap and would be baited to death by its exulting enemies." 
 
 This, in fact, was the purpose of the Confederate Com- 
 mander throughout the day, and especially as it was drawing 
 to a close when the head of the much harassed column ap- 
 proached the vicinity of Bristoe Station. Here a determined 
 effort was made by a force under Hill more than double the 
 effective strength of Warren's command, to cut it off from 
 the rest of the army. In this they were favored by the prema- 
 ture withdrawal of the rear Division of the Fifth Corps which 
 had moved on toward Centreville Heights without waiting for 
 the arrival of the Second with which they were supposed to 
 maintain a close connection. In this crisis hour the only sup- 
 port available was General Gregg's cavalry command. By a 
 masterly movement, under direction of General Warren, Hay's 
 Division, which was in the lead took possession of a railroad 
 cut in which it not only resisted successfully a furious charge 
 made upon it, but making an aggressive onslaught in a critical 
 moment, captured two battle flags, five guns and four hundred 
 and fifty prisoners. This position was held until the other 
 divisions came up. Close behind Caldwell's command was 
 Ewell's Corps with which the rear guard had several spirited 
 contests. 
 
160 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Between the forces of Ewell and Hill, which thus en- 
 vironed the Second Corps, the result, despite every effort 
 which could have been made, would almost certainly have 
 been its surrender or annihilation. Happily for the Union 
 cause there was no order for the combined assault which 
 Warren, with sinking heart, had anticipated, and Bristoe Sta- 
 tion has passed into history as one of the most brilliant vic- 
 tories in the face of overwhelming odds, in the story of the 
 war. Under the cover of darkness, the command, numbering 
 less than 8,000 men, withdrew from the overwhelming force 
 which had threatened its destruction, "marching in ghostly 
 silence, across the enemy's front, within three hundred yards 
 of their skirmishers and half-cannon range of their smooth- 
 bore guns. Crossing Broad Run, partly by the ford and 
 partly by the railroad, the infantry made their way over the 
 great plain stretching toward Manassas, and, between three 
 and four o'clock on the morning of the 15th, the jaded troops, 
 who, of the sixty-nine hours that had elapsed since they left 
 Bealton on the morning of the 12th, had been in column on 
 the road, or in line of battle, or skirmishing or fighting with 
 the enemy more than sixty, carrying the heaviest loads I have 
 ever known troops to carry in campaign, were allowed to 
 throw themselves upon the ground, on the left bank of Bull 
 Run, near Blackburn Ford, and for the time, rest from their 
 labors."* 
 
 In this neck and neck race for a position commanding the 
 approach to Washington, the men in blue, although frequently 
 beset and harassed by the flanking columns of the enemy, 
 were eventually the victors. Foiled in his purpose to reach 
 Centreville in advance of the Union Army and disappointed 
 in his attempt to crush a part of it while drawn out on the 
 way, General Lee retreated to the position he had formerly 
 occupied on the peninsula between the rivers. 
 
 Returning with the Union Army in leisurely fashion, the 
 Second Corps went into camp in the vicinity of W'arrenton 
 
 * Walker's History of the Second Corps, page 361. 
 
A RACE FOR VANTAGE GROUND, NORTHWARD 161 
 
 Junction, where a stay amid pleasant surroundings was made 
 for about two weeks. 
 
 In his official report, General Miles, commanding the Bri- 
 gade, makes the following reference to the part taken by the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment at Bristoe Station : 
 
 "In the attack at Bristoe, the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania, was placed on the right of Captain Pickett's 
 battery, About six o'clock P. M. I was ordered to send one 
 Regiment — the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania — to 
 support the batteries of Gregg's command, which was sta- 
 tioned on the Brentville road, where it remained for two hours, 
 or until the command was ordered to Centreville." 
 
 Referring to the same engagement, Colonel Fraser re- 
 ports under date of October 17th as follows: 
 
 About 2.30 P. M., when the Regiment was marching 
 to Bristoe Station, a brisk cannonade ahead of us was heard. 
 The Regiment was immediately marched at double quick 
 for a considerable distance and was placed in support of 
 Pickett's battery on a small hill in front of the enemy's 
 position and near Bristoe Station. About 6 P. M. the Regi- 
 ment was moved from this position, under a brisk artillery 
 fire, to another part of the same hill, to support Captain 
 Martin's battery, where it remained until it was ordered to 
 join the column of the Second Corps on the march to 
 Centreville. The conduct of officers and men of my com- 
 mand throughout the operations and engagements of the 
 14th inst. deserve my commendation for gallantry and 
 coolness. 
 
 General Meade expressed his appreciation of the conduct 
 of the Second Corps at Bristoe Station in the following 
 General Order: 
 
 (General Orders. Headquarters Army of the Potomac. 
 No. 96.) 
 
 October 15, 1863. 
 The Major-General commanding announces to the army 
 that the rear guard, consisting of the Second Corps, was 
 attacked yesterday while marching by the flank. 
 
 The enemy, after a spirited contest, was repulsed, los- 
 
162 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ing a battery of five guns, two colors and four hundred and 
 fifty prisoners. 
 
 The skill and promptitude of Major-General Warren, 
 and the gallantry and bearing of the officers and soldiers 
 of the Second Corps, are entitled to high commendation. 
 By command of Major-General Meade. 
 
 S. Williams, 
 Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 While in general the regulations concerning the appro- 
 priation of live stock in Dixie were rigidly enforced, there 
 were times on the march when the hungry men were allowed 
 to exercise a wise discretion in this matter, provided it was 
 not done too openly or defiantly. Benjamin F. Powelson, 
 First Sergeant of Company K, now the Pastor of the First 
 Presbyterian Church of Boulder, Colorado, furnishes an in- 
 stance of a still hunt of this sort which can hardly be regarded 
 as exceptional. We give him the privilege of telling his own 
 story : 
 
 During the many marchings of the Second Corps in 
 Virginia in the fall of 1863, there was more or less of for- 
 aging by the soldiers, on opportunity, to better their con- 
 dition, as rations were scarce and the boys were indeed 
 hungry. One day a fine-sized pig was found by a squad of 
 Company K's hungry boys, and it was "appropriated." But 
 as bad luck would have it, the provost guard came along too 
 soon and the boys were taken in tow. The guards either 
 had spoils enough or overlooked what their prisoners were 
 trying to conceal under their blouses — the pig which they 
 had cut in pieces. So they were brought to brigade head- 
 quarters when the camp was reached in the evening. Gen- 
 eral Miles took in the situation at a glance. Putting on as 
 sober a face as possible, he warned the boys never again to 
 get under the care of the provost guard and dismissed them. 
 Of course the excused culprits sent up to the General, a lit- 
 tle farther on, in point of time, a good roast from one of 
 the hindquarters. And, so far as known, the boys were 
 never caught again by the guards. 
 
 On the 7th of November the Corps broke camp and 
 started upon the second stage of the return to the line of the 
 
A RACE FOR VANTAGE GROUND, NORTHWARD 163 
 
 Rapidan. Crossing the Rappahannock at Kelly's Ford, the 
 troops advanced with but little opposition on the part of the 
 enemy to the open ground near Brandy Station, which the 
 army had occupied before the beginning of the Confederate 
 flanking movement. As our lines advanced, Lee's army with- 
 drew to its former position behind the Rapidan River. The 
 camp of the Second Corps was located, with every prospect 
 of a stay for the winter season, at Berry Hill in the vicinity of 
 Stevensburg. It was evident that the Confederates had located 
 in this vicinity, a short time before, with the same expecta- 
 tions; for they had constructed comfortable little cabins of 
 pine clapboards, tightly shingled, with snug bunks inside. In 
 the vicinity of this winter camp they had also made corduroy 
 roads and other improvements with a view to making their 
 stay as comfortable as possible. In some of the huts we found 
 dough just made up which the owners had not the time to 
 bake, while in others flour was scattered around which they 
 could not carry away. Thus it turned out that the flanking 
 movement ended just where it began, and at its close the two 
 armies occupied virtually the same positions which they had 
 held before they started on this northward race. 
 
1 64 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN. 
 
 The winter of 1863-64, on the banks of the Rapidan 
 was passed in preparation by both armies for that wrestle 
 of giants which was to begin in May in the Wilderness and 
 end at Appomattax in the following April. 
 
 John B. Gordon, Major-General Confederate Army. 
 
 BEFORE the preparation period to which General Gordon 
 refers, an aggressive movement was made by the 
 Union Army in the beginning of the winter season, 
 which has passed into history as the "Mine Run Campaign." 
 
 "The object of this well-conceived movement," says Gen- 
 eral Walker, "was, by a rapid march, to get inside Lee's line 
 of defense at Mine Run, and there to bring on a fight on a 
 fair field, with the possible added advantage of finding the 
 two Confederate Corps of Hill and Ewell so widely apart, for 
 convenience of winter quarters, as to allow them to be beaten 
 in detail. From the first, however, the movement was embar- 
 rassed by delays and blunders." 
 
 Some of the delays might have been avoided, but others 
 were caused by the fickle climate of Virginia at this changeful 
 season of the year. On the night preceding the day which 
 had been designated for this preconcerted move, there was a 
 succession of heavy showers which continued with occasional 
 intermissions until noon of the next day. By this time the 
 roads were in bad condition and the order was countermanded. 
 The period of rainfall which had so summarily disarranged 
 the plans of General Meade was followed by a cold wave and 
 in a few hours the roads, although rough and rutty, were so 
 solidly frozen that they were everywhere available for the 
 passage of the artillery and army trains. In the hope that 
 this change of weather would be favorable to his purpose, the 
 
WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN 165 
 
 Commanding General gave orders to his corps commanders 
 to resume the deferred movement on the next day, — the 26th 
 inst. 
 
 Early on the morning of that day the troops of the 
 Second Corps broke camp and took the road to Germanna 
 Ford. On their arrival at this designated crossing they were 
 halted for several hours in consequence of the failure of the 
 co-operating column, under General French, to appear at the 
 next ford above. When, at last, the order was given to ad- 
 vance, the One Hundred and Fortieth and the Eighty-first 
 Pennsylvania were deployed as skirmishers. Holding their 
 rifles above their heads this courageous little vanguard dashed 
 across the river, wading up to their armpits in its icy cold 
 water, and took possession of the opposite landing. The Con- 
 federates, who had made a show of defending it, quickly with- 
 drew and the engineers began to lay the bridges. The rains 
 had so swollen the river that the estimated number of pon- 
 toons were not sufficient and a second delay was experienced, 
 while additional boats were secured from the reserve train in 
 the rear. After the crossing was effected, the men were pushed 
 rapidly forward, but instead of reaching Robertson's tavern 
 as had been contemplated, with a view to attacking the posi- 
 tion of the enemy the next morning, they were obliged in 
 consequence of the approach of darkness, to halt and bivouack 
 at Flat Run Church, about four miles beyond the ford. When 
 Robertson's Tavern was reached the next morning, about ten 
 o'clock, it was no longer possible to take the enemy by sur- 
 prise. The failure of General French to appear with his sup- 
 porting columns on the right prevented a general engagement 
 that day and meanwhile the Confederates, working day and 
 night, had constructed a strong line of defence behind Mine 
 Run, which could not be carried except by direct assault. On 
 the 28th the whole army confronted this intrenched line, which 
 General Morgan, the Chief of Staff after careful scrutiny de- 
 scribed as a position of "almost impregnable strength." See- 
 ing the futility of an attack directly in his front and being 
 unwilling to give up the purpose for which the movement thus 
 far had been made, General Meade entrusted to Warren, the 
 
 -j 
 
t66 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 command of a flanking column consisting of a force of about 
 16,000 men, including his mvn corps, which lie directed to 
 march to the left behind the rest of the army and attack the 
 extreme right of the enemy's lines. This turning column, 
 despite every effort to hasten its movements, did not come into 
 a position to attack until near the going down of the sun on 
 the evening of the 29th, and in anticipation of an assault the 
 next morning, the weary troops went into bivouac. The light 
 of the next morning revealed a strongly fortified chain of 
 earthworks. The men who were designated to lead the as- 
 saulting column gave such articles of value as they had in 
 their possession, with a last message to loved ones at home, 
 fully realizing that they were to lead a forlorn hope, in which, 
 if success should crown their attempt, many must fall by tnc 
 way. 
 
 "No one doubted," says Walker, "that the contest would 
 be long and furious and obstinate ; and, as the cold of the last 
 day of November grew more and more intense, it was impos- 
 sible to think without a shudder of the fate of the wounded 
 of the coming tight." It had been arranged that the artillery 
 on the right and centre should open on the enemy at eight 
 o'clock when Warren should immediately assault. The young 
 commander, upon whom this responsibility had been laid, had 
 been studying the position in his front during most of the 
 night and more carefully from the early dawn of the morning 
 and, a short time before the signal was to be given, "suddenly 
 announced that he would not attack unless he received renewed 
 instructions from General Meade ; and at once rode off to 
 consult the Commander of the Army of the Potomac." 
 
 This decision was based upon his own quick perception 
 of the extreme peril of the undertaking and in view of all the 
 attending circumstances it was a braver act than if he had led 
 the assaulting column in person. General Meade at once ac- 
 quiesced in his decision and, on the next day, December 1st, 
 issued orders to withdraw during the night. A long and 
 almost continuous march of a night and a day, by way of 
 Culpepper Mine Ford, brought the weary troops of the Sec- 
 ond Corps back to the comfortable quarters which they had 
 
WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN 167 
 
 left seven days before. This night of marching, like the night 
 preceding it, was intensely cold and in several places blazing 
 fires were kindled in the woods on either side of the road- 
 ways to warm the chilled bodies of the men, as well as to light 
 the way through the wilderness which environed them. In 
 some places fire had spread to the underbrush on either side 
 of the road and we literally marched through a region of 
 heated air which, for the time, was a pleasant relief from the 
 biting cold outside of it. 
 
 Throughout the whole of this brief campaign there was 
 much suffering from the cold winds and especially on the 
 skirmish and picket lines, where fires could not be kindled. 
 
 In some places of greatest exposure the pickets were re- 
 lieved every half hour. Instances were reported where sentries 
 were frozen to death on their posts and others, with limbs 
 badly frozen, were brought in on stretchers by the ambulance 
 corps. 
 
 The following report of the Brigade Commander, Gen- 
 eral Miles, under date of December nth, gives some inter- 
 esting details with respect to the part which was taken by the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth, as well as of the brigade in 
 general : 
 
 My brigade started from camp on Mountain Run on 
 the morning of the 26th ult. and crossed the Rapidan at 
 Germanna Ford. Two Regiments (Eighty-first and One 
 Hundred and Fortieth) forded the river. Marched within 
 a mile of Wilderness Tavern and there bivouacked. On 
 the morning of the 27th, marched until the head of the 
 column met the enemy, near Robertson's Tavern. During 
 the day the brigade held several positions, but was not en- 
 gaged, the division being held in reserve. Remained here 
 for the night. The enemy having fallen back during the 
 night we again advanced, finding the enemy at Mine Run, 
 strongly intrenched. Remained on line during the entire 
 day, the 28th. 
 
 At 6 A. M., the 29th, the brigade marched to New Hope 
 Church. Near this point I received orders from General 
 Caldwell to advance on the left of the railroad cut and 
 deploy the Sixty-first New York, the Eighty-first and the 
 Twenty-sixth Michigan as skirmishers, at one pace intervals, 
 
108 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania marching by 
 the right of companies to the front as a support. I ad- 
 vanced in this order three miles without any other support 
 than of my own brigade, driving the enemy's cavalry and 
 infantry until my right was within 500 yards of the enemy's 
 works. Here my right flank was much exposed to their in- 
 fantry, artillery and Stuart's cavalry on my left. I was 
 obliged to halt and wait for more than an hour for other 
 troops to come up. So unexpected and rapid was this 
 advance that the enemy seemed to be taken by surprise and 
 were dislodged at every point without halting. While wait- 
 ing for support to arrive the enemy advanced a line of in- 
 fantry to within 200 yards of my immediate front, at the 
 same time opening a fire of artillery from one section. My 
 order to advance was welcomed by a cheer from the whole 
 line, which gallantly charged them, and, after a short but 
 sharp conflict, the enemy broke and fled in great confusion. 
 The line was then halted. Occasional firing was kept up 
 until 7 P. M., when a portion of the skirmish line was with- 
 drawn to the wood in rear. 
 
 On the morning of the 30th the brigade moved to the 
 right, with right resting on Orange Plank Road, and re- 
 mained there that night and next day, December 1st, until 
 8 P. M., when the brigade marched to our present camp 
 on Mountain Run, crossing the Rapidan at Culpepper Mine 
 Ford at 9 A. M., December 1st, and arrived at camp at 
 5 P. M. 
 
 During the entire movement the officers and men of the 
 brigade sustained the reputation they won on former occa- 
 sions, and returned to camp after the seven-days' march 
 without any stragglers or a single man missing. 
 
 I am much indebted to Col. H. Boyd McKean, Eighty- 
 first Pennsylvania, for the able manner in which he con- 
 ducted the skirmish line. Col. Farrar, Twenty-sixth Mich- 
 igan; Col. Fraser, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania, 
 and Lieut. -Col. K. O. Broady, Sixty-first New York, are de- 
 serving of favorable mention. — N. A. Miles. 
 
 In his official report Colonel Fraser mentions the fact 
 that 6 officers and 180 men of his command were detailed for 
 picket duty on the night of the withdrawal from Mine Run. 
 This detail kept up a brave show by keeping the fires burning 
 along their line until about two o'clock in the morning when 
 they also withdrew and by rapid marches rejoined their Regi- 
 
WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN 169 
 
 ment on the north side of the Rapidan. The casualties re- 
 ported were one killed and two wounded. 
 
 The series of campaig-ns of the fateful year 1863, closed 
 with the Mine Run venture, and the troops went into per- 
 manent camps for the winter. The well-earned rest from 
 marching- and conflicts of almost daily occurrence with some 
 portion of the enemy's forces, was uninterrupted, with one 
 exception, for a period of five months. The camp sites were 
 soon cleared of all rubbish, comfortable, canvas-covered cabins 
 were erected and in this location, which was more sheltered 
 than the winter camp of the year before, the troops in general 
 had more comforts and less hardships than at any other time 
 during the period of the war. The completion of the railroad 
 to the vicinity of the camp insured the prompt delivery of 
 army supplies of all kinds and there was no lack of soft bread, 
 vegetables and even of delicacies, which, for the most part, 
 were sent in boxes from friends and the home folk in the 
 North. Two saw mills and a grist mill in the vicinity of the 
 First Division camp were appropriated and manned by sol- 
 diers, who understood how to run them, during- the period 
 of our stay. The saw mills furnished lumber for ordinary 
 building purposes as well as fragrant cedar boards for the 
 lining and wainscoting of the officers' mess room and tents 
 and out of the ranks of the soldiers, details of willing workers 
 could always be secured to do first-class work in wood or 
 stone. The authorized enlistment and mustering in of a Divi- 
 sion band of carefully selected musicians from Boston and 
 other cities was completed in the fall of 1863. This band 
 which had a membership of thirty-two, soon became famous 
 in army circles and was greatly in demand on all public occa- 
 sions as well as at the Headquarters of the Division to which 
 it belonged. To provide a suitable place for it in the winter 
 season, a "Music Hall" of large proportions was built of the 
 lumber furnished by the mills. It was used for concerts, balls, 
 lectures and church services. Mrs. Lippincott (Grace Green- 
 wood), Anna Dickenson, Vice-President Hamlin and other 
 platform speakers of that time, gave interesting lectures in 
 this building before large and appreciative audiences. Dur- 
 
170 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ing one Sabbath service which was held in it, the hand of 
 thirty-two pieces accompanied the congregation in the singing 
 of the One Hundredth Psalm. There was something inex- 
 pressibly grand in the rich and full chorus of the male voices, 
 with such an accompaniment to the blessedly familiar tune 
 "Old Hundred." There were tears in the voices as well as in 
 the eyes of many who joined in that song - of praise, as mem- 
 ories of home and visions of its peaceful worshipping assem- 
 blies rose before them. 
 
 One of the gayest of the assemblies which were enter- 
 tained within its walls, was a full dress ball on the night of 
 I Ik- 22d of February. This assembly was in honor of the 
 ladies, families of the officers and visitors, numbering not 
 far short of two hundred, at the various headquarters of the 
 several commands throughout the army. 
 
 The interior of the hall was beautifully and tastefully 
 decorated for the occasion with regimental and headquarter 
 Hags of all the arms of the service. "A camp scene," as one 
 has described it, "was arranged on an elevated platform with 
 shelter tents, camp utensils, drums and bugles, stacked arms, 
 accoutrements, and two brass Napoleon guns, highly polished. 
 It was a very brilliant affair throughout, to which the hand- 
 some dresses of the ladies, some of whom had come down 
 from Washington for the occasion, and the showy uniforms 
 of the officers, greatly contributed."* 
 
 With such accessories and accompaniments the execution 
 of the "Lancers," which the writer, by courtesy, was permitted 
 to witness, was a fascinating medley and inter-weaving of 
 bright colors and graceful movements, with none of the ob- 
 jectionable features which are connected with so many of the 
 Twentieth Century dances. 
 
 Tin' One Hundred and Fortieth was not dependent upon 
 the arrangements made for occasional religious services in the 
 large building at the headquarters oi the Division, but under 
 the direction of its officers, erected a comfortable building 
 
 * History of One Hundred and Sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 page »33" 
 
WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN 171 
 
 which was used for this purpose regularly and exclusively. 
 It was a frame building covered with a canvas roof and heated 
 with a small stove. It was large enough to scat 150 or 200 
 fersons. 
 
 Here services were held regularly morning and evening 
 on the Sabbath ; and on Wednesday evening, there was a serv- 
 ice of prayer and praise, as in the churches at home. 
 
 Before starting on the Mine Run campaign, the Rev. 
 J. Lynn Milligan, who had been recently appointed Chaplain 
 of the Regiment, in the place of the Rev. Marcus Ormand, 
 whose resignation had been accepted June 8th, 1863, — ap- 
 peared in camp, and, by his pleasant manner, unflinching cour- 
 age in the performance of the duties of his office and his sym- 
 pathetic interest in the affairs of the men, quickly won their 
 hearts and secured their confidence. As the result of his faith- 
 ful labors in this winter camp a deeper spiritual interest was 
 awakened and some who had been indifferent to the claims of 
 the gospel gave evidence in their lives, as well as by profession, 
 that they had become sincere followers of Christ. 
 
 The principal occupations of the troops aside from the 
 routine duties of the camp, which were seldom, if ever re- 
 mitted, were building corduroy roads over boggy places, erect- 
 ing buildings for officers or public assemblies, daily drills, 
 when the weather was favorable, and frequent reviews of 
 corps or division commands. We were a good live miles or 
 more from the Confederate picket line, with the Rapidan 
 River as an additional safeguard between the outposts. 1 fence 
 the details for picket duty were not so large nor so frequent 
 as in the previous winter on the Rappahannock. 
 
 An advanced picket line was maintained at Kelly's Ford 
 on the Rapidan, about five miles from camp, to which the 
 First Division contributed its quota of officers and men. 
 Those who were detailed for this service usually remained on 
 the line for three or four days. 
 
 The only interruption to the peaceful tenor of our lives 
 during the winter was a reconnoissance in force, in which 
 the Second Corps took a prominent part, on the 6th and, 7th 
 of February. The order for this unexpected movement reached 
 
172 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 the Headquarters of the Division at seven o'clock in the morn- 
 ing- and a half hour later the troops, with three days' rations 
 in their haversacks were in line and ready to march. 
 
 The designated crossing of the river was Morton's Ford 
 where a strong line of the enemy's skirmishers was encount- 
 ered. Some troops of the Third Division were at once thrown 
 forward and without stopping at the river brink, dashed 
 through the ford and captured most of the opposing force on 
 the other side. The Division under General Hays followed 
 and wading across after the same fashion pushed the enemy's 
 heavy reinforced line of skirmishers back step by step into 
 their intrenched line. A pretense of assaulting the works 
 was kept up during the day and near its close there was a 
 sharp conflict in which the troops which were actively engaged 
 met with a loss of more than two hundred in killed, wounded 
 and missing. During the night all of the Union forces, ex- 
 cept a strong skirmish line supported by artillery, was with- 
 drawn to the north side of the river. In the afternoon of 
 the 7th, the skirmishers rejoined the main body and orders 
 were given to return to camp. The object of this demonstra- 
 tion was to prevent General Lee from sending reinforcements 
 to attack the army under General Butler, who had been 
 ordered to attempt to take the city of Richmond by surprise. 
 The program assigned to the Second Corps was faithfully 
 carried out, but the co-operating force under Butler, for some 
 reason failed to make good. The First Division, being the 
 supporting column, came out of this fruitless undertaking 
 without the loss of a man. The whole affair as described by 
 a comrade of Company F, was "a march nine miles out and 
 the same back to camp in mud knee deep." It had rained, as 
 usual, during the progress of this movement. 
 
 On the 23d of February, the day following the military 
 ball, the Second Corps was reviewed by General Meade in the 
 presence of Vice-President Hamlin and other distinguished 
 visitors, including a large number of ladies. Miss Hamlin, 
 the daughter of the Vice-President, Mrs. Curtin and daughter 
 of Governor Curtin's household were among the number of 
 invited guests at the Division Headquarters. The former rode 
 
\' 
 
 Major-Gen erai V \ Humphreys, 
 Major-Gen krai P [I. Sheridan. Generai l ' S. Grani Major-Generai G. K. Warrkn. 
 
 Maior til Nl km I'. C Bari ow 
 
WINTER ON THE RAPIDAN 173 
 
 On horseback along the lines with the cavalcade of General 
 Meade. This review was regarded by all who witnessed it as 
 one of the most brilliant affairs of its kind during the winter 
 season. At its close General ECilpatrick, whose splendid corps 
 was included in the pageant, lead his command in a charge 
 across the open plain. 
 
 Thrilling beyond description was the flashing of the 
 drawn sabres and the thunder of the horses hoofs as with a 
 blood-curdling yell they swept onward with a might that 
 seemed to be irresistible, against an imaginary foe. Ten days 
 later this splendidly equipped and officered corps was making 
 a raid in rear of General Lee's army within sight of the city 
 of Richmond. 
 
 On the ioth of March, Lieutenant General Grant was 
 assigned fcO the command of all the armies of the United 
 States and on the 24th clay of the same month he came down 
 to the Army of the Potomac and established his field head- 
 quarters at Culpepper Court House. With this army he re- 
 mained, not for the purpose of superseding General Meade, 
 but with a view to co-operating more closely with him in the 
 contemplated movements to be directed against the Army of 
 Northern Virginia. The arrival and disposition of new re- 
 cruits and re-enlisted men gave the opportunity for a thorough 
 reorganization of the army. With a view to greater efficiency 
 the five army corps were reduced to three. This was done by 
 breaking up the First and Third and distributing the several 
 divisions among the troops of the Second, Fifth and Sixth. 
 The first was transferred entire to the Fifth Corps to which 
 General Warren was given the command. The Third Divi- 
 sion of the Third Corps was given to the Sixth Corps, com- 
 manded by General Sedgwick and the two remaining Divisions 
 were assigned to the Second Corps and formed its Third and 
 Fourth Divisions. Previous to this, the old Second Corps had 
 been consolidated into two Divisions known as the First and 
 Second. 
 
 As the result of these changes, General Caldwell was 
 transferred to another command and Brigadier-General Bar- 
 low, who had been desperately wounded at Gettysburg and 
 
174 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 who was already famous as a "fighting General," was assigned 
 to the command of the First Division in his stead. The Corps 
 as thus reorganized numbered more than 25,000 men and was 
 again commanded by Major-General Hancock. General Miles 
 was also continued in command of the First Brigade. The 
 command as a whole was reviewed by General Grant on the 
 22d of April. The weather for several days preceding 
 had been unsettled and stormy, but the day of the re- 
 view was one of the most beautiful of the season. As the 
 remaining days of the month of April wore away, the 
 roads began to harden and every indication from the Head- 
 quarters of the army betokened an advance which many hoped 
 and prayed would be the last and final struggle for the cause 
 of liberty and the Union. The time had now come, says Gen- 
 eral Walker, when this newly reinforced corps was to be 
 thrown into one of the most furious campaigns of human 
 history, the strength of a regiment, the strength of a brigade, 
 to be shot down in a day, with as many more the next ; a 
 month to be one continuous battle, only interrupted by long 
 and fatiguing marches; two, or three, or four officers com- 
 manding the same Regiment or Brigade in a single week. 
 Or, as another has expressed it : "The Army of the Potomac 
 was about to enter upon a campaign in which it should fight 
 more days, lose more men and suffer more sacrifices in two 
 months than it had in all its two years' operations." 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 175 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE BATTLES OK THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 Soldiers ! the eyes of the whole country are looking 
 with anxious hope to the blow you are about to strike in the 
 most sacred cause that ever called men to arms. Remem- 
 ber your homes, your wives and children, and bear in mind 
 that the sooner your enemies are overcome, the sooner 
 you will be restored to enjoy the benefits and blessings of 
 peace. . . . 
 
 While clear consciences and strong arms, actuated by a 
 high sense of duty, fighting to preserve the Government 
 and the institutions handed down to us by our forefathers — 
 if true to ourselves — victory, under God's blessing, must and 
 will attend our efforts. — General Meade's Address to the 
 Army of the Potomac at the beginning of the Gampaign 
 of 1864. 
 
 WHEN the foregoing appeal was issued, General Meade 
 had under his command an effective force of 105,000 
 men. This did not include Burnside's Corps which 
 had returned from the West and was then at Warrington, 
 Virginia.* 
 
 In the advance movement, which Grant had carefully 
 mapped out, the Union Army had the advantage of superior 
 numbers, and, to a limited extent, the choice of routes. 
 
 * The composition of the several commands with which we 
 were most closely affiliated at the opening of the campaign was as 
 follows : 
 
 Major-General Winficld S. Hancock. Commanding the Corps 
 
 Brigadier-General Francis C. Barlow, 
 
 Commanding 1st Division 
 
 Colonel Nelson A. Miles Commanding 1st Brigade 
 
 Major Lemuel Savicrs. ........ .Commanding 26th Michigan 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel K. O. Broady, 
 
 Commanding 61 st New York 
 
 Colonel H. Boyd McKean Commanding 81st Pa. Vols. 
 
 Colonel John Eraser Commanding 140th Pa. Vols. 
 
 Colonel George P. McLean. .. .Commanding 183d Pa. Vols. 
 
176 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 The Confederates had the inner and shorter lines of com- 
 munication; the advantage of familiarity with every foot of 
 the "great and terrible Wilderness," in which they sought to 
 baffle and entangle the Union Army; and also of strongly 
 intrenched positions which they had learned how to make al- 
 most impregnable to attacks by direct assault. 
 
 The weird and awe-inspiring region, which will ever be 
 known in history as "The Wilderness," has been fittingly de- 
 scribed as a "labyrinth of forests, in many places filled with 
 tangled underbrush, penetrated by few roads, and these, for 
 the most part, narrow and easily obscured. The advantage 
 possessed by an advancing force concealing its movements, 
 was more than neutralized by the ease with which the enemy, 
 familiar with the ground, could form ambuscades or direct 
 sudden attacks on columns while marching."* 
 
 In the general order for the advance, the Fifth and Sixth 
 Corps were directed to cross the Rapidan at Germanna Ford 
 and the troops of these commands broke camp at four o'clock 
 May 4th. The Second Corps, with Gregg's Cavalry, consti- 
 tuting the left column of the army, were ordered to cross at 
 Ely's Ford, about 6 miles below Germanna. This being the 
 longer route of the two, Hancock left his winter camp at 
 eleven o'clock on the night of the 3rd. This all-night march, 
 through a dense pall of darkness, was the first of a series of 
 similar movements under the cover of darkness, which for 
 more than a month were the rule rather than the exception. 
 
 Following Gregg's Cavalry, we crossed the river on pon- 
 toons in the early morning of the 4th and the advance of the 
 Division reached the site of the Chancellorsville House a few 
 hours later. 
 
 On the very ground which had been ovcrswept by the hot 
 blast of flaming batteries and furrowed by plunging shot and 
 shell a year before, we bivouacked for the night. It was the 
 same army, on the same errand as before, and in the same 
 beautiful month of May, but how changed the scene, as we 
 
 *Col. Banes, Assistant Adjutant-General Second Rrigade, Sec- 
 ond Corps. 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 177 
 
 awoke from our slumbers invigorated and refreshed. Every- 
 thing above us and around us seemed to be singularly attrac- 
 tive, peaceful and joyous in the light of that beautiful May- 
 day morning. The sky was cloudless and richly tinted with 
 the rosy colors which outran the appearance of the rising sun, 
 the air was pure and fragrant with the breath of flowers, the 
 fresh, young leaves were trembling in the morning breeze, the 
 wood was vocal with the song of birds; and the bugle blast, 
 echoing far and wide, was calling forth from grassy couches, 
 the prostrate forms of the men who had slept in battle line 
 on the earth in undisturbed peace and security. So complete 
 and rapid had been the transformation, in that one short year, 
 that at first glance hardly a trace of the dreadful struggle 
 remained. Nature, as if in pity for the ruin wrought, had 
 spread over all a beautiful mantle of green bedecked with 
 choicest flowers; and, out of corruption and decay, ghastliness 
 and death, had called forth myriad forms of life and grace 
 and beauty. In looking about us, however, we had not far 
 to go to see again the wreckage of the battle, and down in the 
 edge of the wood below where comrades one after another 
 had fallen to rise no more ; where the low moan of agony had 
 been heard from pallid lips; where the bodies of the dead 
 were lying with only a slight covering of leaves and soil, the 
 spell of the beautiful May-day was broken, the awful din of 
 the deadly strife was heard again and memories, revived by 
 these unquestionable evidences of disorder and strife, repro- 
 duced every salient feature of that battle scene. Thank God, 
 the time has come, for which so many brave men longed and 
 prayed, in those dark and evil days, when all these scenes of 
 strife are only memories. But, may God forbid that the time 
 should ever come when the evidences which yet remain 
 should fail to recall in the generations following the reality 
 and magnitude of the struggle and the costliness of the sacri- 
 fice by which the blessings of permanent peace, Union and 
 Liberty have been secured. 
 
 During the long and fatiguing march to Chancellorsville 
 the borders of the roads over which the troops of the several 
 commands marched were literally strewn with blankets, over- 
 
178 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 V 
 coats, dress coats, boots, knapsacks, cooking utensils and other 
 
 impediments which had become burdensome, or at least were 
 not necessary, for present use. With these weights thrown 
 aside, in this improvident fashion, it became easier to carry the 
 fifty rounds of heavy ball cartridge and the three days' rations, 
 which, at the outset, every man of the rank and file was ex- 
 pected and required to carry on his person. 
 
 In his memoirs, General Grant mentions the fact that the 
 wagon trains which crossed at Ely's Ford behind the Second 
 Corps, numbered more than four thousand. "With a wagon 
 train that would have extended from the Rapidan to Rich- 
 mond stretched along in single file and separated as the teams 
 necessarily would be when moving, we could still carry only 
 three days' forage and about ten to twelve days' rations be- 
 sides a supply of ammunition."* 
 
 On the evening of the 4th the three army corps were on 
 the south side of the Rapidan and ready to co-operate in an 
 advance for the next day. Warren had made the farthest 
 advance in the direction of the enemy and was in position at 
 the Wilderness Tavern, while Sedgwick was in supporting 
 distance on the south bank of the river. Burnside's Corps, 
 which had been ordered to the front, was already on its way 
 and, by an all-night march, reached the ford and was ready to 
 cross on the morning of the 5th. A general advance of the 
 lines as thus disposed was ordered at five o'clock on the morn- 
 ing of the 5th and simultaneous with this advance began the 
 two days of deadly strife in the very heart of the "Wilder- 
 ness." In the series of indecisive conflicts which followed 
 the battle lines swayed to and fro, now on the right and again 
 on the left, but at no point could a commanding officer see 
 more than a thousand men, and in many places the commander 
 of a regiment could not personally direct the movements of 
 one-half of his companies. "At no time," says General Gor- 
 don, "was one-half of the two lines in active strenuous battle." 
 As the troops advanced through the tangles of undergrowth, 
 the battle lines were broken and confused and frequently the 
 
 * Memoirs, vol. 2, page 188. 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 179 
 
 only evidences of the unseen foe was the flash of flame and the 
 ceaseless rain of niinie balls which came from dense thickets 
 of cedar, scrub pine, bristling chinkapin, or other barriers 
 and entanglements which confronted them. In most cases 
 the only effective mode of attack was to send in a brigade at 
 a time which remained until it had exhausted its fifty or sixty 
 rounds of cartridges and then withdrawing it to give place 
 to another, which was similarly equipped. What was true 
 of one hour in a close conflict on the evening of the 5th, as 
 described by General Gordon, was true for the most part, of 
 the two dreadful days in which this conflict raged with but 
 slight intermission : 
 
 Alternate confidence and apprehension, he says, were 
 awakened as the shouts of one army or the other reached 
 our ears. So distinct in character were these shouts that 
 they were easily disccrnable. At one point the weird Con- 
 federate "yell" told us plainly that Ewell's men were ad- 
 vancing. At another the huzzas, in mighty concert, of the 
 Union troops warned us that they had repelled the Con- 
 federate charge; and as these ominous huzzas grew in 
 volume, we knew that Grant's lines were moving forward. 
 
 "There were features of the Battle of the Wilderness," 
 says General Horace Porter, "which have never been 
 matched in the annals of warfare. For two days nearly 
 200,000 veteran troops had struggled in a death grapple, 
 confronted at each step with almost every obstacle by which 
 nature could bar their path, and groping their way through 
 a tangled forest, the impenetrable gloom of which could 
 only be likened to the shadow of death. The undergrowth 
 stayed their progress, the upper growth shut out the light 
 of heaven. Officers could rarely see their troops for any 
 considerable distance, for smoke clouded the vision and a 
 heavy sky obscured the sun. Directions were ascertained 
 and lines established by means of the pocket compass, and 
 a change of position often presented an operation more like 
 a problem of ocean navigation than a question of military 
 maneuvers. It was a battle with the ear, and not with the 
 eye. All circumstances seemed to combine to make the 
 scene one of unutterable horror. At times the wind howled 
 through the tree-tops, mingling its groans with the groans 
 of the dying, and heavy branches were cut off by the fire 
 of the artillery and fell crashing upon the heads of the 
 
i8o THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 men, adding a new terror to battle. Forest fires raged; am- 
 munition trains exploded ; the dead were roasted in the con- 
 flagration ; the wounded, roused by its hot breath, dragged 
 themselves along with their torn and mangled limbs, in the 
 mad energy of despair, to escape the ravages of the flames; 
 and every bush seemed hung with shreds of blood-stained 
 clothing." 
 
 In Hancock's line on the extreme left of the army the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth shared in the advancements and 
 vvithdrawments, the attacks and repulses which fell to the lot 
 of General Miles' ever-ready and undaunted Brigade through- 
 out the two days of conflict which have been so graphically 
 described. We are indebted to comrade Silas Cooke, of 
 Company K, through his friend, Sergeant Ben. F. Powelson, 
 the historian of that company, for the following account of 
 one spirited repulse, when the Confederates were massing to 
 break the Union lines in a weak place : 
 
 Colonel Fraser, thinking we had better be doing some- 
 thing, as the balls were falling thick about us, received 
 permission of General Miles to go in on a charge. The 
 Colonel gave his orders and, it goes for the saying, they were 
 executed. We went in on the double-quick (the double-quick 
 of the One Hundred and Fortieth was always a run), yell- 
 ing like mad, halted as we reached the position beyond, and 
 over a small remnant of the Irish Brigade, then fired front, 
 then right, then left, then front until no enemy returned our 
 fire. Prisoners reported that we broke by these volleys three 
 lines of battle, and, night coming on, they gave up their 
 charge, thinking a large force was in their front. General 
 Hancock gave us great praise for it. So quickly was it 
 done that but few casualties occurred. Cooke was hit on 
 right thigh by a spent bullet, cutting clothing and breaking 
 a pocket knife, badly bruising but not disabling him. 
 
 In this series of engagements the official report of cas- 
 ualties (May 5th-7th) was three enlisted men killed and ten 
 wounded. Owing to a misunderstanding of orders Barlow's 
 Division, which had been detached temporarily to aid General 
 Gibbon in anticipation of an attack on the Brock Road, was 
 not sent to the position designated for it by General Hancock 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 181 
 
 on the left of his line, where it would have been in the 
 thick of the conflict during the fierce charges and counter- 
 charges which were made there on the 6th of May. This 
 accounts for the comparatively small proportion of casualties 
 in the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment and in other 
 Regiments of the command. Referring to this misunderstand- 
 ing General Walker says : "Whatever may be the true explana- 
 tion, the consequences of the failure to send forward the Di- 
 vision of Barlow, the largest Division in the army, were 
 momentous." Elsewhere he states that the enemy having dis- 
 covered the gap in our position, where Barlow's Division 
 should have been, broke through the Union lines at that point 
 and turned what had been a decided victory into a humiliating 
 defeat. 
 
 The total losses of the Union Army during the two days 
 of this wilderness conflict, as given by General Humphrey, 
 Chief of Staff, were 2,265 killed ; 10,220 wounded and 2.902 
 missing, making a total aggregate of 15,387. The Confederate 
 losses as gathered from imperfect data have been given ap- 
 proximately at 1 1 ,000. 
 
 On the 7th of May there were occasional outbreaks of 
 musketry firing on the picket line, but there was no disposition 
 on either side to attack in force or bring on a general engage- 
 ment. In the afternoon General Grant issued orders for a 
 flank movement to the left with a view to occupying the de- 
 fensible ground in the neighborhood of Spottsylvania Court 
 House, about thirteen miles to the southwest. 
 
 Warren abandoned his position in the centre soon after 
 nightfall and moved along the Brock road in rear of the 
 Second Corps. He was followed as soon as the way was 
 cleared by Sedgwick and Burnside who took a more round- 
 about route by way of Chancellorsville. 
 
 In his Memoirs, page 210, Vol. 2; General Grant says: 
 
 Warren's march carried him immediately behind the 
 works where Hancock's command lay on the Brock Road. 
 With my staff and a small escort of cavalry I preceded the 
 troops. Meade with his staff accompanied me. The great- 
 est enthusiasm was manifested by Hancock's men as we 
 
i82 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 passed by. No doubt it was inspired by the fact that the 
 movement was south. It indicated to them that they had 
 passed through the "beginning of the end" in the battle just 
 fought. 
 
 Referring to the same, or a similar incident James Ford 
 Rhodes, quoting from Dana and others says : 
 
 "When the faces of the men were set toward Richmond, 
 Grant, in their estimation, was exalted. The soldiers sang 
 and stepped forward with elastic step." "The spirits of 
 the men and officers are of the highest pitch of animation" 
 was the word which Dana sent to Stanton. "The men 
 burst out into cheers, swung their hats, clapped their hands, 
 threw up their arms and greeted their general as a comrade. 
 They were glad that he was leading them onward to Rich- 
 mond instead of ordering them to fall back to the camp 
 which they had just abandoned." 
 
 During the night Hancock's Corps remained in position 
 on the line and early the next morning, May 8th, advanced to 
 Todd's Tavern, which was about midway on the road to 
 Spottsylvania, thus becoming, as Grant had indicated in his 
 marching orders, the right of the army. On his arrival at 
 Todd's Tavern General Hancock sent out a detachment, under 
 command of General Miles, consisting of his own brigade, 
 a brigade of Gregg's cavalry and a battery of artillery, to 
 occupy a position on the Gatharpin road, a mile or more in 
 advance of the corps. The purpose was to guard against 
 surprise and to meet the possible approach of a force of the 
 enemy from that direction. Here the command remained 
 without serious disturbance until late in the afternoon. When 
 about to retire, under orders, to the main body two brigades 
 of the Confederate army commanded by General Mahone, 
 appeared suddenly on the road which Miles was guarding and 
 at once opened fire on his skirmishers. "The collision was 
 sharp," says General Walker, "but Miles, twice facing about, 
 beat back the enemy advancing upon him." 
 
 In the official reports of this brief, but spirited engage- 
 ment which have been consulted, the list of casualties has not 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 183 
 
 been given, but for the time in which the troops were under 
 fire they were greater in proportion than in either of the two 
 preceding days. The Adjutant of the Regiment, Wm. S. 
 Shallenberger, received a wound at this time which proved to 
 be so serious that, to the great regret of the entire Regiment, 
 he was discharged on surgeon's certificate six months later. 
 There was a touch of the ludicrous as well as of the tragic in 
 this "collision" which in the annals of the Regiment is known 
 as the ''Cracker Fight" at Todd's Tavern. Two versions of 
 it have been preserved for us in the records of Companies F 
 and K which we give with slight adaptations as written: 
 
 On May 8th occurred the battle of Todd's Tavern, or 
 better known to the company as the "cracker fight," from the 
 fact that the Commissary had just issued crackers and the 
 boxes were piled up in plain view of the enemy, when sud- 
 denly they made a charge and our boys were driven back. 
 
 Abel Hunter, who was guarding the crackers, remained 
 at his post, and as our Brigade soon rallied and opened fire, 
 Hunter became the target of the fire of both, and soon after, 
 reinforcements coming up, the ground was retaken and 
 Hunter was found wounded, from the results of which he 
 lost his leg.* 
 
 The account given by the historian of Company K is as 
 follows : 
 
 Company K took part in a charge on May 8th at Todd's 
 Tavern, in which the loss, for the time it was engaged, 
 was very heavy. Comrade Isaac Miller says that it was 
 known as the "Cracker Fight," because Commissary Noble 
 was in the act of issuing rations of crackers when the onset 
 came. Silas Cooke says that the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 (except K and another company) were on picket, under 
 Captain McCullough. K and the other company were lying 
 in the edge of a woods, along which a road ran, turning 
 into the woods just where they lay; and the rebels came up 
 on the opposite side of the valley, opened fire. General 
 Miles, riding along, was compelled to seek shelter. Abram 
 Andrews, of K, was struck and bruised somewhat. As Gen- 
 
 * History of Company F, by Andrew G. White, page 18. 
 
184 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 eral Miles passed on, Colonel Broady thought he would do 
 something, and ordered part of his Regiment, lying to the 
 right, to charge out over an open field in front and down 
 into the valley in open view of the Confederates. Then he 
 ordered our two companies to charge on the left of his men, 
 and to cheer as we went in. And there in one volley many 
 of Company K fell. Cook was first in file. The one in his 
 rear and six to his left were killed or wounded. The 
 killed were John Maloy and John R. Tucker. Many of the 
 wounded were left on the field, as the Union lines were 
 pushed back. I cannot refrain from relating what Isaac 
 Miller told me in a letter written August 19, 1864. A sad 
 story, indeed ! He was severely wounded in the leg and 
 thigh at the foot of the company. John Maloy was at the 
 head of it, and, when stricken, both fell and lay the com- 
 pany's length apart. They could not move, but could talk 
 to each other. 
 
 Miller lay there for five days, then the rebels carried 
 him back to a barn, and later to their field hospital. He 
 plead for Maloy. But they said he was too far gone. On 
 the eighth day he died, so they told Miller; and then at 
 Miller's appeal they promised to bury him. Who could 
 keep the tears back when told how one of our brave com- 
 rades thus suffered and gave up his life in the service of 
 his country? . . . Cook says that Tucker fell before him 
 at the rail fence where we stopped to fire, pierced in the 
 temple by a musket ball, and there George Sprowls had his 
 hair combed by another that took the cap from his head. 
 Then came the order to fall back to the main line. It was 
 a beautiful but, for us, a sorrowful Sabbath day.* 
 
 On the afternoon of the 9th, Hancock was directed to 
 come into closer touch with the rest of the army, assembled 
 in the immediate vicinity of Spottsylvania and advanced his 
 command about four miles to the north side of the Po River. 
 With a view to securing- a position on the other side which 
 would threaten the left flank of General Lee's line of defence 
 three of the divisions were ordered to cross at once. The 
 banks of the stream were steep and heavily covered with pine 
 timber but the troops advanced in the face of every difficulty 
 and driving the enemy's skirmishers before them occupied the 
 
 * Segt. Ben. F. Powelson's History of Company K, pages 32-33. 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 185 
 
 open space beyond it, which they were directed to secure. Bar- 
 low's Division took the lead in this movement and about nine 
 o'clock at night all the troops were over and in position. We 
 were now, as General Grant puts it, "across the left flank of 
 Lee's army, but separated from it, and also from the re- 
 mainder of Meade's army by the Po River." If this crossing 
 could have been followed by a prompt and well supported ad- 
 vance it would undoubtedly have resulted in breaking up the 
 Confederate's strongly fortified line of defence, but the late- 
 ness of the hour and the darkness of the night prevented 
 further movements of an aggressive character. When the 
 morning came it was too late to continue this turning move- 
 ment without great loss of life. General Lee, realizing the 
 danger from this quarter had sent heavy reinforcements from 
 his extreme right during the night, and thus was ready to 
 checkmate the Union commander's game. Abandoning this 
 project Grant determined to make a general assault in 
 front of Warren's position and for this purpose ordered Han- 
 cock to withdraw two of his divisions to the north side 
 and take command of the assaulting column. In pursuance 
 of these instructions the divisions of Gibbon and Birney re- 
 crossed the river, leaving the First Division in a position of 
 great peril. In his Memoirs Grant says : 
 
 The enemy seeing Barlow's division isolated from the 
 rest of the army, came out and attacked with fury. Barlow 
 repulsed with great slaughter and with considerable loss to 
 himself. But the enemy reorganized and renewed the as- 
 sault. Birney was now moved to the high ground overlook- 
 ing the river crossings built by our troops and covered the 
 crossings. The second assault was repulsed again with 
 severe loss to the enemy, and Barlow was withdrawn with- 
 out further molestation. 
 
 The following account of the crisis hour in this perilous 
 withdrawal in the face of a vastly superior force of the enemy 
 is taken from a valuable outline history of the campaign of 
 1864, written from daily notes by Lieutenant Charles T. 
 Hedge, of Company A: 
 
186 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 The Confederates had massed a large force against our 
 right and was driving it back to the river. The center had 
 also given way and the men were coming out of the woods 
 by hundreds, all making for the one little pontoon bridge 
 across the stream. I think the greater part of our corps 
 would have been driven into the river had it not been for 
 our brigade, which had been withdrawn from the skirmish 
 line on the left and came to their help. We formed a line 
 in front of the pontoon bridge and checked the Rebs till 
 our broken columns could form again. In our rear there 
 were also two of our batteries, on the other side of the 
 river, which threw shells over our heads into the Confeder- 
 ate ranks. But the only thing that saved our extreme right 
 was a tire which broke out in the edge of the woods just as 
 our men were giving way. It was probably kindled by a 
 bursting shell, and, fortunately for us, the wind was blow- 
 ing strongly toward the enemy. 
 
 Soon the trees in a dense woods for nearly half a mile 
 on the extreme right were on fire. The Confederates could 
 not advance through it, and that respite gave our men time 
 to reform near the bridge. As quickly as possible they re- 
 crossed the river, one regiment at a time, under cover of 
 the artillery, which kept up a continuous fire. The One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth was the last regiment to cross, and it 
 stood in the line tiring all the time the others were crossing 
 and barely escaped capture or destruction, as the Rebs ad- 
 vanced on it when they saw that all the rest had gone over. 
 
 During the fierce conflict on the right of the Division a 
 section of Arnold's battery, when ordered to retire from its 
 advanced position, was saved with difficulty from the burning 
 woods. There was one piece, however, which was dragged 
 by the frightened horses attached to it, between two trees 
 where it remained so firmly wedged that it could not be 
 moved and had to be abandoned. This, says General Walker, 
 was the first gun ever lost by the Second Corps. 
 
 While these stirring events were taking place on the 
 right of the Union line several desperate attempts were made, 
 under direction of General Grant, to carry some portions of 
 the enemy's intrenchments at the left and center. These as- 
 saults were bloody and fruitless. The losses that day approxi- 
 mating 2,050 killed and wounded in the Second Corps alone. 
 
THE BATTLES OF THE WILDERNESS 187 
 
 The brunt of the losses of necessity fell upon the assaulting 
 columns. Thus ended one of the notable days of the Wilder- 
 ness battles. It is not technically designated as such, but it 
 was in reality within the limits of the Wilderness region. It 
 differed from the section north of it in the proportion of open 
 spaces, which were larger, as well as more frequent but the 
 tangle of underbrush which fronted a great part of Lee's line 
 of defence was as dense and as difficult to penetrate as that 
 which confronted our troops on the ground of the first and 
 second days' battles. 
 
 In summing up the results of the 10th of May, General 
 Grant says in his Memoirs : "The enemy had not dared to 
 come out of his line at any point to follow up his advantage, 
 except in the single instance of his attack on Barlow. Then 
 he was twice repulsed with heavy loss, though he had an en- 
 tire corps against two brigades. 
 
 Referring to the same affair the Historian of the Second 
 Corps says : 
 
 As Hancock, riding up rapidly from the center, re- 
 joined his troops on the south bank of the Po, the skirm- 
 ishers of Heth, advancing from the direction of Glady's 
 Run, were sharply engaged with the skirmishers of the First 
 Division, a division that had long made skirmishing a pro- 
 fession. It is a melancholy fact that three men out of four 
 who entered the service of the United States left it, if alive, 
 without ever having seen a really good piece of work of 
 this character. Indeed, most regiments in the service had 
 as little idea of skirmishing as an elephant. But to Bar- 
 low's brigades the very life of military service was in a 
 widely extended formation, flexible yet firm, where the sol- 
 diers were thrown largely on their individual resources, but 
 remained, in a high degree, under the control of the reso- 
 lute, sagacious, keen-eyed officers, who urged them forward, 
 or drew them back, as the exigency of the case required, 
 where every advantage was taken of the nature of the 
 ground, of fences, trees, stones and prostrate logs; where 
 manhood rose to its maximum and mechanism sank to its 
 minimum, and where almost anything seemed possible to 
 vigilance, audacity and cool self-possession. 
 
188 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 In view of its record from the Rapidan to Appomattox 
 it may be affirmed, without laying ourselves open to the charge 
 of making an invidious distinction, that the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth was one of the notable regiments of the Division to 
 which this difficult and dangerous duty was most frequently 
 assigned. Its officers and men possessed the qualifications in 
 eminent degree which General Walker describes as essential 
 to success on the skirmish line, and in the history of nearly 
 every engagement or pursuit between the points above named, 
 the Regiment as a whole, or in details from its companies, 
 proved its efficiency and pre-eminent adaptability to this high 
 grade of military service. 
 
STORMING OF THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 189 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE STORMING OF THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA. 
 
 Oh, grander in doom's stricken glory 
 
 Than the greatest that linger behind; 
 They shall live in perpetual story, 
 
 Who saved the last hope of mankind 1 
 For their cause was the cause of the races 
 
 That languished in slavery's night, 
 And the death that was pale on their faces 
 
 Has filled the whole world with its light ! 
 
 — Will Winter. 
 
 ON the nth of May there was a lull in the fierce storm 
 of deadly strife which had raged along the lines 
 throughout almost the whole of the previous day. It 
 was the preparation period for a still more deadly and desper- 
 ate conflict, one of the most notable in the long history of the 
 war, but the troops who were to be the active participants in 
 it, knew nothing of the nature or the extent of these prepara- 
 tions. 
 
 In the early morning of the day General Grant sent his 
 famous dispatch to Hallock, in which he refers to the Union 
 losses in the six preceding days as approximately 20,000 
 men, and added the significant words: "I propose to fight it 
 out on this line if it takes all summer." 
 
 There was a heavy rainfall during the afternoon and 
 presuming that this was to be followed by a night of darkness 
 and rain, the author of this relentless and tersely expressed 
 purpose worked out a plan of assault upon one of the enemy's 
 strongholds which was to be delivered at daybreak of the 
 next morning. The point selected for this assault which has 
 since become famous as the "Bloody Angle," was a large 
 salient or "obtrusive portion" of the Confederate line enclos- 
 ing a space, "acorn shaped" in outline, about a half mile in 
 width and three-fourths of a mile in length. The three ex- 
 
190 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 posed sides of this area were defended by strongly constructed 
 fortifications of heavy logs and earth and the batteries of 
 artillery planted within it were so placed as to sweep the open 
 spaces in front along all the lines of approach. The position 
 was made still more secure against sudden attack by heavy 
 slashings of timber and undergrowth bound together by inter- 
 lacings of telegraph wire. 
 
 Line 
 
 Hanc ock I , 
 
 
 andron 
 
 House 
 
 The Second Corps was selected by the commanding gen- 
 eral to make this assault and to Barlow's Division was given 
 the post of honor directly in front of the apex or outer end of 
 the obtruding portion already described. In order to come 
 into position for the attack it was necessary for the corps to 
 
STORMING OF THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLV ANIA iqi 
 
 make a night march of several hours, passing from the right 
 wing behind the lines of the Fifth and Sixth Corps to the 
 left center of the Union line. 
 
 In describing the outworking of Grant's plan of attack, 
 Adjutant Muffly, of the One Hundred and Forty-eighth Penn- 
 sylvania, says: 
 
 Early on the evening of the nth, Hancock had assem- 
 bled his division commanders and given them their orders. 
 He carefully explained the plan of attack and spoke with 
 earnestness upon the minutest detail of the march and as- 
 sault. But important as was his council with his immediate 
 subordinates, the consultations which followed between divi- 
 sion and brigade and regimental commanders were no less 
 dramatic and significant. The night was very dark, and the 
 rain beat mercilessly down upon the unsheltered troops, 
 whether they were in the tangled forest or the open field. 
 It was between 8 and 9 o'clock when the brigade command- 
 ers of the First Division of the Second Corps were called 
 by its commander. 
 
 In a dense and gloomy forest, in a secluded spot cleared 
 for the purpose, Barlow met his brigadiers — Brooke, Brown, 
 Miles and Smyth. . . . Barlow's Division was to be honored 
 with a position of great peril and importance, and now his 
 brigades were to be assigned to their work. The flickering 
 light of a lantern shed its dim, uncertain rays over the 
 dreary woods, and on a little group huddled together in the 
 dismal storm to map out the plan of the morrow's desperate 
 business. By the lantern's faint, unsteady beam, now flar- 
 ing its red glare upon a thoughtful face, almost beaten out 
 by wind and rain, Barlow traced upon the moist earth the 
 plan of the deadly assault. It was a rude map, but the 
 brigadiers followed each outline with eagerness, and when 
 the Druid Council was over, each understood the part he 
 was to play and hastened to his command to summon his 
 Colonel to a similar council. 
 
 After these preparations had been made the men of the 
 several commands were permitted to take a brief rest, in their 
 water-soaked garments, on the ground. About ten o'clock the 
 order was given "fall in." The dripping blankets or sections 
 of shelter tents which had served for a covering were quickly 
 
19* THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 rolled up. a much-needed supply of rations was issued, tin 
 cups and plates wore securely fastened to prevent rattling 
 noises and soon after each man, in his appointed place, was 
 stumbling along in the thick darkness and pelting rain. That 
 midnight march, with all that it signified, was one of the most 
 memorable in the history of the Regiment; and. indeed, in the 
 history of the war. After an hour or more had passed the 
 heavy rain fall was succeeded by a dense, chilling, searching 
 mist amid which the men moved like phantoms of the night. 
 No words were spoken aloud, no commands were given ex- 
 cept in whispers and by the sense of touch rather than by 
 audible sound each man realized that the comrades of his file 
 were close at hand. 
 
 With a dark lantern in his hand which once in awhile 
 flashed back a beam of feeble light, Major Mendell, of the 
 Engineer Corps, led the way over muddy roads and through 
 tangled underbrush until at length the earthworks at the 
 designated part of the Union line were crossed. Behind or in 
 close proximity to them was a double line of sleeping soldiers, 
 but the work laid out for us was not along that battle line. 
 This never-to-be forgotten night march had for its objective 
 the carefully constructed stronghold of the enemy's defensive 
 line and the halt was not ordered until the head of the column 
 was in easy reach of the skirmish line in its front. Describ- 
 ing the march and the formation of the troops for the assault. 
 General Morgan, says : 
 
 The troops showed a little nervousness, perhaps. At 
 one point where the command was closing up on the head 
 of the column a runaway pack-mule, laden with rattling 
 kettles and pans, bursting suddenly through the ranks, 
 seemed to threaten a general stampede. At another, the acci- 
 dental discharge of a musket startled the column into the 
 momentary belief that the corps had run into the enemy's 
 lines. Having arrived at the Brown House about mid- 
 night, the column was passed quietly over the entrench- 
 
STORMING OP THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLV ANIA 193 
 
 ments and as near to the picket line of the enemy as pos- 
 sible, and the formation of the lines began. The ground 
 was thickly wooded, with the exception of a clearing some 
 four hundred yards wide, running to the Landron House, 
 thence curving to the right toward the salient of the enemy's 
 works. Barlow's division was formed across this clearing 
 in two lines of masses, each regiment being doubled on the 
 centre. Brooks' and Miles' brigades constituted the first 
 line, and Smyth and Brown the second. Birney formed on 
 Barlow's right in two deployed lines. Mott formed in rear 
 of Birney, and Gibbon's division, which had joined sooner 
 than was expected, was placed in reserve. It was nearly 
 daylight when these preparations were made. 
 
 When the designated time for the assault, 4 o'clock, had 
 arrived it was still too dark to see distinctly and Hancock 
 waited until 4.30 before he gave the fateful order. In his 
 official report he says : 
 
 The men, in obedience to this order, rolled like an 
 irresistible wave into the enemy's works, tearing away what 
 abatis there was in front of the intrenchments with their 
 hands, and carrying the line at all points in a few minutes, 
 although it was desperately defended. Barlow's and Birney's 
 divisions entered at almost the same moment, striking the 
 enemy's line at a sharp salient point, immediately in front 
 of the Landron House; a fierce and bloody fight ensued with 
 bayonets and clubbed muskets; it was short, however, and 
 resulted in the capture of nearly four thousand prisoners 
 of Johnson's Division of Ewell's Corps, twenty pieces of 
 artillery, with horses, caissons and material complete, sev- 
 eral thousand stands of arms and upwards of thirty colors. 
 Among the prisoners were Major-General Edward John- 
 son and Brigadier-General George H. Steuart, of the Con- 
 federate service. 
 
 The enemy fled in great confusion and disorder, their 
 loss in killed and wounded being unusually great. The 
 interior of the intrenchments presented a terrible and ghastly 
 spectacle of dead, most of whom were killed by our men 
 with the bayonet when they penetrated the works. So thickly 
 lay the dead at this point that in many places the bodies were 
 touching and piled upon each other.* 
 
 It seems fitting- to include with this report a vivid descrip- 
 
194 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 tion of the assault by General Miles, the commander of the 
 Brigade with which the One Hundred and Fortieth was con- 
 nected, in his latest work entitled, "Serving the Republic." 
 This the writer is very confident will be read with more than 
 ordinary interest by the men who served under him in the 
 First Brigade, and later in the First Division of the Second 
 Army Corps. 
 
 Marching from its position near Po River, under cover 
 of night, our division formed en masse with two brigades in 
 front and two in rear, or forty men deep; the Second and 
 Third Divisions in two lines on the right and left; the last 
 brigade moving into position and, without a halt, forming 
 what is tactically called "double column on the centre." Thus 
 we moved forward in the gray of the morning for one of the 
 most desperate assaults ever made. It was impossible to 
 see but a few yards in front of us and, without skirmishers 
 or advanced lines, the troops moved in a solid mass over the 
 undulating ground up to where they suddenly came upon 
 the pickets of the enemy, who fired their rifles and then re- 
 treated back to their lines. The fire was not replied to. The 
 men had been ordered to remove the caps from their loaded 
 rifles and use nothing but their bayonets until they had 
 gained the enemy's position. 
 
 The column moved steadily on, passing as best it could 
 over the obstacles of felled trees and cut brush, until it came 
 in front of the intrenched line of battle with a strong line 
 of chcvoux-dc-jrisc in front, that at first seemed impass- 
 able; yet the momentum of this column, forty men deep, 
 all crowding forward, was irresistible. On reaching the 
 chevaux-dc-frise thousands of strong men literally raised it 
 up and tore it to pieces and rushed under or over it to the 
 line of works with their bayonets fixed. It was the first 
 time during the war that I had actually seen bayonets crossed 
 in mortal combat; it was a crash and a terrible scene for 
 a few moments. The superior numbers of the Union assail- 
 ants soon overpowered the Confederate defenders, who had 
 
 * In his description of this assault, General John B. Gordon, 
 of the Confederate Army — "Reminiscences of the Civil War, page 
 27 — says: "In all its details, its planning, its execution and its 
 fearful import to Lee's Army, this charge of Hancock was one of 
 that great soldier's most brilliant achievements. 
 
STORMING OP THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 195 
 
 held to their position with great pertinacity. They had 
 been able during that time to load and discharge their rifles 
 three times into the great mass of Union troops, where every 
 shot took effect in the heads or shoulders of the advancing 
 men. The same was done with the batteries of artillery; 
 the guns were fired three times before they were captured. 
 
 As the Union column swept en masse over the fortifi- 
 cations, the Confederates threw down their arms. Gen- 
 eral Stcuart and Johnson with four thousand Confederate 
 soldiers, thirty stand of colors and twenty pieces of ar- 
 tillery were captured. 
 
 The assaulting column pressed forward through the 
 broken line for some distance, and was then met by a coun- 
 ter-charge. The ground was fought over by the troops 
 charging back and forth for ten hours of that day, and pre- 
 sented a spectacle of horror without a parallel. Probably 
 on no other one field of like area of the great Civil War 
 did as desperate fighting and heavy loss occur. During that 
 time the infantry fire was so terrific that standing trees 
 were cut down by musket balls alone, and one solid oak, 
 twenty-two inches in diameter, was cut down entirely by 
 the infantry fire during the engagement. Its stump is now 
 in the National Museum at Washington. Batteries attempt- 
 ing to go into action were completely disabled and thrown 
 into a disordered mass by the drivers and horses being killed, 
 and the bodies of men who fell, killed or wounded on the 
 ramparts were riddled by scores of bullets. It was the only 
 ground that I ever saw during the war that was so com- 
 pletely covered with dead and wounded that it was impos- 
 sible to walk over it without stepping on dead bodies. 
 
 "All day long," says the historian of the Second Corps, 
 "and even into the night the battle lasted, for it was not 
 until 12 o'clock, nearly twenty hours after the command 
 'Forward' had been given that the firing died down, and the 
 Confederates, relinquishing their purpose to retake the cap- 
 tured works, began in the darkness to construct a new line 
 to cut off the salient. During this all-day conflict the 
 trenches had more than once to be cleared of the dead to 
 give the living a place to stand. A chilling rain fell dur- 
 ing the greater part of the day and also of the night. This 
 added greatly to the discomfort of the wounded men, 
 many of whom had not sufficient covering to protect them 
 from the cold." 
 
 In the above descriptions, which deal mainly with the 
 
ig6 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Division as a whole, we have practically the description of 
 the part taken by every regiment of the command. It was a 
 unit, for the time, of tremendous momentum, when once 
 started, and in the rush which followed when the grim red 
 outlines of the earthworks loomed up in the gray of the morn- 
 ing there was but little, except the regimental colors, to dif- 
 ferentiate the struggling masses of the eager, onrushing men. 
 
 A short time before the order was given to advance, 
 Colonel Fraser came down the line to each company in turn, 
 telling them in whispered words that the Division was about 
 to assault the works in front, and that every man was ex- 
 pected to do his duty in his appointed place. In a communi- 
 cation sent to the writer a short time before his death, Major 
 Henry gave his recollection of a cheering word from the 
 Brigade commander. "In the fierce charge that was made," 
 he wrote, "General Miles cried out, 'I know the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth will not fail me'." 
 
 One of the best accounts of the battle by a participant in 
 the Regiment has been left on record by Lieutenant C. T. 
 Hedge, to whose valuable notes reference has been made be- 
 fore, from which we quote as follows : 
 
 As soon as all were formed we fixed bayonets and were 
 ordered forward. We had only gone about one hundred 
 yards when we found we had to cross a small stream. The 
 banks were very steep, and the line was thrown into some 
 disorder in crossing. It took but a few moments to 
 straighten it out, and we again started forward. We soon 
 came to the Confederate picket line which was only a short 
 distance in front of the works. A few of them fired, but the 
 most were taken before they had time to get back. As soon 
 as the pickets fired upon us the Irish Brigade, which was on 
 our left gave a yell, and started forward on a run. The 
 whole line then started forward at the same gait and soon 
 we were in front of the works. The Rebs were taken by sur- 
 prise, but there were enough of them awake to give us a 
 warm reception. There were heavy slashings of timber in 
 front and before the most of our men could get through it 
 the Rebs were pouring a heavy fire on them at close range. 
 Our Regiment happened to strike a place where the slashing 
 was not so heavy and the One Hundred and Fortieth was 
 
Stump of tree which was cut off by 
 
 balls at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864. 
 
STORMING OF THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 197 
 
 one of the first, if not the first to enter the works. The Con- 
 federates fought us hand to hand after we reached this van- 
 tange ground and many of our men were wounded by bay- 
 onet thrusts. Day was just breaking when we routed their 
 forces and took possession of the salient. We took about 
 8000 ( ?) prisoners and eighteen pieces of artillery that 
 morning. Soon after we had occupied the works the Con- 
 federate troops of another command attempted to retake 
 them and charged us several times, but failed to break our 
 lines. We were at a disadvantage for the reason that our 
 artillery had not yet come up. Several of our Regiment — 
 myself among the rest — turned four or five pieces of the 
 captured artillery on the assaulting columns of the Rebs and 
 fired them nearly an hour, before our artillerymen came up. 
 The battle lasted until nightfall. Our regimental loss ex- 
 ceeded a hundred. Colonel Fraser was wounded in the 
 charge and Captain McCullough assumed command of the 
 Regiment" 
 
 "In this charge," says Sergeant Powelson, "General 
 Miles had command of the First Brigade, First Division. 
 The One Hundred and Fortieth was a part of this brigade, 
 and of the Regiment he then and ever after spoke well. 
 General Miles, the lines having been formed for the charge, 
 sent his horse to the rear, and placing himself at the head of 
 the brigade, led it in the charge. And he and members of 
 his staff testify that the One Hundred and Fortieth was the 
 first regiment to enter the rebel works. And we deem it 
 worthy to be here recorded that, when the Second Corps 
 marched back through the region in the vicinity of this battle, 
 after the surrender of Lee, General Miles claimed the stump 
 of the tree, cut down by the dreadful rain of the missiles of 
 war in that 'bloody angle' at Spottsylvania, and took it. And 
 Captain Sweeney, then on his staff, by order, conveyed it to 
 Washington and turned it over to Secretary Stanton with 
 General Miles' compliments." 
 
 This splendid, but dearly bought victory, which has been 
 characterized as one of the bravest, bloodiest assaults in the 
 annals of war, cost the Division a loss far in excess of any 
 other command in the army. "It is not possible," says General 
 Walker, "accurately to distinguish between the losses of the 
 1 2th of May and those of the days preceding and following. 
 Surgeon McParlin, in charge of the hospital service of the 
 
ro8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Army of the Potomac, reported the wounded of the several 
 
 corps on the 12th as follows: 
 
 The Second Corps 2,043 
 
 " Fifth " 970 
 
 " Sixth " 840 
 
 3.853 
 "Making allowances for the killed. General Humphreys 
 estimates the total killed and wounded at four thousand, seven 
 hundred and thirty-two; the missing as not in excess of five 
 hundred." 
 
 In the assault, and the long day's battle following it, the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth suffered a loss of fifty-two in 
 killed and mortally wounded. This was nearly as large as the 
 loss at Gettysburg, which reached a total of sixty-one. 
 
 Three color bearers of the Regiment were stricken down 
 in succession in this desperate conflict, Powers, Biddle and 
 Beeson. As the flag fell from the hands of Sergeant Beeson, 
 it was picked up by Corporal David Taggart, of Company G, 
 one of the color guards, who carried it from that day until the 
 surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. This blood stained 
 banner was one of the first, if not the first to wave over this 
 fiercely contested rood of Virginia soil.* 
 
 "Among the changes in the personnel of the corps inci- 
 dent to the action we have recorded," says General Walker, 
 "were the promotions of Colonels Miles. Brooke and Carroll 
 to he brigadier-generals of volunteers. Three finer examples 
 of fiery valor in hattle, of the steady and faithful performance 
 of duty, even to the dreariest work of routine in camp and 
 on the march, could not have been found in one group in all 
 the armies of the United States. * * * Generals Miles 
 and Brooke had been conspicuous on every battlefield since 
 Sunday morning at Fair Oaks, not more for their indomi- 
 table valor than for their command over men ; their calm 
 intelligence, over which the smoke of battle never cast a 
 cloud; their restless energy in assault; their ready wit and 
 abounding resources amid disaster." 
 
 *For fuller account of the regimental battle flag and its bearers 
 ^ee page . . . 
 
STORMING OF THE SALIENT AT SPOTTSYLVANIA 199 
 
 During the all-day conflict of the 12th, there were some 
 pieces of artillery between the lines which the Confederates 
 attempted to recover, on several occasions. Attempts were 
 also made from the Union side to bring off one or more of 
 these guns, but so deadly was the fire at close range over the 
 space on which they stood, that it was out of the question for 
 either side to move them. 
 
 On the 13th a detail from the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 and some other regiments of the Brigade succeeded, after a 
 brisk engagement with the enemy, in bringing off two of the 
 guns with their caissons, thus swelling the capture to twenty. 
 They were so badly cut up, however, with minie balls that 
 they were valuable only as trophies. 
 
 On the 18th of May an attempt was made to advance 
 through the captured salient and attack the Confederate line, 
 then strongly entrenched, beyond it. Barlow's Division was 
 again in the assaulting column and moved forward alongside 
 of the division of General Gibbon up to a broad belt of slashing 
 which was found to be almost impenetrable, in the face of the 
 deadly fire which swept the ground from the enemy's rifle 
 pits. Finding that the loss of life would be out of proportion 
 to any possible advantage to be secured General Hancock 
 advised a discontinuance of the attack, and General Meade 
 accepting his judgment in the premises, directed him to with- 
 draw his troops. 
 
 Thus ended the last concerted attempt to break up the 
 Confederate line of defence at Spottsylvania. General Hum- 
 phreys' estimate of the entire losses of the Army of the 
 Potomac and of Burnside's Corps during the military opera- 
 tions around Spottsylvania Court House, from May 8th to 
 19th, inclusive, is 14,679. Of this number he estimates that 
 13,268 were killed or wounded, the remainder, 1,411, were 
 numbered among the missing. The losses of Barlow's Division 
 were 406 killed; 1,803 wounded; 380 missing; a total of 
 2,589 out of 5,457, the aggregate loss of three divisions of the 
 Second Corps. 
 
200 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ON TOWARD RICHMOND. 
 
 Soldiers, your work is not over, the enemy must be 
 pursued, and, if possible, overcome. The courage and forti- 
 tude which you have displayed render your commanding 
 general confident that your future efforts will result in 
 success. 
 
 While we mourn the loss of many gallant comrades, let 
 us remember that the enemy must have suffered equal, if not 
 greater, losses. We shall soon receive reinforcements, which 
 he cannot expect. 
 
 Let us determine, then, to continue vigorously the work 
 so well begun, and under God's blessing, in a short time the 
 object of our labors will be accomplished. — Extract from 
 General Meade's address to the Army of the Potomac, May 
 
 13, 1864. 
 
 GENERAL Grant having determined to make a flank 
 movement to the left gave directions to Hancock to 
 take the lead in this movement, and secure a position 
 on the right bank of the Mattapony River, if practicable, in 
 advance of the rest of the army. The object of this advance 
 was to open the way to the North Anna River, which he was 
 anxious to reach before the enemy should be in position to 
 destroy the bridge, or dispute the fordings, at the points where 
 he expected to effect a crossing. 
 
 The start was made at 1 1 P. M. of the 20th on the road 
 leading to Bowling Green. By a rapid all-night march the 
 corps reached Guinea Station, on the Fredericksburg and 
 Richmond Railroad, at daybreak, and the north bank of the 
 Mattapony a little before noon. Our route during the whole 
 of the daylight tramp was through an open country which as 
 yet had been untouched by the ravages of war. On every 
 hand there were occupied houses and abundant evidences of 
 wealth, fertility and prosperity. It was a striking contrast 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 301 
 
 to the dreary wilderness in which the army had been enmeshed 
 and harried, ofttimes by unseen forces, for nearly three weeks, 
 and with cheerful faces and spontaneous snatches of song, — 
 the favorite being- "Ain't I glad I'm out of this wilderness," — 
 the troops relieved the monotony of the steady, wearisome 
 march. A brigade of cavalry in our front drove the enemy 
 from a line of rifle pits which they were holding on the north 
 side of the Mattapony, captured sixty or more of their number 
 and saved the bridge from destruction. 
 
 Coming up soon afterward, our Division crossed on thi- 
 bridge and deployed in line of battle on an open space beyond 
 the river bed. It was followed by Tyler's Heavy Artillery 
 and Gibbon's Division, Birney being held on the north side 
 in reserve. Intrenching the line which he decided to occupy, 
 Hancock awaited the arrival of the main body of the army. 
 On the evening of the 22d the three corps came up or were 
 within easy support. The next morning Grant gave orders to 
 push on with all speed to the North Anna, where Lee was 
 already posted, with a part of his army to resist the further 
 advance of the Union troops toward Richmond. 
 
 The Second Corps, starting at five o'clock in the morning, 
 reached the Chesterfield Ford about midday. The intrench- 
 ments which guarded the bridge were carried by assault in 
 front of Birney's Division and the way was thus opened for 
 an advance. The next morning Birney crossed the bridge, 
 driving the skirmishers of the enemy before him and held the 
 ground on the opposite side until two pontoon bridges were 
 thrown across the stream. The divisions of Gibbon and 
 Barlow then crossed on these bridges and the whole line ad- 
 vanced to a position within striking distance of the Confed- 
 erate line of intrenchments. In this advance the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth did good service, as usual, on the skirmish line. 
 
 After testing the position of the enemy at several points, 
 General Grant decided to withdraw his two wings, both of 
 which were on the south side of the river and in constant 
 peril, and make trial of another flanking movement to the left. 
 By a concerted action all the troops across the river were 
 quietly moved over on the night of the 26th, and after going 
 
202 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 far enough eastward to avoid an attack on his exposed flank 
 the "indomitable commander of the Union Army" resumed his 
 march southward toward Richmond, his objective being the 
 Pamunkey River, formed by the union of the North and South 
 Anna. Sheridan, with two divisions of cavalry, led the flank- 
 ing column, and was followed by the corps of Wright, Warren 
 and Burnside. Hancock was left behind to cover the rear of 
 the army until the morning, and for this reason his men — it 
 was a rare experience — escaped an all-night march. The 
 advance of the flanking column reached Hanovertown, some 
 twenty miles from their starting point, about the time that the 
 rear guard of Hancock's command left the North Anna. The 
 enemy did not dispute the passage of this stream, and on the 
 morning of the 28th the Union Army was concentrated on the 
 south side of the Pamunkey and in communication with a new 
 base of supplies at White House, the head of navigation on 
 this river. 
 
 During the latter part of the summer of 1864 the officers 
 in command of the several regiments of the Army of the 
 Potomac were required to give an outline of the movements 
 and operations of their commands from the beginning of the 
 spring campaign until the first of July, under five epochs, 
 which, for the sake of uniformity, were definitely defined. 
 
 It fell to the lot of Major Henry, then commanding the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania, to make this report. 
 The First and Second Epochs cover the operations of the 
 Regiment up to the withdrawal of the corps from its position 
 near Spottsylvania Court House, and the substance of the 
 report relating to that period has been included in the fore- 
 going narrative.* 
 
 The reports relating to the remaining epochs will be given 
 in their appropriate setting in the language of Major Henry: 
 
 *To the foregoing statements should be added the losses reported 
 by Major Henry in the Second Epoch, dating from May 8-21, as 
 follows: Killed, 34 enlisted men; wounded, 6 officers and 120 men; 
 captured or missing, 9 enlisted men, total, 169. This report includes 
 
 the assault of the Salient at Spottsylvania. 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 203 
 
 Third Epoch. 
 May 22d-June 1st. 
 
 Colonel Fraser having been wounded at Spottsylvania 
 the command of the Regiment devolved upon Captain John F. 
 McCullough. On the morning of the 21st of May we 
 marched with the brigade toward Milford Station, on the 
 Frederick and Richmond Railroad, passing through Bowling 
 Green. We reached the station about midday, crossed the 
 Mattapony and threw up heavy works. We remained in this 
 position until the morning of the 23d, when we moved with 
 the brigade to the North Anna River. We crossed the river 
 on the afternoon of the 24th and the Regiment was deployed 
 as skirmishers, driving the skirmishers of the enemy into 
 their works. 
 
 The Regiment was relieved in the evening by the One 
 Hundred and Eighty-third Pennsylvania Volunteers, when 
 we returned to the brigade, behind the bank of the river, 
 where we remained until the night of the 26th, when we re- 
 crossed the river and supported a battery until the next day, 
 when the army was well in motion. The regimental loss 
 on the march to the North Anna and the fighting on that 
 river, was three enlisted men killed and nine wounded. 
 
 The historian of Company K gives a realistic touch to 
 an incident connected with the withdrawal of the Regiment 
 from the North Anna, from which we quote as follows : 
 
 At the time the army was withdrawn to the north side 
 of the river Company K, then in command of Lieutenant 
 Kerr, was among the troops that covered the movement, and 
 the men were deployed on the northern bank as pickets or 
 skirmishers. The south side bank was twenty-five or thirty 
 feet higher than the north one, and was lined with old rifle 
 pits. The rebels followed and occupied these, from which 
 they kept up a lively fire for some time. The river was 
 narrow, sixty or seventy feet wide, and Company K had no 
 protection but a few trees, which they hugged tightly, and 
 could only take a shot now and then. Late in the day the 
 enemy ceased firing. On reconnoitering, the true condition 
 was found out. Earlier in the day (as was ascertained 
 later) the order had been given calling off the pickets. 
 This had to be done stealthilv. From individual to indi- 
 
20 4 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 vidual the word was to be quietly passed — "fall back to the 
 rear." All went well till it came to George Johnson, who 
 was hard of hearing and did not catch the command, nor 
 was he in a position to notice the withdrawing. So he and 
 all those in the company that were to his right were left. 
 Having no orders to retire, they stayed at their posts. So 
 near sunset, being assured by two negroes, who had crossed 
 the river, that the Johnnies "had sure done gone," they got 
 together, Ralston taking command. All were at sea, not 
 knowing where the Regiment had gone. But they went 
 directly back from the river. A few miles on they saw some 
 cavalry in camp. Happily they were friends, and gave the 
 all right signal to the boys. It was Gregg's cavalry, and he 
 directed them to remain with his command until their Regi- 
 ment could be located. 
 
 To this story John A. McCalmot, of the same company, 
 adds the statement that he and another comrade, anticipating 
 trouble from the enemy when they should occupy the 
 breastworks on the south side, and not having trees which 
 would be available as a protection from sharpshooters, dug 
 holes in the sand with their bayonets and tin plates, in which 
 they were protected as long as they hugged the ground 
 closely. As the sun mounted toward the zenith this refuge 
 in the hot sand became so oppressive that they decided to 
 "cut and run," with a view to seeking a refuge in the earth- 
 works some distance to the rear. These they reached in 
 safety, but had to run the risk of being killed or wounded 
 by the shower of minie balls which followed them as soon as 
 they were discovered. 
 
 Such experiences as the above were not uncommon on 
 the picket or skirmish line. In many cases it was necessary 
 to seek cover, and when this was not at hand the men made 
 such good use of their bayonets and tin plates that they soon 
 had a fairly good protection for their heads and the exposed 
 parts of their bodies. 
 
 On the morning of the 29th of May General Meade 
 ordered his corps commanders to move southward in support 
 of a cavalry reconnoissance until they should meet the enemy 
 in force and definitely determine the position they had chosen 
 for the next stand in defense of the Confederate capital. As 
 the result of this advance it became evident that the main body 
 of Lee's army had already reached the Chickahominy River, 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 205 
 
 which was directly across Grant's line of march, and had 
 strongly intrenched themselves with the determination of dis- 
 puting his passage. At or near the headwaters of Totopotomy 
 Creek, a tributary of the Pamunkey, Hancock found a strong 
 force of the enemy in advance of Lee's line behind intrench- 
 ments of a formidable character with swampy ground in their 
 front. 
 
 The advanced rifle pits of the enemy's skirmish line were 
 taken by Barlow's Division on the evening of the 30th and 
 afforded a shelter for a time behind which the men labored, as 
 they had opportunity, to make their position more secure. 
 Between the lines thus drawn there was a continual fire of 
 musketry, sharpshooters and occasionally of artillery most of 
 the day. About two o'clock in the afternoon General Miles 
 called Captain McCullough aside and gave him some special 
 instructions, presumably relating to the dislodging of a band 
 of advanced sharpshooters or a battery of artillery which was 
 infilading a portion of his line. As the General turned away 
 Captain McCullough ordered the Regiment to fall in. Spring- 
 ing over the rifle pit he called upon the men to follow. The 
 order was instantly obeyed and as soon as the line was formed 
 a rapid advance was made toward the Confederate lines. From 
 the moment the little battalion — for such it was at that time — 
 appeared in full view of the vigilant enemy it became the 
 target for the sharpshooters and light artillery men, who were 
 in easy range as the men rushed down the hill. At the edge 
 of the swampy ground which lay between them and the Con- 
 federate works a deadly volley of musketry was poured into 
 their ranks. Several fell and among the number the regi- 
 mental commander. The wound was mortal and soon after- 
 ward he died from loss of blood, the ball having cut the 
 femoral artery. Captain Campbell, of Company H, then 
 assumed command of the Regiment, moving it quickly by the 
 right flank to a temporary shelter behind a little knoll. 
 
 "After McCullough was wounded," says Lieutenant 
 Hedge, "no one knew what orders General Miles had given 
 him. We had to lie in that position all that day until night- 
 
»6 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 fall, for it was certain death either to advance or retreat. 
 We had to lie flat on the ground all the time. Every man 
 that raised his ho. id was shot by sharpshooters. After we 
 had been in this position about an hour the Rebs managed 
 to move a piece of artillery down on our left so as to rake 
 our line. Bang came a shell, the first intimation we had of 
 our danger, which swept down the line, striking in Company 
 E. It tore two men to pieces and wounded several others. 
 Our batteries quickly got the range of it, however, and after 
 it had fired a few more shots disabled it. As above intimated, 
 we remained between the two lines until after dark, when we 
 fell back to our works without further loss." 
 
 "The loss to the Regiment in this engagement," says 
 Major Henry, "was eight killed and seven wounded." It will 
 be noted that the proportion of those who were mortally 
 wounded far exceeds the usual average in battle. 
 
 In his report under date of October 30, 1864, General 
 Miles says : 
 
 Captain McCullough, a very gallant and promising 
 young officer, commanding the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, was killed at Totopotomy Creek. 
 
 Captain McCullough had received notice of his appoint- 
 ment as Colonel of the One Hundred and Eighty-third Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers a short time before his death, but his 
 commission did not reach the headquarters of the Regiment 
 until some days afterward. 
 
 At a reunion of the Regiment held at Waynesburg, Pa., 
 
 October , Chaplain J. L. Milligan, LL.D.. gave the 
 
 following graphic description of the engagement and the last 
 moments of the brave Commander who led this forlorn hope : 
 
 1 
 
 In the town of Jefferson, in this county (Greened, 
 there is a spot of ground that is sacred, made so by the 
 remains of as brave and true a soldier as ever drew a sword 
 or shouldered a gun, and that man is Colonel J. F. Mc- 
 Cullough. On May 30, 1864, on the banks of the Totopotomy 
 Creek, Virginia, lay the Union Army. Across the creek and 
 beyond in the woods were the enemy. They were annoying 
 
ON lOWAl'H RICHMOND TffJ 
 
 . ral Barlow was division commander and General 
 Miles brigade commander. It was desired to discover the 
 strength of the enemy or rather to remove the annoying 
 cause. Captain McCullough was chosen for the task, and 
 given charge of the Regiment. They had gone but a little 
 distance until the enemy was engaged. 'J here were sixteen 
 casualties — eight killed and the same number wounded. 
 'iTiis was a very large percentage of the men engaged. Col- 
 onel McCullough was fatally wounded, the large artery in 
 the leg being severed. His men wanted to carry him back to 
 the rear, but he would not let them, telling them to move 
 forward and "don't mind me." He was found some time 
 afterwards by Chaplain Milligan, who knelt by him and told 
 he was dying. McCullough was very weak from loss of 
 blood and soon expired. 
 
 Finding- his way blocked once more by a strongly in- 
 trenched force all along- his front, General Grant ordered 
 another movement by the left flank. This was the last move 
 of the kind possible in the advance on Richmond from the 
 north and it brought the Union troops once more face to face 
 with Lee's recently reinforced army, which was determined 
 to hold the approaches to the Chickahominy at all hazards. 
 
 On the first of June a supporting - column of infantry, 
 which had followed Sheridan, occupied Cold Harbor, having 
 carried by assault a portion of the enemy's intrenched line of 
 battle. To make good the possession of this important position 
 General Hancock was ordered to abandon his intrenched line 
 on the Totopotomy — the extreme right of the army — and 
 hasten with all speed to the left wing which as yet had only a 
 precarious hold upon the ground they had so recently won. 
 The urgency of the movement appears in the following order 
 from General Meade, which reached Hancock late in the 
 evening: 
 
 You must make every exertion to move promptly and 
 reach Cold Harbor as soon as possible. At that point you 
 will take position to reinforce Wright on his left, which it is 
 desired to extend to the Chickahominy. Every confidence 
 is felt that your gallant corps of veterans will move with 
 vigor and endure the necessary fatigue. 
 
308 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 This meant a long, all-night march and those who made 
 it are not likely to forget the intense heat of that sultry night 
 or the dense clouds of dust which were stirred by the advance 
 of this marching host and which almost suffocated the horses 
 of the trains and artillery as well as the patient, plodding men. 
 The designated position was not reached until about seven 
 o'clock on the morning of June 2d, and by that time the troops 
 were so much exhausted that the attack which had been 
 ordered at daybreak was postponed until five o'clock in the 
 evening. While preparations were being made to deliver this 
 assault a cloud of dense blackness, charged with a super- 
 abundant supply of electric energies, suddenly appeared near 
 the horizon line and overspread the sky. "Its dark bosom," 
 as one has described it, ''was incessantly riven by lightning 
 and the thunder boomed louder than the artillery above the 
 waiting armies. The wind swept by in fierce gusts, bending 
 the trees like wands in its path, and everything betokened a 
 wild and stormy evening. Soon the burdened clouds opened, 
 and the rain came down in a perfect deluge, turning the fields 
 into standing pools and swelling the Chickahominy into a 
 turbid flood. The order for the attack had, therefore, to be 
 countermanded, and the drenched army went into bivouac for 
 the night." 
 
 The two armies which thus confronted each other at close 
 range were now upon the old battlefield of McClellan and Lee 
 two years before. Richmond, the Confederate capital, was 
 only six miles away, and at some points of the line the spires 
 of its churches could be seen. The army which defended it 
 was now at bay, having drawn up all the forces which could 
 be spared from other quarters to augment its strength of 
 attack or resistance. Hoke, from North Carolina, had come 
 with a brigade of fresh troops, Pickett had arrived with his 
 division from Richmond and Breckenridge with a considerable 
 force of reinforcements drawn from the Shenandoah Valley, 
 in all, according to Grant's estimate, probably not less than 
 15,000 men. 
 
 The position which Lee had chosen was a very strong one 
 and the natural features were such that neither flank could be 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 209 
 
 turned. His right rested on the Chickahominy, with swampy 
 ground in front, and his left was securely defended from 
 approach by a strip of swampy woodland and undergrowth. 
 Every part of the line defended by carefully constructed earth- 
 works and in front of the section which Barlow's Division 
 directly faced there was an advanced line of Confederate in- 
 trenchments. Behind this line and less than three miles away 
 were the forts, which had been built long before, and of late 
 had been greatly strengthened, for the protection of the city 
 of Richmond. 
 
