Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 27, 2015

The 119th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located south of the town of Gettysburg on Howe Avenue.  It was dedicated in 1889 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the second monument to this regiment at Gettysburg;  the first monument is located on Big Round Top and was dedicated in 1885 by the regiment’s survivors.

The drawing of the monument pictured above is from a Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889.

A picture of the monument can be seen on Stephen Recker’s Virtual Gettysburg Web Site which has more information about the monument and the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the second monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry, can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.  There is also a picture and information about the first monument.

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Only a brief description of the activities of the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry was given in the Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889:

How the 119th Was Engaged.

The 119th, under command of Colonel Peter C. Ellemaker, was massed on the second day in the rear of the 5th Corps.  On the extreme left of the line, in the rear of Round Top, it guarded against any flank movement, but did not become engaged.  On the 5th it took the advance in pursuit of the retreating enemy, striking his rear near Fairfield.

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Peter C. Ellmaker

Colonel Peter C. Ellmaker commanded the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg.

Ellmaker, who lived in Philadelphia and was active in civic and governmental affairs, was the chair of the committee that raised funds to form the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry, and upon organization was made its Colonel.  He served in that capacity from 1 September 1862 through his resignation from command on 12 January 1864.

When President-Elect Abraham Lincoln arrived in Philadelphia in February 1861, Peter C. Ellmaker chaired the civic reception given to him, and again in April 1865, he chaired the arrangements for the memorial honors when Lincoln’s funeral train arrived in the city.

In July 1865, Ellmaker was appointed U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  On 19 February 1879 he applied for an invalid pension based on his Civil War service.  During the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, he served as Superintendent of Employees. Late in life he participated in the activities of several veterans’ organizations.

Peter C. Ellmaker died on 12 October 1890, leaving a widow.  His is buried in Mount Mariah Cemetery in Philadelphia.

Some additional information about him can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.  His obituary appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 12 October 1890 and the funeral was briefly described in the same newspaper on 15 October 1890.

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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.  The plaque for the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry is pictured below.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 119th Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg.  There could also be errors on the plaque.

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Tags: Monument

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 26, 2015

The Harrisburg Patriot of 1 June 1904 reported the death of Phil Haller, at Williamstown.

WILLIAMSTOWN

From the Patriot Correspondent

WILLIAMSTOWN, 31 May 1904 — Phil Haller, a Civil War veteran, died at his home of asthma and dropsy. He was seventy-four years of age. His funeral was held on Saturday at 2 p.m.  The local G.A.R. post attended the services.

A few days prior another announcement appeared in the same newspaper with similar as well as different information:

Philip Holler

The funeral of Joseph Holler, aged 74 years, a Civil War veteran, will be held from his home in Williamstown at 2 o’clock Saturday afternoon.

Note that in the body of the news brief, he is incorrectly referred to as Joseph Holler.

There is a Findagrave Memorial for a Philip S. Haller, who is buried at Seybert’s Cemetery in Williamstown, Dauphin County.  That Philip Haller, had a death date of 25 May 1904 and would seemingly be the one referenced in the two news clippings shown above.  The birth date of that Phil Haller is given as 2 October 1832, which by calculation would have made him less than 72 years old, close, but not quite a match with the 74 years given in the obituaries.  There is no photograph of Philip S. Haller‘s grave marker on the Findagrave site, but the memorial notes that he was “G.A.R.”

A number of other items have been located in the Harrisburg Patriot over the period of 1877-1900, all for a Philip Holler. They include being selected as a member of a Dauphin County jury, and on each occasion noting the residence as Williams Township; and a legal contest over lands owned by Philip Holler and damages sought by him from the Williams Valley Railroad.  Finally, in 1900, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Philip Holler of Williamstown was awarded a Civil War pension in the amount of $8.  These items establish the fact that Philip Holler lived in the Williamstown area for most of the time following the Civil War and that there was a Philip Holler who served in the Civil War as evidenced by the pension awarding in 1900.

In the Census of 1870, Philip Holler was a laborer outside of the mine and was living with his wife Mary Ann and six children in Williams Township.

In the Census of 1880, Philip Holler, who was born in Maryland, is living with his wife Mary and working as a farmer in Williams Township.  There are four Holler children living in the household.

In 1890, Philip Holler was living in Williams Township and reported that he had served in the 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private.  No other service was reported and he did not indicate any Civil War-related disabilities.

In 1900 in Williams Township, Philip Holler is a widower, working as an outside foreman for a mine.  His married daughter Emma is living in his household.  This census also indicates that he was born in Maryland, as were both of his parents.

The Pension Index Card for Philip Holler (shown above from Fold3), shows that he applied for a pension on 19 December 1896, but also indicated that he served in the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F.  For that latter service, he was not found in the Pennsylvania Archives card file nor was he found in any of the companies of the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry in any of the available lists.  Also odd about the above card is the death date of 1905.  It is known from several sources that Philip died in 1904.

