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143rd Pennsylvania Infantry – Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg
Posted By Norman Gasbarro on June 11, 2011
(Part 38 of an ongoing series on the Battle of Gettysburg). Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg. This post will present the plaque recognizing the men who served in the 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry. By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read. Following the plaque is a list of the men who have thus far been identified as eligible for inclusion in this Civil War Research Project who, it is believed, served for a time in the 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry . Not all the names may appear on the Pennsylvania Memorial plaques. If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg – or it could mean that the soldier was erroneous included in the 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry list. There could also be errors on the plaque. Readers are invited to submit comments about any names appearing below, or on the plaque, especially if they believe the soldier was from the Lykens Valley area and should be included in this study.
Click on picture to enlarge.
Men from the Lykens Valley area who probably served in the 143rd Pennsylvania Infantry :
Byron Brock —- Byron H. Carnes —- Peter Chubb —- Aaron Deibler —- Emanuel W. Deibler —- George Knorr —- Samuel Peters —- William Welker —- Joseph Ziegler
Information for this post was taken from the files of the Civil War Research Project. A separate digital file is kept on each of the above-named men. Information is sought on any men from the Lykens Valley area who were soldiers or sailors during the Civil War.
Company I – 2nd Lieutenant C.W. Betzenberger was my great-grand uncle. He was the first Betzenberger in my family lineage to be born in this country. Neat image of the PA Monument, unfortunately I could not copy his plaque but I have a previous tracing. Errol Betzenberger
Company C — Sgt. Thomas Dakin is my 3rd great grandfather. He is one 6 children born to Charles Dakin & Elizabeth Parent in Philadelphia, PA. Most of the siblings settled in Luzerne County. Thomas was not the only child to fight, his brothers Peter and John both fought too. Thomas was buried in Forty Fort Cemetery but sadly was washed away during the flood in 1972.
My husband just finished writing an article for a local publication, and I was searching for an image of the 143rd monument when I discovered your page. An ancestor of his was a member of the 143rd, Co. K. In the past, we had visited the battlefield and stopped at the PA monument. We realized then that the ancestor’s name is incorrect on the monument. There he is listed as T.L. Graffins, instead of T.L. Grafius. Thomas relocated west to Nebraska and is interred there. His grandchildren moved to California, where his descendents still reside.
As noted above, my Great-Grand uncle C.W. Betzenberger was killed on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg. He had a strange military history – had enlisted April, 1961 and then was discharged in July 1961 for ‘rheumatism’ Later in the year he re-enlisted in Sept. and was immediately promoted to the rank of 3rd. Sergeant. Later promoted to Second Lieutenant. There is neat history of the 143rd entitled “Avery Harris Civil War Journal”. all about the unit which my son found on-line.
Errol
My relatives fought for the 143rd Pa. Viols. at Gettysburgh. I am so proud of them. Their names are Nathan and John Vosler.