 After the abatement of the storm, which had hindered a 
 concerted attack on the afternoon of the 2d, General Grant 
 issued an order for a general assault at 4.30 of the next 
 morning. Before the breaking of the day the column of assault 
 was formed, with Barlow and Gibbon in front and Birney's 
 Division as reserve. In Barlow's Division the brigades of 
 Miles and Brooke were deployed, and the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, as usual, was in the front line. 
 
 "At the appointed hour," says Grant in his Memoirs, 
 "Barlow pushed forward with great vigor, under a heavy 
 fire of both artillery and musketry, through thickets and 
 swamps. Notwithstanding all the resistance of the enemy 
 and the natural obstructions to be overcome, he carried a 
 position occupied by the enemy outside their main line where 
 the road makes a deep cut through a bank, affording as good 
 a shelter for troops as if it had been made for that purpose. 
 Three pieces of artillery were captured here, and several 
 hundred prisoners. The guns were immediately turned 
 against the men who had just been using them. No assis- 
 tance coming to him, Barlow intrenched under fire and con- 
 tinued to hold his place." 
 
 "The result of the assault," says General Miles, "was a 
 loss to the enemy of approximately two thousand, and to the 
 Union troops thirteen thousand, including many of the best 
 men of our army. Three young colonels, with whom I 
 served from the time they were lieutenants, bivouacked that 
 night together and slept under the same blanket; they were 
 laughing and speculating as to the results of the morrow. 
 When dawn came they all gallantly led their regiments and 
 were all dead in fifteen minutes." 
 
210 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 With more minuteness of detail, Headley, in his "History 
 of the Great Rebellion," describes the part taken by Hancock's 
 Corps, from which we quote as follows : 
 
 The morning was dark and gloomy and a gentle rain 
 was falling as the firm-set lines moved out from behind 
 their breastworks and began to advance over the field. 
 Hancock, on the left, first came up to the enemy's works. 
 Barlow, with four brigades, formed the extreme left; and 
 this gallant commander carried his troops for half a mile, 
 through woods and open spaces, under a heavy fire, square 
 up to the rebel works. 
 
 These were the immortal brigades which made the gal- 
 lant dash into the works at Spottsylvania, and here, enacting 
 again their heroic deeds, they sprang with a shout over the 
 enemy's parapets, capturing the guns, colors and several 
 hundred prisoners. This was the key to the rebel position, 
 and could this gallant charge have been properly supported, 
 Lee's army, in all probability, would have been driven over 
 
 the Chickahominy. 
 
 ******** 
 
 The whole of Hancock's Corps advanced simultaneously 
 with Barlow's Division and came, like it, upon the works 
 and made desperate efforts to carry them. 
 
 Deafening yells, rising from behind the hostile in- 
 trenchments, answered with shouts all along our lines — 
 incessant explosions of artillery and crashing volleys of 
 musketry — the long, low, sulphurous cloud hanging in the 
 damp air above the combatants — the never-ceasing stream of 
 wounded borne back to the rear, made the summer morning 
 one of gloom and terror to the beholder. * * * 
 
 The brunt of the battle was borne by Hancock's Corps, 
 
 which also gained most of the advantage that was even 
 
 temporarily secured. The Army of the Potomac had again 
 
 flung itself against the rebel works in vain, and rent and 
 
 bleeding fell back, but not to its original position. A lull 
 
 came in the battle, and the anxious question asked by all 
 
 was: "Will the assault be renewed?" 
 
 ******* 
 
 The two armies remained in this relative position all 
 day, neither making any decided demonstration. But just 
 after dark, the rebels came down on Hancock's Corps in one 
 of their tremendous charges. Our brave troops, however 
 had moved too often on formidable works without flinching 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 211 
 
 to be driven from behind their own entrenchments by any 
 force; and as the dark mass became well defined in the gray 
 gloom, they poured volley after volley of musketry with a 
 coolness and precision that made the hostile lines melt away 
 as though swallowed up by the night, while the deadly bat- 
 teries tore huge gaps through the dim formations. 
 
 Thus ended the Battle of Cold Harbor, or, as it has 
 sometimes been called, of Chickahominy. 
 
 In the early part of the afternoon, it being apparent that 
 further assaults would be attended with great loss, General 
 Meade issued an order directing that for the present all offen- 
 sive operations should be suspended. Corps commanders were 
 directed, however, to intrench the advanced positions they had 
 gained and to seek to move against the enemy's works by 
 regular approaches from these advanced positions. Under 
 such circumstances, not at all favorable to security or rest by 
 day or night, the two armies faced each other in that region 
 of swamps and malaria for about twelve days. 
 
 "This," says Lieutenant Hedge, "was the worst place the 
 army was ever in. The Rebs had the best position. The two 
 lines where our Division lay were not more than 200 yards 
 apart. The sharp shooters of the enemy could pick our men 
 off a half a mile in rear of our line, and the only safe place 
 was close to or under the protection of our works. A con- 
 tinual picket fire was kept up and men were killed or 
 wounded all hours of the day and night. Some were killed 
 by random balls while sleeping. During these long and 
 anxious days we had to drink water out of a dirty swamp 
 in which were dead horses and mules." 
 
 Between the lines for some days after the assault of 
 the third there were many unburied dead and also a number 
 of wounded men who could not be reached by either side, 
 for the reason that every man who for any reason exposed 
 his person became thereby a target for sharpshooters and 
 picked rifle men on the lines, who were constantly on the alert. 
 To reach the wounded men of both sides who were suffer- 
 ing untold agonies of fever and thirst. General Grant pro- 
 posed that to General Lee that either party, when a battle 
 
2ia THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 was not raging, should be authorized to semi unarmed men 
 bearing litters, between the picket or skirmish line, to pick 
 up the dead or wounded, without the danger of being fired 
 on by the other party. To this apparently fair proposition 
 ( ieneral Lee replied that he feared it would lead to misunder- 
 standing and proposed instead that a flag of truce should 
 be sent. Understanding by this that a white flag would be 
 respected on this errand, General Grant replied: "I will send 
 immediately, as you propose, to collect the dead and wounded 
 between the lines of the two armies, and will instruct that 
 you be allowed to do the same. I propose that the time for 
 doing so be between the hours of 12 M. and 3 P. M. to-day. 
 I will direct all parties going out to bear a white Hag and 
 not to attempt to go beyond where we have dead or wounded, 
 and not beyond or on ground occupied by your troops." To 
 this proposal, offered in all sincerity, in the interests of suf- 
 fering humanity, strange as it may seem, General Lee would 
 not consent, but insisted that when either party desired such 
 permission, it should be asked for formally by flag of truce. 
 He also informed General Grant that he had directed that 
 any parties he may have sent out — with a white flag — as men- 
 tioned in his letter, should be turned back. Regretting the loss 
 of time which had resulted from this formal correspondence, 
 Grant then asked for a cessation of hostilities to allow time 
 for this humane service, and left the fixing of the hours to 
 the Confederate commander. 
 
 "Lee acceded to this," says Grant in his Memoirs, "hut 
 delay in transmitting the correspondence brought it to the 
 7th of June — forty-eight hours after it commenced — before 
 parties were got out to collect the men left upon the field. 
 In the meantime all but two of the wounded had died." 
 
 In this transaction it must be evident to the candid reader 
 that the Union commander gave evidence of unquestioned 
 sincerity of intention, as well as of true nobility of character, 
 and we cannot but wish for his own sake, as well as for the 
 sake of our suffering comrades, that the commander of the 
 Confederate army had met his proposals in the same trust- 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 213 
 
 ful, generous spirit and with the same directness of purpose. 
 In a little booklet written by Mancan Sharp, which gives 
 a brief record of the men from Amity and its environs who 
 enlisted during the war, we find a brief account relating to 
 Samuel Evans, of Company D, one of the helpless sufferers 
 who spent one night and the greater part of two days be- 
 tween the lines at Cold Harbor before he was brought in. 
 
 "Samuel Evans," says the writer, "was wounded twice 
 and lay between the lines, hut whether dead or alive 
 was not certainly known for awhile by his comrades. His 
 faithful friend, John Hathaway, watching closely saw his 
 blanket move. Against the advice of his comrades he 
 insisted on going to his friend. With a canteen of water 
 he deliberately stepped out, and in full view of a strong 
 Confederate line, walked to where his friend was lying. 
 He made him as comfortable as possible; not a gun was 
 fired. When he started back a hundred guns or more were 
 fired at him. He was hit and knocked down. He grabbed 
 a rebel haversack from the ground to make them think they 
 had not hit him. He reached our lines in a fainting condi- 
 tion. Comrade Evans soon passed away and was brought 
 home and is buried at Ten Mile." 
 
 During the almost daily artillery duels between the 
 Union and Confederate batteries at Cold Harbor the occu- 
 pants of the tents at corps and division headquarters were 
 exposed to greater danger than the men at the front.* At 
 Barlow's headquarters, near the edge of a little patch of 
 woods, the trees were topped with solid shot, and on one 
 occasion the limb of a tree was cut off and fell upon the 
 table while the cook was preparing an evening meal. One 
 day the Captain of the Provost Guard reported the round- 
 
 *"Thc headquarters of the Corps," says General Walker, "were 
 riddled by bullets, and on the night of the 7th the Assistant Provost 
 Marshal, Captain Alexander M. McGuire, Seventy-fourth New York, 
 was killed by a solid shot while standing at the door of General 
 Hancock's tent. It was, indeed, a hideous time. No one who was 
 was exposed to the fury of that storm will ever forget how the 
 horrors of the battle were heightened by the blackness of the night." 
 
ai4 /■///•: ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ing up of some stragglers and skulkers who had sought the 
 roar for safety. With a grim humor, characteristic of the 
 man, Harlow ordered (hat these men should he tied in an 
 opeil Space near his own tent, which he had noticed had been 
 more frequently swept by bursting shells and dying missiles 
 than other portions of the field. Here they were kept under 
 a heavy fire for several hours, with a view to impressing 
 upon them the lesson that the post of duty was the safest 
 place for a Union soldier. One of the number was severely 
 wounded, and the others, if not harmed, were, at least, badly 
 
 frightened. 
 
 The official report of the movements oi the Regiment 
 from the North Anna to the withdrawal from Cold Harbor. 
 as given by Major Henry, is as follows: 
 
 Fourth Epoch. 
 
 June 2d — June 15th. 
 
 On the 27th the Regiment marched with the brigade and 
 crossed the Pamunkey River about noon, taking position on 
 the left of the Sixth Corps. In the evening the Regiment, 
 which had been sent to support the cavalry at Hawe's Shop, 
 rejoined the brigade about midnight. On the 2Qth, at noon, 
 the Regiment was deployed on the left of the brigade and 
 moved in the direction of Totopotomy Creek. We were 
 released from the picket line about 10 o'clock and rejoined 
 the brigade in the earthworks, where we remained until 2 
 P. M. of the 3X8t. The Regiment was then ordered to cross 
 Totopotomy Creek, which it did, under a very heavy and 
 severe fire of musketry and artillery. Captain McCullough 
 was killed in this engagement and the command developed 
 upon Captain Samuel Campbell. At dusk the Regiment was 
 withdrawn and rejoined the brigade. 
 
 On June 1st we supported artillery and marched that 
 night toward Cold Harbor, which place we reached about 9 
 A. M. On the 2d, at 12 M., the Regiment moved with the 
 brigade to the left and deployed as skirmishers. Marching 
 with the color company in reserve, we relieved the First 
 Penna. Cavalry and drove the enemy's skirmishers into their 
 line of works. We then charged the works, in connection 
 
ON TOWARD RICHMOND 
 
 ^'5 
 
 with the Twenty-sixth Michigan, and two companies of the 
 Second N. Y. Heavy Artillery, but owing to the superior 
 numbers of the enemy, were forced to fall back across the 
 road, where we remained under heavy fire until after dark, 
 when we were relieved by the Fifth N. IF. Vols. 
 
 On the 3d the Regiment supported the pickets on the 
 left and threw up earthworks. Here we remained until the 
 night of the 6th, when we advanced the line and threw up 
 more and stronger works, remaining in this position until the 
 night of the 13th. 
 
 The Regiment lost in the operations at Totopotomy and 
 Cold Harbor one commissioned officer and nine enlisted men 
 killed; twenty- four enlisted men wounded and nine missing. 
 
 The following statement gives the casualties in each 
 command of the First Brigade within the period covered by 
 the four designated epochs : 
 
 Casualties May 5-7, 1864. 
 
 Command 
 
 Totals 
 
 Staff 1 
 
 26th Mich 7 
 
 61st N. Y 3 
 
 81st Pa 
 
 140th Pa 13 
 
 183d Pa 
 
 Killed 
 
 Officers Men 
 
 Wounded Cap. or Miss 
 Officers Men Officers Men 
 r 
 
 7 
 3 
 
 ro 
 
 Casualties May 8-21. 
 
 Staff 1 
 
 26th Mich 167 
 
 61st N. Y 102 
 
 81st Pa -pj 
 
 140th Pa 169 
 
 183d Pa 161 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 35 
 
 9 
 
 34 
 10 
 
 1 
 6 
 
 5 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 "5 
 
 74 
 
 61 
 
 120 
 
 107 
 
 Casualties May 220 to June ist. 
 
 Staff 
 
 26th Mich. . 
 *2d N. Y. H. 
 61st N. Y. .. 
 
 81st Pa 
 
 140th Pa. . . . 
 183d Pa. ... 
 
 Art. 
 
 1 
 18 
 
 9' 
 
 3 
 2 
 
 25 
 36 
 
 5 
 7 
 
 9 
 11 
 
 1 r 
 
 74 
 2 
 1 
 
 15 
 20 
 
 11 
 2 
 4 
 9 
 
 33 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 2 
 
210 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Casualties June 2d to June 15TI1. 
 
 Command Killed Wounded Cap. or Miss. 
 
 Totals Officers Men Officers Men Officers Men 
 
 26th Mich 28 . . 3 . . 19 . . 6 
 
 5th N. Hamp 231 2 41 5 146 2 35 
 
 2nd N. Y. H. Art 215 1 20 4 170 1 19 
 
 61st N. Y 22 1 1 1 16 . . 3 
 
 81st Pa 44 1 7 • • 33 • • 3 
 
 140th Pa 40 . . 5 . . 23 12 
 
 183d Pa 95 1 4 5 7i •• M 
 
 In the judgment of military writers General Grant's 
 supreme effort to drive through the intrenched lines of the 
 Confederates at Cold Harbor on the 3rd of June was the cost- 
 liest and most sanguinary assault for the time of its continu- 
 ance in the history of the war. 
 
 "Here," says General Morgan, "the Second Corps re- 
 ceived a mortal blow, and never again was the same body 
 of men." Of this battle General Hancock said: "In an 
 hour's assault, 3,024 men fell." "He might well speak of it," 
 writes the historian of the 145th Pennsylvania, "as a loss 
 without precedence. Indeed, since the army crossed the Rapi- 
 dan, the losses of the Second Corps had been without 
 precedent. Grant had used it as the hammer head with 
 which he had pounded Lee for four weeks."* 
 
 With the noble frankness which was ever characteristic 
 of the man General Grant has left this testimony in his 
 Memoirs: "I have always regretted that the last assault at 
 Cold Harbor was ever made. No advantage whatever was 
 gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained. In- 
 deed the advantages other than those of relative losses were 
 on the Confederate side." 
 
 ♦Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, Volume II, page 711. 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 217 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 A SUMMER CAMPAIGN ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND. 
 
 "O ! God of our fathers ! this banner must shine 
 Where battle is hottest, in warfare divine! 
 The cannon has thundered, the bugle has blown — 
 We fear not the summons — we fight not alone ! 
 O ! lead us, till wide from the gulf to the sea, 
 The land shall be sacred to Freedom and Thee! 
 With love for oppression ; with blessings for scars — 
 One Country — One Banner — the Stripes and the Stars." 
 
 Edna Dean Proctor. 
 
 THE withdrawal of the army from its defensive works at 
 Cold Harbor, in close proximity to the enemy, without 
 confusion or loss, and its transfer to a new base of sup- 
 plies and active operations, without opposition or detention, 
 was one of the most masterly movements of the war. From 
 Cold Harbor to Petersburg-, the objective point of the move- 
 ment, was, by the route chosen, a distance of fully fifty miles, 
 while to the Confederates the distance to be travelled was not 
 more than thirty-four. 
 
 By the former route two bridgeless rivers were to be 
 crossed, one of which — the Chickahominy — had so overflowed 
 its banks that it looked more like a lowland swamp than a 
 river, and the other, the majestic James, was at the point of 
 crossing, a tide-water stream a half mile in width. "So well 
 had it been planned," says General Walker, "so prudently and 
 so vigorously had its first stages been executed, that the Con- 
 federates were not only outmarched but distinctly outgen- 
 eraled." 
 
 At 9 o'clock on the night of the 12th, Barlow's Division 
 moved cautiously and silently by the left flank, under cover 
 of the intrenchments, toward Barker's Mills. The night was 
 clear and the moon was shining brightly; but the usually alert 
 
218 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 and agressive enemy in our front did not seem to realize that 
 anything suggestive of a withdrawal of the army was actually 
 taking place, and that, too, almost under their noses. In the 
 same quiet manner the pickets were withdrawn after the main 
 column had reached the rear, and was well on its way. War- 
 ren's Corps which had started from a concealed position on the 
 reserve line led the advance. The cavalry, which preceded it, 
 forded the crossing of the Chickahominy and, driving the 
 cavalry pickets before them, held the ground until a pontoon 
 bridge was thrown across. By the morning of the 13th War- 
 ren's Corps had effected a crossing at this point and held the 
 roads leading to Richmond until the rest of the army had 
 passed over. The Second Corps, with Barlow's Division in 
 the lead, reached the Chickahominy about noon and at once 
 crossed it on the pontoon bridge which Warren had con- 
 structed, and used. Pushing on with brief halts for rest we 
 reached Wilcox Landing in the vicinity of Charles City Court 
 House, on the James River, about 9 o'clock at night. This 
 long and tedious march of fully twenty-five miles, one-half of 
 which was made after night, was cheerfully endured by the 
 men who were only too glad to escape from the malarial 
 swamps and ill-omened lowlands of the Chickahominy River. 
 A fleet of transports, ferry boats from northern rivers, 
 excursion steamers, with double and triple decks, and for- 
 midable looking war vessels, dotted the broad expanse of the 
 great river, and in one way or another aided in the crossing of 
 the army. Soon after our arrival the Engineer Corps finished 
 the construction of a pontoon bridge which required the 
 anchorage of one hundred boats to complete the stretch from 
 shore to shore. On the evening of the 14th the Second Corps 
 commenced to cross the river. Some of the troops crossed on 
 transports as soon as the boats were available, and others took 
 the bridge, over which a continuous stream of infantry, artil- 
 lery and heavy wagon trains was passing during the night. 
 About daybreak on the morning of the 15th the entire com- 
 mand with four batteries of artillery was safely landed on the 
 south side of the James. The remaining portions of the 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 219 
 
 wagon trains and artillery were ferried over in the early part 
 of the forenoon. 
 
 The other corps followed in the order indicated. By the 
 close of the day the whole army, without the loss of a man 
 or of any part of its equipment, was in position to advance 
 toward its new objective, the City of Petersburg. 
 
 The aggregate losses up to this day, which marks a new 
 epoch in the history of the campaign, was 39,259. In con- 
 nection with this estimate, which is given in the Memoirs of 
 General Grant, the statement is made that "at the crossing of 
 the James River, June 14th and 15th, the army numbered 
 about 115,000. The aggregate of losses of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth during this period, as reported by Major Henry, 
 was fifty-four killed and 118 wounded. The number missing 
 does not seem to be included in this estimate. 
 
 In the hope of receiving rations, which had been promised 
 him on the south side of the river, General Hancock did not 
 give the order to advance in the direction of Petersburg until 
 half past ten. It appears also that through some misunder- 
 standing, or failure to receive definite instructions, Hancock 
 did not know that he was expected to support the Eighteenth 
 Corps in an attack ordered on the works at Petersburg that 
 morning, when as yet they were feebly manned, and hence 
 did not push on with his accustomed vigor and decision. Re- 
 ferring to his wait for rations, as ordered, General Grant says, 
 "He (Hancock) then moved without them, and on the road 
 received a note from General W. F. Smith, asking him to 
 come on. This seems to be the first information that Hancock 
 had received of the fact that he was to go to Petersburg, or 
 that anything particular was expected of him. Otherwise he 
 would have been there by four o'clock in the afternoon." An- 
 other cause of delay was owing to a mistake in the order of 
 march which involved, before it could be rectified, an in- 
 crease of about five miles to the day's march. After a long 
 stretch of about twenty-five miles, Barlow's Division, which 
 was marching in the rear of the Corps, went into bivouac 
 within supporting distance of General Smith, about midnight. 
 The divisions which were in the lead arrived earlier in the 
 
220 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 evening, but not in time to take part in the assault on the 
 works. While on the march we heard the long roll of mus- 
 ketry punctured at intervals by discharges of artillery, but did 
 not know until the next morning that General Smith had 
 captured a part of the strongly intrenched Confederate lines, 
 and that, had we been in position to follow it up that night, 
 the City of Petersburg might easily have fallen into our hands. 
 The assault, which carried with it the earnest of results so im- 
 portant, was made at seven o'clock in the evening. The brunt 
 of it fell upon the colored troops of this command who ad- 
 vanced with splendid enthusiasm capturing five redans with 
 their connecting rifle pits, covering a distance of about two 
 and a half miles. Fifteen guns and about 300 prisoners were 
 taken within these strongly constructed defences. As we ad- 
 vanced the next morning over the ground on which this 
 deadly conflict had raged, for about two hours, we found the 
 dead bodies of a large number of the colored troops, who had 
 fallen in the charge made upon the works. 
 
 By this time Lee's army had appeared in force, con- 
 structed a new line of works and the opportunity to take Peters- 
 burg by surprise had passed. Under Hancock's direction an 
 assault was made on the enemy's works on the morning of 
 the 1 6th and with heavy loss, another redan was captured. 
 
 Referring to the operations which followed on this day 
 General Grant says : 
 
 Meade came up in the afternoon and succeeded Han- 
 cock, who had to be relieved, temporarily, from the com- 
 mand of his corps on account of the breaking out afresh of 
 the wound he had received at Gettysburg.* During the day 
 Meade assaulted and carried one more redan to his right and 
 two to his left. In all this we lost very heavily. The works 
 were not strongly manned but they all had guns in them 
 which fell into our hands; together with the men who were 
 handling them in the effort to repel these assaults. 
 
 *General Birney succeeded to the command of the Second Corps 
 during General Hancock's stay in the hospital. 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 221 
 
 The First Division, on the extreme left of the Corps, and 
 Birney's Corps bore the brunt of these assaults, one of which 
 Barlow led cap in hand. Describing the operations of this 
 evening and the next day (June 17th) Major Henry says: 
 "The fight lasted all night and our line was advanced, but at 
 terrible cost. As at Cold Harbor, the intrenched picket line 
 was so close to the pickets of the enemy that the men could 
 hear their conversation, and the least exposure meant im- 
 mediate death. Lieutenant Andrew M. Purdy, of Company F, 
 rising up to give an order, was instantly killed. Later in the 
 day another attack was made in which the Regiment partici- 
 pated and the Corps carried the hill upon which Fort Stead- 
 man was afterward built." 
 
 During the night of the 17th the enemy fell back to an- 
 other line which had been already selected and was to some 
 extent fortified. On the morning of the 18th our troops oc- 
 cupied the abandoned line of the enemy and prepared for a 
 general assault which was delivered about noon. Meanwhile 
 the Confederates had reinforced and greatly strengthened their 
 interior line and the Union troops were repulsed at every point 
 with terrible slaughter. On this day, which Walker char- 
 acterizes as "one of the bloody days of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac," Barlow's Division supported the attacking column and 
 hence the losses were not so heavy in it as on some of the 
 minor conflicts in which it was engaged. 
 
 "The attack of Mott, from the Hare House," says the 
 same writer, "was especially memorable on account of the 
 heroic bearing and monstrous losses of the First Maine 
 Heavy Artillery, which that General — determined to try 
 what virtue there might be in the enthusiasm of a new, 
 fresh strong regiment, not yet discouraged by repeated 
 failures — had placed in his front line. The charge, sup- 
 ported by the older regiments, was a most gallant one, 
 though unsuccessful, the Maine men advancing over a space 
 of three hundred and fifty yards swept by musketry, and 
 only retiring after more than six hundred of their number 
 had fallen, the heaviest loss sustained by any regiment of 
 of the Union armies in any battle of the war." 
 
222 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 This was the last of a series of assaults upon intrenched 
 positions, ofttimes repeated and persistenty made, from Spott- 
 sylvania to Petersburg. So many of them had been costly 
 victories or comparative failures, that the older troops were 
 losing the enthusiasm which had carried them through the 
 earlier conflicts : and the raw, undisciplined men who had 
 taken the places of their former comrades could not be de- 
 pended upon in such hours of emergency. 
 
 Up to this date the losses in the several conflicts before 
 Petersburg were nearly ten thousand. Preparations were now 
 made for a regular siege and approaches which for the most 
 part, were made under cover of strongly constructed earth- 
 works. 
 
 Before anything of importance was undertaken, however, 
 the men were permitted to take a few days of much needed rest. 
 
 In summing up the results of the several assaults on the 
 lines before Petersburg, including the dates already mentioned, 
 General Grant concludes with this statement : 
 
 If General Hancock's orders of the 15th had been com- 
 municated to him, that officer, with his usual promptness, 
 would undoubtedly have been upon the ground around 
 Petersburg as early as four o'clock in the afternoon of the 
 15th. I do not think there is any doubt that Petersburg itself 
 could have been carried without much loss: or, at least, if 
 protected by inner detached works, that a line could have 
 been established very much in rear of the one then occupied 
 by the enemy. This would have given us control of the 
 Weldon and South Side railroads. It would also have saved 
 an immense amount of hard fighting which had to be done 
 from the 15th to the 18th, and would have given us greatly 
 the advantage in the long siege which ensued. 
 
 Referring to the disposition of the troops, he says : 
 
 "The Army of the Potomac was given the investment 
 of Petersburg, while the Army of the James held Bermuda 
 Hundred and all the ground we possessed north of the James 
 River. The Ninth Corps, Burnside's, was placed upon the 
 right at Petersburg; the Fifth, Warren's, next; the Second, 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 223 
 
 Birney's next; then the Sixth, Wright's, broken off to the 
 left and south. Thus began the siege of Petersburg.* 
 
 Strictly speaking the Second and Sixth Corps were at this 
 time in rear, and to the left, of the regularly fortified line. It 
 was a position "in reserve" which meant that they were in place 
 to extend their lines farther to the left or to go to the aid of 
 any part of the line where their services might be required. 
 As a matter of fact the Second Corps became the "shuttle com- 
 mand" of this line of defenses, moving back and forth from 
 left to right, and right to left, as the web of the Army's history 
 was being woven, and always bringing up against the enemy 
 in positions which, with scarcely an exception, had to be 
 carried promptly by assault. 
 
 The first of these movements was made on the 21st of 
 June with a view to extending the intrenched line from the 
 left of the Fifth Corps so as to threaten, if not destroy, the 
 Confederate source of supplies by way of the Weldon Railroad. 
 
 In this advance Barlow's Division which was on the left 
 of the Corps pushed forward, driving the Confederate cavalry 
 before them to a point west of the Jerusalem Plank Road, with- 
 in two miles of the Weldon Road. During the night the Sixth 
 Corps came up within supporting distance, in anticipation of 
 a united forward movement on the morrow. 
 
 Owing to an error in formation, a gap was left between 
 the two advancing corps, on the 18th, which was noticed by 
 the Confederate general, A. P. Hill, who was looking for 
 an opportunity to turn the right flank of Wright's Corps. 
 Thrusting a heavy column which he had at hand into this gap, 
 Hill vigorously attacked a flanking brigade, which Barlow 
 had thrown out on his left, forcing it to give way, and then, 
 in rapid succession, struck the flanks of the other parts of 
 the command, rolling them up and compelling them to fall 
 back with a heavy loss. "Both corps recovered and re- 
 formed," says Lossing, "and a fierce attack on the brigade of 
 
 * Grant's Memoirs, pages 288-9. 
 
224 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 the ever-gallant General Miles, of the Second, was repulsed." 
 Says General Walker: 
 
 The whole affair was over in a very short time. Noth- 
 ing but the extraordinary quickness and precision of the 
 Confederate movements on this occasion would have made 
 such a result possible. The Second Corps had been defeated 
 almost without being engaged. There had been very little 
 fighting and comparatively small loss, except in prisoners. 
 Of these, the Second Corps had lost seventeen hundred; 
 more than it had at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancel- 
 lorsville combined. Four guns, moreover, the only ones 
 ever taken from the Second Corps by the enemy, except 
 that abandoned, disabled one on the banks of the Po, were 
 the trophies of the Confederate triumph. The whole oper- 
 ation had been like that of an expert mechanician who 
 touches some critical point with a fine instrument, in ex- 
 actly the right way, producing an effect seemingly out of 
 proportion to the force exerted. The enemy's success was 
 of course facilitated, if not indeed, made possible, by the 
 thickets through which our troops were moving and by 
 their own intimate knowledge of the ground. 
 
 Our brave Colonel — John Fraser — who had been as- 
 signed to the command of the Fourth Brigade, on the day 
 preceding this engagement, resolutely held his ground in obe- 
 dience to the order sent him by the Division commander, until 
 most of his command had fallen back. It was then too late 
 to escape, and he fell into the hands of the enemy. In the 
 official report of this disastrous battle, made by his successor 
 in command, Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. Glenning, Sixty-fourth 
 N. Y. Vols., September 13th, we find the following record: 
 
 The brigade was ordered to move toward the Weldon 
 Railroad on the 21st, and in the evening formed line on the 
 left of the Third Division and intrenched. On the 22d, ad- 
 vanced a mile through a dense woods and, with the re- 
 mainder of the division, was attacked and pressed back to 
 the breastworks, losing a large number of prisoners, among 
 them the gallant commandant, Colonel Fraser, One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 225 
 
 After this disastrous engagement, which General Walker 
 characterizes as the most humiliating episode in the experi- 
 ence of the Second Corps down to that period, there was a 
 lull in active operations in our front, and, for the first time 
 in nearly two months of weary marching, of constant ex- 
 posure to peril and privations and of excessive exertions, we 
 were permitted to go into camp, pitch tents and deliberately 
 prepared to make ourselves comfortable. 
 
 Our position was directly behind the fortifications which 
 fronted the Weldon Railroad. With a strong line of pickets 
 in front and a strong line of defenses before us, which could 
 be quickly occupied in case of need, we were comparatively 
 secure against sudden attack. Farther to our right the troops 
 of the Fifth and Ninth Corps occupied the line of forts, 
 redans and bomb proofs which fronted the city of Petersburg. 
 This portion of the line was defended with siege guns, Cohorn 
 mortars and thickly planted batteries of artillery, with guns 
 of varying size and caliber. When all these engines of de- 
 struction were trained upon the enemy, as at times they were, 
 the hillcrest on which they were placed seemed to be aflame 
 with lightning-like flashes and the solid earth quaked with 
 the horrid din of the quick and almost continuous discharges 
 of mortars and siege guns and the bursting of their enormous 
 shells. This racket, which usually began on the extreme 
 right, came down the line in diminishing cadence to the left 
 of the position then held by the Fifth Corps. It seldom 
 amounted to much when it reached our front, and we soon 
 learned to go to sleep, if not in the midst of it, a half hour or 
 less after it has ceased. 
 
 The summer of 1864 was notable for its intense heat 
 and long-continued period of drought. From June 3d to the 
 19th of July the heavens were as brass, and during that 
 stretch of forty-seven days there was no sign of rain. Every 
 movement of the troops was accompanied by suffocating clouds 
 of finely pulverized dust, and it penetrated to every covered 
 place and hidden nook in field or camp. Water could be 
 obtained only by digging wells, and at every camping place 
 
226 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 it was necessary for each regiment to dig and care for its 
 own well. 
 
 Captain Henry, of Company F, commanded the Regi- 
 ment at this time, and its present effective force was about 
 150 enlisted men. It was sad and pitiful to see companies 
 which once numbered more than a hundred men reduced to 
 a little band of ten or twelve, while less than the original 
 number of two of its companies rallied around a sadly tat- 
 tered, powder-begrimed stand of colors. 
 
 The withdrawal of the Sixth Corps from the left, under 
 orders to hasten to the defence of Washington, made it nec- 
 essary to contract the lines, and with a view to this the troops 
 were ordered out of the works preparatory to leveling them 
 to the ground. After this had been done all along our front, 
 the Division was massed some two miles to the rear. On the 
 evening of the 12th of July, the Brigade was sent out with 
 Gregg's Cavalry on a reconnoissance. Some of the cavalry 
 pickets of the enemy were found, but they fell back as the 
 Union forces advanced. 
 
 The Brigade returned to its starting point about midnight 
 and the next morning moved with the corps to a position in 
 rear of the Fifth and Ninth Corps. General Hancock having 
 returned from the hospital, had resumed his command about 
 the first of the month, and was now directing the movements 
 of the Corps. On the afternoon of the 26th we broke camp, 
 and, marching most of the night, reached Deep Bottom on 
 the morning of the 27th. The James was crossed on a pon- 
 toon bridge which had been constructed by General Butler. 
 At daybreak Barlow's Division made an assault on the 
 enemy's advanced works at Bailey's Creek driving the Confed- 
 erates from the position they were holding and capturing a 
 four-gun battery of 20-pound Parrotts. 
 
 The whole line was engaged at times during the day, 
 and the rapid concentration of the enemy on the north side, 
 while it prevented a direct attack on the city of Richmond, 
 accomplished the purpose Grant had in mind with respect to 
 the impending assault in front of Petersburg. "Five-eighths 
 of the hostile army," say Walker, "were now on the north 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 227 
 
 bank, confronting Hancock and Sheridan, while, far away to 
 the south, Burnside's Ninth, Ord's Eighteenth, and Warren's 
 Fifth Corps, stood ready to enter Petersburg through the 
 hideous avenue which might at any time be laid open by the 
 explosion of Burnside's mine." With two divisions of his 
 corps and Sheridan's Cavalry, Mott having been sent to rein- 
 force the troops on the south side, Hancock stood off the 
 attacks of the larger half of Lee's Army during the 28th and 
 the day following when the situation became exceedingly 
 perilous. Fortunately for that little command, no direct attack 
 was made by the enemy on the 29th and at nightfall it was 
 withdrawn to the south side of the James. The march was 
 continued through the night and at daybreak, the head of 
 the column reached Burnside's position in time to witness the 
 terrific explosion of the mine which hurled a vast mass of 
 earth and rock into the air, destroying the occupants of the 
 fort and leaving in its stead an enormous rift in the ground 
 thirty feet deep, sixty wide and one hundred and seventy long. 
 For reasons, which need not be mentioned here, the attempt 
 to break the enemy's intrenched line at this point was a disas- 
 trous failure. Hancock had faithfully carried out his part of 
 the program by making a successful diversion on the right of 
 the line and was back again after an all-night march in time 
 to support the column designated for the assault, but in con- 
 sequence of blunders, hesitation and downright cowardice on 
 the part of some of the responsible agents who were concerned 
 in its execution, the precious moments of opportunity were 
 allowed to pass and the victory anticipated, and which was 
 actually in their grasp, was turned into a disastrous defeat. 
 
 The Regiment, which had been left behind on picket duty 
 when the Division was withdrawn, crossed the river on the 
 morning of the 30th and rejoined the Brigade, which had con- 
 tinued its march to its old camp, in the neighborhood of the 
 Deserted House, in the early part of the afternoon. 
 
 Major Henry's report, which covers the period designated 
 as the Fifth Epoch, gives a summary of the operations and 
 movements of the Regiment from its withdrawal to the south 
 
..s THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 side of the James until its return to the above mentioned 
 reserve camp. 
 
 rhe report is as Follows : 
 
 KlbTH KIWI I. 
 June [2th>30th, inclusive. 
 
 On the night of the lath of June the Regiment quietly 
 withdrew from the line of works at Cold Harbor and 
 marched with the brigade to and across the Chickahominy 
 River at Long Bridge. We continued the march that day, 
 
 and halted in the evening at Wilcox Landing on the James 
 River, where we threw up a light line of works. 
 
 On the night of the 14th. moved with the brigade 
 across the river and halted on the south side until noon 
 tor the purpose of drawing rations. 
 
 On the afternoon of the 15th the Regiment marched 
 with the division in the direction of Petersburg, halting at 
 midnight near the Friend House. Early in the morning 
 of the 16th, moved with the brigade to the left oi the Eigh- 
 teenth Corps, In the evening moved to the right, near the 
 Friend House and supported the Third Brigade in a charge; 
 drove the enemy into their works and threw up intrench- 
 mentS within 200 yards of the enemy's lines. Remained 
 here until the morning of the iSth. when we advanced and 
 occupied the Confederate works, driving them from the 
 Norfolk Railroad at a large brick culvert. We were re- 
 lieved from duty on the picket line on the night of the 
 toth and rejoined the brigade in the earthworks. Here we 
 remained until the night of the Joth, when we were re- 
 lieved by troops of the Ninth Corps. On the 21st moved 
 with the brigade to the extreme left of the Line, near the 
 Williams House. On the 22d, supported the Second and 
 Third Brigades while engaged with the enemy. Went into 
 camp near the Williams House on the 23d and remained 
 in this position until the 10th of July, when we moved far- 
 ther to the left on the Jerusalem Blank Road and relieved 
 the pickets of the Sixth Corps. We remained on picket 
 
 until the afternoon of the I2th, when the Regiment moved 
 with the brigade and some cavalry toward the Wcldon 
 Railroad, returning about midnight. 
 
 On the morning of the 13th, marched with the brigade 
 to, and encamped near, the Deserted House, where we re- 
 mained, doing fatigue duty until the evening of the 26th, 
 when we broke camp, inarched to and crossed the Appo- 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 220 
 
 mattox. On the morning of the 27th we crossed the James 
 River. Were ordered on picket duty and remained on the 
 line until 9 A. M., when we rejoined the brigade. The 
 Regiment also did picket duty near the New Market Road 
 until the night of the 29th, when we were withdrawn. 
 Crossing the James River on the morning of the 20th we 
 rejoined the brigade about one o'clock in the afternoon, 
 near the Friend House. 'J he Regiment lost in the oper- 
 ations in front of Petersburg 1 commissioned officer and 
 4 enlisted men killed and two commissioned officers and 
 24 men wounded. Two enlisted men were missing. 
 
 All of which is respectfully submitted, 
 
 (Signed; Thomas IIknky, 
 Major Commanding One Hundred and fortieth Regiment 
 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 From the 31st of July until the 12th of August, we re- 
 mained in the old camp in the neighborhood of the Deserted 
 f louse, when another attempt was made to surprise the enemy, 
 and, if possible, to enter Richmond from the north side of 
 the James River. Acting on the impression that Lee had been 
 reinforcing Karly, who was then operating in the Shenandoah 
 Valley, General Grant directed Hancock to take charge of a 
 force consisting of the Second Corps, two Divisions of the 
 Tenth Corps, under General Birney, and Gregg's Division of 
 Cavalry to operate as circumstances might direct at Deep Bot- 
 tom, on the extreme right of the Union line. Marching at 
 noon on the 12th of August, the Corps bivouacked at City 
 Point after a long and exhausting march through the ever- 
 present dust and the intense heat. 
 
 I fere we found a fleet of sixteen vessels awaiting us and 
 at noon of the 13th we embarked, under the impression that 
 we were about to follow the Sixth Corps to the North in 
 pursuit of General Early. About sunset the vessels, crowded 
 with troops and gaily bedecked with fluttering banners, swung 
 out one after the other into midstream and, with music and 
 song and hearty cheers — for all the bands were playing and all 
 the troops were in exultant mood, — moved slowly and majes- 
 tically down the river. 
 
 A few hours after nightfall, our formidable fleet came to 
 
230 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 a dead stop and the vessels wove anchored. Somewhere about 
 midnight an order was sent to the Captain of each ship to turn 
 about and proceed under full head of steam to Deep Bottom. 
 
 The order was promptly obeyed and at two o'clock in the 
 morning we reached the dilapidated landing place at Deep 
 Bottom, in the immediate vicinity of the battle ground of the 
 previous month. This unexpected change in the program was 
 a sore disappointment to the troops in general, who were quite 
 as much misled by the movements of the fleet on the evening 
 before as were the Confederates themselves. 
 
 It was not theirs, however, to reason why. and the vision 
 of northern fields and camps amid green pastures, was put 
 awav as a dream of the night. Owing to imperfect facilities 
 for disembarking, the attack on the enemy's lines which was 
 arranged for daybreak was not made until after nine o'clock. 
 By that time the Confederates had strongly reinforced this 
 part of their line and the assault which was delivered at vari- 
 ous points upon it, during the day was not successful. One 
 of the chief discouragements of this day's battle was the in- 
 tense heat of the sun. 
 
 "The temperature of the day," says General Walker, 
 "was something dreadful. The columns, moving out from 
 the landing, literally passed between men lying on both sides, 
 dead from sunstroke. Before noon General Mott reported 
 to me that, in two small regiments of his division, one hun- 
 dred and five men had been overcome by heat. The rays 
 of the August sun smote the heads of the weary soldiers 
 with blows as palpable as if they had been given with a 
 club." 
 
 On the morning of the 16th, Terry's Division of Birney's 
 Corps, with a Brigade of Mott's Division and a Brigade of 
 colored troops, carried the works in their front, capturing three 
 hundred prisoners and three stand of colors, but soon after 
 were driven out of them and compelled to retire. 
 
 "In the meantime, Gregg, supported by Miles' 'fighting 
 Brigade,' of Barlow's Division, had been operating on the 
 Charles City Road, with the view of drawing the Confederates 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 231 
 
 out of their intrenchments. He drove their van some distance, 
 but he was soon driven back, and no special advantage to the 
 Union cause was obtained."* 
 
 In this engagement the Confederate Commander, General 
 Chambliss was killed. The troops reached a point only seven 
 miles from Richmond. 
 
 On the 17th there was more or less of skirmishing at some 
 points on the line, but everywhere the defensive works of the 
 enemy seemed to be well manned. 
 
 On the 1 8th, General Barlow, in consequence of the out- 
 breaking of severe wounds received at Antietam and Gettys- 
 burg, and of physical depression resulting therefrom, was 
 obliged to relinquish his command of the Division and was 
 succeeded by General Miles. This worthy successor to one of 
 the most illustrious military leaders of the war, led the First 
 Division from this date, with rare ability and a uniform meas- 
 ure of success until its return, with the victorious Army of the 
 Potomac, to Washington City. 
 
 After spending two or three more days at Deep Bottom, 
 with a view to holding a large part of the enemy in that posi- 
 tion, to facilitate a flank movement on the left, Grant directed 
 General Hancock to withdraw his command to the lines before 
 Petersburg. The return march was made by way of Bermuda 
 Hundred on the night of the 20th. It was a night of darkness 
 and continuous rain and the troops plodded along through 
 mud and pools of water, arriving at the camp they had left 
 nine days before, by daylight of the 21st. 
 
 Says Powelson of Company K : "It was a never-to-be- 
 forgotten tramp; tramp all the night through darkness, rain 
 and mud, awful and yet laughable, when men got lost, when 
 hats, shoes, caps, etc., disappeared as the boys stumbled on in 
 brush and darkness." 
 
 In explanation of this demonstration north of the James, 
 Grant says in his Memoirs, Vol. 88, page 321 : 
 
 * Lossing's Civil War in America, page 354. 
 
232 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 To prevent reinforcements from being sent out from 
 Richmond, I had to do something to compel Lee to retain 
 his forces about his capital, I therefore gave order for 
 another move to the north side of the James River, to 
 threaten Richmond. A threatening position was main- 
 tained for a number of days, with more or less skirmishing 
 and some tolerably hard fighting, although it was my object 
 and my instructions that anything like a battle should be 
 avoided, unless opportunities should present themselves 
 which would insure great success. There was no par- 
 ticular victory gained on either side; but during that time 
 no more reinforcements were sent to the valley. 
 
 During the brief period of this demonstration north of 
 the James River the One Hundred and Fortieth had three 
 commanders. Captain Stockton, of Company K, who led it 
 at the outset of the movement, became so ill from exposure, 
 that he was obliged to go to the hospital on the morning of 
 the 1 8th. Captain Pipes, of Company A, then assumed the 
 command on the 20th and he in turn was succeeded by the 
 ranking Captain (Major) Thomas Henry, of Company F. 
 
 The following account of the movements in detail, of the 
 Regiment from the morning of its debarkation at Deep Bottom 
 was written by Lieutenant Hedge, of Company A, soon after 
 the events it describes : 
 
 It was still dark when we landed from the transports. 
 As soon as daylight appeared our Regiment and the 
 Twenty-sixth Michigan were deployed as skirmishers and 
 ordered forward. After advancing through the woods about 
 a mile, we found the Confederate skirmishers, whom we 
 drove from their position after some hard fighting.* 
 
 We fought and maneuvered around for about two days. 
 One morning our Brigade was sent out on a reconnoissance 
 in the direction of Richmond. The cavalry was in advance. 
 After marching three or four miles we encountered a force 
 of rebel cavalry, which gave way for a time. Presently 
 
 * The One Hundred and Fortieth and the Twenty-sixth Mich- 
 igan were so often sent out together on the skirmish line, that they 
 were sometimes designated as the "Twin Skirmish Regiments" of 
 the Brigade. 
 
ON THE son in SIDE OF RICHMOND 233 
 
 our cavalry was checked and the Brigade was ordered tor- 
 ward. Our Regiment and the Twenty-sixth Michigan were 
 deployed as skirmishers and were ordered to advance. The 
 Rebs were on a high piece of ground with a swamp in 
 their front, through which we were obliged to k () - I'eyond 
 it was a line of rifle pits, defended by a battery of ar- 
 tillery. The Rebs held us in check for sonic time, but at 
 length we charged and carried the rifle pits, taking a few 
 prisoners. It was here that the Confederate General Cham- 
 bliss was killed. J saw him fall. Our object having been 
 accomplished, we marched back to Deep Bottom. 
 
 During the continuance of this movement the Regimen! 
 sustained a loss of one enlisted man killed, nine wounded and 
 four captured or missing. 
 
 While the Second Corps was holding its ground at Deep 
 I tot torn, General Warren, after one or two desperate conflicts, 
 in which he had met with heavy losses, succeeded in wresting 
 the Weldon Railroad from the enemy's hands. Pending the 
 attempt which the Confederates were sure to make to recover 
 this important line of communication, Hancock was ordered 
 to continue his march with two Divisions of his Corps from 
 the old camp, in which he had tarried long enough to allow his 
 men to make coffee and eat a hasty meal, to the Gurley House 
 in the rear of the Fifth Corps. This position was reached 
 late in the afternoon, and the men bivouacked for the nighl 
 in a muddy field under a downpour of rain. Of this march, 
 during which many fell out utterly exhausted, Hancock says: 
 
 It was om- of the mosl fatiguing and difficult per- 
 formed by the troops during the campaign, owing to the 
 wretched condition of the roads. 
 
 The next day the Regimenl assisted in tearing up several 
 miles of the Weldon Railroad and on the 2/itli the hoops had 
 destroyed the ties and rails of the track bed as far as Malone's 
 Crossing, some three miles south of Reams Station. To facili- 
 tate this work of destruction, large piles of ties were gathered 
 at intervals and upon these wire [aid, or rather balanced, a 
 number of rails. When the pile was fired the rails would 
 
834 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 droop down at either end, as the middle portions became 
 heated to the melting point, and, in general, they were so 
 warped and twisted that they could not be used again in the 
 reconstruction of the road. In the beds of glowing coals which 
 were left after this work of destruction, the troops "cooked 
 coffee" and roasted the ears of Indian corn which they found 
 in abundance as they pushed their way southward, without de- 
 lay or molestation, to Malone Crossing. In the evening Miles' 
 Division, which had been foremost in this work, returned to 
 a line of intrenchments which were occupied by the rest of 
 the Corps, at Reams Station. This position was twelve miles 
 south of Petersburg and about four miles south of the left of 
 Warren's intrenched line. 
 
 During the night a large force of Confederate troops 
 were reported to be on the move toward the left and for this 
 reason the main body of the troops were held in position in 
 the earthworks during the early part of the day. In the after- 
 noon the Confederates suddenly appeared in front of the posi- 
 tion held by General Miles, and, with the wild, weird yells, 
 which had become so familiar to our ears, drove in the skir- 
 mish line and boldly assaulted the line of works. This attack 
 and another which followed soon after, were repulsed with 
 heavy loss to the assailants. 
 
 Meanwhile a number of Confederate sharpshooters, 
 posted in the treetops and other hidden outlooks, directed their 
 fire upon the batteries in the open with such extraordinary 
 success that several gunners were picked off at their posts, 
 and one hundred and thirty-four horses were killed or disabled. 
 
 Later in the day the enemy received reinforcements, and, 
 with a force now greatly in excess of Hancock's command. 
 renewed the attacks at several points. Failing in these, a de- 
 structive artillery fire was concentrated upon the right of the 
 line and following it — about half past five o'clock — a double 
 column of the enemy, under command of General Heth, 
 emerged from the woods and made a furious charge upon 
 that part of it which was held by General Miles. They were 
 met by a withering fire a few rods beyond it, but rallying, they 
 closed up their broken lines and renewed the assault. Unfor- 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 235 
 
 tunately for the Union cause they struck a section in this 
 advance which was held by conscripts and raw recruits who 
 broke and fled in confusion, seeking shelter in a railroad cut 
 a few rods to the rear. With wild yells and the consciousness 
 of victory within their grasp, the Confederates swarmed into 
 the gap which had thus been opened, pounced upon the bat- 
 teries behind it, now left without support, and turned them upon 
 the troops who were still at their posts, to the right and left. 
 To abandon the line which was thus broken up was a necessity, 
 but Hancock and Miles, with rare ability and splendid courage, 
 rallied the men of the older regiments, on whom they had so 
 often relied in emergencies, and prevented the retreat from 
 becoming a disastrous rout. These men, knowing the impor- 
 tance of standing together, rallied in squads and battalions, 
 stubbornly contesting the ground and at length held a line 
 some distance in the rear from which they could not be driven. 
 The historian of the Second Corps has given a graphic 
 description of the events immediately following the breaking 
 of the intrenched line, from which we take the following quo- 
 tations : 
 
 The victorious Heth had yet to reckon with a few in- 
 domitable spirits. Calling up a portion of his old regi- 
 ment, the Sixty-first New York, which still remained firm, 
 Miles threw it across the breastworks, at right angles, and 
 commenced to fight his way back, leading the regiment in 
 person. Only a few score of men — perhaps two hundred in 
 all — stood by him; but with these he made ground, step by 
 step, until he had retaken Dauchey's battery and had re- 
 captured a considerable portion of the line, actually driv- 
 ing the enemy into the railroad cut. Miles had by this time 
 transferred the fighting to the outside of the intrenchments 
 on the right, where he sought to take in flank and rear, 
 the Confederates who had leaped the line at the northwest- 
 ern angle, or were still coming up. As fast as his small 
 party was dissipated, it was reinforced by little handfuls of 
 men, personally collected by his own staff and by the ap- 
 peals and exertions of General Hancock, who, galloping 
 to the front, exposed himself far more conspicuously than 
 any private soldier in his efforts to restore the fortunes of 
 the day. His horse was shot under him; a ball cut his bridle 
 
236 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 rein in two; the corps flag, which always followed him 
 closely, was pierced by five balls; another splintered the flag 
 staff, and the brave and brilliant Brownson, Commissary of 
 Musters, fell beside it mortally wounded. 
 
 While these events were taking place in the immediate 
 front, the enemy attacked the left of the line and a Brigade of 
 Hampton's dismounted cavalry, passing around it, attempted 
 to break through an attenuated line of Union cavalry directly 
 in our rear. 
 
 The writer, who was on detached service in the Adjutant- 
 General's office of the Division at this time, was seated on a 
 log at the temporary Headquarters, preparing a report, which 
 had been ordered from the several brigades, when this fusillade 
 broke out from the rear. With the line breaking up in our 
 front and a force of the enemy of unknown strength directly 
 in our rear, it seemed for a few moments as if we were all in a 
 fair way to be escorted directly to Richmond. It was a position 
 in which, for the time, there was no rear and no place which 
 was not swept by artillery fire or musketry balls. Fortunately 
 for all concerned, the brave boys of Gregg's Cavalry were 
 equal to the occasion and thwarted all the persistent attempts 
 of the enemy to penetrate into our left, or rear. 
 
 After a brief pause on the second line, Hancock withdrew 
 his command from its perilous position, assigning to General 
 Miles the covering of his retreat. 
 
 General Heth, apparently satisfied with the victory he had 
 won, made no attempt to follow beyond the second line which 
 Hancock had established. 
 
 "It is not surprising," says General Morgan, Chief of 
 the Corps Staff, "that General Hancock was deeply stirred 
 b the situation, for it was the first time he had felt the bit- 
 terness of defeat during the war. He had seen his troops 
 fail in their attempts to carry the intrenched positions of the 
 enemy, but he had never before had the mortification of 
 seeing them driven and his lines and guns taken as on this 
 occasion. . . . Riding up to one of his staff, in Werner's 
 battery, covered with dust and begrimed with powder and 
 smoke, he placed his hand upon the staff officer's shoulder 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 237 
 
 and said: 'Colonel, I do not care to die, but I pray God I 
 may never leave this field.' " 
 
 As another has expressed it : 
 
 The battle of Reams Station — the first and only dis- 
 aster that ever befell the splendid Second Corps — was lost 
 by the defection of a single regiment. 
 
 In this engagement the Confederates claimed the capture 
 of seven standards and nine cannon, but Grant, in his Memoirs, 
 asserts that the actual loss, out of the batteries engaged, was 
 only five guns. The fact should not be overlooked, however, 
 that this apparent victory of the enemy did not give to them 
 the control of the Weldon Road. 
 
 It never went out of our possession from the 18th of 
 August, when Warren's Corps seized it, to the close of the 
 war, and all the supplies which formerly passed over it from 
 the south, had to be carried in wagons for a distance of about 
 thirty miles. 
 
 At the opening of the Wilderness campaign the whole 
 number of men reported as present for duty on the rolls of 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment was 490; at the 
 date of the battle of Reams Station this number was reduced 
 to 187. These figures include the men of the several com- 
 panies present for duty on detached service also, and inasmuch 
 as this number was unusually large in our Regiment, because 
 of the fitness of its rank and file for special service, the actual 
 number of those available for duty with the companies was 
 always considerably less. It is not probable, therefore, that 
 the number of those who were actually present with the com- 
 panies exceeded 160 or possibly 150, the number that was 
 given by the writer, in a letter to the home-folk, a short time 
 before. At the battle of Reams Station the losses were not 
 so heavy, as in other engagements in which it had a part, for 
 the reason that its position was not so directly assailed as 
 on some parts of the line on which the Brigade with which 
 it was connected, was posted. 
 
 The official report of the battle made by Colonel James 
 
238 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 C. Lynch, the Commander of the First Brigade, which we 
 quote below, gives some interesting facts relating to the oper- 
 ations of this fateful afternoon, and also throws light upon 
 the nature of the service required of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth : 
 
 In accordance with orders from General Miles, I di- 
 rected Captain Henry, commanding the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Pennsylvania, to make a reconnoissance with his 
 Regiment on a road running to the Jerusalem Plank Road, 
 to a point on the Reams Station and Wood Shop Road, 
 near the right of my line. Captain Henry moved out about 
 three-fourths of a mile, meeting no enemy, and established 
 his skirmish line across the road, his right connecting with 
 the left of the picket line of the Division. He occupied this 
 position during the afternoon, and did not rejoin the Brigade 
 till after its withdrawal from Reams Station. 
 
 The main portion of this brigade did not become engaged 
 until 4 P. M., when the enemy, having made a successful 
 assault on the works on my left, broke through and at- 
 tacked my left and rear with vigor, causing considerable 
 confusion, and for a few moments Knight's guns were in 
 the hands of the enemy; but several colors having been 
 halted, men were rallied around them without regard to 
 organization, and by a prompt advance we recaptured three 
 of the guns and nearly all of the rifle pits previously occu- 
 pied by the Brigade. 
 
 About this time I was directed by General Miles to 
 
 move across the railroad and attack the enemy on his left 
 
 flank, for which purpose I had a force of about 200 officers 
 
 and men, in which nearly every regiment in the First and 
 
 Second Divisions were represented. 
 
 < 
 
 On the evening of the 24th, the day preceding the above 
 described engagement, Captain J. M. Pipes, of Company A, 
 was placed in command of a detail which was sent out to the 
 picket line. The left of this line rested on the Weldon Road, 
 and the right was next to the cavalry.* Here the detail re- 
 mained all night and until late in the afternoon of the next 
 day. When the lines were broken up to the left it was moved 
 
 *Condensed from records of Company A. 
 
ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF RICHMOND 239 
 
 back and out of the range of Pegram's battery, which had 
 vigorously shelled a little gully or depression in which the 
 command had taken temporary refuge. Soon afterward a 
 staff officer, who was assisting in rallying the men, rode up 
 and requested the Captain to throw his men into line and help 
 to check the enemy in his attempt to flank this portion of the 
 line. Acting promptly upon this request, Captain Pipes de- 
 ployed his men and moved rapidly across the field toward the 
 rear. Here the men of his command availed themselves of 
 the protection of rocks and stumps within reach, and opened 
 fire on the enemy, who were trying desperately at this time, 
 to break through the left flank and rear. Later in the even- 
 ing when the conflict was almost over, Captain Pipes was 
 struck by a musket ball which shattered his right arm and 
 lodged in his side. With the aid of two comrades he walked 
 back to the rear and at length came up with his Regiment, 
 and, with his little command, fell in with it. 
 
 As soon as possible thereafter his wounds were bandaged 
 and he was sent to City Point, ten miles distant, in an ambu- 
 lance. For distinguished gallantry at Gettysburg, July 2, 
 1863, and in this battle, where he merited special recognition 
 for his timely and efficient aid in a critical moment, and where 
 he lost his good right arm, Captain Pipes was awarded a 
 Congressional Medal of Honor. 
 
 A short time before General Heth's successful assault on 
 our front, Colonel Beaver, of the One Hundred and Forty- 
 eighth Pennsylvania, was brought up in an ambulance, and 
 being the ranking officer, took command of the Fourth Bri- 
 gade. A few moments later, while watching the movements 
 of the men on the skirmish line, the Colonel was struck by a 
 ball which shattered his right leg and he was taken back to 
 the rear in the ambulance which had brought him to the front. 
 
 After watching the skillful work of Dr. Wishart, the 
 greatly beloved Surgeon of the One Hundred and Fortieth, 
 in amputating Colonel Beaver's leg, Captain Pipes took the 
 table and suffered the loss of his right arm, which was ampu- 
 tated at the shoulder. 
 
 Reams Station was the last of the series of battles and 
 
240 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 flanking expeditions in which the First Division was actively 
 engaged during the memorable summer campaign of 1864. 
 Returning from this position on the extreme left of the line, 
 we occupied a portion of the reserve line near the Williams 
 House. From this date until the 24th of September, the 
 troops were engaged, for the most part, in strengthening the 
 works in their immediate front. After nightfall on the 24th 
 of September, the First and Second Divisions relieved the 
 Tenth Corps in the main line and on the fifth of October, the 
 First Division was transferred to the line of works in front 
 of Petersburg extending from Fort Morton to the river, with 
 reserves in rear of Forts Haskill and Sullivan. From the 
 Headquarters of the Division which was within the range of 
 thirty Confederate Parrott guns, a considerable part of the 
 Union and Confederate lines could be seen, and at the nearest 
 points a stone could be thrown from one line into the other. 
 
 During the Boydtown Plank Road Expedition — October 
 26-28 — in which the Second and Third Divisions took part, 
 the Division of General Miles covered a stretch in the trenches 
 of about three and a half miles in length. Not content with 
 this responsibility he sought to aid his associates on the left 
 by sending a storming column against a small fort near the 
 crater on the night of the 27th of October which was taken 
 and held for a short time. This and a similar movement 
 directed against the enemy skirmish line was intended as a 
 diversion and was not followed up. 
 
 After the return of the other Divisions from the expedi- 
 tion to Boydtown Plank Road the First Division was relieved 
 from duty on this part of the line, and, for some time there- 
 after, remained in reserve. 
 
WINTER QUARTERS IN THE TRENCHES 241 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 WINTER QUARTERS IN AND ABOUT THE TRENCHES. 
 
 Let war be so carried on that no other object may 
 seem to be sought, but the acquisition of Peace. — Cicero. 
 
 WITH the exception of the expedition to the Boydtown 
 Plank Road, in which General Miles' Division had no 
 part, the Second Corps spent the autumn months in 
 comparative quiet in the trenches, or directly behind the line 
 of forts. Instead of the usual routine of drill and parade the 
 men were employed in handling the pick and shovel, and the 
 works, which were thus constructed from day to day, were 
 marvels of engineering skill, and at some points almost im- 
 pregnable to attack by direct assault. 
 
 Every precaution was taken also to safeguard their de- 
 fenders from the merciless fire of sharpshooters, within easy 
 range, or the deliberately aimed siege guns and cohorn mor- 
 tars. In the construction of a new line, heavy timbers were 
 used to build up and strengthen the earthworks. At intervals 
 all along the main line, forts of varying strength and resistive 
 power were built and garrisoned. 
 
 As a rule, the trenching was done after nightfall and 
 details from the several Regiments, which were usually bivou- 
 acked in some sheltered spot in the rear during the daytime, 
 would go out and work all night in the trenches. Where the 
 trenches on the main line were exposed, by reason of their 
 direction or unfavorable location, to artillery fire, they were 
 protected by a roof of timber over which was thrown a thick 
 covering of earth. These were known as bomb proofs and 
 access to them was made secure by zigzag covered ways from 
 points not so much exposed in the rear or second line. In 
 some places these covered ways were wide enough and deep 
 enough to admit the passage of ammunition and supply wagons. 
 
77//: ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Flie picket posts in front oi the main line were burrows in 
 the ground large enough to shelter two or three men. The 
 earth which was scooped out for this purpose was banked up 
 on the side next the enemy and a narrow slit or embrasure 
 between two logs, or some similarly guarded outlook, served 
 as a loophole through which to take observations or direct a 
 deliberate and deadly tire upon any portion of the human 
 frame which for an instant might be exposed to view on the 
 side opposite. 
 
 It was not an uncommon thing for a Union or Confed- 
 erate sentry to test the accuracy of his opponent's fire by plac- 
 ing a tin can on top of the embrasure or elevating his cap a 
 little above it. So deadly was this sort of target practice at 
 short range that, in a little while, by tacit consent rather than 
 by formal agreement, the pickets on both sides ceased to the 
 at each other in the daytime and often saluted or conversed 
 together like comrades or old friends. This unwritten law 
 did not apply, however, at night when constant vigilance was 
 necessary to guard against surprise. Hence for months there 
 was not one night perhaps, during which one could not hear, 
 when wakeful, the popping of musketry or the discharges, at 
 times, of artillery. Communication with the picket posts was 
 also had through zigzags or covered ways, and in front of 
 these posts for a considerable distance, there was a protection 
 of slashed timber, deep ditches or chcz'ait.r-clc-frise. 
 
 The One Hundred and Fortieth did its full share of the 
 construction work we have described during the autumn and 
 winter months, but from the 24th of September until the 1st 
 of November, it shared with the Division the privilege — if 
 privilege it may be called — of dwelling in fortifications and 
 bomb proofs made ready to hand, where the lines were the 
 closest to the position of the enemy, and garrison duty was 
 the most exacting. This part of the line, as already noted, 
 extended from Fort Morton directly opposite the city of Pet- 
 ersburg, to the Appomattox River. It included Forts Haskell 
 and Steadman, which was afterward in the hands of the enemy 
 for a short time, and Fort McGilvary on the right of the line. 
 
PRESIDENT LINCOLN. 
 
WINTER QUARTERS IN THE TRENCHES 243 
 
 Almost directly opposite Fort Morton, the left of the line held 
 by the Division, was the crater of the exploded mine. 
 
 On the 17th of October, while the Regiment was in this 
 position, President Lincoln and Secretary Stanton, accom- 
 panied by General Grant and other officers of high rank, rode 
 along the lines and were accorded a hearty greeting by the 
 troops who, with the exception of those needed for garrison 
 duty in the trenches, were assembled in rear of the works. 
 The President wore a high silk hat and a frock coat, and, as 
 one has put it, "had the appearance of a country farmer rid- 
 ing into town, wearing his Sunday clothes." But his ungainly 
 appearance, alongside of Grant, and other accomplished horse- 
 men, detracted nothing from the royal welcome he received : 
 and when his wan, careworn face was lit up with a smile 
 which the cheers and shouts of the men in blue had evoked, 
 they saw only the great and good man who loved them all 
 with the devotion of an indulgent father and who, for the 
 sake of the imperiled Nation, was giving sleepless nights and 
 days of unremitting toil in the interest of the cause which they 
 had espoused. In the rear of one of the breaks of the line 
 was a motley group of recently freed slaves who for a long 
 time before the President's appearance had been waiting on 
 tip-toe to see him pass by. When the cheers of the troops 
 announced his progress down the line, their enthusiasm could 
 not be restrained. Some in kneeling posture and others with 
 outstretched arms, or waving turbans, shouted aloud their 
 exclamations of gratitude and heartfelt praise — "God bless 
 de good Marse Lincom; De Lord save Marse Lincom; De 
 Lord bless good Fader Abraham. Glory, Hallelujah, de yeah 
 of Jubilee hav suah come." 
 
 It was worth a lifetime of detraction and abuse and 
 unappreciated labors to have, so near its close, such a tribute 
 of honor and affection from the honest hearts of the represen- 
 tatives of a race from which, under God, he had stricken the 
 fetters of irksome bondage and crass ignorance. 
 
 On the first day of November our Division was relieved 
 from duty in the trenches and went into camp about a mile to 
 the rear, in a sheltered, and comparatively safe location. 
 
244 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Under the impression that this was to be a winter camp, — 
 the officers sharing this impression with the men, — huts and 
 chimneys were being erected and for five days this agreeable 
 delusion was cherished. Then, in a most unexpected moment, 
 an order came to move back to the line of fortifications we had 
 been holding. The men did not go into the works, however, 
 but were massed behind them in reserve. 
 
 On the day of the general election, November 8th, the 
 polls were opened in each Regiment and those who were en- 
 titled to the privilege, cast their ballots for the presidential 
 candidate of their choice. The polling place of the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth was in a bomb-proof and most of the votes 
 cast in the several Regiments were in the forts or trenches. 
 
 The official report of the votes cast in General Miles' 
 Division is as follows :* 
 
 Headquarters Second Army Corps, 
 November 8, 1854. 
 Genl. Geo. G. Meade: 
 
 The following is the result of to-day's election in the 
 First Division of this Corps: 
 
 81st Pa. Vols Lincoln 23 McClellan.. 
 
 140 th 
 183d 
 
 53d 
 145th 
 148th 
 1 1 6th 
 
 26th Mich. Vols. 
 5th New Hamp 
 
 147 
 
 53 
 118 
 
 78 
 127 
 
 54 
 122 
 
 26 
 
 44 
 
 55 
 
 47 
 
 75 
 21 
 
 72 
 
 58 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 753 429 
 
 Majority for Lincoln 324 
 
 (Sgd.) Winfield S. Hancock, 
 
 Major-General. 
 
 The following communication taken from the above men- 
 tioned volume, page 684, is interesting, as a matter of record, 
 and gives incidentally a deserved tribute of appreciation to 
 
 * Rebellion Records, Vol. 42, Series 1, page 561. 
 
WINTER QUARTERS IN THE TRENCHES 245 
 
 Colonel Fraser, who was then held as a prisoner under fire of 
 the Union batteries at Charleston, South Carolina : 
 
 Headquarters First Division, Second Army Corps, 
 
 November 22, 1864. 
 Major Septimus Carncross, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General Second A. C. 
 Major: — I have the honor to request that efforts be 
 made to effect the exchange of the following-named officers 
 of this Division: 
 
 Col. John Fraser, One Hundred and Fortieth Pa. Vols., 
 a very valuable officer, captured June 22, 1864, while in 
 command of the Fourth Brigade, and now confined at 
 Charleston, S. C. ; also 
 
 Capt. John S. McEwan, Seventh N. Y. Vol. Artillery 
 
 and Judge Advocate of this Division, captured at Deep 
 
 Bottom, July 28, 1864, released on parole and now at Albany, 
 
 N. Y., a good officer and much needed at the present time. 
 
 Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 
 
 (Sgd.) Nelson A. Miles, 
 Brigadier-General of Vols., commanding. 
 
 On Thanksgiving- Day, November 24th, an abundant sup- 
 ply of good things was sent to the troops for general dis- 
 tribution from all parts of the North. When the mess at the 
 Headquarters of the Division, numbering eleven all told, re- 
 ceived a notification that a box was at the Commissary Depart- 
 ment which had been assigned to them, no time was lost in 
 sending a delegation to secure it. To our great surprise it 
 was a large store box, which, when opened, was found to con- 
 tain six turkeys, a boiled ham, four cans of peaches and the 
 same number of stewed green corn; about two bushels of 
 apples, cakes galore, and several fine clusters of fresh Catawba 
 grapes. This superabundant store of dainties was the gift 
 of a little band of "loyal supporters of the flag, and warm 
 friends of the men at the front," from Jersey City, N. J. 
 Like all the rest it was sent, without reference to State or 
 local limitations, for distribution to the enlisted men of the 
 army and navy. Suffice it to say that every mess in the Army 
 of the Potomac had a feast of good things, similar to our own, 
 from a supply that seemed to be inexhaustible. 
 
246 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 On the 26th of November, General Hancock resigned the 
 command of the Second Corps in order to undertake the or- 
 ganization of a new corps to be composed entirely of veteran 
 soldiers. 
 
 His farewell order is worthy of preservation and we give 
 it place without condensation or abbreviation : 
 
 Headquarters Second Army Corps, 
 Before Petersburg, November 26, 1864. 
 
 General Orders, No. 41. 
 Soldiers of the Second Corps: 
 
 Being about to avail myself of a brief leave of .ab- 
 sence, previous to entering upon another field of duty, in 
 accordance with instructions, I transfer the command of this 
 Corps to Major-General A. A. Humphreys, U. S. Vols. 
 
 I desire at parting with you to express the regret I feel 
 at the necessity which calls for our separation. 
 
 Intimately associated with you in the dangers, priva- 
 tions and glory which has fallen to your lot during the 
 memorable campaigns of the past two years, I now leave 
 you with the warmest feelings of affection and esteem. 
 
 Since I have had the honor to serve with you, you have 
 won the right to place upon your banners the historic 
 names of 
 
 "ANTIETAM," "FREDERICKSBURG," "CHANCEL- 
 
 LORSVILLE," "GETTYSBURG," "WILDERNESS," 
 
 "PO," "SPOTTSYLVANIA," "NORTH ANNA," 
 
 "COLD HARBOR," PETERSBURG," 
 
 "REAMS STATION," "BOYD- 
 
 TOWN ROAD," 
 
 and many other contests. 
 
 The gallant bearing of the intrepid officers and men 
 of the Second Corps on the bloodiest fields of the war, the 
 dauntless valor displayed by them in many brilliant assaults 
 on the enemy's strongest positions, the great number of 
 guns, colors, prisoners and other trophies of war captured 
 by them in many desperate combats, their unswerving devo- 
 tion to duty and heroic constancy under all the dangers and 
 hardships which such campaigns entail, have won for them 
 an imperishable renown and the grateful admiration of their 
 countrymen. The story of the Second Corps will live in 
 history, and to its officers and men will be ascribed the 
 
WINTER QUARTERS IN THE TRENCHES 247 
 
 honor of having served their country with unsurpassed fidel- 
 ity and courage. 
 
 Conscious that whatever military honor has fallen to me 
 during my association with the Second Corps has been won 
 by the gallantry of the officers and soldiers I have com- 
 manded, I feel that in parting from them I am severing 
 the strongest ties of my military life. 
 
 The distinguished officer who succeeds me is entitled 
 to your entire confidence. His record assures you that in 
 the hour of battle he will lead you to victory. 
 
 (Sgd.) Winf'd S. Hancock, 
 
 Major-General Vols. 
 
 While the survivors of the Second Corps will ever cherish 
 with pride and affection the memory of their great leader, the 
 peerless Hancock, they will also remember with a like affection 
 in kind, if not in degree, his noble and high-toned successor, 
 General A. A. Humphreys, who led them to the final victory 
 of the war at Appomattox. 
 
 On the 29th of November, the Second Corps was relieved 
 from duty on the line in front of Petersburg by the Ninth, 
 and at midnight we broke camp and marched to the extreme 
 left of the line, near Fort Welch. Here the Regiment was 
 permitted to build huts for winter quarters when not at work 
 on the fortifications, which were being constructed with great 
 care for the purpose of strengthening our exposed position. 
 There was but little firing along this part of the line, and we 
 could see the tents of the Confederate Army within easy range 
 of several of the Union batteries. The last movement of the 
 year was a reconnoissance on the Vaughan Road across 
 Hatcher's Run to Armstrong's Mill on the ninth of December. 
 In this the Division as a whole took part, but the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth, being in front as skirmishers, lost heavily in 
 proportion to the numbers engaged. 
 
 In the official report of Brigadier-General George N. 
 Macy, Twentieth Massachusetts Infantry, commanding First 
 Brigade, dated December 12th, 1864, reference is made to 
 the part taken by the One Hundred and Fortieth in this ad- 
 vance as follows :* 
 
 ♦Rebellion Records, Series 1, Vol. 42, part 1, page 263. 
 
248 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Major: — I respectfully submit a report of the part 
 taken by my command in the late reconnoissance across 
 
 Hatcher's Run Ford; 
 
 ******* 
 
 I would express great satisfaction with my entire com- 
 mand. The skirmishing was done by the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Pa. Vols., Captain Stockton commanding, in 
 a gallant manner and with large loss, considering the num- 
 ber engaged. 
 
 To Maj. W. R. Driver, 
 
 Assistant Adjutant-General First Division. 
 
 With this we give a very modest report of the same expe- 
 dition by Captain Stockton, under date of December ioth:f 
 
 Captain McCallister, A. A. G. First Brigade. 
 
 Captain: — In compliance with orders just received, I 
 have the honor to submit the following report: 
 
 On the morning of the 9th inst. our Regiment took up 
 the line of march with the rest of the Brigade, and moved 
 in the direction of Hatcher's Run. 
 
 While on the Vaughan Road we were ordered to deploy 
 as skirmishers, with our center resting on the aforesaid 
 road, and to advance until we came up with the cavalary 
 videttes, and then to aid them, if possible, beyond the creek. 
 
 The officers and men, as usual, complied strictly to 
 given orders, and conducted themselves with gallantry and 
 great credit to themselves and the common cause. 
 
 (Sgd) W. A. Stockton, 
 Captain Commanding Regiment. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th the Division was ordered to 
 withdraw and returned to the camp in good order despite the 
 persistent annoyances of the enemy who followed them closely 
 for a part of the way. 
 
 Major Henry gives the losses as 2 killed and 8 wounded. 
 Elsewhere he makes mention of 4 killed, which may mean that 
 two afterwards died of wounds received in this engagement. 
 
 The captures in turn of Atlanta, Savannah, Fort Fisher, 
 Charleston and Wilmington were announced to the enemy, 
 
 fVol. 42, part 1, page 275. 
 
WINTER QUARTERS IN THE TRENCHES 249 
 
 by order of General Grant, with a salute of 100 shotted guns, 
 which, at a given signal, broke forth suddenly in the stillness 
 and darkness of the night. The roar of the guns, to which the 
 enemy vigorously responded, the outbursts of flame, darting 
 from the muzzles of siege and rifled guns, the curving flight 
 of the fiery missiles rising from the mortars embedded in the 
 places here and there on the line, the bursting of bombs and 
 shells, mingled at intervals in the horrid din with the stirring 
 strains of scores of army bands, and the cheers of the men in 
 the trenches made a most impressive celebration, for a purpose, 
 of the resistless might and ultimate triumph of the Union 
 arms. 
 
 From the beginning of the siege of Petersburg there were 
 many^deserters from the Confederate Army to the Union lines. 
 After the election of Abraham Lincoln the number rapidly 
 increased, and every new victory of the Union arms thereafter 
 tended to increase the demoralization of the discouraged host 
 which was disintegrating, without the possibility of recovering 
 their lost ground or lost numbers, day by day. "Every night," 
 says General Miles, "during the winter of 1864 and 1865, 
 there were received along the line of intrenchments before 
 Petersburg and Richmond, numbers of men who crept through 
 their picket lines, dropped their arms, and came to us as indi- 
 viduals or in squads, amounting in the aggregate to thou- 
 sands." In his Memoirs, General Grant gives it as his opinion 
 that the Confederates, at this time, "were losing at least a 
 regiment a day, taking it throughout the entire army, by 
 desertions alone," or as Mr. Nicolay has expressed it, "Deser- 
 tion grew too common to punish." After the fall of Fort Fisher 
 was announced, seventeen deserters sought refuge in front of 
 our Division, and the next night sixteen more came in. When 
 General Gordon, one of the frankest and most fairminded of 
 the Confederate writers, affirms that amid all their discourage- 
 ments, "desertions were exceedingly rare," we are inclined to 
 believe that this may have been true of his command, owing 
 perhaps, to his own intense loyalty to the Confederacy, and 
 personal winsomeness, but it certainly could not have been 
 true of the army in general which he represented. 
 
250 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 s 
 
 An interesting item of evidence to the contrary, from our 
 viewpoint, is given by the historian of the Sixty-third Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers : 
 
 Deserters came in along our front every evening and 
 reported short rations and consequent dissatisfaction among 
 the enlisted men. Finnegan's Brigade of Mahone's Division, 
 composed principally of Florida troops, occupied the rebel 
 works in our immediate front, and the Finnegan boys and 
 the Kearney veterans had become very well acquainted 
 during the numerous truces they had voluntarily made. So 
 many deserters now came in every night from the Florida 
 command that they became a source of considerable an- 
 noyance to the staff officers at brigade headquarters, who 
 were awakened at all hours of the night to receive them. 
 
 One of the officers, in a spirit of fun, sent a polite note 
 one evening to General Finnegan, requesting him to "come 
 over and take command of his Brigade, most of which was 
 apparently on our side of the intrenchments, or, if not con- 
 venient to come personally, to have his details report 
 promptly before nine o'clock P. M. 
 
 The short rations, which, without doubt, contributed to 
 the ultimate defeat and surrender of Lee's Army, resulted not 
 so much from impoverishment of the country, for afterwards 
 we found communities where pantries and storehouses were 
 well filled, but from the tightening and strengthening of the 
 cordon, which Grant had been slowly drawing around the cities 
 of Petersburg and Richmond. 
 
 During the months of January and February, and up to 
 the twentieth of March, but little was attempted except to ex- 
 tend our lines to the left, as opportunity afforded, and then 
 to strengthen them, as thus extended. At one time, about the 
 middle of February, one of these movements was ordered 
 which made it necessary to abandon our cosy winter quarters 
 and the troops were obliged to build a line of strong intrench- 
 ments before they could put up any huts to shelter them from 
 the snowstorms and the piercing cold winds which prevailed for 
 several days. As a result of these movements our lines were 
 extended without serious opposition to Hatcher's Run, five 
 miles beyond the left of the position which we had regarded as 
 
WINTER QUARTERS IN THE TRENCHES 251 
 
 the extreme outpost of the army, in that direction, some three 
 months before. 
 
 Thus the way was prepared for the great flank movement 
 which was to put an end to the siege of Petersburg, within 
 the space of five days and in as many more, to force the sur- 
 render of the hitherto invincible Army of Northern Virginia. 
 
252 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1865. THE BEGINNING OF THE END. 
 
 We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be 
 enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not 
 break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, 
 stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every 
 living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will 
 yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, 
 as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. — 
 Abraham Lincoln. 
 
 THE campaign of 1865 was short, sharp, and almost im- 
 mediately decisive. The preparation hour was long 
 and the outlook at times discouraging, but the crisis 
 hour was in its results like the breaking forth of the long pent 
 up waters of a mighty stream. At the beginning of the cam- 
 paign on the south side of Richmond, Grant made strenuous 
 efforts to drive the army of Lee from its position at Peters- 
 burg. Failing in this he accepted the situation, as it was, and 
 made preparation for a winter siege and an extension of his 
 lines, especially to the left, with the double purpose of cutting 
 off the supplies of the Confederate army and of holding it 
 intact, or at least the greater part of it, in his front until the 
 co-operating armies of Sherman and Thomas in the South, 
 and Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley, had accomplished the 
 tasks which had been assigned to them. As the winter season 
 wore away his chief concern was to prevent General Lee from 
 abandoning the intrenchments, from which, a few months be- 
 fore, he had sought to drive him. 
 
 Meanwhile the effective force of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac had been increased by the return of the men who had been 
 disabled by wounds or sickness as well as greatly improved 
 in efficiency by daily drills, inspections and reviews, except 
 when the inclemency of the weather prevented. Hence when 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 253 
 
 marching orders came the Second Corps was ready to go forth 
 with its old-time enthusiasm and invincible courage. 
 
 The organization of the Second Corps, in so far as we 
 were directly concerned, at the opening of the campaign of 
 1865, was as follows: 
 
 Major-General A. A. Humphreys Commanding Corps 
 
 Brevet Major-General Nelson A. Miles, 
 
 Commanding First Division 
 
 Colonel George W. Scott Commanding First Brigade 
 
 Captain W. A. F. Stockton, 
 
 Commanding One Hundred and Fortieth Pa. Vols. 
 
 The most reliable estimate of the relative strength of the 
 two armies, upon the resumption of active operations in the 
 spring of 1865, is given by General Humphreys as follows : 
 
 Armies of the Potomac and of the James under General 
 Grant, 101,000 infantry; 9,000 artillery, with 369 guns; cav- 
 alry, 14,700. Aggregate of all arms, 124,700. Army of 
 Northern Virginia under General Lee, 46,000 infantry; 5,000 
 artillery; cavalry, 6,000. Aggregate of all arms, 57,000.* 
 
 Wih this notable disparity in numbers there seemed to be 
 but little hope of success to the Confederate cause at the open- 
 ing of this campaign, except when its defenders were sheltered 
 behind formidable breastworks : and, with the certainty of being 
 outreached and outflanked when the roads would admit of a 
 general movement, this advantage could not be reckoned 
 among the probabilities, when the clash of arms should again 
 be resumed. 
 
 Weary of the long continued strife and bloodshed and 
 of the failure of every effort to secure a lasting and honorable 
 peace, the commander of the Union armies, with the pledged 
 strength, sympathy and resources of the Nation behind him, 
 was determined to avail himself of every legitimate advantage 
 which would tend to bring the war to a speedy close. On the 
 24th of March he issued orders to his army commanders, 
 
 * Other estimates, based on more recent research, give the 
 aggregate as near 65,000. 
 
254 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Meade, Ord and Sheridan, each of whom had a separate com- 
 mand, to be prepared for a general movement against the 
 enemy on the 29th. 
 
 With the hope of thwarting this anticipated movement, 
 or possibly of delaying it until he could withdraw success- 
 fully from Petersburg, General Lee ordered Gordon, one 
 of the ablest and most daring of his generals to assault 
 Fort Steadman, a noted stronghold of the Union line. After 
 more than a week of planning and preparation this assault 
 was delivered before daybreak on the morning of the 25th. 
 The garrison, taken completely by surprise, made no effective 
 resistance and the assailants, numbering more than 20,000 
 men, took possession of the fort and a considerable portion 
 of the adjacent line of rifle pits.* It was a well-planned and 
 admirably executed sortie, but it was a shortlived triumph 
 for the reserve forces in the vicinity were quickly brought into 
 action and, under the lead of General Hartranft recaptured 
 the fort and its belongings, inflicting a heavy loss upon the 
 enemy and taking about 2,000 prisoners. This disastrous as- 
 sault, says General Walker, took nearly 4,000 men from Lee's 
 weakened army, only making the fatal result more certain. 
 
 In his description of this assault General Gordon gives a 
 fine illustration of the spirit of genuine chivalry and of good- 
 natured regard which ofttimes characterized the dealings of 
 the rank and file of both armies, in their relations to each other, 
 when not engaged in actual strife. 
 
 After describing the manner in which the obstructions in 
 his own front were removed to give rapid exit to his men, he 
 says: 
 
 The noise made by this removal, though slight, attracted 
 the attention of a Union picket who stood on guard only a 
 few rods from me, and he called out: 
 
 ♦The statement is made on good authority that when Gordon's 
 skirmishers silently stole through the darkness they were mistaken 
 for an unusually large number of deserters, this being a favorite 
 point for deserters to pass into the Union lines. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 255 
 
 "What are you doing over there, Johnny? What is 
 that noise? Answer quick or I'll shoot." 
 
 The pickets of the two armies were so close together 
 at this point that there was an understanding between them, 
 expressed or implied, that they would not shoot each other 
 down except when necessary. The call of this Union picket 
 filled me with apprehension. I expected him to fire and 
 start the entire picket-line to firing, thus giving the alarm 
 to the fort, the capture of which depended largely upon 
 the secrecy of my movement. The quick mother-wit of the 
 private soidier at my side came to my relief. In an instant 
 he replied : 
 
 "Never mind, Yank. Lie down and go to sleep. We 
 are just gathering a little corn. You know rations are 
 mighty short over here." 
 
 There was a narrow strip of corn which the bullets 
 had not shot away still standing between the lines. The 
 Union pickets promptly answered: "All right, Johnny; go 
 ahead and get your corn. I'll not shoot at you while you 
 are drawing your rations." 
 
 While this fraternal dialogue was progressing between 
 the two sentries, the last of the obstructions were removed, 
 and I ordered the private to fire the signal for the assault. 
 He pointed his rifle upward, with his finger on the trigger, 
 but hesitated. His conscience seemed to get hold of him. 
 He evidently felt that it was hardly fair to take advantage 
 of the generosity and soldierly sympathy of his foe, who had 
 so magnanimously assured him that he would not be shot 
 while drawing his rations from the little field of corn. His 
 hesitation surprised me, and I again ordered: "Fire your 
 gun, sir." He at once called to his kind-hearted foe and 
 said: "Hello, Yank! Wake up we are going to shell the 
 woods. Look out, we are coming." And with this effort 
 to satisfy his conscience and even up accounts with the 
 Yankee picket, he fired the shot and rushed forward in the 
 darkness." 
 
 It is not strange that the men of whom these private 
 soldiers were the representatives, should cordially fraternize 
 together, a few days later, when the long-continued strife 
 should be over, or that they should continue to cherish this 
 spirit of brotherhood and comradeship so long as life, and 
 opportunity to greet each other should be given them. 
 
256 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 This diversion on the part of the enemy did not materially 
 change the prearranged plan of General Grant, for the army as 
 a whole broke camp on the 29th, the day appointed : but it did 
 make some change in the disposition of the troops on our part 
 of the line, and brought on a series of sharp engagements 
 which resulted in the breaking up of the Confederate line of 
 works, from end to end, a few days later. 
 
 When the men of the One Hundred and Fortieth were 
 rudely awakened from their slumbers at four o'clock on the 
 morning of the 25th, by the crash of volleys of musketry and 
 the roar of artillery, it seemed as if a great disaster was im- 
 minent. Staff officers and orderlies were hurrying back and 
 forth with looks that betokened surprise and consternation, 
 and everywhere the troops were massing in rear of the works 
 or forming into line. The extent of the disaster was soon 
 reported from division headquarters and we waited in our 
 place for further developments. Soon the roar of battle was 
 renewed on the right and the hearty cheers which came down 
 the line from that quarter were the first intimations of the re- 
 versal of the disastrous assault of the early morning. 
 
 In order to test the strength of the enemy on the left of 
 the line an advance was ordered along the entire front of the 
 Sixth and Second Corps. This advance was stubbornly dis- 
 puted, but at length the strongly intrenched picket line of the 
 Confederates was taken and utilized as a line of defence. 
 
 About four o'clock in the afternoon, the Confederates 
 came out of their intrenchments and attempted to retake it, 
 but were beaten back with heavy loss. After sunset another 
 persistent assault was made by a heavily reinforced column. 
 They came out in good order and, as the bugle sounded the 
 charge, rushed forward yelling like demons, but were firmly 
 met by the men of the First Division and repulsed. 
 
 In this series of engagements Captain John F. Wilson, of 
 Company G, one of the bravest and most highly esteemed 
 officers of the Regiment was mortally wounded. 
 
 James S. McGlumphey of the same company was also 
 seriously wounded. Sergeant Graham, of Company K, was 
 killed. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 257 
 
 The following report of this day's conflict which has re- 
 cently been found in the Rebellion Records, Series I. Vol. 51, 
 page 300, seems to indicate that Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas 
 B. Rogers who had been exchanged a short time previous, had 
 returned to the front, and, reporting to his brigade comman- 
 der assumed command of the Regiment. For some reason 
 not explained, however, Captain Stockton appears as the com- 
 mander of the Regiment in all subsequent reports after date 
 of the 29th. 
 
 Headquarters One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 March 26, 1865. 
 Captain : 
 
 In compliance with orders this day received, I have the 
 honor to make the following report of operations of the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers during 
 the engagement of yesterday. After arriving on the ground 
 beyond our picket line, in obedience to orders of the Brigade 
 Commander, I formed my command on the line of rifle pits 
 that had been abandoned by the enemy's pickets, taking 
 position between the Sixty-first New York, on the left, and 
 the Twenty-sixth Michigan on the right. Several attacks 
 of the enemy were repulsed: one between 3 and 4 and the 
 other between 5 and 7 P. M. After dark I sent out videttes 
 of my own Regiment, who remained on post until relieved by 
 the Eighty-first Pennsylvania, under orders from the Brigade 
 Commander. 
 
 I then deployed my Regiment so as to connect on the 
 right with the Twenty-sixth Michigan, which had moved 
 farther to the right, and remained in this position until we 
 were ordered to fall in and march back to camp. The 
 officers and men of the Regiment behaved well, as they 
 always had done. 
 
 I regret to have to mention that Captain John F. Wilson 
 was severely wounded in the action. He is a gallant, faith- 
 ful and efficient officer, and his loss will be felt by the 
 Regiment. One enlisted man was killed and three were 
 wounded. 
 
 I have the honor to be very respectfully, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) Thomas B. Rogers, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Commanding, 
 
258 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 Captain William McCallister, 
 
 Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 On the night of the 28th the Second Corps was relieved 
 from duty in the intrenchments by two divisions of the 
 Twenty-fourth Corps, and in the early morning of the 29th 
 moved with the Fifth Corps, Sheridan's cavalry being in the 
 advance, to its designated position, on the left as indicated by 
 General Grant on the 24th. 
 
 This point was reached about 10 o'clock at night. There 
 was a heavy rainfall during the night which continued with 
 slight intervals of sunshine, all of the day following. 
 
 The object of the consolidation of two infantry corps and 
 Sheridan's large command, at this place, was to strike a blow 
 at some point on the South Side Railroad, the one line of 
 communication which was still open toward the Southland 
 and its resources. The objective most available was the con- 
 vergence of five wagon roads, known as Five Forks. It was 
 about five miles to the left of the Union line and in order to 
 defend it against a force so formidable. Grant rightly judged 
 that Lee would be compelled to extend his line to the breaking 
 point. 
 