The 173rd Pennsylvania Infantry was a drafted regiment, where Philip Holler served from muster in on 1 November 1862 through his honorable discharge on 17 August 1863.

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News clippings are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Who Was Philip Holler Who Died in Williamstown in 1904?
Tags: G.A.R., Williams Township, Willliamstown

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 25, 2015

The 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located in the Rose Woods off Sickels Avenue.  It was dedicated in 1889 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is the second monument to this regiment at Gettysburg;  the first monument is located on the northeast side of Bog Round Top.

The drawing of the monument pictured above is from a Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889.

A picture of the second monument can be seen on Stephen Recker’s Virtual Gettysburg Web Site which has more information about the monument and the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the second monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry, can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site. There is also information on the first monument.

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From the Philadelphia Inquirer, 9 September 1884, a description of the festivities for an earlier monument dedication was given:

ON GETTYSBURG BATTLE-FIELD.

Unveiling of the Corn Exchange Regiment Monument.

GETTYSBURG, Pennsylvania, 8 September 1884 — The Philadelphia special excursion, members of the Commercial Exchange and survivors of the Corn Exchange Regiment, One-Hundred-and-Eighteenth Pennsylvania Volunteers, including those now organized as Company H, First Regiment, Pennsylvania National Guards, reached Gettysburg at nine P.M. Saturday.  This morning the party formed at nine o’clock, proceeding to Round Top, where the monument of the One-Hundred-and-Eighteenth Corn Exchange Regiment was unveiled.

Rev. R. F. McInnes, of St. Mary’s Church, West Philadelphia, opened the ceremonies with prayer.

Addresses were made by William Brice, of the Commercial Exchange, formerly the Corn Exchange; Hon. A. G. Cattell, who was also identified with the Corn Exchange; Dr. H. T. Peck, former adjutant of the regiment; Hon. D. A. Buehler and Private Holt.  Dr. D. H. Peck read an account of the regiment giving its history from its formation in 1862 till 1865, when out of 1300 men only 300 were left.  It participated in all the campaigns of the Army of the Potomac, from Antietam to Appomattox, fighting thirty-eight engagements.

After visiting Round Top the excursion left for home at two o’clock this afternoon.

From the Philadelphia Inquirer of 11 September 1889, a brief history of the regiment and description of the festivities for the fourth monument dedication of the regiment:

The Corn Exchange Fighters.

The 118th Regiment was resolved upon by the Philadelphia Corn Exchange, 27 July 1862, and the recruiting began at Indian Queen Lane, Falls of Schuylkill.  It was organized 30 August; Charles M. Provost, colonel; James Gywn, Lieutenant Colonel; Charles P. Herring, major.  Many of the men had been in the three months’ service.  They reached Gettysburg from Hanover in great enthusiasm on the morning of 2 July 1863 and at 4 P.M. rushed to the relief of Sickles from a reserve position in the rear of Cemetery Hill.  The enemy being completely checked the men slept on their arms during the night.  On the 3rd they were near the summit of Round Top, behind breast works, picked at by sharpshooters.  They chased the enemy on the 4th, meeting with hot resistance.  They were in the Wilderness Campaign and the final charges against Richmond, and were mustered out at Philadelphia after a grand banquet at Sansom Street Hall, which was attended by Generals Meade, Patterson and other distinguished guests.

The monument will be dedicated at 9 A.M.  It is situated in “The Loop,” the position occupied by the regiment on the second day.  Major General James Gwyn will be in command as he was during the engagement.  This will make the fourth monument the Corn Exchange regiment will have on the field, one more than any other regiment.  The ceremonies will be in this order:  Prayer, Comrade Sylvester Crossly; hymn, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”; unveiling of monument; oration, James P. Holt; salute; song by the Association, “Comrades Touch the Elbow”; address by president of association, William M. Read; Doxology.

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James Gwyn

The commander of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg was Lieutenant Colonel James Gywn.

After early service in the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry as Captain, James Gwyn, an Irish imigrant who was born in 1828, joined the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry at Lieutenant Colonel on 16 August 1862.  After Gettysburg, he was wounded at the Wilderness on 5 May 1864 and again at Poplar Springs Church near Petersburg, Virginia, on 30 September 1864.  For his actions at Poplar Springs, he received the Medal of Honor as well as a promotion to Brevet Brigadier General.  Later on 1 April 1865, he was breveted a second time to the rank of Major General.  He was honorably discharged with his regiment on 1 June 1865.

After the war James Gwyn applied for a disability pension on 10 October 1866.  He continued working in a dry goods partnership, Gwyn and Stewart, which he had established in Philadelphia before the war until about 1881 when he retired.  He died at his daughter’s home in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York, on 17 July 1906, leaving a widow.  His remains are interred at Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia.

For further information about James Gwyn, see his Findagrave Memorial.  The New York Times published a brief obituary of him on 19 July 1906.

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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.  The plaque for the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry is pictured below.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg.  There could also be errors on the plaque.