 This menace to his most exposed flank was too formid- 
 able also to be left to the men who were already defending it, 
 and, at the risk of losing ground at other points, the Confed- 
 erate commander hurried reinforcements thither from other 
 parts of the line. The operations of the Union troops on the 
 30th were delayed somewhat by the rain, which continued to 
 fall most of the day, flooding the low country on the line of 
 march and rendering the roads impassable in places for trains 
 of artillery. Some progress was made, however, by the troops, 
 who plodded on through swamps and mud in the direction of 
 the White Oak Road. In this advance, as usual, the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth was on the skirmish line. At the close 
 of the day the enemy was driven inside his intrenchments, 
 along Hatcher's Run, but no attempt was made to assauit this 
 portion of the line. On the morning of the 31st the Confeder- 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 259 
 
 ates took the initiative. Massing a force of cavalry and in- 
 fantry under General Pickett on their extreme right they at- 
 tacked a portion of Sheridan's Corps, which had advanced 
 the previous day from Dinwiddie Court House to Five Forks, 
 driving them back after a desperate all-day conflict toward 
 Dinwiddie. A second attack during- the day was made upon 
 Warren's Fifth Corps, which resulted in driving back two of 
 his divisions for some distance, but, with the aid of Griffin's 
 Division and the timely assistance given by two brigades of 
 General Miles, a countercharge was made and the lost ground 
 recovered. Meanwhile the brigade with which the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth was connected assaulted the works in its 
 immediate front but without success, as they were still strongly 
 manned. In making this attempt the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth charged across an open space, swept by the fire of the 
 enemy, in which five enlisted men were wounded. The loss 
 of the First Division of the Second Corps during the day were 
 45 killed; 245 wounded and 41 missing. 
 
 On the first day of April Sheridan's Corps, supported by 
 the Fifth Corps, attacked the concentrated force of the enemy 
 at Five Forks, and, after a hard fought battle, in which the 
 Confederates fought with great gallantry, they were at length 
 put to flight and utterly routed. This crushing blow to the 
 right wing of Lee's army decided the fate of Petersburg and 
 Richmond, and, as Mr. Nicolay puts it, "should have ended 
 the war." The trophies for the victors were a number of guns 
 and colors and the loss to the Confederates was a large number 
 of men killed and wounded and over five thousand who were 
 made prisoners. "The flying troops, says General Grant, "were 
 pursued in different directions, the cavalry and Fifth Corps 
 under Sheridan pursuing the larger body which moved north- 
 west." 
 
 On the morning of this memorable day we were posted 
 along the Boydtown Plank Road and distinctly heard the roar 
 of Sheridan's guns, about five miles distant. At nightfall the 
 Regiment moved forward to the White Oak Road. About 
 9 o'clock a demonstration was made in our front to test the 
 
260 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 strength of the enemy and for some time thereafter a brisk 
 fire of musketry was kept up. 
 
 During - its continuance General Miles was ordered to 
 move his Division to Five Forks, about five miles distant, and 
 report to Sheridan. In order to conceal this movement from 
 the enemy the camp fires were put out and the skirmish line, 
 then actively engaged, was left in its place. Behind this line 
 the Division moved silently until the White Oak Road was 
 reached. It was then near midnight, and, without halt or in- 
 terruption, the column pushed on until it reached its destina- 
 tion, about three o'clock in the morning. Here we rested for 
 an hour or two and were then ordered to return by the way we 
 came to our former position. This was to us a night of 
 wonders and surprises. Its intense darkness had been lit up 
 along a line of about thirty-five miles by almost continuous 
 flashes from siege guns, mortars, musketry and field artillery. 
 Knowing that the left wing of the Confederate army had been 
 utterly crushed and that its defenders were fleeting in precipi- 
 tous haste before the squadrons of Sheridan's host, these fiery 
 portents in the sky gave assurance that the men of the Sixth 
 and Ninth Corps were also doing their part in breaking up the 
 line, which for so long had defended Petersburg and Rich- 
 mond. 
 
 The order we had just received was in itself a surprise, 
 and it meant another weary march of five miles, but the men 
 were in fine spirits notwithstanding, and little regarded the 
 length of the way or the weariness of the flesh, in their eager 
 desire to have a part in the general breaking up. 
 
 When we arrived at the part of the line to which we had 
 been ordered, it was announced that the Confederates were 
 leaving their works. Without waiting for orders the men 
 dashed forward at a double-quick and with a wild chorus of 
 cheers entered and took possession. A few stragglers and 
 some of the rearguard fell into our hands, but the main body 
 retreated in the direction of Sutherland Station on the South 
 Side Road. "Never shall I forget," says General Miles, "the 
 exultation that thrilled my very soul as our troops swept over 
 the line of fortifications soon after dawn on that memorable 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 261 
 
 day of April 2, 1865. It was then apparent to all that the 
 supreme crisis of the Confederacy had been reached and that 
 the hour of its downfall had arrived." In the midst of this 
 excitement Sheridan appeared and again the whole line broke 
 out into another chorus of hearty cheers. With a deprecating 
 wave of his hand the General silenced this outcry and called 
 out in ringing, far-reaching tones, "Save your wind, boys, 
 you'll need it before the day's work is done." 
 
 Then, as the order was given to pursue the fleeing Con- 
 federates, every man in his place started eagerly forward. In 
 a valuable letter written to his father a few days after these 
 events took place, Captain Burns describes the first stage of 
 the pursuit, as follows : 
 
 The column started off, every man for himself, at a dead 
 run, hallooing, throwing their hats in the air, and before I 
 was aware my company numbered just two men, the rest 
 having gone on ahead. After awhile the column was reor- 
 ganized and moved forward in proper style. When we had 
 advanced a mile or more we caught up with the retreating 
 rebels and pitched into them. The One Hundred and For- 
 tieth was ordered out to support our skirmish line that was 
 about to be drawn in. I was sent forward to the line with 
 the left wing of the Regiment. I had to lead it over an 
 open field exposed to a severe musketry fire. In doing this 
 I had nine men wounded, not from Company A, however. 
 Shortly after the remainder of the Regiment was brought 
 out and the line ordered forward; so forward we went, and 
 back went the rebels, first through an open field. Then came 
 our chance, and we improved it. I have often seen them 
 run, but never did I see them make the time in "two forty" 
 so easy before. They threw away everything they had and 
 lit out at full speed. We captured quite a squad of them and 
 two pieces of artillery. At Sutherland Station we struck the 
 South Side road. We were then relieved and went into camp 
 three miles beyond, tired, weary, our Sabbath day's labor 
 ended. I have often heard of such and such being a hard 
 way of serving the Lord. That day I realized it. So closed 
 the second of April. 
 
 The battle at Sutherland Station, which Captain Burns 
 described from his standpoint, was one of the most stubbornly 
 
262 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 contested engagements of the campaign. The Confederates 
 held a strongly intrenched position and repulsed two direct 
 assaults which were made upon it. It was at length carried 
 by a well-executed flank movement with a loss to the enemy 
 of two pieces of artillery, one battle flag and 600 prisoners. 
 During this part of the pursuit the First Division was isolated 
 from the rest of the corps. From the 3rd to the 5th inclusive 
 the command marched with the corps toward Amelia Court 
 House on the Richmond and Danville Railroad, where Lee's 
 army was holding a fortified position until he could secure 
 some much needed supplies. Early on the morning of the 
 6th we fell in with the rear guard of General Lee's army in 
 the immediate vicinity of Amelia Springs, a celebrated Vir- 
 ginia watering place. Here the discovery was made that the 
 Confederates, thwarted in their purpose to go south by way 
 of Danville had turned westward, and were moving by way 
 of the Deatonsville road toward Farmville on the Lynchburg 
 Railroad. The direction of the column was changed at once 
 and with a heavy force of skirmishers in front and flankers by 
 the side of the road the Division started in pursuit of the 
 fleeing enemy. Their rear guard, which was a heavy column 
 of infantry and a battery or two of artillery was encumbered 
 by a long wagon train and upon this the skirmishers and their 
 supports pounced down several times during the day, causing 
 great confusion and cutting off men, wagons and pieces of 
 artillery, at several points on the way. Referring to this day's 
 pursuit General Miles says in his official report : 
 
 The pursuit of the enemy was continued all that day, 
 the troops moving in line of battle over all kinds of ground, 
 preceded by a long and heavy skirmish line, the line being 
 always on the right of the road. The skirmishers were 
 almost constantly engaged with the rear guard of the enemy, 
 but the great length of the line enabled us to expel them 
 from all their positions by overlapping their flank. At one 
 position taken up they were successfully charged by the 
 Twenty-sixth Michigan and the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, who captured 100 prisoners. 
 
 Whenever it appeared probable that the enemy might 
 
THE BEGINNING OP THE END 263 
 
 check us the skirmish line was reinforced by a regiment 
 habitually on the right. Proceeding in this manner, we ad- 
 vanced rapidly in line about sixteen miles, being often in 
 sight of the wagon train of the enemy and capturing a great 
 many prisoners. Upon arriving at the vicinity of Sailor's 
 Creek, about sunset, the enemy were found strongly posted 
 on a commanding ridge of ground, covering the creek and 
 evidently determined to make a fight in order to gain time for 
 the crossing of the train. I gave orders for the First 
 Brigade (Colonel Scott) to take the position. The Brigade 
 advanced splendidly, charged with a cheer, and drove the 
 enemy in confusion into and across the creek, capturing two 
 guns, four colors, his entire train of about 250 wagons, 
 ambulances, etc., together with mules, horses and all appur- 
 tenances, and a large number of prisoners. 
 
 The Third Brigade followed closely on the right of the 
 First, crossed the stream at once, drove the enemy from the 
 other side and possessed themselves of the crest. The First 
 Brigade then crossed and went into position on the other 
 side also. 
 
 The Fourth and Second were moved down to the bank 
 of the creek without crossing, and at 8 P. M. the command 
 bivouacked. 
 
 The captures by the Division on this day were twelve 
 battle flags, three guns, the enemy's train and several hun- 
 dred prisoners. 
 
 Many of the captured wagons belonged to the head- 
 quarters of brigades and divisions, as well as of regiments and 
 contained officers' equipments of all kinds, including a number 
 of costly swords and other souvenirs which had been presented 
 to their owners by cities and corporations. In other wagons 
 were liberal supplies of office equipments and luxuries of vari- 
 ous kinds belonging to the personal effects of officers of high 
 grade, such as barrels of apple-jack, trunks and army chests 
 well filled with toilet and fancy articles, heaps of crisp, new 
 Confederate notes of denominations large and small, animal 
 pets, etc. A litter of bright-eyed, rollicking puppies was 
 rescued from one of the wagons, before the torch was applied, 
 and fell to the lot of the Major-General commanding the Divi- 
 sion, who frequently enjoyed their antics in front of his tent 
 in the days of relaxation which followed the surrender of 
 
264 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 General Lee's army. The day's loss to Lee at all points on this 
 retreat was fully 8,000 men, including several of his general 
 officers who were taken prisoners. Sheridan's hasty report of 
 operations on his front ended with these words, "If the thing 
 is pressed, I think Lee will surrender." When Grant tele- 
 graphed this to Lincoln, he received the laconic reply, "Let 
 the thing be pressed." 
 
 On the day following, April 7th, the pursuit was con- 
 tinued to High Bridge, where the Lynchburg railroad crosses 
 the Appomattox. Here the Confederates made a stand with 
 a strong force of their best available troops, but finally gave 
 way and occupied another position behind a line of breast- 
 works, near the intersection of the old Stage road and the 
 Farmville plank road. The Twenty-sixth Michigan and the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth being on the skirmish line were 
 the first to draw the fire of the enemy in this position, and in 
 this, their last battle, met with a repulse : and, for the time in 
 which they were engaged, a very heavy loss. In comparing 
 the accounts which describe this engagement it appears that 
 the full strength of the Confederates was not known until the 
 skirmishers in their impetuous charge had gone too far to 
 recede with safety. The letter of Captain Burns, to which 
 reference has been made, gives some interesting facts which 
 throw light upon the somewhat confused accounts which have 
 come down to us. 
 
 "The next day," he writes, "we found the enemy at Farm- 
 ville about 3 P. M. The Regiment was again on the skirmish 
 line with our twin Regiment, the Twenty-sixth Michigan. 
 This day the enemy put their best troops in the rear and we 
 thought we would drive them with our skirmish line, as 
 usual, and so we pressed upon a whole division in rifle pits, 
 went up within two rods of them and fought them with only 
 one to ten. Whenever they showed a head it generally 
 dropped. I knew that if we did not get reinforcements soon 
 we would be compelled to fall back, for already our ammuni- 
 tion was getting scarce. Before our reinforcements came they 
 threw a fresh brigade on our right flank and were closing 
 in around us. I never regretted to leave a position so badly, 
 for if we could drive them from it I thought we should rout 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 265 
 
 the whole army. On they came, the bugle in front sounding 
 the charge, and over they came. Another moment and I 
 could shake hands with them. To be captured while I had 
 my limbs I could not think of. The treasonable colors were 
 already floating up the bank behind us. There was then 
 only a gap of some thirty rods open in our rear for retreat; 
 but even this seemed sudden death or mortal wounds, for they 
 were then only from two to three rods from us. Seeing our 
 critical condition, I asked the Father of Mercies to preserve 
 me and began to retrace my perilous steps. I had to go a 
 hundred yards or more before I was loose from their flanks. 
 As soon as I was nearly out of their grasp I stepped behind 
 a small tree, six or eight inches in diameter, to watch the 
 progress of the battle, which a moment before was a one- 
 sided affair, but now began to reveal a brighter side, for 
 reinforcements were rapidly advancing. I was there only 
 a moment, but three balls struck the tree below my head, 
 while hundreds were singing through the boughs. It was in 
 this battle that Samuel Clutter, John A. Rush and Henry 
 Roope were captured." 
 
 Lieutenant William J. Cunningham, of Company C, and 
 three enlisted men of the Regiment were killed in this* 
 engagement. 
 
 It fell to the lot of these brave men, who had seen so 
 much hardship and escaped so many perils in the past, to yield 
 up their lives in the service of their country in the last battle 
 of the great war. They died just before the morning of a 
 new era of peace and prosperity came: and the news of the 
 surrender of the Confederate army reached the ears of their 
 loved ones in Western Pennsylvania, it is said, before the sad 
 tidings of their untimely death. 
 
 On the 8th of April, the troops in the advance did not 
 meet with any opposition, the enemy having abandoned their 
 works during the night. Stragglers and discouraged, worn- 
 out men were picked up all day, and, as before, we were 
 directly behind the rear guard of the retreating army. At 
 4 o'clock in the afternoon a halt was ordered for "rest and 
 coffee." In his official report General Miles says that the nego- 
 tiations of this day, by flag of truce, looking to the surrender 
 of the Confederate army, were carried on through the skirmish 
 
266 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 line of his Division, and this accords with Captain Stockton's 
 report that it was renewed through the line of the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth. In the evening we heard at a distance the 
 sound of Sheridan's guns which meant, although we knew it 
 not certainly then, that this indomitable leader, with the 
 Twenty-fourth Corps added to his command, had already 
 established himself directly across the path of General Lee's 
 army. At 9 A. M. we again moved forward about five miles 
 and bivouacked. 
 
 The next morning, the ever memorable pth of April, the 
 march was resumed at 6 o'clock, the First Division leading as 
 it had done during the last eight days.* The One Hundred 
 and Fortieth was also in the advance once more on the skirmish 
 line and frequently picked up or passed over squads of sleeping 
 Confederates, who had fallen out, and, by so doing, anticipated 
 the general surrender by a few hours. 
 
 The breath of spring was in the air as we marched along, 
 without strife or opposition, that beautiful Sabbath morning, 
 and our route led through a fertile region which as yet had 
 not been despoiled by the ravages of war. The spring flow- 
 ers were abloom by the roadside, the birds were singing in 
 the groves, the buds of the trees were bursting out into pale 
 green leaves and the air was fresh and balmy. After a march 
 of about six miles a flag of truce was received from the side 
 of the enemy, and the whole command was halted. The story 
 of the pursuit which has thus been sketched in outline would 
 not be complete or satisfactory to the men who participated 
 in it, without the official report which we herewith append, of 
 the last commanding officer of the Regiment, Captain W. A. F. 
 Stockton, who received the Brevet of Major for meritorious 
 service, to date from the day of Lee's surrender. 
 
 Headquarters One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 April 16, 1865. 
 
 Captain : 
 
 In compliance with orders of this date, I have the honor 
 
 *Serving the Republic, page 90. 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 267 
 
 to submit the following report of operations of this Regi- 
 ment during the campaign just ended: 
 
 Having received orders, this Regiment broke camp on 
 the morning of the 29th ult., and marched with the Division 
 beyond Hatcher's Run. Here we were deployed as skirmish- 
 ers, and advanced about two miles, took up a position and 
 remained on outpost duty during the night 
 
 On the morning of the 30th the lines were advanced and 
 we engaged the enemy, driving them into their works beyond 
 the Boydtown Plank Road and cutting the telegraph com- 
 munications at this point running south. 
 
 Early in the morning of the 31st the Regiment marched 
 with the Brigade and formed a connection with the Fifth 
 Corps. At this locality we marched by flank until we met 
 the enemy's skirmishers near the Boydtown Plank Road. A 
 charge was made by three Regiments of this Brigade, of 
 which the One Hundred and Fortieth was one, and the 
 enemy was forced from his alignment in our front. We 
 captured nine prisoners. 
 
 On the first day of April twenty-five picked men, under 
 Captains Ray and Burns from this Regiment, in pursuance 
 of instructions from Brevet Major-General Miles, were sent 
 to ascertain the exact locality of Gregg's cavalry, with a 
 view to effecting a junction with that division. This was 
 successfully accomplished and a report was forwarded to the 
 General commanding the Division. 
 
 On the morning of the second of April we marched 
 through the enemy's works, and were immediately sent to 
 the front in support of the skirmish line commanded by 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Glenny, of the Sixty-fourth New York 
 Volunteers. An advance was ordered, and the men charged 
 the works of the enemy protecting the South Side Railroad, 
 driving them beyond the road one mile and capturing eigh- 
 teen prisoners. The loss of the command in this engage- 
 ment was seven wounded, two of this number being regarded 
 as fatally injured. 
 
 The third, fourth and fifth days of April were occupied 
 in marching on the Namozine Road in pursuit of the enemy. 
 We advanced in line of battle on the 6th inst. and drove the 
 enemy from their entrenched position, with the loss of 175 
 prisoners, inclusive of five officers. During the whole day 
 the enemy were forced back and pursued with great energy, 
 which terminated in the capture of the greater part of their 
 wagon train and a number of pieces of artillery. The right 
 
268 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 wing of this Regiment was the first of the troops that ad- 
 vanced to and beyond the train. 
 
 A strong skirmish line was posted beyond the creek and 
 remained until the Fourth Brigade came up, which was 
 advancing on the right of the Division. The casualties of 
 the day's engagement in this Regiment were one commis- 
 sioned officer killed and three enlisted men wounded. 
 
 The seventh of April we marched toward Lynchburg and 
 were deployed as skirmishers at or near Farmville. The 
 enemy under Mahone, being entrenched in a strong position, 
 the skirmishers, consisting of the Twenty-sixth Michigan and 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 were checked by a strong line of battle located behind the 
 works. The casualties of the Regiment in this engagement 
 were I commissioned officer killed, 3 enlisted men killed, 1 
 officer and 26 men taken prisoners. 
 
 Our march toward Lynchburg on the 8th was uninter- 
 rupted and we continued the pursuit of the enemy until 12 
 o'clock at night. On the morning of the 9th — it was the 
 Sabbath — we were placed in the advance, and through the 
 skirmish line of the Regiment the flag of truce was enter- 
 tained which resulted in a conference terminating in the 
 surrender of the Confederate forces under the command of 
 General Lee. 
 
 I am very respectully, 
 
 W. A. Stockton, 
 Captain Commanding Regiment. 
 Captain McCallister, 
 
 Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. 
 
 The number of men reported as present for duty in the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment at the opening of the 
 campaign, March 25th, was 236. The official report of casu- 
 alties from this date until the surrender of General Lee was 
 iven as follows: 
 
 ENLISTED 
 OFFICERS MEN AGGREGATE, 
 
 Killed 2 2 4 
 
 Wounded 2 21 23 
 
 Captured or missing 24 24 
 
 Total 5 1 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 269 
 
 When the skirmishers of the Division were halted by the 
 flag of truce which met them on the morning of the 9th of 
 April, they were within easy stone throw of the rear guard 
 of the Confederate army.* The troops which had been march- 
 ing in column behind them were massed in close order as they 
 came up and in this position anxiously awaited the result of 
 the conference, which we all knew was being held between 
 the leaders of the two armies. In general a spirit of hope- 
 fulness prevailed, but no one was over sanguine as to im- 
 mediate results. 
 
 Slowly the hours wore away. Noon came. Then in suc- 
 cession the afternoon hours were told off. At two o'clock 
 the limit of the armistice was reached and we looked to an 
 officer of the staff to give the familiar order "fall in." A 
 messenger did come, but it was to announce that the time limit 
 had been extended. About four o'clock when many were 
 drowsing or fast asleep on the ground a full chested ringing 
 chorus of cheers was heard at the front and was taken up by 
 tens of thousands of men from regiment to regiment down 
 the line. Instantly every man was on his feet and the an- 
 nouncement "Lee has surrendered!" "Lee has surrendered!" 
 which followed, as fleet horsemen carried the tidings from 
 corps to corps, was hailed with the supremest joy and wildest 
 enthusiasm. Every man after his own fashion gave vent to 
 his pent up feelings. 
 
 As General Miles has happily phrased it : 
 
 All the bands immediately struck up the national airs, 
 such as "Hail Columbia," "The Star-Spangled Banner," 
 etc. The black-mouthed cannon, that for four years had 
 been accustomed to discharge their iron hail against the 
 lives of Americans, thundered the voice of peace, and the 
 
 *After alluding to the fact that the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 had the honor of being in the foremost rank on the day of Lee's 
 surrender, Captain Burns adds that he stood at the gate of the 
 McLean house, on the skirmish line, when General Lee with bowed 
 head passed out of it. 
 
270 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 hills and valleys re-echoed the welcome sound. The air was 
 filled with hats, canteens, haversacks and everything that 
 could be displayed as an expression of great rejoicing. The 
 grim warriors embraced each other and rolled over on the 
 turf with tears of joy coursing down their bronzed faces. 
 With every manifestation of unspeakable delight we then 
 realized that there was no longer an army to conquer — that 
 the nation was reunited in the strongest bonds of brother- 
 hood ; that our country was now without a slave and without 
 an enemy; that the great cause for which we had given the 
 best years of our lives and hundreds of thousands of our 
 comrades, the flower of American manhood, had at last 
 triumphed, and that the nation, by heroism and sacrifice, 
 was stronger, freer and purer than ever before. 
 
 There lies before the writer, as he pens the closing words 
 of this chapter, a letter, brown with age, but still distinctly 
 legible, which has this heading, Appomattox Court House, 
 April 9th, 1865. It was once held before tear-dimmed eyes 
 with a trembling, but long since vanished hand. A few lines 
 from it may not be inappropriate here for the reason that it 
 gives impressions which could only be made or described in 
 language born of the occasion. 
 
 My Dear Mother: 
 
 I am almost too much excited to write. You will know 
 the reason why long before you receive this. Lee has sur- 
 rendered with his whole army, and from this day the war is 
 virtually over. Thank God we have been permitted to see 
 this glorious day. Johnston's army will certainly surrender 
 and then, dear Mother, we will all return home again to 
 enjoy the blessings of that honorable peace for which we 
 have striven so long. The men of Lee's army have torn 
 down their works, stacked their arms and are now encamped 
 quietly alongside of us as though they formed part of our 
 army. As soon as the arrangements for the surrender were 
 made officers and messengers bore the news to the troops 
 and, oh, what a scene ! All the pent up emotions of our 
 hearts burst forth in a mighty shout, like the shout of battle, 
 while the bands struck up our national airs and the artillery 
 broke forth in salutes. How the hats of the boys flew sky- 
 ward in the air and the hills fairly shook with the cheers of 
 the massed thousands, when General Meade, with uncovered 
 
THE BEGINNING OF THE END 271 
 
 head and beaming face, rode down the lines with the glorious 
 news. We have orders to remain here, close in camp, until 
 it is settled what will be done. Good night, my dear Mother, 
 and look for our return "when Johnnie comes marching 
 home." 
 
 What this announcement meant to the brave hearts at 
 home, the mothers, wives and sweethearts, who had waited so 
 long in tears and anxiety, who were ofttimes on their knees at 
 night while we were soundly sleeping, cannot be realized by 
 those who have been born since the war, nor can it ever be 
 fittingly or adequately expressed by those who would describe 
 it. 
 
 To North and South alike this issue of the great conflict 
 has brought blessings incalculable — a reunited country — a flag 
 with all its stars and many more which have since been added, 
 floating from ocean to ocean, prosperity beyond the wildest 
 dreams of the men of the sixties, and now, thank God, the day 
 which Abraham Lincoln anticipated and longed for, has come. 
 We are not enemies, but friends; the passion which strained 
 has not broken the bonds of affection; the mystic chords of 
 memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave 
 to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, 
 touched by the better angels of our nature, have joined to 
 swell the chorus of the Union. 
 
 "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 then had bled : 
 And North and South hold kindred ties, 
 
 The Nation, and the Nation's dead."* 
 
 "Fold up the banners! Smelt the guns 
 Love rules. Her gentler purpose runs, 
 A mighty Mother turns in tears 
 The pages of her battle years, 
 Lamenting all her fallen sons !" 
 
 — Will H. Thompson. 
 
 ♦Memorial Day Poem, Colonel Prentiss Ingraham. 
 
272 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT. 
 
 "Thank God! the bloody days are past 
 Our patient hopes are crowned at last; 
 And sounds of bugle, drum and fife 
 But lead our heroes home from strife! 
 
 "Thank God! there beams o'er land and sea 
 Our blazing Star of Victory; 
 And everywhere, from main to main, 
 The old flag flies and rules again ! 
 
 "Thank God ! we see on every hand, 
 Breast-high the ripening grain-crops stand; 
 The orchards bend, the herds increase; 
 But oh, thank God — thank God for peace." 
 
 BEFORE General Grant left the McLean House, where 
 the preliminaries of the surrender were settled, he made 
 arrangements for the immediate issue of rations from 
 his own stores for the supply of the hungry soldiers of the 
 Confederate army. For a week or more they had been cut off 
 from their wagon trains and every base of supplies ; and, with 
 no time on their hands to forage from the country, were all in 
 a condition to appreciate the considerate kindness of the Victor 
 to whom they had so reluctantly yielded. With like considera- 
 tion and in the same spirit of kindness the Union soldiers gen- 
 erously shared the contents of their haversacks with the 
 Johnnies, who had the privilege of strolling into our camps, and 
 were received as cordially as though they had been old-time 
 comrades. Over steaming pots of coffee, the aroma of which 
 was very grateful to our well-nigh famished guests, the boys 
 in blue and in gray chatted familiarly, cracking merry jests and 
 "happy in the thought that henceforth and forevermore they 
 should remain brothers against all the world." 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 273 
 
 On the nth of April, two days after the terms of sur- 
 render had been arranged, the second Corps began the first 
 stage of its homeward march, and on the 13th reached Burks- 
 ville, where the remainder of the month was spent in camp. 
 While the war was virtually over, after the surrender of the 
 Army of Northern Virginia, it was deemed necessary to hold 
 the Army of the Potomac at this strategic point until the antic- 
 ipated submission of Johnston's Army should be an accom- 
 plished fact. 
 
 The One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, with the other 
 regiments of the First Brigade, remained at Appomattox, on 
 guard duty, until all the details for the surrender were com- 
 pleted. 
 
 The actual surrender of the remnant of Lee's army was as 
 quiet and informal as it could be made consistently with the 
 terms agreed upon. As a matter of fact so little stress was 
 laid upon the formalities of delivering up arms and accoutre- 
 ments that the larger number of the Confederate troops who 
 were in battle line on the 9th of April were not present on 
 the 1 2th, the day appointed for this formal delivery. The 
 honor of receiving this surrender was delegated to a single 
 Division of the Fifth Corps (Bartlett's). As the remnants of 
 the Confederate divisions reached the designated spot, military 
 salutations were exchanged and under the direction of their 
 own officers the men stacked their arms, laid down their accou- 
 trements and colors, and then, quietly forming in column again 
 for the last time, marched off to be disbanded as paroled pris- 
 oners. "The kindness of the Government," says Benson 
 Lossing, "followed the offending ones, even to their homes, 
 transportation and food for their journey being afforded to 
 large numbers of them." Much has been made of the ad- 
 mitted fact that something less than 8,000 men actually laid 
 down their arms on the day and at the place appointed for 
 this purpose. One reason for this has been already given 
 The historian of one of the regiments appointed to take charge 
 of the surrendered stores and munitions of war — the One 
 Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers — says, "In 
 the woods where the rebel army had encamped, muskets were 
 
274 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 scattered upon the ground in every direction. We found 
 where whole battalions had stacked their arms and left for 
 home, taking no part in the surrender, not even signing their 
 parole. There is no doubt that many thousands went away 
 in this manner, which if added to those who marched in and 
 stacked their arms would have swelled Lee's army to over 
 50,000 men, who surrendered on the 9th of April." The esti- 
 mate of this writer is undoubtedly too large. General Grant 
 in his Memoirs says : 
 
 As a matter of official record, and in addition to the 
 number paroled (28,356), we captured, between March 29th 
 and the date of surrender, 19,132 Confederates, to say noth- 
 of Lee's other losses, killed, wounded and missing, during the 
 series of desperate conflicts which marked his headlong and 
 determined flight. The same record shows the number of 
 cannon, including those at Appomattox, to have been 689 
 between the dates named. 
 
 Adding the paroled men to list of captured prisoners we 
 have a total of 47,488 who must have been present for duty 
 at the beginning of the campaign, a total to which if we add 
 2,000 cavalrymen under Fitzhugh Lee who escaped before the 
 surrender; and the heavy losses in killed, wounded and missing 
 until the day of the surrender, the aggregate could scarcely be 
 less at that time than sixty or sixty-five thousand. Or as an- 
 other reliable writer has put it : 
 
 If we add to the list of paroles signed the captures at 
 Five Forks, Petersburg and Sailor's Creek, the thousands 
 who deserted the failing cause at every by-road leading to 
 their homes, and filled every wood and thicket between 
 Richmond and Lynchburg, we can see how considerable an 
 army Lee commanded when Grant "started out gunning." 
 Yet every Confederate writer, speaker and signer who refers 
 to the surrender says, and will say forever, that Lee sur- 
 rendered only seven thousand muskets.f 
 
 ♦History of One Hundred and Eighteenth Pennsylvania Volun- 
 teers, page 596. 
 
 fLife of Abraham Lincoln, by Nicolay and Hay, page 197. 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 275 
 
 In the advance to Appomattox the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment was foremost, as we have seen, on the skir- 
 mish line. On the 13th of April it was withdrawn from the 
 picket line at the front, a position which it occupied for the 
 last time that day, to commence the homeward march by 
 way of Burksville Junction. 
 
 The Regiment was charged with the duty of guarding 
 the captured trains and batteries of artillery to this place, 
 where they were afterward shipped to the officials of the War 
 Department. From the cannon, thus for a time in its care, 
 were made the bronze buttons which for several decades have 
 been worn by the members of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
 
 On the 15th of April, Colonel Fraser returned from his 
 long period of captivity and, with the rank of Brevet Brig- 
 adier-General, — a well deserved honor, — was assigned to the 
 command of the First Brigade. 
 
 On the same day the news was received that Abraham 
 Lincoln, the great-hearted ruler of the nation and the revered 
 and beloved commander of its army and navy, had been cruelly 
 and cowardly assassinated. This announcement was received 
 with mingled feelings of grief, horror and indignation. Sor- 
 row and gloom overswept the encampments where glad and 
 grateful hearts had been exulting in the joy of victory. As 
 General Meade happily phrased it in his official order announc- 
 ing the President's death : 
 
 1 
 Abraham Lincoln, by the active interest he ever took in 
 the welfare of this Army and by his presence in frequent 
 visits especially during the recent operations, had particu- 
 larly endeared himself to both officers and soldiers, all of 
 whom regarded him as a generous friend. 
 
 On the 28th of April word was received of the surrender 
 of General Johnston on the terms which had been granted to 
 General Lee. This news was hailed with delight and at once 
 settled the question as to the direction we were to go from 
 the important railroad junction, about which the whole army 
 had been waiting, in anxious solicitude, for further orders. 
 
276 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 On the 5th of May we broke camp and to the great joy 
 of every man in the column took the road which led toward 
 Richmond. 
 
 At one of the cross roads not far from Burksville an im- 
 mense concourse of recently freed slaves, from the adjacent 
 plantations had assembled to see the great army go by, and to 
 express their gratitude to the men who had delivered them 
 from the bonds of servitude. 
 
 In this motley gathering gray and grizzled men and 
 women led in a demonstration of thanksgiving and joy, which 
 found its natural expression in the language of sacred song, 
 reminding those who heard it of the song of the deliverance 
 which Miriam led, long ages ago, with timbrel in hand, by the 
 border of the Red sea. In this care-free host there was an odd 
 mixture of tattered and strangely assorted garments. While 
 the garb of the men was notable principally for its misfits and 
 patches of various shapes and shades, that of the women was 
 conspicuous for its gay colors, the crowning feature of which 
 was a bandana kerchief of pronounced color worn on the head 
 as a turban, or folded across the breast. It is a noteworthy 
 fact that the burden of all the plantation songs of that day 
 was deliverance from bondage. They were not born of the 
 occasion, but were composed in anticipation of an exodus like 
 that which took place, long ago, from the land of Egypt, 
 under the leadership of Moses. 
 
 In this wayside concert the singers gave expression, there- 
 fore, in words made ready to hand, to the realization of long 
 cherished hopes and expectations. Following their leaders, 
 who voiced the sentiment of the song, they all joined in the 
 refrain to each successive verse, keeping time with hands and 
 feet and swaying bodies in perfect unison and hearty abandon. 
 We heard the wild, weird strains of some of these long drawn- 
 out choruses before the singers had come into view, and after 
 we had passed over a hill which hid them from our sight, we 
 could still hear, in lessening volume "another of the same" 
 from a repertoire which seemed to be inexhaustible. 
 
 For spontaneity, heartiness and evident sincerity, this was 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 277 
 
 the greatest ovation which the Army of the Potomac received 
 on its victorious, homeward march. 
 
 On the 5th of May we reached Manchester, on the James 
 River, and made special preparation for a rigid inspection of 
 arms, accoutrements and clothing, with a view to presenting 
 a creditable and soldierly appearance on the march through the 
 city of Richmond. On the morning of the next day the Army 
 of the Potomac entered the fallen Capital of the Confederate 
 government with flying colors and bands of music at the head 
 of each Brigade or Division. A large part of the city was 
 then a blackened waste, it having been fired by the Confed- 
 erates themselves, in order to destroy the valuable stores of to- 
 bacco which had been garnered within its limits. 
 
 The streets were lined with spectators as the men in blue 
 passed silently, in long succession, by; and never, perhaps, 
 did the Army of the Potomac march with a steadier swing or 
 present a finer appearance than on that memorable day. 
 Among the many thousands who witnessed this triumphal 
 entry, a large number, at least, were openly friendly and many 
 were glad beyond expression to be freed from the limitations 
 and harsh restrictions and perils which four years of war, with 
 its attendant waste and destruction, had brought upon them. 
 
 There was one exception to the quiet and orderly march 
 of the troops through Richmond. As the head of the column 
 in advance passed Libby Prison, a low chorus of groans gave 
 evidence of its unpopularity as a boarding place for Union 
 prisoners; and, as each successive column passed by, these 
 marks of disapproval became more emphatic and distinct. 
 
 From Richmond the steady tramp was continued on the 
 direct routes toward Washington at a pace of twenty-six to 
 twenty-eight miles per day. The bands were consolidated at 
 the heads of the Brigades, and at the edge of all the important 
 towns on our route the flags were unfurled and with stirring 
 music such as "The Girl I Left Behind Me," or "When Johnny 
 Comes Marching Home," we passed through the streets, 
 which were thronged with interested spectators. In several 
 places we received a welcome as cordial as if we had been pass- 
 ing through a Northern city. 
 
278 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 On the crest of Marye's Heights we halted for a brief 
 rest and a look over one of the bloodiest battlefields of the war, 
 before we passed through the City of Fredericksburg. Here 
 we were on familiar ground. Upon the swaying pontoons, so 
 suggestive of other marches from side to side, we crossed the 
 Rappahannock for the last time. 
 
 Soon after we had left the city, a beautiful young woman, 
 with pale set face, dishevelled hair and an agonized expres- 
 sion, ran swiftly past us, alongside the moving column, in 
 pursuit, as we afterward learned, of the Provost Guard of one 
 of the Divisions. Two years before, her husband, then a 
 Union soldier, had deserted while on picket duty by the river- 
 side, and finding Fredericksburg a pleasant place to stay, de- 
 cided to make it his home. Having won the affections of the 
 lady, whose sudden appearance and evident distress had ap- 
 pealed so strongly to our sympathies, he married her. Pre- 
 sumably all went well with this faithless servant of the country 
 and deserter from its flag, until, as the army passed through, 
 he was recognized among the spectators who lined the streets, 
 was promptly arrested and hurried off under the charge of the 
 Provost Guard. How this romantic episode ended we know 
 not. It is not at all likely that the Government would relin- 
 quish its prior claim in favor of the young wife who sought 
 so earnestly to get him back, but we hope for her sake that it 
 did deal leniently with the transgressor and that this romance, 
 which ended so abruptly for us, turned out happily for her, in 
 the end. 
 
 One beautiful afternoon, about the middle of May, as we 
 were toiling slowly up a steep grade, near Bailey's Cross 
 Roads, the sound of vigorous, hearty cheering was heard at 
 the head of the column far in advance of our place in the line. 
 
 Instantly every man was on the alert and as the oft-re- 
 peated chorus of cheers became more distinct and the conta- 
 gion of some great excitement swept down from regiment 
 to regiment, we all knew, without the telling, that the end of 
 the last day's march was just at hand. As we approached the 
 crest of the hill a picture of marvellous beauty opened up be- 
 fore us. In the foreground was the rich, green valley of the 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 279 
 
 Potomac — a striking contrast to the desolate war-swept wastes 
 of Virginia, through which we had been marching — and beyond 
 the beautiful river was the fair city of Washington, with the 
 flag of Washington floating above the graceful dome of its 
 Capitol. How beautiful it looked in the softened light of that 
 afternoon sun. As we gazed upon this landscape vision 
 through tear-dimmed eyes, it seemed the very embodiment of 
 the fulfilment of our dreams of home, of peace and of plenty. 
 On th 23rd of May the Regiment participated in the 
 Grand Review of the Army of the Potomac. The compact 
 columns which swept Pennsylvania Avenue from curb to curb, 
 for full six hours of steady marching, passed the reviewing 
 stand and the distinguished officers who had led them, for the 
 last time. 
 
 How glorious was that crowning day — 
 The last review at Washington. 
 More proudly in that grand review 
 They wore those faded coats of blue 
 Than when those uniforms were new 
 
 And first admired by loving eyes. 
 More proudly flung on freedom's air, 
 Those smoked and riddled banners there, 
 Than when their silken colors fair 
 
 First floated under Northern skies. 
 
 To Francis A. Walker, the gifted historian of the Second 
 Army Corps, we are indebted for the graphic description 
 which follows, of this notable command, and especially of 
 the famous First Division, as it passed in final review on that 
 memorable day. 
 
 It is now four full hours since the giant column began 
 to move, and every eye is strained and weary from watching 
 the quickly receding divisions and brigades. But of all who 
 gaze from sidewalk or balcony, window or housetop, no one 
 leaves his post, for a corps not less renowned than any which 
 had fought out that bloody strife to a triumphant issue, 
 advances to salute the chief under whom it has conquered. 
 At its head, on a snow-white horse, followed by a score of 
 
280 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 i 
 
 officers similarly mounted, rides that heroic and thrice accom- 
 plished soldier and scholar, Andrew A. Humphreys. 
 
 His serene and noble face is lighted by the joy of 
 triumph and the pride he feels in the troops which follow 
 him; the corps of Sumner, Couch and Hancock; that corps 
 which, in fair fight with Lee's great army, had taken forty- 
 four Confederate flags, ere first it lost a color of its own ; 
 which had left more than forty thousand of its numbers, 
 killed or wounded, on the battlefields of Virginia, Maryland 
 and Pennsylvania; the corps which crossed the Chicka- 
 hominy to the rescue of the beaten, left at Fair Oaks, which 
 delivered the great assault on Marye's Heights, on which 
 fell Longstreet's attack at Gettysburg, which stormed the 
 Salient at Spottsylvania, on the 12th of May, 1864, and at 
 Farmside on the 7th of April, 1865, fought the last infantry 
 battle of the war. 
 
 Out of the hundred regiments sustaining the largest 
 losses in all the armies of the United States, east or west, 
 thirty-five have served under this corps' banner; some of 
 these, long since wasted to skeletons, have been sent away 
 from the front, but there still remain enough to witness to 
 these years of desperate battle. Here is the First Maine 
 Heavy Artillery, which leads the roll of regiments suffer- 
 ing the greatest absolute loss in a single battle, six hundred 
 and thirty-two of its officers and men having fallen in its 
 desperate charge of the 18th of June at Petersburg, of whom 
 two hundred and ten were killed or mortally wounded. Just 
 one month before, at Spottsylvania, it had lost in a brief 
 action one hundred and forty-seven killed or mortally 
 wounded. Its aggregate for the war is four hundred and 
 twenty-three, or nineteen per cent, of its total enrollment. 
 Here, too, is the Fifth New Hampshire Regiment, gallant 
 Cross's gallant men, which leads the roll of all the infantry 
 regiments of the army in the total number of its fatal 
 casualties, two hundred and ninety-five men having been 
 killed or mortally wounded in its ranks. There marches the 
 First Minnesota, the regiment suffering the largest propor- 
 tional casualities in a single action, having lost two hun- 
 dred and twenty-four men, killed or wounded, out of two 
 hundred and sixty-two it took into action at Gettysburg, 
 or eighty-three out of every one hundred. 
 
 Here, too, are such renowned regiments as the Seven- 
 teenth and Nineteenth Maine; the First Regiment of Heavy 
 Artillery from Massachusetts, and the Eleventh, Nineteenth, 
 Twentieth and Twenty-eighth Regiments of infantry; the 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 281 
 
 Eighth Regiment of Heavy Artillery from New York, and 
 its Fortieth, Fifty-second, Fifty-ninth, Sixty-first, Sixty- 
 third, Sixty-fourth, Sixty-ninth, Seventy-third, Eighty- 
 sixth, Eighty-eighth, Ninety-third, One Hundred and 
 Eleventh, One Hundred and Twentieth, One Hundred and 
 Twenty-fourth, One Hundred and Twenty-fifth, One Hun- 
 dred and Twenty-sixth, One Hundred and Sixty-fourth and 
 One Hundred and Seventieth Regiments of Infantry; the 
 Seventh, Eighth, Eleventh and Twelfth New Jersey; the 
 Fifty-third, Fifty-seventh, Sixty-ninth, Eighty-first, One 
 Hundred and Sixteenth, One Hundred and Fortieth, One 
 Hundred and Forty-fifth and One Hundred and Forty-eighth 
 Pennsylvania; the First Delaware, Tom Smythe's old regi- 
 ment; the Seventh West Virginia; Meikel's Twentieth 
 Indiana; the Fifth and Seventh Michigan; Frank Haskell's 
 Thirty-sixth Wisconsin. 
 
 Such are some of the regiments which compose the 
 column of the Second Corps in the Grand Review. Its First 
 Division is to-day commanded by Gen. John Ramsay.* Here 
 is all that is left of the old division of Sumner, Richardson 
 and Hancock, including the once famous brigades of Brooke, 
 Caldwell, Zook and Meagher, together with the survivors 
 of Alexander Hay's brigade, which came up at Gettys- 
 burg and helped to hold Cemetery Ridge against Pickett's 
 men. This is the division which lost in the war two thou- 
 sand two hundred and thirty-seven men killed outright, and 
 eleven thousand seven hundred and twenty-four men 
 wounded in battle. These are the men of the Sunday morn- 
 ing at Fair Oaks, of the Sunken Road at Antietam, of the 
 Stone Wall, at Fredericksburg, of the Wheatfield, at Gettys- 
 burg, of the Salient, at Spottsylvania, of the closing fight 
 at Farmville. 
 
 The Division which is thus singled out for special men- 
 tion, because of its extraordinary losses and achievements, was 
 the largest in the army. With this notable command, the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Regiment had the honor of serving dur- 
 the entire period of its connection with the Army of the Poto- 
 mac. And it is with honest pride we record the fact that it 
 was one of the regiments which did the most, in a quiet and 
 
 * General Miles was transferred to another department a short 
 time before the Grand Review in Washington City. 
 
282 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 unostentatious way, to make and sustain the reputation of the 
 Division. 
 
 The three great Commanders who led it, in succession — 
 Hancock, Barlow and Miles — gave to the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, on many occasions, the foremost position of honor, 
 responsibility and danger at the front and were never disap- 
 pointed in the conduct of its officers or men. Its sadly depleted 
 ranks were not filled up, as was the case, in many regiments 
 of the same command, with drafted men, but it maintained 
 its identity, homogeneity and high standing to the end. It 
 was sometimes ordered into positions which could not be held ; 
 it was forced back once and again from hotly contested ground 
 by flanking movements or the failure of other commands to 
 reach assigned positions, but it was never stampeded, nor 
 thrown into hopeless confusion, and never left the field with- 
 out orders, or without its colors. At Gettysburg its battle 
 flag was stricken down and its defenders barely escaped cap- 
 ture. At Spottsylvania, three of its color guard fell with it 
 in quick succession and the fourth snatched it up, carried it 
 proudly onward to the ramparts, and in every engagement 
 following until its tattered remnants, blood-stained and battle 
 scarred, waved over the skirmish line of the farthest advance 
 of the Union lines at Appomattox. 
 
 The indomitable courage of the men who followed this 
 flag through seventeen bloody engagements is evidenced by 
 the fact that its average percentage in killed and mortally 
 wounded, exceeded that of any other regiment which went 
 out from the State of Pennsylvania. It stands fourth in that 
 "splendid 'sifted' list of twenty-three regiments which gave 
 fifteen per cent, and upwards of their blood for the flag," as 
 given in the fully accredited, invaluable history of the regi- 
 mental losses of the Civil War, by Colonel William F. Fox. 
 
 After referring to the fact that the average losses, as 
 above indicated for the whole army, was five per cent., rang- 
 ing from nothing to twenty, he says : 
 
 This increased percentage fell heavily on the Army of 
 the Potomac, and on certain Divisions in that army. But 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 283 
 
 the hardest righting and greatest loss of life occurred in 
 the First Division of the Second Corps — Hancock's old 
 Division — in which more men were killed and wounded 
 than in any other Division in the Union Army, East or 
 West. This Division was the one which Richardson, its 
 first Commander led on the Peninsula, and at whose head he 
 fell at Antietam, the one which, under Hancock, made the 
 bloody assault on Marye's Heights (Fredericksburg, Va.) ; 
 which under Caldwell, fought so well in the Gettysburg 
 wheatfield; which, under Barlow, surged over the enemy's 
 works at Spottsylvania, and which, under Miles, was in at 
 the death in 1865. Within its ranks were the Irish Brigade 
 and crack Regiments like the Fifth New Hampshire, the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania, and the Sixty- 
 fourth New York. 
 
 Over 14,000 men were killed or wounded in this Divi- 
 sion during the war, yet it never numbered 8,000 muskets, 
 and often could muster only half of that. 
 
 In the Century Magazine of May, 1888, page 96-97, 
 Colonel Fox gives, as in his previous lists, the first place to the 
 Second Wisconsin Infantry, it having lost the most men in 
 proportion to its numbers, of any regiment in the whole 
 Union Army. Leaving out of consideration the heavy artil- 
 lery regiments, which properly belong to another class, he 
 mentions the Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers as the 
 next higher in its list of losses, the percentage being 19.1. 
 This case, he adds, cannot well be classed with the others, 
 because the Fifty-seventh went into action within a few days 
 after leaving Boston, going into the thick of the fight in the 
 Wilderness with full ranks, while most regiments went into 
 their first fight with ranks depleted by eight months' previous 
 campaigning. In this classification, Colonel Fox virtually 
 gives the second place in the list of losses among the seasoned 
 veteran regiments to the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 This interesting statement we give, as he has published 
 it, in full: 
 
 The next largest percentage of killed (after the Fifty- 
 seventh Massachusetts) is found in the One Hundred and 
 
284 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Fortieth Pennsylvania Infantry, whose muster-out rolls tell 
 the following story; and as in the instances previously 
 cited, the names of each one of the dead could be given, 
 were it necessary, in verification of the loss. 
 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Infantry, 
 
 Caldwell's Division, Second Corps. 
 
 (i) Colonel Richard P. Roberts (killed). 
 
 (2) Colonel John Fraser, Brevet Brigadier-General. 
 
 Losses. 
 
 Officers. En. Men. Total. 
 
 Killed, or died of wounds 10 188 198 
 
 Died of disease, accidents, etc 1 127 128 
 
 1,132 enrolled; 198 killed = 17.4 per cent. 
 Battles. Killed. 
 
 Chancellorsville, Va 15 
 
 Gettysburg, Pa 61 
 
 Bristoe Station, Va 1 
 
 Mine Run, Va I 
 
 Wilderness, Va 8 
 
 Corbin's Bridge, Va 4 
 
 Po River, Va 3 
 
 Spottsylvania, Va 52 
 
 North Anna, Va 3 
 
 Totopotomy, Va 1 1 
 
 Cold Harbor, Va 7 
 
 Petersburg, Va 14 
 
 Deep Bottom, Va 5 
 
 Ream's Station, Va 1 
 
 Hatcher's Run, Va 4 
 
 Sailor's Creek, Va 1 
 
 Farmville, Va 5 
 
 Total of killed and wounded 732 
 
 Total of killed and died of wounds 198 
 
 Died of disease in Confederate prisons, 28 (in- 
 cluded). 
 
 With this record behind it, which will bear the most care- 
 ful scrutiny, the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment of 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers was mustered out of the service of 
 the United States at Alexandria, Virginia, on the 31st day of 
 May, 1865. 
 
 When the* Regiment was organized it numbered 1,015, 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 285 
 
 officers and men, but afterward the number enrolled was in- 
 creased by enlistment to a total of 1,132. 
 
 The actual number present with the Regiment and mus- 
 tered out on the date above indicated, was 293. Of the 
 survivors, many had been already discharged because of 
 wounds or disability, while others were still in the hospitals, 
 on detached duty or had been assigned to other commands 
 or branches of the service. It was a pitiful remnant of the 
 Regiment which, with full ranks and complete appointments, 
 was chaffed by the veterans of the Potomac Army as a brigade 
 of "newcomes" in the beginning of the winter of 1862. 
 
 The following statement from the Auditor for the War 
 Department gives the number of officers and enlisted men who 
 were present and paid with their commands on muster-out. 
 
 Field and Staff: Colonel, Major, Adjutant, Quarter- 
 master, Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon, Chaplain 7 
 
 Sergeant Major, Commissary Sergeant, Hospital Steward, 
 
 2 Principal Musicians 5 
 
 Company A: Captain, First Lieutenant, First Sergeant, 
 
 1 Sergeant, 6 Corporals, 2 Musicians, 22 Privates. . . 34 
 Company B : Captain, First Lieutenant, 4 Sergeants, 5 
 
 Corporals, 1 Musician, 9 Privates 21 
 
 Company C: Captain, First Sergeant, 4 Sergeants, 6 
 
 Corporals, 1 Musician, 1 Wagoner, 15 Privates.... 29 
 Company D: First Lieutenant, First Sergeant, 2 Ser- 
 geants, 2 Corporals, 1 Musician, 10 Privates 17 
 
 Company E: Captain, Second Lieutenant, First Ser- 
 geant, 3 Sergeants, 2 Corporals, 1 Musician, 13 Privates 22 
 Company F: Second Lieutenant, First Sergeant, 6 Cor- 
 porals, 1 Musician, 1 Wagoner, 21 Privates 31 
 
 Company G. Second Lieutenant (Captain?) First Ser- 
 geant, 4 Sergeants, 6 Corporals, 1 Wagoner, 15 
 
 Privates 28 
 
 Company H : First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant, First 
 Sergeant, 3 Sergeants, 7 Corporals, 1 Musician, I 
 
 Wagoner, 1 5 Privates 30 
 
 Company I : Captain, First Lieutenant, 4 Sergeants, 6 
 
 Corporals, 2 Musicians, 17 Privates 31 
 
 Company K: Captain, First Lieutenant, First Sergeant, 
 
 3 Sergeants, 6 Corporals, 1 Musician, 25 Privates... 38 
 
 Total 293 
 
286 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 , The "muster out" of the Regiment ended our relation 
 to that Army and the order was issued at once to report to 
 the officials of the military camp at Pittsburg, Pa., for pay- 
 ment and disbandment. 
 
 Never was an order to "fall in" obeyed with more alacrity 
 and enthusiastic responsiveness. It was about an hour after 
 the turn of the night when we crossed the Long Bridge and 
 entered the city of Washington. As we passed through the 
 streets the Regimental band struck up one of its liveliest airs 
 and the men who had just received a ration of candles for 
 camp use, quickly fell in with the suggestion that an illumina- 
 tion would be in order. This was improvised by fitting the 
 candles into the muzzles of the Springfield rifles — for the 
 officers entered into the spirit of the suggestion as well as 
 the men — and lighting them all along the line. Then came 
 the orders "right shoulder shift," "open order, march!" As 
 we tramped along, windows and doors were thrown open, 
 handkerchiefs were waved and many a cheering word was 
 given to the boys who, as they all knew, were going home. 
 In one of the newer sections of the city where the streets had 
 recently been paved with asphalt, we halted, took possession 
 of an unoccupied portion and bivouacked for the rest of the 
 night. Our first bivouac, after leaving Washington for the 
 front in 1862, was in a muddy cornfield within sight of the 
 dome of the Capitol ; our last was in the street where we 
 spread our blankets and rested without challenge or disturb- 
 ance. The next morning we were entrained, in passenger 
 cars — for Baltimore, where we found transportation, over 
 the road we had guarded at the outset of our military career, 
 to Harrisburg; and thence, without hindrance or delay, over 
 the mountains to the camp designated for our reception in the 
 vicinity of Pittsburgh. Here, amid restrictions, more irksome 
 than we had been subjected to while at the front, we remained 
 until all the official requirements had been met and satisfied. 
 Then at midnight, on the 5th of June, we were discharged 
 from military obligations and free to go where we listed. It 
 need hardly be said that we went; nor did we stand on the 
 order of our going. Our first thought was the securing of 
 
THE HOMEWARD MARCH AND MUSTER OUT 287 
 
 freedom of action outside the limits of the camp. When 
 beyond the possibility of restraint from sentinel or camp guard, 
 each company went on its way to meet the friends and rela- 
 tives who were impatiently waiting to welcome them. 
 
 Thus, without parade or show, or word of appreciation 
 from the outside world, a noble Regiment melted away; and 
 
 Comrades known in marches many, 
 Comrades tried in dangers many, 
 Comrades bound by memories many 
 
 went back to the homes and communities they had left nearly 
 three years before, to take up the unfinished work they had 
 dropped at their country's call, or to begin over again in the 
 attempt to win a place among those who were laboring amid 
 the pursuits which make for prosperity and peace. Faithful 
 as soldiers the survivors of the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Regiment have been faithful and true as citizens of the great 
 and ever-growing country, whose cherished institutions they 
 fought to save. 
 
 It is a matter for congratulation and thankfulness, my 
 Comrades, that every principle for which we contended to the 
 death fifty years ago, still remains unchanged. May the God 
 of our fathers to whom Lincoln prayed in the dark days, when 
 all the foundations seemed to be melting away, continue to 
 those who shall follow us from generation to generation the 
 precious heritage of liberty and constitutional law which we 
 have received, and have sought to hand down to them unim- 
 paired and unchanged. The peace for which we fought has 
 been permanent because it has been grounded upon the im- 
 mutable verities of the government of God. 
 
 With malice toward none and charity for all, we cannot, 
 we dare not abate one jot of the high principles for which 
 our comrades suffered and died. We honor, respect and esteem 
 the brave men who fought on the other side, and doubtless 
 prayed as earnestly as we to the same God for victory, but, 
 as our great Commander, who led us to the final victory, has 
 said, "we are not ready to apologize for our part in the war," 
 
288 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 and as another has paraphrased the same sentiment, "we are 
 content that history has shown that we who fought to save 
 were forever right, and they who fought to destroy, and 
 attempted armed secession, were eternally wrong. Forgetting 
 nothing, remembering well the cruel blow at liberty, the unhal- 
 lowed attack upon the flag of the free, the crime and its sad 
 results of weeping and wounds, of desolation and death, yet 
 have we forgiven everything. Happy in the glorious trinity 
 of results — the saving of the Nation's life, the extinction of 
 the blot of slavery from the National escutcheon, and the 
 establishment of the principle of the equality of all before the 
 l aw — we think them worth even the great sacrifice they have 
 cost, and have no room for malice or ill will." 
 
 Our Father God, from out whose hand 
 The nations fall like grains of sand, 
 O make thou us through centuries long, 
 In peace secure, in justice strong; 
 Around thy gift of freedom draw 
 The safeguards of thy righteous law; 
 And cast in some diviner mould, 
 Let the new cycle shame the old. 
 
Part II 
 
 Company Histories 
 
 Personal Sketches 
 
Capt. James M. Pipes. Capt. John A. Burns. 
 ist Lieut. J. Jackson Purman. Capt. Samuel Campbell. 
 Capt. John F. McCullough. ist Lieut. J. Fulton Bell. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY A 289 
 
 HISTORY OF COMPANY A, ONE HUNDRED AND 
 FORTIETH PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEER 
 
 INFANTRY. 
 
 BY JAMES J. PURMAN, A.M., M.D., FORMERLY FIRST 
 LIEUTENANT OF COMPANY. 
 
 The campaign of General McClellan on the peninsula 
 had proved a failure after so much expenditure of time and 
 means in equipping it, and Washington City was menaced 
 by armed rebels under Lee and Jackson. The President's 
 proclamation went forth for "three hundred thousand more." 
 The country responded to the call. Men who had before 
 stayed at home thinking their services were not needed, now 
 sprang to arms, and quickly enrolled themselves in the vari- 
 ous companies forming all over the country. 
 
 John F. McCullough, of Jefferson, Pa., who had seen 
 some service in the First Pennsylvania Cavalry, David, Tay- 
 lor, of Waynesburg, Pa., and the writer of this sketch, who 
 was then teaching an academy at Jacksonville, Pa., abandoning 
 all business, enrolled their own names and called upon others 
 to do likewise, to form a company "for three years or during 
 the war." We met in the old "Hamilton House," then the 
 principal hotel of Waynesburg, and at that meeting it was 
 agreed that we should join in raising a cavalry company, our 
 preference being that arm of the service, and as soon as we 
 had the requisite number of men, to unite our squads, elect 
 officers, and offer our services to the government. This meet- 
 ing occurred about August 10, 1862. We immediately had 
 posters printed, signed by each of us stating our objects, and 
 each taking a package, McCullough recruited in and about 
 Jefferson, Taylor about Waynesburg, and myself in the town- 
 ships of Richhill, Center and Alippo, they being contiguous 
 to my academy. 
 
2go THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 I recollect distinctly that the first man who enrolled his 
 name under mine was James M. Pipes, and the second one 
 was John A. Burns. I rode over the western end of my 
 county recruiting, and Burns attended me and was a great 
 assistance in this work. In two weeks our company was 
 over full as enlistments went on quite lively. On the morn- 
 ing of August 28th, my squad rendezvoused at Jacksonville, 
 and bidding friends good-bye, we took wagons and arrived 
 at Waynesburg in the afternoon. Washington Pipes, having 
 two sons among my recruits, went with us, and stood up in 
 one of the wagons and carried "Old Glory." On the way the 
 boys sang, "We'll hang Jeff Davis on a sour apple tree." At 
 Waynesburg we met McCullough, who had brought with 
 him about 45 men, and Taylor with about 25 men, while I 
 had 33 men. 
 
 The name of our organization was chosen after con- 
 siderable discussion, that which was first proposed being the 
 "Downey Invincibles," in honor of Robinson W. Downey, 
 deceased, a prominent and liberal spirited lawyer of Waynes- 
 burg, who proposed to make the company his protege by pur- 
 chasing its uniform and otherwise caring for it. About this 
 time we erroneously learned that no more cavalry regiments 
 would be received by the government, and as we would, of 
 course, go as infantry, we settled upon the name of the "Greene 
 County Rifles." 
 
 As none of us who had recruited for the company knew 
 anything about infantry drill, we called upon James B. Lazear, 
 Esq., now vice-president of the Central Bank of Denver, Col., 
 who had received a military education at West Point, who 
 drilled our men in the step, facings, and company formation 
 In the afternoon we marched to the North Commons, south 
 of the old College Building, and there an election with written 
 ballots was held for company officers. My brother, Col. D. 
 Gray Purman, who had been wounded at Shiloh, Tenn., was 
 home on furlough on crutches, used his hat for a ballot-box. 
 The almost unanimous result of the election was McCullough 
 for Captain; Taylor, Second Lieutenant, and myself First 
 Lieutenant. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY A 291 
 
 The next morning we assembled in front of the Court 
 House and received many heartfelt good-byes and God bless 
 yous, as well as many substantial tokens of good will in the 
 way of things for our comfort in camp. Rev. William Camp- 
 bell, now deceased, of the C. P. Church, made the parting 
 address to us, which was responded to by Captain McCullough. 
 To the tune of the "Girl I Left Behind Me," played by J. W. 
 Little, who was then only 17 years old, now Dr. Little, of 
 Washington, D. C, we marched out of the east end of town 
 and took wagons in Hookstown for Rice's Landing on the 
 Monongahela River. When the river was reached, I acted 
 as Orderly Sergeant and called the roll on the river bank and 
 addresses were delivered from the hurricane deck of the 
 steamer Elector, by Judge James Lindsay and Colonel D. 
 Gray Purman. 
 
 We all got aboard the steamer, but the river was low, 
 and more than once we ran aground on sand bars. On one 
 occasion we all waded through the shallow water ashore, and 
 walked for miles until the worst bars were passed. 
 
 Arrived at Pittsburgh, we marched into Camp Howe. 
 Here we met companies from Washington, Beaver and Mer- 
 cer countries, and were mustered into the service of the 
 United States. A flag presentation occurred to Captain 
 Greggs' Company from Monongahela City, at which a por- 
 tion of the Greene Country Company attended, and Hon. 
 George V. Lawrence and Hon. A. A. Purman made speeches. 
 The latter, among other things, said, "that he had two broth- 
 ers going out to defend the flag, and he would rather see 
 them brought home feet foremost, than that either of them 
 should show the white feather." 
 
 In a few days we moved on to Harrisburg and marched 
 into hot, dusty, dirty Camp Curtin, and here we learned that 
 we were to be united with the Washington, Beaver and Mer- 
 cer County Companies, into a Regiment of Western Pennsyl- 
 vanians, to be known as the One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers. Richard P. Roberts, of Beaver, was 
 chosen Colonel; Prof. John Fraser,,of Canonsburg, Lieuten- 
 ant-Colonel, and Thomas P. Rodgers, of Mercer, Major. 
 
2^2 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Here we received our arms, uniforms and accoutrements, 
 being armed with the Vincennes rifled musket, a heavy, cum- 
 bersome gun with a sabre bayonet, which we gladly exchanged 
 for the Springfield rifle when we reached the front. Some 
 quite laughable scenes occurred when the uniforms were is- 
 sued by the quartermaster. A six-foot man would get trousers 
 and shoes intended for a man measuring five feet, six inches, 
 and vice versa; the little fellow would get number ten shoes 
 and trousers a half a foot too long. But by a system of ex- 
 changes all got reasonably well suited and clothed. We under- 
 stood that our first duty was to help guard the Northern 
 Central Railroad, the then great single artery through which 
 flowed the patriotic life-blood of the nation in the shape of 
 men and munitions of war from the North to Washington 
 City. It was soon ascertained that our destination was Park- 
 ton Station, where we arrived September 10, 1862, and de- 
 barked into a clover field. The headquarters and several of 
 the companies established themselves in tents on a hill over- 
 looking the railroad giving to their location the name of 
 "Camp Seward," while the balance of the Regiment were 
 stationed along the road at different points for a distance of 
 ten miles, reaching from the line separating Pennsylvania 
 from Maryland to Monkton Station. The barracks at Park- 
 ton, which had been occupied by a company from the Eastern 
 Shore of Maryland was assigned to us, and the Marylanders 
 were sent on to take part in the work of driving Lee across 
 the Potomac. At a meeting of the captains of the several 
 companies, the letters from "A" to "K" were placed in a 
 hat and each captain drew his letter. Captain McCullough 
 drew "A," so we became "Company A" and the right of 
 the Regiment. 
 
 Now our duties began, which consisted in drilling four 
 hours each day and guarding the railroad. Gunpowder Creek, 
 or river, is very winding in its course, and as the Northern 
 Central road follows its valley in the main, a great number 
 of bridges were required. These the rebels were constantly 
 burning, or tearing up, so that a strong guard was necessary 
 along the whole road at the rate of a thousand men to every 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY A 293 
 
 ten miles. At the time we arrived a bushwhacker by the name 
 of Merriman had been burning several bridges, and the evi- 
 dence of his work was still apparent in the charred timbers 
 which had recently been burned. 
 
 The companies located along the road, being so widely 
 separated, while they were under the general command of 
 the Colonel at Camp Seward, yet in matters pertaining to the 
 guarding of the road and daily drill, acted largely as inde- 
 pendent companies, meeting frequently at the camp for instruc- 
 tion and dress parade. 
 
 Being only about sixty miles from the battlefields of 
 South Mountain and Antietam, and these being on such high 
 locations, when the wind blew in our direction, we could 
 hear the heavy guns quite distinctly. These were the first 
 guns which we ever heard in battle. As the telegraph lines 
 were unobstructed we got news on the 14th and 17th of Sep- 
 tember that McClellan had won two complete victories over 
 Lee. This caused great rejoicing in our camp, and while a 
 little more than the truth, it meant that the rebels would be 
 driven off Northern soil and across the Potomac. 
 
 General Miles had surrendered Harper's Ferry to the 
 enemy, and was killed by a shell just as the act was being 
 consummated. His residence was but a short distance from 
 Parkton, and his body was brought home for burial. Per- 
 mission was given to all not on duty who desired to attend 
 his funeral, but the belief was that the surrender was a cow- 
 ardly act, and the funeral was but slimly attended by Com- 
 pany A. Patriotism ran high then, and such was the feeling 
 at that time. Prisoners to the number of several carloads, 
 who had been taken at Miles' surrender and were paroled, 
 came over the Northern Central road on their way home to 
 New York a few days after. Near Parkton a collision oc- 
 curred and several were hurt, and one man was killed by a 
 splinter from the car piercing his head. While the wreckage 
 was being cleared away a rude coffin was made and the dead 
 soldier was taken on with his comrades. His Captain, while 
 washing the blood from the soldier's face and preparing his 
 body for his coffin, would alternately weep and swear, mean- 
 
--94 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 while saying that he was one of the best soldiers he ever knew. 
 
 The Northern Central being a single track road and poorly 
 built, and as the trains run on it very recklessly, a great num- 
 ber of accidents, similar to the one just referred to, occurred. 
 It was no uncommon thing for the guard which had been 
 standing during the "fourth relief" to come with the report 
 in the morning, "Well, two trains up the road tried to pass 
 each other on a single track this morning, and as usual failed." 
 The many collisions and other accidents which occurred on 
 this road during the three months that we guarded it, would 
 in this day of double tracks and more careful running, be 
 regarded as a fearful record. 
 
 We had not been but a few days on the road, until we 
 were called upon to try our metal as guards. Our custom 
 was to place a corporal and three or more men at each bridge 
 we were guarding. One very dark night the corporal at the 
 bridge about one mile south of our barracks came breathlessly 
 rushing in saying that he believed a party of men were going 
 to set fire to the bridge. He saw them in the woods with 
 torches and acting very suspiciously. The Captain immedi- 
 ately ordered the First Lieutenant to take a Sergeant and 
 twenty men. and double quick down to that bridge, and dis- 
 perse those bridge burners. Guns were loaded and the officer 
 buckled on his revolver, and we were at that bridge in a few 
 minutes. Sure enough there was a party in the woods near 
 the bridge with torches, who were hailed in a very peremptory 
 manner, as to their business with torches at that time of night. 
 After careful examination they were able to give a satisfactory 
 account of themselves. They were good and loyal citizens 
 out on a fox hunt ! This was our first meeting with the sup- 
 posed enemy, and "the boys" were somewhat excited. Our 
 guns were loaded in our barracks at each one's bunk. The 
 next morning there was found and picked up at the Sergeant's 
 bunk, a ball separated from the cartridge. The Sergeant in 
 his excitement had rammed down his empty cartridge and 
 dropped his ball ! The Sergeant was teased not a little about 
 this affair. He proved to be a number one soldier and has 
 now gone to join the great majority. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY A 295 
 
 We remained guarding the Northern Central Railroad 
 exactly three months, from September 10 to December 10, 
 1862, and while here we could do a number of things which 
 were not at all feasible after we got to "the front." Among 
 other things we organized a "Soldiers' Posthumous transpor- 
 tation Society," the design of which was to transport to 
 their homes, the bodies of all comrades who should die from 
 any cause. Our society transported to their homes the bodies 
 of John L. Lundy, Charles A. Freeland and Samuel Ridge- 
 way, who died during the three months we were on the road. 
 So far as I know, our Company was the only one who organ- 
 ized such a society, and sent home their dead comrades. 
 
 After we had been guarding the road for about a month, 
 one day Captain McCullough and myself thought we would 
 like to see what the boys of Company A could do at march- 
 ing. The matter was mentioned to the Company and all were 
 eager to give their powers a trial. So taking all those who 
 were not on duty, counting about 50 men, they were ordered 
 on a certain morning to be armed and equipped for marching 
 except knapsacks, with one day's cooked rations. The First 
 Lieutenant was ordered to take command of the Company 
 and at 7 o'clock we started on our first march for Newmarket, 
 situated at the line between Pennsylvania and Maryland. The 
 command was given, "Arms at will — route step, march," and 
 the boys in very cheerful mood started off with a springing 
 step. The distance to the village is about ten miles from 
 Parkton, and we arrived there in good order about ten o'clock. 
 Our entrance into the town was quite a surprise to the vil- 
 lagers, as they had no idea that an armed force of Union men 
 was near them. We marched to the center of the town and 
 stacked arms, and the principal men of the place came to 
 inquire the cause of our visit. We speedily explained that we 
 had no hostile intentions whatever, but were merely testing 
 the marching qualities of the company and had chosen their 
 town as our objective point. Whereupon they welcomed us 
 to the hospitalities of the town, but we informed them that 
 we were fully provided with food for our trip, having one 
 day's cooked rations in our haversacks. They, however, 
 
29b THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 brought out a bushel of fine apples, and the hotel keeper asked 
 the Lieutenant whether he would allow his men to have some 
 good whisky. This being agreed to, he passed along the men 
 in line with a bucket and a tin cup in it, each man helping 
 himself, there being a careful supervision that no one got too 
 much. The Lieutenant was invited into the parlor of one of 
 the best houses and entertained by a good-looking young lady 
 with cake, wine and music. Rations being eaten, we amused 
 the citizens with some fancy company movements, and giv- 
 ing three cheers for the Union people of the town, and three 
 groans for the "secesh," we started on our return march to 
 Parkton Station, where we arrived long before sundown, 
 somewhat fatigued being altogether unused to marching, but 
 upon the whole, pleased with our abilities to cover twenty 
 miles so easily and well. 
 
 An open railroad bridge spanned the Gunpowder Creek 
 only a few yards from our barracks. It was customary for 
 the trains while taking in wood and water, to rest upon this 
 bridge. Many of these trains consisted in part of open cars 
 loaded with firkins of butter and cheese. Our company, while 
 being made up of country boys, soon learned the little tricks 
 of soldiers. One or two of them would go awkwardly clamb- 
 ering over a car laden with butter or cheese, while several 
 would be posted under the bridge. Accidently (?) of course, 
 the one clambering over the car would kick off a firkin of 
 butter or a cheese. This would drop down through the bridge 
 and be caught by those below. If any of the employees of the 
 road discovered them, the cheese would be put again in its 
 proper place on the car, with some such remark, "Bob, you 
 awkward fellow, you knocked a cheese off that car, and if I 
 hadn't been looking it would have gone into the creek." But 
 if unobserved, that cheese or butter quickly took legs and soon 
 was inside "the tigers' den," the name given by a number of 
 our company to a little bungalow which they had constructed 
 for themselves outside of the barracks. Not very long after- 
 ward one of their number would appear with a nice slice of 
 cheese or butter, "with the compliments of the tigers' den, 
 for the Captain's mess." Upon inquiring where it came from. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY A 297 
 
 putting on the most innocent air in the world, the bearer 
 would reply, "You know how rough this road is. Well, in 
 going across the bridge this cheese fell off, and one of us boys 
 caught it to save it from going into the creek." With this 
 very plausible ( ?) explanation, the slice of butter or cheese 
 was fully enjoyed in the Captain's mess.* 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The roll of the drum, the blare of the bugle, and the 
 clangor of arms no longer echo on the banks of the Potomac, 
 or among the hills of Pennsylvania. The "pride, pomp and 
 circumstance of glorious war" live but in memory. The 
 mighty struggle to save the country's life, costing half a mil- 
 lion loyal lives and three billions of treasure is over, and we 
 live to enjoy the rich boon of liberty and union, peace and 
 prosperity purchased by the blood of our fallen comrades, who 
 now 
 
 "Sleep the sleep that knows no waking, 
 Sleeping for the flag they bore." 
 
 And tho' no epaulets they wore, 
 
 Nor star, nor bar, nor golden lace, 
 Yet they who once the musket bore 
 
 Shall in our hearts e'er find a place; 
 And tho' their bones in unknown graves 
 
 Or 'neath Southern soil may lie, 
 The memory of our fallen braves, 
 
 Can in this Nation never die. 
 
 As long as Round Top Mountain stands, 
 
 As long as the Potomac flows, 
 Or oceans plash their pebbly strands, 
 
 Or sun upon his journey goes; 
 So long the patriot's name shall shine, 
 
 Upon fame's scroll of honored dead, 
 And wreaths of glory ever twine, 
 
 In fadeless chaplets round his head. 
 
 ♦Comrade Purman has furnished some interesting incidents 
 relating to his Company, in this connection, some of which will be 
 found in Part III, page 
 
2g8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY B, ONE HUN- 
 DRED AND FORTIETH PENNSYLVANIA 
 VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 In the month of August, 1862, Thos. B. Rodgers, a 
 young attorney of Mercer, Mercer County, Pa., was author- 
 ized by Governor Curtin to recruit a company of three-years' 
 volunteers. He had previously served as First Lieutenant of 
 Company G, Tenth Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserves, but 
 had been discharged a few months before on account of dis- 
 ability. In conjunction with Jason T. Giebner, also an attor- 
 ney of Mercer, Pa., handbills were sent out to different parts 
 of the county, and in the course of a week or ten days, the 
 necessary number of recruits were obtained to form a full 
 company. They were of an unusually good class of young 
 men, the majority being farmers' sons, and many being of 
 Scotch-Irish extraction, most of them from the towns of Mer- 
 cer, Sandy Lake, New Lebanon, Pine Grove (now Grove 
 City), Greenville, Jamestown, and the districts in their 
 vicinities. 
 
 The Company was organized at Mercer and went into 
 camp at Pittsburgh about the latter part of August. The trip 
 from Mercer was made by wheeled vehicles of various sorts 
 to Newcastle; thence by canal boat to New Brighton, and 
 from that place by rail to Pittsburgh. The Company re- 
 mained in camp near Pittsburgh about a week, when it was 
 ordered to the general rendezvous at Camp Curtin, Harris- 
 burg. It became Company B, of the One Hundred and For- 
 tieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, upon the organization of that 
 Regiment under command of Colonel R. P. Roberts, of 
 Beaver, Pa. 
 
 The first officers of the Company were : Thos. B. Rod- 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D 299 
 
 gers, Captain; Jason T. Giebner, First Lieutenant; Abram C. 
 Grove, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 On the promotion of Captain Rodgers to Major of the 
 Regiment, September 8, 1862, at Camp Curtin, Lieutenants 
 Giebner and Grove were respectively promoted to Captain 
 and First Lieutenant, and George Tanner became Second Lieu- 
 tenant. Lieutenant Tanner was honorably discharged Octo- 
 ber 30, 1863. 
 
 Captain Giebner having been appointed Captain and 
 Commissary of Subsistence, United States Volunteers, April 
 20, 1864, Lieutenant Grove became Captain of the Company, 
 Sergeant R. C. Craig, First Lieutenant and Sergeant John 
 Satterfield, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 Captain Grove was honorably discharged, on account of 
 wounds, February 15, 1865, and was succeeded by First Lieu- 
 tenant R. C. Craig, John Satterfield becoming First Lieuten- 
 ant and Sergeant John Fox, Second Lieutenant. Craig and 
 Satterfield were mustered out with the Company, May 31, 
 1865. Lieutenant Fox was absent, wounded at the time of 
 muster out of the Company. 
 
 The non-commissioned officers of the Company at its 
 organization were : First Sergeant, James C. Nolan ; Ser- 
 geants, K. C. Craig, John Satterfield, John W. Johnson and 
 John Fox; Corporals, R. G. Davidson, George D. Moore, 
 R. B. Porter, Henry RafTerty, C. W. Giebner, Price Dilley, 
 George Perrine and Isaac Davis. 
 
 First Sergeant Nolan was wounded at Gettysburg, July 
 2, 1863, and was discharged, December 29, 1863. He was 
 succeeded by R. C. Craig, afterwards First Lieutenant and 
 Captain. 
 
 The first position assigned to this Company was on the 
 left of the Regiment. Its permanent position, as designated 
 a few months later, was the Second Company, numbering 
 from the right, in the left wing. 
 
 At Chancellorsville, on the morning of the 3rd of May, 
 Company R was detailed, together with Company A, for duty 
 on the skirmish line, under command of General Nelson A. 
 Miles. It shared in the honors which were given to that 
 
300 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 famous line of defenders in beating back the oft-repeated 
 attacks of the Confederates under General McLaws, and 
 thus helped to save the imperilled Division of General Han- 
 cock in the crisis hour of its noble stand for the defense of 
 the retreating army. 
 
 This position on the outposts of the battle line proved to 
 be one of less danger, however, than that of the Regiment 
 itself in its support of the Fifth Maine Battery on the east 
 side of the Chancellorsville House. 
 
 Company B met with its heaviest losses at Gettysburg, 
 Spottsylvania, Petersburg and Farmville. 
 
 On its muster out it had a Captain, Ranels C. Craig; a 
 First Lieutenant, John Satterfield; 4 Sergeants, 5 Corporals, 
 1 musician and 9 privates: a total of 21 officers and men. 
 
 Captain Craig was in charge of the Company, as above 
 indicated, at its muster out and had the honor of bringing 
 this little remnant of it back to the place of its enlistment in 
 Mercer County. 
 
Captain Chas. T.. Linton, Co. D. Captain David Acheson. Co, C. 
 
 i m' i \i \ Is \ \, X. Vance, i 'o. C, 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C 301 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C, ONE HUN- 
 DRED AND FORTIETH PENNSYLVANIA 
 VOLUNTEERS.* 
 
 The Company to which this official designation was given, 
 at the date of the organization of the One Hundred and For- 
 tieth Regiment, was recruited in Washington, Pennsylvania, 
 the seat of Washington College, by David Acheson, a student 
 of the College, assisted by two of his warm personal friends, 
 Isaac Vance and Charles Linton. 
 
 These associates had served with him — the trio having 
 enlisted as privates — for a period of three months, in the sum- 
 mer of 1861. 
 
 David Acheson, who was then in his 22d year, was 
 regarded as one of the most promising young men in the 
 College Class, which he left to enter the service of his im- 
 perilled country, and in the community to which he belonged. 
 His popularity was evidenced by the fact that the roll of his 
 Company, when completed, contained the names of many of 
 the best and brightest young men of the town and its environs, 
 a large number of whom were college students or men of 
 more than ordinary education and intelligence. 
 
 At the date of the organization of the Company, as 
 seemed most fitting, he was acclaimed its Captain, and his two 
 comrades and associates, Vance and Linton, were made its 
 First and Second Lieutenants. 
 
 The following tribute from the leading paper of his town 
 
 ♦The data for this brief sketch was furnished, for the most 
 part, by the Hon. Earnest F. Acheson, of Washington, Pa., a younger 
 brother of David Acheson, who gathered much valuable informa- 
 tion from the files of the Washington Reporter, established in 1808. 
 Coming from this source, the events narrated at that time are more 
 realistic and valuable than those written from memory many years 
 afterward. 
 
302 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 — The Washington Reporter — written after the notice of his 
 untimely death, gives a just appreciation of the worth of the 
 man and the place which he had already won in the esteem of 
 the community : 
 
 "Captain Acheson was the second son of our townsman, 
 Alexander W. Acheson, Esq. A younger brother is a Ser- 
 geant in the same Company. The Captain was a member of 
 the Class of 1863 and in the front rank of its scholars. At 
 the opening of the war he enlisted as a private in the three 
 months' service, and returned with the highest praise of his 
 officers and companions for his qualities as a soldier and a 
 gentleman. 
 
 "He then quietly resumed and prosecuted his studies, 
 until his spirit was again aroused by the President's call for 
 300,000 fresh troops, after the disasters before Richmond. 
 
 "Public opinion assigned him to the place of a leader, and 
 as gallant a Company as ever marched under the Stars and 
 Stripes soon rallied around him." 
 
 In the issue of August 28, 1862, the same paper refers 
 to the efforts which were then being made to secure recruits : 
 
 "RECRUITING IN THIS COUNTY. 
 
 "We are happy to announce that although our county 
 was not as prompt in responding to the call for volunteers as 
 we could have desired, the patriotic fires seem at last to have 
 been enkindled, and consequently a brick business in the way 
 of enlistment has been done during the last week. The Brady 
 Infantry, commanded by Captain Acheson, whose roll may 
 be found in another place, have gone into camp on the Fair 
 Grounds, and as may be seen, lack only -two or three of hav- 
 ing the maximum. The Ten Mile Infantry (Captain Parker), 
 whose roll we likewise publish, are also here with about an 
 equal number of men. This company reached here on Friday 
 last. A squad of men numbering about 60, recruited mostly 
 in Cross Creek Township, by our young friend, W. A. F. 
 Stockton, arrived on the same evening, at which time the 
 whole were regularly mustered into the service by an officer 
 detailed for the purpose. Captain Stockton's company is rap- 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C 303 
 
 idly filling up and will have the requisite number in a few! 
 days. We shall endeavor to publish this roll next week. 
 
 "In addition to these troops, Captain Fraser's company 
 at Canonsburg left last week and went into camp at Pitts- 
 burgh, with the full number of men. Captain Gregg's com- 
 pany also left Monongahela on Thursday last for the same 
 place." 
 
 The presentation of a flag to Captain Acheson's company 
 and the departure of the several companies of the county, 
 which had rendezvoused at Washington, are described in the 
 issues respectively of September 4 and 11, 1862, as follows: 
 
 "FLAG TO CAPTAIN ACHESON'S COMPANY. 
 
 "A splendid flag, the liberal gift of our patriotic fellow- 
 townsman, Mr. Nathan Brobst, was presented to the Brady 
 Infantry on Friday afternoon last, by the Rev. Hiram Mil- 
 ler, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in a speech of burn- 
 ing eloquence. The response was made by R. H. Koontz, 
 Esq., in his usual eloquent and felicitous style. We could per- 
 ceive, however, that the orator's utterance was sometimes 
 obstructed by the force of his feelings, a consequence natu- 
 rally resulting from his intimate acquaintance and friendship 
 for those patriotic young men long endeared to him. A large 
 concourse of our citizens had assembled in the Court House 
 to witness this truly interesting scene, rendered intensely 
 impressive by the circumstances by which they were sur- 
 rounded. The whole scene was to us one of absorbing in- 
 terest." 
 
 "DEPARTURE OF COMPANIES. 
 
 "On Thursday morning last, the Brady Infantry, com- 
 manded by Captain David Acheson; the Ten Mile Infantry, 
 commanded by Captain Silas Parker, and the Reed Infantry, 
 commanded by Captain W. A. F. Stockton, left for the city 
 of Pittsburgh, there to await equipments, preparatory to a 
 further march to the seat of war. Their separation from us, 
 though it may be temporary, gave rise to a deep feeling of 
 solicitude more easily imagined than described. Many of the 
 gallant spirits, composing two of the companies, we have 
 
304 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 known from boyhood, and it affords us great pleasure to add 
 that a more intelligent, brave and gentlemanly set of young 
 men have never left old Washington County. May the patri- 
 otic ardor by which they are animated, and to which we must 
 attribute their separation from their parents, sisters and 
 friends, enhance as they move toward the enemies of our coun- 
 try, and as occasions arise, afford them an opportunity of 
 not only immortalizing their names, but of contributing greatly 
 to the suppression of a rebellion as causeless as it has been 
 unnatural and barbarous. 
 
 "On taking their departure, a splendid flag, the gift of 
 the ladies of Amwell Township, was presented to the Ten 
 Mile Infantry. The Rev. T. N. Boyle, who was the organ 
 of the ladies on this occasion, made the presentation speech, 
 which, like all this gentleman's efforts, was most eloquent and 
 impressive. Our clever young friend, Wesley Wolf, in a 
 neat and appropriate speech, also presented Captain Parker 
 with a beautiful sword, which a number of his friends in 
 the town and county had furnished as a token of their regard. 
 Captain Parker received the flag on behalf of his Company in 
 a few well-timed and eloquent remarks, and also tendered his 
 thanks for the handsome present that had been made to him 
 personally. Swords were also presented to Lieutenants Man- 
 non and Minton, of the same Company, in behalf of the citi- 
 zens, the presentation being made by Charles M. Ruple, in 
 a brief but felicitous address which was listened to with 
 marked attention. The Rev. L. P. Streator presented Cap- 
 tain Stockton, of the Reed Infantry, with a handsome sword 
 on behalf of his friends, accompanying the ceremony with a 
 few remarks which were well conceived and highly appro- 
 priate. 
 
 "In this connection we must not forget to state that gen- 
 erous and whole-souled people of Canonsburg, in the exercise 
 of that liberality and patriotism for which they have ever been 
 distinguished, though having only a few hours' notice, fur- 
 nished the whole three companies with a most sumptuous din- 
 ner as they passed through that place on their way to 
 Pittsburgh. Their kindness and hospitality to those brave 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C 305 
 
 boys on leaving home, not only excited the liveliest emotions 
 of gratitude in the hearts of the soldiers themselves, but will 
 long be held in grateful remembrance by all their friends." 
 
 The position of the Company, as originally assigned, was 
 fifth in the line on the right wing of the Regiment. 
 
 At Chancellorsville, because of this position, the losses 
 were not so great as in the companies to the right and left of 
 it. The casualties reported in this, its first, engagement, were : 
 Two killed; two wounded and one captured. 
 
 On the 13th of May, 1863, soon after the return to our 
 winter camp at Falmouth, Company C was transferred to the 
 right of the Regiment. 
 
 This position of honor, which made it the leading Com- 
 pany of the command on the march and in all its maneuvers, 
 was retained until the muster out of the Regiment at Wash- 
 ington City. 
 
 At Gettysburg this was the most exposed position on the 
 line, it being the right of the Brigade and Division, as well 
 as of the Regiment. In this situation, with no troops in sight 
 with which to form a connection, the right wing was furiously 
 assailed in front by the enemy, while a flanking column, unop- 
 posed, succeeded in gaining a position almost directly in its 
 rear. 
 
 While attempting to change position to meet this threat- 
 ened peril, the Colonel was killed in front of the Company, 
 and a few moments later, Captain David Acheson, his suc- 
 cessor — then the ranking Captain of the Regiment — fell mor- 
 tally wounded. 
 
 Here the Company met its heaviest losses. Lieutenant 
 Vance, the successor to Captain Acheson, lost an arm, and 
 the orderly Sergeant was killed at his post. Out of 38, the 
 entire number present during the engagement, 7 were killed, 
 22 wounded, and 3 presumably captured, were reported missing. 
 
 The following extract from an editorial in the Reporter, 
 of July 15, 1863, gives a resume of the half hour of desperate 
 conflict on that memorable day, and pays a well-deserved 
 tribute to the fallen Captain and his brave men : 
 
300 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 "CAPTAIN DAVID ACHESON. 
 
 "We have never seen our community so startled and 
 overwhelmed with grief, as when, among the incidents of 
 the late terrible battle of Gettysburg, the news came that 
 this gallant soldier had fallen. The confirmation of this 
 sad intelligence, which joins with him 6 other members 
 of his noble Company in the list of killed, has deepened 
 the first impressions into profound sympathy and gloom. 
 In the contemplation of such a conflict at the cost of which 
 the glorious victory of our arms was achieved, our exul- 
 tation may well be tempered with humble submission to 
 the chastening of the Almighty hand. 
 
 "Captain Acheson, although wearied with the long 
 marches which had brought the army to the scene of con- 
 flict, heroically lead his men into the storm of fire which 
 marked the effort of the enemy to carry to success a flank- 
 ing movement on our right, on Thursday evening, the 2d 
 inst. How fierce the danger was at that crisis may be in- 
 ferred from the heavy losses which were sustained by the 
 whole Regiment, and even Brigade, within the half hour of 
 that bloody strife. The order to advance had scarcely been 
 given, until the Brigadier-General (Zook) was mortally 
 wounded. In a few minutes Colonel Roberts, who had thus 
 succeeded to the command of the Brigade, was killed. The 
 next successor was borne from the field in a few minutes 
 more. And so the battle raged, with a fury which the de- 
 tails from the companies representing our county, else- 
 where given, only too sadly reveal. It was after a large 
 proportion of his men had been disabled, and closely follow- 
 ing the severe wounding of his First Lieutenant, which he 
 had witnessed with tears, that a shot pierced the noble breast 
 of Captain Acheson. This was followed by a second whilst 
 he was being conducted to the rear — either shot being prob- 
 ably mortal. It was not until Saturday, or as one report 
 has it, until Sabbath morning, that his dead body was found ; 
 the ground on which he lay having meanwhile been recovered 
 from the enemy. His remains, through the energy of a 
 relative, were brought home on Monday night of this week, 
 and will be interred to-day (Wednesday) at 10 o'clock A. M. 
 
 How bravely and wisely Captain Acheson led his Com- 
 pany through difficulties and perils, none can doubt whose 
 ears are opened to the unanimous and almost unparalleled 
 praises lavished upon him, alike by his superiors in command, 
 and all under his authority. Not one note of discord, so far 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C 307 
 
 as we are aware, mars the testimony from all quarters that no 
 officer in the army, whilst living, was the recipient of a more 
 undivided confidence, and none of the heroic dead has left a 
 brighter record of fidelity, honor and courage. His patriot- 
 ism rose to the summit of an unselfish devotion to his 
 country's flag, whether in defeat or triumph, and the ulti- 
 mate sacrifice of his life upon his country's altar but ful- 
 filled the deliberate and fixed purpose with which he took 
 the oath of a soldier. Rallying his men to avenge the death 
 of their gallant Colonel, and exhibiting before them a fault- 
 less example of bravery inspired by earnest conviction and 
 unfaltering hope, his generous spirit was hurried to its 
 glorious rest, from the hottest strife of battle, whilst as yet 
 the result was in painful suspense. But his name shall live 
 in hallowed association with the blood-stained field upon 
 which his country's liberty and fame were redeemed in 
 triumph — 
 
 "Like the day-star in the wave, 
 Sinks a hero to his grave, 
 
 'Midst the dew-fall of a nation's tears, 
 Happy is he on whose decline 
 The smiles of home may soothing shine, 
 
 And light him down the steep of years. 
 But oh ! how grand they sink to rest, 
 Who close their eyes on victory's breast." 
 "We leave to other hands any special notice of the 
 moral character and religious prospects of the noble young 
 man whose career we have thus sketched. We have the 
 best reason to know, however, that the courage of the 
 soldier did not surpass the integrity and virtue of the man. 
 Nor is the evidence less explicit which gives the pleasing as- 
 surance that he was a true "soldier of the cross" and now 
 wears the crown of a glorious immortality." * * * 
 
 The remains of Captain David Acheson were brought 
 home for burial, the ceremonies taking place on Sabbath 
 evening, August 9, 1863. Within hearing of the ceremonies 
 at the family residence, a young member of the bar com- 
 posed the following lines, which were printed in the Wash- 
 ington Reporter of the next issue :* 
 
 ♦The writer of this beautiful tribute is the Hon. Boyd Crum- 
 rine, a well-known jurist of Western Pennsylvania, author of the 
 History of the Bench and Bar of Washington County. Mr. Crum- 
 rine, full of years and honors, still resides in Washington, Pa., and 
 continues in the practice of his profession. 
 
3o8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 IN MEMOKIAM, CAPT. A., CO. C, I4OTH P. V. 
 
 Pro patria pugnante in magnos honores, 
 
 Pallida Mors venit; 
 Pater, materque, fratresque sorores, 
 Amici propinqui — O imi dolores ! 
 
 Mortuum circumstant. 
 
 In vita generosum, in morte gloriosum, 
 
 Sepulcro te parant: 
 Patriae vexillo nunc involvere, 
 Gladium fulgentem tibi posuere, 
 
 Sepulcro apportant ! 
 
 Flores florescant, 
 Lacrimae cadant, 
 
 Triste super sepulturum ! 
 Virtutes clariores, 
 Memoriae dulciores, 
 
 In sempiterne futurum. 
 
 Sabbath Evening, August 9, 1863. 
 
 Moerens. 
 
 "We learn that the One Hundredth and Fortieth was 
 engaged only for a short time on the afternoon of Thursday, 
 the 2d inst. ; but the large number of killed and wounded 
 attests the fact that they must have been in the very hottest 
 of the fight; indeed we are assured on good authority that 
 it was almost a hand-to-hand struggle. In a very few 
 minutes after they went in, their brave commander, Colonel 
 Roberts fell dead while gallantly leading his men in the 
 fearful strife. Of Captain Acheson's company, only 38 were 
 engaged — the remainder having been detailed for other serv- 
 ice at the time — and of this number, it will be seen that 
 only five escaped without injury. The other companies 
 were also badly cut up, showing on the whole, that Wash- 
 ington County has suffered more in this one bloody battle 
 than in all the others since the commencement of the war. 
 The following are the names of the killed and wounded in 
 Company C as far as we have been able to gather them: 
 
 "Killed, Captain David Acheson, Sergeant J. D. Camp- 
 bell, Corporal Wm. Horton, Privates J. S. Kelly, Anthony 
 Mull, Simeon Vankirk, Thomas B. Lucas. 
 
 "Wounded — Lieutenant Isaac Vance, left hand ampu- 
 tated; Corporals James P. Sayers, left arm and leg, and 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C 309 
 
 Samuel Fergus, right hip; Privates James H. M'Farland, 
 slightly; John Blair, left hip; Isaac J. Cleaver, in the back 
 by shell; E. J. Cole, arm amputated; John A. Dickey, shoul- 
 der; N. K. Gilbert, right leg; Clark Irey, thigh; J. J. Jordan, 
 slightly; Alvin Newman, arm amputated; Charles Quail, 
 hand; Wm. J. Radcliffe, slightly; Pressley Shipley, shoulder 
 and side; James Stockwell, hand and breast, slightly; Colin 
 Waltz, arm off; Frank B. M'Near, thigh; Daniel F. Keeney, 
 left hand, slightly; Thomas M'Cune, hand, slightly; Samuel 
 Wise, slightly; T. Mowry, slightly — prisoner, since paroled; 
 Wm. Armstrong, missing, supposed killed; Albertus Patter- 
 son, missing, supposed killed; Jeff. Yonkers, slightly — pris- 
 oner, since paroled." 
 
 Lieutenant Vance was promoted to Captain of Company 
 C on the 23rd of September, 1863, but in consequence of dis- 
 ability following the amputation of his arm, was discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate, January 12, 1864. His successor was 
 Alex. W. Acheson, the younger brother of David Acheson, 
 who was promoted through the grades from Sergeant to Cap- 
 tain. His commission bears the date of January 30, 1864. 
 He was wounded at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, and dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate the following December. His 
 successor in command was John M. Ray, who was promoted 
 from Adjutant of the Regiment. 
 
 A recent article in the Pittsburgh Gazette-Times fur- 
 nishes some additional facts of interest relating to Captain 
 Ray and his associates : 
 
 "Captain Ray, originally Fourth Sergeant, served in all 
 the intermediate grades, and all the time at the front. He 
 has been for many years a resident of the North Side, his 
 occupation having been bookkeeper and manager of indus- 
 tries at the Western penitentiary. He is a past commander 
 of the Union Veteran Legion No. 1. 
 
 "William J. Cunningham was promoted from First Ser- 
 geant to First Lieutenant, December 13, 1863, and was 
 killed at Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865, two days before 
 Lee's surrender. Second Lieutenant Charles L. Linton be- 
 came Captain of Company D, May 1, 1863, and served until 
 after the end of hostilities, having been badly wounded at 
 Petersburg, June 17, 1864, which put him out of further 
 service in the field. First Sergeant Robert R. Reed, a class- 
 mate of David Acheson at 'old Wash.,' followed Linton, 
 
3io THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 but took sick and died at Georgetown, D. C, July 19, 1863, 
 and then came Alex. W. Acheson, a brother of Captain 
 David, as noted. Dr. A. W. Acheson now, he was better 
 known in the army as 'Sandy.' He now resides in Denni- 
 son, Tex., and is a brother of Ernest F. Acheson and the 
 late Marcus C. Acheson, of Pittsburgh." 
 
 There were doubtless many acts of personal heroism 
 which should be credited to the rank and file of Company C 
 which were not preserved in writing and have been forgotten 
 or cannot now be accredited. 
 
 The following instances have been gathered from notes 
 preserved by Corporal Philip A. Cooper, which are vouched 
 for as genuine and thoroughly reliable by his comrades : 
 
 In the close hand-to-hand conflict at Spottsylvania, on 
 the morning of May 12, 1864, a Confederate cannon and 
 carriage were left, between the lines, on the other side of the 
 line of breastworks which the Union troops were holding. 
 During a brief lull in the deadly strife, three men of Com- 
 pany C sprang over the works and tried to upset the cannon 
 so that it would fall on the Union side. For a moment or 
 two they tugged with might and main at this hazardous 
 undertaking, while minie balls were cutting the ground around 
 them; but it proved to be too heavy for them and they were 
 obliged to return without this coveted trophy. 
 
 The names of this trio of worthies were: Silas A. Sand- 
 ers, James B. Clemens and Sergeant William VanKirk. The 
 last-named comrade was present at every engagement in which 
 his Regiment took part and come off through all unscathed. 
 
 On another occasion, three men — Philip A. Cooper, John 
 Smalley and Leivis M. Cleaver — volunteered, in one of the 
 engagements at the Rapidan, to step out from the line of 
 defenses for the purpose of drawing the fire of the enemy 
 while the men belonging to a disabled battery made an attempt, 
 before the guns of the sharpshooters could be unloaded, to 
 draw off the guns. While thus exposing themselves to a 
 shower of balls in plain view of the opposing line of Con- 
 federates, the guns were successfully removed. 
 
 At Chancellorsville, while the Company was lying on the 
 
JoHK S. Bryan, A<Jjt. J. B. Joh» Co. G. 
 
 A. W; i. C. 
 
 Philip A I • . ( '.. DUNNING HABT, ( 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY C 311 
 
 ground in support of the Fifth Maine Battery, a solid shot 
 struck a musket in the front line and hurled it against three 
 men, two of whom were killed, and one was wounded. The 
 names of the men who were killed in this singular manner 
 were, Isaac Wall and Thomas Jones; the wounded man — 
 George Norris — recovered and was mustered out with his 
 Company after General Lee's surrender. 
 
 Corporal Cooper gives the name of another comrade, 
 Sergeant James P. Sayer, who was wounded four times on 
 the 2d of July, at Gettysburg. 
 
 At the date of its muster out, Company C had a Captain, 
 John M. Ray; a First Sergeant, 4 Sergeants, 6 Corporals, 1 
 musician and 15 privates: a total of 29 officers and men. 
 
 This remnant of a full company of officers and men, 
 which went to the front in the summer of 1862, returned to 
 Pittsburgh in the spring of 1865, where they were mustered 
 for final payment and then disbanded. 
 
 A reunion of all the returned soldiers who went out from 
 Washington City was held soon afterward in the borough of 
 Washington, at which a general "welcome home" was given 
 to the men of the various companies. 
 
312 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D, ONE 
 HUNDRED AND FORTIETH PENNSYLVA- 
 NIA VOLUNTEER INFANTRY. 
 
 John A. Wright. 
 
 There is a village in the southern part of Washington 
 County, Pennsylvania, bearing the beautiful name of Amity. 
 When, in the fall of 1862, Abraham Lincoln called for 300,- 
 000 more men to reinforce the army which for more than a 
 year had been fighting to suppress the most gigantic rebellion 
 of all history, and there came such a prompt and hearty re- 
 sponse from the loyal part of the country as cheered the 
 heart of the Nation's great leader, and encouraged the men 
 who had been facing the enemy on the field of battle, the 
 quiet and peaceful village of Amity and the surrounding 
 country caught the spirit. Silas Parker, of Amity, called for 
 men to go with him to war in response to the call of the im- 
 periled Nation. Men flocked to his standard from the village 
 and the country about it. 
 
 Matthias Minton, of Prosperity, a few miles distant, re- 
 cruited eighteen men and with them joined the Company: 
 and with two from Franklin township, and four from West 
 Bethlehem township, two from Washington and five from 
 Greene County, the Company reached the number ninety-eight. 
 
 Silas Parker was elected Captain, James Mannon, First 
 Lieutenant and Matthias Minton, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 Silas Parker was one of the most highly esteemed men 
 of the township, in which, for many years, he had taught 
 school, and of which he had for four years, been Justice of the 
 Peace. He was fifty-one years of age, a man of fine physique, 
 martial bearing and a commanding voice. 
 
 When almost enough men had been enrolled to make a 
 company, they went to the county seat, Washington, where, 
 on the twenty-second of August, 1862, the Company was 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D 313 
 
 mustered into the United States service for three years. 
 
 The Company encamped on the Fair grounds, sleeping 
 in one of the large halls there. Two other Companies, Ache- 
 son's and Stockton's were also encamped on the Fair grounds. 
 These afterwards became Companies C and K respectively of 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth. Silas Parker's Company, as 
 they came in from Amity, and marched along Main Street 
 to the Fair grounds, made an impression on the people of 
 Washington as a fine-looking body of men. 
 
 It may be said truthfully, that the "cream of the com- 
 munity" was taken when the Amity Company, as it was called, 
 went to war; the Justice of the Peace of the township, the 
 Captain of the Company ; the expert cabinet maker and village 
 undertaker, James A. Bebout; the tanner, Isaac Sharp, who 
 left a yard full of hides ; the miller, C. D. Sharp ; men promi- 
 nent in the community and in the church, business men, farm- 
 ers and young men were enrolled in the Company. There 
 were about half a dozen boys under eighteen, and one of them, 
 Joe Meeks, not yet sixteen, was so youthful in appearance that. 
 as we marched up Main Street on the day we left for Pitts- 
 burg, people were heard to say, "Oh, see that poor little 
 bov." 
 
 Lieutenant Minton brought with him into the Company, 
 some of the best men of the village of Prosperity and Morris 
 township. The Company was largely composed of moral and 
 Christian men, only the few indulged in profanity or were ever 
 the worse for liquor. Perhaps one-half were church members. 
 Every commissioned officer, each one of the five sergeants 
 and all but one or two of the eight corporals were members 
 of church. 
 
 Few Companies of the vast army that saved the Union 
 made greater sacrifices than did the Amity Company. Cap- 
 tain Parker laid his all upon his country's altar, taking with 
 him his two eldest sons, one of whom was under eighteen, 
 and leaving a wife and several small children. Philo Paul 
 left his farm, wife and nine children. James A. Bebout, H. C. 
 Swart, Amos Swart, John Black, L. W. Day, Leicester Be- 
 bout, John Siber and others left families. We had some men 
 
314 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 who were unsurpassed in their soldierly appearance. Captain 
 Parker. James A. Bebout and Philo Paul were among them. 
 One day at Brandy Station, Va., when an officer was in- 
 specting the Regiment, as he came to Philo Paul and saw how 
 erect he stood and noticed his determined look, his clean gun, 
 polished gun barrel and brass pieces, he stopped in front of 
 him and said: "There is a model soldier." 
 
 It is worthy of record that there were thirteen sets of 
 brothers: four Swarts, H. C, Amos, John and A.J. ; three 
 Bebouts, James A., Beden and William; two Bakers, Enoch 
 and Zachariah ; two Currys, Andrew and Levi ; two Cunning- 
 hams, Charles and Alpheus ; two Dotys, Wilson and Thomas ; 
 two Sharps, C. D. and Isaac ; two Evans, Samuel and Nathan ; 
 two Bells, Sample and Hays; two Siberts, John and James; 
 two Parkers, Hamilton and Albert; two Millers, James and 
 Lyman ; two Teegardens, George and W'illiam. 
 
 After a few days of encampment, drilling and completing 
 the enrollment, marching orders came and the three companies 
 were transported by wagons to Pittsburgh. Before leaving 
 Washington, the Amity Company was lined up in front of the 
 Fulton House and H. J. Van Kirk, Esq., in a neat speech, 
 presented to Captain Parker a handsome sword, which had 
 been purchased by the ladies of Washington, under the lead- 
 ership of Mrs. Judge McKennon. This sword is now in the 
 rooms of the Washington Historical Society, having been pre- 
 sented to it by W. S. Parker, Esq., a son of Captain Parker. 
 
 Arriving at Pittsburgh we were taken to Camp Wilkins. 
 Here we were uniformed and equipped and the last twelve re- 
 cruits were sworn into the service, making an aggregate of 
 98 in the Company. In a day or two with other companies 
 we were taken on the cars to Harrisburg, Pa., and quartered 
 in Camp Curtin, where, on the eighth of September, the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Regiment was organized. The Amity 
 Company, which called itself "The Ten-Mile Infantry," after 
 the name of a creek flowing near the village, became Com- 
 pany D of the Regiment. 
 
 The day after our arrival at Camp Curtin, the members 
 of the Company were afforded some amusement at the expense 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D 315 
 
 of two of the Company. An order had come to each com- 
 pany of the Regiment for a small detail of men, perhaps five 
 or six, for police duty. Our orderly sergeant told us of the 
 order and said he would make no detail but would ask for 
 volunteers. One of our Company said to one of his tent 
 mates, "Let's volunteer. It will be a snap. It is duty in the 
 city, standing on the street corners and hailing all passing 
 soldiers to show their passes." He and his friend volunteered 
 and also others. Instead of being taken into the city they 
 were given picks and shovels and put to work cleaning up the 
 camp. This experience of raw recruits (as we all then were) 
 became a standing joke on them and it ended volunteering for 
 police duty, for we all learned then the military use of the 
 term. 
 
 After a few days sojourn at Camp Curtin, the Regiment 
 was ordered to Parkton Station, Maryland, on the Northern 
 Central Railroad, to guard that thoroughfare from the New 
 England and the Middle States to Washington. Five or six 
 companies were distributed at various points along the route. 
 Company D was ordered to Bee Tree Station, two or three 
 miles north of Parkton Station. Our Company was in a 
 small meadow on the farm of "Watty" Walker, as we called 
 him; and we guarded the bridges on a meandering stream 
 from Bee Tree Station to Walker's Switch. In addition to 
 the guard duty we drilled daily in company formations and 
 the manual of arms ; and once in awhile went to Parkton for 
 Regimental drill or inspection. 
 
 After about three months on the railroad, and when we 
 had almost completed our cabins for winter quarters, we were 
 suddenly ordered to join the Regiment at Parkton, 'and then 
 the Regiment took cars for Washington City. Thence we 
 marched to Fredericksburg, Va., and joined the Army of 
 the Potomac. 
 
 As the history of the Regiment involves that of each 
 company, and as Company D was in all the marches, cam- 
 paigns, battles and skirmishes of the Regiment, we shall now 
 give facts and incidents that relate especially to the Company. 
 
 While we were in winter quarters near Falmouth, Va., 
 
TH1 r\. HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 our Captain broke down in health. The experience of a three 
 days' picket trip was too much for one of his years, fifty-one. 
 No fire was allowed on the outposts; it rained most of these 
 
 three days and his wet clothes froze On his person. A very 
 severe cold resulted; his lungs became hopelessly affected; he 
 went home, resigned his command April t6, [863, and. died 
 in June. 
 
 Our Company, at this time, was unfortunate in regard to 
 commissioned officers. Our Captain, broken down in health, 
 had gone home to die; Lieutenant Mannon had been dismissed. 
 unjustly, most of us regarded it; and Lieutenant Minton, a 
 true gentleman, held in high esteem by all the Company, had 
 been disabled through sickness and 111 August. [863, resigned 
 his place. Lieutenant Charles L. Linton, oi Company C. was 
 appointed to take command of the Company and on May 1, 
 [863, was commissioned Captain. We were displeased be- 
 cause one from another Company was taken to command us, 
 as we thought we had men in the Company able to till the 
 position. However, the prejudice, for this reason against 
 Captain Linton, gradually wore away, as he proved himself to 
 be a very affable gentleman and a brave and skillful officer, 
 and he became one of the most popular officers of the Regi 
 ment. 
 
 During the winter oi l86_' and 180 }, while in winter 
 quarters near Falmouth, the Company shared with the other 
 companies of the Regiment in the frequent battalion and 
 brigade drills and in picket duty along the Rappahannock 
 River. Several of the Company were out on picket on that 
 severe cold night, the twenty-second of February, 1803. (the 
 coldest night of the war) and some of these pickets almost 
 froze to death. Abner Knox froze his feet so badly that he 
 was disabled for service, was discharged and suffered more or 
 less throughout the rest of his life. 
 
 On the fust, second and third of May, 1863, was fought 
 the battle of Chancellorsville. This was the Regiment's first 
 battle. It tested the mettle of the men. Not a company 
 flinched under the tire of the enemy. Company D distin- 
 guished itself in the rescue of the guns of the Fifth Maine 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY D 317 
 
 Battery at the Chancellor House on the morning of May 3, 
 near the close of the fight. After this battery, which the 
 Regiment and other troops of Hancock's command had been 
 supporting, had been silenced by the fierce and accurate firing 
 of the Confederate batteries, Company D took a prominent 
 part in the rescue of the guns. This rescue of the guns and 
 caissons from the charging, cheering and exultant Confeder- 
 ates was one of the most heroic acts of the war. When the 
 call was made for volunteers to save the guns, Captain Linton 
 and thirty-two men of Company D rushed into the storm of 
 shot and shell and hauled off four guns and caissons, taking 
 them back (according to Captain Linton's written statement 
 in the National Tribune a few years ago) about 500 yards, 
 when the Irish Brigade took them. There were others from 
 other companies, and likely from other regiments, who 
 joined in the work of the rescue of the battery, but we claim 
 that there were more of Company D than of any other com- 
 pany or command. 
 
 As there has been much discussion through the columns 
 of the National Tribune as to "who saved the guns at Chan- 
 cellorsville," I give the names of those of Company D who 
 helped do it: Captain Linton, Corporals John A. Black, L. W. 
 Day, Bcden Bebout, James A. Bebotlt, Isaac Sharp and James 
 M. Hughes, and Privates Philo Paul, Peter Phillips, Amos 
 Swart, Charles Guttcry, Isaac Lacock, William Watson, Jos- 
 eph Evans, Jacob Voders, James Hathaway, John L. Hath- 
 away, James Birch, Jacob McAfee, Zachariah Baker, George 
 S. Moore, Simon Sanders, James Miles, Enoch Baker, Joseph 
 Meeks, Wilson Doty, Thomas Doty, Abner Birch, John San- 
 ders and three more whose names we have been unable to 
 obtain. John Sanders was wounded while saving the battery 
 and soon died from the wound. 
 
 There were some very narrow escapes in battle. Some of 
 the incidents I give in the language of Manaen Sharp, in a 
 pamphlet prepared by him for a Memorial Day at Amity. 
 
 At Chancellorsville, while rescuing the Fifth Maine Bat- 
 tery, "Captain Linton and Isaac Sharp took hold of a limber 
 and while lifting it a shell passed under it, just missing their 
 
3i8 77//:' ()A7-: nr.XDKHD .LXD 1-OKTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 feet. Woods Day was trying to lift a wheel of another gun 
 when a shell exploded right under the gain." 
 
 "James Miles had some very close calls. At Gettysburg 
 a ball struck his cap box and another passed through his 
 whiskers and wounded Jacob Yoders on the left arm. At 
 Petersburg a ball struck the ground with such force as to 
 throw gravel into his face, drawing blood freely from his 
 mouth. His Captain. J. F. Bell, thought he was badly hurt. 
 In the battle of Cold Harbor, a bullet lodged in the canteen 
 of J. Walton Hughes." 
 
 "At the presidential election in 1864, the soldiers were 
 about to vote. Company D was in front of Petersburg where 
 everything had to be done under cover. Captain J. F. Bell 
 was President of the Election Board. John Closser and John 
 Kelly were the Inspectors. While examining the ballots, a 
 large shell from Gocvse Neck struck and exploded right in 
 their midst, covering them with dust and earth, but not a 
 man was hurt." 
 
 There were individual acts of coolness and bravery in 
 battle that are worthy of record. 
 
 At Chancellorsville, Joseph Evans, who was one of the 
 volunteers to save the guns of the Fifth Maine Battery, saw 
 two horses hitched to a caisson in that terrific storm of shriek- 
 ing and bursting shells, and mounting one of the horses, rode 
 off the field and saved the caisson. 
 
 "At Gettysburg, where bullets were flying thick and fast 
 and doing their deadly work, Sergeant H. C. Swart stopped 
 right in the midst of this hail of bullets and cut the accoutre- 
 ment straps from James Hughes, who had been wounded, gave 
 him a drink and helped him to a stone fence. John Swart, 
 while in battle, got a bullet fastened in his gun. He delib- 
 erately sat down on the battle line, cut it out with his knife, 
 and went on with the fight. Harvey Swart, John Kelly and 
 George Redd were detailed to guard an important bridge over 
 the North Anna River. There should have been twenty in- 
 stead of three. They held the bridge by keeping up a hot fire 
 all night. When they would run short of ammunition one of 
 the three would go back and bring up a supply and they would 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF < OMPANY I J »9 
 
 continue the fire, making the Confederates believe that a large 
 force was holding the bridge." 
 
 I close this sketch with the narration of some individual 
 acts of kindness, showing the devotion of the men of Com- 
 pany D to each other and their sacrifices for the welfare of 
 others. 
 
 When the pickets returned to camp on that cold February 
 morning of 1863 and reported that Harvey Swart was unable 
 to get in, Captain Parker at once got an ambulance and went 
 out and brought him in, nearly frozen. 
 
 At the battle of Gettysburg, on the second of July, when 
 the Union troops on the left of the line, at the wheatfield and 
 the peach orchard, were falling back, A. J. Swart, at the risk 
 of his life, tried to take with him his wounded friend and 
 comrade, James A. Bebout, and had taken him some distance 
 when the enemy came so close that his wounded friend n 
 quested him to lay him down and save himself from captun 
 
 After the repulse on the third day at Gettysburg, Enoch 
 French found the dead body of James A. Bebout, where it had 
 been placed between two rocks by A. J. Swart, fie pinned a 
 paper on his coat with his name on it and a request to the 
 burial party to mark his grave. He sent home what he found 
 in his pockets. 
 
 "At Cold Harbor, Samuel Evans was wounded and lay 
 between the lines. It was not known whether he was alive 
 or dead. His friend, John L. Hathaway, who had been watch- 
 ing, saw his blanket move, and against the advice of his com- 
 rades, deliberately arose in full view of the enemy, and walked 
 to his friend and made him as comfortable as he could. In 
 admiration of his bravery, the Confederates did not fire a 
 gun until he had started back to the Union lines, when a hail 
 of bullets was fired at him. He was hit and knocked down. 
 He grabbed a rebel haversack from the ground to make them 
 think they had not hit him and finally got back to his comrades, 
 but in a fainting condition." 
 
 At Chancellorsville, John Black and James Miles risked 
 their lives to take off the field, John A. Wright, who was 
 lying on the ground wounded and helpless. On the night fol- 
 
320 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 lowing the battle of Chancellorsville, Corporal \V. C. Ramsey 
 went to the receiving hospital of the First Division of the Sec- 
 ond Corps in the woods and found Sergeant Moses McCollum 
 and private John A. Wright, who were lying side by side, 
 made them coffee, put his own blanket over them for the 
 night, returned the next morning and made them more coffee. 
 
 On the night of the withdrawal from Deep Bottom, John 
 A. Wright, who had been suffering with the scourge of the 
 soldier, diarrhoea, became dizzy while marching and began to 
 stagger. Captain Bell took hold of his hand and led him. 
 but soon seeing that he could not do this and keep up with 
 the Company, ordered William Williams to fall out of ranks 
 and take care of him. 
 
 Two of the Company (whose names we regret are not 
 remembered) then took his gun and knapsack, and suspend- 
 ing the knapsack on the gun. carried it between them. Wil- 
 liams stayed by the sick man all the night, all the next day, 
 a very hot one in July, the next night and part of the follow- 
 ing day, when they reached the camp of the Regiment near 
 Petersburg. 
 
 These ami other acts of self-sacrifice show the mettle of 
 the men who marched forth to war from Amity and Prosperity 
 and their vicinities. Is it any wonder that the writer feels a 
 very tender attachment to the men of this Company, and is it 
 any wonder that he has often said in private conversation and 
 public addresses that there is no body of men to whom he is 
 so tenderly and strongly attached as to the men of Company D, 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers? 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY E 321 
 
 COMPANY E, ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 This Company was recruited in Washington and Fay- 
 ette, Monongahela City and Uniontown, being the recruiting- 
 stations. 
 
 Owing to the necessity for prompt organization into com- 
 panies, the men, who had been enrolled across the line in 
 Fayette County were ordered to report to the recruiting officers 
 at Monongahela City and, on their arrival, were consolidated 
 with the Washington County recruits. As they numbered 
 only about one-forth of the Company thus constituted, the 
 captaincy went to the larger body, it being understood that 
 the smaller contingent should have a fair proportion of the 
 offices below that grade. 
 
 As originally organized the officers were : Aaron Gregg, 
 Captain; Thomas A. Stone, First Lieutenant, and Irwin F. 
 Sansom, Second Lieutenant. As soon as these arrangements 
 were completed the Company was ordered into camp at Pitts- 
 burgh, and thence after a few days to Camp Curtin, at Harris- 
 burg, where the regimental organization was completed. 
 
 The permanent position assigned to the Company was 
 fourth from the center in the left wing or next to Company A 
 on the extreme left of the Regiment. 
 
 Its heaviest reported losses in battle were at Gettysburg, 
 Spottsylvania and Petersburg. Its heaviest proportional loss 
 seems to have been at Totopotomy Creek where a shell from an 
 exploding battery, tore two men to pieces and wounded several 
 others in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 Captain Gregg was discharged on surgeon's certificate, 
 June 5, 1863, and Lieutenant Stone resigned February 6, 
 1863. These officers were succeeded in order of rank by Lieu- 
 tenant Sansom promoted to Captain, September 1. 1863 and 
 
322 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Sergeant James A. Russell, promoted to First Lieutenant. 
 November 6, 1863. 
 
 Lieutenant Russel was discharged January 13, 1865 an( ^ 
 First Sergeant William D. Lank became First Lieutenant in 
 his stead. He was killed at Sailors' Creek a few days before 
 the surrender of General Lee and was buried in the Poplar 
 Grove, National Cemetery, at Petersburg, Va. Francis R. 
 Stover became Second Lieutenant, March 30, 1863 and was 
 discharged by special order of the War Department in Decem- 
 ber of the same year. 
 
 The last Captain of the Company was Jesse T. Power, 
 who was promoted from Corporal to Sergeant, November 10. 
 1863; from Sergeant to Captain, February 10, 1865. At 
 Spottsylvania he was the youngest member of the color guard 
 and one of the members who picked up the flag when it had 
 fallen and carried it until he himself was stricken and com- 
 pelled to relinquish it to other hands. Captain Power received 
 his commission when he was but eighteen years of age and 
 had the honor of leading his Company in the last campaign 
 of the war and also of bringing its survivors home. 
 
 At its muster out, this Company had a Captain, Jesse T. 
 Power; a Second Lieutenant, William A. McMillian, assigned 
 to it from Company I ; a First Sergeant, John Barkley ; 3 
 Sergeants, 2 Corporals, 1 Musician and 13 Privates — a total 
 of 22. 
 
 The full number of the Company at the date of muster in 
 was 101 officers and men. 
 
 Note. — This sketch was prepared from data furnished by Ser- 
 geant A. G. Beeson and from other available sources. — R. L. S. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY F 323 
 
 HISTORY OF COMPANY F.* 
 
 This Company, like the other independent organizations 
 which made up the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, 
 was recruited in response to the President's call, issued in 
 July, 1862, for 300,000 volunteers. 
 
 It was a time of great excitement and prompt decisions. 
 Everywhere men left their homes, abandoning their peaceful 
 pursuits and cherished purposes for the future, and flocked 
 to their nearest villages and towns to enroll themselves among 
 the defenders of the country. 
 
 Richard P. Roberts, one of the foremost lawyers of the 
 Beaver Bar, a fearless advocate and supporter of the Lincoln 
 administration, obtained permission from Governor Curtin to 
 recruit a Beaver County company. 
 
 John D. Stokes, a noted Sunday school worker, cour- 
 ageous, religious and determined, who believed what he 
 taught and carried that belief into everyday life, began also 
 to solicit recruits from the section in which he lived and had 
 great influence. 
 
 Alexander Calvert, a resident of Hopewell Township, 
 who at that time was preparing himself to enter the Theo- 
 logical Seminary, came over with a dozen or two of men, 
 and another addition was secured in Rochester by Wm. S. 
 Shellenberger. 
 
 With these several bands recruited in different sections of 
 the county, Company F was made up. 
 
 Men who had been watching the progress of the war for 
 over a year, and who had formed their estimates and opinions, 
 and who thoroughly understood that it was to be no child's 
 play, were thus brought together and freely offered their serv- 
 ices to save the imperilled nation. 
 
 ♦Abbreviated and condensed from published history of Company 
 F by Corporal Andrew G. White. 
 
324 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Assembling at the county seat, in Beaver, the Company 
 was organized on the 9th of August, 1862, by electing Richard 
 P. Roberts, Captain; John D. Stokes, First Lieutenant; 
 Thomas Henry, Second Lieutenant. 
 
 W. S. Shellenberger was made First Sergeant of the Com- 
 pany by appointment of the Captain. 
 
 Thus organized, the officers and men were sworn into 
 the LTnited States service on the public square in front of the 
 Court House on the 9th of August, 1862. 
 
 Now began the daily drill under an experienced master, 
 John McManamy. Every forenoon and afternoon the Com- 
 pany was put through the manoeuvres until the 31st of August, 
 when the Captain received order to report with his command 
 to the officials at Harrisburg. 
 
 On the first day of September we bade good-bye to the 
 friends and dear ones of our community and homes ; and in 
 a downpour of rain, to the tune of "The Girl I Left Behind 
 Me," marched away — many of that little band of 10 1 men 
 never to return, but to lay down their lives that the nation 
 might live. 
 
 Our line of march was up Third Street, through Beaver 
 and on through West Bridgewater and Rochester, to the Penn- 
 sylvania Station. Here we boarded the train, and as we pulled 
 out from the station, looked back upon hundreds of our friends 
 and well-wishers who had gathered to see us off and bid a 
 final farewell. We returned their cheers, salutes of waving 
 handkerchiefs, hats, etc., so long as we were within sight and 
 hearing; and then, while they returned sadly to their homes, 
 we sped on toward the city of Pittsburg. 
 
 Leaving the train at the Allegheny Station, we were 
 marched over to Wilkins' Hall in Pittsburg, where we were 
 quartered for the day and fed at the expense of the city. 
 
 At 8 P. M. we left the hall, marched up Liberty Avenue 
 in another dashing rain to the Union Station, where we took 
 the night train for the East, arriving in Harrisburg a little 
 before daybreak. After breakfast, which was served in an old 
 barrack near the station, we were marched out to Camp Cur- 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY F 325 
 
 tin. Here began our first experience on the tented field. 
 Henry Edwards was detailed as company cook, and well did 
 he perform that duty; the only trouble he had was to get 
 something to cook. 
 
 But oh! Sleeping on the hard board floors; to many 
 it was a new and trying experience, and, to some, almost fatal. 
 Here our first man broke down. Harvey Brown caught a cold, 
 from which he contracted asthma, which ended his military 
 career. 
 
 In a few days we drew clothing, with the usual experi- 
 ence of misfits, and sent our citizen's clothing home by express. 
 
 Here, in Camp Curtin, we remained, drilling every day 
 until September 8th, when we were organized into the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 The Regiment was made up of four companies from 
 Washington County, three from Beaver, one from Greene and 
 one from Mercer County. Here our Captain was elected 
 Colonel and our Orderly Sergeant, W. S. Shellenberger, was 
 appointed Adjutant. On the following day we received arms 
 — the Belgian rifle, with big, heavy sabre bayonets — and on 
 September 10th, at 4 P. M., left Camp Curtin and proceeded 
 by rail down the North Central Railroad to Parkton Station, 
 twenty-five miles from Baltimore. Here the Company went 
 into camp with Companies B, G and Q, the rest of the Regi- 
 ment being distributed along the road to do guard duty. 
 
 By the promotion of Captain Roberts to Colonel of the 
 Regiment and First Sergeant Shellenberger to the rank of 
 Adjutant, two vacancies were made in the offices of the Com- 
 pany. As the result of an election, which was held September 
 15th, Thomas Henry was chosen as Captain and Alex. Calvert 
 Second Lieutenant. John D. Stokes retained his position as 
 First Lieutenant of the Company, and by regular promotion, 
 Sergeant Andrew M. Purdy became the First, or Orderly 
 Sergeant. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the Regiment received its colors, and 
 Robert Riddle was appointed Color Sergeant. 
 
 Here, in Camp Seward, the Company remained for nearly 
 
jjo THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 three months, sharing- in the experiences of the rest of the 
 battalion. Each day had its regularly appointed service of 
 guard duty, its drills, dress parades, inspections, etc., etc. 
 
 On the 10th of December the Company broke camp and, 
 with the rest of the Regiment, took passage for the front in 
 a train of box and cattle cars. On the heights directly be- 
 hind Falmouth. Va.. we cleared a grove of its heavy timber 
 and constructed comfortable winter huts. 
 
 From the date of our arrival at this place — December 
 joth — we became a constituent part of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac. Our assignment was to General Zook's Brigade of the 
 First Division, Second Army Corps. At a later date we were 
 transferred to the First Brigade, but our connection with the 
 First Division continued unbroken until we were mustered out 
 of the service. 
 
 With the rest of the Regiment we participated in the 
 drills, reviews, inspections and regular details for camp and 
 picket duty during the winter and spring of 1S63. 
 
 At Chancellorsville Company F, while supporting the 
 Fifth Maine Battery, close to the Chancellor House, was called 
 upon for a detail of men to assist in rescuing a number of 
 wounded soldiers from this building, which had been set on 
 fire by the enemy's shells. Captain Henry promptly responded 
 to this call, and rushing into the burning building, by the east 
 entrance, brought out thirty-three wounded men and three 
 badly frightened women. 
 
 At Gettysburg Company F was the second company from 
 the right of the Regiment. Eight were killed or mortally 
 wounded, seventeen were more or less seriously injured, and 
 eight were captured. 
 
 The Company left the Gettysburg field with eleven men 
 out of forty-nine taken into action. At Falling Waters, how- 
 ever, twelve men, who had been on special detail for the guard- 
 ing of cattle, were returned in the rank and file, making a 
 total of twenty-two for active service. 
 
 While in winter quarters — Yw'64 — the Company received 
 nineteen recruits. These men had been gathered up in West- 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY /• 327 
 
 ern Pennsylvania of officers detailed for this purpose In the 
 general history, the part taken by this Company in the wilder- 
 ness campaign and in the events which followed, up to the 
 surrender of General Lee, has been already given. 
 
 After this surrender the long-looked-for and the lone- 
 hoped-for order arrived — "Homeward bound," — and Com- 
 pany F, in its place as second in line, with the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth leading the Corps, steps out with its old-time 
 swing for home and "God's country." 
 
 Back to and through Richmond, over the well-beaten 
 tracks, over former battlefields, where comrades dear had 
 given up their young lives. What memories come crowding 
 back! In fancy we live the scenes over again. Here in this 
 ravine we seem to see in shadowy outline the blanched face 
 of one so dear as he fell dead at our feet, and, oh ! how we 
 regret now that in the rush and excitement of the charge we 
 did not have the chance even to stop and receive his good-bye. 
 
 Scattered around we see the little mounds that cover the 
 remains of comrades gone and true ; so, uncovered and with 
 bowed heads, we stand looking at these hastily made graves 
 that hold the remains of those who in vigorous, young man- 
 hood started out with us to find these lonely resting places. 
 
 Then the thought comes, Oh, war! Cruel, inhuman, 
 blackfaced war! Thank God it is all over at last. And, with 
 eyes raised to heaven, we silently return thanks to the Giver 
 of all good that at last our task is finished; that, under the 
 blessing of God, this "Government of the people, for the people 
 and by the people" shall not perish from the earth : nor have 
 these sacrifices been made in vain. 
 
 Then bidding good-bye to these graves of our loved com- 
 rades who now so peacefully sleep in the soil of old Vir- 
 ginia, we turn our faces once more to the rosy East. And 
 now onward, up through Fredericksburg and on to the Cap- 
 itol, which we find still draped in mourning for our lamented 
 Lincoln, we go into camp not far from that city of the dead 
 — "Arlington Cemetery." 
 
 A few days more, and what is left of Company F goes, 
 
328 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 proudly swinging, up Pennsylvania Avenue in the Great Re- 
 view, where the representatives of the earth uncover and wave 
 welcome to the returning victors of the greatest war this old 
 mother earth has record of. 
 
 Little remains now to be told. Once more on board the 
 trains bound for dear, dirty old Pittsburg, where, in a few 
 days more, the Company is mustered out of service; then 
 home. sw r eet home, to receive hugs and kisses from loved 
 ones who have watched, waited and prayed for this happy 
 event. 
 
 Company F left Beaver with 101 men, and received re- 
 cruits to the number of nineteen, making a total enrolled 
 of 1 20. 
 
 Sixteen of the Company, including our Colonel, were 
 killed in battle, eleven died of wounds received in battle, and 
 two from other causes, making a total of twenty-nine. 
 
 At the muster out thirty-two were present. The changes, 
 promotions, discharges and transfers to other commands are 
 given in the Regimental Roster and need not be repeated 
 here. 
 
Mess No. 9 Co. G. 
 A Haversack of Mess No. 9. which preserved its owner from serious damage at 
 
 Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 
 Robt. Laird Stewart. James S. Rankin. E. G. Emery. 
 
 James Sloan. Boyd Atkinson. John R. Mitchell. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY G 329 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY G. 
 
 BY 
 
 James W. Pollock, Washington, Pa. 
 Company Historian. 
 
 Company G, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania 
 Volunteers, was recruited at Canonsburg, Pa., from the 1st 
 to the 20th of August, 1862, by John Fraser, Professor of 
 Mathematics in Jefferson College and Hon. Henry H. Bing- 
 ham, of Philadelphia, who at that time had just received his 
 diploma from the college. 
 
 The local designation of the Company, in accordance with 
 the custom of time, was "The Brown Guards of Canonsburg," 
 so named in honor of Dr. Alexander B. Brown a greatly be- 
 loved Ex-President of Jefferson College, who, shortly before 
 his death, had shown himself to be one of the most loyal and 
 enthusiastic defenders of the integrity of the Nation. 
 
 On the 20th day of August the several members of the 
 Company assembled at Canonsburg and were taken to Camp 
 Howe, near Pittsburgh in carriages and spring wagons, fur- 
 nished free of charge by the patriotic citizens of the town 
 and vicinity. Those who passed the physical examination dur- 
 ing the 2 1 st were on the 22nd of August, 1862, mustered into 
 the United States service for a term of three years, or during 
 the war. 
 
 FAREWELL RECEPTION. 
 
 Before leaving, however, the members were given a fare- 
 well reception by the citizens in College Chapel. The friends 
 of the boys and many others were present and it was a sad 
 time and yet they were proud too — proud that they had boys 
 who were going to fight for their country. A number of 
 addresses were delivered by prominent citizens and by men 
 connected with Jefferson College. To each member of the 
 Company was given a New Testament; then the good-byes 
 
330 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 were said, and the Company formed in line on the campus 
 and marched down Central Avenue to Pike Street and out to 
 Greenside Avenue, where the wagons and carriages were in 
 waiting; into these after the calling of the roll the boys climbed 
 and they were "off for the war." The backward look at 
 the town from Curry's Hill on the Pike was the final sight 
 of Canonsburg for more than a third of those who went away 
 that hot August day. 
 
 On September 4th the members of the Company were 
 taken from Camp Howe at Pittsburgh, by way of the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad to Camp Curtin at Harrisburg, Pa., where 
 on the 8th of September they were joined in the organization 
 of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania 
 Volunters and were henceforth known as members of Com- 
 pany G. 
 
 One hundred and two members were mustered into the 
 United States service August 22, 1862. One recruit was 
 added making 103 in all. Of this number 17 were killed on 
 the field of battle. Four were mortally wounded and died in 
 the hospitals. One was drowned in the Appomattox River. 
 Three of those who had been captured, died in prison during 
 the war and ten died of disease. Two have been accidentally 
 killed since the war. Thirty-five died from result of wounds 
 and diseases since the war and thirty-one are living. The 
 Company took part with the Regiment in all the duties, 
 marches and engagements from its organization at Harris- 
 burg, Pa., on September 8th, 1862, until the Company was 
 mustered out of the United States service on May 31, 1865, 
 near Alexandria, Va., by reason of General Order No. 26, 
 Headquarters, Army of the Potomac. 
 
 ONE HUNDRED AND THREE WENT OUT; TWENTY-EIGHT 
 
 RETURNED. 
 
 The Company was given free transportation back to 
 Camp Howe at Pittsburgh, where on Saturday afternoon, 
 June 3, 1865, the members received their final pay. They re- 
 mained in the city of Pittsburgh until Monday, June 5th, when 
 the 28 survivors being all of the Company present on the 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY G 331 
 
 previous Saturday to answer to their names and receive their 
 pay, were escorted back to Canonsburg in buggies, carriages 
 and spring wagons, where they received a royal welcome, as 
 attested by the following account written at the time for pub- 
 lication. 
 
 SOLDIERS' RECEPTION AT CANONSBURG. 
 
 Return of Company G, One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment. 
 
 Addresses of Welcome by Rev. Dr. Riddle, William McDaniel, 
 Esq., and Rev. F. Collier — Touching Ceremony in the 
 College Chapel — Entertainment at the Clifton Mouse in 
 the Evening. 
 
 As the rebellion is about over and our noble boys are re- 
 turning from the bloody scenes of war to their homes, and are 
 receiving a hearty welcome from their friends in different 
 parts of the country, we thought it would not be amiss to give 
 your readers an idea of how Canonsburg received the gallant 
 veterans who have stood as a wall of fire between our homes 
 and danger. 
 
 Late on Saturday evening, the 3d inst., word came to 
 town that the boys of Company G, One Hundred and For- 
 tieth Regiment, were in Pittsburgh. Immediately a meeting 
 of the citizens was called and a committee of arrangements 
 appointed to send for the boys and also to make preparations 
 for giving them an appropriate reception. 
 
 Some seven or eight wagons left for Pittsburgh to bring 
 them over. On Monday morning arrangements were made 
 for a grand demonstration in the College Chapel and for a 
 supper at the Clifton House in the evening. About 4 o'clock 
 in the afternoon the ringing of the bell announced the arrival 
 at the bridge on the Pittsburgh pike. Fifes and drums were 
 immediately put in requisition, and as their martial strains 
 were poured forth, a large concourse of citizens of all ages, 
 sizes, sexes and colors were soon on their way to meet the 
 
332 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 war-worn heroes and bid them welcome to their homes. 
 
 Meeting them at the bridge we escorted them to the Col- 
 lege Chapel, where an organization took place by appointing 
 Burgess James McCullough, Esq., chairman. The exercises 
 were opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Smith. This venerable 
 divine, whose voice was tremulous with age, was almost over- 
 come with emotions that crowded upon him, as well he might 
 be, having lost two noble sons in this unholy rebellion. After 
 prayer the Rev. Dr. Riddle welcomed the sun-browned heroes 
 back to their homes in a very neat and appropriate address. 
 
 Then came the calling of the original roll of the Com- 
 pany by Orderly Sergeant Pollock. The members present 
 answered to their own names. Lieutenant Paxton, acting 
 Captain, answered for the absent, and the tears could be seen 
 coursing down many a cheek as he called out, "Killed at 
 Gettysburg;" "Killed at Chancellorsville ;" "Wounded at the 
 Wilderness, since died in the hospital;" and so on. Thus 
 all the noble Company, numbering, when they went out, one 
 hundred and three men, were accounted for as having nobly 
 done their duty. 
 
 Next in order came William McDaniel, Esq., who spoke 
 of the hearty welcome and greeting given to those who were 
 permitted to return, and of the sorrow for those who now 
 sleep on every battlefield from Rapidan to Richmond. His 
 speech was received with thunders of applause. 
 
 He was followed by the Rev. Mr. Collier, who made one 
 of the most chaste and telling speeches it has ever been our 
 privilege to listen to, welcoming the brave boys back to their 
 fathers, mothers, wives and sisters and especially their sweet- 
 hearts, hoping they may have many a skirmish by moonlight, 
 and if captured need not fear starvation in the arms of a 
 northern "Libby." After this eloquent speech, three rousing 
 cheers were given for the members of Company G. The band 
 struck up a National air and the Company and citizens marched 
 in procession to the Clifton House, where was prepared one of 
 the finest suppers ever partaken of. All honor to Mr. Brlce- 
 land and his lady for this fine entertainment. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY G 333 
 
 After supper several toasts were read, among- which were 
 the following: 
 "The members of Company G, One Hundred and Fortieth 
 
 Regiment : 
 
 "Long may they live to enjoy the benedictions of their 
 fellow-countrymen for helping to save one of the best gov- 
 ernments God ever gave to man." 
 
 Mr. Thomas A. Perrine, of the senior class of Jefferson 
 College, who lost his right arm at the Battle of Chancellors- 
 ville while a member of the Company, responded to the above 
 sentiment as follows : 
 
 "This is a day of days for Company G; a day to be re- 
 membered long and well by these war-worn veterans clad 
 in their uniforms of dingy blue, the garb of true American 
 nobility; a day for which we all, soldiers and citizens, have 
 looked and longed and prayed right earnestly. 
 
 "Father and son, brother and sister, husband and wife, 
 lover and sweetheart, now greet each other once more after 
 many long months of watching and waiting in tearful and 
 prayerful suspense. To-day the soldier returning to the home 
 he left, not that he loved home comforts less, but that he loved 
 his country more, after many weary marches and hard-fought 
 battles, many days of toil and nights of danger, is filled with 
 gladness at these numerous indications of love and gratitude. 
 You who three years ago parted from him in tears, to-day 
 welcome him home with smiles and open arms. Your counte- 
 nances beaming with pleasure as well as sweet words of 
 thanks and praise tell him that his services and sacrifices are 
 not unappreciated. 
 
 "But most of all is he thrilled with joy at the thought 
 that the work given him to do is finished. The rebellion is 
 crushed ; his labors are over ; his 'occupation's gone,' for over 
 every State, North and South, East and West, now floats 'the 
 starry emblem of the free.' 
 
 "The integrity of the Nation has been preserved, her 
 dignity maintained ; her authority respected from ocean to 
 ocean, from the lakes to the gulf. Now is the winter of our 
 discontent made glorious summer by the return of Peace, smil- 
 
334 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ing goddess, thrice-welcome that she comes crowned with 
 laurels of victory. No more righting, no more breathing the 
 fumes of villainous saltpetre, no more suffering from wounds, 
 no more loved names to be added to the long list of noble 
 dead. 
 
 "In the name of Company G, returning thus in triumph, 
 I thank you for this warm welcome, this kindly reception, this 
 cheering recognition of duty done. It is indeed gratifying for 
 those who have borne the heat and burden of the day to 
 know that they have your unflinching support, your earnest 
 prayers. They accept with heart-felt thanks these words of 
 cheer and welcome, these many tokens of your loyalty to your 
 government and your respect for its defenders. For myself 
 I have little to say. I claim but a very small portion of your 
 gratitude. The rebels seemed unwilling to give me a fair 
 chance to be a hero in the strife. The only credit I deserve 
 is for good intentions. I can say cheerfully to-day that, al- 
 though it is hard to be deprived of comforts which a right arm 
 bestows, yet it is infinitely better for me that I should be thus 
 maimed and my country whole, than I whole and my country 
 maimed. 
 
 "I cannot let slip this opportunity for expressing publicly 
 the thanks I owe these bronzed heroes. There are those in 
 this Company but for whom I should not stand before you 
 to-day, those who have not refused to save my poor life at the 
 risk of their own. Shall I forget them? Company G! brave 
 boys, Nature's noblemen, if I cease to remember you with a 
 grateful heart, 'let my hand forget its cunning, let my tongue 
 cleave to the roof of my mouth !' " 
 
 At the close of Mr. Perrine's remarks, all separated, well 
 pleased with the reception that had been given the Company. 
 About 9 o'clock the same evening, the boys and many of the 
 ladies and citizens of the town were invited to Captain Pax- 
 ton's home (made happy by the return of two sons, one of 
 whom had suffered in Southern prisons) to partake of some 
 of the delicacies of the season. Ice cream, strawberries, pound 
 cake, etc., again stared the war-worn heroes in the face. After 
 spending some time with this kind family and the fair ladies 
 
Robt. L. Stewart, Corporal Co. ('.. Wilson X. Paxton, Capt. Co. G. 
 I ^s. W. Pi '[ li 'i k, I [istorian Co. < J. 
 
 John K. Paxton, Lieut. Co. <'.. Wm. T. !' ck, tsl Sergt Co. G. 
 
 J. 1' Wilson, Capt. C. G. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY G 335 
 
 of our town, all dispersed, and as they scattered more than 
 one of the brave boys could be heard saying, "Canonsburg has 
 always been true to the soldiers, and the members of Com- 
 pany G will never forget its kindness." 
 
 The Unruffled, Ever-Ready Veteran of Company G. 
 
 Whilst all the members of Company G nobly did their 
 duty, one, viz : First Sergeant William T. Pollock, "The Hero 
 of Company G," as he was "dubbed" by the boys, has the 
 remarkable record of having always been on duty with the 
 Company, endured all the marches, and never was in the hos- 
 pital, took part with the Company, in all the battles, from 
 Chancellorsville to Appomattox and came through without a 
 scar, although his cap, canteen and clothes showed the ravages 
 of many a rebel bullet during the different actions. 
 
 The Company was on the advance firing line on Sunday 
 morning, April 9, 1865, when General Lee surrendered the 
 Confederate Army to General Grant at Appomatox which 
 virtually closd the war. The flag of truce first appeared di- 
 rectly in front of the Company, which was the signal for a 
 temporary cessation of hostilities. 
 
 Several of the members of Company G, after their re- 
 turn from the war, continued their studies at college. Six 
 of these became ministers of the Gospel, viz. : Rev. Robert L. 
 Stewart, D.D., Professor in the Theological Seminary of Lin- 
 coln University, Pa., and our eminent Regimental Historian; 
 Rev. John R. Paxton, D.D., a noted divine of New York 
 City, N. Y. ; Rev. George R. Murray, Thomas, Pa. ; Rev. 
 Samuel B. McBride, Sewickley, Pa.; Rev. William A. Kerr, 
 deceased, and Rev. James S. Rankin, deceased. Many others 
 served as elders, deacons or trustees in the respective congrega- 
 tions to which they belonged, in fact all the members of Com- 
 pany G have "made good," are well-to-do financially, nearly 
 all have been married and have descendants. Congressman 
 H. H. Bingham, of Philadelphia, recently deceased, was, for 
 thirty-three years, the Representative of the First Congres- 
 sional District of the State, and for many years the "Father of 
 
336 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 « 
 
 the House," in point of service; James W. Pollock, Washing- 
 ton, Pa., historian of Company G. was County Commissioner 
 of Washington County, Pa. ; Dr. James G. Sloan, deceased, 
 and John M. Berry, deceased, were members of the State Legis- 
 lature, and John T. Sumney, of Los Angeles, Cal., served a 
 term as County Judge of Furnas County, Neb. Many mem- 
 bers of the Company filled positions of honor and trust, such as 
 Presidents and Cashiers of National Banks and Trust Com- 
 panies, Justices of the Peace, Members of City and Borough 
 Councils, School Directors, Road Supervisors, etc., but want 
 of space forbids any further report. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY H 337 
 
 A SKETCH OF COMPANY H, ONE HUNDRED AND 
 FORTIETH PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS. 
 
 By Harry J. Boyde, Beaver Pa. 
 
 Though triumphs were to generals due, 
 
 Crowns were reserved to grace the soldiers, too. 
 
 — Pope. 
 
 It was in August, 1862, that a company of men, which 
 was to be known in the future as Company H, One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Pennsylvania, assembled in the village of Hooks- 
 town, Beaver County, Penna., and were enrolled and finally 
 mustered into the service of the Government as volunteer 
 soldiers to serve for three years or during the war, which was 
 then being waged between the North and the South. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln had issued his proclamation calling 
 for 300,000 men and this Company was the response of the 
 little village above named, and the surrounding townships of 
 Greene, Hanover and Raccoon. 
 
 The Company, at the time of its organization, had 100 
 men on its roll, this number being increased from time to time 
 during the progress of the war, when at its close we find the 
 names of 133 as having been connected with its membership. 
 
 The general characteristics of its membership are worthy 
 of note, in that of the 133 connected with it, over 100 were 
 farmers, averaging at the time of enlistment, a little under 
 24 years of age. 
 
 Again, having been born and reared upon the farm, they 
 were particularly well fitted, physically, to endure the toil and 
 fatigue incident to long marches through heat and cold, sun- 
 shine and rain, mud and dust, the sleepless nights on the 
 skirmish and picket line and shock of battle. 
 
 Further, life on the farm had not only fitted them physic- 
 ally but it had also trained them to think, a trait which dis- 
 
338 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 tinguished the American volunteer soldier, and made him the 
 superior of any soldier the world has ever known. He could 
 and did take the initiative and fight without his commanding 
 officers as well as with them. 
 
 Above all they were, with but few exceptions. Christian 
 men. They were, as a rule, the offspring- of Scotch-Irish 
 fathers and mothers who feared God and to whom the relig- 
 ious training - of the child was as of much importance as tilling 
 the farm. Consequently there went out from these homes 
 men and women of strong Christian character, well fitted for 
 coping with the responsibilities and vicissitudes of life. Their 
 characters were founded upon the teachings of the Bible and 
 their wits sharpened by many a weary struggle with the West- 
 minster Confession of Faith and painful recitations of the 
 Longer and Shorter Catechisms. "Many a victory was prac- 
 tically won before the war by reason of this superior home 
 training." 
 
 The character of the community from which these men 
 came may be judged by the fact that from its small population 
 there has gone out in the past 65 years a number of ministers 
 of the gospel, physicians, lawyers and teachers that is equalled 
 by few other communities in the United States. Many of 
 them became eminent in their professions. 
 
 What we say of this Company, can as truthfully be said 
 of the entire Regiment and we find it to have been composed 
 of sturdy, independent men, brave and patient in character, 
 calm and even cheerful amid hardship and danger, giving to 
 the Nation and the World, undying proof of the pride, courage 
 and devotion of the American volunteer, a class of men who 
 have ever been the backbone of our country, and often in 
 her story of war and struggle have enabled her to speak with 
 her enemies in the gate. 
 
 Does not the above explain why the corps, division and 
 brigade commanders were so prone to impose the most per- 
 ilous duties upon us? They knew the Regiment could be 
 trusted and they were never deceived. The fearful losses sus- 
 tained bear mute and eloquent testimony to this, the losses of 
 this Company alone being 20 killed and 50 wounded. Eight 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY 11 
 
 of the wounded men died on the field or in the hospital, two 
 died in Confederate prisons, four were missing in action and 
 seven of our wounded comrades suffered the loss of an arm 
 or leg. 
 
 The survivors of the Company have ever had reason to 
 be proud of its record and point with a pardonable pride to 
 the fact that we did not have a single deserter from our 
 ranks. 
 
 Having been mustered into the service with Companies 
 F and I in Beaver, the Companies F, Jf and I, being known 
 as the Beaver County Companies, we were hurried to Harris- 
 burg and with Companies from Washington, Greene and 
 Mercer Counties there assembled, a regimental organization 
 was affected, and thus became the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. 
 
 An election of officers for the Company resulted in the 
 choice of Rev. Marcus Ormond for Captain, Austin Miller. 
 First Lieutenant and Samuel Campbell, Second Lieutenant, 
 with the regular complement of Sergeants and Corporals. 
 Here we were armed and clothed, the clothing being in most 
 cases a misfit, and our guns an old antiquated pattern, more 
 dangerous to the man behind them than to the one in front. 
 By those armed with modern equipment, we were spoken of 
 as "the walking artillery." 
 
 The morning of September ioth found us on our way to 
 Parkton, Md., where we guarded the Northern Central Rail- 
 road, a duty which demanded constant vigilance to prevent 
 attack from straggling bands of the enemy, who sought to 
 destroy the road. Many pleasant memories are connected 
 with Camp Seward at this place which only lack of space 
 prevents us from recording. While here, we lost two of our 
 number, viz. : William H. Uncapher, who was taken ill, his 
 sickness developing eventually into typhoid fever, of which he 
 died in Baltimore, Md. Also William O. Custer, who was 
 discharged by reason of ill health. 
 
 While at Parkton our Captain, Marcus Ormond, resigned 
 and was commissioned as Chaplain of the Regiment. This 
 caused an election to be held by the Company to fill the 
 
340 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 vacancy thus created, and resulted in the election of Samuel 
 Campbell as Captain; Austin Miller, First Lieutenant, and 
 John B. Vance, Second Lieutenant. The election was held 
 by virtue of an order issued by Colonel Roberts after a 
 petition had been presented to him praying that such election 
 might be held, and is thus set forth to correct a misunder- 
 standing as to the matter, which has existed for some years. 
 The Company rightly preferred electing from their own num- 
 ber rather than have one or more commissioned to lead them 
 of whom they knew nothing. It also estopped some who were 
 too dainty to take their chances with us as high privates in 
 the rear rank. 
 
 Being new to the service while at Parkton we experi- 
 enced, as we thought, some hardships. Nevertheless, like 
 "Jeshuran, we waxed fat and kicked." The right to kick and 
 criticise was the peculiar privilege of the private soldier and 
 not to be interferred with. If, what we experienced at Park- 
 ton, could be spoken of as hardship, what about the trip from 
 there to Falmouth, Va. ? This experience we will always 
 remember. In our then raw condition, we thought of it and 
 spoke of it as entirely uncalled for. Nevertheless, it was only 
 a taste of what was to come. We were, soon after our arrival 
 at Falmouth, comfortably housed in winter quarters and spent 
 the winter in the performance of duties incident to the life 
 of the soldier, such as daily drills, picket duty along the banks 
 of the Rappahannock, etc. The exposure connected with this 
 service soon began to show its effect upon those who were 
 not physically qualified to meet it, and resulted while here in 
 the loss of seven of our number, who were discharged and 
 sent home. 
 
 The writer feels at this point that for him to go into 
 details of dates, anything like descriptions of our marches 
 and various engagements will be but a repitition of what the 
 Regimental Historian has already written. Suffice it then to 
 say that Company H was in all of the engagements in which 
 the Regiment took part and performed its duty with credit to 
 itself and the satisfaction of the Regimental and Company 
 officers. 
 
\Ym. P.. Thornberg, ist Serg. Co. H. Walter M. Lawrence, 2nd Lieut. Co. H. 
 
 Jos. W. Lawrence, Hospital Steward Co. H. James M. D. Mitchell, Serg. Co. H. 
 
 Jos. Moody, Serg. Color Guard, Co. II. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY H 341 
 
 Lack of space also forbids the recording of a memento 
 of each member of the Company much as we wish to so do. 
 The muster roll will, however, give the name of each with 
 some data. But in order that the names of those who were 
 killed, wounded and missing may be given some prominence, 
 the writer has prepared the following table. This has been 
 carefully examined and approved by a number of the survivors 
 and we feel assured of its accuracy, although it does differ 
 in some particulars with other extant records. 
 
 Names of the killed, wounded and missing or taken 
 prisoners, viz : 
 
 At Chancellorsville — Wounded, Joseph Calhoun, Wil- 
 liam M. Carothers. 
 
 At Gettysburg — Wounded, Samuel Campbell, Arthur 
 Shields, Thomas J. Miller, George Summerville, Gibson 
 Hood, David M. Minesinger, John B. Vance, William A. 
 Brunton, Charles McCoy, Hugh Q. Adams, John Purdy. 
 
 At Gettysburg — Killed and died of wounds — Alexander 
 Greer, Johnson Berlin, James Taggart, Henry Ewing, Wil- 
 liam Conlin, John Blackmore, James McC. Phillips, Samuel 
 W. Barnes, Thomas N. Thornburg, John C. Gibb. 
 
 At Gettysburg — Missing in action, Washington Mc- 
 Henry. 
 
 At Gettysburg — Taken prisoner, Jacob R. Fleegel, David 
 R. Whitehill. 
 
 At Bristoe Station — Wounded, James D. Babb. 
 
 At Bristoe Station — Taken prisoner, James H. Beal, 
 and died in Libby prison. 
 
 At Mine Run — Wounded, Addison Lance. 
 
 At Wilderness — Wounded, William Ewing, George W. 
 Shindless, Samuel Minesinger, Charles McCoy. 
 
 At Wilderness — Captured, Gabriel Miller, and died in 
 Saulsbury prison. 
 
 At Spottsylvania — Wounded, John B. Vance, William 
 Ewing, Samuel W. Byers, Gibson Hood, Henry Keifer, John 
 Purdy, Junius M. Strouss, William Yolton, George Cain, 
 Samuel Torrence, Addison Lance, Thomas Bryerly, David 
 B. Coffee, John W. Hall, Charles McCoy, James P. Smart, 
 William Wherry, John Yolton, Jasper Whims. 
 
 At Spottsylvania — Killed and died of wounds, James 
 McD. Mitchell, William H. McCreery, Alexander Ewing, 
 William M. Herron, Robert G. Savage, Thomas J. Foster. 
 
342 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 At Spottsylvania — Missing in action, Hezekiah Swaney, 
 George Fox, William Purdy. 
 
 At Totopotomy Creek — Wounded, James Cameron, 
 Robert Hall. 
 
 At Totopotomy Creek — Died of wounds, Stewart 
 Campbell. 
 
 At Cold Harbor — Wounded, William B. Thornburg. 
 
 At Petersburg — Wounded, Samuel Campbell, Robert 
 Hall, Silas D. Lockhart, Shafer Dever, James M. Lutton, 
 William B. Thornburg. 
 
 At Petersburg— Killed, William Metz. 
 
 At Petersburg — Died of wound, Robert Hutchinson. 
 
 At Petersburg — Taken prisoner, John Mahoney. 
 
 At Deep Bottom — Died of wound, Jacob R. Fleegel. 
 
 At Hatchers Run — Wounded, Joseph Calhoun, Joshua 
 Whims, David G. Scott, John Nickle. 
 
 At Hatchers Run — Killed and died of wounds, David 
 R. Whitehill, Thomas F. Thornburg, Junius Strouss, Richard 
 M. Crouse. 
 
 At Farmville — Killed and died of wounds, Samuel S. 
 Kerr, David Kiefer, Abraham Funkhouser. 
 
 At Farmville — Taken prisoner, Garrett Standish, James 
 Hood, James H. Melvin, William B. Thornburg, Samuel 
 Minesinger. 
 
 Died of disease during the service, Thomas E. Moore, 
 James Miller, William H. Uncapher. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY H 343 
 
 RECAPITULATION, 
 
 o 
 
 -g -s si 
 
 .2 . t> -: o « 
 
 Q«n C H < * 
 
 e 
 
 u 
 
 m£ t A * * 
 
 9 
 
 30 5 -a 
 
 M £ H 
 
 Chancellorsville 2 
 
 Gettysburg 10 11 2 
 
 Bristoe Station 1 1 
 
 Mine Run 1 
 
 Wilderness 4 1 
 
 Spottsylvania 6 19 
 
 Totopotomy Creek 1 2 
 
 Cold Harbor 1 
 
 Petersburg 2 6 1 
 
 Deep Bottom 1 
 
 Hatchers Run 4 4 
 
 Farmville 3 5 
 
 ■*■ 5 .5 9 
 
 Totals 28 50 10 2 4 3 
 
 The reader can well afford to pause and consider tht 
 meaning of such a sacrifice of life and limb, with the attendant 
 suffering. It was the contribution of this Company to the 
 price paid for the civil and religious liberty we now enjoy. 
 Some were killed instantly, some died a lingering death after 
 much suffering and some were called upon to die in Southern 
 prisons. 
 
 Some, in a measure, recovered from their wounds, but 
 only to suffer therefrom as long as they lived. This is notably 
 so in the case of John W. Hall, still living, who has hardly 
 known a day without pain since being wounded at Spottsyl- 
 vania, May 12, 1864. This was equally true of many others. 
 
 As for those who lost an arm or leg, it is well worthy 
 of note how each one rose superior to such a handicap and 
 how well they succeeded in after life. 
 
 It was but a small fraction of our original number who 
 
344 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 were in line at Appomattox and after the surrender started 
 back on the long march to Washington, thence down Penn- 
 sylvania Avenue in the Grand Review. How proud we felt 
 going down the Avenue, the sidewalks lined with cheering 
 thousands, crying out, "God bless you" and "Well done." 
 While this was appreciated, yet our hearts were saddened as 
 we thought of those who had fallen. We wished they could 
 have been with us, but it had been decreed otherwise. 
 
 Our prevailing thought was, our work as soldiers is 
 finished and as the result God reigns and the Government 
 lives. Also we are going home. Home to father and mother, 
 to wife and children, to sweethearts, and not a few of us had 
 the latter. 
 
 It appears to have been thought by some, as the war drew 
 to a close, that there would be great danger in turning so 
 large a number of men as composed our armies into the 
 various communities of the North. Never was a fear so 
 groundless. The discharge from the army was but putting 
 back into the ordinary walks of life, men of character and as 
 such nobly refuted the thought. Those who may have lived 
 vicious lives are but a negligible quantity. Note how it was 
 with our Company. Captain Samuel Campbell, like Cincin- 
 natus, was found at the plow when he enlisted and to it he 
 returned. Heaven bless him. 
 
 Lieutenant Vance became a salesman, while Lieutenant 
 Lance returned to the farm. Lieutenant Lawrence filled an 
 important position in the Treasury Department at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. These thus named passed away years ago. 
 
 The familiar voice of Sergeant Shields was heard in our 
 Courts until the day of his death crying Oyez, Oyez, etc.. 
 a position he filled with great dignity. Joseph Lawrence. 
 John S. Bryan, Frank D. Kerr and William Morrison became 
 physicians, in which calling the two first named especially 
 distinguished themselves. The first man of our number to 
 receive a wound was Joseph Calhoun. He died August 6. 
 191 1, after a service of over forty years as minister of the 
 Gospel in the U. P. Church, in Iowa. As Doctor Calhoun, 
 he was honored and loved by a large number of acquaintances. 
 
Alex. L. McKibbin, Co. II. N. B. Evans, Corporal Co. D. 
 
 Isaiah L. Collins, Sergt. Co. E. Harry j. Boyde, •',,. I[. 
 
 Samuel S. Kerr, Brevet-Major. David K. Whitehill, Co. II. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY H 345 
 
 At his funeral, it was said of him, ''For he was a good man, 
 full of the Holy Ghost and faith." 
 
 William G. Cowan, despite a rigid Presbyterian training, 
 which did not hurt him, became a minister in the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church and accomplished much for his Master. 
 
 James Cameron became an attorney and what should have 
 been a bright career was unfortunately cut short. 
 
 As a business man, much above the average, Robert Hall 
 will long be remembered in East Liverpool, Ohio, as a man 
 of sterling worth and many noble traits of character. 
 
 His brother, John W. Hall, became prominent in the 
 religious and business life of the same city, and of it he even- 
 tually became Mayor and was "A terror to evil doers and a 
 praise to them that do well." 
 
 A word should be said as to John Mahoney the irrepres- 
 sible Irishman, the despair of our officers and the burden of 
 Orderly Sergeant Shields' life. John felt that the drill and 
 manual of arms was useless. He really appeared incapable 
 of learning these things. So fresh from the old sod, it was 
 difficult to understand his brogue or he us. He was always 
 in the thickest of a fight. At Petersburg, he felt the war could 
 and should be ended right then and there by making a charge. 
 John started, and like Abou Ben Adhem, he led all the rest. 
 If we had followed, it would only have been to accompany 
 him to Andersonville prison, from which he returned at the 
 close of the war. We do not know what became of him. 
 
 A special tribute is due the memory of George Summer- 
 ville, a man from the humbler walks of life to which he re- 
 turned after three years of efficient service. Mr. Summerville 
 was present at every roll call, was in every engagement in 
 which we took part, never missed duty on the picket or 
 skirmish line, never sick or absent and ever cheerful and 
 patient, ready to share his last cracker or blanket with a com- 
 rade in need. Although he received a flesh wound in the 
 thigh at Gettysburg that would have sent many a man to the 
 rear, yet he fought it out and stayed with us. None but 
 soldiers of the One Hundred and Fortieth can comprehend 
 the meaning of such a record. He died November 30, 1895. 
 
346 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Peace, peace be on the spot where this patient, brave- 
 hearted fellow sleeps. 
 
 And what more shall I say now, for time and lack of 
 space would fail me to go into details as to Moody, Purdy, 
 Thornburg, McKibben, Melvin, the Whims brothers and 
 others. The same spirit that animated them as soldiers con- 
 tinued with them as citizens and right nobly have they per- 
 formed their part. 
 
 Taps have sounded, lights out, and to-day but twenty- 
 eight of our original number survive. As we look in their 
 faces we can see that Father Time is not always a hard parent, 
 and though he tarries for none of his children, often lays his 
 hand lightly upon those who have used him well ; marking 
 them inexorably enough, but leaving their hearts and spirits 
 young and full of vigor, and every wrinkle but a notch in 
 the quiet calendar of a well-spent life. 
 
 In a comparatively few years, some one man will be 
 spoken of as the sole survivor of Company H. May his end 
 be peace. 
 
 Of many of those who have died it can be well said of 
 them, "they fought the good fight," and as they appeared 
 before the Great Judge, I am sure they heard the welcome 
 words "pass in." 
 
 And for those of us who remain may the same words, 
 dear reader, that welcomed the saintly Calhoun, as he stood 
 at Heavens' Gates, be heard by each one of us. 
 
 "Still o'er these scenes my memory wakes 
 And fondly broods with miser care; 
 Time but the impression makes, 
 
 As streams their channel deeper wear. 
 
 — Burns. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY I 347 
 
 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY I. 
 
 By reason of ill health the one member of this Company 
 who was best fitted for writing this sketch, was prevented 
 from doing so. Others who were requested to do so, refused 
 as they felt they were not qualified for such work. Conse- 
 quently the Committee on History of the Regiment took hold 
 of the matter and what follows concerning the Company is 
 the result of an interview held by a member of the Committee 
 — Harry J. Boyde, of Beaver, Pa. — with Mr. James H. 
 Springer and Mr. Jacob Fisher. Unfortunately, neither of 
 the comrades were able to give much desirable information 
 on account of enforced absence from the Company, Mr. 
 Springer being in a Confederate prison from July, 1863, t° 
 June, 1864, and Mr. Fisher absent on sick leave a greater 
 part of the same year. 
 
 We learn from them that the Company was recruited 
 in Beaver and other nearby towns and adjoining townships. 
 The members were as a class, mechanics with a number from 
 the farms, averaging in age about 22 years, the oldest being 
 45 years and the youngest 17 years. The number of married 
 men in the Company at the time of enlistment is noticeable. 
 
 As a rule they were a sturdy, rugged set of men, well 
 fitted physically to meet the requirements of the service upon 
 which they were about to enter. Their power to endure was 
 tested on many a weary march and their courage on many a 
 hard fought field. 
 
 They were mustered into the service August 25, 1862, 
 And on September 1st, left Beaver with Companies F and H 
 for Harrisburg, the three Companies, viz : F, H and I being 
 known as the Beaver County Companies. 
 
 When mustered into the service the names of 101 ap- 
 peared on the roster of the Company. During the months of 
 January, February and March, 1864, nine recruits were added 
 
348 the one hundred and fortieth regiment 
 
 thus bringing the total enrollment during the three years of 
 service up to no. 
 
 At Harrisburg, clothing- was issued and the Company- 
 donned the blue and began to feel that they had indeed 
 entered the service of Uncle Sam. The clothing gave evi- 
 dence that the boys had not been carefully measured and fitted 
 by a tailor. It had none of the tight-fitting hobble effect of 
 the present day and in most cases, gave ample room for 
 expansion in every direction. Nevertheless, a careful, if not 
 trained use of scissors, needles and thread, enabled them to 
 be eventually presentable. The addition of a hat and epaulets 
 to the clothing increased the feeling - of pride as each tried to 
 recognize himself in this completed outfit. Pride, however, 
 goes before a fall and this came when those Belgian rifles. 
 with the immense sword bayonets, were loaded upon the boys. 
 The Regiment at once became the butt of the older organiza- 
 tions who were armed with the then modern Springfield rifle. 
 The Belgian rifle was an old out-of-date pattern, equally 
 dangerous at either end. weighty and unwieldy. The weight 
 of these rifles has been variously estimated and if given here 
 would put the person responsible for the statement in the 
 Ananias class. As a result of a review held at Falmouth. Va., 
 we got rid of them on this wise. General Sumner, as he 
 rode past our line, noticed them and not only then and there 
 condemned them, but gave orders that we should be armed 
 with Springfield rifles. This order was carried out soon 
 thereafter, not only to the relief of the Regiment, but also 
 to General Zook, who had been considerably exercised over 
 the fact of being in command of men who were armed with 
 what he called "shoulder artillery." 
 
 After having been mustered in, the Company elected 
 James Darragh, Captain; William McCallister, First Lieuten- 
 ant and George A. Shallenberger, Second Lieutenant, at the 
 same time electing the required number of sergeants and 
 corporals. While at Harrisburg, the Beaver County Battalion 
 with seven other companies from the counties of Washington, 
 Greene and Mercer, were consolidated into a Regiment desig- 
 
Jas. II. Springer, ist Sergt. Co. A. David W. Scott, ist Sergt. Co. A. 
 
 James Anderson, Co. F. Capt. Geo. A. Shallenberger, Co. I. 
 
 James K. P. Magill, Corp. Co. K. Wm. P. McMasters, Sergt. Co. E. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY I 349 
 
 nated as the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volun- 
 teer Infantry. 
 
 The Regimental organization was then completed by the 
 election of Richard P. Roberts, as Colonel; John Fraser, as 
 Lieutenant-Colonel; Thomas B. Rogers, as Major, and Wil- 
 liam S. Shallenberger, as Adjutant. This election was held 
 by the commissioned officers of the different companies of the 
 Regiment. 
 
 Within a year, Captain James Darragh had been dis- 
 charged from the service by reason of sickness and Lieuten- 
 ant George A. Shallenberger had been promoted to the rank 
 of Captain and A. Q. M. U. S. Volunteers. The vacancies 
 thus created, were filled by the promotion of Lieutenant Mc- 
 Callister as Captain; Sergeant Thomas C. Nicholson becom- 
 ing First Lieutenant, and Sergeant Louis R. Darragh, Sec- 
 ond Lieutenant. 
 
 During the last year of the war, Captain McCallister 
 served on the Brigade Staff, Lieutenant Nicholson resigned, 
 and Lieutenant Darragh was absent on account of wound?, 
 thus leaving the Company without an officer of their own 
 number as no promotions were made. Frequently the Com- 
 pany was in charge of First Sergeant James H. Springer, 
 who is still living, the commissioned officers having long 
 since passed away. 
 
 The Company took part in all the movements and battles 
 in which the Regiment participated. 
 
 The greatest loss sustained in any one battle was at Get- 
 tysburg and is noticeable by reason of the number who were 
 captured, of whom so many died in Confederate prisons, the 
 result of exposure and insufficient food. 
 
 While lying upon the field, severely wounded, a ball hav- 
 ing passed through both jaws, Sergeant David W. Scott was 
 taken prisoner and removed to a stone house back of the 
 Emmittsburg pike, where he was kept three days receiving 
 no attention. His suffering was greatly intensified for want 
 of water. The nature of his wound prevented his asking the 
 guards for it. He finally made known his need by writing, 
 but to his surprise not one of the guard could read. Fortu- 
 
350 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 natcly, a Confederate was found who could read and water 
 was given him. 
 
 The Confederates on retreating-, left him with others of 
 our wounded whom they had held as prisoners. Sergeant 
 Scott's case is but one of many and is cited here as an 
 illustration of the suffering endured by our wounded who 
 had fallen into the hands of the enemy. 
 
 As Sergeant Springer was leaving the field he saw his 
 friend Sergeant Harsha, of Company F, in a helpless con- 
 dition from a wound which proved to be mortal. As it was 
 out of the question to get him off the field, he paused to make 
 him as comfortable as possible, and in so doing, was taken 
 prisoner. He was sent to Belle Island, Va., where he re- 
 mained for over a year. No doubt many incidents connected 
 with Gettysburg and other engagements in which the Com- 
 pany took part, and all worth recording, could have been 
 obtained, could it have been possible to have gathered together 
 other survivors. Being without such data, we pass on to the 
 opening of the Wilderness Campaign, at which time we find, 
 from the best information obtainable, that the Company had 
 on its roll as present for duty, about 55 men. This shows 
 a loss of exactly one-half of the entire membership of the 
 Company and was caused by death, wounds, captures, sickness 
 and discharges from the service. The deaths alone to this 
 time being 27. 
 
 The engagements in The Wilderness and on to the last 
 battle at Farmville, Va., all exacted their toll, which, in the 
 aggregate, amounted to 10 killed; 3 died of wounds, 15 
 wounded and 3 taken prisoner. It is notable that a total of 
 37 were claimed by death alone during the entire time of 
 service, seven of these deaths resulting from disease. Such 
 is war and may the day speedily come when the Nations will 
 learn war no more. 
 
 It is difficult to state the exact number present for duty 
 after Lee's surrender, as some had no doubt been returned 
 to duty who had been absent by reason of wounds received 
 in other and earlier engagements. The records of the War 
 Department show, however, that at the date of muster out, 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPA, VI 351 
 
 Company I had a Captain — Wm. McCallister — a First Lieu 
 tenant, 4 Sergeants, 6 Corporals, 2 Musicians and 17 private 
 a total of 31. 
 
 An incident has just come to the writer's knowledge 
 from one of the members of the Company who overheard 
 General Miles say to our Brigade Commander at Reams Sta- 
 tion, "Get me a Regiment ready, quick." In a few minutes 
 the General was back and asked if the Regiment was ready. 
 "Yes, there it stands." Miles seeing it says, "not that Regi- 
 ment; give me the One Hundred and Fortieth; the duty to 
 be performed is too important to be trusted to others." This 
 was indeed high praise, when coming from such a source, 
 and is but one of a number of instances in which the efficiency 
 of the Regiment was recognized. The sons and daughters of 
 these men can always remember with commendable pr 
 that their fathers belonged to the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 Having been mustered out of the service, they returned 
 to their homes and at once entered into the activities of life. 
 How well they succeeded can be attested by their neighbor 
 in the communities in which they have lived. John D. Irons 
 entered the ministry of the United Presbyterian Church and 
 for some years was president of one of the seminaries of that 
 denomination at Xenia, Ohio. He is now living in retirement 
 much enfeebled by ill health. During the war he was known 
 as Sergeant Irons. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon 
 him some years ago so that now it is Doctor Irons, if you 
 please. 
 
 The roll kept by the Secretary of the Regimental organi- 
 zation shows the names of twenty-three members of the 
 Company as yet living this 17th day of August, 19 12. The 
 names of ten others appear on the roll of whom nothing is 
 known with the probability that the most of them are dead. 
 
 What has thus been written in the foregoing is but a 
 mere outline of the story of the Company and should have 
 been prepared by some one fully acquainted with the every- 
 day life of its members while in the field and who had kept 
 in touch with them after their return home. That it was 
 
352 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 not is regretted, for had it been so done, many important and 
 valuable details could have been put in this form and thus 
 preserved for the future. 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY K 35.3 
 
 HISTORY OF COMPANY K.* 
 
 Company K was recruited during the month of August, 
 1862, in Washington County, Pa., under the call for 300,000 
 volunteers. It was principally made up of young men from 
 the strenuous walks of life, out of good Christian homes, 
 largely intelligent sons of husbandry, and not a few having 
 been or being hard-working students in academy, college or 
 theological seminary, thus possessing the fundamental qualifi- 
 cations for good military service. 
 
 Probably it had as small a ratio of men unfit for such 
 service as any called out to do duty in the sixties. A few there 
 were, of course, who were carried in by the tide of excitement 
 or selfish interest, without much consideration, but most of 
 its members entered through due reflection, true courage and 
 definite conviction. 
 
 Company K, as it was designated after its consolidation 
 with other companies into a regiment, was of a composite 
 nature, formed of squads and individuals from different parts 
 of the county, though the largest constituency was from the 
 northwestern part, with Cross Creek as the center, and in 
 consequence of this was frequently called the Cross Creek 
 Company. 
 
 William A. F. Stockton, son of the Rev. Dr. John 
 Stockton, pastor of Cross Creek Presbyterian Church, was 
 engaged some time in recruiting in this region intent upon 
 raising a company. He was assisted by B. F. Powelson, his 
 classmate for years, and by others. Meetings were held in 
 Cross Creek, Burgettstown, Eldersville, Paris, Condor and 
 other places. 
 
 One meeting in Cross Creek village was attended and 
 
 ♦Abbreviated and condensed from published history of Company 
 K written by the Rev. Benj. F. Powelson, of Boulder, Colorado, under 
 the direction of Brevet Captain Alex. Sweeney. 
 
354 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 addressed by Dr. Wishart and Messrs. A. and David Acheson, 
 of Washington, the county seat. 
 
 Twenty-three enlisted from Cross Creek, the first eleven 
 being- sworn in by 'Squire Duncan on August 16th. Those 
 recruited in Paris, in the extreme northwest section of the 
 county, footed up twenty. A squad of seven enlisted in 
 Candor, under the supervision of William B. Cook. Seven 
 hailed from the neighborhood of Millsboro, while four others 
 came in from other places in the eastern part of the county. 
 Claysville furnished a squad of nine, and quite a number came 
 in from Finley, Morris and Donegal Townships. Alex. 
 Sweeney, Jr., had been out in Claysville, West Alexander and 
 surrounding regions on a recruiting tour. He and Enoch 
 Mounts represented the county seat. 
 
 Those recruited in Cross Creek, Eldersville, Paris and 
 Candor or the northwest — fifty-five in number — came together 
 on August 20th at Cross Creek village, where a large con- 
 course of people assembled and gave them a hearty reception. 
 Thence, after taking leave of relatives and friends, they were 
 conveyed by neighbors in wagons and other vehicles sixteen 
 miles to the county seat. There for a while they went into 
 camp, using for quarters the halls of the old fair grounds, now 
 the athletic grounds of Washington and Jefferson College. 
 
 Here all the recruits were rendezvoused, and they were 
 kindly and patriotically treated by the citizens of Washington, 
 who opened their homes and in many ways gave comfort and 
 cheer. 
 
 On the 22d of August the formal organization of the 
 Company was effected, and ninety-six entered their names on 
 the Company roll. An election of officers was held, which 
 resulted as follows: 
 
 Captain, William A. F. Stockton ; First Lieutenant, Alex- 
 ander Sweeney, Jr. ; Second Lieutenant, William B. Cook. 
 
 The non-commissioned officers were in the main deter- 
 mined upon. George W. MeConnell was entered as musician. 
 On the completion of these arrangements the members of the 
 Company began to assume military airs and were ready for 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY K 355 
 
 orders to go forward to active service. These orders quickly 
 came. 
 
 Four other companies, recruited in Washington County, 
 were known to be ready for assignment to some regiment. In 
 accordance with instructions, the Company broke camp, and 
 its ninety-six members were taken in conveyances by way of 
 the old turnpike to Camp Distribution, in the Oakland Fair 
 Grounds, near Pittsburgh. The journey itself was an ovation, 
 and many of the friends and well wishers of the boys accom- 
 panied them the whole or part of the way. 
 
 A halt for dinner was made at Canonsburg, where the 
 citizens entertained the Company in royal style. Their loyalty 
 and enthusiasm had the true ring, for they, too, had a company 
 ready to go into the service. This company became Company 
 G of the One Hundred and Fortieth, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 
 and furnished the Lieutenant-Colonel. 
 
 Camp Distribution was reached without mishap and there 
 the Company was partially equipped. It was mustered into 
 the United States service for three years, or during the war, 
 in this camp by Captain Ludington, U. S. A., on the fourth 
 day of September, 1862. 
 
 Thence by train over the Pennsylvania Central Railroad 
 we were taken to Harrisburg, going into camp (Camp Curtin), 
 where we became an integral part of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. Here we were fully 
 equipped, and the few days of bivouac on the bank of the 
 beautiful Susquehanna were spent in the making of us full- 
 fledged and fully equipped soldiers in the Union Army. 
 
 Our Regiment was assigned to duty in connection with 
 the guarding of the Northern Central Railroad, and to Com- 
 pany K was given a section with headquarters at Monkton, 
 Md., about six miles south of Parkton Station, the head- 
 quarters of the Regiment. 
 
 We had several miles to guard, the chief point being a 
 bridge about three miles below Monkton. Our headquarters 
 — dubbed "Ambolin Barracks" — consisted of a bunk building 
 of two stories, with a shed room attached as officers' quarters 
 and a cook house. 
 
356 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 A flagpole stood in front of the barracks, from which 
 "Old Glory" floated gracefully. 
 
 The Sergeants (a train of box cars having been wrecked 
 a short time after our arrival, resurrected one which had been 
 thrown down an embankment) improvised independent quar- 
 ters for themselves near the main building. 
 
 On the 13th of October the non-commissioned officers, 
 as appointed by the Captain on the organization of the Com- 
 pany, received their certificates. 
 
 The period of duty here covered three months, the Com- 
 pany participating in all the regimental drills, inspections, etc., 
 marching to and from Parkton on the railroad tracks. 
 
 Nothing occurred while here to mar the good name of 
 the Company. The people of the vicinity were kind and con- 
 siderate and they respected the members of Company K and 
 treated them as gentlemen. The homes and assemblies of 
 the people were open to them. 
 
 Many things occurred to render the service here a pleasant 
 one. The corn husking and big dinner at Bacon's plantation, 
 the barn-floor husking and repast at Quaker Matthews', with 
 his many favors to the guard at the lower bridge, and like 
 recognitions, were greatly enjoyed by all who were privileged 
 to participate. 
 
 The soldier's plain fare was abundantly supplemented by 
 the Diffendoffer's meals at from ten cents and upwards, with 
 the luscious apple dumplings and peach cobblers and unstinted 
 measure of rich cream. Several of us remember, too, very 
 gratefully the little church up in the woods and that one east 
 of Monkton, whereto occasionally we turned our footsteps. 
 
 Those days of soldiering had much of sunshine in them, 
 which lightened materially the burden of a rigorous but useful 
 military discipline. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th of December Company K 
 bade adieu to Monkton and marched with all its belongings to 
 Parkton. Here, in accordance with orders from General 
 Wood, we were entrained for Baltimore en route to the front. 
 
 It was with some feeling of regret the Company left 
 Monkton, for we had become attached to the place and the 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY K 357 
 
 people; but the prospect of entering into more active and 
 stirring scenes of soldier life captivated and filled every one 
 with enthusiasm. 
 
 As our train passed through Monkton the hearty cheering 
 of the people and soldiers showed how strong had become the 
 ties of friendship. 
 
 Our Company shared with "G" a room in the Union 
 Relief Association building in Baltimore the night of the 10th. 
 We spent the weary hours of the night of the nth crowded 
 together in old freight cars which were destitute of arrange- 
 ments for heating. The weather was cold and the whole of 
 the night was consumed on the way to Washington. 
 
 Company K was in its place as the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth marched through a portion of the Capital City with 
 flying colors, about 4 P. M. on the 13th, setting out for 
 Burnside's army. On the evening of the 20th of December 
 we reached the encampment of the First Division of the 
 Second Corps, in rear of the town of Falmouth, and from that 
 day became a constituent part of the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 In the winter months which we spent in camp near Fal- 
 mouth, Company K endured hardships, severities, exposures 
 and privations which tested physical endurance to the utmost, 
 and in them had a schooling that was to tell in the future good 
 record of the Regiment. But there was always a sufficiency of 
 spice and source of merriment and good cheer among the boys. 
 
 Receipt of news from friends, substantial tokens of love 
 and care in boxes of good things sent by them, camp fire 
 chats and musings, little banquets together, sometimes at the 
 expense of the scanty income of the soldiers and to the profit 
 of the army sutler — all these were "lights among the shadows" 
 in our soldier life. 
 
 At Chancellorsville the Company participated in all of 
 the five days of action, being more or less under fire the entire 
 time. 
 
 "It was a time," writes Corporal Cooke, "in which we 
 had several new experiences — lying in front of a battery to 
 support it; lying in the woods at night while an occasional 
 long-tailed, comet-like shell would shriek over us, while we 
 
358 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 buried our noses in the dirt and leaves; the wild experience 
 of supporting another battery behind it while it seemed that 
 all the artillery of the enemy was playing upon it. That 
 Sunday artillery duel was the most terrific experience to me 
 of the whole war. Yet, strange to say, there were but few 
 casualties in Company K worthy of mention." 
 
 During all the battle and marches which followed these 
 initial experiences Company K bore an honorable part and 
 well sustained the reputation which it had won at the outset 
 of its career. 
 
 In the stirring activities of the campaign of 1865 we 
 participated throughout the five days of constant struggle, 
 crowned with the brilliant dash of General Miles' Division at 
 Sutherland Station, which brought about the fall of Richmond. 
 
 The Company had its share also in the experiences con- 
 nected with the close pursuit of Lee's Army, in the battles of 
 Sailor's Creek and Farmville, in the foraging in line of battle 
 as in hot pursuit they passed through a well-stocked plantation 
 at Sailor's Creek, and in the distribution of Confederate 
 money and other spoils of war in the trains captured at that 
 point. In the Farmville conflict Sergeants Ralston and Mc- 
 Calmot and Corporal Abe Andrews were taken prisoner and 
 held until Lee's surrender. They were asked for, or rather 
 ordered to, give up their shoes and other effects. This they 
 did in part, when talking and parleying would not avail. 
 
 Ralston, through an officer, secured a pledge for the 
 return of his watch at the close of the war, and when released 
 hunted up the Johnny who had appropriated it, and on 
 demand, the circumstances having been reversed, received it 
 back again. 
 
 When the surrender of the Confederate Army took place 
 Company K was on the advanced line on the road leading 
 into Appomattox Court House from the east, and when 
 General Lee rode back through the lines toward Richmond we 
 stood in silence, with heads uncovered, as he passed. 
 
 The war practically over, we marched leisurely back with 
 the Regiment to Washington, D. C, and took part in the 
 
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF COMPANY K 359 
 
 Grand Review, being formally mustered out near Alexandria, 
 Va., May 31, 1865. 
 
 Immediately afterward we were ordered to Pittsburgh, 
 Pa., for final pay and discharge. 
 
 In view of the changes which had taken place since the 
 day of our "muster in" at this place, the joy of our return was 
 tempered with sadness, especially as we recalled the names 
 of a long list of our comrades who had fallen in the days and 
 months of deadly strife, whose faces we should see on earth 
 no more. 
 
 Then there were on our roll the names of three commis- 
 sioned officers and ninety-three enlisted men. To these were 
 added five recruits, making a total enrolment of 101. Twelve 
 of the Company were killed in battle, four died of wounds, 
 ten of sickness and thirty-seven received wounds in action. 
 The number present at the date of muster out was thirty-seven. 
 
 The number of engagements in which the Company par- 
 ticipated, including skirmishes and reconnoissances in force, is 
 put down at thirty-three. Some of these, however, include 
 the almost daily conflicts interspersed with fatiguing night 
 marches which took place during General Grant's flanking 
 expeditions from the Wilderness to Petersburg. 
 
 During our period of service many had been discharged 
 on account of disability. A goodly number also had been 
 transferred to other commands and service, some of whom 
 made good records for themselves. Many had gone out 
 beardless boys, but now returned well-trained men. 
 
 All were eager to quit the service and to return to their 
 several avocations to enjoy a blessed reign of peace; to rejoice 
 in a nation saved, a Union preserved. 
 
 The songs of farewell were hastily sung and Company K 
 became an organization of the past, each man going his own 
 way: some never again to look into each other's faces, but a 
 tie of comradeship binding all hearts together that no period 
 of time can ever break. 
 
360 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 COLONEL RICHARD PETIT ROBERTS. 
 
 BY W. S. SHALLENBERGER, FIRST LIEUTENANT AND ADJUTANT. 
 
 Colonel Roberts was born near Frankford Springs, 
 Beaver County, Pa., June, 1820, and died on the battlefield 
 of Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, aged 43 years. He was the son 
 of John Roberts; grandson on the father's side, of a soldier 
 of the American Revolution, and grandson on the side of 
 his mother, Ruth Dugan, of an Indian fighter. He probably 
 inherited the soldier spirit and learned from his earliest 
 childhood, thrilling stories of heroic service for humanity. 
 He was favored in the early years of his education. Frank- 
 fort Springs was the seat of an excellent academy and his 
 instructors there were Rev. James Sloan and the Hon. 
 Thomas Nicholson. Life on his father's farm and the com- 
 munity life as well, were such as favored and fostered high 
 moral standards. He was a lover of nature and an apt stu- 
 dent of men and books. From childhood and earliest man- 
 hood, Colonel Roberts was commended for his correct habits 
 and for courageous and independent conduct. He studied 
 law under N. P. Fetterman, Esq., and during that period, 
 taught school several terms. 
 
 In the year 1848, he was admitted to the bar and rose 
 steadily in his profession. He was tall, straight, fine fea- 
 tured, easily approached, cordial in manner, fluent and force- 
 ful in speech, in short he had altogether a pleasing, magnetic 
 personality. 
 
 He soon came to be recognized by friends and neighbors 
 as a man likely to win high places in professional and public 
 life. He was selected by the Attorney-General of Pennsylva- 
 nia, as his deputy for the County of Beaver, and when the 
 office became elective he was chosen District Attorney at a 
 time when the County was of another political persuasion. 
 He was married to Miss Caroline Henry, daughter of Hon. 
 William Henry, and sister of Major Thos. Henry, of the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth, in the year 1851. Three chil- 
 dren were born, one of whom, a daughter, Emma, was living, 
 a little motherless girl when her father left her for the war. 
 She is now the mother of a happy family, and wife of Hon. 
 Isaac Harter, a prominent banker of Canton, Ohio. By 
 reason of her great kindness to the comrades, she has been 
 affectionately named by them, "Daughter of the Regiment." 
 
 When the failure of the Peninsula Campaign became 
 apparent, in the early summer of 1862, and the call of Presi- 
 
AIRS. EMMA ROBERTS HARTER. 
 
 The Daughter of the Regiment. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 361 
 
 dent Lincoln rang through the North, Colonel Roberts re- 
 sponded and announced his readiness to raise a Company. 
 He started the work by saying that a squad of seventeen 
 men, previously enlisted by the writer, should head the list. 
 He spoke in many school-houses and great enthusiasm was 
 aroused by his stirring appeals. In a short time three com- 
 panies, instead of one, were ready to take the oath, and on 
 the 21st of August, 1862, on one of the public squares of 
 Beaver, were mustered into the service of the United States. 
 Reports from the adjoining County of Washington were to 
 the effect that five hundred men had responded to the call, 
 headed by Professor John Fraser, a noted member of the 
 Faculty of Canonsburg College. Conferences between these 
 two leaders, and telegrams between them and Governor 
 Curtin, led to the prompt organization of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, on 
 the 8th of September, at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg. About 
 the same time General Lee crossed the Potomac and gave 
 occasion for the orders that assigned the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth to the command of General Wool, stationed at Bal- 
 timore. Four companies, with the Colonel's headquarters, 
 were located at Parkton and the remaining companies were 
 distributed along the Northern Central Railroad, to guard it 
 from hostile demonstration. 
 
 During the three months' guard duty, Colonel Roberts 
 gave special attention to Company and Battalion drill and 
 the duties of camp life. Dress parade and inspections oc- 
 curred regularly. The presence, for a time, of General Lee's 
 Army in Maryland, and the sound of the guns at Antietam, 
 gave spice to guard duty. On the 20th of December, the 
 Regiment reported to the Army of the Potomac, at Fal- 
 mouth, Va., and was assigned to the Third Brigade, First 
 Division, Second Army Corps, commanded by General S. K. 
 Zook, a brave and accomplished soldier. 
 
 The great size of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regi- 
 ment, as compared with the other regiments of the Brigade, 
 the quick intelligence of its rank and file and the promptness 
 and efficiency with which it responded to calls for reports 
 and details for various purposes, soon established for 
 Colonel Roberts a good reputation at Brigade Headquarters. 
 On more than one occasion, General Zook requested the 
 Adjutant, when at his headquarters making report, to give 
 Colonel Roberts his compliments and thanks for the excellent 
 discipline of his command. Officers and men of the Regi- 
 ment appreciated the personal attention of Colonel Roberts 
 
362 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 to their comfort and general welfare in camp. It is the con- 
 duct of a commanding officer on the field of battle, however, 
 that makes or breaks his reputation as a soldier. 
 
 The First Division, of the Second Corps, performed 
 brilliant service at Chancellorsville. It was the fighting 
 Division of a fighting Corps, commanded by Hancock, the 
 superb soldier. The magnificent conduct of the picket line, 
 brilliantly led by Colonel Nelson A. Miles, won for that 
 young officer, undying fame and well-deserved promotion. 
 Two Companies of the One Hundred and Fortieth served on 
 picket and fought with the skill and dauntless courage of 
 seasoned troops, reflecting honor on the Regiment and its 
 Commander. The eight companies under command of 
 Colonel Roberts, met every demand of the most exacting 
 test of courage, with steadiness and alacrity. 
 
 The Chancellor House, at about the hour of ten o'clock 
 on Sunday morning, May 3rd, was the most critical point 
 of the entire line held by the Union Army. It was filled 
 with wounded soldiers. The open space on which it stood 
 was being shelled by three Rebel batteries preparatory to 
 an assault. The capture of that point would imperil the 
 safe retreat of our army, behind the new line of earth- 
 works, protecting the troops which were massed for return 
 to camp across the river, Hancock saw the absolute need 
 of holding the crest, in spite of the terrific enfilading fire 
 of the batteries. They had already shot to death, or dis- 
 abled, every horse attached to the Fifth Maine battery. 
 Every officer and man connected with the battery, save one 
 Sergeant, had been silenced. The Chancellor House was on 
 fire. The early details to remove the wounded were evi- 
 dently inadequate. The One Hundred and Fortieth lay prone 
 on the ground, supporting the battery, the last and only hope 
 of saving the wounded and hauling disabled guns beyond the 
 reach of an exultant foe ready for a charge as soon as the 
 merciless storm of shot and shell should cease. The bravest 
 soldiers were needed in such a crisis and heroic leadership 
 to inspire them. Hancock spurred his horse to the very crest, 
 in front of where the One Hundred and Fortieth lay, and 
 called out, "Is Colonel or Adjutant here?" Rising and salut- 
 ing, I replied, "The Adjutant, General." "Detail a Company 
 at once," he ordered, "to remove the wounded from the burn- 
 ing building and forty men or more to haul off these guns." 
 I detailed Company F, under command of Captain Henry, 
 to rescue the wounded as it lay to my left, nearest the build- 
 ing, and Lieutenant Linton of Company D, with forty men 
 to haul off the guns. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 363 
 
 The coolness of General Hancock was matched by the 
 magnificent response of the One Hundred and Fortieth. 
 Colonel Roberts made prompt report of the successful and 
 heroic services of both details, under the eye of General 
 Zook, and yet for forty-five years the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment has waited to see the official report of 
 General Zook placed on file in the War Department, fully 
 crediting the Regiment with this notable achievement.* 
 The sketch of the positions held by his Division at the Chan- 
 cellor House and the Reports of General Zook's subordin- 
 ates, which General Hancock states were forwarded to the 
 War Department, in connection with his report, have not 
 yet reached the files. They would no doubt correct still 
 more fully the injustice done the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 all these years if they could be found. 
 
 The Chancellorsville Campaign was one that exhausted 
 the nervous energy of officers and men. Colonel Roberts 
 suffered from a low malarial fever, and, on the advice of 
 the surgeons, sought recovery on sick leave. When word 
 reached him of the march of General Lee's Army northward, 
 with intent to cross into Maryland, he quickly resolved that 
 he would return to his place of duty, at the head of his 
 Regiment, or fail in the attempt. It proved to be a long, 
 hard journey, including the use of a canoe from the city 
 of Washington to Edward's Ferry and a walk of thirty 
 miles before he overtook the Regiment, at Uniontown, Md., 
 on the 30th of June. Physicians and friends in Washington 
 had advised that he take hopsital treatment but he said, 
 "No" — The result was one of many revelations during the 
 war, of the power of the will to dominate and subdue physi- 
 cal weakness and disease. He expressed himself as delighted 
 to assume command and felt stronger than when he left home, 
 although any one could see that he was far from being a 
 well man. On the following day, July 1st, continuing with 
 short intervals for rest, the march to the battlefield was one 
 of the most exhausting ever experienced. The sun was hot, 
 roads dusty and blocked at times with artillery, hastening 
 to the front. The boom of cannon was heard and a desper- 
 ate battle was reported in progress. Wagons were going 
 to the rear. The death of General Reynolds was announced 
 in the evening. On, on. through the night, the First Divi- 
 sion marched. Zook's Brigade then the rear guard of the 
 
 t 
 
 *See "Diary of a Young Army Officer," Lieut. J. M. Favill, 1908, 
 page 232. and preface. 
 
364 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Corps, steadily marched, until a halt was called at 2 A. M. 
 for a rest. In two hours the march was resumed and the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, led by Colonel Rob- 
 erts, found a place in line of battle and stacked arms at nine 
 o'clock on the morning of July 2nd. 
 
 Then it was, while on reserve, in sight of the enemy's 
 line of battle, prone on the grass, the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth rested, lunched and napped, for probably six hours 
 of that eventful day. The Colonel talked freely with the 
 writer. The tenderness of his heart exacted a pledge that 
 the Adjutant, who had been so close to him, would be a 
 life-long friend to the little, motherless daughter he loved 
 so well. He was calm and confident of the final success of 
 our armies, but evidently realized the sacrifice of life that 
 victory involved, and was resolved to lead where others 
 dared follow. The hour came for him and for his Regiment, 
 between six and seven o'clock in the evening. The battle 
 scene need not be retold. Colonel Roberts was a part of it, 
 and in the fore-front, at every moment. He knew no fear. 
 He was alert and self-possessed but impatient to lead the 
 great body of men into line of battle. They overlapped the 
 gallant battalion, with the right of which the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth was to connect. Steadily and rapidly we filed 
 to the right and at length reached the crest of the hill, 
 faced the foe, loaded and fired at will and closed ranks, torn 
 open by savage volleys of musketry and screaming shells. 
 Looking toward the peach orchard we saw our right exposed 
 and the enemy threatening our flank and rear. Change 
 front by the right flank was the order. Colonel Roberts 
 sprang to the front of the right company, to lead in person, 
 when he fell with a bullet through his heart. He was in com- 
 mand of the Brigade when he gave up his life that the 
 Nation might live. General Zook had previously fallen and 
 Roberts, the senior Colonel was his successor. Tenderly, 
 loving hands carried the body a few rods to the rear and 
 the battle line maintained its integrity. Men fall. The ranks 
 close. Officers cease to command and intelligent volunteer 
 soldiery fight equally well without specific orders at a time 
 and place like that. 
 
 For a short time the body of our beloved Colonel lay 
 between the armies. When recovered the fine uniform he 
 wore, and the elegant sword and belt presented to him by 
 the citizens of Beaver, were missing. All that was mortal 
 was laid to rest in the beautiful cemetery at Beaver, on the 
 17th day of July, 1863. A great company of his fellow 
 
BREVET BRIG.-GEN. JOHN I'K \si K. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 365 
 
 citizens attended the funeral ceremonies and testified to the 
 place he held in the esteem of his countrymen. Within the 
 brief space of ten months from the day on which he left 
 his home, to begin the life of a soldier, he was crowned a 
 hero in the spirit world. Tested as a soldier on two of the 
 great battlefields of the century, he had acquitted himself 
 nobly. He loved his home, his country and his God. 
 
 In the light of history, death could not have come to 
 him under circumstances more highly honorable. In giving 
 his life he saved the lives of friends and foes as well. 
 
 To overcome a foe of equal strength is warlike. To 
 overcome the enmity that breeds the foe is God-like. The 
 Civil War was a stupendous price to pay but the blood of its 
 martyrs has been the seed of the greatest harvest of peace 
 and prosperity the world ever knew. 
 
 BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL JOHN FRASER. 
 
 The One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment v/as honored 
 in having for its Lieutenant-Colonel and, after Gettysburg, 
 its Colonel, one of the ablest scholars and most distinguished 
 educators of his day, west of the Alleghenies. 
 
 When the war broke out he was known far and wide as 
 the brilliant and enthusiastic Professor of Mathematics and 
 Astronomy of Jefferson College, an institution which was 
 well known in the South, and from which many young men 
 of the Southern States had been graduated. 
 
 Born in Scotland, John Fraser availed himself in early 
 life of the advantages of two of the most renowned universi- 
 ties of his native land, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. 
 
 From the last-named institution he was graduated in 
 1844 and won, over some very able competitors, the Hutton- 
 ian Prize in mathematics, a prize which was offered only 
 once in ten years. 
 
 In the classroom he was — as one has put it — "quick of 
 apprehension, clear in thought and capable of leading his 
 students to clearness; he was skilful in questioning, giving 
 equal chance to all, helpful to those who needed help, and 
 cheering and inspiring by deriving manifest gratification 
 from successful work." 
 
 Abounding in information in every domain of literature, 
 history and science, he frequently varied the monotony of 
 classroom work by brief lectures on practical themes, rising 
 ofttimes on his tiptoes to the highest flight of eloquence and 
 sublimity of thought. 
 
366 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 As one who knew him well has expressed it: "It was a 
 wonderful treat, often enjoyed, when the professor would 
 lay down his work and, addressing us as young gentlemen, 
 would launch out in a lecture, filling the hour with the elo- 
 quence of a great soul awake and on tire. 
 
 "Sometimes his thoughts were as a knife of keenest 
 edge, cutting its way through difficulties, and, again, radiant 
 and joyous as the expression of a life whose experiences 
 were Elysian. Sometimes he would lead us out in the stern 
 lines of duty and the essentials of clean manhood, when 
 wrong and meanness and shystcring would get their indig- 
 nant dues; sometimes along the paths of human industry, 
 where men throwing off the ancient curse are at work sub- 
 duing the physical forces and mind is winning the mastery; 
 again, among the creations of art, where imagination brings 
 forth ideals and the touch of human genius gives them a local 
 habitation and a name." It was indeed the privilege of a 
 lifetime to hear him on such themes. 
 
 Professor Fraser, as his students knew him also, was a 
 man of prayer, sensitive to all good influences and bold in his 
 advocacy of the central truths of the gospel of Christ. 
 
 When, at the close of the summer session of 1862, this 
 versatile and greatly beloved professor, who had probably 
 taught more famous Pennsylvanians than any other teacher 
 in the State, announced his intention to give up his chair at 
 the college and enter the service of his adopted country, 
 there was a quick response to his appeal from young men 
 in the college and the neighborhood around, who counted 
 it a privilege to go forth under his leadership. 
 
 The writer can still remember the last hour in his class- 
 room, when the little professor drew himself up to his full 
 height and said in effect : "Young gentlemen — This is our 
 last hour of recitation together. The country needs strong 
 and brave defenders, and since I am sound in wind and limb, 
 I see no good reason why I should not enroll myself with 
 them. After the exercises of Commencement Day I shall 
 make the attempt to enlist a company from this town and 
 its vicinity." In the thrill of excitement which followed 
 these words, there were many who then and there made the 
 resolve to cast in their lot with him as a band of sworn de- 
 fenders of the country and its flag. 
 
 The following account from the Washington Reporter. 
 of August 21, 1862, is interesting as showing the dominant 
 impulse of the hour, and the reach of the appeal which was 
 made to the homes of Canonsburg and its environs: 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 367 
 
 "Recruiting at Canonsbuk<;. 
 
 "The Canonsburg Brown Infantry, commanded by Cap- 
 tain John Fraser, Professor of Mathematics in Jefferson 
 College, is ready to march. The Professor commenced re- 
 cruiting on Monday, the nth inst., and before the close of the 
 same week, he reports his command ready for marching. 
 This is unprecedented in the recruiting line, especially if we 
 take into consideration that this is the third company re- 
 cruited from Canonsburg and the country around, for the 
 three years' service. The first company that went out (the 
 Jefferson Guards, Captain McDaniel) contained a large num- 
 ber of students, as did the Ellsworth Cadets, Captain Mur- 
 phy. Captain Fraser's company is recruited from the very 
 best men of the town and vicinity, and under their popular 
 and energetic commander, will make their mark. There is 
 one very notable fact connected with the volunteering that 
 we think will not be surpassed by the number of population 
 anywhere. The following families send forty-seven sons to 
 the Union Army : 
 
 "John Gaston, 4; Thomas Jackson, 4; James Ryan, 4; 
 Harmon McPeck, 4; Samuel L. Hughes, 3; Samuel Stewart, 
 3; William Smith, 3; John Paxton, 3; Dr. Z. G. Stewart, 3; 
 Mrs. Hallis, 3; James Coleman, 3; John Bradv, 2; Hugh 
 Huston, 2; S. R. Cook, 2; W. H. McNary, 2; W. Black, 2. 
 
 "Although Professor Fraser leaves with his Company, 
 there yet has been no arrangements made to fill his place in 
 the college during his absence. M'D." 
 
 William H. H. Bingham, better known to this genera- 
 tion as General H. H. Bingham— the late "Father of the 
 House" — who had just received his diploma from the Col- 
 lege, was an active assistant in recruiting the company, and 
 on the completion of its enrollment, was made its First Lieu- 
 tenant. 
 
 On the organization of the Regiment, Captain Fraser 
 was made Lieutenant-Colonel. He succeeded to the command 
 of the Regiment, and, for a time, of the Brigade, also, when 
 Colonel Roberts fell with a mortal wound at Gettysburg. 
 
 His commission as Colonel bears the date of July 4, 
 1863. He was slightly wounded in the battle of the Wilder- 
 ness, and in the charge at Spottsylvania Court House, May 
 12, 1864, received another wound which, for a time, unfitted 
 him for active service. During the temporary absence of the 
 ranking officer, he was assigned to the command of the Sec- 
 ond Brigade, and in the month of June, 1864, was placed in 
 command of the Fourth Brigade of the Division. The next 
 
368 THE ONE HLXDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 day, while attempting to rally his troops, who had been out- 
 flanked in the midst of a dense woods by the withdrawal of 
 other forces, Colonel Fraser was taken prisoner. 
 
 In referring to this event, his successor in command, 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Win. Glenning, of the Sixty-fourth New 
 York Volunteers, says: 
 
 "On the 22d we advanced a mile through a dense woods, 
 and with the remainder of the Division, was attacked and 
 pressed back to the breastworks, losing a large number of 
 prisoners, among them the gallant commandant, Colonel 
 Fraser, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers." 
 
 At Gettysburg, where as Lieutenant-Colonel, he brought 
 off Zook's Brigade, at Bristol Station, at Spottsylvania, Mine 
 Run and Petersburg, Colonel received special mention for 
 bravery and efficiency from his superior officer. 
 
 A well-deserved tribute of appreciation is also on record 
 in the War Department, in the form of a request from Gen- 
 eral Nelson A. Miles to the Adjutant-General of the Second 
 Corps, to the effect that efforts be made to effect his exchange. 
 In this communication he is described as "a very valuable 
 officer, captured. June 22, 1864, while in command of the 
 Fourth Brigade, and now confined at Charleston, South 
 Carolina." 
 
 Elsewhere General Miles mentions him by name as one 
 of the officers of his command who contributed largely to his 
 own success as Commander of the First Division. 
 
 The above-mentioned communication, asking for special 
 efforts to secure Colonel Fraser's exchange, was dated No- 
 vember 22, 1864. He was not released, however, until several 
 months later. He returned to the Union Army on the 15th 
 of April, and, with the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General — a 
 well deserved honor — was assigned to the command of the 
 First Brigade. He was mustered out with his Regiment on 
 the 31st of May. 1865. 
 
 Colonel Fraser's first experience as a captive was in 
 Libby Prison. At a later period he was removed to Macon, 
 Georgia, and finally to Charleston, South Carolina, where he 
 and his associates of the "prison pen" were placed by order 
 of the Confederate Government, under the guns of the Union 
 bombarding fleet. 
 
 During his confinement in Confederate prisons, the ex- 
 uberant spirits and wholesome humor, characteristic of the 
 man, kept him from sinking down or yielding to the depress- 
 ing influences about him. With undaunted courage, he stood 
 by the cause he had espoused, and found the best preventive 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 369 
 
 against despondency in cheering up others, in ministering to 
 the sick, in teaching his associates how to make the best use 
 of the miserable food served out them; and, above all, in 
 providing mental entertainment and diversion in a course of 
 lectures on literature, history or philosophy. 
 
 "His lectures," as one has put it, "to the prisoners of 
 Roper Hospital, on Shakespeare, a volume of which had, by 
 some means, been secured, standing on a pile of ashes, bare- 
 headed and barefooted, and with no clothing but a ragged 
 shirt and torn pantaloons, will never be forgotten by those 
 who listened to him." 
 
 At the close of the war, or soon after, General Frascr 
 accepted a professorship in the State Agricultural College, at 
 Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and subsequently became its Presi- 
 dent for two years. Accepting an invitation at the close of 
 this period to become the Chancellor of the University of 
 Kansas, he gave to that institution several years of efficient 
 service. He afterward filled a term as State Superintendent 
 of Public Instruction, and it is said that the organization of 
 the excellent School System of Kansas was largely the work 
 of his methodical and resourceful mind. 
 
 While a resident of that State, General Fraser was united 
 in marriage to a lady of sympathetic tastes and eminent liter- 
 ary acquirements with whom he enjoyed the comforts and 
 amenities of a happy, hospitable home. 
 
 At a date unknown to the writer, General Fraser re- 
 ceived the honorary title of Doctor of Laws. 
 
 In the spring of 1887, he accepted a professorship ten- 
 dered him by the trustees of the Western University, at Pitts- 
 burg, Pa., and removed to that city in July of the same year. 
 In less than a year thereafter, he was prostrated by a sudden 
 attack of illness which proved to be varioloid. In its first 
 stage this disease gave him no concern, for he had passed 
 through it once before; but in its later developments, it 
 assumed a serious aspect. Everything was done for him that 
 medical skill could suggest or careful nursing could accom- 
 plish, but human remedies were unavailing; and on the 4th 
 of June, he yielded up his spirit to the God who gave it. Thus 
 passed away, in the prime of life — for he was then in his 51st 
 year — this good soldier of his country and of the Cross. His 
 remains were taken by his widow — now Mrs. Frances Kemp- 
 ster — to the burial place of her family, in Kenosha, 
 Wisconsin. R. L. S. 
 
 Note. — The writer is indebted to Hon. Royd Crumrine, of Washington. Pa.; 
 Dr. J. E. Wightmen, of Washington, D. C, Historian of the Class of i860, Jeffer- 
 son College, and to the writer of an obituary notice in the Presbyterian Banner, 
 of June 12, 1878, for much of the material used in the preparation of this sketch. 
 
370 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL THOMAS B. RODGERS. 
 
 The first Captain of Company B, of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment, Thomas Blackburn Rodgers — was 
 born of Scotch-Irish ancestry at Mercer, Pa., on the 30th of 
 December, 1835. Having received a liberal education which 
 qualified him for a professional career, he took up the study 
 of law and was admitted to the bar of his native county in 
 
 1857. 
 
 By appointment he became the clerk to the County Com- 
 missioners from 1857 to 1861. This position he resigned at 
 the outbreak of the war that he might be free to enlist in a 
 Company which responded to the first call of President Lin- 
 coln. Before the completion of the list of recruits it was 
 announced that the full number of the three months' men 
 had been secured. The Company was then included in the 
 formation of the Tenth Pennsylvania Reserves and became 
 Company G, of that Regiment. At the date of its organiza- 
 tion, young Rodgers was made the First Lieutenant, his com- 
 mission dating from April 27, 1861. He participated in the 
 battle of Drainsville, Va., in December, of that year. On 
 account of physical disability he was discharged by order 
 of the Regimental Surgeon, May 8, 1862. 
 
 In August, 1862, he enlisted a Company, for three years' 
 service, under the authority of Governor Curtin, which after- 
 wards became Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- 
 sylvania volunteers. He was commissioned as Captain of 
 this Company on the 3d of September. When the Regiment 
 was organized at Harrisburg, he was elected and commis- 
 sioned as its first Major. 
 
 Major Rodgers was with his command in the battle of 
 Chancellorsville and at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, was cap- 
 tured by a flanking party of the enemy between the peach 
 orchard and the wheat-field. 
 
 He, with other officers captured in that battle, in obedi- 
 ence to orders from the War Department, refused to give a 
 parole on the field, although strongly urged to do so by 
 General Lee's staff officers. Their place of imprisonment was 
 the Libby tobacco house, Richmond. Here Major Rodgers 
 remained for nine months. He was then paroled and sent 
 to Annapolis and Washington. Having been declared unfit 
 for field service by the medical authorities, he was detailed 
 by the War Department for service on a general court 
 martial sitting in Washington. Afterwards the place of 
 session of this court to which he belonged, was transferred 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 371 
 
 to Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He remained on duty in this 
 capacity until relieved at his own urgent and repeated 
 requests to return to his Regiment. He was promoted from 
 Major to Lieutenant-Colonel to date from July 4, 1863. 
 
 During the attack on Washington by General Early, 
 July, 1864, he and other members of the court offered their 
 services to the War Department. The offer was accepted 
 and he was assigned to the command of a battalion made 
 up of three or four hundred men of the Invalid Corps, 
 convalescents and dismounted cavalrymen. These hastily 
 gathered defenders were stationed in the rifle pit near Fort 
 Stevens, where they remained until after the arrival of the 
 Sixth Army Corps. Colonel Rodgers returned to his Regi- 
 ment about the first of January, 1865, and was discharged 
 by special order on the 27th of April, 1865. 
 
 Returning to Mercer County, he decided to seek a new 
 field of labor in the West and in the spring of 1866, removed 
 to St. Louis, Missouri. In the autumn of 1865 — October 
 24, — he was united in marriage to Marion E. Long, daughter 
 of Captain A. K. Long, United States Navy, retired, at Car- 
 lisle, Pa. 
 
 Mrs. Rodgers died October 18, 1908. Four sons were 
 born to them, all of whom are now living and have grown 
 to manhood. From 1867 to 1870, Colonel Rodgers was agent 
 of the United States Quartermaster's Department for inves- 
 tigation of claims against the Government; from 1870 to 
 1879, he was engaged in real estate and insurance business 
 and was Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court from 1879 to 1887. 
 He served for a time as a member of the St. Louis Board 
 of Education and has had many positions of honor and trust 
 in the Missouri Department of the Grand Army of the 
 Republic. He has served in this department as Assistant 
 Adjutant-General two terms and, at the present time, is in 
 charge of the Department Headquarters in St. Louis. He 
 was a charter member of the Frank P. Blair Post No. I, 
 for many years the largest post west of the Mississippi 
 River. He is a member also of the Missouri Commandery 
 of the Loyal Legion and of its council; a member of the 
 Pennsylvania Society of St. Louis; of the Board of Trustees 
 of the Federal Soldiers' Home of Missouri and the secretary 
 and treasurer of the Grand Army of the Republic General 
 Relief Committee of St. Louis. 
 
 Colonel Rodgers has had the honor and privilege of 
 being a member of every National encampment of the 
 Grand Army of the Republic since 1877, and has served re- 
 
372 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 peatedly on some of the most important committees of the 
 National organization. 
 
 It seems fitting, therefore, that on the 13th of May, of 
 the present year, 1912, he should receive the appointment 
 from Governor Hadly, to respresent the State of Missouri 
 upon the commission which recently met to arrange for a 
 suitable commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the 
 Battle of Gettysburg. 
 
 Comrade Rodgers was a candidate for Congress in the 
 Twelfth Congressional District of Missouri in 1892, but 
 failed of election by a small margin, he having reduced the 
 former opposition majority by more than 2,000 votes. 
 
 He is proud of his record, also as one of the "306" who 
 supported General Grant in the National Republican Con- 
 vention at Chicago in 1880, as a delegate from the Twelfth 
 Congressional District. 
 
 It will be evident from the above summary of appoint- 
 ments and services that the worthy Lieutenant-Colonel of 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth has not yet reached the dead 
 line of enthusiastic service and far-reaching influence. 
 
 SKETCH OF MAJOR THOMAS HENRY. 
 By Harry J. Boyde, of Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Thomas Henry was born in Beaver, Pa., in 1838, the 
 son of William and Eliza Hamilton Henry, they being the de- 
 scendants of the most prominent of the families of this 
 community. They were a class of people who were at all 
 times interested in the development of all that was best in 
 the material and moral welfare of the county. Some of 
 them became prominent in public life, serving in Congress 
 and other official positions. 
 
 In the course of time the Major graduated from the 
 Beaver Academy, a well-known institution in its day, and 
 shortly thereafter the war between the North and South 
 having broken out he entered the service in response to the 
 call for volunteers. This, no doubt, interfered with any 
 intentions he may have had in the matter of taking a colle- 
 giate course, and thus further fitting himself for the pro- 
 fessional life he had in view. 
 
 He enlisted August 21, 1862, in Company F, of which 
 he became Captain upon the promotion of Richard P. Rob- 
 erts to the Colonelcy of the Regiment, a position he re- 
 tained until May 1, 1865, when he became Major of the 
 Regiment. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 7>72, 
 
 His Company had unbounded confidence in his efficiency, 
 his courage and attention to the things that pertained to their 
 welfare. Woe be to him who failed in issuing to his men 
 their proper share of the best that was to be had in the 
 matter of rations and clothing. 
 
 His courage and ability to handle men was attested on 
 many a hard-fought field. Especially was this true when 
 under orders from General Hancock he, with some forty of 
 his Company, removed the wounded from the burning Chan- 
 cellor House on the morning of the 3d of May, 1863. He 
 also succeeded in rescuing three ladies from this house, one 
 of whom was Mrs. Chancellor. This work of rescue was 
 done under a withering fire from the enemy at close range, 
 and was worthy of more recognition than was accorded it 
 at the time. 
 
 Captain Henry's cool demeanor under the destructive 
 fire that was poured into the Regiment at Gettysburg was 
 particularly noticeable, and again at Farmville, when our 
 Regimental skirmish line had been driven back and took a 
 new position. He was in command of the Regiment dur- 
 ing that engagement, and coolly paced back and forth in 
 front of his command, apparently indifferent to the fire of 
 the enemy, which was being largely concentrated upon him. 
 
 At the close of the war Major Henry placed himself 
 under the care of the Hon. Daniel Agnew as a student of 
 law. He continued under the tutelage of this distinguished 
 jurist for about a year, when he entered the office of the Hon. 
 Henry Rice, with whom he completed his law studies. He 
 was admitted to the Beaver County Bar, March 18, 1867. 
 He at once began the practice of his profession, continuing 
 thereat for a few years, when he entered the School of Mines 
 of Columbia College and made a specialty of the study of 
 analytical chemistry. Upon his graduation from this school 
 he took charge of the mining interests of a company in the 
 Far West. Upon the completion of the work he had under- 
 taken there, he returned to Beaver and resumed the prac- 
 tice of his profession. Following the natural bent of his 
 inclinations, he gave much of his time to special studies in 
 laboratory work, geology and the early local history of 
 Beaver County. 
 
 At the time of his death, February 21, 1912, Major 
 Henry was a member of the Historical Committee of the 
 Regimental Association, and took much interest in the prepa- 
 ration of the history which is the outcome of their work. 
 Between intervals of extreme bodily suffering he prepared 
 
374 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 brief articles for the use of the historian which were very 
 helpful and suggestive. It was generally supposed that he 
 had prepared the outlines of a history of the Regiment 
 some years before his death, but to this he made no refer- 
 ence in his correspondence, and no material relating to such 
 a history could be found among his effects. The Regiment 
 is greatly indebted to him, however, for a carefully wrought 
 sketch in blue print of its route marches from Washing- 
 ton City in 1862 to Washington City in 1865. This sketch 
 has been prepared for printing and is one of the most unique 
 features in the valuable list of illustrations which adorn the 
 pages of this history. To its publication Major Henry gave 
 his free and hearty consent. 
 
 For several years preceding his death Major Henry was 
 a great sufferer from an insidious, incurable disease, but of 
 this he gave little sign to the outside world and endured 
 the suffering and discomfort which fell to his lot with 
 patience and resignation. His comrades frequently visited 
 him, much to his delight, and did what they could to make 
 him comfortable. Practically all the survivors of the Regi- 
 ment in the community were in attendance at his funeral, 
 each one feeling that he was helping to consign to its last 
 resting place one of the bravest men of the Regiment. 
 
 ADJUTANT WILLIAM S. SHALLENBERGER. 
 
 The youthful incumbent of this important office lor 
 more than two years, was born among the rugged hills of 
 Westmoreland County, Pa. 
 
 With the inestimable advantages of a Christian home, 
 and amid the wholesale influences of country life, he had 
 the best of preparation as he grew up for any sphere of 
 action or any field of labor which, in the providence of God, 
 he might be called. From the public school he went to 
 the Mt. Pleasant Academy and thence, in due course, to the 
 Lewisburg College, now Bucknell University, from which he 
 was not graduated, but afterward received the degree of A.M. 
 
 Those who saw this newly appointed Adjutant step 
 out from the center of the line at the first dress parade of 
 the Regiment will recall his boyish face, lithe form, grace- 
 ful manner and distinctively military poise. At this time, 
 and ever after — however he may have attained it — he was 
 every inch an Adjutant. 
 
 The good impression made in this first hour of pub- 
 lic service was strengthened by more intimate acquaintance 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 375 
 
 with the man ; and, during the entire period of his connec- 
 tion with the Regiment, he enjoyed the unbroken confidence 
 and esteem alike of its officers and men. 
 
 The following testimonial from the commanding officer 
 of the Regiment — Colonel John Fraser — is worthy of record 
 here because of its evident sincerity, it having been given 
 unsolicited, and because of its just discrimination in deal- 
 ing with facts relating to Adjutant Shallenberger's well- 
 known characteristic traits; and also to his careful, pains- 
 taking and conscientious performance of duty : 
 
 "Lieutenant Wm. Shallenberger has been Adjutant of 
 my Regiment since its organization, September 9, 1862, when 
 I first became acquainted with him. From that hour to the 
 present I have had many opportunities of closely observing 
 his conduct in the office, in drill, on the march and under 
 fire. In the office he has been very systematic and untiring 
 in his industry, habitually prompt in his attention to all 
 orders, and always successful in making the books which he 
 kept and the papers which he wrote models of accuracy 
 and neatness. Moreover, in the many trying duties that de- 
 volved upon him he has uniformly displayed good temper, 
 combined in an unusually happy degree with great judgment 
 and firmness. 
 
 On drill and on the march I have ever found him a very 
 intelligent and efficient aid, in whose cordial sympathy I 
 could always depend in my attempts to instruct and discipline 
 my command. In action he is considered by all his associates 
 as a cool, efficient and brave officer. 
 
 To naturally good talents, which he has very much im- 
 proved by a good education, he adds a refined taste and a 
 high-toned morality unsullied by a single bad habit. 
 
 Having for a long time and in a high degree enjoyed the 
 esteem and confidence both of the officers and men of my 
 command, and having acquired a more than ordinary knowl- 
 edge of tactics and of the forms of military business, he has, 
 in my opinion, proved himself to be abundantly competent 
 to fill any field office in a Regiment. From my intimate 
 knowledge of his character and talents, I feel confident that, 
 in whatever position he may be placed, he will discharge his 
 duties with great fidelity and ability. As an act of justice to 
 Lieutenant Shallenberger, whom I have not had hitherto a 
 chance of helping to the promotion which he richly deserves, 
 I, in the foregoing statement, spontaneously put on record 
 the high place which he has earned for himself in my affec- 
 tion and esteem. 
 
376 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 (Signed) John Fraser, 
 Colonel One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment. 
 Canonsburg, Washington Co., Pa. 
 January 26, 1864. 
 
 Of like interest and value are the statements and com- 
 mendation which follow : 
 
 Hospital, First Division, Second Corps, 
 
 Near Petersburgh, Va., 
 
 September 17, 1864. 
 
 Having learned that Adjutant William S. Shallenberger, One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, is about to make appli- 
 cation for appointment as Paymaster, U. S. A., I desire briefly to present 
 his claims to that position. 
 
 Adjutant Shallenberger, in response to the call for volunteers in 1862, 
 enlisted as a private and contributed largely, by his influence and personal 
 efforts, to the formation of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers. Upon the organization of the Regiment he was 
 appointed Adjutant and has served in this capacity until the present time. 
 At the battle of Chancellorsville, the first in which the Regiment was 
 engaged, he received a slight wound, which, however, did not require 
 him to leave the field. At the battle of Gettysburg he was severely 
 wounded in the leg, but rejoined the Regiment at Morrisville, Va., 
 before his wound was healed and participated with the Regiment in all 
 the marches and fighting of the fall campaign. 
 
 Just recovering from a severe attack of sickness, he started upon 
 the campaign of 1864 when scarcely able to keep the saddle, was in the 
 battle of the Wilderness and at the fight of Corbins Bridge, near Todd's 
 Tavern, received a very severe wound in the thigh from which he is 
 now suffering. It is not probable that he will be able to enter upon 
 active field service, although his wound will not unfit him for the lighter 
 duties of the position which he seeks. 
 
 Adjutant Shallenberger has remarkable business capacity and his 
 qualifications for a post like this are beyond question. 
 
 Having full confidence in his ability to discharge the duties of Pay- 
 master to the satisfaction of the Department, I very respectfully recom- 
 mend his appointment. 
 
 J. WILSON WISHART, 
 Surgeon, One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 HON. E. M. STANTON, 
 Secretary of War. 
 
 Headquarters, First Division, 
 
 September 20, 1864. 
 I take pleasure in endorsing the recommendations of Surgeon Wishart. 
 Adjutant Shallenberger has served under my command and I know him to 
 be a most reliable, efficient and worthy officer and strongly recommend 
 him for the position he seeks. 
 
 NELSON A. MILES, 
 Brigadier-General, Commanding. 
 
 This is a meritorious case. This young officer made, I think, more 
 recruits for us in Western Pennsylvania in the winter of 1863 and 1864, 
 than probably any other officer; but aside from this, he is a gallant young 
 officer, richly deserving of promotion and capable of filling the position 
 he aspires to. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 WINFD. S. HANCOCK, 
 Major General Volunteers, 
 Commanding Second Corps. 
 September 22, 1864. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 377 
 
 I very earnestly unite in the recommendation of William S. Shall- 
 enberger and will be personally gratified if he can be appointed. 
 
 A. G. CURTIN, 
 Governor of Pennsylvania. 
 
 If the service of this applicant can be made useful, let him be 
 appointed. 
 
 ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 
 October 27, 1864. 
 
 After leaving the service Adjutant Shallenberger en- 
 gaged in mercantile business and has been connected as 
 director or executive officer with several National Banks and 
 manufacturing companies. 
 
 He was a representative in Congress from 24th District 
 of Pennsylvania for three terms and during the last term 
 was chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and 
 Grounds and prominent in tariff discussions. 
 
 He was appointed by Governor Beaver, a member of 
 the Lake Erie and Ohio River Ship Canal Commission; was 
 a member of the Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce; director 
 of the Bank of Pittsburgh, N. A.; one of the original pro- 
 motors of the National Manufacturers Association and a 
 delegate for several years to the National Board of Trade. 
 For the past ten years he has served the Government with dis- 
 tinguished ability as Second Assistant Postmaster General, 
 and to the entire satisfaction of President McKinley, from 
 whom he received the appointment, and President Roosevelt, 
 who gave him a letter of commendation on his voluntary re- 
 tirement from that position. He served for a longer period 
 in that important Government Bureau, which now receives 
 and disburses from 70 to 80 millions of dollars and deals 
 directly with all mail transportation by land and water, 
 whether at home or abroad, than any other person for the 
 past three quarters of a century. It is said of Mr. Shallen- 
 berger by prominent officials in the department, that he was 
 thoroughly familiar with the details of his office, always 
 agreeable and approachable as an official and more popular 
 with Congressmen than any other man who had held the 
 office. His integrity and impartiality were unquestioned and 
 his decisions on the most difficult questions which arise 
 between leading transportation companies and the Govern- 
 ment, were so wise and fair by reason of his large experience 
 and judicial temperament, that not a single important deci- 
 sion of his was ever overruled by anyone of the five Post- 
 master Generals, under whom he served. His rare good 
 judgment was shown in his dealings with his associates and 
 employees, some of whom belonged to the labor unions, but 
 
378 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 all of whom speak in the most affectionate terms of his 
 administration. 
 
 Mr. Shallenberger has been a consistent Christian all his 
 life, a member of the Baptist denomination. His modest 
 worth and ability as a leader have nowhere been recognized 
 more conspicuously than among the prominent men of that 
 denomination. 
 
 He has been moderator of Associations; President of 
 the Pennsylvania State Mission Society for three years, and 
 President of the National Society for an equal period, volun- 
 tarily retiring from the last named in May, 1907. 
 
 The fact that during recent years, when the most ex- 
 haustive investigations were going on in the Post Office 
 Department, not a suspicion of wrong-doing was lodged 
 against Mr. Shallenberger or any one of his division chiefs 
 called forth from the press of the State and the country 
 at large, as well as from members of the House and Senate 
 expressions highly complimentary when he announced pub- 
 licly his intention to resign at the completion of a ten- 
 year period. 
 
 CAPTAIN J. MILTON RAY. 
 Company C. 
 
 Captain Ray enlisted as a private at West Alexander, 
 Pa., and at the organization of the Company was made the 
 Fourth Sergeant. Having served with ability and fidelity 
 in all the intermediate grades, he was commissioned as 
 Captain on the 5th of December, 1864. Being sound in mind 
 and limb, and having the patriotic desire to do his full duty 
 he participated in all the marches, skirmishes and battles 
 in which the Regiment was engaged. He was one of the 
 few men in this command who escaped scathless from 
 many perilous situations and seemed to be immune from the 
 prevailing types of sickness which on different occasions 
 had prostrated so many of his comrades. The following 
 letter from his old Commander, Lieutenant-General Miles 
 will suffice to show the estimate in which he was held by 
 his associates as well as by his superior officers: 
 
 Headquarters of the Army, 
 Washington, D. C, March 31, 1902. 
 Dear Captain Ray: 
 
 It gives me pleasure to testify to your splendid serv- 
 ices as an officer of that splendid Regiment, the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. I remember 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 379 
 
 you very well and that you did not seem satisfied to take 
 your dangers as they naturally came to you, but you were 
 always seeking out opportunities for the most hazardous 
 chances. It was a marvel that you escaped with your life. 
 Your record as a soldier is an especially good one, and 
 you can well be proud of it as are your comrades who knew 
 your qualities in this respect. 
 
 Wishing you long life and the fullest measure of suc- 
 cess in whatever endeavor you may be engaged, I remain, 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 NELSON A. MILES, 
 
 Lieutenant-General. 
 
 The record of Captain Ray's promotions, appointments 
 and services has been briefly summed up as follows : 
 
 Private August 22, 1862 
 
 Sergeant September 4, 1862 
 
 First Sergeant September 23, 1863 
 
 Second Lieutenant (by order of War Dept.)..July 19, 1863 
 
 First Lieutenant and Adjutant January 16, 1864 
 
 Captain December 5, 1864 
 
 Honorably mustered out May 31, 1865 
 
 Elected to Military Order, Loyal Legion United States, 
 
 May 6, 1896 
 Commander Duquesne Post, No. 259, Dept. of Pa., 
 
 G. A. R 1896 
 
 Colonel, Encampment No. 1, Union Vet. Legion, Pitts- 
 burg, Pa 1891 
 
 Secretary, Genl. Com. Society Army of the Potomac 
 
 Reunion 1899 
 
 Vice-President and Corps Representative at same Re- 
 union 1899 
 
 ADJUTANT JOHN S. BRYAN. 
 
 Adjutant Bryan, the son of James and Isabella Miller 
 Bryan, was born, March 26, 1846, in the village of Hooks- 
 town, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Enlisted August 22, 1862, as drummer in Company H, 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 Promoted to Principal Musician, November 1, 1863. 
 
 Promoted and commissioned Adjutant of the Regiment, 
 December 17, 1864. 
 
 Discharged from the service, May 31, 1865. 
 
 On reaching home he at once began his studies in order 
 to fit himself for the practice of medicine and surgery to 
 
380 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 which he had looked forward as his life work. Without 
 any means and dependent entirely upon his own resources, 
 he finally succeeded graduating from the medical college 
 which he attended, with more than ordinary credit. 
 
 Upon the completion of his studies he at once began 
 practice in Mexico, the County-seat of Audrain County, Mo. 
 He was devoted to his profession serving rich and poor 
 alike and made rapid advancement. During the winter of 
 1873 and 1874, an epidemic of typhoid fever swept through 
 the community and in his efforts to stay its ravages, he 
 literally gave his life and died March 28, 1874. 
 
 Pleasant, affable and conscientious, he was a general 
 favorite. A good soldier and faithful in the discharge of his 
 duties. 
 
 At Farmville, where the Regiment fought its last bat- 
 tle, he distinguished himself. Seeing the danger threaten- 
 ing the line, he rode to the front, made known the situa- 
 tion and thus saved many from being captured, a fate he 
 himself narrowly escaped by reason of his horse having 
 been shot under him and killed. 
 
 JOHN WILSON WISHART, M.D. 
 
 Born April 19, 1829, at Washington, Pa., the son of John 
 Wishart, M.D., and Martha Wilson Wishart. 
 
 A graduate of Washington and Jefferson College and 
 the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania. 
 
 January 7, 1852, married Annie Green, who died Sep- 
 tember 1, 1855. 
 
 September, 1859, married Mary McClurg. 
 
 Dr. Wishart died June 21, 1902, leaving to survive him 
 his widow and seven children. 
 
 Enlisted September 2, 1862, as Assistant Surgeon One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania. He became finally 
 Regimental Surgeon, promoted to Brigade Surgeon and then 
 to Surgeon of the First Division Second Army Corps. 
 
 Was mustered out of the service May 30, 1865, and 
 shortly after settled in Pittsburgh, Pa., where he practiced 
 his profession until his death. 
 
 He was a member of Post 259 G. A. R., Department of 
 Pennsylvania and the Military Order of the Loyal Legion. 
 
 Dr. Wishart was held in high repute as a Surgeon 
 throughout the Corps to which he belonged and skilfully 
 performed many difficult and dangerous operations. He 
 was gentle as a woman in his care of the sick and wounded 
 and was greatly beloved by all who knew him. In his 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 381 
 
 manner and deportment he was courteous, affable and ap- 
 proachable — a kindly Christian gentleman, at all times and 
 under the most trying circumstances. 
 
 SKETCH OF WILLIAM WOLVERTON SHARP, M.D. 
 
 Late Assistant Surgeon of the One Hundred and For- 
 tieth Pennsylvania Volunteers. Born January 19, 1826, at 
 Amity, Washington County, Pennsylvania. 
 
 Parents names, Zachariah and Elizabeth Sharp. 
 
 Educated at Washington and Jefferson College. 
 
 Began the practice of medicine about 1850 at Clays- 
 ville, Pa., also at West Middleton, Pa., and Amity, Pa. 
 
 Mustered into the service of the United States as As- 
 sistant Surgeon, September 12, 1862. 
 
 Promoted to Surgeon of the One Hundred and Sixty- 
 third Pennsylvania Volunteers, sometimes known as the 
 Eighteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, January 13, 1864. 
 
 Discharged from the service, October 14, 1864. 
 
 Died August 4, 1883, and is buried at Amity, Pa. 
 
 He was with Generals Sheridan and Kilpatrick in their 
 famous raids around Richmond, Va. He contracted malaria 
 and ague among the Virginia swamps, from which he never 
 recovered. He was the first to move in the matter of ob- 
 serving Memorial Day in Amity, and as long as he lived he 
 saw to it that every soldier's grave in the old cemetery was 
 strewn with flowers. 
 
 BENJAMIN F. HILL, M.D. 
 
 Dr. Hill was a native of Washington County where he 
 was born on the 18th of June, 1828. His parents, John and 
 Katherine (Chestnut) Hill were members of the Presbyterian 
 Church, and Benjamin, their only son, was trained from 
 early childhood in the faith of his parents and in later years 
 became an office-bearer in the same church. He was pre- 
 pared for college at the Florence Academy, near his home, 
 under the care of Professors J. A. Smith and C. W. Miller. 
 He entered upon his studies in Washington College in 1847 
 and at the close of his junior year was admitted to the 
 senior class of Jefferson College at Canonsburg. After com- 
 pleting his course in this institution he took up the study 
 of medicine and was graduated from the Starling Medical 
 College at Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Hill's mental endowments 
 were good and he ranked with the best in all his classes. 
 He commenced the practice of medicine at Candor, Pa., and, 
 
382 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 with the exception of the time which was spent by him in 
 the army, remained in this place during his entire professional 
 career. On the 5th of November, 1862, he was mustered into 
 United States service as Assistant Surgeon of the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers and remained 
 with the Regiment in this capacity until the close of the war. 
 As a physician and surgeon Dr. Hill was kindly and sym- 
 pathetic and faithfully discharged the duties and responsibili- 
 ties of his office. Two important events occurred in his 
 personal history, says his biographer, after his return from 
 the army; the first being a public profession of his faith 
 in connection with the Candor Church and the second his 
 marriage on the 16th of September, 1865, to Miss Eliza J. 
 Sturgeon, daughter of Major John and Jane Sturgeon. Dr. 
 Hill died at Candor, January 19th, 1910, leaving to two 
 children, Mrs. N. L. Rodgers of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Dr. 
 J. L. Hill, of Cherry Valley, Pa., the heritage of a good 
 name and the record of a life of faithful service rendered 
 to his God, his country and his fellow man. 
 
 MARCUS ORMOND. 
 
 Rev. Marcus Ormond was born 1820, enlisted in Com- 
 pany H, One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volun- 
 teers, August 22, 1862, and elected Captain of the Company, 
 but was not mustered in as such. He resigned the Captaincy 
 of the Company and was commissioned as Chaplain of the 
 Regiment, September 16, 1862, which position he resigned 
 June 8, 1863. 
 
 He was born near Plumville, Armstrong County, Penn- 
 sylvania, the son of Alexander and Jane Ormond. He re- 
 ceived a common school education in Armstrong County, 
 finally entering Athens College, Ohio; graduated there- 
 from and entered the Seminary of the U. P. Church in 
 Allegheny. 
 
 He began his ministry in 1858, serving churches in 
 Hookstown, Pa.; Oxford, Ohio, and West Alexandria, Pa., 
 until the close of 1880, when he was compelled by reason of 
 ill-health to leave the ministry, and died in 1883 of paresis, 
 while on his way to Kansas, Iowa. 
 
 He married Sarah Jane Dick in 1859, who survived him. 
 but left no other family. 
 
 REV. JOHN LYNN MILLIGAN, LL.D. 
 Chaplain Milligan, the successor of Marcus Ormond, was 
 born on the 30th of July, at Ickesburg, Perry County, Penna. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES M 
 
 His parents were of the pioneer stock of the Juniata Valley 
 and gave to their son when but a lad the advantages in due 
 course of the public schools and of the Bloomfield and Pus- 
 carora Academies. With the ministry in mind as his life 
 work, young Milligan was graduated from Washington Col- 
 lege, Pa., in i860 and from Princeton Theological Seminary, 
 in 1863. 
 
 When his native State was invaded he enlisted in an 
 emergency regiment and served as Captain during the most 
 of the brief term of the existence of this organization. He 
 then assisted in the organization of recruits for the army in 
 the field and in the month of November received his appoint- 
 ment as Chaplain of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regi- 
 ment. Coming at once to the front in the vicinity of Stevens- 
 burg he reported to the commanding officer of the Regiment 
 and entered upon his work with vigor and enthusiasm. His 
 kindly manner, unflinching courage in the performance of the 
 duties of his sacred office and his sympathetic interest in the 
 affairs of the men, quickly won their hearts and secured 
 their co-operation. His first experience on the battlefield 
 was in the Mine Run campaign, which was opened a few 
 days after his arrival. During the winter of 1863-64, a com- 
 fortable chapel was erected under his direction in which 
 religious services were held regularly on the Sabbath and 
 on Wednesday evenings. As a result of these services some 
 of the men made a public confession of their faith in Christ 
 and a deep spiritual interest was awakened. From the date of 
 his arrival until the Regiment was mustered out of service 
 Chaplain Milligan labored faithfully and assiduously in the 
 interests of the men committed to his charge and in camp, 
 on the battlefield and in the hospital, he shared in their 
 experiences of hardships and dangers, ministering as he had 
 opportunity, to their temporal and spiritual wants. 
 
 Soon after the close of the war he was appointed to the 
 chaplaincy of the Western Penitentiary at Pittsburgh, and in 
 this capacity rendered faithful and distinguished service for 
 a period of forty years. When failing health compelled 
 him to tender his resignation, he was made the chaplain and 
 emeritus by the prison board of inspectors. 
 
 In recognition of his eminent service in social and prison 
 work, he was honored by his Alma Mater, Washington and 
 Jefferson College, with the degree of LL.D. 
 
 Dr. Milligan was the Chaplain of the Eighteenth Regi- 
 ment of the National Guards of Pennsylvania for 20 years 
 and was prominent in Grand Army circles and was often 
 
384 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 called upon for addresses at the reunions of his Regiment 
 and of other Veteran organizations. 
 
 He died at the age of 72, in the home of his sister, Mrs. 
 J. H. Irwin, at Newport, Perry County, Penna., in July, 1909. 
 
 In connection with the notice of his death the Pittsburgh 
 Gazette Times, of July 13, 1909, published an appreciative 
 notice from which we quote as follows: 
 
 "Dr. Milligan's war record was one of brilliant service. 
 Although a Chaplain never was required on the fighting line, 
 he bravely attended the wounded and dying soldiers in the 
 midst of charges many times and never was wounded. He 
 was at the battles of Spottsylvania, the Wilderness, Cold 
 Harbor, Appomattox and the siege of Petersburg, and many 
 other minor engagements. At the battle of Gettysburg he 
 was a member of the army sanitary commission. 
 
 " 'He was the best chaplain in the service,' said Captain 
 J. Milton Ray, of the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, 
 last night. 'He was fearless and brave and many tales have 
 been told of his adventures on the firing line helping the 
 wounded of our Regiment.' 
 
 "Shortly after Dr. Milligan was mustered out, he was 
 ordained and became pastor of the First Presbyterian Church 
 at Horicon, Wis. On February 3, 1869, he was appointed 
 Chaplain of the Western Penitentiary and went to live with 
 the warden at that time, Captain E. S. Wright, who re- 
 mained there 33 years and who resigned because of ill health. 
 
 "Dr. Milligan was a charter member of the National 
 Prison Association, and which was organized in 1870. In 
 1908 he was president of the congress of that organization 
 held in Richmond, Va. Several years ago he was a delegate 
 to the International Prison Congresses held in London, Co- 
 penhagen and in Rome. Dr. Milligan also was a charter 
 member of the Allegheny County Prison Society, and since 
 the death of William Thaw until his death, he had been its 
 president. He kept an extensive record of prisoners after 
 their discharge from the penitentiary and his belief in the 
 possibility of reforming criminals never wavered. 
 
 "Dr. Milligan was stated clerk of the Allegheny Presby- 
 tery for 25 years, and upon its consolidation with the Pitts- 
 burgh Presbytery several years ago, he was elected the first 
 moderator. Since the organization of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Pennsylvania Regimental Association shortly after 
 the end of the war until his death, he had been secretary of 
 that organization. 
 
 "Two years ago Dr. Milligan left the warden's home at 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 385 
 
 the penitentiary and moved to Library Place, North Side, 
 where he lived until he became ill last January. His relatives 
 sent him to his sisters home at Newport, Pa., where he rallied 
 somewhat but never regained his strength fully. Two days 
 ago he began to sink rapidly, and for 24 hours before his 
 death, he was unconscious." 
 
 The following tribute from another source is also 
 worthy of record in this connection : 
 
 "As a Chaplain, the Rev. John L. Milligan ministered to 
 the wounded on the firing line of many a fiercely-fought 
 battle of the Civil War. Greater love hath no man than 
 to lay down his life for his friend. Of this quality was 
 the service which Chaplain Milligan rendered amid shot and 
 shell to the men who fell in the first line of battle and while 
 the conflict ebbed and flowed around him. That his life was 
 not spilt out on some reddened field of war was due to a 
 favoring Providence and not to any effort of his to avoid 
 the perils which moved down so many of his comrades. His 
 life was given for them as truly as though some bullet had 
 ended his ministrations of love and mercy. For 40 years, 
 beginning soon after the Civil War had closed, he devoted 
 mind, heart and soul to another chaplaincy, the field of whose 
 labors was the Western Penitentiary. His work in the Civil 
 War was to prepare men for death. In the long years of 
 the later service it was to persuade men at war with society 
 to begin new lives. How well he succeeded none can say 
 until the pages of the book of the recording angel are 
 revealed after the reveille of the resurrection morn. It was 
 his part to prepare ground and sow seed, to tend it so far 
 as might be, but of necessity to trust the harvest to others. 
 He did this faithfully and devotedly, in charity and mercy. 
 His work began with but did not end in the prison. Much 
 of his effort was devoted to enlisting the sympathies of 
 those whose feet had not slipped nor their purpose failed 
 in behalf of their brethren who had fallen into evil ways. 
 The reformation of prisoners was the goal of his ambition 
 and few did more than he to awaken public interest in the 
 fallen and crime stained. In this labor he lived, to it he 
 gave his life, and the good that he did will live after him." 
 
 Extract from the minutes of the Annua! Reunion of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Pennsylvania Regimental Association held October zi, 1909, 
 at Waynesburg, Pa. 
 
 The report of the committee appointed to prepare a minute on the 
 death of Rev. John Lynn Milligan, LL.D., Chaplain of the Regiment dur- 
 ing the war and Secretary of the Association since its formation reported 
 as follows, viz. : 
 
 We record with profound sorrow and a sense of personal bereave- 
 
M THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ment the death since our last annual meeting of our beloved Chaplain and 
 Secretary Rev. John Lynn Milligan, D.D., at the home of his sister, 
 Newport, Penna., on July 12, 1909, aged 72 years. 
 
 Recognizing in this the ordering of our Heavenly Father who doeth 
 all things well we bow in humble submission to His will. 
 
 Resolved — First: That we hereby express our appreciation and high 
 esteem for our Chaplain as a man tried and true, who was faithful as a 
 spiritual advisor, brave and efficient on the battlefield and in the times 
 that tried men's souls; ever ready to administer help and comfort to those 
 who were in distress of body or mind. 
 
 Dr. Milligan was pre-eminently qualified by his winsome manner, 
 kindly heart and deep spirituality for the difficult and delicate office of a 
 Christian Chaplain. 
 
 Second: That we give emphatic expression of our high regard for 
 the interest he constantly manifested in our Association and for the ardu- 
 ous tasks which he performed for so many years as its secretary. 
 
 Third: That we gratefully recognize his ability and splendid service 
 in all the reform movements of his day and especially his great work in 
 connection with prisoners and prison reform. 
 
 Fourth: That we recommend these minutes be spread upon the 
 minutes of the Association and preserved as a matter of abiding interest 
 and importance. 
 
 Committee viz.: Rev. John D. Irons, D.D. ; Rev. Robert L. Stewart, 
 D.D., and Joseph Moody. 
 
 The resolutions were read and unanimously approved. 
 
 BREVET BRIGADIER-GENERAL HENRY H. BINGHAM. 
 
 Henry Harrison Bingham was born in Philadelphia, 
 Pa., December 4, 1841. His grandfather, Thomas Bingham, 
 came from County Tyrone, Ireland, and his grandmother, 
 Margaret Cameron, was a cousin of General Simon Cam- 
 eron. He received his collegiate education at Jefferson 
 College in Western Pennsylvania, and was graduated in the 
 class of 1862 at the age of twenty. He gave valuable as- 
 sistance to Prof. Fraser of that institution in recruiting 
 Company G, as it was afterwards designated, and was 
 made the First Lieutenant at the time of its organization. 
 When Prof. Fraser was promoted from Captain of the 
 company to Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment, Bingham 
 was advanced to the Captaincy. At this time Captain Bing- 
 ham was of slight build and weighed only 100 pounds. His 
 energy, alertness and enthusiasm were not measured or 
 gauged by his physical proportions, however, and he soon be- 
 came noted as an officer of exceptional ability, courage and 
 sound judgment. In some way he attracted the attention 
 of General Hancock, when he commanded the First Divi- 
 sion, and was detached from his company as a member of 
 his staff. This position he retained, with increasing honors 
 and promotions, so long as his brilliant chief was connected 
 with the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 In this capacity he participated in all the campaigns 
 and battles of the Second Army Corps, except when he was 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 387 
 
 temporarily absent from the army because of physical dis- 
 ability from wounds received in action. 
 
 On the 25th of September, 1864, Captain Bingham 
 was discharged from his company for promotion and was 
 appointed Major and Judge Advocate of the First Division, 
 and later was commissioned by the War Department as 
 Judge Advocate of the Second Army Corps. 
 
 He was wounded at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, at the 
 storming of the salient at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864, and 
 again at Farmville in 1865, two days before the surrender 
 of General Lee's army. It has been said of him with 
 truth, that "in every official report of the leading engage- 
 ments in which he participated he was, without an exception, 
 mentioned for distinguished service. With General Han- 
 cock he was a great favorite, and in many cases where cool 
 judgment and dauntless bravery were required, he was sent 
 out to the front as his special representative and field execu- 
 tive. "He was brevetted for gallantry in action as Major 
 Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel and Brigadier-General, and re- 
 ceived a medal of honor from Congress for special and ex- 
 ceptional gallantry in one of the Wilderness battles." 
 
 It should be placed to his credit also that, during the 
 terrific cannonade of the 3d of July, which preceded the 
 charge of Pickett's Division, he rode with Hancock from 
 Zeigler's grove on the right to the extreme left of his line, 
 nearly a mile in extent, and back, while caissons were ex- 
 ploding, batteries were disabled and shot and shell were 
 crashing and bursting on every hand. 
 
 "The sight of that unfurled flag," which was known as 
 Hancock's headquarters flag, says General Mulholland, "and 
 of Hancock and his staff calm, fearless and confident did 
 much to nerve the stout hearts of the men of the Second 
 Corps and aid them in winning, an hour later, the most 
 important victory of the century." 
 
 After his discharge, with so many honors, from the 
 army, General Bingham returned to Philadelphia and took 
 up the study of law. 
 
 This was interrupted first by an appointment to the posi- 
 tion of chief clerk in the Philadelphia Post Office in the 
 month of November, 1866. In March, 1867, he received the 
 appointment of Postmaster of Philadelphia. He was re- 
 commissioned by President Grant and continued in this posi- 
 tion until 1872. 
 
 During his administration of this office many important 
 changes contributing to the efficiency of the service were 
 
388 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 made. He resigned this office to accept the clerkship of the 
 Courts of Philadelphia, and in 1878 was elected to repre- 
 sent the First Congressional District in the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. This office he held in unbroken succession 
 for more than thirty-three years. Since the death of 
 Galustra A. Grow he has had the distinction of serving as 
 Father of the House. 
 
 On the 4th of February, 1874, he was married to Miss 
 Mary H., daughter of Thos. S. Alexander, Esquire, of Bal- 
 timore. One child was born to them; died shortly after 
 birth. Mrs. Bingham died July 2, 1884. 
 
 General Bingham was one of the organizers of the 
 Grand Army of the Republic, and aided in the organization 
 of the George G. Meade Post No. 1, of Philadelphia. 
 
 He was an eloquent persuasive speaker and on many 
 public occasions was selected to represent important inter- 
 ests or to voice the sentiment of great assemblages as "Ora- 
 tor of the Day." He delivered the oration on Pennsylvania 
 Day at Gettysburg in 1889, when more than eighty monu- 
 ments were transferred to the battlefield association. And 
 the noble address which he delivered at the dedication of the 
 equestrian statue of General Hancock on June 5, 1896, will 
 rank with the best of the patriotic orations which the in- 
 spiration of the Gettysburg field has evoked. 
 
 General Bingham died at his home in Philadelphia on the 
 25th of March, 1912, after a serious illness of about five 
 weeks. 
 
 Honors befitting his eminent services to the nation were 
 paid to his memory in the funeral and burial services by 
 representatives of both houses of Congress, by the Union 
 League, the Masonic Order, the Young Republican Club and 
 by a blue-clad group of veterans representing the George 
 G. Meade Post of the Grand Army of the Republic. 
 
 JOHN F. McCULLOUGH 
 Captain Company A. 
 
 Captain John Fulton McCullough, the son of Evan and 
 Nancy Fulton McCullough, was born near Jefferson, Greene 
 County, Penna., May 12, 1841. He attended common school 
 until he was eighteen years of age, when he entered Waynes- 
 burg College. He later attended Jefferson College at Can- 
 onsburg, Pa. 
 
 During the Civil War he served as a private from 
 August 16, 1861, to January 16, 1862. Later, together with 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 3«9 
 
 J. J. Purman and David Taylor, he recruited a company 
 known as the "Greene County Rifles." This Company was 
 organized August 18, 1862, with McCullough as captain. 
 
 It was designated as Company A at the date of the 
 organization of the Regiment, and participated with it on 
 all the marches and engagements of the Army of the Poto- 
 mac from Chancellorsville to Appomattox. 
 
 Captain McCullough was regarded by his superiors in 
 command as one of the bravest, most resourceful and trust- 
 worthy line officers in the famous division to which he 
 belonged. 
 
 When Colonel Fraser was disabled by a wound on the 
 12th of May, at Spottsylvania Court House, the command of 
 the Regiment devolved upon Captain McCullough; and he 
 proved himself to be a wise and capable leader throughout 
 the prolonged conflict of that terrible day. 
 
 In the flanking movement southward to the North Anna 
 during the latter part of the month, the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, under his skilful leadership, did good service, as 
 was usual, on the skirmish line. 
 
 A few days later, May 31st, he met his death at the head 
 of his Regiment, while leading a charge against an in- 
 trenched line of the enemy at Totopotomy Creek, Va. 
 
 A full account of this disastrous engagement, in which 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth alone met the enemy, and 
 of the part taken in it by Captain McCullough, is given on 
 page 205 and need not be repeated here. 
 
 A short time before his untimely death, this "very gal- 
 lant and promising young officer," as General Miles desig- 
 nated him, had received a notice of his appointment as Colo- 
 nel of the One Hundred and Eighty-third Regiment, Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers. This regiment was also in the First 
 Brigade, and had been enlisted under the auspices of the 
 Philadelphia Union League. 
 
 Colonel McCullough's commission did not reach the 
 headquarters of the Regiment until some days after his 
 death. To him was given this distinguished honor as a fitting 
 reward of merit; but in the discharge of his duty on that 
 fateful day, he fell at his post before he could be mus- 
 tered in. 
 
 His honored remains were recovered by his men and 
 were shipped to Jefferson, Greene County, Pa., where they 
 now rest. "This spot of ground," says the late Chaplain 
 Millegan, "is made sacred by the remains of as brave and 
 true a soldier as ever drew a sword or shouldered a gun." 
 (See page 206.) 
 
390 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 JAMES M. PIPES. 
 
 Captain J. M. Pipes, late of Company "A," One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, enlisted as a 
 private, was appointed First Sergeant, subsequently commis- 
 sioned and mustered Lieutenant and then Captain. Except 
 for a short time on two occasions while recovering from 
 wounds, he was in every march and every battle in which his 
 Regiment took part up to February 17, 1865, when, by reason 
 of the loss of his right arm, he was discharged. He never 
 straggled on a march and never lost an hour's duty from 
 any cause. He commanded his Regiment on several occa- 
 sions and twice in battle. Was in the charge of General 
 Zook's Brigade on July 2, 1863, where his Regiment lost 244 
 men in about 30 minutes near little Round Top and Devils 
 Den. In this charge the Captain, then Orderly Sergeant, 
 and Lieutenant Purman, after the Regiment was cut to 
 pieces and the remnant had mostly fallen back, carried a 
 badly wounded comrade some distance and placed him be- 
 hind a big boulder to shelter him from the storm of shot and 
 shell. While the Confederates were calling "Stop and sur- 
 render you d Yanks," they did not surrender, but 
 
 started toward the Union lines. When the Lieutenant 
 cried out, "Orderly, I am hit," he fell (his leg was ampu- 
 tated), and almost instantly Sergeant Pipes was wounded 
 in the leg, and having but one to use for locomotion, with 
 the use of his gun started to hop off and ran into the ene- 
 mies flankers, was captured and taken back to an old barn 
 surrounded by a peach orchard. Here, along with quite 
 a number of the enemies wounded, he remained until the 
 Union forces advanced and carried the Orderly back to the 
 temporary hospital in the woods. 
 
 Returning to his Regiment Sergeant Pipes found the 
 men hurriedly preparing to attack the enemy, and with- 
 out even a uniform and no gun he went into the charge with 
 a gum poncho and a loaf of bread. Corporal Burke was 
 wounded and had a leg amputated, and Sergeant Pipes took 
 off his cartridge box and gun and, thus equipped, did some 
 sharp firing. 
 
 At Ream Station, Va., on the evening of August 24, 
 1864, Captain Pipes being the ranking officer was placed in 
 command of a detail sent out on the picket line, the left rest- 
 ing on the W. R. R. bed and the right quite a distance up 
 the hill and next to the cavalry. He remained on the line all 
 night and all day, the 25th, until late in the afternoon. It 
 then became apparent that the enemy, about 24,000 strong, 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 391 
 
 were gradually working around our flank toward the rear, 
 for the purpose of enveloping Hancock's two divisions 
 which numbered only 6,000 men. Realizing the danger of 
 being captured, the command under Captain Pipes was 
 moved back across the R. R. and lay down in a depression 
 in the red clay soil, which was caused by recent rains. It 
 had been there only a few minutes when Pegram's celebrated 
 battery unlimbered near where the right of the skirmish 
 line had formerly rested and opened up a heavy fire. See- 
 ing the danger of losing men rapidly, the order was given to 
 rise up and double quick back up the hill in the rear of the 
 railroad. At this moment an aide came dashing up and cried 
 out, "Captain, if you will throw your men into line and 
 help check the enemy in its flank movement, you shall have 
 credit." Seeing none of his Regiment or division at hand, 
 the Captain ordered the men to move by the left flank as 
 skirmishers and take intervals. Soon they were across the 
 field left toward the rear, where they availed themselves of 
 stumps and rocks for protection, and opened a heavy fire on 
 the flank and rear of the enemy. Near evening, when the 
 fight was about ended, the Captain was badly wounded, his 
 right arm being shattered by a ball which passed through 
 it and lodged in his right side. Wkh the aid of two com- 
 rades he walked back to the rear and in the woods came up 
 with his Regiment, his command coming back with him, 
 fell in with it. Here a surgeon bandaged his arm and he 
 was placed in an ambulance and rode ten miles to City Point. 
 There, by good fortune, he found our good surgeon, Dr. 
 Wishart. After watching him amputate General Beaver's 
 leg, the Captain took the table and the amputation was made 
 at the shoulder. 
 
 Captain Pipes wears a Congressional Medal of Honor 
 for gallantry at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, and at Ream Sta- 
 tion, Va., August 25, 1864. After the war he located in 
 Marshall County, West Virginia. He was elected and served 
 a term as County Treasurer in 1866. In 1868 he was elected 
 Secretary of State and served one term, also elected and 
 served as a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1872. 
 For a number of years he has been employed by the gov- 
 ernment in Washington, D. C, where he still resides. 
 
 The Captain has filled every position in the G. A. R., 
 including that of commander of the Department of the Po- 
 tomac. 
 
392 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 CAPTAIN WILSON N. PAXTON. 
 
 Captain W. N. Paxton was born in Canonsburg, Pa., 
 December 6, 1834. His ancestors were of the hardy Scotch- 
 Irish stock, and some of them, on both sides of the house, 
 served in the War of the Revolution. Passing through the 
 usual course of preparatory studies he entered the Fresh- 
 man class of Jefferson College, and was graduated from 
 that institution in the class of 1856. He then turned his 
 attention to the study of law, and in 1861 was admitted to 
 the Washington County Bar. In the summer of 1862 he 
 assisted in securing recruits for the Brown Guard of Can- 
 onsburg, afterwards designated as Company G, when it be- 
 came a part of the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania 
 Volunteers. At the date of its organization he was elected 
 Second Lieutenant, and soon after was made First Lieu- 
 tenant by regular promotion. He had command of the Com- 
 pany during the three days of the desperate conflict at Chan- 
 cellorsville, where it lost heavily in killed and wounded and, 
 amid all these trying experiences, acquitted himself with 
 honor, conspicuous bravery and cool-headed devotion to duty. 
 In the same position of responsibility he entered upon the 
 Gettysburg campaign, and on the evening of the Second of 
 July led his company through a storm of shot and shell to 
 the open space on the hillcrest, west of the wheatfield, 
 where so many fell in the vain attempt to recover General 
 Sickles' lost ground. When at length the order came to fall 
 back, a strong flanking force of the enemy, pouring in 
 through the gap made by the withdrawal of the Third Corps, 
 had already passed to the rear and cut off the retreat of 
 some of the men who went directly back through the wheat- 
 field. Pausing for a moment to give assistance to a wounded 
 man of his Company, Lieutenant Paxton was taken in the 
 toils of the enemy before he could rejoin the remnant of 
 his Company. For ten weary months he was confined in 
 Libby Prison, Richmond, Va. At the end of this period he 
 was taken to the stockade at Macon, Georgia, then to 
 Charleston, S. C, where, with Colonel Fraser and other 
 officers of note, he was kept for a considerable time under 
 the fire of the Union batteries. The last place of his im- 
 prisonment was Columbia, S. C, from which he was taken 
 to Wilmington, N. C, for exchange. Here, on the first of 
 March, 1865, after twenty months of experiences in Con- 
 federate prisons, Lieutenant Paxton re-entered the Union 
 lines and became a free man. He received the well-deserved 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 
 
 promotion to Captain after his return, and was mustered out 
 by special order, May 17, 1865. 
 
 Resuming the practice of his profession at Pittsburg 
 in the autumn of the same year, he gave his exclusive at- 
 tention to it until September, 1881, when he accepted a posi- 
 tion which was tendered him in the Pension Department, 
 Washington City, D. C. Captain Paxton is a member of the 
 District of Columbia Commandery of the Military Order of 
 the Loyal Legion, and of the Thomas Paxton Post 126 of 
 Western Pennsylvania, named in honor of his brother, 
 Thomas Paxton, who was killed at the battle of Po River, 
 Va., May 9, 1864. 
 
 The Rev. G. H. Keady, his college historian, writes of 
 him: 
 
 "Captain Paxton is a scion of that Presbyterian stock 
 that settled in Western Pennsylvania which has moulded 
 the character of our entire civilization — a stock that needs 
 no annals, but is content to be a moving force. He has al- 
 ways been one of the men who don't talk but do, and make 
 no fuss; that class of men by whom the world's work is ac- 
 complished, for whom no newspaper blows its penny trumpet, 
 but who can afford to wait for the welcome, 'Well done, 
 good and faithful servant.' " 
 
 LIEUTENANT JOHN R. PAXTON. 
 
 This distinguished representative of Company G, brother 
 of Captain Wilson Paxton, was born and bred in the col- 
 lege town of Canonsburg, Pa. Like many of his associates 
 he was a pupil of Professor Fraser in Jefferson College, 
 and rallied under his standard when President Lincoln called 
 for additional troops to save the imperilled Union, in the 
 summer of 1862. Enlisting at the close of his Junior year, 
 and almost at the close of the eighteenth year of his age, 
 Paxton served for eleven and a half months as a private 
 in the ranks. He was promoted to Sergeant, August 7, 
 1863, and attained to the grade of Second Lieutenant, De- 
 cember 10, 1864. He was commissioned First Lieutenant 
 April 16th, and to Captain May 16, 1865, by Governor Cur- 
 tin, but owing to the reduced strength of the company was 
 not mustered. He had the honor, therefore, of coming home 
 with the Company as the acting Captain. 
 
 Re-entering the college in the autumn of 1865, Captain 
 Paxton completed the studies of the Senior year and was 
 graduated in the class of 1866. He was graduated from the 
 Western Theological Seminary in 1869, and took a post- 
 
594 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REG I M Eh T 
 
 graduate course of one year at Princeton Seminary. In 
 1870 he was called to the pastorate of a Presbyterian con- 
 gregation at Churchville in Harford County, Maryland. 
 Here he labored with increasing evidences of success, doing 
 a notable work in building up the congregation and win- 
 ning the hearts of the people by his social gifts as well as by 
 his extraordinary pulpit powers. In 1874 he accepted a call 
 to the Pine Street Church, of Harrisburg, and thus be- 
 came the pastor of the church in which he had worshiped 
 with his Company, as a private, on the seventh of Sep- 
 tember 1862. (See page 9.) From the Capital of Pennsyl- 
 vania he was called to the Capital of the nation four years 
 later, ministering with singular ability and acceptance to 
 large congregations in the New York Avenue Presbyterian 
 Church from 1878 to 1882. His growing fame as a pulpit 
 orator had attracted the attention of some of the leading 
 representatives of Presbyterianism in New York, and in 1882 
 he was induced to accept a call to the West Church of that 
 city, where he ministered for some eleven years to a con- 
 gregation remarkable for its wealth, liberality and culture. 
 While in this position, Dr. Paxton served as Chaplain of 
 the famous Seventh Regiment of New York City. As 
 a member of the Union League Club, the Century Qui 
 and other organizations of this character he was in fre- 
 quent demand as an orator and after-dinner speaker. At 
 the reunions of his Regiment he has always been an hon- 
 ored guest and has made more public addresses, as the 
 minutes will show, than any other speaker in or out of the 
 regimental organization. In 1893 Dr. Paxton retired from 
 active service in the ministry, and since that time has been 
 living quietly in the comfortable home which was pro- 
 vided for him and tendered as a gift by appreciative friends 
 within the bounds of his congregation. At the Regimental 
 reunions he is always sure of a cordial welcome, and his 
 encouraging words and generous gifts have contributed not 
 a little to the success and continuous existence of the 
 organization.* 
 
 ♦Prepared from data furnished by Rev. Dr. Calvin Dill Wilson 
 and other sources. 
 
 FIRST LIEUTENANT J. JACKSON PURMAN. 
 
 Company A. 
 
 Lieutenant Purman was born on a farm in Greene 
 County, Pa., in 1 841. At the age of 12 years he commenced 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES m 
 
 work in the printing office of the Wayne sburg Eagle and 
 in his 16th year went to Illinois at a "Journeyman printer" 
 and set type in the office of the Fulton County Democrat 
 Voung 1'urrnan afterwards worked his way through the 
 Waynesburg College, attending school in summer and teach- 
 ing in winter until the close of his junior year. At this stage 
 in his career his patriotism got the better of the classics and 
 he entered the army to assist in putting down the rebellion. 
 In the body of this work several references may he found 
 to the efficient service rendered by Lieutenant Purrnan and 
 the events which took place in connection with the great 
 conflict beyond the wheatfield where he was maimed for 
 life. After he had received his discharge on surgeon's cer- 
 tificate, Lieutenant 1'urnian resumed his studies and was 
 graduated in 1864. A touch of romance entered into the 
 experiences of suffering which fell to the lot of this gallant 
 officer at Gettysburg, which ought not to be omitted from 
 the record. After his rescue from the hands of the enemy 
 he was carried into the house of Mary Withrow in the 
 town and was so tenderly cared for in this hospitable home 
 that a feeling stronger than ordinary good will was awak- 
 ened in his breast for the fair lady who had so graciously 
 ministered to him. This feeling was fully reciprocated and 
 in due time there was a marriage, as was eminently fitting, 
 between the "brave and the fair" in the city of Washington, 
 D. C. Mrs. Purman passed away some years ago and her 
 body now rests in the National Cemetery on Arlington 
 Heights. Comrade Purman took up the study of law and was 
 admitted to practice at the bar. In 1H72 he removed to Wash- 
 ington City and entered one of the Departments as clerk by 
 civil service examination. Since this time he has taken up 
 the study of medicine by availing himself of night lectures 
 and was Medical Director of the Department of the Potomac, 
 G. A. R. in 1891, the year the organization reached the "high 
 water mark." He was aide on the staff of General John 
 Palmer in 1892 and on the staff of Eli Torrance in 1902. He 
 is also a charter member of the United States Medal and 
 Honor Club of Washington, D. C. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN AULD RURNS. 
 
 Company A. 
 
 John A. Burns, son of William and Elizabeth AuM 
 Burns, was born July 2, 1843, and celebrated his twentieth 
 birthday in the "Vortex of Death" in the wheatfield at Gettys- 
 
396 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 burg. One of his paternal ancestors, Alexander Burns, 
 was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1739, and when but a 
 lad of fourteen was impressed as a "powder boy" into the 
 British navy and served during the seven years of the 
 French and Indian War. When he was set at liberty, he 
 remained in America and was one of the first five thousand 
 men to cross the Alleghenies and settle in the wilder- 
 ness district then known as Westmoreland County. When 
 the war of the Revolution broke out he enlisted as a private 
 in Lieutenant Colonel Robinson's Company of the First 
 Pennsylvania Regiment. On a foray against the Indians 
 in Ohio Burns was captured and remained with the sav- 
 ages as a prisoner for three years. Escaping near Detroit, 
 he trudged alone through the forests to his home, near 
 the present village of Burnsville in Washington County, 
 Pa. John A. Burns, who proved to be a worthy successor 
 of this old-time hero of the Revolutionary days, was a 
 sophomore in Waynesboro College in Greene County when 
 he responded to Abraham Lincoln's call for 300,000 men, 
 and in the general history the manner of this response is 
 described. (See page 5.) He began his military career as 
 a Second Sergeant and by regular promotions reached 
 the grade of Captain. Of his four promotions, three were 
 due to the fact that in each case his superior officer was 
 killed or disabled in battle. He received his "baptism of 
 fire" at Chancellorsville, and was with his Regiment in all 
 the great battles from that time until the close of the war. 
 
 He was in the "Bloody Angle" at Spottsylvania, in the 
 awful slaughter at Cold Harbor, in the battle and siege 
 of Petersburg, and on the Appomattox campaign. Sunday 
 morning, April 9, 1865, he was on the skirmish line across 
 an old wagon road, a short distance from Appomattox 
 Court House. The lines of the two armies were less than 
 one hundred yards apart. He saw General Lee on his white 
 horse ride out with his Staff between the lines, dismount, 
 and seat himself under an apple tree by the wayside to 
 await the coming of General Grant. When Colonel Babcock, 
 of Grant's Staff, rode up, Lee mounted and rode through 
 the lines of his company to the McLean House, where the 
 terms of the surrender were arranged. 
 
 April 6. he was with his Regiment when Lee's wagon 
 train was attacked, captured and burned at Sailor Creek. The 
 portion of the train to which his Regiment came contained 
 the officers' baggage. One of his Company took therefrom 
 the uniform of General John B. Gordon. The Captain took 
 a leather case containing a complete toilet set belonging to 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 307 
 
 Brigadier General Hunter. It is a treasured memento in 
 his family to-day. 
 
 April 7, in command, he led his Regiment in the heroic 
 but disastrous charge at Farmville. For the heroism of that 
 day the Regiment was given the place of honor at the sur- 
 render of the Army of Northern Virginia. 
 
 On this campaign he was one day in command of the 
 flankers. About noon he came upon a similar body of 
 Confederates eating their lunch by a little stream in the 
 woods. A nasty little battle occurred. A Confederate sword 
 hanging in the home of his brother in Macomb, Illinois, 
 is a mute reminder of the issue of the struggle. 
 
 After taking part in the Grand Review at Washington, 
 he was mustered out May 31, and reached home June 5, hav- 
 ing commanded a regiment of men in one of the great bat- 
 tles of the war when only twenty-one years of age. 
 
 The war made a deep impression on his moral and 
 religious nature, and he determined to enter the sacred 
 ministry that he might teach men the gospel of peace and 
 good will. He entered Waynesburg College in October, 1865, 
 and was graduated from the Scientific Course in September., 
 1867. He went direct to Monmouth, took up the study of 
 foreign languages and was graduated from the College in 
 1869, and from the United Presbyterian Seminary in that 
 city in 1872. He was pastor of the Church at North Eng- 
 lish, Iowa, four years, and of the First United Presbyterian 
 Church of Lawrence, Massachusetts, two years, when he 
 was stricken with Bright's disease and passed to the other 
 life March 28, 1878. His remains rest in Mount Wollaston 
 Cemetery in Quincy, Massachusetts, near where lie the bod- 
 ies of two Presidents of the United States. 
 
 In 1871 he married Eliza Hardwick of Quincy, Mass. A 
 daughter of this union survives. She is the wife of Profes- 
 sor Hall of Millbury, and as active in Christian work as was 
 her father, His widow still lives in Quincy, Mass.* 
 ♦Abbreviated from sketch prepared by Professor James C. Burns, 
 of Macomb, Illinois. 
 
 CAPTAIN SILAS PARKER. 
 Company D. 
 
 Captain Parker was fifty years old when he marched to 
 the front with Company D. With more courage than, per- 
 haps, strength, he did his part until May, 1863, when he was 
 brought home very sick, and lived only until June 23d. He 
 
39« THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 is buried at Amity, Pa. Comrade Parker was a man who 
 attracted much attention because of his soldierly appear- 
 ance. His care of the men was most commendable. When 
 the pickets on the Rappahannock returned one cold February 
 morning and reported that one of their number, Harvey 
 Swart, was unable to get in, Captain Parker got an ambu- 
 lance at once and, going to the picket post, brought him in. 
 He was nearly frozen, however, when found, for the cold 
 of the night was intense.* 
 * Memorial Day Address, by Manean Sharp, Amity, 1903. 
 
 LIEUTENANT J. FULTON BELL. 
 
 Lieutenant Bell, of Company D, was promoted from 
 Corporal to Sergeant, June 1, 1863. On the 1st of Novem- 
 ber of the same year he was promoted to First Sergeant. 
 For bravery and efficient service he was commissioned First 
 Lieutenant, July 20, 1864, and served in that capacity until 
 his muster out with the Regiment, May 31, 1865. At this 
 time he was the only commissioned officer in the Company, 
 and was the acting captain. Manaen Sharp reports him as 
 living on the same farm from which he enlisted, and adds: 
 "At the presidential election in 1864 the soldiers were about 
 to vote. Company D was in front of Petersburg, where 
 eevrything had to be done under cover. Captain Bell was 
 president of the election board, John Clauser and John Kelly 
 inspectors. Only seven votes were cast, and while examining 
 them, a large shell from the 'Goose Neck' battery struck 
 and exploded right in their midst, covering them with dust 
 and earth, but not a man was hurt." 
 
 LIEUTENANT-COLONEL GEORGE A. SHALLEN- 
 
 BERGER. 
 
 George A. Shallenberger, a brother of the Adjutant of 
 the Regiment, enlisted in Company I, and at the organiza- 
 tion of the company was elected the Second Lieutenant. On 
 the 26th of November, 1862, he was promoted to Captain and 
 Assistant Quarter Master, United States Volunteers. Fol- 
 lowing this appointment, he was assigned to the Second Divi- 
 sion of the Second Army Corps. 
 
 In the report of Major John Gibbon, commanding the 
 Second Division, dated November 7, 1864, with respect to 
 the operations of his Division since the 3d of May preceding, 
 special mention is made of the services of Captain Shallen- 
 berger as follows : 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 399 
 
 "Captain G. A. Shallenberger, Assistant Quarter Mas- 
 ter, and Captain T. S. Coombarger, Commissary of Sub- 
 sistence, were unremitting in their several positions, and the 
 sick, wounded and well wanted for nothing which their 
 zeal and energy could supply." 
 
 At a later date Captain Shallenberger was promoted by 
 brevet to Lieutenant-Colonel for meritorious service, and 
 was assigned to duty as Chief Quarter Master of the Second 
 Army Corps. This gave to him a position on the staff of 
 Major-General Hancock, which he filled with entire accept- 
 ance and conscientious fidelity. 
 
 In his case we have one among many instances where 
 men of the One Hundred and Fortieth were called or pro- 
 moted to special service, apart from their own companies 
 of the Regiment, and in the rendering of this service, re- 
 flected high honor upon the command to which they origi- 
 nally belonged. 
 
 CAPTAIN JOHN FLEMING WILSON. 
 Company G. 
 
 The most reliable information concerning the early life 
 of Captain Wilson and the noble service which he rendered 
 to his imperilled country is embodied in the following sketch, 
 prepared by a classmate, the Rev. B. T. Jeffers, D.D., his- 
 torian of the class of 1862, Jefferson College: 
 
 "John F. Wilson was born at Uniontown, Pa., October 
 10, 1839, and studied under Prof. S. B. Mercer, at Dunlap's 
 Creek Academy. He entered the college near the close of 
 the Freshman year, May 6, 1859. With many of his class 
 and college mates he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers Infantry, 
 August 22, 1862. He was in active service till shot through 
 both arms at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. His father, the 
 Rev. Samuel Wilson, D.D., brought him to his home and 
 sent him back well, October 13, 1863. He was commissioned 
 Second Lieutenant, July 4th, and afterwards Captain of his 
 Company. He led his Company through the bloody battles 
 with the Army of the Potomac till March 25, 1865, when, 
 while in command of his company on a skirmish line, in 
 support of General Sheridan, as he was cutting through the 
 Confederate forces, on the South Side Railroad, a ball 
 plunged through the femur of his right thigh, shattering it 
 so that his friend, Surgeon J. W. Wishart, found it neces- 
 sary to amputate near the third division. He died of 
 
400 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 pyaemia, April 15, 1865, at two o'clock, five hours before 
 President Lincoln breathed his last. His father and uncle 
 were with him for two weeks before his death. They, 
 President Lincoln, who stopped to talk with the wounded 
 captain, and the attending surgeons, all admired the wonder- 
 ful courage and manliness, the cheerful equanimity with 
 which he bore his sufferings, the loss of his limb, and finally 
 met death itself. Rev. John R. Paxton, D.D., of New York, 
 who was a member of Company G, says: Tf I am worth 
 anything as a Christian and a minister, I owe it largely, 
 under God, to Captain Wilson. His character as a Chris- 
 tian was an argument for Christianity that my skepticism 
 could not gainsay.' 
 
 "This noble classmate lies buried in the churchyard be- 
 side the House of God where his father preached for thirty 
 years, whence, he being dead, yet speaks words of Chris- 
 tian manliness to all who knew him. His father, eighty- 
 three years of age (1887), writes an excellent letter. In 
 reading it I could scarcely tell which I most admired, the 
 brave son or the father who told, so modestly, and yet so 
 appreciatively, the story of his son's heroism." 
 
 SERGEANT ISAIAH L. COLLINS. 
 
 Sergeant Collins was born December 14, 1845. He en- 
 listed in Company E, August 12, 1862, as a private. Was 
 promoted to Corporal January 24, 1864, and to Sergeant 
 February 10, 1865. He was wounded July 2d at Gettys- 
 burg and at Todd's Tavern May 8. 1864. At the battle of 
 Farmville, the last engagement by any body of troops in 
 the Army of the Potomac, Sergeant Collins was taken pris- 
 oner. He remained in charge of the Johnnies until the sur- 
 render of General Lee. Hence he was present at Appo- 
 mattox, but on the Confederate side. Being let go, he went, 
 however, to his own company. Comrade Collins has served 
 for twenty-five consecutive years as Justice of the Peace 
 in his place of residence, Ohiopyle, Pennsylvania, and is 
 proud of the record that no decision he has made in that 
 time has ever been reversed by a higher court, also of the 
 fact that he has never prosecuted or entered suit against 
 anyone and never was prosecuted or sued except at his own 
 solicitation in order to settle an estate as executor. His 
 family consists of ten boys and six girls. Two of his 
 children he reports as deceased. 
 
V 
 
 Wm - A - ''"• Stockton, Captain. Alexander Sweeney, First Lieutenant. 
 Wm. B. C.ok. Second Lieutenant. Benj. F. Powelson, First Sergeant. 
 
PERSONAL SKETCHES 401 
 
 LIEUTENANT BENJAMIN F. POWELSON. 
 
 Comrade Powelson served as First Sergeant of Company 
 K from its muster in to September 27, 1864, when he was 
 commissioned First Lieutenant of Company G, Forty-first 
 U. S. C. T., and assigned to the Army of the James. In 
 the campaign of 1865, which resulted in Lee's surrender, he 
 had command also of Company I of the same Regiment. 
 
 At Appomattox he was in the advance line under 
 Sheridan. After the surrender of General Johnson he was 
 ordered with his Regiment to the Rio Grande border. He 
 was mustered out in New Orleans in October, 1865. Colonel 
 Moore, editor of the Washington Reporter, on hearing this 
 wrote: 
 
 "Among the thousands of our youth who went out to 
 confront the foes of our government on the field of battle, 
 no more worthy one was to be found than Lieutenant Powel- 
 son, no one who will be more warmly welcomed on his 
 return." 
 
 At the close of the war Lieutenant Powelson studied 
 for the ministry, and since his ordination, July, 1867, has 
 been in active, aggressive work in Missouri, Kansas and 
 Colorado. Until recently he was the pastor of the Church 
 of Boulder, Colorado, which reports a membership of over 
 nine hundred, but he is now on the list of the honorably 
 retired. Lieutenant Powelson wrote the history of Com- 
 pany K, a valuable compend of the battles and marches of 
 the company, from which frequent quotations have been 
 made in the preparation of the regimental history. He also 
 prepared the History of the Class of i860 of Washington 
 College for its Semi-Centennial Anniversary at Washing- 
 ton, Pa., in 1910. 
 
 CAPTAIN WILLIAM A. F. STOCKTON. 
 Company K. 
 
 Captain Stockton was the son of the Rev. Dr. John 
 Stockton, pastor of the Cross Creek Presbyterian Church. 
 The company was recruited mainly through his efforts and 
 influence, and he was made its first Captain. "He was of a 
 generous and open-hearted disposition," says Powelson, the 
 historian of the Company, "and served with faithfulness. 
 On the 2th of July, 1863, he was detailed and sent back 
 for duty at the General Recruiting Station at Pittsburg, 
 Pa., where he remained until the summer of 1864, returning 
 
4«u THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 to the command of his Company, and was with it till it was 
 disbanded, except that on several occasions, by virtue of his 
 rank, he had command of the Regiment." He was brevetted 
 Major on the 9th of April, 1865, for meritorious service, and 
 was highly esteemed by his superior officers in the Brigade 
 and Division. Soon after the close of the war he removed 
 to Carituck, North Carolina, where he died in 1877. He was 
 buried in the Cross Creek village graveyard near the home 
 of his boyhood. 
 
 BREVET CAPTAIN ALEXANDER SWEENEY. 
 
 Company K. 
 
 This popular and highly esteemed officer began his mili- 
 tary career as the First Lieutenant of Company K. He was 
 with his Company through the Chancellorsville and Gettys- 
 burg campaigns. In December, 1863, he was detailed for 
 service on the staff of General Barlow, the Division com- 
 mander. After the transfer of General Barlow to another 
 command he continued in the same relation to his successor, 
 Major-General Nelson A. Miles, serving with him until the 
 close of the war. 
 
 Not long before his death General Miles was his guest, 
 and between these comrades of the war there was a very 
 close and tender intimacy. At this time and until he re- 
 ceived the summons to join the "great majority," Captain 
 Sweeney had the charge of the Steubenville Post Office. He 
 attended many of the Regimental Reunions and the National 
 Encampments of the G. A. R. and Loyal Legion, where he 
 was always welcomed by friends and comrades for his genial 
 manner and cheery disposition. He was identified with the 
 United Presbyterian Church from boyhood, and his regular 
 attendance at church was one of the marked characteristics 
 of his life. He died at Steubenville on the 29th of April, 
 1912, in the seventy-fifth year of his age. 
 
Part III 
 
 Memorabilia 
 
 Reunions — Dedications 
 
 Camp-Fire Reminiscences 
 
 Noteworthy Incidents 
 
 Etc. — Etc. — Etc. 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS 4»3 
 
 REGIMENTAL REUNIONS. 
 
 The following resume of important acts and events re- 
 lating to the annual meetings of the survivors of the Regi- 
 ment was made from a careful review of the minutes by 
 the Secretary of the Association, Comrade Henry J. Boyde, 
 of Beaver, Pa.: 
 
 It is not known who first conceived the idea of forming 
 a regimental association of those who had served in the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania during the Civil War. 
 However the thought of such an association appears to have 
 been in the minds of many and found realization in a pre- 
 liminary meeting held November 13, 1873, in the St. Charles 
 Hotel, Pittsburgh, Pa., at which time Major Thomas Henry 
 presided as temporary chairman and Adjutant William S. 
 Shallenberger as Secretary. With but little discussion a 
 permanent organization was formed with the following 
 named officers, viz: General H. H. Bingham, President; 
 Major Thomas Henry and Captain Isaac Vance, Vice-Presi- 
 dents, Adjutant William S. Shallenberger, Recording Sec- 
 retary; Chaplain J. Lynn Milligan, Corresponding Secretary, 
 and Captain Alex. Sweeney, Treasurer. 
 
 A constitution and by-laws was prepared and adopted 
 at this meeting, the first article stating, viz : This body shall 
 be known by the name, style and title of The Reunion Asso- 
 ciation of the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Vol- 
 unteers. 
 
 Article 2. The objects of this Association shall be to 
 cherish the memories, associations and friendships of the 
 war waged in defense of the indivisibility and unity of the 
 republic, to strengthen the ties of fraternal fellowship, sym- 
 pathy formed from companionship in arms and to con- 
 serve National honor, union and independence. 
 
 Article 3. Every honorably discharged officer or sol- 
 dier who may have served at any time in the Regiment may 
 become a member, also the Governor of the State of Penn- 
 sylvania and the general officers who may at any time have 
 commanded the Corps, Division or Brigade to which the 
 Regiment belonged shall also be entitled with their re- 
 spective staffs to membership. 
 
 The first reunion was held in Washington, Pa., Sep- 
 tember 8, 1874, and they have been held annually since that 
 time. At this reunion 118 members were present, and this 
 number represents a fair average of the numbers present 
 each year. The meetings have been held in various places, 
 
404 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 principally in the counties of Washington and Beaver, and 
 have always been occasions of pleasure and profit and mak- 
 ing, if possible, still stronger the peculiar tie that binds those 
 who together endured the hardships of the soldier's life in 
 camp and on the march, and also faced shoulder to shoulder 
 the dangers of the battlefields. 
 
 The hearty interest and hospitality shown by the citi- 
 zens in the places in which the Association has met fully 
 merits the praise given in resolutions passed from year to 
 year in which we endeavored to show our appreciation. 
 Through it all, however, there has ever been a note of sad- 
 ness occasioned by the reading of the necrological report, 
 thus reminding us that our members were being rapidly de- 
 pleted by death. 
 
 It would be difficult to say which of the reunions were 
 the best, for the reason "they were all good. Two reunions, 
 however, appear by the minutes as well in the memories of 
 many as being particularly notable, the first of which was 
 held in Washington, Pa., October 15, 1902, at which time the 
 Washington College Centennial was being held. This occur- 
 ing at the same time of the reunion, made a double attrac- 
 tion to many graduates of the college who were also mem- 
 bers of the Regiment. A number of these, as well as others 
 of the graduates, had been prominent during the war, and 
 had also become eminent in the religious, professional and 
 political life of our country since its close, and were thus 
 enabled to be present with us. Among them were Com- 
 rades, General Harry H. Bingham, Rev. John R. Paxton, 
 D.D., Captain Alex. W. Acheson and others, each of whom, 
 by their masterful addresses, added a peculiar interest to 
 the enjoyment of the occasion. Among the speakers of the 
 evening was the Rev. J. P. Smith, D.D., of Richmond. Va., 
 a graduate of the college. He had served on the staff of 
 General Thomas J. Jackson, the noted Confederate, and 
 known as "Stonewall" Jackson. In his address he referred 
 to the death of the General, he being at his side when he 
 died, and heard him say: "Let us cross over the river and 
 rest under the shade of the trees." It has been said that the 
 General did not utter these words, that they were but imag- 
 inary, like the famous poem of Barbara Freitchie, and not a 
 fact. Yet here we have in these minutes of the Association 
 the testimony of a reputable witness who heard them and 
 are referred to here in proof of their authenticity. 
 
 Another reunion worthy of mention was held in Beaver, 
 Pa., the entire affair being largely in the hands of Mr. Isaac 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS 405 
 
 Harter and his wife, Mrs. Emma Roberts Harter, the daugh- 
 ter of our Colonel who fell at Gettysburg. It had long 
 been in the thoughts of Mr. and Mrs. Harter that they would 
 at some time entertain the survivors of the Regiment and 
 that they carried their thought to a successful issue was 
 apparent and will always be in the memory of those who 
 were present as the most enjoyable of the many reunions 
 held. They have always had a deep and an abiding interest 
 in the Regiment, and they occupy a warm place in the hearts 
 of the members of the Association. 
 
 The minutes are almost entirely mere statements that 
 the Association met in such a place on such a date and the 
 usual routine pertaining to the business of the meeting with 
 reference to the entertainment provided. 
 
 Matters of real historic value, however, appear in cer- 
 tain minutes, where it very clearly sets forth that the Regi- 
 ment was among the pioneers in starting the movement that 
 led to the erection of the many monuments that now stand 
 upon the battlefield of Gettysburg. 
 
 The minutes of October II, 1881, show the appointment 
 of a committee to act with Colonel Batchelder in accurately 
 marking the position held by the Regiment in that engage- 
 ment. The committee reported October 10, 1882, that the 
 monument would be located on the roadway near the spot 
 where heaviest loss occurred. Captain Samuel Campbell, 
 of Company H, introduced a resolution authorizing the ap- 
 pointment of a committee to raise funds to meet the expense 
 of erecting a memorial shaft to mark the designated spot 
 held by the Regiment the evening of July 2d. August 28, 
 1884, the committee reported progress, and Comrades Shall- 
 enberger, Sayres and Hartford were appointed to mark the 
 spot and determine the inscription to go on the shaft. The 
 shaft having been erected, the committee met in Beaver, 
 July 17, 1885, and arranged for the unveiling and dedica- 
 tion to take place August II, 1885, Comrade Short to be the 
 Officer of the Day, Comrade Shallenberger to deliver the 
 oration, and Comrade D. M. Pry to deliver the monument 
 to the care of the Battlefield Commission. At the time 
 appointed, twenty-seven members of the Regiment met and 
 the monument was formally dedicated with appropriate 
 ceremonies. The minutes at no time show the cost of the 
 monument, which was paid out of funds of the Association, 
 Voluntarily contributed. 
 
 October 11, 1887, the attention of the Regiment was 
 called to the then recent Act of the Legislature which pro- 
 
406 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 vided for the erection of monuments by the State for those 
 regiments of the Pennsylvania Volunteers that had taken part 
 in the battle and appropriating out of the moneys of the 
 State $1,500 for each of such regiments, the monuments to 
 mark the places held by them on that field. A committee 
 was at once appointed to act with the State Commission and 
 Battlefield Association in the matter. October 9, 1888, the 
 committee reported progress and was authorized to push 
 the work to completion ready for dedication. The com- 
 mittee was also empowered to purchase a piece of ground 
 in the field on the opposite side of the avenue from the posi- 
 tion held by the earlier monument erected by the Regiment, 
 if they deemed such action necessary, in order to comply 
 with the rules of the Battlefield Commission as well as with 
 the wishes of the Regiment in the matter of location. 
 
 The minutes indicate that this piece of ground was 
 bought at a cost of $75. 
 
 This monument having been completed, the Association 
 met at Gettysburg, and on September 12, 1889, was formally 
 dedicated with impressive ceremonies in the presence of 216 
 of the survivors and a large number of spectators. At the 
 dedication, Comrade Short was Officer of the Day, Com- 
 rade Sloan received the monument from the State Commis- 
 sion, and Comrade Shallenberger made the historic address. 
 
 October 14, 1890, the Monument Committee was granted 
 full power to act in the matter of having the first monu- 
 ment erected, and known as the little monument, removed 
 to another location. From year to year resolutions were 
 passed relative to this matter, but never brought to a con- 
 clusion. 
 
 October 9, 1894, the Chairman of a committee appointed, 
 at a previous meeting, to make report with recommendations 
 as to what action, if any, should be taken in reference to the 
 address published in the Second Volunteers of Pennsylvania 
 at Gettysburg, said to have been delivered on the battle- 
 field by Major St. C. Mulholland at the dedication of the 
 monument of the One Hundred and Sixteenth Pennsylvania 
 submitted his report. Here follows, spread in full on the 
 minutes, a carefully prepared and exhaustive report on this 
 remarkable address which closes by saying: "We pronounce 
 its statements as to the position and movements of our Regi- 
 ment as utterly at variance with the facts. Not for one 
 moment were we without a field officer. Not for one moment 
 did Major Mulholland have command of our Regiment. 
 Not one step did we follow him toward the Peach Orchard. 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS *>7 
 
 The whole story is a play of fancy and a figment of the 
 imagination." 
 
 It was then ordered that a copy of this report be for- 
 warded to the Gettysburg Battlefield Commission, with re- 
 quest that such action may be taken as in their judgment 
 may be due our Regiment. 
 
 An appendix follows which occupies thirty-one pages 
 of the Minute book and consists of copies of the reports of 
 field and staff officers, Division and Brigade, made at the 
 close of the battle, as well as the report of our own Colonel 
 John Fraser, all of said reports showing most conclusively 
 the inaccuracy of the statements made by Major Mulholland 
 regarding the position and movements of our Regiment. 
 
 October 18, 1898, the statements of Major Mulholland 
 regarding the movements of the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Regiment were again brought to the attention of the Battle- 
 field Associations, whereupon the following resolution was 
 offered and unanimously approved, viz: Whereas, Major 
 St. Clair Mulholland, of the One Hundred and Sixteenth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, sets forth the remarkable state- 
 ment that the Regimental monument of the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers is wrongly placed 
 and that we as a regiment are not entitled to the claim of 
 having been on the right of the First Division of the Sec- 
 ond Army Corps at the Battle of Gettysburg; 
 
 Resolved, That both of these statements are unfounded 
 and have been overruled by the Commission. Second. That 
 his statement claiming to have had command of the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania at any time on the even- 
 ing of July 2d is absurd and without any foundation in fact. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser was in continuous command after 
 the death of Colonel Roberts. 
 
 After the passage of these resolutions, twenty-four 
 members of the Regiment who were present and who had 
 taken part in the battle came forward and stated they each 
 had personal knowledge of the facts stated in the resolu- 
 tions and of the inaccuracy of Major Mulholland claims. 
 
 The Reunion at Canonsburg, Pa., in 191 1, will be re- 
 membered as one of the most interesting and important of 
 all our annual meetings. 
 
 The community manifested just pride in the distin- 
 guished record made by its own gifted citizens who were 
 members of Company G. 
 
 Comrades J. Brad. Johnson and Oliver Paxton welcomed 
 the survivors of the Association and gave them a splendid 
 
40$ THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 reception. It was at this meeting that the long-talked-of 
 scheme to publish a Regimental History was brought to a cul- 
 mination. Comrade W. L. Shallenberger named a com- 
 rade of Company G, Robert L. Stewart, as particularly well 
 qualified to undertake the work. Comrade John R. Paxton 
 promptly and warmly seconded the suggestion, and pledged 
 his best efforts toward the securing of a fund which would 
 make possible the work. Others heartily approved and plead 
 for decisive action. The Historian expressed his grateful 
 appreciation of the confidence shown in him, doubted his 
 ability to command the time and material necessary, but 
 finally saw a vision of duty and privilege and accepted the 
 commission. 
 
 From time to time resolutions are found upon the 
 minutes authorizing the publishing of a History of the Regi- 
 ment. Such work as may have been done in accordance with 
 these resolutions failed for many reasons to materialize. 
 September 12, 191 1, the matter was again brought before the 
 Association, as above stated, which resulted in the appoint- 
 ment of the following-named comrades as a committee to 
 prepare and have published such a history, viz: 
 
 Rev. Robert L. Stewart, D.D. Hon. William S. Shallenberger 
 Rev. John R. Paxton, D.D. Thomas Henry, Esq. 
 
 Harry J. Boyde 
 
 This committee at once began the work so that at the 
 time of this writing it is evident that the committee will be 
 able to report at the coming reunion, the completion of the 
 work and that the book is ready for distribution. 
 
 At the time of the organization of the Association 
 Rev. John Lynn Milligan LL.D. was elected Secretary and 
 continued as such until his death, July 12, 1909. Very much 
 of the success attained in our reunions was the result of 
 his work. As Chaplain of the Regiment he had greatly 
 endeared himself to the members thereof, not only by his 
 tender interest in their religious welfare, but also by his con- 
 stant efforts to relieve the sick, his courage in reaching and 
 alleviating the suffering of the wounded, his soothing min- 
 istrations to the dying, and his care for the bodies of the 
 dead. As we read his name and that of others on the pages 
 of the minutes of the Association who have passed away 
 from year to year, we rejoice that we have been permitted 
 to know and to have had association with such men. May 
 such lives be an inspiration to us all. 
 
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REGIMENTAL REUNIONS 409 
 
 one hundred and fortieth pennsylvania volunteers. 
 
 Pittsburgh, Pa., Nov. 13, 1873. 
 
 Pursuant to call, the comrades of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers met in prelimi- 
 nary reunion at 2 o'clock, P. M., in the parlors of the St. 
 Charles Hotel. 
 
 Major Thomas Henry was elected temporary chairman, 
 and Adjutant W. S. Shallenberger secretary. On motion the 
 chair appointed a committee of three on permanent organi- 
 zation, viz: Adjutant W. S. Shallenberger, Captain J. M. 
 Ray and Chaplain J. L. Milligan, who submitted the follow- 
 ing report : 
 
 President. — General H. H. Bingham. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. — Major Thomas Henry and Captain 
 Isaac Vance. 
 
 Recording Secretary. — Adjutant W. S. Shallenberger. 
 
 Corresponding Secretary. — Chaplain J. L. Milligan. 
 
 Treasurer. — Captain Allex. Sweeny. 
 
 And recommended a finance committee of three, and 
 an executive committee composed of one from each com- 
 pany, with the president and secretary as ex-officio members. 
 On motion the report of the committee on organization was 
 adopted. The chair appointed as a committee on finance, 
 Corporal J. G. Sloan, Private Joshua Weaver and Sergeant 
 R. H. Cooper. 
 
 Nominations were then made for an executive commit- 
 tee, and the following persons appointed: 
 
 Company A — Lieutenant Thornton Hedge. 
 
 Company B — Captain A. C. Grove. 
 
 Company C — Captain J. M. Ray. 
 
 Company D — Sergeant Henry C. Swart. 
 
 Company E — Captain A. T. Gregg. 
 
 Company F — Lieutenant D. Singleton. 
 
 Company G — Captain W. N. Paxton. 
 
 Company H — Captain S. Campbell. 
 
 Company I — Sergeant R. W. Anderson. 
 
 Company K — Sergeant George Ralston. 
 
 On motion, Resolved, That the first general reunion 
 shall be held on Tuesday, September 8, 1874, to convene at 
 2 o'clock, P. M., and close with a banquet in the evening. 
 
 General John Fraser was elected orator of the day, with 
 Major Thos. Henry as alternate, and Washington, Pa., 
 selected as the place of meeting. On motion. 
 
 Resolved, To extend a special invitation to the com- 
 
410 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 manders and staff officers of Brigade, Division and Corps, 
 with which the One Hundred and Fortieth was connected, 
 and a general invitation to comrades of other regiments 
 to meet with us on reunion occasions. 
 
 On motion, all comrades of the One Hundred and For- 
 tieth Pennsylvania Volunteers desiring to become members 
 of the "Reunion Association" are hereby requested to send 
 their names and post-office address to the secretary for en- 
 rollment. 
 
 On motion, a unanimous vote of thanks was tendered 
 the proprietor, of the St. Charles Hotel, for the courtesy 
 shown, in proffering the free use of his parlors upon this 
 occasion. On motion. 
 
 Resolved, That all newspapers published in the several 
 counties of Washington, Beaver, Mercer and Greene be re- 
 spectfully requested to publish these proceedings. On 
 motion. 
 
 W. S. Shallenberger, Secretary. 
 
 REUNION OF VETERANS. 
 
 The Eighty-fifth and One Hundred and Fortieth Regi- 
 ment Pennsylvania Volunteers held their annual reunions at 
 Washington upon Tuesday of last week. The Eighty-fifth 
 had held one reunion last year at Uniontown, but the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth had never met together as a regiment 
 since they were mustered out of the service at the close of 
 the war. 
 
 The committees having the management of the reunions 
 had made ample arrangements for the accommodation of 
 their comrades, and for their comfort and enjoyment, and 
 all that was needed to make the meetings a success was fine 
 weather. 
 
 The day opened bright and fair, and soon the town 
 began to put on her gala day dress, flags were flung to the 
 breeze from many dwellings and public buildings, and every 
 one seemed anxious to give the veterans a hearty welcome. 
 Knots of soldiers and citizens were to be seen through the 
 streets greeting some returned brave, as one by one they 
 arrived in town. The headquarters of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment was at the office of James P. Saver, 
 Esq., in the Fulton House building, from whose window- 
 hung the beautiful silk flag of Company C, which had been 
 presented to them by our fellow-townsman, N. F. Brobst, at 
 the time of their departure in 1862, and which has since 
 been in the possession of Mrs. Hon. A. W. Acheson, mother 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS 411 
 
 of the gallant Captain David Acheson, so well remembered 
 by our citizens for his sterling worth and honor, and whose 
 memory is so fondly cherished by his comrades for his noble 
 daring in the field of strife. In front of the headquarters 
 hung the banner of the Regiment, presented to Major Henry 
 by the ladies of Beaver, upon which was inscribed the names 
 of the battles in which the Regiment took part. The fol- 
 lowing is the list of battles: Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, 
 Bristow Station, Pine Run, Todds Tavern, Wilderness, Cor- 
 bins Bridge, Po River, Spottsylvania, North Anna, Totopot- 
 omy, Coal Harbor, Petersburg, Strawberry Plains, Deep 
 Bottom, Reams Station, Hatchers Run, Sutherlands Station, 
 Sailors Creek, Cumberland Church and Appomattox. On 
 the reverse side was the corps mark of the Regiment and 
 the date of its muster into service. The headquarters of 
 the Eighty-fifth was at the office of Major H. J. Vankirk, 
 in Caldwell's building, from which hung the tattered flag 
 of the Company. 
 
 Around these headquarters were crowds of soldiers of 
 the respective regiments and their comrades of other organ- 
 izations, extending and receiving warm and hearty welcomes. 
 Shortly after ten o'clock the members who had arrived in 
 town, formed in procession and marched to the Chartiers 
 depot where they received large numbers of their comrades 
 and escorted them to their respective headquarters. The dis- 
 play as they marched through the streets was very fine, 
 although not attended by music or flying banners. The men 
 presented a very fine appearance, and we may truly say that 
 never before has our town been visited by any body of men 
 who created and left a more favorable impression upon our 
 people than the soldiers of the Eighty-fifth and One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth. 
 
 Shortly after the arrival of the Chartiers train, the West 
 Alexander brass band arrived in their wagon. 
 
 After the greetings and handshaking were over, and 
 the members had registered their names upon the rolls, 
 they separated to their different places for dinner. At two 
 o'clock the Eighty-fifth met in the Court House and the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth in the Town Hall for a business 
 meeting. The meeting of the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 was called to order by Chaplain John Milligan, upon whose 
 motion Adjutant Shallenberger was called to the chair. Ad- 
 jutant Shallenberger, upon taking the chair, thanked his 
 comrades for the high honor conferred upon him. He would 
 rather their choice would have fallen upon some one older 
 
4U THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 in the service and more experienced than he. He invoked 
 harmony and good feeling in all their deliberations and 
 hoped that whatever was done would be done for the best. 
 The Adjutant's remarks were well received, and the ap- 
 plause which greeted him fully attested that the Regiment 
 was well satisfied with its choice. Upon motion, Chaplain 
 John Milligan was unanimously chosen secretary. The sec- 
 retary read an abstract of the minutes of the meeting of 
 the officers of the Regiment held in Pittsburgh, November 13, 
 1873, which called this meeting. The roll was then called, 
 when one hundred and fifteen members responded. 
 
 Major Thomas Henry delivered the oration, being a 
 rapid review of the engagements in which the Regiment 
 had participated during the war. 
 
 At the time all the officers and committees were chosen 
 and a permanent organization effected. The interest then 
 awakened and systematized has never grown less. It comes 
 together each year with its camp fires of friendship burn- 
 ing brightly. It gives an opportunity to look each other in 
 the face and clasp hands in manly recognition and gather up 
 the charms, the dangers and the victories of the undying 
 past. 
 
 The Regiment numbered over one thousand when they 
 entered the service. Many who survived the campaign and 
 were permitted to return to their homes, have since died; 
 others have found homes in the West and South; some re- 
 mained in the country where they fought, while some, en- 
 grossed by cares and responsibilities of active business life, 
 found it impossible to attend. After the call of the roll, let- 
 ters were read from S. Potter, Jr., General W. S. Hancock 
 and General H. H. Bingham. These letters were received 
 amid great applause, and were as follows : 
 
 Philadelphia, Sept. 4, 1874. 
 
 My Dear Colonel — Enclosed find letter from General Hancock con- 
 cerning the reunion One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania 
 Volunteers. I am of the opinion that it would be well to read the 
 enclosed. If I can possibly be present at the reunion, I will do all in 
 my power to reach that result. My father has been most seriously ill at 
 my house for the past ten days; he is no better at present; I fear that he 
 will not survive the present attack. 
 
 If I cannot be with you I will telegraph on Monday to Washington. 
 Explain the cause of my necessary absence. I am more than sorry for 
 my present inability to join in the gathering. My trip to Washington 
 would occupy several days and I never would or could forgive myself if 
 any thing serious would take place during my absence. I will write you 
 again. Very truly, &c, 
 
 Henry H. Bingham. 
 Col. Sharlenberger, Rochester, Pa. 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS 413 
 
 New York, Aug. 31, 1874. 
 
 My Dear General — I am in receipt of your kind note of the 25th 
 instant inviting myself and staff, on the part of the Executive Committee, 
 to be present at the social reunion of the One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- 
 sylvania Volunteers at Washington, Pa., on the 8th proximo. 
 
 It would give me great pleasure, I assure you, to accept and to meet 
 the gallant soldiers of that distinguished Regiment, which I had the honor 
 to command during a part of the late war, but I shall be prevented from 
 attending the reunion by my absence in the West, having my arrangements 
 all completed for starting to St. Louis to-morrow evening to be absent dur- 
 ing the month of September. 
 
 I am very truly yours, 
 
 Winf'd S. Hancock, Maj. Gen. 
 
 Falls City, Pa., Sept. 4, 1874. 
 Mr. Alf. Beeson — Dear Friend: Your card of yesterday is received. 
 I cannot express my disappointment and regret on account of my inability 
 to attend the reunion of my old Regiment at Washington, Pa. I cannot 
 secure a competent person to take charge of my business during the time 
 it would be necessary to be absent. 
 
 Please remember me to my old comrades of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, and especially to the members of Co. E. I would name John 
 Barkley, Jesse T. Power, and many others whom I have not time to name. 
 But I must not forget Tom Kelly, the wild Irishman. Tell them I want 
 them to come and see me. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 S. Potter, Jr. 
 
 [telegram.] 
 
 Philadelphia, Sept. 7, 1874. 
 
 Col. W. S. Shallenberger — I had hoped up to this morning that I could 
 be with you at the reunion. I now find, in consequence of family illness, 
 that it is impossible. Express my sincere regrets. Thank the comrades 
 for the honor conferred at the last gathering in having elected me Presi- 
 dent. I wish for the perfect and complete pleasure of all who may meet, 
 and trust that, at the next reunion, I may be with you in person, as I am 
 with you now in spirit and full sympathy. 
 
 Henry H. Bingham. 
 
 A letter was also received from General Fraser, but had 
 been left in Pittsburgh by Mr. Milligan. One was also re- 
 ceived from Lieutenant J. J. Purman, but too late to be 
 read. After the reading of these letters Sergeant Beeson 
 suggested that when the Regiment adjourn, it march through 
 the streets of the town, and that their comrades of the 
 Eighty-fifth be invited to join them. He moved that a com- 
 mittee of three be appointed to invite the Eighty-fifth to unite 
 with them. The chair appointed Messrs. Sayer, Sweeney and 
 Singleton for that purpose. 
 
 The chair announced that the next business to be con- 
 sidered was raising money to meet the expenses of the re- 
 union and to provide a permanent fund for the organization. 
 The mode to secure this would be an assessment upon the 
 members present, which, he felt sure, would be largely in- 
 creased by donations from absent members. Several sums 
 were mentioned, and after a full interchange of opinion, it 
 
414 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 was finally determined to assess each member present the 
 sum of $1.50, which would include a ticket to the banquet, 
 and the Executive Committee were authorized to collect the 
 amounts so assessed. While the Executive Committee was 
 thus engaged, the committee appointed to invite the Eighty- 
 fifth Regiment to join in the parade, returned and reported 
 that the Eighty-fifth accepted the invitation and would join 
 the procession. 
 
 The business of the meeting being now nearly closed, 
 the Regiment proceeded to the election of officers for the en- 
 suing year, with the following result: 
 
 President, General H. H. Bingham; Vice-Presidents, 
 Captain Thos. Henry, Captain Isaac Vance ; Corresponding 
 Secretary and Chaplain, John L. Milligan ; Recording Sec- 
 retary, John L. Gow, Esq. ; Treasurer, Captain Alex. 
 Sweeney; Executive Committee, consisting of one member 
 from each company, consists of the following soldiers : 
 
 Lieutenant C. T. Hedge, Company A ; Captain Craig, 
 Company B ; Sergeant James P. Sayer, Company C ; Captain 
 J. F. Bell, Company D; Sergeant A. G. Beeson, Company E; 
 A. G. White, Company F; Sergeant William Pollock, Com- 
 pany G ; Captain S. Campbell, Company H ; David E. Mc- 
 Allister, Company I ; Silas Cook, Company K. 
 
 The next business was the election of the place for the 
 next reunion. It was unanimously conceded by Washing- 
 ton county boys that the Beaver companies should fix the 
 place. Beaver and Beaver Falls were suggested, and the 
 claims and advantages of each urged by the respective par- 
 ties. The meeting seemed pretty fairly divided upon the two 
 places, and it was difficult to guess which would be success- 
 ful, until a member announced that Beaver was the birth- 
 place of Colonel Roberts, their gallant leader. At the men- 
 tion of that name all claims for Beaver Falls were relin- 
 quished and Beaver unanimously selected. 
 
 It was suggested that, as the Roundheads (One Hun- 
 dredth Pennsylvania) would probably hold their next re- 
 union at Beaver, this Regiment hold theirs at the same time, 
 and the Executive Committee were instructed to confer with 
 the Executive Committee of the One Hundredth, and if a re- 
 union of both regiments could be held at the same time, 
 the time so fixed would be announced not later than 
 June i, 1875. 
 
 The meeting then proceeded to elect an orator for the 
 next reunion, when Adjutant W. S. Shallenberger, of Roch- 
 ester, Pa., was unanimously elected, with Chaplain John 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS -U5 
 
 L. Milligan, of Allegheny City, Pa., alternate. 
 
 This closed the business meeting, and the members 
 formed in procession, Captain Craig, Marshal, and marched 
 to the front of the Town Hall, where they were joined by 
 the Eighty-fifth. 
 
 The Eighty-fifth Regiment met in the Court House and 
 organized, appointed committees, etc. (see proceedings, roll, 
 etc., on our third page) after which they adjourned to join 
 the One Hundred and Fortieth in a procession. 
 
 After the procession the regiments returned to the hall, 
 when the conventions adjourned to meet at 7 o'clock in the 
 Town Hall to listen to the addresses of the orators previ- 
 ously elected. 
 
 The meeting at 7 o'clock was large and very orderly. 
 Colonel Norton McGiffin, veteran of the Mexican War, 
 and Colonel of the Eighty-fifth, was called to the chair, and 
 Captain A. C. Grove, of the One Hundred and Fortieth, 
 Vice-President. 
 
 Colonel Norton McGiffin introduced Boyd Crumrine, 
 Esq., orator of the Eighty-fifth Regiment. Mr. C.'s address 
 was exceedingly neat in language and style, and delivered 
 with much force. 
 
 After the conclusion of Mr. Crumrine's address, Major 
 Henry was introduced and gave a historical sketch of the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment, which was quite in- 
 teresting and well received. 
 
 After the meeting adjourned the members of the Regi- 
 ments, together with invited guests, soldiers of other or- 
 ganizations and citizens, marched to the Fulton House, where 
 a banquet was prepared. The spacious dining hall of the 
 hotel was beautifully decorated with flags, wreaths and 
 flowers, while the tables groaned under their loads of all 
 the delicacies of the season. The hall was soon filled 
 and it was found that the many who held tickets were un- 
 able to procure seats. Messrs. Little & Melvin announced 
 that another table would be prepared as soon as the first 
 was served, and those on the outside accepted the "situa- 
 tion" gracefully, and not a murmur or syllable of discon- 
 tentment was heard. 
 
 After the banquet a meeting was organized in front of 
 the hotel, when loud calls were made for Sergeant T. L. 
 Noble, who responded in his usual humorous style. He 
 was followed by Adjutant Shallenberger, Sergeants Sayer 
 and Cook, Chaplain Milligan, Lieutenant James S. Stocking, 
 of Company A, One Hundredth Pennsylvania; Rev. Samuel 
 J. Wilson and H. J. Vankirk. 
 
4i6 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Want of space prevents us from speaking at length of 
 these orations. They were all short, earnest and eloquent; 
 some referring to the deeds done by comrades, some in feel- 
 ing and touching words to the fallen, whose graves are on 
 every battlefield, and all invoking a spirit of brotherly love 
 toward each other. These men continued until midnight, 
 when Chaplain Milligan proposed that all present join in 
 singing the long metre doxology. 
 
 Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 
 Praise Him all creatures here below, 
 Praise Him above ye heavenly host, 
 Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 
 
 Which was done in fine style, the audience standing with 
 uncovered heads. After this the meeting dispersed, each 
 going his way feeling that he had enjoyed a very pleasant 
 day — and the reunions were over. We cannot close this 
 account without speaking of the dignified manner in which 
 all present conducted themselves; not a single thing occurred 
 to mar the happiness of anyone. The soldiers were gentle- 
 men in every sense of the word. Of all the vast crowd of 
 strangers present, there was not one who did not deport him- 
 self in the most respectful manner. They were a body of 
 fine looking, intelligent, honest men, met to renew the friend- 
 ships of other days, and shoidd they ever revisit Wash- 
 ington, they may be sure of a hearty welcome. 
 
 At the Waynesburg Reunion in 1887. 
 
 Mr. French, a member of the Regiment, made an im- 
 promptu speech, narrating some incidents. He said several 
 of the boys were standing about a spring. One held a cup 
 in his hand ready to take a drink when the ball from a sharp 
 shooter's rifle struck the cup, cutting it all away but the 
 handle. The soldier looked in the direction of the source of 
 the ball and said, "Johnnie, you can't do that again." A. J. 
 Scott, of Rutan, and a member of Company A, spoke of the 
 farmer leaving the plow in the furrow and going to war. 
 He said he knew a man who broke a clevis while at work in 
 the field. He left the plow and went to the blacksmith to 
 have the clevis mended. He enlisted, and after being mus- 
 tered into Uncle Sam's service, and getting ready to put on 
 the uniform, put his hand in his coat pocket and found his 
 clevis pin which was needed on the farm. Dr. Paxton related 
 an incident of Col. McCullough and himself. They were 
 
REGIMENTAL REUNIONS 417 
 
 sitting on the ground taking a lunch of hardtack and coffee, 
 when a solid shot dropped near them and threw dirt into 
 McCullough's cup of coffee. The colonel looked in the direc- 
 tion of the enemy and said, "we'll get even with you yet, 
 Johnnie." 
 
 Reunion of 1902 at Washington, Pa. 
 
 Col. A. Louden Snowden, of Philadelphia, speaking of 
 "The Alumni in the Army and Navy," at the college gym- 
 nasium yesterday, among other things, said: 
 
 In the Jefferson College, Class of 1861, on the call of 
 Abraham Lincoln, 26 students in a class of 56 entered the 
 military service of the United States, and in Washington 
 College, in the same year's class, 5 out of 25 entered. In 
 the Jefferson College class but two southern students en- 
 tered the Confederate service. From the two colleges there 
 were 58 graduates, from general officers to high privates, 
 who died in our service, and 11 from Jefferson who died 
 in the Confederate service. When we consider the large 
 number of southern students at Jefferson, this appears a very 
 small percentage. The figures are, however, taken from your 
 records. 
 
 There were from the two colleges 393 graduates who 
 served under the old flag. Including the living and dead, 
 from 1802 to the period of the union of the colleges at the 
 close of the rebellion in 1865, there was over 13 per cent, 
 that entered the national service. It is prudent, therefore, 
 to estimate that in the war for the preservation of the 
 Union, the living graduates, subject to a call for military 
 duty and capable of bearing arms, more than 20 per cent, of 
 the graduates of Washington and Jefferson College were 
 enrolled in our army and navy. Patriotic as are the students 
 of our American universities and colleges, no better com- 
 parative statement of self-sacrificing patriotism can be 
 found than is presented in this brief record. 
 
 When we consider the ancestry, the blood lines of the 
 great majority of the students who have been educated at 
 Washington and Jefferson Colleges, and those who are now 
 receiving instruction in this noble college formed by the 
 indissoluble union of the two colleges, it is but reasonable to 
 expect that every call of a patriotic character will be 
 honored as was the call by our martyred president in 1861. 
 
4i8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 WAR-TIME LETTERS— GENERAL ORDERS, ETC. 
 
 Letter from Major Henry in Reference to Rescue of 
 the Wounded at Chancellor House, May 3D, 1863. 
 
 Providence Hospital, January 11, 1912. 
 Professor R. L. Stewart. 
 
 Dear Sir: — Your favor of January 8th was received. 
 On May 3, 1S63, the One Hundred and Fortieth was sup- 
 porting the Fifth Maine, composed of five brass pieces, 
 which were located east of the Chancellor House. So 
 accurate and rapid was the fire of the Confederate gunners 
 that they had killed almost every man and horse in the 
 battery. They killed several of our Regiment. I saw a man 
 holding two horses by the head. They were attached to a 
 caisson. A shot or shell came and struck him and tore him 
 to pieces. It was after that that I was ordered to take my 
 company into the house and remove the wounded. We en- 
 tered at the east entrance of the house. If there were two 
 hundred wounded Union soldiers and a room full of Con- 
 federates and seven women in the house, this throws a flood 
 of light on the whole matter and may afford the means of 
 harmonizing the various statements. Thirty-three wounded 
 soldiers and three women were all that Company "F" claimed 
 to have removed, and they were brought out of the house 
 from the east entrance, the Rebel gunners having ceased to 
 fire. If other troops removed the great body of the wounded 
 from the house, they must have been taken out from the 
 rear entrance, of which we had no view. One of the 
 wounded that we received from the house asked me if the 
 Rebel gunners had ceased firing. I said I thought they had. 
 
 I tried to find the headquarters of General Hancock, 
 to deliver the three women into his hands, but in that mob 
 in the woods I could not find him, and they were taken to 
 the Chandler House. . . . 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 Thomas Henry. 
 
 BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE. 
 
 From Page 94 of Mrs. Hancock's Reminiscences. 
 My husband writes, no date given : 
 
 • ■ •••••• 
 
 I have not recovered from our last failure, which should 
 have been a brilliant victory. Hooker had two large Corps 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 419 
 
 (Meade's and Reynold's) which had not been engaged. He 
 was implored to put them into action at 10 o'clock on Sun- 
 day, when the enemy had apparently used up all their troops. 
 He would not do it. Now the blame is to be put on Sedg- 
 wick for not joining us; as if it were possible to do so with 
 one Corps when we had six Corps, and this force was not 
 considered strong enough to attempt to unite with Sedg- 
 wick without risk to the command. But it seems that Provi- 
 dence, for some wise purpose, intended our defeat. 
 
 The day before the fight Hooker said to a general offi- 
 cer, "God Almighty could not prevent me from winning a 
 victory to-morrow." 
 
 Pray, could we expect a victory after that? . . . Suc- 
 cess cannot come to us through such profanity. 
 
 Order Issued by General Meade on the Eve of the 
 Gettysburg Battle. 
 
 Headquarters Army of the Potomac, 
 
 June 30, 1863. 
 
 The Commanding General requests that previous to the 
 engagement soon expected with the enemy, Corps and all 
 other commanding officers will address their troops, ex- 
 plaining to them briefly the immense issue involved in the 
 struggle. The enemy is on our soil; the whole country now 
 looks anxiously to this army to deliver it from the presence 
 of the foe; our failure to do so will leave us no such wel- 
 come as the swelling millions of hearts with pride and joy 
 at our success would give to every soldier of the army. 
 Homes, firesides and domestic altars are involved. The army 
 has fought well heretofore. It is believed that it will fight 
 more desperately and bravely than ever, if it is addressed 
 in fitting terms. 
 
 Corps and other commanders are authorized to order 
 the instant death of any soldier who fails in his duty this 
 hour. By command of 
 
 Major-General Meade. 
 
 Seth Williams, Assistant Adjutant General. 
 
 The Battle of Gettysburg as Described by Adjutant 
 
 W. S. Shallenberger in a Letter to His Brother, 
 
 J. Lloyd Shallenberger, of Mt. Pleasant, 
 
 Pa., Two Weeks After it Occurred. 
 
 Rochester, Pa., July 18, 1863. 
 Dear Brother Lloyd: 
 
 After ten days of long and wearisome marches through 
 
420 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Virginia and Maryland, sometimes through mud and rain, 
 and by night as well as by day, we found ourselves (Third 
 Brigade, First Division of our Corps) on Wednesday morn- 
 ing July ist, at a little place called Uniontown, some thirty 
 miles southeast of Gettysburg. The rest of the Corps moved 
 on ahead, leaving our Brigade to follow the trains as a rear 
 guard. But shortly after starting the trains received orders 
 to return to Uniontown and go into Park, and our Brigade 
 had orders to join the Division on the front. This looked 
 like work. The battleground had evidently been selected. 
 At noon of Wednesday, while on the march, we discovered 
 smoke rising in the direction of Gettysburg, and toward 
 evening, as we neared Tarrytown, rumors were afloat of an 
 engagement ahead, resulting in the loss of General Rey- 
 nolds, which, of course, had a tendence to quicken our march. 
 The road was filled with artillery moving to the front, am- 
 munition trains, etc., so that our movements were necessarily 
 delayed and rendered very wearisome. About eight o'clock 
 in the evening our Brigade was halted for supper (coffee 
 and crackers), after which we marched on until half past 
 one o'clock at night. We were then within six miles of the 
 advanced line, and had orders to lie down and sleep until 
 early daybreak. The men were so utterly exhausted that 
 even the certainty of a sanguinary engagement next day 
 could not prevent them from sinking down into a sound 
 sleep. At half past three o'clock Thursday morning we were 
 again called to arms and, without breakfast, started for the 
 scene of action, arriving on the plain south of Gettysburg 
 about eight o'clock A. M. The position was a rising plain, 
 terminating in a semicircular crest of hills, and over a mile 
 in radius. Batteries were seen posted on and near the sum- 
 mit all around, supported by heavy masses of infantry. 
 Our Corps had position as reserve, to the rear and centre 
 of the plain, in plain sight and range however of the crest. 
 After forming line, we had instructions to stack arms 
 and rest with accoutrements on. At that hour all was 
 quiet, save an occasional shot from our batteries feeling 
 the position of the enemy, or, perhaps, punishing too much 
 audacity on the part of the Rebel pickets. Firing was kept 
 up along the entire line of outpost pickets but was little 
 heeded. Now and then it would become brisk, and a sup- 
 port would proceed to the outer line. But nothing alarm- 
 ing occurred during the day until three o'clock, the enemy 
 not even firing a shot from any of his batteries up to that 
 time. The men on the reserve were quietly napping on the 
 grass. 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 421 
 
 I succeeded in getting an hour's sleep myself at noon. 
 At three o'clock the picket firing grew lively, and it was 
 evident the enemy were making a demonstration toward the 
 left of our centre. One Division of infantry from the 
 Third Corps (General Sickle's) moved across the plain 
 toward the crest to be in readiness. The movement was 
 beautifully made. Steadily in line of battle by Brigade the 
 column advanced with colors flying and fixed bayonets 
 gleaming in the sunlight. A sharp skirmish ensued be- 
 tween the pickets, the enemy appearing in considerable force. 
 One of our batteries opened upon them from the flank of 
 the advancing infantry. Shot followed shot in quick suc- 
 cession and the play had fairly begun. Simultaneously with 
 this attack on the left centre I heard a shot from our bat- 
 tery on the extreme right of our position. I turned to look 
 and saw the smoke rise in a beautiful column. Again the 
 curling smoke arises from the same point and a loud re- 
 port succeeds — another shot and another. Battery after bat- 
 tery opens; shot follows shot with such rapidity that the 
 sound of each is swallowed up in one continuous roar of 
 artillery as the music of the dashing wave is lost in the 
 thunders of the cataract. Then it is one grows excited, 
 enthusiastic and assured of the approach of sudden danger 
 and eager to resist it, imagines he can see the gunners un- 
 fettering the swift messengers of death with all that nervous 
 energy the scene so well inspires. The design of Lee was 
 plain. While apparently attacking in great force upon the 
 left centre, he massed his troops for a terrific assault upon 
 the right, hoping that attention was called away, he might 
 turn our right flank. But Meade was prepared. His bat- 
 teries were well posted and reaped a fearful harvest of 
 death. While the cannonade was heaviest upon the right, 
 a battery of the enemy obtained position upon the left, from 
 which it began shelling us on the reserve. We fell back 
 some distance to the rear and nearer the right wing, ready 
 for any emergency there. The battery annoying us was 
 soon silenced however, and it was evident to all that our 
 forces not only held their position, but were advancing. 
 About five o'clock the firing slackened somewhat on the 
 right and centre, but was heard passing around to the left. 
 The extreme left of our line was quite a prominent hill or 
 small mountain, heavily wooded and very rocky. The enemy 
 now endeavored to gain possession of that point, with the 
 object of commanding the pike to Baltimore. Smoke was 
 seen issuing from the hill above the tree tops. A severe 
 infantry fight was going on, and one of our batteries was 
 
422 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 hurling grape and canister through the woods with that pe- 
 culiar crashing sound which invariably heralds the progress 
 of that most dreaded enemy of advancing infantry. The 
 left becomes the centre of attraction. Our forces are 
 gradually falling back. Our Division is the only one avail- 
 able. "Fall in" the order comes. In a moment we move 
 off toward the scene. The edge of the woods at the base 
 of the hill is reached. I looked at my watch. It was just 
 six o'clock. The Brigade moved on to the music of the 
 storm ahead, which, apart from the discharge of fire-arms, 
 sounded like a hail stbrm among the leaves and branches. 
 
 We came to the brow of a little hill, a ravine was be- 
 fore us, and then the ascent again. Wounded were passing 
 by squads, going to the rear. Here and there the dead were 
 lying. But no time to moralize. The Irish Brigade of our 
 Corps was ahead engaging the Rebels and driving them a 
 short distance. Our Regiment gave three loud cheers and 
 moved on through the storm, until we reached a point in 
 sight of the enemy, when the command to fire was given. 
 Load and fire at will was the order following. There the 
 opposing lines stood on that rocky hill. It was growing 
 dark. The air was hot and heavy with smoke and alive with 
 death or his angels — screaming shells and hissing bullets. 
 Colonel Roberts fell early in the fight at the head and front 
 of his Regiment, pierced through the breast with a ball. 
 Here and there all along the line men were dropping and 
 limping to the rear. 
 
 The enemy were flanking us right and left. Soon we 
 must fall back or be captured. No Brigade commander or 
 aide to be seen. I spoke to Lieutenant-Colonel Fraser, told 
 him the Regiment was flanked on the right. He then gave 
 the order to fall back, seeing other regiments to his left 
 do the same. I hastened to my position on the right to give 
 the order there; had just given it and turned to move off, 
 when I felt a shot through my boot in the calf of the leg. 
 I started to limp away, but found I should fail. Several 
 steps had been taken when my sword which had been drawn, 
 and which I was using as a cane, was knocked out of my 
 hand and broken in two. The Regiment was pressing close 
 upon me, and the enemy had an enfilading fire from three 
 sides. I could not stop, much less turn back. Several of 
 the Regiment took hold of me and assisted me from the field. 
 When they tired, others took hold. But I found I could not 
 gain the rear in that way. told them all to leave me at a 
 little log house which we had reached and pass on or they 
 themselves would be taken. Two from Company H, how- 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 423 
 
 ever, refused to quit me, and we remained there to see the 
 enemy pass on, driving our forces still further back. Two 
 of their number (of the Phillip's Legion) remained with 
 us as a guard I suppose. They did not offer to molest us, 
 but talked in a manner which showed they were utterly 
 tired of the war. By this time it was seven o'clock and 
 growing dark rapidly. Soon the tide of the battle changed. 
 The enemy came back, driven by our troops— fresh rein- 
 forcements. Even the two who were guarding us were 
 taken prisoners. The ground was regained, and we were 
 again inside our own lines. I was carried to the rear on a 
 stretcher by the same men who had kindly remained with 
 me, then put into an ambulance and taken to a hospital, 
 where my wound was dressed. 
 
 I felt very grateful indeed when I discovered it to be 
 only a flesh wound and saw that the ball had passed through. 
 Thursday night I slept upon the ground with a blanket over 
 me— or tried to sleep. The ground was already thickly 
 covered for a wide space around with wounded, and all night 
 long they came. The sound of ambulances hurrying up to 
 the unfortunates, the groans and cries of those whose 
 wounds were being dressed by the dim light of the candle, 
 the low moans of others who in agony were waiting their 
 turn for surgical attention to come, hours hence, all this 
 was certainly a medley of sounds, but ill-calculated to lull 
 one to sleep. Next morning, together with three other offi- 
 cers from the Regiment who had received flesh wounds, I 
 secured a bed on the floor in a little house nearby, where I 
 lay during the heavy fight of Friday and until Sunday 
 afternoon, at which time a wagon previously hired by 
 ♦George came to take us all to Littletown. There we took 
 cars for Baltimore via Hanover Junction and thence home. 
 The fight of Friday began early in the morning and was 
 longer continued and more general than that of Thursday. 
 Our Division was but a remnant and was not engaged. Gen- 
 eral Zook, our Brigade commander, fell early in the en- 
 gagement of Thursday, which accounts for the fact that we 
 did not receive orders from him. 
 
 I have not learned the entire loss of the Regiment. 
 We took into the fight twenty-five officers and four hundred 
 and ninety men. The loss in officers was three killed, nine 
 wounded and two prisoners— fourteen in all. Enlisted men 
 —killed, wounded and missing — will amount to a number 
 
 *George A. Shallenberger, a brother, who was Quartermaster 
 of Brigade. 
 
4^4 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 between a hundred and fifty and two hundred. (Two hun- 
 dred and twenty-seven later report.) 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Eraser escaped unhurt and now com- 
 mands the Brigade during the temporary absence of Colonel 
 Morris. Major Rodgers was taken prisoner. Captain Ache- 
 son and Lieutenant A. M. Wilson, both from Washington 
 County, were killed. The body of Colonel Roberts was 
 brought home and buried from his residence in Beaver, 
 yesterday, at ten o'clock. The funeral was large and services 
 interesting and impressive. His loss will be deeply felt by 
 the entire Regiment. I feel that 1 have lost in him one of 
 the strongest friends a man can have. But his death is 
 but an item in the great cost of this rebellion. His but the 
 sacrifice of another noble life, upon the altar of consti- 
 tutional liberty and law. 
 
 My wound is doing well. I still use the crutches, and 
 will, I suppose, until the sore heals upon the outside. Your 
 letter to Father came to hand this morning. It seems the 
 privilege of making a small donation to the government has 
 fallen upon you this time. Well, better that than life. The 
 friends at home are all well. *CyruS is still at Washing- 
 ton. A batch of letters from George yesterday report him 
 well, although not much pleased to hear of Lee's escape. 
 With many kind regards to tMelinda and the little ones, I 
 remain, 
 
 Affectionately your Brother, 
 
 William. 
 
 A Reminiscence of Gettysburg. 
 
 By J. J. Purman, M.D., formerly First Lieutenant One 
 Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Infantry. 
 The events of this story occurred well nigh fifty 
 years ago at Gettysburg. Nearly all the actors in the drama 
 have passed to the Great Beyond. I was a Lieutenant in the 
 One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Infantry, Colonel 
 R. P. Roberts, of Beaver, Pa.; General Zook's Brigade, 
 Hancock's Corps. Our Brigade received the shock of the 
 charge of General Wofford's brigade of Georgians, Long- 
 street's Corps, on the afternoon of July 2, 1863, at the 
 wheat field. After fighting for nearly two hours, with the 
 loss of all our field officers, and with 241 out of 540 of my 
 Regiment placed hors du combat, and surrounded by the 
 enemy on three sides, we fell back in some disorder. 
 
 ♦Another brother. 
 tWife of brother Lloyd. 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 4^5 
 
 My Orderly Sergeant, now Captain, J. M. Pipes, of 
 Washington, D. C, and myself retreated together, and to 
 recover our breath sat down a moment on a boulder at the 
 southwest side of the field. In a few seconds I descried the 
 enemy coming through the woods at a double quick, and 
 said to the Sergeant, "We must get out of this or we'll be 
 gobbled up." "Yes," he replied, and off we started toward 
 our reserve forces. We had not gone far before we came 
 upon an unknown comrade, badly wounded in the legs, who 
 cried to us, "Comrades, carry me off." I replied, "We can't 
 do that ; I doubt if we can get away ourselves, but we'll do 
 the best we can for you." Suiting the action to the word, 
 with the assistance of the Sergeant, I carried and placed 
 him between two rocks, sheltered from the enemy's fire. 
 Grasping his hand, I said, "Good-bye, comrade," and started 
 on a run, to put as much distance as possible between me 
 and the enemy. But my delay was fatal to me. When 1 
 halted in response to the cry for help, they had a point- 
 blank fire on me. Emerging from the woods into the wheat 
 
 field, they shouted, "Halt, you d d Yankee, halt!" The 
 
 broad wheat field was before me, the enemy behind me. 
 Visions of Libby and Andersonville flitted through my brain. 
 If I halt some careless or brutal fellow may shoot me after I 
 have thrown up my hands. They can't hit me, anyhow, on 
 a double-quick. These thoughts determined my will, and I 
 refused to halt. 
 
 In less time than it takes to write this sentence, I was 
 brought down with an ounce of lead through my left leg. 
 I called out to the Sergeant, who was about a rod ahead of 
 me, "I am struck," and went down among the tangled wheat. 
 A moment after he was also hit. Many have attempted 
 to tell how it feels to be shot. At first there is no pain, 
 smarting nor anguish. It is very like the shock of an electric 
 battery. But that delusion soon passes and the acute pain 
 follows, and you know that a missile has passed through the 
 tender flesh of your body. When hit I was brandishing 
 my sword, which I involuntarily threw some feet from me, 
 where, point downward, it fell and remained sticking in the 
 ground. The Confederate Regiment charged over me, and 
 as it passed I read from the floating colors "Twenty-fourth 
 Georgia." I now examined my wound and found that I 
 was hit about four inches above the ankle, the ball passing 
 through, crushing both bones. 
 
 Stragglers were passing over the fields and shots were 
 being exchanged. A member of the Pennsylvania "buck- 
 tails" came by on a run. I called to him, "Come and cut 
 
42b THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 my boot off my foot." He knelt down and commenced 
 cutting but his knife was duil, my boot thick and the pain 
 great, so begging him to desist, he rapidly disappeared. 
 The sun was now sinking behind Seminary Ridge, and as 
 dusk came on all grew quiet around me. The dead and 
 wounded of both armies lay thickly strewn over the wheat 
 field,* which was still disputed ground. Placing my wounded 
 leg in as easy a position as possible, I realized that "the 
 night was left to darkness and to me." 
 
 Never shall I forget that midsummer night. The almost 
 full moon was shining, with drifting clouds passing over her 
 face. At intervals a cloud obscured the moon, leaving in 
 deep darkness the wheat field with its covering of trampled 
 and tangled grain, boulders and wounded and dead men, then 
 passing off revealed a ghastly scene of cold, white upturned 
 faces. It was indeed a field; 
 
 "Converse thick with other clay, heaped and pent, 
 Friend and foe in red burial blent." 
 The night wore on with no sleep for me, its quiet 
 broken occasionally by the cries and groans of the wounded. 
 One man not far away called repeatedly for his Regiment, 
 "Oh. Seventh Michigan." As the streakings of light gradu- 
 ally merged into morning there could be seen both the Union 
 and Confederate skirmish lines. 
 
 Soon the occasional shot, first on the one side and then 
 on the other, multiplied into a desultory fire. The wounded 
 near each other began to converse. The Michigan man was 
 a Sergeant, wounded in the legs and seemed to suffer in- 
 tensely. 
 
 As the sun rose higher the firing grew hotter, our 
 wounds more swollen and thirst more intense, and the pros- 
 pect of our relief became exceedingly hopeless. The Michi- 
 gan Sergeant asked me, "Have you any water?" I replied 
 "No, but I have a little whiskey." "For God's sake give me 
 some, I am dying from thirst." "I will if I can." and rising 
 on my sound leg I threw my canteen with all my force, 
 but it fell midway between us. After this I heard a ball 
 make that peculiar thud, and the Sergeant cried out, "I'm 
 struck again. My right hand was resting on my left arm 
 and the ball passed through my hand and arm." He then 
 asked, "Are you a praying man?" I replied, "I am." "Then 
 prav for me." I prayed as best I could and I heard the Ser- 
 geant say "Amen." If there ever was an earnest, sincere 
 petition sent up to the Throne of Grace it was then. 
 
 Growing tired lying so long in one position, I frequently 
 rose on mv sound leg and hands to rest and look around. 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 427 
 
 Nothing could be seen except a line of blue on one side and 
 gray on the other, and nothing heard but the crack of the 
 rifles and the zip of the bullets in the wheat, or their well- 
 known thud in the ground or the body of a wounded man. 
 I had drawn my right leg up at the ankle, exposing it some- 
 what when a ball struck me, passing through, between the 
 knee and ankle. I shouted to the Michigander: "I've got it 
 again through the other leg." 
 
 Being much nearer the Confederate line than ours, I 
 could see their movements clearly. Soon after I received my 
 second wound I saw a soldier in front of their lines, I called 
 to him : "I am twice wounded and am dying out here. Won't 
 you bring me a canteen of water?" The Confederate re- 
 plied: "I can't do it. If I attempt to come out there, your 
 sharpshooters will think I am trying to rob you and pick 
 me off." I answered, "Crawl through the tangled wheat, and 
 you will not be seen from our side. At Chancellorsville I 
 saved the lives of many of your men, who would have died 
 from thirst." 
 
 Moved by my pleading, the Confederate filled his can- 
 teen at Plum Run, a small stream that flows through the Val- 
 ley of Death, near their lines, and cautiously crawled toward 
 me. When he reached me I drank and drank and thought it . 
 was the sweetest water I ever had tasted. He then poured 
 some on my wounds and cut the boots off my legs. After 
 this I began to feel that I had a chance for life, if I could 
 get out of the hot sun and from under the fire then constant 
 over the field. I said : 
 
 "This is a pretty hard place for a man to lie, between 
 two fires. Can't you carry me out to where your line is 
 posted on the edge of the woods?" "The way the balls are 
 flying, if I should attempt to lift you up we would both be 
 killed," he replied. "Well, let me get on your back and you 
 crawl off the way you came." He agreed to this and started 
 for their lines, crawling on hands and knees with me on his 
 back. When about half the distance to the woods in which 
 their lines were posted, feeling my hold relaxing, I said: "I 
 can't hold on any longer," and from pain and loss of blood I 
 fell unconscious from his back. 
 
 The Confederate crawled back out of the wheat field, 
 refilled his canteen at Plum Run and dashing the water in 
 my face, brought me to life again. Awaking from my 
 swoon, I asked: "Where am I? What is the matter?" He 
 explained, and getting on his back again I held on till we 
 reached the woods. Placing me under a tree on a rubber- 
 blanket, he gave me a canteen of water and some Confed- 
 
4^8 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 erate biscuits and I gave him my watch as a souvenir. I 
 had some money and other valuables, none of which were 
 disturbed. I said: "Please don't take my sword belt, as it 
 is a gift from friends at home," and he replied, "It shall 
 not be taken." 
 
 After lying in the shade and drinking copiously from 
 the canteen I began to feel much relieved and said to one 
 of the officers who had gathered around to see the wounded 
 Yank : "Won't you have your stretcher bearers carry me to 
 your hospital and Jet your surgeon look at my legs?" He 
 replied, "Our men are very tired," and, while I was not re- 
 fused, the answer implied that I was past surgical aid. Not 
 long after this I saw a movement among the Pennsylvania 
 Reserve Brigade under Colonel William McCandless on the 
 opposite side of the field. 
 
 I saw they were massing into columns by division for a 
 charge, and said: "You need not trouble carrying me off; our 
 boys are coming." The reserves poured in heavy volleys as 
 they crossed the field, while the Confederates, after returning 
 a few shots, rapidly fell back through the woods. Although 
 the balls rattled among the rocks and trees about me, I 
 enjoyed that charge hugely, for it meant victory. I recall it 
 now as one of the most sublime sights I ever witnessed. 
 One wounded man lying near the edge of the woods was 
 very much afraid of being hit the second time. He shouted 
 to the Brigade, at least 300 yards away, "Fire high ! Fire 
 high !" Amid all that din of musketry his voice could not 
 reach more than a few yards. The thing was so ludicrous 
 that I, an almost dead man, could not refrain from laughter. 
 The Confederates were now beaten at all points, and this 
 charge across the wheat field was the last fighting of the 
 Battle of Gettysburg. 
 
 It was now nearly sundown, and as the evening shades 
 came on the sounds of battle grew further and further 
 away as the Confederates were driven beyond Sherffey's 
 peach orchard. About 9 o'clock I heard the distant hum of 
 voices and the trampling of feet. It was a detail with torches 
 coming to gather up the wounded. Captain E. M. Robinson, 
 Fifth Maine Infantry, of Phillips, Me., was in charge and 
 personally put me on a stretcher and helped carry me to a 
 barn used as a hospital at the foot of Round Top. Here 
 on the next morning, I celebrated the Fourth of July by the 
 loss of my left leg. Captain Robinson has several years since 
 answered the last roll call. 
 
 On the morning before the battle I had a presentiment. 
 I was much impressed, and spoke to Sergeant, afterwards 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 429 
 
 Captain John A, Burns, of my Company, about it, making 
 him my executor. He laughed at my forebodings, but did 
 not dispel them. I was wearing a broad-brimmed straw hat, 
 a conspicuous mark, and so before going into the battle 
 exchanged my hat with James A. Woods, the drummer of 
 my Company, for his cap. I never met him again until at a 
 reunion at Gettysburg, twenty-six years afterward. His first 
 salutation was "Lieutenant, where's my cap?" 
 
 The unknown comrade whom I placed between two rocks 
 to shield from the fire of the enemy, and in doing so received 
 the shot which took off my leg, I have since learned was 
 John Buckley, Company B, One Hundred and Fortieth Penn- 
 sylvania Infantry, from Mercer County, Pennsylvania, who 
 afterward died on the field from his wounds and exposure. 
 For going out of the line of duty to save a comrade's life, 
 the Congress granted me a medal of honor, which is in- 
 scribed: "For gallantry at the battle of Gettysburg, July 2, 
 1863." 
 
 When this cruel war was over I thought one day, I 
 would find my Confederate friend. I had just two facts to 
 guide me. As the Confederate Regiment charged over me, 
 I read on their flag, "Twenty-fourth Georgia," and while I 
 was being carried on his back I noticed one bar of lace on 
 his collar. So I was reasonably certain that a Lieutenant 
 of the Twenty-fourth Georgia Regiment was my savior. 
 Through the kindness of Hon. Garnett McMillan and Hon. 
 Alexander Stephens, of Georgia, I found the man who did 
 this heroic and self-sacrificing service. He was Thomas P. 
 Oliver, then adjutant of the Twenty-fourth Georgia Infantry 
 and for many years a resident of Athens, Ga. Many times 
 since the war we exchanged letters and planned to meet each 
 other and talk over "the times that tried men's souls," but 
 never met until in June, 1907, when he, with a delegation 
 of Georgians, visited the capital. I then had the pleasure 
 of entertaining him at my house, and presenting him and 
 his friends to President Roosevelt, who greeted us with 
 great warmth of feeling, and with his usual emphasis in- 
 formed us that he was "delighted" to see us. On December 
 7, 1908, the Great Reaper claimed this brave and noble man. 
 He had just been elected Alderman of his town, Atlanta, 
 Ga., and died amid his honors and his friends. 
 
-430 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Captain Burns' Account of the Capture of a Confed- 
 erate Wagon Train at Sailors' Creek, Virginia, 
 April 6, 1865- 
 
 (Extract from a Letter Written to His Father, April 24, 1865.) 
 
 "On the morning of the 6th, we moved out (from 
 Burkesville) and had not gone more than two miles when 
 we discovered that we were marching nearly parallel to a 
 rebel column and wagon train not more than a half mile 
 distant. Two batteries were double quicked to the front and 
 began shelling the train. I tell you now, they closed up 
 quickly. Our brigade being in front was thrown right for- 
 ward upon their rear which was just passing. To get to 
 them we had to go down a gradual descent, cross quite a 
 large creek, through which we plunged, and then up a long 
 hill. On the way we passed a large fine residence surrounded 
 with poultry of all kinds. Though we were going on double- 
 quick and under a sharp fire, not a duck, chicken or turkey 
 was allowed to cross our line. Every boy seemed deter- 
 mined to have a fowl for dinner, if he should live to eat 
 that meal. I knocked a chicken with my sword, grabbed 
 it, and went on. Lieutenant Spragg was equally successful 
 and when we reached the crest of the hill, there were not 
 less than thirty chickens, six or eight ducks and two turkeys 
 captured by the One Hundred and Fortieth. I note this as 
 one of the very peculiar characteristics of the American 
 soldier. We fought all day in sight of the train and just at 
 night struck them such a blow at Sailors' Creek that they 
 left the train and all its contents with several pieces of 
 artillery. The One Hundred and Fortieth was the first or 
 among the first to the train and officers' trunks and things in 
 general were gone through in short meter. I could have 
 gathered up a fortune in a few moments. I got into a Gen- 
 eral's trunk and secured his toilet case and a few trophies. 
 I did not look at the name; some said it was Hunter's, but 
 other things gotten from the trunk had the name of General 
 Harris. I harnessed up two mules with saddles and saddle 
 pockets, got a contraband, gave him his orders and went on 
 after the enemy. We drove them from the hill beyond and 
 encamped for the night. I had me a servant, two pack mules, 
 some flour, meal, bacon, sorghum and chickens. So we were 
 going to live for a day or two, providing we didn't get shot."* 
 
 *Note. — The train with its contents was burned ; a few mo- 
 ments having been given to the men to secure any trophies they 
 might wish to appropriate. Altogether it was a rare day for the 
 gathering of the spoils of war. 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 431 
 
 In describing one of the engagements which resulted 
 in the breaking up of the lines in front of Petersburg, Cap- 
 tain Burns writes in the same letter: 
 
 "At one time when the battle raged fiercest, while mov- 
 ing by the right flank a solid shot struck some fifty feet in 
 front of us, and bounding through the files of the Company, 
 knocked the hat off one of our men. I don't know that it 
 would have struck me, but I saw it in time to stoop and 
 make a sure thing of what a moment before was an uncer- 
 tainty. It passed over and a few feet behind me struck a 
 poor fellow tearing him to pieces." 
 
 Congratulatory Order. 
 
 Headquarters, Second Army Corps, 
 April 10, 1865. 
 
 Officers and Soldiers of the Second Army Corps: 
 
 I congratulate you on the glorious success that has 
 attended the operations just closed. While awaiting the 
 expressions of approbation from the country, from the Com- 
 manders of the armies and of the Army of the Potomac, for 
 the manner in which you have performed your part in the 
 general plan, I cannot refrain from expressions of admiration 
 at the noble spirit that has animated you throughout, at the 
 brilliant exhibition of the soldierly qualities for which the 
 Second Corps has been conspicuous. 
 
 The rapid manner in which you pressed the pursuit 
 from the moment the enemy was discovered in retreat, 
 driving him before you by constant combat, over an unknown 
 country, through dense undergrowth and swamps, from posi- 
 tions which his advanced troops had entrenched, has, I 
 believe, been unexampled. 
 
 Being in direct pursuit the opportunities for large cap- 
 tures were not yours; but despite the disadvantages you 
 labored under, the results to the Corps have been the capture 
 °f 35 g" uns - x 5 flags, 5,000 prisoners and the capture and 
 destruction of 400 wagons with their contents, besides 
 tents, baggage and other material, with which the road was 
 strewn for miles. In addition you have contributed eminently 
 to the general success and to the captures made by other 
 Corps, by hemming in the enemy and preventing his escape ; 
 and have done your share in the grand closing scene. 
 
432 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 In the operations before Petersburg your success was 
 brilliant. General Miles, with the First Division was 
 ordered to advance and attack the enemy, flushed with suc- 
 cess over two divisions of another Corps, which they were 
 pressing back; this was done in the promptest and most 
 spirited manner. The enemy was driven back rapidly into 
 his entrenchments with severe loss in killed, wounded and 
 prisoners. 
 
 In the plan of general assault upon the enemy's lines on 
 the morning of the 2nd of April, this Corps was not to attack, 
 but, nevertheless, the Second Division under General Hayes 
 captured one of the enemy's redoubts with two guns and 
 the Third Division, under General Mott, less favorably 
 placed, captured and held the entrenched rifle-pits of the 
 pickets under the fire of the main entrenchments. 
 
 During the night of the ist inst., General Miles, First 
 Division, had been detached under orders of Major-Gen- 
 eral Sheridan and in the pursuit of the following day, at- 
 tacked the enemy entrenched on a strong position, which 
 was finally carried in the handsomest manner with the cap- 
 ture of two guns, one flag and 600 prisoners. These great 
 successes have been gained with comparatively small loss, 
 but the rejoicing for our victory is tempered by the reflec- 
 tion that in that loss many noble spirits are counted. 
 
 In this brief glance at what you have done, I cannot 
 attempt to award to each the full merit due, but must con- 
 tent myself with thanking the Division Commanders: Major- 
 General Miles, Major-General Mott, Major-General Barlow, 
 and Brigadier-General DeTrobriand and the Commanders of 
 the Artillery, Lieutenant-Colonel Hazard and through them 
 the troops they command. My thanks are also due to 
 Brigadier-General Hayes, who commanded the Second Di- 
 vision when it carried the enemy's redoubt before Peters- 
 burg. While enjoying the satisfaction of having done your 
 duty to your country, it is a source of intense gratification 
 to all, that the greatest military feat of the country was 
 reserved as a fitting climax to the great deeds of that army of 
 which this Corps has always been a part, the Army of the 
 Potomac. 
 
 (Signed) A. A. HUMPHREYS, 
 
 Major-General Commanding* 
 
 ♦This order was read to the Second Corps on the day follow- 
 ing the surrender of General Lee's Army, just before the marching 
 back to Burkesville Tunction. 
 
WAR-TIME LETTERS, ETC. 433 
 
 Coat With a History. 
 
 John Purdy is attending the reunion of 191 1. He wears 
 a coat with an interesting story. The coat is of the finest 
 broadcloth and perfectly tailored. Wagons containing sup- 
 plies for the Union Army had been captured by the Confed- 
 erates, but Mr. Purdy, with several of his comrades, was 
 fortunate enough to come upon a Southern wagon train and 
 among the things confiscated was the coat, which had been 
 taken by the Confederates some time before and which Mr. 
 Purdy then appropriated for his own use. It is more than 
 46 years since the incident occurred. 
 
434 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES AND NOTEWORTHY 
 
 INCIDENTS. 
 
 Eating Apples in 1904 Grown in Pennsylvania on 
 
 Grafts from Sprouts Cut from a Tree which 
 
 Was Used as a Defense Against Rebel 
 
 Shells in 1863. 
 
 Robert McClurg, of Company K, One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers, in a recent communication 
 relates that in the spring of 1863 he was in a detail of troops 
 sent out to assist in laying pontoons for the crossing of the 
 Rapidan. He thinks it was at Germanna Ford. While they 
 were at this work the Johnnies opened on them with some 
 batteries and the shells were a little troublesome, and for a 
 time they had to seek shelter. McClurg found retreat behind 
 an apple tree. He thought it was not as big as it ought to be. 
 So he changed base to another affording better protection. 
 After the storm of shell passed, the batteries being silenced, 
 he, out of appreciation of the valuable service rendered him 
 by the tree, cut from it some sprouts and sent them home by 
 mail. A friend of his grafted the sprouts into young trees in 
 the home orchard, and so to-day this venerable comrade sits 
 under the branches of two apple trees grown from the grafts, 
 and with peculiar relish partakes of the fruit thereof, not in 
 the least annoyed by shrieking or bursting Rebel shells. 
 
 "Keep Your Eye Skint." 
 
 One dark, cold, sleety night about the 1st of January, 
 1863, after we had arrived at "the front," Company A had 
 its first experience on picket. Our location was on the bank 
 of the Rappahannock north of Fredericksburg. I had heard 
 as a matter of rumor that the orders were to have no fires on 
 the front line, but I had heard nothing of the kind from any- 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 435 
 
 one in authority. The officer who placed us on guard was a 
 German, and when he left us the only instruction he gave 
 was, "Keep your eye skint." We had the "fourth relief," and 
 the picket whom we relieved left some few smoldering fires. 
 There was plenty of fallen timber in the woods near us, and I 
 ordered "the boys" to gather wood and keep up brisk fires 
 till morning. 
 
 In the morning we were relieved by a stylish looking 
 Connecticut officer. I saw that he looked astonished when 
 he saw the fires briskly burning. After saluting he carefully 
 inquired my name and Regiment and took it down in a memo- 
 randum book. I said to the boys as we marched back to camp, 
 "You'll not have any trouble, but I will soon have a call to 
 visit headquarters." General Hancock then commanded our 
 division, and Major John Hancock, his half-brother, was his 
 Assistant Adjutant-General. In a few days we had a division 
 drill, at the close of which Adjutant Shallenberger informed 
 me that I was ordered to report at Hancock's headquarters. 
 I said to Captain McCullough, "I'm in for it now." Finding 
 the headquarters tent, I entered and saluted Major Hancock, 
 who apparently was waiting for me, when the following col- 
 loquy occurred : 
 
 "Are you Lieutenant Purman Company A, One Hundred 
 and Fortieth Pennsylvania?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Were you on picket on the night (giving the date) of 
 January?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Did you have fires on your line?" 
 
 "Yes, Major, and big ones, too. I found some smolder- 
 ing fires, and it was an intensely cold and sleety night, and I 
 ordered the boys to gather wood and keep them up all night." 
 
 "Did you receive no orders about fires on the front line?" 
 
 "No, sir." 
 
 "Wihat orders did you receive?" 
 
 "Well, Major, the officer of the guard was a German, 
 and the only order he gave me was to 'Keep my eye skint' ; 
 and I did that all night." 
 
436 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 The Major turned his head to one side, and, placing his 
 hand over his face, smiled audibly and said to me, "You 
 can go." 
 
 I presume the German Captain who had neglected to give 
 me (a new officer) full instructions about the fires and my 
 other duties as a picket, got a severe reprimand. I never saw 
 him again, but he met the Second Lieutenant of my company 
 on guard a few days afterward and describing me said, "You 
 tell that Lieutenant that he loose much frient." 
 
 A Mirth-Provoking Episode at Chancellorsvtlle. 
 
 Captain Pipes contributes this and the following incident : 
 My company (A) was, as usual, on the skirmish line dur- 
 ing that battle. We were among the small pines of this wilder- 
 ness region, and the enemy, hidden from our view, were throw- 
 ing in among us shot and shell. During this cannonade a solid 
 shot struck the ground in our midst and threw up about a 
 cartload of Virginia clay. One of the company, a good soldier 
 with very cross eyes, caught the full force of this upheaval, 
 which caused him to whirl around like a top, clawing with 
 both hands, to relieve the pain in his eyes. Aside from the 
 immediate suffering, with which bis comrades truly sympa- 
 thized, there was something so ridiculous in his unconscious 
 antics that for the moment they forget the danger and indulged 
 in a hearty laugh. 
 
 On one occasion, after a hard march, the troops camped 
 for the night in the vicinity of some farm buildings. Two 
 or three comrades, including the narrator, had noticed a bee 
 hive beside an old house and decided to slip out in the darkness 
 for the purpose of "borrowing it." They were successful in 
 locating it, and, taking it up, placed it on the shoulder of one 
 of the party. After a run of several hundred yards a halt was 
 called and preparations were made to dispose of the bees and 
 appropriate the honey. Then, to the great disgust and dis- 
 appointment of this foraging party, it was found that a colony 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 437 
 
 of worms had preceded them and had destroyed both comb 
 and honey. 
 
 Christmas on the Rappahannock, 
 by rev. john r. paxt0n, d.d. 
 
 "Gentlemen, the chair of the Professor of Mathematics 
 is vacant in this college; permit me to introduce to you Captain 
 Fraser." Rah! rah! rah! and away we went and enlisted — 
 to go to Richmond. It took us three years to get there. No 
 wonder; there were so many Longstreets to make our way 
 through ; so many Hills to climb ; so many Stonewalls to 
 batter down; so many Picketts to clear out of the way. It 
 was as hard a road to travel as the steep and stony one to 
 heaven. 
 
 No preaching, sir! Can't you forget the shop? Don't 
 you know that you have squeezed yourself into that faded 
 jacket, and are squirming, with a flushed face and short 
 breaths, behind that sword belt, which had caused a rebellion 
 in m edicts res? 
 
 I started for Richmond in July, 1862, a lad eighteen years 
 old, a junior in college, and chafing to be at it, — to double 
 quick it after John Brown's soul, which, since it did not require 
 a knapsack or three days' rations or a canteen or a halt during 
 the night for sleep, was always marching on. On the night 
 before Christmas, 1862, I was a dejected young patriot, 
 wishing I hadn't done it, shivering in the open weather a mile 
 back of the Rappahannock, on the reserve picket and exposed 
 to a wet snowstorm. There was not a stick of wood within 
 five miles of us ; all cut down, down, even the roots of trees. 
 and burned up. We lay down on our rubber blankets, pulled 
 our woolen blankets over us, spooned it as close as we could 
 get to steal warmth from our comrades and tried not to cry. 
 
 Next morning the snow lay heavy and deep, and the men, 
 when I wakened and looked about me, reminded me of a 
 church graveyard in winter. "Fall in for picket duty. There, 
 
438 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 come, Moore, McMeaus, Paxton, Perrine, Pollock, fall in." 
 We fell in, of course. No breakfast; chilled to the marrow; 
 snow a foot deep. We tightened our belts on our empty 
 stomachs, seized our rifles and marched to the river to take 
 our six hours on duty. 
 
 It was Christmas Day, 1862. "And so this is war," my 
 old me said to himself while he paced in the snow his two 
 hours on the river's brink. "And I am out here to shoot that 
 lean, lank, coughing - , cadaverous-looking butternut fellow 
 over the river. So this is war; this is being a soldier; this is 
 the genuine article; this is H. Greeley's 'On to Richmond.' 
 Well, I wish he were here in my place, running to keep warm, 
 pounding his arms and breast to make the chilled blood circu- 
 late. So this is war, tramping up and down this river my fifty 
 yards with wet feet, empty stomach, swollen nose." 
 
 Alas, when lying under the trees in the college campus last 
 June, war meant to me martial music, gorgeous brigadiers in 
 blue and gold, tall young men in line, shining in brass. War 
 meant to me tumultuous memories of Bunker Hill, Caesar's 
 Tenth Legion, the charge of the Six Hundred, — anything but 
 this. Pshaw, I wish I were home. Let me see. Home? God's 
 country. A tear? Yes, it is a tear. What are they doing 
 at home? This is Christmas Day. Home? Well, stockings 
 on the wall, candy, turkey, fun, merry Christmas, and the face 
 of the girl I left behind. Another tear? Yes, I couldn't help 
 it. I was only eighteen, and there was such a contrast between 
 Christmas, 1862, on the Rappahannock and other Christmases. 
 Yes, there was a girl, too, — such sweet eyes, such long lashes, 
 such a low tender voice. 
 
 "Come, move quicker. Who goes there?" Shift the rifle 
 from- one aching shoulder to the other. 
 
 "Hello, Johnny, what are you up to?" The river was 
 narrow, but deep and swift. It was a wet cold, not a freezing 
 cold. There was no ice, too swift for that. 
 
 "Hello, Johnny, what you coughing so for?" 
 
 "Yank, with no overcoat, shoes full of holes, nothing to 
 eat but parched corn and tobacco, and with this derned Yankee 
 snow a foot deep, there's nothin' left, nothin' but to get up a 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 439 
 
 cough by way of protestin' against this infernal ill treatment 
 of the body. We uns, Yank, all have a cough over here, and 
 there's no sayin' which will run us to hole first, the cough or 
 your bullets." 
 
 The snow still fell, the keen wind, raw and fierce, cut to 
 the bone. It was God's worst weather, in God's forlornest, 
 bleakest spot of ground, that Christmas Day of '62 on the 
 Rappahannock, a half-mile below the town of Fredericksburg. 
 But come, pick up your prostrate pluck, you shivering private. 
 Surely there is enough dampness around without your adding 
 to it your tears. 
 
 "Let's laugh, boys." 
 
 "Hello, Johnny." 
 
 "Hello, yourself, Yank." 
 
 "Merry Christmas, Johnny." 
 
 "Same to you, Yank." 
 
 "Say, Johnny, got anything to trade?" 
 
 "Parched corn and tobacco, — the size of our Christmas, 
 Yank." 
 
 "All right; you shall have some of our coffee and sugar 
 and pork. Boys, find the boats." 
 
 Such boats ! I see the children sailing them on the small 
 lakes in our Central Park. Some Yankee, desperately hungry 
 for tobacco, invented them for trading with the Johnnies. 
 They were hid away under the banks of the river for successive 
 relays of pickets. 
 
 We got out the boats. An old handkerchief answered 
 for a sail. We loaded them with coffee, sugar, pork, and set 
 the sail and watched them slowly creep to the other shore. And 
 the Johnnies? To see them crowd the bank and push and 
 scramble to be first to seize the boats, going into the water 
 and stretching out their long arms. Then, when they pulled 
 the boats ashore, and stood in a group over the cargo, and to 
 hear their exclamations, "Hurrah for hog." "Say, that's not 
 roasted rye, but genuine coffee. Smell it, you'uns." "And 
 sugar, too!" 
 
 Then they divided the consignment. They laughed and 
 shouted, "Reckon you'uns been good to we'uns this Christmas 
 
440 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 Day, Yanks." Then they put parched corn, tobacco, ripe per- 
 simmons, into the boats and sent them back to us. And we 
 chewed the parched corn, smoked real Virginia leaf, ate per- 
 simmons, which if they weren't very filling at least contracted 
 our stomachs to the size of our Christmas dinner. And so the 
 day passed. We shouted, "Merry Christmas, Johnny." They 
 shouted, "Same to you, Yank." And we forgot the biting 
 wind, the chilling cold ; we forgot those men over there were 
 our enemies, whom it might be our duty to shoot before 
 evening. 
 
 We had bridged the river, spanned the bloody chasm. We 
 were brothers, not foes, waving salutations of good-will in the 
 name of the Babe of Bethlehem, on Christmas Day in '62. At 
 the very front of the opposing armies, the Christ Child struck 
 a truce for us, broke down the wall of partition, became our 
 peace. We exchanged gifts. We shouted greetings back and 
 forth. We kept Christmas and our hearts were lighter for 
 it, and our shivering bodies were not quite so cold. 
 
 — Christmas Number, Harper's Weekly, 1886. 
 
 Who Got Colonel Roberts' Sword? 
 
 When Colonel Roberts left for the front his fellow citi- 
 zens of the town of Beaver presented him with a beautiful 
 sword, scabbard and belt. On the scabbard was the inscrip- 
 tion : "Presented to Captain R. P. Roberts by the citizens of 
 Beaver." When the Colonel fell loving hands carried him 
 gently and laid him behind one of the huge rocks abounding 
 on that part of the field. But the brave men of Zook's Brigade 
 and the other brigades of Hancock's Corps could not hold the 
 line here and their dead and wounded were left on the field. 
 When Colonel Roberts' body was recovered some time later it 
 had been robbed of everything, including his sword. 
 
 On the afternoon of May 6, 1864, the second day in the 
 Wilderness, Carroll's Brigade of Hancock's Second Corps 
 were driven out of their works by a fierce onslaught of the 
 enemy. Stone's Brigade of Wadsworth's Division of the 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 441 
 
 Fifth Corps (Warren's) had previously passed through the 
 Second Corps line and halted to the left of the Wilderness 
 Cross Roads. The brigade was reformed and was ordered 
 immediately to retake Carroll's works, which they did and the 
 brigade occupied the ground in the immediate front of the 
 works when the fighting closed for the day. A picket line of 
 the One Hundred and Forty-ninth Pennsylvania of Stone's 
 Brigade was advanced into the woods where there were many 
 dead of the enemy. 
 
 Major John W Nesbit, of Oakdale, then a Corporal in 
 Company D, One Hundred and Forty-ninth Pennsylvania 
 (Captain J. F. Slagle's company) says in his company history 
 that he noticed a scabbard worn by a Confederate officer which 
 on examination proved to be the scabbard of Colonel Roberts, 
 of the One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania — killed at 
 Gettysburg, and the scabbard was sent to and is now in posses- 
 sion of the daughter of Colonel Roberts. 
 
 Sergeant William R. Johnston, of Company D, One Hun- 
 dred and Forty-ninth Regiment, of Bellevue, says that when 
 their picket line deployed through the woods a comrade of 
 Company I, James E. Mclntyre, of Huntingdon, stooped down 
 and pulled a sword from the scabbard of a dead Confederate 
 officer, a lieutenant-colonel, he thinks. He showed the sword 
 to Johnston, who read the inscription and immediately 
 advised him to send the sword to headquarters for return to 
 Colonel Roberts' family, which Mclntyre did. In 1899 Mr. 
 Mclntyre came to Beaver and through Senator Quay, who 
 knew of the sword episode, was taken to Mrs. Harter, and the 
 fact became known that she had never received the sword, much 
 to Mclntyre's surprise. Mrs. Harter did receive the scabbard 
 on which the inscription was and the belt, but the sword never 
 came back. She states it was not inscribed and that the dead 
 Confederate may ihave had it in his hand and it fell to the 
 ground when he did and was picked up, and not having any 
 marks to identify it was naturally retained by the finder. The 
 testimony of the One Flundred and Forty-ninth's men is that 
 it was the sword and not the scabbard that they saw and had. 
 — Pittsburgh Gazette-Times, July 27, 19 10. 
 
44^ THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 The Battle Flag of the Regiment. 
 
 The first standard-bearer of the Regiment was Sergeant 
 Robert Riddle, of Company F. Into his hands was given a 
 brand new silk flag, whose stars were undimmed in their field 
 of blue, and it was a pleasant sight to the eyes when its brightly 
 tinted silken folds waved gracefully about him as he held it 
 aloft on the parade ground or planted it on the color-line 
 wherewith to align the several companies of the Regiment. 
 Sergeant Riddle had the honor of carrying it through the 
 smoke and flame of the three days' battle at Chancellorsville. 
 where the Regiment had its first baptism of fire, and thence 
 through Virginia and Maryland into Pennsylvania. Beyond 
 the wheat field at Gettysburg he was stricken down by a minie 
 ball which passed through his left lung. He fell heavily upon 
 the flag, which was taken from under his body by Corporal 
 Joseph Moody, of Company H, who passed it into the hands 
 of another guard. Corporal Jesse T. Power, of Company E, 
 while he attempted to place his fallen comrade in a more com- 
 fortable position. Two of the color-guard were wounded 
 about the same time. In order to save the flag from capture, 
 as the line was then beginning to give way. Corporal Power 
 carried it back through the wheat field to a place of comparative 
 safety. It was then placed on the left of the One Hundred 
 and Forty-eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, and as many men as 
 could be gathered up in the darkness were rallied around it. 
 Sergeant Riddle was so seriously wounded that he afterwards 
 received his discharge, and the flag meanwhile remained in the 
 hands of Corporal Power. He carried it from Gettysburg to 
 Spottsylvania. In the furious charge on the morning of May 
 1 2th Power received two wounds and the colors fell to the 
 ground. From two or three sources the statement is made in 
 the body of the work (page 198) that another man, said to be 
 a private of Company C, picked up the flag and was also 
 stricken down with it. The name is given as Biddle, but this 
 seems to be a mistake, as this name cannot be found on the 
 muster rolls of any of the companies. 
 
 In a recent communication Sergeant Beeson says : "I 
 
BATTLE FLAG OF THE 140TH P. V. 
 
 Jesse T. Power, Color Sergt. who carried the flag from Gettysburg to Spottsylvama. 
 David Taggart, Col r Sergt. who carried the flag from Spottsylvania to Appomattox. 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 443 
 
 picked up our colors in front of the first line of works and 
 while reconnoitering to charge the third line I was wounded, 
 the ball entering my right cheek and coming out at the back 
 of my neck. I was discharged November 21st on account of 
 disability resulting from this wound." Elsewhere he adds: 
 "I was knocked senseless for a time, about three minutes, so 
 says John Fell, who was beside me at the time, as also was 
 Corporal Taggart, of the color-guard, who took the colors, 
 and, as I understood, carried them to the end. As the last 
 duty I performed with the Regiment was to carry the colors 
 and get shot down with them, I claim to be one of the color- 
 bearers." 
 
 In the judgment of the writer this is a valid claim 
 which all his comrades will endorse by a hearty amen. 
 
 Sergeant Taggart describes the events which took place 
 in this assault and the after history of the flag, while in his 
 charge, as follows : 
 
 "The morning of May 12th found the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth, along with about seventy other regiments, in close 
 column, by division. I found myself in the center of the front 
 division. Jesse Power, of Company E, was color-bearer. I 
 was a corporal on the color-guard. Colonel Fraser came to 
 us before the charge and told us to look out in the midst of 
 the rush for the flag. We started for the Confederate works 
 with fixed bayonets, our rifles being at right shoulder shift, 
 and with a yell, mind you. In that terrible fighting mob while 
 struggling through the brush and abattis I lost sight for a 
 little while of Power and the flag. When I caught sight of it 
 again it was in the hands of Beeson, another sergeant of Com- 
 pany E. We were then in the Rebel camps in the midst of a 
 terrible figiit. I asked Beeson where Power was. He replied 
 he was shot, and another man also, before he picked up the 
 flag. Just as he said this a bullet struck him in the face and 
 knocked him down. That ended the conversation and I did 
 not see him again for thirty-three years. I had been watching 
 for an opportunity to get hold of the colors, and when Beeson 
 fell with them I picked them up and was the color-bearer from 
 that moment until the end of the war. I learned afterwards 
 
444 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 that the man Sergeant Beeson meant to name was Biddle, a 
 private of Company C. I can't place him. 
 
 "It fell to my lot while with the company to fight with a 
 musket, but when I caught up the fallen standard of the One 
 Hundred and Fortieth I resolved to do my very best to be a 
 leader — for a good color-bearer must at times be that, regard- 
 less of personal consequences. 
 
 "The battle flag had a broad spear on top of the staff, which 
 was shot off at Spottsylvania. It got another welt on the brass 
 ring, near the top, the same morning. Another welt was made 
 by a bullet in the flagstaff while in my hands at Cold Harbor. 
 Altogether there were three welts made by bullets in the staff. 
 No bullet ever struck me and I was a good bit bigger than a 
 flagstaff. 
 
 "Captain John F. Wilson and I led a charge on the 
 evening of the 18th of June at Petersburg into the brush, 
 through the mud and up the hill, right into the Rebel skirmish 
 line. Neither one of us was armed. I had the old flag at full 
 furl and he had an old cheese knife which he brandished in 
 the air, but didn't we yell, and the Rebs all took to their heels 
 and never fired a shot. I heard Wilson tell Paxton that night 
 in the moonlight that Taggart was a 'brick.' 
 
 "At Todd's Tavern Corporal James A. Lockhart, of Com- 
 pany F, one of the color-guard, had seven bullet holes put into 
 his blouse, and another guard from Company A was killed. I 
 do not recall his name. When we charged the works in our 
 front on the 25th of March, 1865, Smith Graham, color-guard 
 of Company K was shot dead just beside me. At the battle of 
 Five Forks the Confederate skirmish line, which had got partly 
 to our rear, was firing into us, and made us mad. We faced 
 about and charged them. The Rebs were in rifle pits and we 
 could not see them until we were almost on them. I led the 
 boys all the way, Jim Rankin right at my heels. We brought 
 the Johnnies back with us and the shooting stopped." 
 
 The old battle flag is now at Harrisburg with all its welts 
 and scars. There is nothing left of it but the cord and tassels, 
 a few rags of silk and the flagstaff. 
 
 The Committee has secured an excellent photograph of 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 445 
 
 the flag as it is, which may be seen in its place in this volume. 
 
 They regret their inability to secure a photograph of Ser- 
 geant Robert Riddle to place with Sergeant Power and Tag- 
 gart alongside the old flag which he so worthily carried for 
 nearly a year. 
 
 Sergeant Taggart is a prosperous farmer in Western 
 Kansas. He has harvested and threshed on his 480 acres of 
 land 3,500 bushels of wheat and 1,500 bushels of oats this 
 season, and the corn crop in sight he reports as most promis- 
 ing. He lives in a comfortable home with his wife, his two 
 children having flown the nest and established homes for them- 
 selves; but to compensate for this he had four grandchildren, 
 "and all girls," to perpetuate his name and fame. 
 
 The following items, which will doubtless be of special 
 interest to the survivors of the Regiment and their friends, 
 were culled from a carefully written sketch of the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth Pennsylvania, which was published by the 
 Pittsburgh Gazette-Times in the spring of 1910: 
 
 When the tide of civil war was nearing its height there 
 was recruited in the immediate vicinity of Pittsburgh a regi- 
 ment of as brave and true men as ever carried muskets or 
 marched under the old flag — a regiment destined to win 
 imperishable renown and bring lasting honor to the Common- 
 wealth — and Gettysburg is but a chapter in the story of that 
 renown. This regiment was the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 Pennsylvania Volunteers, under Colonel Richard P. Roberts. 
 
 The Washington County companies came by a variety of 
 vehicles to Pittsburgh on the old pike, the stage road, and 
 received an ovation the entire way, and previous to departure 
 for Harrisburg were quartered at Camp Howe, Oakland. 
 
 The Regiment's first service was in guarding the Northern 
 Central Railroad at Monkton and Parkton, Md., where the 
 men were assiduously drilled. They joined the Army of the 
 Potomac under Burnside after Fredericksburg and were 
 assigned to Zook's Brigade of the First Division of the Second 
 Corps, made famous by that renowned Pennsylvanian, Win- 
 field S. Hancock, long its commander. 
 
446 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 The Regiment wintered at Falmouth, Va., and received its 
 "baptism of fire" at Chancellorsville in May, where it was in 
 the severe fighting in the vicinity of the Chancellor Mansion 
 and lost heavily, but acquitted itself nobly. 
 
 The Regiment in the Gettysburg campaign had the same 
 officers, General John C. Caldwell, of Maine, commanding the 
 First Division, in which Zook's Brigade was still the third, 
 Cross' the first, the Irish Brigade the second, under Colonel 
 Patrick Kelly, and that noted Pennsylvanian, John R. Brooke, 
 now Major-General U. S. A., retired, the fourth. This was 
 a fighting command, afterward led by him who is now Lieu- 
 tenant-General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A., retired, who suc- 
 ceeded General Zook after Gettysburg in the command of the 
 brigade. 
 
 On the return of the army to Virginia the One Hundred 
 and Fortieth was assigned to the First Brigade, then under 
 the command of that sterling soldier, Nelson A. Miles. The 
 badge of the One Hundred and Fortieth was a red trefoil, the 
 badge of the First Division of the fighting Second Corps, and 
 in this division the Regiment served to the end of the war, the 
 division being first under General F. C. Barlow and on his 
 retirement from wounds under General Miles. 
 
 The One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania Volunteers 
 was one of the most illustrious regiments in the Union service. 
 In proportion to its enrollment it lost more men than any other 
 Pennsylvania regiment and only three others in the United 
 States service had a greater percentage of loss officially. 
 
 Brevet Major-General Zook. 
 
 "The old boys of the One Hundred and Fortieth will be 
 glad to know something of their slain General, Samuel K. 
 Zook. He was born in Norristown, Pa., in 1823. When 
 Samuel F. B. Morse, successful after many trials and dis- 
 appointments, gave to the world the electric telegraph, General 
 Zook was one of the first to see its importance and utility, and 
 became one of the pioneers of telegraphy. Colonel William 
 Bender Wilson, of Holmesburg, Pa., manager of the war 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 447 
 
 department telegraph office in 1861-62, now president of the 
 Society of the United States Military Corps, writes of General 
 Zook as follows : 
 
 "I never knew of Zook as a telegraph operator, as a 
 sender and receiver or working as such in Pittsburgh. He 
 appeared in Pittsburgh, however, in 1847 w ' tri Henry O'Reilly, 
 of Rochester, N. Y., and was associated with him in building a 
 line to Louisville via Cincinnati. August 3, 1847, ne opened 
 the Office at Zanesville, Ohio, and the following week one at 
 Columbus, and August 20 one at Cincinnati. 
 
 "General Zook went to the front April 21, 1861, one week 
 after Sumter, as Lieutenant-Colonel of the Sixth New York 
 Militia. He served as Military Governor of Annapolis in the 
 preliminary movements of the war. Then he returned to New 
 York City and recruited the Fifty-seventh Regiment, of which 
 he was the first colonel. He was made a brigadier-general 
 November 29, 1862, and given command of his old brigade, 
 the Third of the First Division of the Second Corps. He was 
 with the Army of the Potomac in all its battles from first Bull 
 Run to Gettysburg. He is buried at Norristown, where he 
 sleeps beside his old commander and illustrious townsman, 
 Winfield Scott Hancock, and his equally illustrious townsman, 
 John Frederick Hartranft, where all have notable monuments." 
 
 One of the first monuments on the Gettysburg field was in 
 honor of Samuel K Zook, erected by his old command. It 
 stands in the wheatfield. 
 
 Miles and Caldwell. 
 
 General Miles, the One Hundred and Fortieth's old com- 
 mander, is well-known in Pittsburgh, where he has frequently 
 visited. General John C. Caldwell is not well known here. 
 When the Army of the Potomac under Grant was consolidated 
 into three corps. General Caldwell, like our General "Tom" 
 Rowley and many more brave and capable officers, was super- 
 numerary, and so placed on detached duty. Even those great 
 regulars, Sykes and Doubleday, were taken from the field. 
 
448 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 After the war President Grant sent General Caldwell to Val- 
 paraiso, Chili, as United States Consul and later to Uruguay 
 as United States Minister. Returning to this country, he 
 located in Kansas, where he was last heard of. If living he 
 would be seventy-seven years old. 
 
 Pennsylvania is proud of the One Hundred and Fortieth 
 and the men- are proud of their record, and when their bronze 
 at Gettysburg reveals the story of their struggle in the wheat- 
 field in the list of the Regiment's dead and wounded — the 
 universal testimony will be — a gallant band, a glorious record. 
 
 An Appreciation from One in High Standing 
 
 and Honor. 
 
 In a notable address by Matthew Brown Biddle, D.D., 
 LL.D., at the twenty-fifth anniversary of the union of Wash- 
 ington and Jefferson Colleges, the following reference was 
 made to the One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment : 
 
 "Three hundred and ninety-three students are down in 
 the records of the graduates as serving in the army — either 
 Union or Confederate, but principally Union. Added to this 
 is a large number who gave up their class in order that they 
 might volunteer. Three classes in Jefferson College that I was 
 acquainted with furnished ninety-five men for the volunteer 
 armies, and one of them was Governor Beaver, who was here 
 to-day. I wish he was here to-night. They were men of that 
 kind. Whenever they engaged in this work their duty was 
 faithfully done, and the record is something that we ought to 
 preserve. If you ask whether they made good soldiers or not, 
 let me in reply tell one story. It happened in 1863 that one 
 regiment in the service of the United States Government might 
 be characterized as a college regiment more than any other 
 because it contained a great many students from Washington 
 College and a great many, even more, from Jefferson College.* 
 
 *To these might be added a number of student recruits from 
 Waynesburg College also. 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 449 
 
 It was the college regiment par excellence, although there were 
 a great many others in which the colleges were represented. 
 What kind of men were in that regiment ? Well, from Wash- 
 ington there was the name of Robert Reed, one of the finest 
 boys I ever knew, and there is the name of Acheson. These 
 two names are typical of what they were. Over in Canons- 
 burg it was very much the same. John Fraser was the Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel. They went off to the war and it happened, 
 though we didn't know it then, that there was one turning 
 point in that great conflict. It was at Gettysburg, culminating 
 when Pickett's Division made that gallant charge. * * * 
 "Now the records of the War Department show that 
 scarcely in modern times has any regiment suffered so severely 
 as did that One Hundred and Fortieth Pennsylvania at Gettys- 
 burg. Where they were and what they did some of you here 
 know better than I, for you were there. But this I do know, 
 that if we have anything to be proud of in this conflict of 
 brother with brother we, as representing this college, can at 
 least be proud that a regiment most distinctively a college 
 regiment has a record for bravery unequalled, certainly unsur- 
 passed in modern times." 
 
 Two of the "Transferred" Who Rendered "Signal" 
 
 Service. 
 
 In the autumn of 1863 a call was issued for a certain 
 number of alert, level-headed young men to serve as volunteers 
 in the Signal Corps of the Army of the Potomac. 
 
 These men were to be selected from regiments in the 
 service, after careful examinations with respect to their ability 
 and qualification. 
 
 Two Corporals of Company G, Joseph B. Johnson and 
 John R. Mitchell, responded to this call, passed the examina- 
 tions satisfactorily, and in due course were transferred to this 
 branch of the service. 
 
 One of the principal duties of the men attached to this 
 corps was to ascertain the position, strength and movements 
 
450 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 of the enemy and report the same by signal to Army Head- 
 quarters. The stations occupied for this purpose were neces- 
 sarily elevated positions on the outposts, and the men while 
 on duty were exposed to great danger, especially from sharp- 
 shooters, who were always on the lookout for signals and the 
 men who gave them. 
 
 Frequently the stations were on the tops of high trees. 
 Comrade Johnson describes one which was 104 feet high, the 
 first limb being 70 feet from the ground. Two young saplings 
 were cut and a rude ladder with cross pieces made which was 
 rested against this limb in order to make the climb easier and 
 less hazardous. At best the most of these stations were giddy 
 heights, and frequently it became necessary to climb trees in 
 emergencies without any helps except those which nature had 
 provided. On the 28th of October, 1864, while at an outpost 
 near Dinwiddie Court House, Johnson was captured by guer- 
 rillas. He was taken to Petersburg and after spending one 
 night in a slave pen was sent with other prisoners by rail to 
 Richmond. Here he remained a prisoner until February 5. 
 1865. During this period of imprisonment he suffered greatly 
 from scurvy, but after spending two weeks in a parole camp 
 at Annapolis, Md., and a twenty days' furlough at home, he 
 was able to return to the front. He was discharged June 25, 
 1865, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 Comrade Mitchell also served with great credit to him- 
 self and to the Regiment, with which for more than a year, 
 through many experiences of hardship and peril, he had been 
 associated. 
 
 From a letter addressed to Comrade Mitchell by his com- 
 manding officer, Captain William H. R. Neel, November 21, 
 1864, we quote the following incident which deserves a place 
 in the records of the nation as well as of the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment, which trained him in the first principles of 
 military service and still claims him as one of its honored 
 veterans : 
 
 "During one of the engagements of the Second Corps 
 with the enemy on the north of the James in August last, I 
 had been directed to occupy a position on our line with 
 
CO G'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE RANKS OF nil' GOSPEL MINISTRY. 
 
 Rev. Jas. S. Rankin. Rev. Robt. Laird Stewart, D.D. 
 
 Rev. In... R. Paxton, D.D. Rev. Win. A. Kerr. 
 
 Rev. S. B. McBride. Rev. George Murray. 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 451 
 
 Pickett's Battery, where the movements of the enemy could 
 be watched and reported. While engaged in that duty the 
 enemy opened from a battery upon our skirmish line; a belt 
 of woods on our left effectually concealing their battery from 
 view. Our battery was unable to reply with effect and it was 
 soon apparent that some point must be attained from which 
 the enemy's guns could be seen, as well as to observe the effect 
 of our shots. One position offered. That was on a high tree 
 on our front ; but it was a post of imminent danger, exposed 
 to a hot fire from the enemy. As soon as I made known to 
 you my wish to have that point occupied you faltered not a 
 moment, but sprang to your post with alacrity, and your 
 important services were soon manifest. You directed the fire 
 of our battery with so much judgment and skill as to dis- 
 mount one of the enemy's guns and silence the remainder. 
 While the engagement lasted, regardless of all personal danger, 
 you remained at your post. 
 
 "The importance of the service you rendered on this 
 occasion may perhaps never be fully realized. Perhaps it may 
 receive no further notice than the brief one I have given, but 
 to you the proud consciousness of having done your duty will, 
 I know be an ample reward. 
 
 "With the fervent prayer that success may attend you in 
 the glorious work in which you are engaged, that our govern- 
 ment will be successful in speedily crushing out treason and 
 peace and prosperity be restored to our beloved country, I am 
 
 "Always your friend, 
 
 "William H. R. Neel, 
 "Late Captain and Acting Signal Officer." 
 
 Veterans of the One Hundred and Fortieth Who 
 Entered the Gospel Ministry. 
 
 One of the most noteworthy things in connection with 
 the roll of the Regimental Association is the large number of 
 veterans who became ministers of the Gospel. 
 
 So far as known the list foots up seventeen. Of this 
 
452 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 number Companies A, B, C, D and I have each contributed 
 one ; Companies F, H and K two, while Company G has a list 
 of six, four of whom are still living. This record, we believe, 
 is unprecedented in the history of the regiments which served 
 in the Civil War. 
 
 The Committee was successful in securing the photo- 
 graphs of fifteen of the seventeen ministers on its list. These 
 have been arranged in two groups, the six of Company G 
 constituting one and the remaining nine from the other com- 
 panies another. (See groups facing pages ) The names 
 and companies are herewith given : 
 
 Rev. 
 
 James C. Burns Company A. 
 
 John L. Bailey Company B. 
 
 Henry J. Boatman Company C. 
 
 John A. Wright Company D. 
 
 Benjamin A. Bonewell Company F. 
 
 William J. Cooper Company F. 
 
 George B. Murray Company G. 
 
 William A. Kerr Company G. 
 
 Samuel McBride Company G. 
 
 John R. Paxton, D.D Company G. 
 
 James Rankin Company G. 
 
 Robert Laird Stewart, D.D Company G. 
 
 Joseph Calhoun, D.D Company H. 
 
 William G. Cowan Company H. 
 
 John D. Irons, D.D Company I. 
 
 Silas Cooke, D.D Company K. 
 
 Benjamin F. Powelson Company K. 
 
 A large number proportionally of the survivors of the 
 war entered the other professions and several that might be 
 named attained distinction in them, but we do not have suffi- 
 cient data for the preparation of a list of each class or the 
 names of those who took up these professions as a life work. 
 The most notable of the representatives of these classes are 
 mentioned, however, in the series of personal sketches. 
 
Group 2. 
 SURVIVORS OF THE WAR WHO ENTERED THE MINISTRY FROM OTHER COMPANIES. 
 
 Rev. B. F. Powelson, Co. K. Rev. John A. Wright, Co. D. Rev. Wm. (",. Cowan, Co. H. 
 Rev. John D. Irons, I). I).. Co. I. Rev. Silas Cooke, D.D., Co. K. Rev. Henry J. Boatman, Co. C. 
 
 Rev. John A. I '.urns Co. A. Rev. Wm. J. Cooper, Co. I. Rev. Jos. Calhoun, D.D., Co. H. 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 453 
 
 A Winter Campaign of Two Days at Hatcher's Run. 
 (From manuscript notes by Lieutenant Charles T. Hedge.) 
 
 On the morning of the 9th of December our division 
 received marching orders. We were soon equipped for service 
 and at the word of command filed out on the road which led 
 to the left in the direction of Hatcher's Run. One regiment 
 of each brigade was left to hold the works. The Twenty- 
 sixth Michigan of our brigade was left in the trenches while 
 the rest of the command went to the front with the division. 
 The morning was very cold and the ground was frozen hard. 
 We soon passed the extreme left of our army, and were on 
 the lookout for Rebs, a small force of cavalry being in the 
 advance. When the report of their carbines gave notice of the 
 presence of the enemy our Regiment was deployed on the 
 skirmish line and sent forward. 
 
 When we came to the edge of a strip of woods where 
 our cavalry had been halted we caught sight of the Johnnies 
 in a line of rifle pits on the other side of the stream (Hatcher's 
 Run), about 800 yards distant. We were under a heavy fire 
 of musketry while we halted here for a few moments; also 
 when an advance was ordered down the sloping ground and 
 through an open field directly in front of the enemy's position. 
 When we reached the edge of the stream it was found to be 
 too deep for fording. The Rebs had built a dam across it 
 farther down and backed the water up with a view to pro- 
 tecting their position from direct assault. They knew very 
 well we could not cross it and made the best use of their 
 opportunity. Here we were not more than 100 yards from 
 the Rebs; they in rifle pits and we in line with nothing to 
 protect us. To retreat would be as bad as to stay, as we should 
 be obliged to flee up a rising piece of ground in fair view of 
 the enemy. So we hugged the ground and let them fire away. 
 There were some bushes on the edge of the run which partially 
 screened us from view, but bushes would not stop bullets. We 
 remained in this uncomfortable position for more than an 
 hour, when another regiment marching up the stream felled 
 
454 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 trees across it, over which the rest of the brigade crossed and 
 took the enemy in the flank. As soon as they saw that they 
 were being outflanked the Johnnies began to jump out of their 
 rifle pits and run. Then was our time to open fire with deadly 
 effect, and realizing this the larger part of them kept close to 
 the ground until they were taken by the flanking column. 
 
 Company H was more exposed than any other company 
 during the time we were lying on our faces, for the reason 
 that there were but few bushes in their front. In less than 
 an hour the company lost in killed and wounded eleven men. 
 Corporal Robb had his clothes riddled with balls, but his body 
 was untouched. His knapsack which he had placed as a shield 
 in front of him had a frying pan strapped to the outside, and 
 when he arose from this perilous position he found four holes 
 in it which had been made by well-directed Rebel bullets. 
 There was scarcely a man in this company who escaped with- 
 out bullet holes in his clothing. That night a heavy snow- 
 storm came up and we suffered much from the cold and 
 exposure. The next day about 3 o'clock P. M. we started 
 back to camp, the object of our expedition having been accom- 
 plished. We reached the camp a little after dark, very tired, 
 cold and hungry. Imagine our surprise, therefore, when we 
 found that the boys of the Twenty-sixth Michigan had pre- 
 pared a good supper, with plenty of hot coffee, for the men of 
 our Regiment. This, I think, is the only instance of the kind 
 on record. The two regiments were so frequently thrown 
 together in battle and on the skirmish line that they affiliated 
 more closely than the men of other commands and often ate 
 and slept together at the noon halting place or the night 
 bivouac. 
 
CAMP-FIRE REMINISCENCES, OTHER INCIDENTS 455 
 The Dead of the Civil War. 
 make other wars of the united states appear paltry. 
 
 The campaigns and battles of the Civil War were on a 
 scale of surpassing magnitude. There were more than a score 
 of single battles, sometimes extending over several days, in 
 each of which the losses in killed and wounded on the Federal 
 side were greater than the aggregate of all our losses in all 
 our other wars combined. How paltry seem the 5,000 killed 
 and wounded in the War of 18 12, or the war in Mexico, or the 
 war with Spain, compared with the 14,000 at Shiloh, 15,000 
 at the Chickahominy, 13,000 at Antietam, the same at Fred- 
 ericksburg, 16,000 at Chancellorsville, 23,000 at Gettysburg, 
 16,000 at Chickamauga, 37,000 in the Wilderness and 26,000 
 at Spottsylvania ! The grand aggregate of destruction fairly 
 staggers the imagination, accustomed as we have been for 
 more than a generation to the figures — 93,000 killed by bullets, 
 186,000 killed by disease, 25,000 dead from other causes — a 
 grand total of 304,000, about 1 in 9 of every man who wore 
 the uniform. 
 
 In no other war in all time has such respect been paid to 
 the dead. Immediately after its close the Secretary of War 
 was directed by Congress "to secure suitable burial places, and 
 to have these grounds enclosed, so that resting places of the 
 honored dead may be kept sacred forever." In seventy-nine 
 separate and distinct national cemeteries the bodies of nearly 
 300,000 soldiers who died during the Civil War are interred, 
 and the decoration of their graves with flowers on a fixed day 
 has become a national custom. Some of the cemeteries contain 
 each a silent army of over 10.000 soldiers, in serried ranks 
 marked by the white headstones, on nearly half of which is 
 inscribed "Unknown." The world may be searched in vain 
 for anything similar or kindred ; there is no other such impres- 
 sive sight. — Scribncr's Magazine. 
 
Part IV 
 
 Regimental Roster 
 
 Jubilee Anniversary 
 
 Woman's Auxiliary 
 
 Afterword 
 
 Index 
 
REGIMENTAL ROSTER 
 
 FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Colonels 
 •Richard P. Roberts 
 
 •John Fraser 
 
 Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Thomas B. Rodgers 
 
 Major 
 "Thomas Henry 
 
 Adjutants 
 W. S. Shallenberger 
 
 John M. Ray 
 
 John S. Bryan 
 
 Quartermasters 
 Samuel B. Bentley 
 R. B. Parkinson 
 
 Surgeon 
 •J. Wilson Wishart 
 
 Assistant Surgeons 
 William W. Sharpc 
 •Benjamin F. Hill 
 Chaplains 
 Marcus Ormond 
 J. Lynn Milligan 
 Sergeant-Majors 
 Henry J. Boatman 
 
 Thomas O. Anshutz 
 
 Quartermaster Ser- 
 geants 
 Cyrus Townsend 
 
 Thomas C. Nicholson 
 John W. Wiley 
 
 •R. G. S. Smith 
 
 Commissary Sergeant 
 Thomas L. Noble 
 
 Hospital Steward 
 Joseph W. Lawrence 
 
 Principal Musicians 
 Josiah H. Carrol 
 
 Jesse J. Morris 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 Sept. 9, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 Aug. 2i, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 12, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 12, i86j. 
 
 Nov. 5, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 22. 1862. 
 Nov. s, 1863. 
 
 Aug. 22. 1862. 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 25, j 862. 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 M 
 
 Sept. 4. 1 86a. 
 
 Promoted from Captain of Co. F Sept 12, 1862; 
 killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Lieutenant-Colonel to Colonel July 
 4, 1863; wounded at Wilderness and Spottsyl- 
 vania, Va., May 12, 1864; captured at Peters- 
 burg, Va., June, 1864; mustered out May 31, 
 1865; died at Pittsburgh, Pa., June 4, 1878. 
 
 Promoted from Major July 4, 1863; captured at 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged by special 
 order April 27, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Captain Co. F May 1, 1865; mus- 
 tered out May 31, 1865; died at Beaver, Pa.. 
 Feb. 2i, 1912. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant Co. F Sept 12, 1862; 
 wounded and captured at Gettysburg July 2, 
 1863; wounded at Todd's Tavern May 8, 1864: 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate Oct, 1864. 
 Washington, D. C. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Lieutenant Co. C Dec. 10. 
 1864; to Captain Co. C Dec. 13, 1863. West 
 Alexander, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Principal Musician Dec. 12, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 5, 1864. 
 Promoted to Quartermaster-Sergeant Dec. 12, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Assistant Surgeon Oct. 25, 1862: 
 mustered out May 31, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Surgeon 163d P. V. Jan. 13, 1864. 
 Mustered out May 31, 1865; died Jan. '20, 1910. 
 
 Uischarged June 8, 1863. 
 Mustered out May 31, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from private Co. C Sept 12, 1862; cap- 
 tured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 May 15, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant Co. F May is, 1865; 
 mustered out May 31, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Quartermaster 211th P. V. Oct. 18 
 
 1864. 
 
 Promoted to 2d Lieutenant Co. I Dec. 19, 1862. 
 Promoted from Sergeant Co. C Dec. 23, 1864 
 
 transferred to 53d P. V. May 30, 1865! 
 Promoted from Sergeant Co. E, date unknown 
 
 killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from private Co. K Sept. 18, 1S62 
 1 mustered out May 31, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from private Co. H Sept 27, 1862 
 mustered out May 31, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Musician Co. G March i, 1864 
 
 mustered out May 31, 1865. 
 Promoted from Musician Co. K Dec. 22, 1864 
 
 mustered out May 31, 1862. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
458 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY A 
 
 
 NAME AND RANK 
 
 Captains 
 •John F. McCullough 
 
 James M. Pipes 
 
 'John A. Burns 
 
 i st Lieutenants 
 J. Jackson Purman 
 
 •Mark G. Spragg 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 David Taylor 
 ist Sergeant 
 •Charles T. Hedge 
 
 Sergeants 
 Daniel B. Wyehoff 
 
 Nathaniel N. Purman 
 
 •Henry Zimmers 
 
 John F. Coen 
 
 •Cornelius J. Burk 
 
 •William A. Brown 
 
 Corporals 
 •J. S. Herrington 
 
 •Alpheus Crawford 
 
 Carey M. Fulton 
 Thomas J. Kent 
 
 •James B. Reinhart 
 
 *Toseph Bane 
 •Kramer Gabler 
 Spencer Stephens 
 
 •Leroy S. Greenlee 
 
 •John W. Peden 
 
 Musicians 
 •James Woods 
 •Morgan Dunn 
 Privates 
 Harrison Anderson 
 Samuel Acklin 
 
 Mustered Ik. 
 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 + 
 t 
 
 t 
 + 
 t 
 
 f 
 -r 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 
 Wounded July 2, 1863; at Gettysburg, Pa.; May 
 28, 1864, commissioned Colonel 183d P. V.; 
 killed at Totopotomy Creek May 31, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from ist Sergeant to 2d Lieutenant 
 Jan. 2, 1864; to Captain June 27, 1864; 
 wounded with loss of arm at Reams Station, 
 Va., Aug. 25, 1864; discharged on surgeon's 
 certificate Feb. 17, 1865. Washington, D. C. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to ist Sergeant Jan. 2, 
 1864; to ist Lieutenant June 27, 1864; to Cap- 
 tain March 4, 1865; died March 28, 1878. 
 
 Wounded with loss of leg at Gettysburg, Pa., 
 
 July 2, 1863; discharged on surgeon's certificate 
 
 May 20, 1864. Washington, D. C. 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant March 1, 
 
 1864; to 2d Lieutenant June 27, 1864; to ist 
 
 Lieutenant March 4, 1865. 
 
 Resigned July 31, 1865. Wind Ridge, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal July 1, 1864; commis- 
 sioned 2d Lieutenant Dec. 18, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant July 1, 1864; discharged by 
 general orders July 5, 1865. Wilzetta, Okla. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to 105th Co., 2d Bat. V. R. C, Jan. 30, 
 1865; discharged Sept. 4, 1865. Indianapolis, 
 Ind. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; absent at 
 muster out. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864; to Sergeant 
 May 1, 1865. Brave, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Nov. 1, 1863; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate March 16, 1865. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864; transferred 
 to V. R. C, date unknown; discharged by gen- 
 eral orders July 20, 1865; died since the war. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 6, 1865; died 
 Feb. 13, 1910. 
 
 Oakland, Cal. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864. Morovia, 
 Okla. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864; died Oct. 30, 
 1911. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864. 
 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal May i, 1865. Mt. Morris. 
 
 Pa. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; buried in 
 
 Evergreen Cemetery. 
 Killed at Todd's Tavern, Va., May 15. 1864. 
 
 Died since the war. 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Monesson, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. ; discharged by general 
 orders Feb. 24, 1864- Castile, Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 i Mustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY A 
 
 459 
 
 NAME AND RANK 
 
 Olive Armstrong 
 •James Anderson 
 
 *Tohn Acklin 
 
 "Oliver H. P. Burson 
 
 John Bennett 
 •Peter Barney 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 M 
 
 t 
 
 + 
 
 •Samuel Clutter 
 John Cox, Jr. 
 •Noah D. Clutter 
 
 April 13, 1864. 
 
 + 
 t 
 
 •John Cox. Sr. 
 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 
 "George N. Doman 
 "Benjamin Dunstan 
 Michael Eddy 
 
 •John W. Eddy 
 
 George Freeland 
 
 •John Fisher 
 •David Frays 
 
 •Charles A. Freeland 
 Thornton Garber 
 
 •George Gray 
 •Simon Geary 
 
 •John R. M. Green 
 •Isaac P. Green 
 •John Gray 
 •John Henry 
 
 Daniel S. Hopkins 
 
 •Stephen C. Harris 
 
 •David Hoge 
 
 John C. Jones 
 George Jones 
 
 •Rezin S. Kent 
 
 •Oliver Kener 
 •Daniel King 
 
 •James F. Kent 
 
 •Daniel King 
 
 •Samuel B. Locy 
 John M. Lancaster 
 John Long 
 
 •John L. Lundy 
 
 Mustered Ik. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Nov. 20, 1862. 
 Sept. 4, 1 86a. 
 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 « 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 March 22, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Transferred to Co. F, 18th Regt. V. R. C; di»- 
 charged June 27, 1865. Waynesburg, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to 114th Co., 2d Bat. V. R. C. 
 March 13, 1864; discharged by general orders 
 June 27, 1865; died since the war. 
 
 billed at Petersburg June 17, 1864. 
 
 Scenery Hill, Pa. 
 
 ""astile, Pa. 
 
 transferred to 51st Co., 2d Bat., Jan. 1, 1863; 
 discharged Sept. 4, 1865; died since the war. 
 
 Hied since the war. 
 
 Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., May 30, 186s; 
 discharged July 14, 1865; died 1892. 
 
 Transferred to Co. K, 1st Regt. V. R. C, Sept. 
 1, 1863; died since the war. 
 
 Deserted Dec. 10, 1863. 
 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Killed May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania. 
 
 Wounded at Todd's Tavern May 15, 1864; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. C. Jan. 6, 1865. Waynesburg. 
 Pa. 
 
 Wounded and captured July 2, 1863, at Gettys- 
 burg; died in prison at Richmond, Jan. 27, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 16, 1865. 
 Cora. Mo. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Missing in action May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, 
 Va. 
 
 Died Nov. 17, 1862, at Parkton, Md. 
 
 Discharged by general orders July 10, 1865. 
 Waynesburg, Pa. 
 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Wounded at Totopotomy Creek May 31, 1864; 
 absent at muster out; died since the war. 
 
 Killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 6, 1864. 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., Jan. 8, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 6, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 8, 1865; died 
 since the war. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Maringo, Ohio. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Feb. is, 
 1864; died since the war. 
 
 Died at Washington. D. C, Jan. 10, 186s; buried 
 in National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 
 Audubon, Iowa. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Mannington, W. Va. 
 
 Wounded at Bristoe Station Sept. 14, 1863; ab- 
 sent at muster out; died since the war. 
 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 17, 1865; 
 died since the war. 
 
 Discharged by special orders March 13, 1865; 
 died since the war. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865; 
 discharged by general orders June 3, 1865; died 
 since the war. 
 
 discharged May 20, 1865; died since the war. 
 
 Trmond, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 24th Regt. V. R. C; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 27, 1865. Mt. 
 Morris. Pa. 
 
 ~>ied at Parkton, Md.. Nov. 2, 1862. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
46o 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK 
 
 •Benjamin F. Loar 
 
 John Meighen 
 John H. Miller 
 
 •George W. Mariner 
 
 Abraham Miller 
 
 *Franklin R. Morris 
 
 *Lindsay Morris 
 
 •L. G. McCullough 
 
 *Hiram McCullough 
 
 William Ogden 
 Abner Pipes 
 
 •Joseph Petit 
 •John A. Rush 
 •John E. Roop 
 •William Roop 
 
 Lindsay Roop 
 
 Henry Roop 
 
 •William Roop 
 
 •Alex. D. Robinson 
 
 •Samuel Ridgway 
 •Michael Roope 
 
 •Samuel Roope 
 
 •Nicholas Steel 
 
 Ehud Steel 
 
 Tames M. Swart 
 Simon P. Scott 
 Henry Scott 
 •Jesse Sprowls 
 
 Caleb Strosnider 
 
 •Richard Serjeant 
 *Kener L. Strosnider 
 
 •Harvey Sanders 
 
 •Job Smith, Jr. 
 
 •John Simpson 
 
 •Jesse Steward 
 •Job Smith Sr. 
 •John M. Spragff 
 •Abner W. Taylor 
 'Levi Taylor 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 March 26, 1864. 
 « 
 
 April 7, 1864. 
 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 March 26, 1864. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 + 
 
 + 
 + 
 
 + 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Died Aug. 1 at Philadelphia, Pa., of wound re- 
 ceived at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Harvey s, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 20. 186?. 
 
 Gebhart, Pa. 
 Transferred to 114th Bat. V. R. C. March 13. 
 
 1865; discharged by general orders July 18, 
 
 1865; died since the war. 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Dec. i, 1863. Cameron. 
 
 W. Va. 
 Missing in action at Chancellorsville, Va., May 
 
 3, 1863: died since the war. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Dec. 22, 1864; buried 
 
 in Arlington National Cemetery. 
 Discharged by general orders June 6, 1865; died 
 
 since the war. 
 Missing in action at Reams Station, Va., Aug. 
 
 25, 1864. 
 
 I Absent, sick at muster out. Waynesburg, Pa. 
 Discharged by general orders Tune 2%, 186s. 
 Hill City, Kansas. 
 Died July 7, 1864, at Alexandria, Va., Grave 2346. 
 Died since the war. 
 Died since the war. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan 16, 1863; 
 
 died since the war. 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., June 30, 1865; 
 
 wounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., June 30, 1865. 
 
 Hoover's Run, Pa. 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., June 30, 1865; 
 
 died since the war. 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Pa., June 30, 1865; 
 
 died since the war. 
 Died at Parkton, Md., Nov. 25, 1862. 
 Died July 2Q, 1864, of wound received at Cold 
 Harbor, Va., June 6, 1864; buried in National 
 Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Died July 29, 1864, of wound received at Peters- 
 burg, Va., June 17, 1864; buried in National 
 Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Discharged by general orders July is, 1865; died 
 
 since the war. 
 Wounded at Totopotomy, Va., May 31, 1864. 
 
 Spraggo, Pa. 
 Eno, Pa. 
 
 Rutan, Pa., Greene County. 
 Rutan, Pa., Greene County. 
 Wounded May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va. ; 
 
 absent at muster out; died since the war. 
 Discharged by general orders July 12, 1865. 
 
 Spraggo, Pa. 
 Discharged March 10, 1863; died since the war. 
 Transferred to 2d Bat. V. R. C. Jan. g, 186s: 
 discharged by general orders July 3, 1865; died 
 
 since the war. 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Sept 1, 1864; died since 
 
 the war. 
 Missing in action May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, 
 
 Va. . M 
 
 Died Sept. 17, 1864, of wounds received at Deep 
 
 Bottom, Va., May 14, 1864. 
 Died April 9, 1865, in Philadelphia, Pa. 
 Deserted July 2, 1863; died since the war. 
 Killed at Mine Run, Va., Nov. 29, 1863. 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred 
 to V. R. C. March 13, 186s; died April 19. 
 1012. . 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY A 
 
 461 
 
 NAME AND RANK 
 
 'Norval L. Troy 
 
 ♦John R. H. Wilson 
 "George W. Wilson 
 'Benjamin F. Wallace 
 
 •Brezan T. Walters 
 'Harrison Woolum 
 
 Francis A. Wallace 
 •Simon S. West 
 'Andrew J. Walters 
 
 Morris Welsh 
 
 Mustered In. 
 Nov. 29, 1862. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 T 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864- 
 April 3, 1865. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Died June 27, 1864, of wounds received at 
 
 Totopotomy Creek, Va., May 31, 1864; buried 
 
 at Alexandria, Va., Grave 2234. 
 Died at Pittsburgh since the war. 
 Died since the war. 
 Transferred to 51st Co., 2d Bat. V. R. C, Jan. 
 
 18, 1864; discharged Sept. 4, 1865, expiration 
 
 of term; died since the war. 
 Died since the war. 
 Discharged by general orders May is, 1865; died 
 
 since the war. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Oct. 12, 1863. 
 
 Waynesburg, Pa. 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., date 
 
 unknown; died 191 1. 
 Died of wound received May 12, 1864, at Spott- 
 
 sylvania, Va. 
 Never joined the Company. 
 
 All of the foregoing were mustered into service Sept. 4. 1862, except fifteen recruits. All 
 were mustered out May 31, 1865, except those who were transferred to other organizations or 
 were in hospitals. 
 
 'Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
462 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY B 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captains 
 Thomas B. Rodgers 
 
 Jason T. Giebner 
 Abram C. Grove 
 
 Ranels C. Craig 
 
 1 st Lieutenant 
 John Satterfield 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 George Tanner 
 
 1 st Sergeants 
 John Fox 
 
 'James C. Nolan 
 Charles W. Giebner 
 
 Sergeants 
 George Perrine 
 
 James L. Griffin 
 
 Samuel B. Rogers 
 
 George W. Smail 
 
 •John W. Johnson 
 Corporals 
 James I. Smith 
 Alfred Ritner 
 
 Benj. A. Paston 
 'George Rose 
 Daniel B. Mover 
 
 John Roberts 
 
 •George D. Moore 
 Price Dilley 
 Isaac Davis 
 Henry Rafferty 
 
 •Alexander Patton 
 
 William Patton 
 •Robert G. Davidaoa 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 + 
 -r 
 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Promoted to Major Sept. 8, 1862; captured July 
 2. 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa.; promoted to Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel to date, July 4, 1863; mustered 
 out April, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to 1st Lieutenant Sept. 8, 1862; pro- 
 moted to Captain May 4, 1864; resigned Jan. 
 18, 1865. Sharon, Mercer County, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from 2d Lieutenant to 1st Lieutenant 
 Sept. 25, 1862; to Captain June 28, 1864; 
 wounded June 3, 1864, at Cold Harbor, Va. ; 
 discharged by general orders Feb. 17, 1865. 
 Ellwood City, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 1st Lieutenant June 
 28, 1864; to Captain March 4, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 2d Lieutenant Nov. 
 15, 1864; to 1st Lieutenant March 4, 1865; 
 wounded in action. 
 
 Promoted frr>m private Oct. 30, 1863; discharged 
 Oct. 30, 1863. 
 
 Commissioned 2d Lieutenant Dec. J 8, 1863, not 
 mustered; promoted from Sergeant March 1, 
 1865; wounded April 7, 1865, at Farmville; 
 discharged by general orders May 31, 186s. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 20. 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Oct. J 8, 1864; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate March 1, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Oct. 18, 1864. Hadley, 
 
 Pa. 
 Promoted to Corporal March 1, 1863; to Sergeant 
 
 Oct. 18, 1864. Sandy Lake, Mercer County, Pa. 
 Promoted from private Jan. 1, 1865; absent oa 
 
 detached service at muster out. 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1864; to Sergeant 
 
 March 1, 186s. Glasco, Kansas. 
 Died at Fort Schuyler, N. Y., Oct. 5. 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 1, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Oct. 18. 1864; wounded at 
 
 Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865; discharged by 
 
 general orders May 20, 1865. 
 Promoted to Corporal Oct. 18, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal Oct. 18, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal Oct. 18, 1864. Greenville. 
 
 Pa. ., . 
 
 Promoted to Corporal March 1, 1865. Fredonia, 
 
 Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Captain 23d Regular U. S. C. T. : 
 killed at Petersburg Aug. 18, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. I, i°°5- 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 7. 1863- 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 12, 1863. 
 
 Captured at Cold Harbor, Va., June 2, 1864, and 
 died in prison at Millen, Ga., date unknown: 
 buried in National Cemetery, Sec. A, Grave 
 309. 
 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Died April 17. 186-;. at Falmouth. Va : 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY B 
 
 463 
 
 NAME AND RANK 
 
 Robert B. Porter 
 •Thomas G. Eagles 
 •Samuel Holmes 
 
 Musicians 
 David B. Sinclair 
 Charles Vath 
 •Thomas Cozad 
 
 Privates 
 •D. W. Armstronr 
 William Blair 
 William Brannan 
 
 Hugh Bradbery 
 
 Wilson Bean 
 
 •George M. Bennett 
 
 Nathaniel Breast 
 Joseph Brackle 
 
 William P. Buchanan 
 
 Samuel B. Bruner 
 
 John I. Bailey 
 •William Bowman 
 •John Buckley 
 
 •Aaron Bollinger 
 
 John L. Cochran 
 
 Melvin L. Cole 
 •Wilson Calvert 
 •Adam Clark 
 
 Ransom IT. Custer 
 Adam C. Dilley 
 
 George E. Di'ley 
 Horace A. Dewey 
 
 James H. Dean 
 Daniel Deross 
 •Lewis F. Eebert 
 Caleb N. Failes 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1863. 
 
 •Tohn Fishcorn 
 •Hartly Findley 
 
 William Griggs 
 
 Adam George 
 
 George W. Gardner 
 •George W. George 
 •Charles Griggs 
 
 John E. Hunter 
 
 March 2g 1864. 
 
 Dec. 30, 1863. 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 March 1, 1864. 
 
 u 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 March 1, 1864. 
 Feb. 15, 1864. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 Feb. 1 1, 1864. 
 April 9, 1864. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 18, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 + 
 -r 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Died May 15, 1864, at Fredericksburg, Va., of 
 wound received at Spottsylvania May 12. 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal April 1, 1863; killed at 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. is, 1864; captured at 
 Cold Harbor, Va., June 2, 1864; died in Ander- 
 sonville Prison Sept. 5, 1864; Grave 7881. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 6, 1865. 
 Captured at Bristoe Station, Va., Oct. 14, 1863; 
 died Dec. 10, 1863, in prison at Richmond, Va. 
 
 Died Sept. o, 1863, at Morrisville, Va. 
 
 Wounded May 14, 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va.; 
 
 absent at muster out. Tideoute, Pa. 
 Wounded May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va.; 
 
 absent at muster out. Meadville, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 21, 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 11, 186s. 
 
 Danville, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate May 5, 1864. 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17. 
 
 Transferred to Co. F, oth Regt., V. R. C; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 26, 1865. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 14th V. R. C; discharged 
 by general orders July 28, 1865. 
 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Transferred to Co. I, s.^d Pa., May 30, 1805.. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa„ July 2, 1863; buried 
 in National Cemetery, Sec. D, Grave 84. 
 
 Captured July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa. 
 Oct. 26, 1863, in Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Vbsent, sick at muster out. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 31. 
 
 Transferred June 15. 1864, to V. R. C, 
 
 Died April 11, 1864: buried in Allegheny Ceme- 
 tery, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Not accounted for. . 
 
 Wounded April 2, 1865, at Petersbm,? Va.; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 28, 1865. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate June 3, '8°3- 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 11, 
 1863. 
 
 Discharged by general orders Sept. 1, 186;. 
 
 Not accounted for. ... oc 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate April 20, 1864. 
 
 Wounded June 16, 1864, at Petersburg, Va. ; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 8, 1865. war- 
 ren, Ohio. , . ,. 
 
 Killed May 12, 1864. at Spottsylvania, Va. 
 
 Died at Fort Schuyler, N. Y., Oct. 3, 
 buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery, L. I., 
 1986. 
 
 Wounded April 6, 1865. at Sailor's Creek, Va. ; 
 discharged by general orders June 3. i°°5- 
 
 died 
 
 1864. 
 
 1864: 
 Grave 
 
 Transferred to Co. I, s.ld Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Died April 17, 1863, at Falmouth, Va. . 
 Wounded May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va„ 
 absent at muster out. Volant. Mercer County. 
 
 Pa. . 
 
 •Deceased. 
 tMustered 6ut 
 
 fith Company May 31, 1865. 
 
464 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Robert H. Howe 
 
 Martfn Henderson 
 
 Michael Haines 
 'Oliver M. Hanna 
 *Calvin Hummel 
 •John A. Hunter 
 
 Samuel Huff 
 
 John Jones 
 
 Michael Kilbulley 
 •Allen Kirbey 
 
 John G. Lytle 
 
 Joseph Mook 
 George Mears 
 William H. Mumford 
 
 •Cyrus Moreland 
 
 •William Mears 
 *H. C. Montgomery 
 
 •James Mercer 
 John O. Marsh 
 Samuel McKinley 
 James McCoy 
 
 •Michael D. McGehan 
 
 •James McKay 
 
 Ephraim Osborn 
 
 James O'Hara 
 •James B. Porter 
 
 •William M. Perrine 
 •William J. Perry 
 
 •Benjamin F. Powell 
 
 •Thomas W. Petty 
 Norman J. Pettis 
 Tames M. Robb 
 Robert G. Smith 
 Hugh Shaw 
 
 William P. Sutherland 
 Charles Smoyer 
 
 •Moses A. Spencer 
 W. W. Shubondy 
 John Seiplc 
 
 Justice Smith 
 
 Joseph Swager 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Jan. 26, 1864. 
 March 23, 1864. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 Feb. 26, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1 86c. 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 ic 
 
 March 31, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 12, 1862. 
 Sept. 13, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 March I, 1864. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Tan. 27, 1865. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 
 March 1, 1864. 
 Sept. 27, 1862. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 Sept. 12, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 u 
 
 II 
 
 March 29, 1864. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Wounded April 7, 1865, at Farmville, Va.; absent 
 
 at muster out. 
 Missing in action July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg. Pa. 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., March 17, 1863. 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., April 9, 1863. 
 Not accounted for. 
 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 186.5. 
 Died May 14, 1864, at Fredericksburg, Va., of 
 
 wound received May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, 
 
 Va. 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Mercer, Pa. 
 Discharged by general orders June 7, 1865. 
 Transferred to 12th V. R. C. 
 Transferred to Co. I, 5.3d Pa., May 30, 1865; 
 
 discharged by general orders June 6, 186.5. 
 Died in Andersonville Prison, date unknown; 
 
 burial recorded Lawton National Cemetery. 
 
 Millen, Sec. A, Grave 132. 
 Died April 10, 1864, at Brandy Station, Va. 
 Died May 13, 1864, of wound received at Spott- 
 sylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., Jan. 21, 1863. 
 Not accounted for. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, June 8, 1864. of 
 
 wound received at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 
 
 1864; buried in National Cemetery, Arlington, 
 
 Va. 
 Deserted, returned and restored; transferred to 
 
 Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Died April 7, 1864, at Pittsburgh, Pa.; buried in 
 
 Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate June 1, 1863. 
 
 Stoneboro, Pa. 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865. 
 Transferred to Ind. Bat C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17. 
 
 1863. 
 Died Sept. 16, 1864. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Aug. 29, of wounds 
 
 received in action Aug. 14, 1864; buried in 
 
 National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Died Aug. 20, at Washington, D. C of wounds 
 
 received Aug. 14, 1864; buried in National 
 
 Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Captured; died in Andersonville Prison 1864. 
 Not accounted for. 
 Discharged by general orders June 3, 186.5. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., March 31. 1865; 
 discharged by general orders June 21, 1865. 
 Grove City, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., April 2, 1865; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 6, 1865. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Sept. 2, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 21, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Bat. C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17, 
 1863. Clark's Mills, Mercer County, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 9th Regt. V. R. C; dis- 
 charged by general orders July 20, 186s. 
 Cooperstown, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to Co. I. c3d Pa.. May 30. 1865. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 t Mustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY B 
 
 46S 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 •William Shaw 
 
 Sept. 24, 1864. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died in 
 Andersonville Prison July 7, 1864; Grave 2983. 
 
 
 
 Thomas Swager 
 
 m 
 
 Not accounted for. 
 
 John Shannon 
 
 Sept. 1 ^ 1864. 
 
 Not accounted for. 
 
 Edward Scott 
 
 il 
 
 Not accounted for. 
 
 Madison Thompson 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. -f- 
 
 Fredonia, Mercer County, Pa. 
 
 William H. Turner 
 
 .4 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan 3, 186s. 
 
 Charles Townsend 
 
 it 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. June 18, 1864. 
 
 •George Thompson 
 
 u 
 
 Died Jan. 25, 1863. 
 
 •Crawford Thompson 
 
 11 
 
 Died April 12, 1864; buried in Allegheny Ceme- 
 tery, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 •Henry C. Urey 
 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., March 26, 1863. 
 
 Jesse M. Vogan 
 
 Feb. 25, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Farmville, Va., April 17, 186c 
 
 •George W. Vogan 
 
 March 5, 1864. 
 
 Died April 8, 1864, in Allegheny, Pa.; buried in 
 Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 •Samuel J. Weir 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. + 
 
 Died March 18, 191 1. 
 
 Anson A. Williams 
 
 11 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate April 3, 1863. 
 
 •Lewis Wright 
 
 •1 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 Thomas M. White 
 
 Sept. 12, 1862. 
 
 Died at Alexandria, Va., Jan. 3, 1865; burial 
 recorded Jan. 3, 1865; Grave 29S4. 
 
 •Daniel Walford 
 
 March 2, 1864. 
 
 Died May 13, 1864, of wound received May 12, 
 1865, at Spottsylvania, Va. 
 
 Henry S. Writtner 
 
 March 1, 1864. 
 
 Not accounted for. 
 
 •George Young 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 Jacob R. Zahnser 
 
 Feb. 17, 1864. 
 
 Transferred to Co. I, 53d Pa., May 30, 1861;. 
 
 Matthias Zahnser 
 
 
 Transferred to Co. T. "53d Pa.. Mav 30, 186s. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 tMustered out with 
 
 Company May 31, 1865. 
 
 
4 66 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY C 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captains 
 
 •David Acheson 
 Isaac N. Vance 
 
 Alex. W. Acheson 
 
 John M. Ray 
 
 i st Lieutenant 
 *\V. J. Cunningham 
 
 2d Lieutenants 
 "Charles L. Linton 
 
 •Robert R. Reed 
 
 i st Sergeants 
 James Blake 
 
 •J. D. Campbell 
 
 Sergeants 
 •James McFarland 
 
 John S. Martin 
 
 •Alex. T. Hartford 
 •William Vankirk 
 Eli H. Linton 
 
 James P. Sayer 
 
 John W. Wiley 
 
 Corporals 
 Richard Jones 
 
 William J. Radcliff 
 Hugh B. McNeil 
 Philip A. Cooper 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862 
 
 -r 
 + 
 
 -r 
 
 T 
 
 j. 
 
 x 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Lieutenant Sept. 23, 186.1: 
 lost arm at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate Jan. 12, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 1st Sergeant July 2, 
 1863; to 1st Lieutenant Sept. 22, 1863; to Cap> 
 tain Jan. 30, 1864; wounded in face May ia, 
 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va. ; discharged on sur- 
 geon's certificate Dec. o, 1864. Dennison, Tex. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 1st Sergeant Sept. 23, 
 1864; to 2d Lieutenant Nov. 2, 1863; to 1st 
 Lieutenant Jan. 3. 1864; to Adjutant Dec. 10, 
 1864; to Captain Dec 13, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 1st Sergeant Nov. j 
 1863; to 1st Lieutenant Dec. 13, 1863; wounded 
 at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864; killed at Farm- 
 ville, Va., April 7, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Captain Co. D May 1, 1863; 
 
 wounded June 17, 1864, at Petersburg, Va. ; 
 
 discharged by general orders May 17, 1865. 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant May 14, 1863; died 
 
 at Georgetown, D. C, of fever, July 19, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant Sept. 1, 
 1863; to 1st Sergeant Dec. 13, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant May 1, 1863; killed at 
 Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from private May 1, 1863; wounded at 
 
 Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 Promoted from Corporal Nov. 11, 1864; wounded 
 
 at Po River May 10, 1864. Nelsonville, Athens 
 
 County, Ohio. 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 23, 1862; to Sergeant 
 
 Nov. 10, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 23, 1863; to Sergeant 
 
 Nov. 10, 1864; died Nov. 17. jqo6. 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant Sept. 22. 
 
 1863; to Lieutenant 39th U. S. C. T. April 9. 
 
 1864; to Captain Sept. 14, 1865; mustered out 
 
 Dec. 24, 1865. 
 Promoted from Corporal Nov. 2, 1863; received 
 
 four wounds at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; 
 
 discharged Oct. 25, 1864, on surgeon's certifi- 
 cate. 
 Commissioned 2d Lieutenant Dec. 18, 1864; not 
 
 mustered; promoted to Quartermaster-Sergeant 
 
 Dec. 23, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal May 1, 1863; wounded at 
 Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864; discharged by 
 general orders May 31, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 14, 1864. Taylors- 
 town, Washington County, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 14, 1864; wounded at 
 North Anna River May 23, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 1, 1864. Amity, 
 Washington County. Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 t Mustered out with Company May 31, 1S65. 
 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY C 
 
 467 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Silas A. Sanders 
 
 Aaron D. Gunn 
 
 John Smalley 
 
 •John Culley, Jr. 
 Samuel Fergus 
 David L. Rubble 
 
 'William Horton 
 *E. C. Brown 
 •William Stockwell 
 
 Musician 
 •Walter D. Cleaver 
 
 Privates 
 •William Armstrong 
 
 •William Amon 
 Jerry K. Bishop 
 
 John Blair 
 
 •Samuel Baird 
 •James Baird 
 
 •John Billick 
 Henry J. Boatman 
 
 Julius S. Black 
 
 Samuel Bonnell 
 Lewis M. Cleaver 
 •James B. Clemens 
 
 •Ellis J. Cole 
 
 •Isaac Cleaver, Jr. 
 
 •Samuel Curry 
 
 •Alex. S. Duncan 
 John A. Dickey 
 
 •John W. Duncan 
 •Joseph M. Dye 
 
 •Daniel W. Dowling 
 •Isaac N. Dowling 
 •Benton Devore 
 •James Eckert 
 
 Mustiikd Ik. 
 
 
 i« 
 
 + 
 
 <i 
 
 + 
 
 <i 
 
 + 
 
 Tan. 28, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 13, 1864. 
 
 Feb. 8, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 186:?. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Jan. 28. 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Nov. 10, 1864; wounded at 
 Totopotomy Creek May 31, 1864. 36 Hall Ave- 
 nue, Washington, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 13, 1864; wounded in 
 the Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864. Laurester, 
 N. Y. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 13, 1864; wounded at 
 Totopotomy Creek May 31, 1864; died June 9, 
 1911. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, date «n- 
 known; died at home June 18, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to 2d Lieutenant 27th U. S. C. T. 
 Nov. 16, 1864; mustered out Sept. 21, 186s. 
 
 Captured at Chancellorsville. Va., May 3, 1863; 
 wounded at Totopotomy Creek, Va., May 31, 
 1864; discharged by general orders May is. 
 1865. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa., Tuly 2, 1863. 
 
 KUled at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Wilderness, Va., May 5. 1864. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; died 
 
 in Richmond, Va., Dec. 1, 1863. 
 Killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863; 
 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate Oct. 3, 
 
 1863. Tiffin, Iowa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate March n, 1864. 
 Pattonsburg, Mo. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. March 16, 1864. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 
 17. 1863. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Jan is, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant-Major Sept. 12, 1862; cap- 
 tured at Gettysburg. Pa., July 2, 1863; returned 
 to regiment Oct., 1863. Chicago, 111. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d Pa. Vols., May 30. 
 1865; wounded at Todd s Tavern, Va., May 8, 
 
 1864. Hilliard, Ohio. 
 
 Wounded at Po River, Va., May 10, 1864; trans- 
 ferred to Co. D, 53d Pa. Vols., May 31, 186s. 
 
 Wounded at Totopotomy Creek, Va.. May 31. 
 1864. Orlando, Fla. 
 
 Captured June 8, 1863, at Cold Harbor, Va.; dis- 
 charged by general orders July 17. 1865; d;ed 
 Oct. 21, 1010. 
 
 Died at Philadelphia, Pa., Aug 3, of wounds 
 received at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died June 20, 1864; wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., 
 July 2, 1863. . 
 
 Captured at Totopotomy Creek, Va. ; died in 
 
 Andersonville Prison Sept. a, 1864; Grave 7617- 
 
 Teamster. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; 
 wounded at Deep Bottom, Va., Aug. 16, 1864; 
 discharged by general orders May is, 186s. 
 Claysville, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Nov. 13. 1864. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17, 
 
 Died in Washington County, Pa.. Nov. 3. 1863. 
 Killed at North Anna River, Va., May 23, 1864. 
 Killed at North Anna River, Va., May 23, 1864. 
 Killed at Spotsylvania. Va.. May 12, 1864. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 TMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
468 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Nehemiah Gilbert 
 
 •Mason Hart 
 •Thomas Hardesty 
 
 •Lewis Henry 
 
 William Howard 
 Clark Irey 
 
 'John J. Jordan 
 
 •Thomas Jones 
 
 David Jones 
 •James S. Kelley 
 'Daniel L. Keeney 
 
 •Thomas Lucas 
 •Thomas VV. Long 
 
 •Robert Lindsay 
 
 •John Moore 
 Samuel Mills 
 James L. Martin 
 
 Tillinghast Moury 
 
 Newton Mumbower 
 •Anthony Mull 
 •Richard Miller 
 
 James E. McCullough 
 Thomas McCune 
 
 •David McCoy 
 Frank B. McNear 
 
 •Daniel McClain 
 •John McCann 
 
 George Norris 
 
 •Alvin Newman 
 
 John Patterson 
 Andrew Plants 
 Esau Powell 
 
 William H. Pollock 
 
 •William Pollock 
 •William B. Post 
 
 •Albertus Patterson 
 •Jackson Prawl 
 •Robert Patterson 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 fan. 28, 1864. 
 
 !« 
 
 \ug. 22, l862. 
 
 X 
 
 i 
 
 41 
 It 
 
 
 It 
 
 + 
 
 'eb. 27, 1863. 
 
 f 
 
 \ug. 22. 1862. 
 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 vVounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate Feb. 20, 1864. Wash- 
 ington, Pa. 
 
 Transferred Dec. 17, 1863, to Ind. Battery C. 
 Pa. Art. 
 
 Oied at Harrisburg. Pa., of wounds received at 
 Petersburg, Va., June 10, 1864. 
 
 Deserted Sept. 5, 1862. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; 
 wounded at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864; 
 transferred to 1st Co., 2d Battalion V. R. C; 
 discharged by general orders July 19, 1865- 
 70 State Street, Chicago, 111. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 transferred to U. S. Navy, date unknown. 
 
 Killed at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863. 
 
 Deserted July 1, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg. Pa,, July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died Aug. 20, 1S63, at Philadelphia, Pa., of 
 wounds received at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 
 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died Aug. 20, 1864, of wound received at Spott- 
 sylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg, Pa.. July 2, 1863; died 
 in Richmond, Va., prison Nov. 12, 1863; burial 
 recorded Nov. 22, 1863. 
 
 Died July 6, 1011. 
 
 Kammerer, Washington County, Pa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 18, 
 1863. Logan, Hocking County, Ohio. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. C. Feb. is, 1864. Jonesville, 
 Iowa. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d Pa., May 31, 1865. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died of wounds received July 2, 1863, at Gettys- 
 burg, Pa.; buried in National Cemetery, Sec B, 
 Grave 47. 
 
 Absent, sick at muster out. Florence, Pa. 
 
 Wounded July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa.; cap- 
 tured at Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865; dis- 
 charged by general orders Jan. 3, 1865. 
 
 VVounded at Gettysburg july 2, 186-?; transferred 
 
 to V. R. C. Jan. 15, 1864. Steelton, Pa. 
 Transferred to V. R. C, Aug. 1, 1865. 
 Died at Wheeling, W. Va., May 30, 1864. of 
 
 wounds received at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. Deer 
 
 Lick, Pa. 
 Died at Wheeling, W. Va., Aug. 13, 1863, of 
 
 wound received at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Dallas West, Va. 
 Florence. Pa. 
 Captured at Cold Harbor, Va., June 6, 1864- 
 
 Streator, 111. 
 Wounded Aug 16, 1864, at Deep Botton, Va. 
 
 Uniontown, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania Mav 12, 1864; trans- 
 ferred to Co. D, 53d Pa., May 31, 1865. 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Killed May 23', 1864, at North Anna River. 
 Deserted Tune. 1863. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 3'. 1865. 
 
FOSTER OF COMPANY C 
 
 469 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Charles Quail 
 
 •Charles Rentz 
 * Samuel Rittick 
 •Henry W. Richard 
 'Austin M. Richard 
 
 •William L. Rubble 
 
 •William Ravenscroft 
 
 •Gales Rose 
 
 John Stockwell 
 •Presley H. Shipley 
 
 James S. Stockwell 
 
 •William H. Simpson 
 
 •Jonathan Tucker 
 •Simeon Vankirk 
 •Colin Waltz 
 
 Hugh Weedham 
 •Samuel Wise 
 
 John D. Wiseheart 
 
 'James Wise 
 "Isaac Wall 
 Jefferson Younkin 
 
 Mustered Ik. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Jan. 28, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 16, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 26, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 -:- 
 
 -r 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Wounded July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa.; cap- 
 tured June 6, 1864, at Cold Harbor, Va. ; dis- 
 charged bv general orders June 14, 1865. West 
 Brownsville, Pa. 
 
 Died since the war. 
 
 Hied since the war. 
 
 Hied since the war. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va. ; 
 transferred to Co. A, oth V. R. C, July 10, 
 1865; discharged by general orders June 24, 
 1865. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d Pa. Vols., May 30. 
 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Totopotomy Creek May 18, 1864; 
 transferred to Co. D, 53d Pa., May 30, 1864- 
 
 Died May 29, 1864, of wound received May 12, 
 1864, at Spottsylvania, Va. 
 
 McDonald, Allegheny County, Pa. 
 
 Wounded July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa.; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate, date un- 
 known. 
 
 Wounded July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa.; trans- 
 ferred to V. T. C. Sept. 30, 1863. Columbus, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d Pa., May 30, 1865; 
 
 Died since the war. 
 died since the war. 
 
 Killed July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 2, 1863, 
 and at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate Dec. 19 1863. 
 
 Transferred to ssd Regt., P. V., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. C. Oct. 19, 1864- 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17. 
 
 Killed at Totopotomy Creek, Va., May 31, 1864- 
 Killed at Chancellorsville May 3. 1863. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred 
 
 to 96th Co., V. R. C; discharged Aug. 2, 186s. 
 
 expiration of term. Harveys, Green County. 
 
 Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
470 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY D 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captains 
 •Silas Parker 
 
 •Charles L. Linton 
 
 ist Lieutenants 
 •James Mannon 
 James i>. Vandyke 
 
 J. Fulton Bell 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 •Matthias Minton 
 
 i st Sergeant 
 •James M. Hughes 
 
 Sergeants 
 "Henry C. Swart 
 
 •Moses McCollum 
 
 •Cephas D. Sharo 
 'Leicester Bebout 
 •Isaac Sharp 
 John Closser 
 •Charles Guttery 
 
 •John L. Hathaway 
 
 Corporals 
 •John A. Black 
 
 •William C. Ramsey 
 
 •L. W. Day 
 •Beden Bebout 
 
 •James A. Bebout 
 •Franklin F. lams 
 
 •Jacob McAfee 
 
 •Samuel B. Evans 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 22. l862. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 t 
 t 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Discharged April 16, 1863; died at Amity, Pa., 
 June 23, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from 2d Lieutenant, Co. C, May t, 
 1863; wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 
 1864; discharged on surgeon's certificate. May 
 17, 1865; died at Junction City, Kansas. 
 
 Discharged Jan. 16, 1863; died in Nebraska, 1901. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville; promoted from O. S. 
 to 2d Lieutenant Nov. 2, 1863; then to ist 
 Lieutenant Nov. 6, i86">- discharged on sur- 
 geon's certificate, May 16, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant June 1, 1863; 
 to ist Sergeant Nov. 1, 1863; to ist Lieutenant 
 July 20, 1864. Address, Washington, Pa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, August 19, 
 1863; died at Prosperity, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corooral to Sergeant Nov. 1, 1863; 
 to ist Sergeant July 20, 1864; wounded at Get- 
 tysburg July 2, 1868; died at Washington, Pa., 
 1906. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864; 
 died at Washington, Pa., 1899. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellersville May 3, 1863; died 
 of wounds received May 17, 1863, at Washing- 
 ton, D. C. 
 
 Died Aug. 2d of wounds received at Gettysburg 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died at Pittsburgh, Pa., Sept. ist, of wounds 
 received at Totopotomy May 31, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Nov. 1, 1863; died at 
 Washington, Pa., 1907. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Nov. i, 1863: to Sergeant 
 Sept. 1, 1864. Address, Lone Pine, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Nov. 1, 1863; to Sergeant 
 September 1, 1864; wounded at Spottsylvania; 
 died in Kansas, 1911. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal November 1, 1863; to Ser- 
 geant Sept. 1, 1864; wounded at Cold Harbor, 
 Va. June 2, 1864; absent at muster out; died 
 in Kansas, 1907. 
 
 Taken prisoner at Gettysburg; died at Prosperity, 
 
 Pa., 1880. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg; transferred to Veteran 
 
 Reserve Corps; died near Washington, Pa., 1903. 
 Died at Washington, Pa., 191 1. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died July 
 
 10, 1863. 
 billed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 1, 1864; died at 
 
 Amity, Pa., 1910. 
 Promoted to Corporal November 1, 1863; wounded 
 
 at Spottsylvania; died at Amity, Pa., 1896. 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1864; wounded at 
 
 Tolopotomy; died at Washington, D. C. June 
 
 it. 1864. 
 
 •Deceased. fMuitered out with Company May 31. 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY D 
 
 47i 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Zachariah Baker 
 
 Nathan B. Evans 
 "George S. Moore 
 •John Kelly 
 
 James Miles 
 
 * Leroy Woods Day 
 
 Musicians 
 Alpheus Cunningham 
 
 •Hamilton Parker 
 •James McCleary 
 
 Privates 
 Robert Birch 
 
 •Ira Baldwin 
 •William Bebout 
 Sample S. Bell 
 Hazlett M. Bell 
 
 •Enoch Baker 
 
 •Abner L. Birch 
 
 •James Birch 
 
 •Miller Blatchly 
 
 •John L. Brannon 
 •Charles Cunningham 
 
 •Levi Curry 
 •Andrew Curry 
 
 •Silas M. Crispin 
 
 •Milton Clutter 
 
 •John W. Cooper 
 Wilson Dot" 
 
 •Thomas Doty 
 •Lewis Dille 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 22, l862. 
 
 Feb. 23, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 1, 1864; wounded at 
 Spottsylvania; absent at muster out. Address, 
 Amity, Pa. 
 
 Taken prisoner at Gettysburg; promoted to Cor- 
 poral Sept. 1, 1864. Address, Ten Mile. Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Nov. 1, 1863; transferred 
 to Signal Corps; died in New Lisbon, O. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1865; died at Cum- 
 berland, Md., 191 1. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1865. Address, 
 Waverly, O. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, July 4, 1864. 
 died Aug. 26, 1911. 
 
 Discharged by special order July 20, 1865. Ad- 
 dress, Rice's Landing, Pa. 
 
 Killed in Missouri 1867, accidentally. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d; Reg. P. V., May 30, 
 1865. Date of death not known. j 
 
 Discharged Sept. 19 for wounds received at 
 Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Address, Salineville, 
 Ohio. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Oct. 18, 1863; 
 died in Missouri, 1897. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, May 23, 1863; 
 died in 1893. 
 
 Discharged for disability on surgeon's certificate; 
 Date unknown. Address, Washington, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863; 
 transferred to 2d Battalion V. R. C. March 16, 
 1864; discharged by general orders, June 28, 
 1865. Address, Finleyville, Pa. 
 
 Taken prisoner at Bowling Green, Va., June 2, 
 1864; died at Blue Rapids, Kas., April 27, 1912. 
 
 Died in Pittsburg, Pa., Oct. 4, of wounds re- 
 ceived at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864. 
 
 Died May 12 of wounds received at Wilderness, 
 Va., May 5, 1864. 
 
 Died at Beverly, N. J., Oct. 4, 1864; burial re- 
 corded Oct. 9, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate, Feb. 22, 1864; died at 
 Ten Mile, Pa., 1896. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Feb. 8, 1863; 
 died in Texas, 1903. 
 
 W •'.aded and taken prisoner at Chancellorsville. 
 Va., May 1, 1863; died in Andersonville — date 
 unknown — buried in Lawton National Cemetery, 
 Millan, Ga. — Sec. A, grave 85. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. Corps, Jan. 10, 1865; died at 
 Lone Pine, Pa., 1804. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, March 20, 1864; bur- 
 ial recorded, Feb. 20, 1864; buried in Harmony 
 Burial Grounds, D. C. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; died ai 
 Prosperity, Pa., Nov. 7, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg. Pa., July 2, 1863; dis- 
 charged by general orders, May 26, 1865. Ad- 
 dress, Ten Mile, Pa. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864. 
 
 Died July 19 of wounds received at Gettysburg. 
 Pa.. July 2, 1863; buried National Cemetery; 
 Sec. B, grave £4. 
 
 'Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
472 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 •Joseph E. Evans 
 *Abner Enox 
 Enoch French 
 
 "Jacob Frazee 
 
 Thomas Glennon 
 
 James L. Garvin 
 James Hathaway 
 
 •James Hilton 
 *Jacob Hatfield 
 •Robert Hatfield 
 
 r 
 
 •Jonathan W. Hughes 
 
 •James A. Jackson 
 
 •Samuel Johnson 
 
 Charles it. Kaine 
 •George Keeny 
 
 Amos Knestrick 
 •Cornelius D. B. Kirk 
 
 •Cyrus Lindley 
 •Milton Lindley 
 •Isaac LeacocK 
 
 •John \V. Lewis 
 
 William Lloyd 
 
 Milton Lindley 
 •Joseph Meeks 
 
 James Love 
 'Enoch G. Martin 
 
 •Lyman S. Miller 
 
 •James M. Miller 
 
 •James Montgomery 
 
 •John B. McDonald 
 •Winder McKinney 
 
 •Albert G. Parker 
 
 •Tudson W. Paden 
 •Philo Paul 
 
 •Peter Phillips 
 
 "Harvey Pope 
 •John Quinn 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Sept. 4, i S62. 
 
 Feb. 29, j 864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Dec. 29, 1863. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 Aug. 22. 1S62 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Feb. 26, 1864. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 22. 1862. 
 
 Dec. 29, 1863. 
 
 Died in the West; date not known. 
 
 Died at Lone Pine, Pa., 1905. 
 
 Discharged Sept. 14, 1863. Address, Washington, 
 
 Pa. 
 Transferred to Brown's Rhode Island Battery, 
 
 Dec. 17, 1863; died at Lone Pine, Pa., 1896. 
 vVounded at Bristow Station; transferred to 
 Brown's Rhode Island Battery, Dec. 17, 1863. 
 ^ Address, Waynesburg, Pa. 
 Not accounted for. 
 VVounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864; 
 discharged by general orders May 30, 1865. 
 Address, Rice's Landing, Pa. 
 Discharged by surgeon's certificate, March 31, 
 
 1863: died in Illinois, 1903. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Dec. 31. 1864; buried 
 
 in National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Recruit; transferred to Co. H, 9th Reg. V. R. C, 
 Jan. 10, 1865; discharged by general orders 
 July 21, 1865; date of death not known. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; died at 
 
 Amity Nov. 5, 1864. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Dec. 31, 1863; 
 
 died at Amity, fa., March, 1909. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Feb. 8, 1863; 
 
 died at Waynesburg, Pa. 
 \ddress not known. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, March 9, 
 
 1863; died 1910. 
 Address, Vanceville, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, March 23. 
 
 1863; date of death not known. 
 Died at Prosperity, 1901. 
 Deserted Nov. 20, 1862. 
 
 Wounded with loss of leg at Gettysburg, July 2, 
 1863; discharged on surgeon's certificate, Oct. 
 25, 1864; died at Ten Mile, 1910. 
 Died at Pittsburgh, Pa., July 13. 1864, of wounds 
 
 received at Cold Harbor, June 1, 1864. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Sept. 3, 1863; 
 
 living in Missouri. 
 Deserted, Nov. 20, 1862. 
 Taken prisoner at Bristow Station, Va., Oct. 14, 
 
 1863; died at Annapolis, Md., May 13, 1865. 
 Not accounted for. 
 Recruit: wounded at Petersburg Jan. 4, iS6s; 
 
 discharged by general orders, June 2, 1865- 
 Recruit; transferred to Co. H, 53d Reg., P. V.; 
 
 date unknown; died in Nebraska. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, May 20, of wounds 
 received at Spottsylvania. May 12, 1864; buried 
 in National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Died July 15 of wounds received at Spottsylvania, 
 
 Mav 12, 1864. 
 Died in Illinois, 1807. 
 Transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps Nor. 
 
 1, 1862: died at Lone Pine, Pa.. 1808. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, May 31, 1863; 
 
 died in Wasninsrton. Pa., 1902. 
 Killed at Spottsylvania. 
 Killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 
 12, 1864. 
 Died May 10th 1864 of wounds received at Po 
 
 River, Va. 
 Died at Windmill Point, Va., Feb. 2, 1863, 
 Recruit; transferred to Co. H, 53d Reg. P. V., 
 May 30, 186^; date of death not known. 
 
 •Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY D 
 
 473 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Mustered Ik. 
 
 George Redd 
 *William Rutan 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 *John Sibert 
 
 Tames Sibert 
 *Joseph Sherrick 
 
 it JU 
 
 1 
 T 
 
 Joseph Swihart 
 *Harvey Swart 
 *A. J. Swart 
 
 -!--;• 
 
 "John Swart 
 
 Feb. 27, 1863. 
 
 "John W. Sanders 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 *Simon Sanders 
 'Emmer Smalley 
 "Amos Swart 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 'George \V. Teegarden 
 
 f 
 
 'William Teegarden 
 
 it 
 
 'Andrew J. Vankirk 
 
 n 
 
 William Watson 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 *Henry Watson 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 'Christopher C. Welch 
 
 a 
 
 'William Williams 
 John A. Wright 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. t 
 
 *Jacob Yoders 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Living in Kansas. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, June 12, 1864; buried 
 in National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 
 Died at Amity, 1008; wounded at Cold Harbor. 
 
 Address, Amity, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863 and 
 at Wilderness, Va May, 1864; died in Vir- 
 ginia, 1005. 
 
 Address, Waynesburg, Pa. 
 
 Died at Amity, 1906. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863: dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate, Sept. 19, 1864: 
 died at Amity, igoo. 
 
 Recruit; transferred to Co. H. 53d Reg. P. V., 
 May 30, 1865; discharged by general orders 
 June 17, 1865; died in Iowa. 
 
 Died at Potomac Creek, Va., May 16, of wounds 
 received at Chancellorsville, May 3. 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Wilderness, Va., May 5. 1864. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Five Forks, Va., April, 1865; died 
 in Kansas, 1908. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, of wounds received 
 at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 12, 
 
 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864: dis- 
 charged April 15, 1865. on surgeon's certificate; 
 died in Washington, Pa., 191 1. 
 
 Absent; sick at muster out. Address, Pittsburgh, 
 Pa. 
 
 Taken prisoner at Gettysburg. July 2, 1863; dis- 
 charged bv general orders May 26, 1865; died 
 at Lone Pine, Pa., 1898. 
 
 Discharged by special order April 1, 1865; died 
 in Washington, Pa., 1909. 
 
 Died at Alexandria, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. Ad- 
 dress, Indianapolis, Ind. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., 
 May 12, 1864; transferred to Veteran Reserved 
 Corps, Jan. 10, 1865; died 1896. 
 
 *Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1S65. 
 
 The aggregate loss of Company D during the war was: 
 
 Twenty-two killed, 36 wounded, 6 taken prisoners and 11 died of diseases. Eleven recruits 
 joined the Company during the fall and winter of 1863-64. 
 
 At the muster-out of the Regiment, at the close of the war, there were present 17 of 
 Company D. 
 
474 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY E 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captains 
 Aaron O. Gregg 
 Irvin F. Sansom 
 
 •Jesse J. Power 
 
 i st Lieutenants 
 Thomas A. Stone 
 James A. Russell 
 
 •William D. Lauk 
 
 2d Lieutenants 
 William A. McMilhn 
 Francis R. Storer 
 
 i st Sergeants 
 John Barkley 
 
 Samuel Potter 
 
 Sergeants 
 Isaiah Collins 
 
 William P. McMasters 
 
 George B. Kistler 
 
 James Shaw 
 A. G. Beeson 
 
 R. G. S. Smith 
 
 *R. F. O'Rryon 
 Corporals 
 Abraham Moore 
 Samuel Prichard 
 Simon Iuks 
 
 •George Lafferty 
 
 Thomas Kelley 
 Plumer F. Hall 
 Harvey Rose 
 
 •James Ranken 
 
 •Robert Russell 
 
 •Robert Herron 
 
 Musician 
 Charles F. King 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 22. 1862. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 23, 1862. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 23, 1862. 
 Sept. 4, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Ort. 20. t?6;?. 
 
 
 + 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate June 5, 1863. 
 Promoted from 2d to 1st Lieutenant March x, 
 
 1863; to Captain Sept. 1, 1863; discharged Aug. 
 
 17, 1864. 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant Nov. 10, 
 
 1863; to Captain Feb. 10, 1865; wounded at 
 
 Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 12, 1864; 
 
 died November 15, 1910. 
 
 1 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 7, 1863. 
 Promoted from Sergeant Nov. 6, 1863; discharged 
 
 Jan. 13, 1865. Braddock, Pa. 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant Feb. 10, 1865; killed 
 
 at Sailor's Creek, Va., April 6, 1865: buried in 
 
 Poplar Grove National Cemetery, Petersburg; 
 
 Grave 14. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant April 18, 1865. 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant March 30. 1863; dis- 
 charged by general orders Dec. 14, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant April 10, 
 1863; to 1st Sergeant Feb. 10, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal April 10, 1863; wounded 
 at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 12, 
 1864; discharged on surgeon's certificate Nov. 
 25, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 24, 1864; to Sergeant 
 Feb. 10, 1865. Ohiopyle, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 22, 1864; to Sergeant 
 Feb. 10, 1865. Munhall, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from private Feb. 10, 1865; wounded at 
 Po River Feb. 10, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 22, 1863- 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Feb. 23, 1863; wounded 
 at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred to V. R. 
 C. Jan. 1, 1865. Uniontown, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Quartermaster-Sergeant, date un- 
 known. 
 
 Killed at Totopotomy Creek, Va., May 31, 1864- 
 
 Captured; died at Charleston, S. C, Oct. 23, 1864 
 Promoted to Corporal April 10, 1863; absent, sick 
 
 at muster out. 
 Promoted to Corporal Nov. 10, 1863; wounded at 
 
 Petersburg, Va., July 4, 1864; died, date un- 
 known. 
 Promoted to Corporal Aug. 1, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 22, 1864. Ohiopyle, Pa. 
 Promoted to Corporal April 10, 1863; discharged 
 
 on surgeon's certificate Sept. 22, 1863. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Jan. 10, 1863; buried 
 
 in Military Asvlum Cemetery. 
 Promoted to Corporal Oct. o, 1863; killed at 
 
 Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal April 10, 1863; killed at 
 
 Totopotomy, Va., May 31, 1864. 
 
 
 llTniontown. Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 f Mustered out with Company May 31. 1S65. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY E 
 
 475 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Privates 
 Jackson Ballsinger 
 
 Harvey Ballsinger 
 
 Benjamin Behannah 
 George Behannah 
 Alex. Boniface 
 
 William Ballsinger 
 
 •George Ballsinger 
 
 •Franklin Barringer 
 
 *A. S. Black 
 Eli Cady 
 
 'Lindsey Cady 
 Samuel Cashdollar 
 
 James Chubbic 
 
 James Colvin 
 
 Andrew N. Crawford 
 •William E. Chester 
 •Samuel W. Cady 
 •James Coskey 
 
 Thomas Cole 
 
 H. C. Diffenderffer 
 
 Stephen Daniels 
 
 Francis M. Daniels 
 John Fell 
 Zenophon Gamble 
 Charles Guter 
 
 John Gawley 
 John S. Hindman 
 
 Josiah Holdman 
 Daniel Handlin 
 •Francis M. Hansel 
 
 •William Hirsh 
 
 •James Hurley 
 
 •Jeremiah Huttenhour 
 Benjamin Ingles 
 John Johnson 
 Andrew Johnson 
 
 Jesse L. Tones 
 William B. Jobb 
 
 Levi Keenan 
 
 Christopher Lickle 
 •C. A. Lauk 
 
 Mustered Ik. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 f 
 
 Oct. 29, 1862. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 3 , 1863; absent at 
 muster out. Turkey River, Iowa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; absent at 
 muster out. Osterdock, Iowa. 
 
 Hazard, Pa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 22, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., 1864; discharged on 
 surgeon's certificate Feb. 29, 1864. Homestead, 
 Pa. 
 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps Sept. 1, 1863. 
 Smithfield, Pa. 
 
 \ccidentally killed at White Hall, Md, Sept. 27, 
 1862. 
 
 Died July 15, 1864, of wounds received in action; 
 buried in National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 
 Died at Parkton, Md., Nov. 12, 1862. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. C. ; discharged by general orders 
 Aug. 4, 1865. 
 
 Discharged by general orders July 14, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; at Wilder- 
 ness, Va., May 8. 1864; absent at muster out. 
 Stewarts Station, Pa. 
 
 Canonsburg, Pa. 
 
 Absent on detached service at muster out. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 7, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate May 15, 1865. 
 
 Died July 1, 1864. 
 
 Died, date unknown. 
 
 Deserted July 1, 1863. 
 
 ^09 Mayflower Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to 2d Bat. V. R. C. Sept. 1, 1863; 
 discharged by general orders June 29, 1865. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2; killed at Cold 
 Harbor, Va., June 5, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. Belle- 
 vernon. Pa. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 12, 1865. Em- 
 porium, Kansas. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864; absent at muster out. Irwin Station, 
 Pa. 
 
 Deserted Aug. 25, 1863. 
 
 Wounded with loss of arm at Petersburg, Va., 
 June 18, 1864; discharged on surgeon's certifi- 
 cate after 20th, 1865. Streator, 111. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 9, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps June 9, 1865. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; buried in Na- 
 tional Cemetery, Sec. E, Grave 24. 
 
 Killed at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864. 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., March 24, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 
 on surgeon's certificate April 16, 1865. Nor- 
 
 malville, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate April 10, 1863. 
 Transferred to Co. A, 3d Regt. V. R. C. Jan. 10, 
 
 1863; discharged by general orders July 6, 186=;. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 
 on surgeon's certificate Jan. 23, 1864. 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps Jan. 10, 1865. 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., March 24, 1863. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
476 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND EORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 •Bart. Lancaster 
 
 * James Lytic 
 Calvin B. Malaby 
 And. McWilliams 
 
 Henry McKnight 
 
 * George McMillen 
 William Pyle 
 
 * George W. Pritcharl 
 John W. Pearce 
 
 Jesse Pearce 
 •Hugh Patterson 
 
 Harry Pierce 
 Robert G. Roberts 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Oct. 29, 1S62. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Alden Rose 
 •Robert Rudge 
 
 William Reynolds 
 
 William R. Roberts 
 
 Francis Russell 
 •Sparks E. Roberts 
 •Jesse Stricklin 
 
 A. B. Smiley 
 
 •William H. Sickles 
 William Turner 
 
 •John W. Thorp 
 •Robert Wall 
 William F. White 
 
 Joseph Wiltser 
 George Windhurst 
 Lowrie Williams 
 •Solomon Williams 
 
 •Toseph T. Woodward 
 
 Oct. 29, 1862. 
 Aug. .'j, 1862 
 
 * 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C., Dec. 22, 1862. 
 
 Died at Andersonville, Ga., date unknown. 
 
 Deserted June 30, 1863. 
 
 Missing in action at Spottsylvania Court House, 
 Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate July is, 1863. 
 Dawson, Pa. 
 
 Died at Pittsburgh, Pa., Nov. 28, 1864; buried in 
 Allegheny Cemetery. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 27, 1865. Po- 
 mona, Kansas. 
 
 Discharged by general orders July 7, 1864; died 
 April 1, 1911. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863; 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate, date un- 
 known. 
 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps Aug. 1, 1863. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Aug. 10, 1863; buried 
 in Military Asylum Cemetery. 
 
 Died at Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 1, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 2, 1864; discharged by general orders June 15, 
 1865. Braddock, Pa. 
 
 Marietta, Ohio. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864; transferred to Co. H, 12th Regt., 
 V. R. C. ; discharged by general orders June 29, 
 1865. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 19, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate May 8, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 17, 1863. 
 
 !)ied at Philadelphia, Pa., Oct. 24, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 19, 1863. 
 Dunbar, Pa. 
 
 Died at Point Lookout, Md., Oct. 14, 1864. 
 
 vVounded at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, 1864; dis- 
 charged by general orders Tune 17, 1865. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Tuly 31, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at South Side R. R. V. 
 
 VVounded at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864; absent at muster out. 
 
 Wounded at Sailor's Creek April 6, 1865. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. 
 
 Died at Alexandria, Va., Oct. 31, 
 
 received in action. 
 Killed at Totopotomy. Va.. May 31 
 
 1863, of wounds 
 1864. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May »i, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY F 
 
 477 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY F 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captains 
 "Richard P. Roberts 
 "Thomas Henry 
 
 ist Lieutenants 
 John D. Stokes 
 
 "Andrew M. Purdy 
 
 2d Lieutenants 
 "Alex. H. Calvert 
 
 "Carmen M. Nelson 
 
 ist Sergeants 
 Joseph R. Harrah 
 
 W. S. Shallenberger 
 
 *John E. Harshe 
 
 Sergeants 
 "Darius Singleton 
 
 Joseph W. Appleton 
 Joseph R. Dunlap 
 
 "Robert Riddle 
 
 Thomas S. Anshutz 
 "John Henderson 
 
 Thomas J. Kerr 
 
 Corporals 
 "Andrew J. White 
 
 James A. Lockhart 
 
 "Alfred M. McCaskey 
 
 Thomas Clark 
 Madison Risinger 
 •Ruel W. Strock 
 
 Joseph O. Schley 
 
 Seth W. Strock 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 21. 1862. 
 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 - 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 
 
 tt 
 
 * 
 
 u 
 
 T 
 
 u 
 
 tt 
 tt 
 
 + 
 + 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Promoted to Colonel Sept. 12, 1862. 
 
 Promoted from 2d Lieutenant Sept. 24, 1862, and 
 to Major May 1, 1865; wounded at Culpepper 
 Court House May, 1864; died May 12, 1912, at 
 Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 Jan. 15, 1864, on surgeon's certificate. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 2d Lieutenant March 
 1, 1863; to ist Lieutenant March 2, 1864; killed 
 at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant Sept. is, 1862; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate on Feb. 7, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant March 1, 
 1863; to 2d Lieutenant Dec. 10, 1864; wounded 
 at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant July 3, 1863. Beaver, 
 Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Adjutant Sept. 12, 1862; wounded at 
 Todd's Tavern; discharged on surgeon's certifi- 
 cate Oct. 8, 1864. Washington, D. C. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant March i, 1863; killed at 
 Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Sept. 16, 1862; commis- 
 sioned ist Lieutenant Oct. 10, 1864; not mus- 
 tered; wounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864; 
 absent, sick at muster out. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; wounded at Gettysburg 
 July 2, 1863. Industry, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; wounded and captured; 
 discharged by general orders May 20, 1865. 
 Lansing, Mich. 
 
 •Vounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transierrea 
 to Vet. Reserve Corps March 5, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant-Major May 15, 1862. St. 
 Petersburg, Fla. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal July 3, 1863; killed at Po 
 River May 10, 1864. 
 
 Transferred to 53d P. V. May 30, 1865. Liver- 
 pool, Ohio. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal March 1, 1863; discharged 
 
 by general orders May 31, 1865; Died Jan. 24, 
 
 1911. 
 Promoted to Corporal Feb. 16, 1864. Elwood 
 
 City, Pa. 
 Promoted to Corporal Feb. 16, 1864; died July 
 
 8, 1010. 
 Promoted to Corporal. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864. Nogales, Ariz. 
 Promoted to Corporal; prisoner from July 2 to 
 
 Sept. 23, 1863. 
 Promoted to Corporal May 16, 1865; prisoner 
 
 from July 2 to Dec. 27, 1863. 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 2, 1862; discharged 
 
 Tan. 4. 1864. 
 
 "Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31. 1865. 
 
478 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 A. B. McKinzie 
 
 John B. Clark 
 
 George R. Boden 
 
 Ira Kirker 
 
 Andrew J. Diamond 
 
 "Frank N. Johnson 
 
 •John B. Douds 
 
 Musicians 
 •Thomas M. Anderson 
 Taylor M. Stokes 
 
 Privates 
 James Anderson 
 •John Anderson 
 Jacob A. Baker 
 George Bell 
 
 •Benjamin Buckley 
 Lewis O. Barnes 
 
 Harvey Brown 
 
 Benjamin A. Bonewell 
 
 William H. Bruce 
 
 William Bruce 
 
 •Joseph Baker 
 •John S. Bell 
 
 Eli R. Brooks 
 •Samuel C. Coulter 
 
 James H. Cunningham 
 
 Robert H. Cooper 
 
 •William J. Cooper 
 
 •James A. Carson 
 •Fred. C. Cook 
 •George W. Cooper 
 •Daniel Crawford 
 
 Samuel M. Dinsmore 
 •William Doak 
 
 •Jonathan I. Davis 
 
 •John Douglass 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Feb. 2, 1864. 
 Feb. 5, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 21. 1S62. 
 
 March 27, 1865. 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 Feb. 20, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 21, 1S62. 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Feb. 9, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to Vet. Res. Corps Feb. is, 1864. Wash- 
 ington, D. C. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to Vet. Res. Corps Feb. 15, 1864. Beaver, 
 
 Pa. 
 Wounded; transferred Sept 1, 1863, to 7th Co., 
 
 2d Bat., Vet. Res. Corps; discharged June 29, 
 
 186s. Mediane Lodge, Kansas. 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps Jan. io, 1865. 
 
 2314 Park Avenue, Kansas City, Mo. 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 1, 1864; tr»ns- 
 
 f erred to 53d P. V., date unknown; discharged 
 
 Aug 1, 1865, by general orders. 
 Promoted to Corporal July 3, 1863; killed at 
 
 Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal Feb. 10, 1864; killed at 
 
 Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Died at Rochester, Pa. 
 Discharged Dec. 6, 1863. 
 
 Rochester, Pa. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 Discharged by general orders May 30, 1865. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; prisoner 
 from Aug. 16, 1864, to March 3, 1865; dis- 
 charged June 9, 1865, by general orders. 
 
 Died since muster out. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 20, 1863. 
 New Brighton, Pa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 11, 1863. 
 West Bridgewater, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; dis- 
 charged Dec. 26, 1863, on surgeon's certificate. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred 
 to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, nth Regt., Vet. Res. Corps; 
 discharged July 7, 1865, by general orders. 
 
 Killed at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., May 30, 186s. 
 
 Captured; transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., date 
 unknown; died March 7, 1909. 
 
 Wounded and captured at Cold Harbor June f, 
 1864; transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., date 
 unknown. Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17. 
 1863. Winterset, Iowa. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17. 
 1863. 
 
 Killed at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3. 1863. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Died May 30 of wounds received at the Wilderness 
 May, 1864; buried in National Cemetery, Arling- 
 ton, Va. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; absent, sick 
 
 at muster out; died May 1, 1912. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2. 1863; transferred 
 
 to Vet. Res. Corps May 1, 1864- 
 Transferred to 95th Company, 2d Battalion V. R. 
 
 C, Dec. 6, 1865; discharged Aug. 21. 1865. 
 
 expiration of term. . _ 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY F 
 
 479 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 'William H. Dinsmore 
 
 •John S. Ewing 
 •Henry Edwards 
 
 Arthur Eclcles 
 •Joseph Graham 
 Francis M. Grim 
 
 Thomas D. Grim 
 Robert N. Gillen 
 
 •Alvin L. Greenlee 
 
 *Jame« T. Hays 
 
 Abel Hunter 
 
 •Philip Hoak 
 'George M. Hoyt 
 *Amos Hartsough 
 
 •Seth W. Irwin 
 •Samuel A. Johnson 
 
 Hugh M. Kerr 
 Adam H. Kerr 
 James W. Knox 
 
 •William Krepps 
 James R. Lockhart 
 
 Martin W. May 
 •Madison Moore 
 
 •John E. Moore 
 Geo. W. Minesinger 
 Harrison Miller 
 
 Vincent Miller 
 
 Michael Mason 
 John McCullough 
 
 Andrew McCullough 
 James L. McCreery 
 •William McClain 
 
 William J. McCabe 
 
 Joseph McFarland 
 •John McManamy 
 
 Smith McDaniels 
 
 Robert H. McCaskey 
 
 •George M. Nevin 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Feb. 25, 1864. 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 
 March 31, 1864. 
 Aug. 21. 1862. 
 
 Feb. 2;, 1864. 
 Aug. 21. 1862 
 
 Feb. 8, 1864. 
 
 Feb. 25, 1864. 
 Aug. 21, 1862 
 
 Jan. 28, 1864. 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Died at York, Pa., Aug. 18, of wounds received at 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died July 26, 191 1. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 Oct. 25, 1864, on surgeon's certificate. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Died since muster out. 
 
 Wounded with loss of leg at Spottsylvania Mav 
 12, 1864; discharged March 16, 1865, on sur- 
 geon's certificate. Jacksonville, Fla. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., May 30, 1865. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863, and at Wil- 
 derness May, 1864; transferred to Co. A, 18th 
 Regt., V. R. C, Feb. 11, 1865; discharged June 
 28, 1865, by general orders. 
 
 Died of wounds received at Gettysburg July 2, 
 
 1863. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. and at 
 
 Spottsvlvania May 12, 1864, and at Petersburg. 
 Wounded at Wilderness May, 1864; absent, sick 
 
 at muster out. 
 Killed at Totopotomy, Va., May 31. 1864. 
 Died at Potomac Creek April 25, 1863. 
 Wounded at Wilderness May, 1864; died June 25 
 
 1864, at Washington, D. C.; buried in National 
 
 Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 Died March 7, 1910. 
 Wounded at Cold Harbor June 1, 1864: promoted 
 
 to 1st Lieutenant 2gth Regt., U. S. C. T.; died 
 
 April i, 1 9 10. 
 
 Wounded at Wilderness May, 1864; discharged 
 
 April 7, 1865. Elwood City, Pa. 
 Captured; drowned May 3, 1865. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 
 Dec. 23, 1865;, on surgeon's certificate. 
 Died since muster out. 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville May 3. 1863; died 
 
 March 5, 1912. 
 Died since muster out. 
 New Cumberland, West Va., R. F. D. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 
 June s, 1865, by general orders. Monaca, Pa. 
 Transferred to 53d P. V. May 30, 1865. Beaver 
 
 Falls, Pa. 
 Transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., March 30, 1865. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; prisoner 
 
 from July 3 to Sept 3, 1863; wounded at Cold 
 
 Harbor June 1, 1864. Monaca, Pa. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Discharged March 2, 1863, on surgeon's certificate. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate May 27, 1863; 
 
 died July 13, 191 2. Chester, West Va. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 3, 1863. 
 
 West Bridgewater, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate June 30. 1863. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; killed at 
 
 Spottsylvania May 12, 1864- 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 6, 1864. 
 Wounded at Wilderness, Va., May, 1864; captured; 
 
 transferred to Co. D, 53d P. V., May 30, 186c. 
 
 Freedom, Pa. 
 Died July 11, 1864, of wound received at Spott- 
 svlvania Mav 12, 1864. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
480 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Knoch Neville 
 
 * William Pyle 
 •Andrew Robinson 
 George Ryan 
 
 •John S. Reed 
 
 Henry Stephens 
 *Adam Stone 
 -John II. Short 
 
 Christian Shivelay 
 
 William Swearingen 
 
 Thomas Small 
 
 •John P. Small 
 
 *Edwin K. Sloan 
 * Louis Swearingen 
 Enoch Strain 
 Alvin M. Taylor 
 
 John G. Thompson 
 
 •Lewis J. Wagner 
 
 •Michael B. Wilson 
 •David H. Weaver 
 
 'Richard Walton 
 •Alexander White 
 •John S. White 
 'James Wilson 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 March 27, 1865. 
 
 Vllg. 2 1 1862. 
 
 "eb. 9, 1864. 
 
 Vug. 21, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Transferred to Co. D. 53d P. V.; discharged Aug- 
 14. 1 86s, by general orders. Youngstown, Ohio. 
 
 Died since muster out. 
 
 Died since muster out. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2. 1863, and at 
 Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps Sept. I, 1863; died 
 Feb. 22, ioio. 
 
 Elwood City, Pa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate April 11, i86j. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania May 12. 1864; dis- 
 charged Nov. 4, 1864, on surgeon's certificate. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate July is, 1864. 
 Bellevue, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; promoted to 
 1 st Lieutenant 32d Regt., U. S. C. T„ March 3, 
 1864; mustered out Aug. 22, 186=. Hookestown, 
 Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred 
 to Co. A, iSth Regt., Vet Res. Corps, Feb. 11, 
 1865; discharged June 28, 186s, by general 
 orders. Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Died Aug. 11 of wounds received at Gettysburg 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 -Cilleci at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 ■oiled at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 deserted July n, 1863. 
 
 Wounded and captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Wilderness May, 1864; transferred to 
 Co. D, 53d P. V., May 30, 1865: discharged by 
 general orders July 6, i86s. Mount Pleasant, 
 Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Bristoe Station, Va., Oct. 14, 1863; 
 wounded at Wilderness May, 1864. 
 
 .Vounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863; 
 transferred to Co. G, iSth Regt., V. R. C, date 
 unknown; discharged June 29, 186s, by general 
 orders. 
 
 .Vounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863: 
 died June 19, 1863, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 Oied at Alexandria, Va., of wounds received at 
 Po River May 10, 1864. 
 
 'lied at Alexandria, Va., June 12, of wounds re- 
 ceived at Po River May 10, 1864. 
 
 l-'ed at Philadelphia, Pa., July 20. 1863. 
 
 
 'Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY G 
 
 481 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY G 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captain 
 "John Fraser 
 
 "Henry H. Bingham 
 
 "John F. Wilson 
 
 1st Lieutenant 
 Wilson N. Paxton 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 •Joseph W. McEwen 
 
 "Alex. M. Wilson 
 John R. Paxton 
 
 Sergeants 
 William T. Pollock 
 
 "James M. Patton 
 
 David L. Taggart 
 James L. Berry 
 
 James B. Jackson 
 
 "Thomas J. Weaver 
 *Benjamin B. Black 
 *Jasper E. Brady 
 
 *James P. Kerr 
 
 "James Van Volkenberg 
 
 "Bankhead B. Barr 
 
 "Thomas A. Perrine 
 
 Corporals 
 John C. Davis 
 
 Enenezer G. Emery 
 
 Mustered Ih. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 t 
 t 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel Sept. 4, 1862; to 
 Colonel July 4, 1863; to Brevet Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral March 13, 1865; wounded at Spottsylvania 
 May, 1864; captured at Petersburg June 16, 
 1864; died June 4, 1878. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Lieutenant Sept. 9, 1862; 
 wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; at Spott- 
 sylvania May 12, 1864; at Farmville April 7, 
 1865; captured at Boyd town Plank Road Oct. 
 27, 1864; promoted to Major and Judge Advo- 
 cate, U. S. V., Sept. 20, 1864; to Brevet Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel, to Colonel and Brevet Brigadier- 
 General April 9, 1865; mustered out July 2, 
 1865; died March 23, 1912. 
 
 Promoted to 1st Sergeant May 4, 1863; to 2d Lieu- 
 tenant Sept. 1, 1863; to Captain Dec. 10, 1864; 
 wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died April 
 14, 1865, of wounds received March 25, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from 2d Lieutenant Sept. 9, 1862; cap- 
 tured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 May 17, 1865, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant Sept. 9, 1862; ki'led 
 at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to 1st Sergeant Sept. 9, 1862; to 2d 
 Lieutenant May 4, 1863; killed at Gettysburg 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant Aug. 7, 1863; to 1st Ser- 
 geant Sept. 1, 1863; to 2d Lieutenant Dec. 10, 
 1864. New York City, N. Y. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant Sept. 30, 1862; to 1st Ser- 
 geant Dec. 10, 1864. Washington, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant Nov. 1, 1863; wounded at 
 Robinson Cross Roads May 8, 1864; died March 
 22, 1912. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant May 16, 1864. Olathe, Kan. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant Dec. 10, 1864. Humiston, 
 Iowa. 
 
 Captured at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. C. ; discharged April 26, 1865. 
 Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 Died at Harrisburg Sept. 29, 1862. 
 
 \illed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant Sept. 9, 1862; discharged on 
 surgeon's certificate 1863; died Feb. 9, 1899. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant June 18, 1864; died Sept. 
 2, 1897. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; killed 
 at Petersburg June 17, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant Sept. 9, 1863; died May 18, 
 1864, of wounds received at Po River, May 9, 
 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Sergeant April 2, 1863; lost arm at 
 Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; discharged on sur- 
 geon's certificate Aug. 7, 1863; died July Si, 
 1890. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 4, 1864. Fort Collins, 
 
 Colo. 
 Promoted to Corpora! Nov. t. 1864. Hickory, Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. t Mustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
482 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Robert L. Stewart 
 Dunning Hart 
 
 John Gilkeson 
 
 John R. Mitchel 
 Joseph L. Moore 
 
 •James G. Sloan 
 •James S. Rankin 
 *Wm. J. T. Patton 
 
 •Ebenezer H. Martin 
 
 •Henry G. McGinnis 
 •Frank lams 
 
 •Alexander Gaston 
 
 •David W. Berry 
 
 •Robert L. Speer 
 •Joseph Wilson 
 
 •Samuel R. Charlton 
 
 Musicians 
 •Josiah H. Carrell 
 
 Privates 
 •James Allison 
 
 •John Arnold 
 •Simon Arnold 
 •Boyd E. Atkinson 
 •William Armstrong 
 •James Armstrong 
 
 •John M. Berry 
 
 •John Barr 
 •David W. Boyd 
 •David Boyce 
 •Addison A. Coleman 
 •Stephen Champ 
 
 •Vincent Crawford 
 •James N. Crawford 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Feb. 6, 1862. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 18, 1864; wounded at 
 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863; on detached service, 
 
 Adjutant General's Office, 1st Division, 1864-6$. 
 
 Lincoln University, Pa. 
 Promoted to Corporal Aug. 24, 1862; wounded at 
 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred to V. R. C. 
 
 Oct. 18, 1864; discharged July 12, 1865. Wash- 
 ington. Pa. 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 10, 1864; lost leg at 
 
 Sailors Creek April 6, 1865; discharged Aug. 39, 
 
 1865. Ashland, Neb. 
 Transferred to Signal Corps Nov. 1, 1863; dis- 
 charged June 24, 1865. Springfield, Ohio. 
 Promoted to Corporal June 10, 1863; captured at 
 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged March 24, 
 
 1865. Carthage, Mo. 
 Promoted to Corporal June 1, 1863; died Nor. a, 
 
 1897. 
 Promoted to Corporal, Sept. 4, 1864; captured at 
 
 Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died Nov. 13, 1878. 
 Promoted to Corporal March 25, 1861; wounded 
 
 at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; died Not. 16, 
 
 1909. 
 Transferred to Signal Corps April 1, 1864; 
 
 drowned at City Point, Va., June 23, 1864. 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., June 1, 1863 . 
 Promoted to Corporal April 1, 1864; killed at 
 
 Totopotomy, Va., May 31, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal June 1, 1864; killed at 
 
 Petersburg June 17, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal June 1, 1864; died July 4, 
 
 1864, of wounds received at Cold Harbor June 
 
 2, 1864. 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 1, 1864; died Feb. 10, 
 
 1865. 
 Promoted to Corporal June 20, 1864; wounded at 
 
 Cold Harbor June 2, 1864; discharged July 14, 
 
 1865; died March 8, 1908. 
 Mustered into service Feb. 6, 1864; transferred to 
 
 53d Regt. P. V. May 30, 1865; died Sept. 17, 
 
 1897. 
 
 Promoted to Principal Musician March 1, 1864; 
 discharged June 3, 1865; died Dec. 15, 1896. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died Jan. 6, 
 1899. 
 
 Accidentally killed Oct. 12, 1869. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. 
 
 Lost arm at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate Aug. 14, 1863; 
 died May 4, 1905. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864; trans- 
 ferred to V. R. C. ; discharged June 28, 1865; 
 died March 16, 1912. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2. 1863. 
 
 Killed at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. 
 
 Died Sept. 2, 1903. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 8, 1864; 
 died Jan. 13, 1896. 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., May 31, 1863. 
 
 Died Feb. is, 1896. 
 
 "Deceased. -{-Mustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY G 
 
 483 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 •Eli Crawford 
 
 •George Davis 
 
 "James S. Daggs 
 
 "Charles R. Donaldson 
 •William G. Donaldson 
 John L. Gow 
 •James W. Griffeth 
 
 •Levi Griffeth 
 
 •William S. Greer 
 
 •George Greer 
 •William A. Helt 
 
 James Himmeger 
 
 •David Havlin 
 •John Hodgson 
 
 •Joseph Hemphill 
 
 •James Hamilton 
 Joseph B. Johnson 
 
 Robert S. Jackson 
 •William II. Jackson 
 •William A. Kerr 
 
 •Cornelius D. B. Kirk 
 •William H. Lemcn 
 
 •Joseph Lawson 
 
 •James Lynn 
 George R. Murray- 
 Thomas M. McNary 
 George W. McGibbony 
 Samuel B. McBride 
 
 •John W. McMains 
 •Robert K. Mcjunkin 
 •James McGlumphy 
 
 •John McNutt 
 James W. Pollock 
 Wayne J. Phillips 
 
 •David B. Phillips 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Mustered in Cavalry Company; captured near 
 Gettysburg July, 1863; died at Macon (Ga.) 
 Prison. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 Tune 9, 1865; died Sept. 19, 1902. 
 
 Wounded at North Ann River May 24, 1864; dis- 
 charged May 18, 1865; died Aug. 26, 1901. 
 
 Died at Parkton, Md., Sept. 17, 1862. 
 
 Killed at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863. 
 
 Discharged May 31, 1865. Seattle, Wash. 
 
 Wounded at North Ann River May 24, 1864; dis- 
 charged June, 1865; died May 24, 1912. 
 
 Died June 25, 1864, of wounds received at Peters- 
 burg June 18, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate Sept. 26, 1863; died 
 Sept. 24, 1864. 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., Feb. 16, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 May 12, 1865. Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 May 27, 1865. Canonsburg, Pa. 
 
 Died June 27, 1897. 
 
 Captured at Cold Harbor June 2, 1864; discharged 
 June 10, 1865; accidentally killed Aug. 13, 1900. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Bat. C, Pa. Art. Dec. 17, 
 1863; discharged June 8, 1865.; died April 4, 
 1906. 
 
 Died at Parkton, Md., Sept. 23, 1862. 
 
 Transferred to Signal Corps April 1, 1864; cap- 
 tured Oct. 28, 1864; discharged June 24, 1865. 
 Canonsburg, Pa. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 July 1, 1865. Toledo, Iowa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 7, 1863; 
 died Feb. 27, 1905. 
 
 Wounded at Bristow Station Oct. 14, 1863; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate March 21, 1864; 
 died Feb. 28, 1887. 
 
 Wounded at Deep Bottom Aug. 16, 1864; dis- 
 charged May is, 1865; died Dec. 20, 1907. 
 
 Wounded and captured at Wilderness May 5, 
 1864; died at Andersonville Prison Aug. 25, 
 1864. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg Tuly 2, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Pa. 
 
 Washington, Pa. 
 
 Thomas, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville May 3, 
 charged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 
 Sewickley, Pa. 
 
 Died June 23, 1885. 
 
 Died at Parkton, Md., Nov. 6, 1862. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; wounded «t 
 Petersburg March 25, 1863; discharged June, 
 1865; died March 16, 1883. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Washington, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; transferred 
 to V. R. C. Nov. 12, 1863; discharged July 7, 
 1865. Canonsburg, Pa. 
 
 Wounded and discharged May 15, 1865; died July 
 
 13, 1907- . 
 
 Thomas, 
 
 1863; dis- 
 18, 1863. 
 
 'Deceased. fMvstered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
484 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 •Robert B. Parkinson 
 
 John T. Sumney 
 
 David H. Sumney 
 John M. Stewart 
 William B. Stewart 
 
 *John M. Speer 
 *William Sheets 
 
 *Cyrus Townsend 
 
 "James Thomas 
 David White 
 James P. Weaver 
 
 ^Thomas Weaver 
 
 *Joshua Weaver 
 *Tohn M. Watson 
 *Hugh Weir 
 James Young 
 
 "< t 
 t 
 
 '• 4. 
 
 t 
 
 t 
 
 ;; t 
 
 Promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant Oct. 1 1, 
 
 1864; discharged May 31, 1865; died Jan. 3, 
 
 1804. 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Sept. 20, 1864; dis- 
 charged Julv s, 1865. Los Angeles, Cal. 
 Eighty-Four, Pa. 
 \bilene, Kan. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Sept. 7, 1862. 
 
 Moberly, Mo. 
 Died March 13, i88<;. 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Feb. 15, 1864; discharged 
 
 1865; died Nov. 27, 1892. 
 Promoted to Quartermaster Sergeant July 13, 
 
 1863; discharged 1865; died Aug. 4, 1898. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, Aug. 18, 1863. 
 South Tacoma, Wash. 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Nov. it, 1863; discharged 
 
 July 7, 1865. Canonsburg, Pa. 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died at 
 
 Richmond (Va.) Prison Nov. 2, 1863. 
 Died Oct. 3, 1905. 
 Died April 22, 1909. 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Transferred to Ind. Bat. C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17, 
 
 1863; discharged June 8, 1865. Canonsburg, 
 
 Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
 All of the above list were mustered into the service Aug. 22, 1862, except Samuel Cope and 
 .Samuel Charlton, the only recruits added to Company G. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY H 
 
 48S 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY H 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Chaplain 
 *Marcus Ormond 
 
 Captain 
 •Samuel Campbell 
 
 Brevet Major 
 * Samuel S. Kerr 
 
 1st Lieutenants 
 Austin Miller 
 *John B. Vance 
 
 •Addison Lance 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 'Walter M. Lawrence 
 
 1 st Sergeants 
 William Thornburg 
 
 •Arthur Shields 
 
 Sergeants 
 Joseph Moody- 
 Robert M. Galbraith 
 •John G. Robb 
 
 John Nickle 
 *William Ewing 
 
 'Thomas N. Thornburg 
 
 *James McD. Mitchell 
 
 Corporals 
 •Gibson Hood 
 
 John Purdy 
 
 •Joseph Calhoun 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Promoted from Captain to Chaplain. Oct. 23, 1862; 
 discharged June 8, 1863; died 1883. 
 
 Promoted from 2nd Lieutenant Nov. 1, 1862; 
 wounded in throat at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, 
 and in the thigh at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 
 1864; discharged Sept. 18, 1864; died March 8, 
 1887. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant 
 Nov. 6, 1863; to Captain Dec. 10, 1864; to 
 Bv. Major, April 7, 186s; died of wounds re- 
 ceived at Farmville, Va., May 3, 1865. 
 
 Resigned Aug. 12, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant to 2nd Lieutenant, 
 Nov. 1, 1862; to 1 st Lieutenant, Nov. 6, 1863; 
 wounded at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864; dis- 
 charged by reason of wounds, Sept. 28, 1864; 
 died April 22, 1898. 
 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant to 1st Lieutenant, 
 Dec. 11, 1864; wounded at Spottsylvania, May 
 12, 1864; died Nov. 3, 1901. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 2d Lieutenant, Dec. 
 11, 1864; died Dec. z-j, 1906. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 1st Sergeant, Dec, 
 1864; wounded at Cold Harbor, June 6, 1864 
 and at Petersburg, Va., July 2, 1864. Present 
 address, Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from 4th Sergeant to 1st Sergeant, Nov. 
 6, 1863; wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; 
 died April 17, 1901. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal, Dec. 24, 1864. Present 
 address, Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; date of death unknown. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal, Feb. 25, 1865; died 
 March 12, 1895. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; lost right leg at Hatch- 
 er's Run, Va. Present address, Hookstown, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; wounded at Spottsyl- 
 vania, May 12, 1864 and in the Wilderness. 
 May 4, 1864; discharged — date unknown; died 
 March 26, 1908. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; died July 7, 1863, from 
 wound received at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; killed at Spottsylvania, 
 May 12, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal; wounded at Gettysburg, 
 July 2, 1863, also at Spottsylvania, May 12, 
 1864; died 1871. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, also at 
 Spottsylvania. Va., May 12, 1864. Present ad- 
 dress. New Sheffield, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to 1st Lieutenant, United States Col- 
 ored Infantry; wounded at Chancellorsville. Va., 
 May 3, 1863 and Dec. 9, 1864 at Hatcher's Run; 
 died Aug. 6, 191 1. 
 
 •Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
486 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Charles M. McCoy 
 
 •James Finegan 
 
 *Geor<*e Summerville 
 
 John W. Stevens 
 
 "George Fox 
 •Thomas J. Miller 
 
 •Alexander Greer 
 •Richard M. Crouse 
 
 Adjutant 
 •John S. Bryan 
 
 Musicians 
 •Timothy Shane 
 Richard Shane 
 
 Frank D. Kerr 
 
 Privates 
 •Hugh Q. Adams 
 
 John G. Adams 
 
 •James B. Babb 
 
 •Thomas Bryerly 
 •William Brunton 
 
 •James H. Beal 
 •Samuel W. E. Byers 
 
 Harry J. Boyde 
 
 •John Blackmore 
 •Johnston Berlin 
 •Samuel W. Barnes 
 
 •Samuel Chapman 
 
 William G. Cowan 
 
 •James Cameron 
 
 William Calhoun 
 
 Musteked Ik. 
 
 March 24, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 t 
 
 t 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 24, 1864; wounded at 
 Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, and at Wilderness, 
 May 6. 1864; Present address, Indianola, Iowa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal, Dec. 24, 1864; date of 
 death unknown. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal, Dec. 24. 1865; wounded 
 at Gett"sburg, July 2, 1863; died Nov. ->o, 1695. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal, Feb. 25, 1865. Present ad- 
 dress unknown. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal, Feb. 25, 1865; wounded 
 at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863; transferred to 2d 
 Battalion Veterinary Reserve Corps, Oct. 20, 
 1864; discharged Aug. 21, 1865; died June 6, 
 1892. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal, Aug. 22, 1862; killed at 
 Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal; wounded at Deep Bottom, 
 Va., July 28, 1864; died from wound received 
 at Hatcher's Run, Va., Dec. 9, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Musician to Adjutant of Regi- 
 ment; died March 28, 1874. 
 
 Died Sept . 191 1. 
 
 Discharged by general orders, July 1, 1865. 
 Present address, Hookstown, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Coles' Maryland 
 Cavalry, April 14, 1864; mustered out June 28, 
 1865. Present address, Hookstown, Pa. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 12, 1865; died 
 June 27, 1903. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Aug. 27, 1863. 
 Present address, Georgetown, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at iSristow Station, Va.; discharged by 
 general orders, June 22, 186s; date of death 
 unknown. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania Heights; 
 died June 10, 189=;. 
 
 Wounded July 2, 1863 at Gettysburg; discharged 
 on surgeon's certificate, March 11, 1864; died 
 May 14, i90i._ 
 
 Captured at Bristow Station. Oct. 14, 1863 and 
 died in Libby Prison, Richmond, Va., in 1863. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania, Va. ; 
 
 Transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps; dis- 
 charged by general orders July 12, 1865; date 
 of death unknown. 
 
 Present address, Beaver, Pa.; absent on detached 
 service at muster-out of company; discharged 
 June 30, 1865. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, luly 2, 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 
 Died Aug 2. of wound received at Gettysburg, 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 Mustered out with Company, May 31, 1865; died 
 Dec. 5, 1902. 
 
 Mustered out with Company, May 31, 1865. Pres- 
 ent address. Los Angeles. Cal. 
 
 Wounded May 31, 1864 at Totopotomy, Va. ; trans- 
 ferred to Veteran Reserved Corps; discharged 
 by general orders July 14, 1865; died April 27, 
 1903. 
 
 Present address, Gatebo. Okla. ; mustered out with 
 Company, May 31, 1865. 
 
 •Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY H 
 
 487 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 •William M. Carothers 
 
 *John Criswell 
 
 •James Crooks 
 •William O. Custer 
 Christopher Cameron 
 *Andrew A. Carothers 
 •David B. Coffey 
 * George W. Cain 
 
 'Stewart Campbell 
 
 •William Conlin 
 
 James Dornan 
 
 •Shaffer Dever 
 
 •Alexander Ewing 
 
 •Henry Ewing 
 
 •Alexander Flanegan 
 •Thomas J. Foster 
 
 •Jacob R. Fleegel 
 
 *Abram Funkhouser 
 •John M. Green 
 •John C. Gibb 
 
 •James Hood 
 Jonn W. Hall 
 
 William B. Hall 
 
 •Robert Hall 
 
 •Frank Hamilton 
 
 •Thomas Hughs 
 
 •William W. Herron 
 
 •Robert Hutchinson 
 
 Ezekiel Inman 
 
 •William Kennedy 
 Samuel Kevan 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 20, 1864. 
 
 March 1, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 
 Feb. 17, 1864. 
 Feb. 29, 1864. 
 
 Feb. 25, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 March 31, 1864. 
 
 Wounded May 3, 1863 at Chancellorsville, Va.; 
 transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps, Mar. 
 S, 1864; discharged by general orders, June 29, 
 1865; died Oct. 6, 1908. 
 Transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps, March 
 31, 1864; discharged by general orders July 8, 
 1865 ; died July 15, 1891. 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Artillery, date 
 unknown; died April 26, 1904. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, March 27, 
 1863; died Nov. 16, 1890. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, June 23, 1863; 
 died 1866. 
 
 Promoted to Hospital Steward in Regular Army, 
 
 Feb. 12, 1864; died March 7, 1865. 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania, Va. ; 
 discharged Jan. 18, 1865; died May 2, 1887. 
 
 Lost right arm May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania, 
 Va. ; discharged on surgeon's certificate, Jan. 
 .18, 1863; died 1868. 
 
 Died of wound received at Totopotomy, Va., June 
 13, 1864; buried in National Cemetery, Arling- 
 ton, Va. 
 
 Died July 21 of wound received at Gettysburg, 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 Discharged by general orders, May 15, 1865. Pres- 
 ent address, Frankfort Springs, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864; 
 transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps, June 
 30, 1865; died Nov. 1903. 
 
 Died May 25 of wound received at Spottsylvania, 
 May 12, 1864. 
 
 Died July 21 of wound received at Gettysburg, 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 Mustered out with Company May 31; died 1900. 
 
 Lost left foot May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania, Va. ; 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate Sept. 29, 
 1864; died March 15, 1873. 
 
 Died Sept. 20 of wound received at Deep Bottom, 
 Aug. 16, 1864: buried at Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 Killed at Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865. 
 
 Died Jan. 3, 1802. 
 
 Died Aug. 4 of wound received at Gettysburg, 
 July 2, 1863. 
 
 Absent; sick at muster out; died June 10, 1909. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania, Va. 
 Pressnt address, East Liverpool, Ohio. 
 
 Transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps; dis- 
 charged by general orders, June 28, 1865. 
 Present address, Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Totopotomy, June 13, 1864 and Pet- 
 ersburg, Va., June 17, 1864; discharged by gen- 
 eral orders June 30, 186?; died Sept. 25, 1903. 
 
 Transferred to Regiment P. V., May 30, 1865; 
 died June 22, 1902. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 5. 1865; died 
 Nov. 16, 1909. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864; buried in Wilderness burying grounds. 
 
 Died Aug. 8 at City Point, Va., of wound re- 
 ceived at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864. 
 
 Discharged by general orders May 27. 1865. Pres- 
 ent address, Ava, Douglass Co., Iowa. 
 
 Died Jan. 30, 1891. 
 
 Discharged by general orders May 30, 1865. Pres- 
 ent address, Hookstown, Pa. 
 
 •Deceased. tMustered out with Company May 31, 1S65. 
 
488 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 •David Keifer 
 •Henry H. Keifer 
 
 Robert Laughlin 
 Wilson W. Latham 
 •Joseph W. Lawrence 
 •Silas D. Lockhart 
 
 James M. Lutton 
 
 William Martin 
 •James H. Melvin 
 Thomas E. Moore 
 Andrew R. Miller 
 •David M. Minesinger 
 
 Samuel W. Miller 
 
 John H. Moore 
 
 Samuel Minesinger 
 
 •William Morrison 
 
 John Mahoney 
 
 •James Miller 
 
 •William Metz 
 Gabriel Miller 
 Alex. L. McKibben 
 
 •Thomas S. McCready 
 
 Washington McHenry 
 •James M. McClure 
 
 •William McCreary 
 
 •James Mc. Phillips 
 •William J. Parks 
 
 William Parkinson 
 
 William Purdy 
 
 •William A. Ramsey 
 
 •John A. Robb 
 George M. Shingles 
 James P. Smart 
 
 Samuel Swearingen 
 Joseph Swearingen 
 
 Mustered Ik. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 it 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Feb. 29, 186.1 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 22, 1S64. 
 March 31, 1864. 
 March 24, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 March 28. 1864 
 Feb. 26, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 March 22. 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 tt 
 
 (( 
 
 Feb. 27, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1S62. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Killed at Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865. 
 
 Died July 16 of wound received at Spottsylvania. 
 
 Va., May 12, 1864. 
 Present address, Faulkner, Kans. 
 Present address, Burgettstown, Pa. 
 Promoted to Hospital Steward Sept. 27, 1862. 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864; 
 transferred to Compan- G, 53d Reg. P. V., 
 May 30, 1865. 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate. May 6, 1865- 
 Present address, Glenwilliard, Pa. 
 Date of death not known. 
 Died Jan. 22, 1900. 
 
 Died at City Point, Va., Jan. 1, 1865. 
 Present address, Hookstown, Pa. 
 Transferred to Battery C, Pennsylvania Artillery, 
 
 July 21, 1864; died June 5, 1893. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, May 23, 1863; 
 
 died in 1878. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Dec. 9, 1863. 
 
 Present address, Wellsville, Ohio. 
 Transferred to Co. G, 53d Reg. P. V., May 30, 
 
 1865. Present address, Empire, Ohio. 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Reg. P. V., May 10, 
 
 1865. 
 Taken prisoner June 17, 1864; transferred to 
 Co. G, 53d Reg. P. V., May 30, 1865; date of 
 death unknown. 
 Died Oct. 26, 1864 in New York Hospital of dis- 
 ease; buried in Cypress Hill Cemetery, L. I. 
 Killed at Petersburg, Va., June 18, 1864. 
 Died in Confederate Prison. 
 Discharged by general orders July 13, 1865. 
 
 Present address, New Sheffield, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, March 14. 
 
 1863; died Aug. 22, 1910. 
 .Missing in action at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 Transferred to 109 Co. 2d Battalion, V. R. C, 
 Jan. 1, 1865; discharged by general orders, 
 Sept. 19, 1865; died 1898. 
 Died May 18 of wound received in action May 
 
 14, 1864. 
 Killed at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, June 30, 1863; 
 
 date of death unknown. 
 Transferred to Co. G, 53d Reg. P. V., May 30, 
 
 1865; died March 4, 1910. 
 Missing in action at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 
 
 1864. 
 Transferred to Veteran Reserved Corps, July 
 1, 1863; discharged May 30, 1865; date of death 
 unknown. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, date un- 
 known; date of death unknown. 
 Wounded at Wilderness, Va., May 8, 1864; dis- 
 charged May 30, 1865. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania; trans- 
 ferred to Veteran Reserved Corps, date un- 
 known; discharged by general orders July 3, 
 1865. 
 
 Present address, Hookstown, Pa. 
 
 Absent on detached service at muster-out; dis- 
 charged by general orders May 30, 1865. Pres- 
 ent address, Milford, Nebr. 
 
 •Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY H 
 
 4«9 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 *David G. Scott 
 
 *Alcx. W. Shannon 
 * Samuel bmith 
 
 Garrett Standish 
 *John Summerville 
 
 Alfred W. Standish 
 •Robert G. Savage 
 ■"Junius M. Strouss 
 *Hezekiah W. Swaney 
 
 Samuel Torrence 
 
 *James A. Taggart 
 'Thomas F. Thornburg 
 *William H. Uncapher 
 
 *Jaspcr Whims 
 *Newton Whims 
 Joshua K. Whims 
 
 * Frank Woodrow 
 ♦William Wherry 
 
 * David R. Whitehill 
 •William Yolton 
 
 *John Yolton 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 March 31, 1864. 
 
 Feb. .'.', 1864. 
 n 
 
 Feb. 8, 1864. 
 Aug. 22. 1862. 
 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 Oct. 20, 1863. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 Ausr. 22, 1862. 
 
 Feb. 22, 1864. 
 March 24, 1864. 
 Aug. 22, 1862. 
 
 n 
 
 March 29, 1864. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Wounded at Hatcher's Run, Va., Dec. 9, 1864: 
 discharged by general orders Aug. 14, 186?; 
 date of death unknown. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate, Feb. 23, 1863; 
 died 1872. 
 
 Discharged by special order, Oct. 12, 1864; died 
 1881. 
 
 Transferred to Co. G, 53d Reg. P. V., May 30, 
 1865. Present address, Brownsville, Ore. 
 
 Transferred to Co. G, 53d Reg. P. V., May 30, 
 1865; discharged by general orders June 30, 
 1865; date of death unknown. 
 
 Discharged by general orders July 17, 1865. Pres- 
 ent address, Luck Boy, Ore. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania Court House, Va., May 
 12, 1864. 
 
 Died Jan. 10, 1865 of wound received at Hatch- 
 er's Run, Dec. 9, 1864. 
 
 Killed in action at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12. 
 1864. 
 
 Lost right arm at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864; 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate, Jan. 12, 
 1865. Present address, Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Killed July 2, 1863, at Gettysburg. 
 
 Killed at Hatcher's Run, Va.. Dec. 9, 1864. 
 
 Died of typhoid fever Aug. 19, 1863, at Baltimore. 
 Md. ; buried in National Cemetery, Louden 
 Park. 
 
 Lost right arm at Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864; 
 date of discharge unknown; died Jan., 1898. 
 
 Promoted to 2d Lieutenant, U. S. C. T., Oct. 24, 
 1864; died Feb. 4, 1911. 
 
 Lost left arm at Hatcher's Run, Va., Dec. 9, 1864; 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate May 20, 1865. 
 Address, San Diego, Cal. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d Reg. P. V., May 3c, 
 1865; died Oct. 4, 191 1. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania; died 
 1902. 
 
 Killed at Hatcher's Run, Va., Dec. 9, 1864. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate, date unknown; 
 died May 19, 1894. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864 at Spottsylvania; dis- 
 charged by general orders, May 15, 1865; date 
 of death unknown. 
 
 'Deceased. fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
190 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY I 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captains 
 James Darragh 
 ♦William McCalhster 
 
 Lieutenants 
 •Thomas C. Nicholson 
 
 Louis R. Darragh 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 Geo. A. Shallenberger 
 
 1 st Sergeants 
 James H. Springer 
 
 * David W. Scott 
 
 William A. McMillen 
 
 ♦William C. Smith 
 
 Sergeants 
 Robert Dickey 
 
 John E. Harton 
 Robert W. Anderson 
 
 Rev. John D. Irons 
 Benjamin F. Welsh 
 
 Corporals 
 Tames H. Douds 
 William Ussclton 
 Jacob Seafler 
 
 Samuel Reed 
 Christian Molter 
 
 Joseph T. Johnson 
 J. Dickson Craig 
 
 Robert Ramsey 
 Thomas B. Hunter 
 
 David E. McCallister 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Aug. 25, 1862 
 
 + 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 28, 186.1. 
 Promoted to 1st Lieutenant April 11, 1863; 
 
 wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died April 
 
 25, 1912. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant to 2d Lieutenant Dec. 19. 
 
 1862; to i st Lieutenant April 11, 1863; discharged 
 
 on surgeon's certificate Dec. 13, 1863; died 
 
 April 29. iqio. 
 Promoted from 1st Sergeant to 2d Lieutenant 
 
 April 20, 1863; to 1st Lieutenant Jan. 2, 1864; 
 
 wounded at Petersburg June 17, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Captain and A. Q. M. U. S. Vols. 
 Nov. 26. 1862; mustered out Nov. 8, 1865. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant; captured at Gettysburg 
 July 2, 1863; wounded at Petersburg June 17. 
 1864; wounded at Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865; 
 discharged by general orders June 5, 1865. New 
 Sheffield, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2. 1863; promoted 
 from Sergeant April 20, 1863; discharged on 
 surgeon's certificate Feb. 20, 1864; died Aug. 
 
 3. 1911. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal to Sergeant Sept. 18. 
 1862; to 1st Sergeant July 1, 1864; to 2nd Lieu- 
 tenant Co. E April 18, 1865; wounded at Gettys- 
 burg July 2, 1863. Kansas City, Mo. 
 
 Promoted from Sergeant March 11, 1864; killed at 
 Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Sept. 18, 1862; to Sergeant 
 Sept. 1, 1864. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal Sept. 1, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal April 20, 1863; to Sergeant 
 Jan. 1, 1865; absent on detached service at 
 muster out. New Brighton, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1864; to Sergeant 
 April 19, 1865. Oakmont, Pa. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal April 21, 1863; trans- 
 ferred Sept. 19, 1864, to Co. B, 19th V. R. C; 
 discharged by general orders July 3, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1865. Pittsburgh, 
 Pa., N. S. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Jan. 1, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal April 19, 1865; discharged 
 by general orders June 3, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal April 19, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal April 19. 1865. Nairn, 
 Sciota Ci unty, Ohio. 
 
 Oischarged on surgeon's certificate March 3, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 26, 1864. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal July 1, 1863; transferred 
 Dec. 20, 1S64 to Co. A, 1 8th Regt., V. R. C; 
 discharged by general orders June 28. 1865. 
 
 ♦Deceased. 
 
 yMustered out with Company May 31. 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY I 
 
 49i 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 A. W. McClintock 
 
 *William M. Agnew 
 
 *Samuel Erwin 
 
 Musicians 
 Wash. D. Tallon 
 Henry C. Johnson 
 
 Henry R. Moore 
 
 Privates 
 Robert Baker 
 
 John Baldwin 
 John Border 
 George M. Brooks 
 Daniel Brown 
 *John T. Bruce 
 
 *George S. Bailev 
 *John Black 
 
 "Joseph Bamford 
 
 * Samuel Brown 
 John B. Coleman 
 John A. Cain 
 Joseph II . Champion 
 
 M. V. B. Chambers 
 
 'John Camp 
 
 George Dailey 
 Kelsey Dailey 
 *Wm. H. H. Ewing 
 
 'George Eaton 
 
 Jacob Fisher 
 * William Frazier 
 
 James B. Faucett 
 'Israel Ferguson 
 
 "John S. Gillen 
 
 Alexander Gilmore 
 'Joseph Gilmore 
 
 •William P. Gibson 
 *Tames Hammond 
 *Samuel Hammond 
 John R. Hays 
 
 Daniel Harvey 
 
 Mustered In. 
 Feb. 19, 1864. 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 
 Jan. 18, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 Feb. 3, 1864. 
 Aug. 2?, 1862. 
 
 T 
 
 + 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 March 31, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Farmville, Va., April 7, 1865; dis- 
 charged by general orders June 19, 186s; Con- 
 nellsville, Pa. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 186 a; died at 
 Richmond, Va., Sept. 13, 1863; buried in Na- 
 tional Cemetery, Sec. 6, Div. i, Grave 192. ' 
 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 10, 1863; killed at 
 Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 
 Beaver, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Musician May, 1863. Welles Wile, 
 
 Ohio. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 13, 1863. 
 
 Captured at Bristow Station, Va., Oct. 14, 1863- 
 
 absent at muster out. 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. Monaca, Pa. 
 Ottawa, Kansas. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 24, 1865. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Sept. 24, 1863 
 Transferred to Co. E, 19th Regt., V. R. C, Oct. 
 
 29, 1863; discharged by general orders July 13, 
 
 1865. 
 Died April 13, 1864. 
 i)ied at Philadelphia, Pa., July 24, 1863, of wound 
 
 received at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 Died at New York N. Y., Aug. 27, 1864; burial 
 
 recorded Oct. 27, 1864; buried in Cypress Hill 
 
 Cemetery, L. I. 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., May 18, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to Co. G, 6th Regt., V. R. C, Aug. 
 
 10, 1864; discharged by general orders July 14, 
 
 1865. 
 Transferred to Co. C, 22d Regt., V. R. C, May 
 
 15, 1864; discharged by general orders July 3, 
 
 1865. 
 Died at Washington, D. C, July 3, 1864, of 
 
 wounds received at Cold Harbor June 1, 1864. 
 Deserted Dec. 17, 1862. 
 Deserted Dec. 17, 1862. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 26, 1863; 
 
 died March, 1910. 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864; 
 
 transferred to Co. H, 53d Regt., Pa. Vols., May 
 
 30, 1865. 
 Rochester, Pa. 
 Wounded at Sailor's Creek, Va., April 6, 1865; 
 
 absent at muster out. 
 
 Killed at Spottsylvania. Va., May 12, 1864; buried 
 
 in burial grrunds, Wilderness. 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864; 
 
 absent at muster out. 
 
 Transferred to Co. C, 6th Regt., V. R. C; dis- 
 charged by feneral orders July 7, 1865; died 
 Sept. 5. 191 1. 
 
 Died at East Liverpool, Ohio, Oct. 18, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 27, 1863. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 19, 1863. 
 
 Beaver Falls. 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864; 
 
 discharged bv general orders May 13. 1865. 
 
 *Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1S65. 
 
492 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Levi Hamilton 
 George E. Hamilton 
 
 *Joseph Hedding 
 
 James W. Johnson 
 
 William J. Johnson 
 William Johnson 
 'Marshall T. Johnson 
 
 *Tames L. Jones 
 Leonard C. Kerr 
 
 John Mitchell 
 *Luther Maginnis 
 
 *Henry Molter 
 
 Isaac Minor 
 James Miller 
 
 * Enoch M. Main 
 *Louis Miller 
 
 *George Marks 
 
 Andrew Marshall 
 Thomas McCoy 
 
 *Milo McCov 
 
 *Edward McMahon 
 Lemuel Neville 
 
 James W. Orr 
 
 Theopolis C. Philips 
 
 William A. Pribhle 
 
 « 
 
 
 Henry S. Rabb 
 
 Tune 5, 1865. 
 
 
 Thomas Rambo 
 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 
 * 
 
 Joseph Rodenbaugh 
 
 tt 
 
 
 *Levi Rhodes 
 
 tt 
 
 
 Otis Seely 
 
 ** 
 
 T 
 
 Daniel Shafer 
 
 it 
 
 J. 
 
 Tohn F. Southwick 
 
 tt 
 
 •5- 
 
 Stephen Stone 
 
 tt 
 
 
 Porter Shevlin 
 
 
 
 * Thomas Shawness 
 
 "Tames W. Shafer 
 Tohn Todd 
 William L. Todd 
 William D. Welch 
 
 *Eli Watson 
 
 James Wise 
 Patrick Wise 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 March 28, 1864. 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 
 Jan. 30, 1864. 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 
 March 2, 1864. 
 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Transferred to Co. H, 53d P. V., May 30, 186$. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania. Va., May 12, 1864: 
 transferred to V. R. C. Dec. 20, 1864. Mercer, 
 Pa. 
 
 Died at Washington, D. C, of wounds received at 
 Deep Bottom, Va., Aug. 16, 1864; buried in 
 National Cemetery, Arlington, Va. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 28, 1865. 
 Canonsburg, Pa. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Feb. 28, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Nov. 14, 1864. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; died 
 Aug. 26, 1863, at Annapolis, Md. ; buried in 
 
 ^ TJ. S. General Hospital Cemetery. 
 
 Killed at Totopotomy Creek, Va., May 31, 1864. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 17, 1864. Bos- 
 worth, Ohio. 
 
 Mingo, Ohio. 
 
 Promoted to Hospital Steward U. S. A., Sept. 17, 
 1864; died July 23, 1911. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate May 16, 1863; 
 died July, 1909. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. Sept. 2, 1864. Vanport. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17, 
 1863. 
 
 Died July 3, 1863. 
 
 Died April 5, 1864, at Brandy Station, Va.; buried 
 in National Cemetery, Culpepper Court House, 
 Block 1, Sec. A, Row 4, Grave 112. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; died 
 at Richmond, Va., Sept. 10, 1863. 
 
 Deserted, date unknown. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Jan. 13, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Todd's Tavern, Va., May 8, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate Aug. 31, 1864. 
 Industry, Pa. 
 
 Died of wound received at Po River, Va., May 10. 
 1864. 
 
 Captured at Chancellorsville, Va., May 1, 1863; 
 wounded and captured at Todd's Tavern, Va., 
 May 5, 1864; died at Lynchburg, Va., July IS, 
 1864; buried in Poplar Grove, National Ceme- 
 tery. Div 2. Sec. E, Grave 155. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C. April 2, 1864. 
 
 Discharged by general orders June 5, 1865. 
 
 Kingsville, Ohio, R. F. D. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17. 
 1863. New Castle, Pa. 
 
 Killed at Deep Bottom, Va., Aug. 14, 1864. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 27, 1863. 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Feb. is, 
 
 1864. 
 Captured at Gettysburg, Pa.. July 2, 1863; died at 
 
 Richmond, Va., Dec. 9, 1863. 
 Died at Potomac Creek, Va., June 6, 1863. 
 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 27, 1863. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; died, 
 
 date unknown. 
 Wounded at Wilderness, Va., May 5, 1864; absent 
 
 at muster out. 
 'intured at Gettysburg. Pa.. Tulv 2. 186?. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY I 
 
 493 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Leroy A. Wise 
 Andrew Watterson 
 
 James Watterson 
 
 *Howell Walton 
 T. W. Zimmerman 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Jan. 1 8, 1864. 
 Aug. 25, 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Wounded at Deep Bottom, Va., Aug. 16, 1864; dis- 
 charged on surgeon's certificate May 19, 186.5. 
 Milton, West Va. 
 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June 19, 1864; 
 transferred to 53d Regt., Pa. Vols., May 30, 
 1865. 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., Feb. 14, 1863. 
 
 Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps, date unknown. 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
494 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 ROSTER OF COMPANY K 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Captain 
 •W. A. F. Stockton 
 
 ist Lieutenant 
 *Alex. Sweeney, Jr. 
 
 2d Lieutenant 
 •William B. Cook 
 
 i st Sergeants 
 "George Ralston 
 Benjamin F. Powelson 
 
 Sergeants 
 •Milton R. Boyd 
 
 •Ed. S. Alexander 
 •VV. R. H. Powelson 
 
 John A. McCalmont 
 
 •Thomas C. Hays 
 •Samuel K. Shindle 
 
 •Joseph S. Graham 
 
 Corporals 
 Silas Cook 
 
 J?™* s K - p - McGill 
 •William Porter 
 
 George Hanlin 
 Marshall Wright 
 
 James C. Lyle 
 Abraham Andrews 
 
 •John D. McCabe 
 
 •William Hanlin 
 
 Isaac Donaldson 
 •William Miller 
 •William L. Pry 
 
 Musicians 
 Geo. W. McConnell 
 Jesse J. Morris 
 
 Privates 
 James B. Allison 
 Peter Andrews 
 •James Arthurs 
 •James S. Berryhill 
 Lazarus Briggs 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 Sept. 4, 1S62. 
 
 * 
 
 -r 
 
 + 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Brevet Major April q. 1865; died July 21, i$77: 
 buried at Cross Creek Cemetery. 
 
 Brevet Captain March 13. 1865; absent on detached 
 service at muster out; died June ig, 1912. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; discharged 
 May 17, 1865; died Dec. 30, 1870. Pittsburgh. 
 Pa. 
 
 Oied at Claysville, Pa., Aug. 28, 1874. 
 
 Promoted to ist Lieutenant 41st U. S. C. T. Sept. 
 
 22, 1864; discharged Sept. 30, 1865. Boulder. 
 
 Colo. 
 
 Discharged by general orders May 27, 1865; died 
 May 2, 1804. 
 
 Wounded July 2 at Gettysburg; died April, i8qo. 
 
 Wounded May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvania; pro- 
 moted to Sergeant July 21, 1863; died April 1 6, 
 1007. 
 
 Promoted from Corporal March 26, 1865. Bulger, 
 Pa. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Captured at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; died at 
 Aridersonville, Ga., March 17, 1864; burial rec- 
 ord Mav is, 1864. 
 
 Killed at Petersburg March 25, 186s. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1S64; absent 
 
 at muster out. Early, Iowa. 
 Pueblo, Colo. 
 Promoted to Corporal Dec. 17, 1863; died Dec. 
 
 16, 1883. 
 
 Wounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12, 1864. 
 Ellwood City, Pa. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal May 12, 1865. 
 
 Promoted to Corporal March 16, 186s. Latrobe. 
 Ohio. 
 
 Discharged Feb. 23. 1863. on surgeons certificate; 
 died Sept. 7. 1909. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863; dis- 
 charged May is, 1865; died Nov. 6, 1906. 
 Denver, Colo. 
 
 Died at Falmouth, Va., Feb. 14. 1863. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville May 3, 1863; died 
 at Falmouth, Va., May 21, 1863. 
 
 Carrollton, Iowa. 
 
 Promoted to Principal Musician Dec. 22, 
 Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Prosperity, Pa. 
 
 Mount Oliver, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
 
 Died July, 1874. „ „ 
 
 Houston. Washington County, Pa. 
 
 1864- 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 fMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
ROSTER OF COMPANY K 
 
 495 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 Daniel J. Butterfoss 
 *Benj. B. Buchanan 
 George W. Carter 
 Andrew Chester 
 
 •James E. Cochran 
 Ezra Conway- 
 Joseph A. Corbin 
 
 •Isaac W. Chishold 
 
 •Jesse M. Carter 
 
 "Thomas Carter 
 *David W. Corbin 
 •Benjamin Cummins 
 •.Tames A. Cummins 
 Robert B. Dugan 
 
 •John M. Day 
 •Henry Dickson 
 
 •Michael Dougherty 
 •Andrew B. Davis 
 •Benjamin F. Earnest 
 
 •James A. Fordyce 
 
 •Joseph C. Fraser 
 
 John Fulton 
 •William M. Geary 
 
 George Gardner 
 •John F. Gardner 
 
 •Joseph Guess 
 •Isaac Golden 
 *Benj. F. Hawthorn 
 
 •John Henderson 
 •Robert Hull 
 •George W. Johnson 
 
 William A. Tackson 
 
 •Robert Lyle 
 
 John Makeowen 
 •Isaac Miller 
 
 Enoch Mounts 
 
 •George Morrow 
 Robert Meldoon 
 
 •John Maloy 
 •John Marshall 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 March 27, 1864. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 discharged 
 Eldersville, 
 
 transferred 
 1864; dis- 
 1897. 
 12, 1864: 
 
 12, 
 12, 
 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 
 1 86s; died 
 
 died 
 
 \bsent, sick at muster out; discharged on sur- 
 ge n's certificate 1865; died July 29, 1896. 
 ^charged March 20, 1863. on surgeons certifi- 
 
 Vounded at Spottsylvania May 12, 1864. Hills- 
 
 boro. Washington County. Pa. 
 Wounded at Cold Harbor June ■ 7 , 1864; a^ent at 
 muster out. Eighty-four, Washington County. 
 
 Pa 
 Jied'at Barnesville, Ohio, April 7, 1902. 
 fonongahela City, Pa. 
 Abounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; 
 
 by general orders May 15. 180=;. 
 
 Washington County, Pa. 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 2, 1863; 
 
 to Co. G, 9th V. R. C March 20, 
 
 charged June 26, 1865;. died Oct 20, 
 Vounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 
 
 died 1894- . , 
 
 villed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 lied April 21, 1863. 
 Idled at Spottsylvania May 
 ^lled at Spottsylvania May 
 1 scharged by general orders May 29, 
 
 at Leavenworth, Kansas, Feb. 27, 188b. 
 discharged on surgeon's certificate Dec. 12, 1863 
 Vounded at Spottsylvania May 12. 1864, trans 
 f erred to V. R. C. date unknown; died in san 
 Diego, Cal., July 18, 1898. 
 )ied at Brandy Station, Va., March 3, 1864. 
 ;;ed at Parkton, Md., Dec. 9, 1862. 
 Vounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 12, 1 
 
 at Brandy Station Dec. 14. 
 Vounded at Deep Bottom, 
 
 Claysville July 22, 189=;. 
 iiischarged Sept. 30, 1863, on 
 
 died Nov. 20, 1900. 
 deserted Dec. 3i< 1862. 
 Died June 25, 1866. 
 discharged March 20, 1863. 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. 
 1863; died in Iowa Oct. 1, 1896. 
 billed at Spottsvlvania May 12. 1864- 
 )ied at Washington, D. C, April 15. 1863. 
 Vounded at Spottsylvania, Va., May 12. 1864: 
 transferred to Co. E, oth Regt., V. R. C, date 
 unknown: discharged June 26, 1865, on general 
 orders: died Tulv II. 191 1. 
 Died at Parkton, Md., Dec. 7. 1862. 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 Wounded at Petersburg, Va., June, 
 
 September 10, 1904. 
 Captured, date unknown; discharged 
 orders Nov. 2, 1864. Carnegie, Pa. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate March 14 
 
 died July 1, 1894- 
 Vbsent. sick at muster out. 
 Vounded and captured at Wilderness May. 
 
 absent, sick at muster out. 
 Discharged on surgeon's certificate May 2?,, 
 
 Washington, Pa. 
 Died at Philadelphia, Pa., May 27. 1863. 
 .Vounded at Gettysburg. Pa., July 2, 1863; 
 charged on general orders May ii, 1805: 
 Tune, 1885, at New Castle, Pa 
 Killed at Todd's Tavern, \ a., May 8, 1864. 
 ■<-' -it Parkton. Md., Nov. 17. 1863. 
 
 1863 
 Va., 
 
 1864; died at 
 surgeon's certifica'e; 
 
 Art., Dec. 17. 
 
 1864; died 
 on general 
 1863; 
 
 1864; 
 1863. 
 
 dis- 
 died 
 
 •Deceased. 
 
 t Mustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
496 
 
 THE ONE HUNDRED AND FORTIETH REGIMENT 
 
 NAME AND RANK. 
 
 *Morris Metcalf 
 Robert McClure 
 *Benj. McCullough 
 •Owen McElfish 
 *James K. McCurdy 
 
 "Harrison McConnell 
 
 Colin R. Nickerson 
 
 *John W. Nickerson 
 
 'Thomas L. Noble 
 James L. Noah 
 
 Robert A. Pry 
 David McC. Pry 
 
 William Rea 
 
 'William A. Rufner 
 'George Reed 
 
 William Scott 
 Nathaniel Seese 
 George Sprowels 
 Oliver Staley 
 William Stoller 
 Frank Stiver 
 'Henderson Scott 
 
 'Jesse M. Sprowells 
 George Stare 
 'Johnson Toppin 
 
 'John W. Tucker 
 'Robert Virtue 
 'Ulysses Wheeler 
 
 "Thomas Wilkins 
 James Worstell 
 
 Mustered In. 
 
 ? eb. 5, 1 86s. 
 Sept 4. 1862. 
 
 eh. 20, 1864. 
 Sept. 4. 1862. 
 
 + 
 
 
 + 
 
 T 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 Died in Washington County, Pa., March 17, iS6s. 
 
 Paris, Washington County, Pa. 
 
 Died at Steubensville, Ohio, July 15, 1904. 
 
 Transferred to 153d P. V. Feb. 25, 1864; pro- 
 moled to Assistant Surgeon in 153d P. V.; died 
 Aug. 12, 1891. 
 
 Discharged as minor by special order, date un- 
 known; died Paris, Pa., Julv 17, 1892. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 186.1. Clays- 
 ville, Washington County, Pa. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863: 
 transferred to V. R. C. Nov. 16, 1863; died from 
 effects of wound April 8, 1867. 
 
 Promoted to Commissary Sergeant Sept. 18, 1862: 
 died at Dennison, Tex., Sept., 1890. 
 
 Transferred to Ind. Battery C, Pa. Art., Dec. 17, 
 1863. 
 
 Wellesburg, West Va. 
 
 Transferred to V. R. C, Feb. 6, 1865. Burgetts- 
 town. Pa. 
 
 Wounded with loss of leg at Todd's Tavern, Va., 
 May 8, 1864; absent, in hospital at muster out. 
 
 Discharged May 20, 1863; died 1886. 
 
 Transferred to Co. F, 53d P. V. May 30, 1865: 
 died March 9. 1912. 
 
 Avella, Washington County, Pa. 
 
 ■\bsent, sick at muster out. 
 
 Washington, Pa. 
 
 Wounded, date unknown. Shreve, Ohio. 
 
 Harmony, Butler County, Pa. 
 
 Discharged by special order March 12, 1863; died 
 at Sierraville, Cal., Feb. 9, 1905. 
 
 Killed at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Deserted July 1, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Gettysburg July 1, 1863; transferred 
 to V. R. C. Feb. 6, 1864; died 1884. 
 
 Killed at Todd's Tavern, Va., May 8, 1864. 
 iied at Gettysburg July 2, 1863. 
 
 Wounded at Chancellorsville, Va., May, 1863: 
 wounded at Todd's Tavern May 8, 1864; died 
 Oct. s, 1904. 
 
 Wounded, date unknown. 
 
 Wounded at Wilderness, Va., May 8, 1864; trans- 
 ferred to Co. K, 6th Regt., V. R. C, date un- 
 known; discharged Julv 5, 1865. Canonsburg, 
 Pa. . 
 
 'Deceased. 
 
 tMustered out with Company May 31, 1865. 
 
u 
 C 
 
 c 
 
 Pi 
 
 Pi 
 
 t/i 
 
 Pi 
 
 < 
 
 p 
 
 P 
 f- 
 
 t/. 
 pi 
 
 c 
 
 Pi 
 If. 
 
ADDENDA 497 
 
 JUBILEE ANNIVERSARY. 
 
 The fiftieth anniversary of the organization of the Regi- 
 ment was held at Waynesburg, Pa., in connection with the 
 thirty-eighth annual reunion of the Regimental Association, 
 on the Eighth day of October, 19 12. 
 
 Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles was the guest of 
 honor on this memorable occasion, and made the principal 
 address at the afternoon meeting. 
 
 At the business meeting following the completion of the 
 literary work of the Regimental History was announced, and 
 a sample copy of the volume, soon to be issued, was presented. 
 
 The campfire, held in the Opera House, was attended by 
 a crowd which packed the building to its utmost capacity. 
 
 Addresses were made by Prof. R. L. Stewart, historian 
 of the Regiment ; Dr. John R. Paxton, of New York ; Con- 
 gressman Thomas Crago, and Chaplain James E. Sayers of the 
 Eighty-fifth Pennsylvania Volunteers. 
 
 WOMAN'S AUXILIARY. 
 
 The Woman's Auxiliary to the One Hundred and 
 Fortieth Regiment was organized in Waynesburg, Pa., Sep- 
 tember 21, 1909, the object being to look after the comforts of 
 the wives and daughters accompanying the veterans to the 
 annual reunions, thereby making these occasions more enjoy- 
 able to the women folks belonging to the Regiment. The 
 officers of the first year were Mrs. Harry J. Boyde, president; 
 Miss Minna Moody, vice-president ; Mrs. Bradford Johnson, 
 secretary. The officers at the present time are Mrs. Bradford 
 Johnson, president ; Mrs. George R. Murray, first vice-presi- 
 dent; Mrs. John M. White, second vice-president; Miss Myrta 
 Emery, secretary. 
 
 (Signed.) Mrs. J. Bradford Johnson, Pres. 
 
 This organization, it should be added, has contributed not 
 a little to the enjoyment of the men folk of the Regiment, also, 
 who have been privileged to attend these delightful reunion 
 seasons. 
 
'OLD ABE." 
 
AFTERWORD. 
 
 By the Chairman of the Committee on Publication. 
 
 The historian has completed his work. He has been given 
 unlimited discretion. He will not speak for himself. His work 
 speaks for him. On behalf of the other members of the committee, 
 a few words should be added. The long delay in publishing a 
 history of our Regiment has been a cause of deep regret to many 
 comrades. It now appears that the delay has enabled the historian 
 to produce a book of greater historic value, as well as of greater 
 literary excellence than would have been possible at an earlier date. 
 The historian, Professor Robert Laird Stewart, D.D., is a comrade 
 of Company G. He has completed the work assigned him with 
 remarkable ability and celerity. He kept a diary during the period 
 of his service and also made systematic use of his epistolary talents 
 in letters that have been preserved. He has thus added to the 
 voluminous data collected and prepared by his comrades, a wealth 
 of personal knowledge and accurate information of rare value. He 
 has written a charming story and has verified all his statements by 
 tireless and conscientious research. Salient features only, in a 
 long campaign, have been selected and graphically described with the 
 skill and judgment of an author and writer of large experience. 
 The reader naturally asks who is Comrade Stewart? The answer, 
 in brief, is that his life is typical of the ideal volunteer soldier of 
 America, the greatest asset of our free Republic. He was born in 
 Murraysville, Pa., August u, 1840; the son of Zachariah G. Stewart, 
 M.D., and the grandson of Rev. Francis Laird D.D. He left the 
 senior class at Jefferson College to enlist in the Company raised by 
 his instructor, Professor John Fraser. In the battles of Chancel- 
 lorsville and Gettysburg he was in the thick of the fight. In the 
 former he was stunned for an instant by the concussion of a burst- 
 ing Schrapnel schell, a fragment of which cut a corner of his cart- 
 ridge box. In the latter his well filled haversack was shot through 
 by a fragment of shell which bruised his limb. His education and 
 talent attracted the attention of his superiors and he was detailed 
 to the headquarters of the Division, as chief clerk to the Adjutant 
 General, 1864-65. He served with great credit to the close of the 
 war. In 1865 he resumed his studies in college and graduated in 
 the same class with our distinguished comrade and generous patron. 
 Dr. John R. Paxton. In 1866, Washington and Jefferson Colleges 
 conferred on Comrade Stewart the degree of A.B. ; in 1867 the 
 degree of A.M., and in 1895 the degree of D.D. He graduated at 
 
500 AFTERWORD 
 
 the Western Theological Seminary, Allegheny, Pa. in 1869, and 
 was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church the same year. 
 
 He was married to Miss Sarah Ewing of Oakdale, Pa., in 1870. 
 She is still his active help-meet in the true sense of the word. 
 After serving several churches he removed to Colorado in 1873 and 
 for nearly six years was superintendent of schools as well as pastor 
 of a flourishing church. 
 
 In 1879 he was sent abroad as a delegate to the Evangelical 
 Alliance meeting at Basle, Switzerland, and travelled for a year in 
 Europe and the East, giving special attention to the Holy Land. He 
 visited the British Isles and the countries of Northern Europe in the 
 summer of 1892. For ten years, 1880 to 1890, he was pastor at 
 Danville, Pa. where he gave evidence of special fitness as a leader 
 of young men. Since 1890 he has been a professor in Lincoln Uni- 
 versity, Pa. In 1893 the chair of Pastoral Theology, Biblical Archae- 
 ology and Christian Evidence was established in the Theological 
 Seminary, of which he has been the incumbent since that date. 
 For more than a score of years he has been the Dean of the Faculty 
 of the University. Professor Stewart is a valued contributor to 
 various periodicals; author of the Land of Israel, published in 1899; 
 Memorable Places Among the Holy Hills in 1903 and A Notable 
 Life of Sheldon Jackson in 1908. The History of the One Hun- 
 dred and Fortieth, his latest literary work, will add to his high 
 reputation as an author and well deserves, as it will surely receive, 
 the grateful recognition of every comrade and friend of the Regi- 
 ment. 
 
 W. S. Shallenberger. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Acheson, Captain David, n, 105, 12s, 
 301, 306, 309-310. 
 
 Acheson, Alex. W., 309, 310. 
 
 Acquia Creek, 25, 83. 
 
 Allegheny City, Pa., 2. 
 
 Amelia Courthouse, 262. 
 
 Amity, Washington Co., 312. 
 
 Antietam-battlefield, 146, 293. 
 
 Appomattox Courthouse, 198 — Lee's sur- 
 render at, 269-275, 276, 358, 396. 
 
 Appomattox River, 242, 336. 
 
 Army of Northern Virginia, 81, 95, 173; 
 surrender of, 269, 274. 
 
 Army of the Potomac, 7, 81, 209, 222, 
 245, 252-3, 276 — March through Rich- 
 mond, 277 — Grand Review of, in 
 Washington, 279, 344. 
 
 Arnold's Battery, 186. 
 
 Association Regimental — Organization of, 
 403; Reunions of, 403-417; Historical 
 Committee of, 408. 
 
 Atlanta, 248. 
 
 Auburn — battle of, 157-159. 
 
 Baltimore, 13, 20, 21-22, 357. 
 
 Barlow, General F. C, 173, 181, 214, 221, 
 
 231. 
 Barlow's Division, 180, 181, 190, 197, 199, 
 
 201, 205-209, 210, 217, 218, 223, 226. 
 Battle-flag of Regiment, 19, 106, 198, 282, 
 
 442-443. 
 Battle, first experience in, 52. 
 Battles in which the 140th participated, 
 
 411. 
 Barriers, presentation of, 410. 411. 
 Battery, 5th Maine — support of, 70, 72-75, 
 
 118, 362. 
 Bealton Station, 155, 157. 
 Beaver, Pa., 347, 414. 
 Beaver County, 4, 8, 323, 337. 347. 
 Beaver, General Jas. A., 12, 55, 239. 
 Bebout, James A., 313, 319. 
 Beeson, Sergeant, 198, 443. 
 Bell, Lieutenant J. Fulton, 398. 
 Belgian Rifles, 12, 32, 292, 348. 
 Bermuda Hundred, 231. 
 Berry Hill, 163. 
 Bingham, General H. H., 7, n, 124, 129, 
 
 335. 367, 384. 388, 403, 412. 
 Birney, General, 100, 185, 209, 220, 230. 
 Blue Ridge, 82, 155. 
 
 Bomb-proofs, 241; election in, 244, 318. 
 Bowling Green. 203. 
 Boyde, Harry J., 337, 347. 
 Boyde, Mrs. Henry J., 497. 
 Boydtown Plank Road, 240, 241, 251, 267. 
 Boyle, Rev. T. N., 304. 
 Brandy Station, Va., 82, 155-157, 163. 
 Brigade 3rd (Zook's), 26, 59, 73, I02 > II0 > 
 
 in, 113- 
 Brigade 1st (Miles), 154, 161, 162, 167, 
 
 174, 180, 182, 190, 194-196, 197, 198. 
 Bristoe Station. 159, 181. 
 Brooke General, 103, 113, 198, 446. 
 Brown, Dr. Alex., 329. 
 Brown Guards, 329. 
 Brown House (Spottsylvania), 192. 
 Bryan, Adjutant J. S., 379. 
 
 Bullock's Clearing, 64, 82. 
 
 Bull Run (second), 85, 160. 
 
 Burksville, 273, 275, 276. 
 
 Burns, Professor J. C, 5. 
 
 Burns, Captain J. A., 5-6, 108, 261, 267, 
 
 290, 395-397- 
 Burnside, General, 29, 30-32, 222, 227. 
 Butler, General, 172. 
 
 Caldwell, Brigadier General J. C, 83, 101, 
 
 103, 156, 173, 447. 
 Caldwell's Division, 83, 96, 102-103, 112, 
 114, 147, 156-7, 158, 172, 362, 446, 
 449- 
 Calhoun, Rev. Joseph, 344. 
 Cameron, Hon. Simon, 10. 
 Calvert, Lieutenant Alex., 423-425. 
 Camp-fre Reminiscences, 434-445. 
 Campbell, Captain Samuel, 205, 340, 344. 
 Camp, Curtain, 9, 298, 314, 325. 
 Camp Howe, 8, 152, 291, 329. 
 Camp Seward, 12, 13, 20, 292, 339. 
 Canal-boat, transportation by, 298. 
 Canonsburg. 7, 29, 304, 329, 33t, 355, 367. 
 Capitol, Washington, 22-23, 279. 
 Catlett Station, 158, 159. 
 Cattell, Dr., 10. 
 Cedar Run, 157. 
 Centreville, Va., 84, 159. 
 Chambless, General, 231. 
 Chancellor House, 49, 64, 66, 68, 70-74, 
 
 79, 362, 418. 
 Chancellorsville Campaign, 49-80; the 
 crossing of the Rappahannock, 49-50; 
 battle of May 1st, 52-57; of May 2nd, 
 58-63; Jackson's flanking movement, 
 59; stampede of nth Corps, 59-61; 
 Miles' Skirmish line, 59, 62, 65; battle 
 of May 3rd, 64-76; last stand at the 
 Chancellorsville House, 66-75. 
 Chandler House, Va., 68, 70. 
 Chickahominy River, 204, 207, 217. 
 City Point, Va., 239. 
 Clemens, James B., 310. 
 Cleaver, Louis M., 310. 
 Cold Harbor, 207-214, 217, 319. 
 Collier, Rev. Frank J., 331, 332. 
 Companies, position of, n, 83. 
 Companies, Historical Sketch of, 289-359. 
 Cooke, Sergeant Silas, 180. 
 Cooper, Corporal P. A., 310. 
 Corby, Father, at Gettysburg, 101. 
 Corps Second, see under head of Com- 
 manding Officers. 
 Corps badges, 45. 
 Couch, Major General D. N., 55, 67, 69, 
 
 72, 79, 83. 
 Couch's Corps, 25, 30, 49, 79. 
 Cracker-fight. See Todd's Tavern. 
 Crago, Thomas, 497. 
 Craig, Captain R. C, 299, 300. 
 Cross Creek, Pa., 351. 
 Cross, Colonel E. J. T., 103. 
 Crumrine. Hon. Boyd, 307, 415. 
 Cu1nep^»r. tso, ic6, 173. 
 Culps Hill (Gettysburg), 94, 97, 117, 120, 
 
 145- 
 Cunningham, Lieutenant, 2, 265, 309. 
 
502 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Curtin, Governor, 2, 8, 201. 
 Curtin, Mrs., 172. 
 Curtin, Camp, 8, 9, 201. 
 
 Deep Bottom, Va., 226, 229-231, 233, 320. 
 
 Deserters, punishment of, 151. 
 
 Deserters from Confederate Army, 249-250, 
 
 Deserter pardoned by President Lincoln, 
 152. 
 
 Devil's Den (Gettysburg), 97, 100, 116. 
 
 Dickenson, Anna, 169. 
 
 Division First. See names of its com- 
 manders. 
 
 Division (1st) Band, 160. 
 
 Divisions Grand, A. of P., 26, 32, 45. 
 
 Dress Parade, 36. 
 
 "Drumming out" of service, 44-45. 
 
 Early, General .Tubal, 229. 
 
 Edinburg University, 365. 
 
 Edward's Ferry, 86, 363. 
 
 Ely's Ford (Rapidan), 176, 178. 
 
 Emery, Doctor, 34. 
 
 Emery, Miss Myrta, 497. 
 
 Epochs — Campaign of, 1864, 202, 203. 214, 
 
 228. 
 Ewell, General, 95. 117. 1 5~. '59. 164. 193- 
 Ewing, Miss Sarah, 500. 
 
 Falling Waters, Md.. 147. 148, 3- 6 - 
 
 Falmouth, Va., 25, 78, 316, 325, 357. 
 
 Farewell Greetings, 7. 329. 
 
 Farmville, Va., 262, 2S0, 358. 
 
 Faville, Major, no. 
 
 Fayettville, 157. 
 
 Flag presentations, 19, 303, 304. 
 
 Flag of 140th. See Battle Flag. 
 
 Fort Fisher, 248, 249. 
 
 Fort Steadman, 254. 
 
 Fox, Colonel W. F., 282-283. 
 
 Franklin, General. 32. 
 
 Eraser, General John, 7, 10, 12, 104, 109, 
 
 112, 124, 161, 168. 180, 196, 203, 224, 
 
 245, 275. 329- 361, 365-369. 375. 409. 
 
 422. 499. 
 Frederick, Md., 87-88, 276. 
 Fredericksburg, Va., 28, 31-32. 276. 
 Freedman's Concert at Cross Roads, in 
 
 Vinginia, 276. 
 
 Gainesville, Va., 84, 85. 
 
 Gap Thoroughfare. 84, 85. 
 
 Germanna Ford (Rapidan), 165, 167, 176. 
 
 Gettysburg, battlefield of, 94. 96. 
 
 Gettysburg, battle of, chapters VIII and 
 
 IX; second day's battle, 98-119; third 
 
 day, 120-127; losses at Gettysburg, 121- 
 
 131; battlefield commission, 407. 
 Gibbon, General John, 185, 199, 201-2, 209. 
 Gibbons, John S., 3. 
 Giebner. Captain, 298. 
 Glenning, Lieutenant-Colonel, 6th >.. \., 
 
 224. 
 Gordon, General John B., 42, 115, 116, 
 
 178, 179. 194. 240. 254, 396. 
 Grace, Greenwood, 169. 
 Grant, United States General, 127. 173, 
 
 181, 185, 189, 200, 207, 211, 216, 232, 
 
 243, 272, 292. 
 Gregg. Captain Aaron, 321. 
 Grecg's Cavalry, 159, 176, 182, 230-236. 
 Grove. Captain, 299. 
 Guard du*y, 1?. 
 Gum Springs, Va., 86. 
 
 Hacerstown, Md., 146. 
 
 Hamlin, Vice-president, 169, 172. 
 
 Hancock, General, 2, 25, 129, 174-176, 193, 
 
 200, 220, 226, 235, 413, 418. 
 Hancock's Division, 27, 52, 58, 76, 79. 
 Hancock's Corps, 83, 182, 186, 190, 207, 
 
 210, 216, 227, 279. 
 Hancock's farewell order, 246. 
 Hancock at Chancellorsville, 53-54, 62, 68, 
 
 362. 
 Hancock at Gettysburg, 90-91, 101, 115, 
 
 124, 129. 
 Hancock at Spottsylvania, 190-194. 
 Hancock at Reams Station, 235. 
 Hare House, Va., 221. 
 liarper's Ferry, 149, 293. 
 Harter, Mrs. I. H., 369, 403. 
 Hartranft, General, 254. 
 Hatchers Run, 247-248, 258, 267, 453. 
 Haymarket, Va., 85. 
 Hedge. Lieutenant C. T., notes of, 196. 
 
 205, 211. 
 Henry, Captain (Major), 70, 106, 196, 202, 
 
 214, 221, 226, 232, 238, 248, 325, 360, 
 
 372, 373, 403. 412, 415. 418. 
 Heth, (ieneral. 234-236, 239. 
 High Water Mark (Gettysburg), 127. 
 Hill, General, 164, 223. 
 Hill, Dr. B. F., 381. 
 Homeward March, A. of P., 272-278. 
 Hoke, Joseph, 114. 
 Hooker, Major-General Joseph, 33, 46, 48, 
 
 Si, 63, 70, 88. 
 Hospital Field at Gettysburg, 121. 
 Howard, General, 90. 
 
 Howard's Corps at Chancellorsville, 59-60. 
 Humphreys, General, 115, 147, 181, 198- 
 
 199, 247, 280. 
 
 Impedimenta, on march, 24. 
 Ingraham, Colonel Prentiss, 271. 
 Irish Brigade, 43, 101, 104, 196, 422. 
 Irons, Rev. John D., 351. 
 
 Jackson, Stonewell, at Chancellorsville, 
 
 53, 59, 62, 63. 
 James, Army of, 253. 
 "Tames River, 218-21Q, 231. 
 "Jefferson College, Pa., 7, 329, 333, 365. 
 
 417. 
 Jersey City, N. J., 245. 
 Jerusalem Plank Road, 223, 228. 
 Johnson, General, Md., 193, 195. 
 Johnson, ex-Governor, Pa., 2. 
 Johnson, J. Bradford, 407. 
 Johnson, Mrs. Bradford, 497. 
 Jubilee Anniversary, 497. 
 
 Kelly's Ford (Rappahannock), 149, 163, 
 
 171. 
 Kemster, Mrs. Frances, 369. 
 Kilpatrick, General, 173. 
 
 Last Day's March, 278. 
 
 Laird, Francis D. D., 499. 
 
 Lecture course — Stevensburg, Va., 169. 
 
 Lee, Confederate General, 14, 95, 123, 126, 
 155, J "2. 208, 2ii, 270, 358. 
 
 Lee. Fitz Hugh, 274. 
 
 Libby prison, 277. 
 
 Lincoln, President, 23, 46, 243, 244, 249, 
 252, 271. 327 — pardon of deserter by 
 153; news of assassination of, 275. 
 
INDEX 
 
 503 
 
 Linton, Captain C. L., 70, 75, 301, 309, 
 
 3'6, 317. 362. 
 Liverpool Point, 24-25. 
 Longstreet, General, 81, 95, 101, 114, 115, 
 
 117- „ 
 Lossing, Benson, 273. 
 Loudon Valley, 148, 149. 
 Lupines Battery. See 5th Maine Battery. 
 Lynch, Colonel James C, 238. 
 Lynchburg, 268. 
 
 Macy, General Geo. N., 247. 
 
 Mahone, General, 182, 247. 
 
 Maine 1st Regiment, 221. 
 
 Maine Fifth Battery, 70, 72, 75, 118. 
 
 Manassas, 160. 
 
 Manchester, Va., 160. 
 
 Mannan, Lieutenant James. 312, 316. 
 
 Marshall, Hon. Thomas M., 2. 
 
 Marye's Heights, Fredericksburg, u. 46. 
 
 278, 280. 
 Maryland, invasion of, 14. 
 McBride, Rev. Samuel, 76-77, 335. 
 McCallister, Captain VVm., 106, -'48. 
 McCandless, Judge, 2. 
 McCandless, Colonel, 114. 
 McClellan, General, 208, 280, 393. 
 McEwen, Lieutenant Joseph, 71. 
 McCullough, Captain J. F., io,6, 197, 205, 
 
 206, 214, 189, 291, 388-389. 
 McGlumphey, J. S., 256. 
 McLaws, General, 62. 
 
 McLean House ( Appomattix), 269, 272. 
 Meade, General George, 55, 88, 95, 147. 
 154-155, 164, 173, 200, 204, 254. 419. 
 Meagher, General Francis, 43-44- 
 Mendell, Major, 192. 
 Mercer, Pa., 298. 
 
 Mess No. 9 (Company G), 34. 336. 
 Michigan 26th Regiment. 232, 257, 262, 
 
 264, 453-454- 
 
 Miles, General Nelson A.. 59, 62, 154, 162, 
 
 167, 194,197, 198, 281, 362, 40:. 497. 
 
 Miles' (1st) Brigade, 154, 161-162, ii.-. 
 
 174, 180, 182, 194-196. 197, 200, 230, 
 
 282, 379. 
 
 Miles' (1st) Division, 231, 234-235. 240, 
 
 281, 358, 432. 
 Milligan, Chaplain J. Lynn, 171. 206, 383- 
 386, 408, 411. 
 
 Mine Run, Va. 164-169, 383. 
 
 Ministers of the gospel of 140th, 335, 
 451-452. 
 
 Minton, Lieutenant M., 312. 
 
 Mitchell, General Wm. G., 12}. 
 
 Mitchell, Corporal John R., 449-451. 
 
 Monkton, Md., 353. 
 
 Monongahela City, 321. 
 
 Monongahela River, 291. 
 
 Monuments (Gettysburg), of the 140th, 
 107, 131, 405-406. 
 
 Moody, Sergeant Joseph, :oG, 346. 
 
 Moody, Miss Minna, 497. 
 
 Morgan, General, Chief of Staff, 128, 165, 
 216, 236. 
 
 Morrisville. Va., 149. 151. 
 
 Morton's Ford (Rapidan), 172. 
 
 Mountain Run, Va., 167-168. 
 
 Mud Campaign, 32-33. 
 
 Mud, Virginia, 33, 86. 
 
 Mulholland, Major (General). 75- If »4. 406. 
 
 Murray, Rev. Geo., 335. 
 
 Murray. Mrs. Geo. R.. 497. 
 
 Music ITall or Ranidan, 160. 
 
 Muster "in." 8. 9. 
 
 Muster "out," 272, 285. 
 
 Namozine Road, 267. 
 
 North Anna River, 201, 203, 214. 
 
 Northward to Gettysburg, Chapter VII, 
 
 148. 
 Northern Central Railroad, 292-3, 339. 
 
 Occouquan River, 84. 
 Orange Mountain Range, 150. 
 "Old Abe." 498. 
 Old Hundred, 170. 
 Oliver, Adjutant Thos. P., 429. 
 Ormand, Chaplain Marcus, 171, 339, 382. 
 Ord, General, 227, 254. 
 
 One Hundred and Forty-eighth Pa. Vols., 
 12, 15, 21, 70. 
 
 Pami'nky River, 202, 214. 
 
 Parker, Captain Silas, 302, 304, 312, 314, 
 
 3i6, 397- 
 Parkton, Md., 13, 152, 292, 293, 315. 
 Paxton, Captain W. N., 7, 106, 392-3. 
 Paxton, Lieutenant John R., 10, 332-335, 
 
 393-304. 400, 437, 497, 499. 
 Paxton. Oliver, 407. 
 
 Peach Orchard (Gettysburg), 108, 116, 125. 
 Peninsula Campaign, 1. 
 Perrine. Thos. A., 333. 
 Petersburg, Va., 217, 210-220, 222, 225, 
 
 -•47, 249, 250-1, 252, 259. 
 Pleasanton, General, 82. 
 Pickett, General, 208, 259. 
 Pickett's charge, 122. 
 Picket duty. 37-38, 76, 242, 316. 
 Picket exchanges, etc., 41-42, 255. 
 Pipes, Captain J. M., 106, 109, 242, 238-9, 
 
 270, 390-391- 
 Pittsburg, Pa., 8; return to, 286. 
 Plum Run (Gettysburg), 427. 
 Police duty, 315. 
 
 Pollock, Sergeant Wm. T., 332, 335. 
 Pollock, J. W., 329. 
 Po River, 184-188. 
 Pontoons, 50. 
 
 Porter, General Horace, 179. 
 Potomac, Army of, 2, 7. 80, 89, 173, 279. 
 Poultry Farm in Va., 430. 
 Powelson, Sergeant B. F., 36, 162, 180, 
 
 183, 197. 231, 353, 401. 
 Power, Color-Sergeant Jessie T., 106, 
 
 198, 322, 442. 443. 
 Proclamation of President Lincoln, 2. 
 Proctor, Edna Dean, 217. 
 Psalms, 49, 121. 
 
 Purdy, Lieutenant Andrew, 221. 
 Purman, Lieutenant J. J., 6, 8, 106, 109, 
 
 289, 390, 394-395- 
 
 Rapidan River 151, 153, '54. 165. 168, 
 169. 
 
 Rappahannock River, 38-42, 82, 148, 149, 
 434- 437-440. 
 
 Rappahannock Station, 150. 
 
 Rav. Captain J. M.. 267, 309, 311, 378. 
 
 Rankin, Rev. J. S., 335. 444- 
 
 Religious services 171. 
 
 Retreat of Confederates from Pennsyl- 
 vania, 127-128. 
 
 Reviews, notable, 30, 46, 277, 344- 
 
 Reunions, Regimental, 403-417. 
 
 Reynolds. General, 90. 
 
 Rhodes. Tames Ford. 182. 
 
 Richmond, Va., 1, 208, 231, 259, 277. 
 
504 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Riddle, Color-Sergeant Robert, 106, 325, 
 
 44-^. 445- 
 Riddle, Rev. Dr., 331-33-'. 
 Rifles, Springfield, 32. 
 Roberts, Colonel R. P., 26, 105, 107, 109, 
 
 298, 306, 323, 360-365. 
 Robertson's Tavern, 165, 167. 
 Rodgers, Lieutenant-Colonel, 1, 106, 208, 
 
 ■231. 251. 277, 298, 328, 370-372. 
 Round Top (Gettysburg), 94, 96, 100, 102. 
 
 1 1 Si h6. 
 
 Sailor's Creek, 263, 358. 
 
 Sayers, Jas. E., 497. 
 
 St. James College, 146. 
 
 St. Patrick's Day, 43-44. 
 
 Sanders, Silas A., 310. 
 
 Savannah, Ga., 248. 
 
 Saw mills, captured, 169. 
 
 Schurz, General Carl, 55, 78. 
 
 Scotch Irish, 5, 339. 
 
 Sedgewick, General, 30, 173, 178, 181. 
 
 Sedgewick's Corps, 51, 56, 82. 
 
 Shallenberger, Adjutant Wm. S., 69, 106, 
 107, 183, 325, 374-377. 419- 
 
 Shallenberger, George, Assistant Quarter- 
 master, 348, 349, 398-399- 
 
 Sharp, Assistant Surgeon Dr. W. W., 381. 
 
 Sherfy's Peach Orchard, 100, 104, 114, 
 
 364- 
 
 Sheridan, General Phil., 207, 252, 254, 258, 
 
 260, 261, 266. 
 Sick Call, 35. 
 Sickles, General Daniel, 52, 97-100, 115, 
 
 116. 
 Skirmishing, as a fine art, 187. 
 Sloan, Rev. Dr., 34. 
 Slocum, General, 120. 
 Smalley, John. 310. 
 Smith, Dr. Wm., 332. 
 Snowden, Colonel Louden, 417. 
 South Side R. R., Va., 222, 258, 261, 267, 
 
 399- 
 Spies in Maryland camp, 16-17. 
 Spy, execution of, 146. 
 Spottsylvania, Va., 181, 184; storming of 
 
 salient, at, chapter XIV, 192-199, 283. 
 Staff, Regimental, 11. 
 Stafford Courthouse, 84. 
 Stampede of nth Corps, 60. 
 Stanton, Secretary, 243. 
 Steers, Texas, 57. 
 Steuart, General H., 193, 195. 
 Stewart, Rev. R. L., 335, 408, 407, 499- 
 Stuart, General J. E. B., 64, 82, 85, 155. 
 Stuart, ex-Governor, Pa.. 131. 
 Stump of tree (Spottsylvania), 195- 
 Stevensburg, Va., 163. 
 Stockton, Captain W. F., 232, 248, 266, 
 
 302, 303, 353, 401, 402. 
 Sumner, General. 28-30, 32, 348. 
 Sumner's Right Grand Division, 26, 45. 
 Sunstroke on march, 229. 
 
 Sutherland Station, 260, 261. 
 
 Swartz, A. J., 319. 
 
 Sword of Colonel Roberts, 440. 
 
 David, Color Sergeant, 188, 442- 
 
 Taggart, 
 
 445- 
 laneytown, Md., 89, 145. 
 Tanner, Lieutenant Geo., 299. 
 Taylor, Lieutenant, 289, 290. 
 Thanksgiving Days. A. of P., 
 Thompson, Will H., 271. 
 Tigers, Louisiana, 75. 
 Todd's Tavern, battle of, 182-184, 
 Totopotomy Creek, 205, 207, 214, 
 
 245- 
 
 444- 
 
 3-'i. 
 
 Union Armies, 62, 175. 
 Uniontown, Aid.. 87, 88. 
 United States Ford (Rappahannock), 
 78, 150. 
 
 SC 
 
 301, 309, 340. 
 
 430, 
 
 431. 
 
 433- 
 
 4, 2 
 
 6, 66 
 
 122, 
 
 254 
 
 279. 
 
 
 Vance, Captain Isaac. 7, 
 Vanderslice, J. W., 113. 
 Van Kirk, Sergeant, 310 
 Vicksburg, 127. 
 
 Wagon train, capture of, 
 Walker. General F. A.. 
 I57;9, 174- 197, 22 + 
 War, Civil, losses in, 455. 
 VVar-time, letters, etc., 418-431. 
 Warren, General G., 90, 115, 150, 157, 
 
 160, 166, 173, 181, 227, 233, 259. 
 W arrenton, Va., 160. 
 Washington, D. C, 23, 24, 279, 281. 
 Washington, Pa.. 301. 
 Washington College, 301, 417. 
 Washington County, Pa., 6, 8, 202, 355 
 Waynesburg, Pa., 206, 289-290, 497. 
 Wheatfield (Gettysburg), 102, 114. 
 White House, Va., 202. 
 White Oak Road. 258, 260. 
 White, Mrs. John M., 497. 
 Wier, Hugh, 106. 
 Wilcox. Ella. 1. 
 Wilderness, Va., battles of, 176, 192, 
 
 losses in. 181. 
 Wilderness Tavern, 178. 
 Williamsport, Md., 128, 147. 
 Wilmington. N. C, 248. 
 Wilson, Dr. Samuel J., 2. 
 
 Lieutenant W r . O., 68. 
 Lieutenant Alex., 105, 106. 
 Captain' J. F., 105, 256, 399, 
 
 444- 
 Wishart. Surgeon J 
 Women's Auxiliary 
 
 159. 
 
 35o; 
 
 Wilson, 
 Wilson, 
 Wilson, 
 
 400, 
 
 W., 239, 354, 380. 
 Association, 497. 
 
 Zig-zag through Virginia, 242. 
 
 Zook, General S. K., 26, 59, 73, 102, no, 
 
 306, 446. 
 Zook's (3rd) Brigade, 85, 102, in, 361 
 
 363- 
 Zook's Monument (Gettysburg), 102. 
 
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