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Tags: Monument

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 24, 2015

The following obituary appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot, 6 Feb 1906:

DEATH OF MRS. WIESTLING, NOTED CIVIL WAR NURSE

Mrs. Martha Wiestling, who during the Civil War was matron of several of the impoverished hospitals in this city, died yesterday morning at age eighty-three years.  She had been a resident for many years of this city [Harrisburg], but of recent years had made her home with her niece, Mrs. Elmer Erb, West Fairview, where her death occurred.

The deceased was the daughter of Cornelius Armstrong, one of the earliest settlers in this vicinity and the captain of a packet boat on the old Pennsylvania Canal.  Joseph Wiestling, who married her prior to the Civil War, was identified with the Pennsylvania Railroad as an inspector.  He died eight years ago.

When Harrisburg people volunteered to care for the wounded soldiers of the Civil War, the city possessed no hospital and after the Battle of Gettysburg schools and churches here were thrown open for such use.  A camp hospital was in existence at Camp Curtin in the locality of what is now Maclay Street and another hospital was afterward opened in the old Mulberry Street School House which in 1878, became the Harrisburg Hospital.  Mrs. Wiestling was the matron of both of these hospitals.

Mrs. Wiestling is survived by the following children:  Valentine H. Wiestling and William B. Wiestling and Mrs. Jane Dibley, Harrisburg, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  She was a charter member of the Order of Female Druids and a past Commander of the Ladies Auxiliary of the G.A.R. of Pennsylvania.  Delegations of these bodies will attend the funeral services which will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2 o’clock at the residence of her niece in West Fairview.  Rev. Mr. Woldemuth, pastor of the West Fairview Lutheran Church, of which she was a member, and Rev. Dr. Ellis N. Kremer, pastor of the Reformed Salem Church, this city, where she formerly was a member, will conduct the services.  The interment will take place at the Harrisburg Cemetery.

Martha E. [Armstrong] Wiestling was the great-granddaughter of Benjamin Buffington (1730-1814) one of the pioneer settlers of the Lykens Valley area, and a Revolutionary War soldier.  Martha’s mother was Jane Buffington (1788-1851) who married Cornelius Armstrong (1791-1827) who is mentioned in the obituary.

The grave marker in Harrisburg Cemetery notes that Martha E. Wiestling was born on 21 April 1823 and died on 5 February 1906.  However, as of this writing, her date of death is incorrectly stated on the Findagrave Memorial as 5 February 1908 (see below).

The death certificate of Mrs. Wiestling is shown below:

Additional information is sought on this important Civil War nurse who had family roots in the Lykens Valley area of Pennsylvania.  Are there any known pictures of her that could be shared?  or additional stories?

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The news clipping is from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  The Pennsylvania Death Certificate is from Ancestry.com.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Civil War Nurse – Martha Armstrong Wiestling
Tags: G.A.R., Women

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 23, 2015

The 116th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located south of the town of Gettysburg on Sickles Avenue.  It was dedicated in 1889 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The drawing of the monument pictured above is from a Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889.

A picture of the monument can be seen on Stephen Recker’s Virtual Gettysburg Web Site which has more information about the monument and the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the second monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer of 11 September 1889 reported the following about the regiment:

The Programme of the 116th.

The 116th Regiment, composed of Philadelphians and those of neighboring counties, was formed 11 June 1862, Colonels Dennis Heenan, St. Clair A. Mulholland; Lieutenant Colonels, Richard C. Dale, David Megraw; Major, George W. Bardwell.  It was in service three years and participated in the battles of Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Five Forks, Gettysburg, and many others.

The ceremonies will include, first, a reunion of the survivors of the 116th Regiment P. V., at the McClellan Hotel at 12 M.  At 4 P.M., 11 September 1889, the survivors will march out of the Emmittsburg Road to the Rose farm and cross over to the wooded farm between the Rose barn and little Round Top, to the spot on which they fought, between 5 and 6 o’clock P.M. on 2 July 1863.

The dedicatory ceremonies will consist of prayer by Chaplain Sayers of the G.A.R.  Lieutenant Emsley on behalf of the Monument Committee, will turn over the monument to the Survivors’ Association.  Colonel Edmund Randall will deliver the address upon the presentation of the monument to the Gettysburg Battlefield Association, and Colonel Chil Hazard will receive it on behalf of the association.

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Major St. Clair A. Mulholland was the commander of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg.

Mulholland, who is also found as Mulhollen in the records, was born in Ireland in 1839 and was living in Philadelphia when he enrolled in the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry on 1 September 1862. In early February 1863, he was re-mustered as Major of the regiment, the rank he held at the Battle of Gettysburg.

In 1895 he received the Medal of Honor for his action at Chancellorsville, May 1883, where he was wounded:  “In command of the picket line held the enemy in check all night to cover the retreat of the Army.”  After Gettysburg, he was wounded three times in 1864 battles including the Wilderness and Po River.

Mulholland was discharged by Special Order on 3 June 1865 and on 11 July 1865, he applied for a disability pension which he received.  In 1869 the U.S. Senate approved his brevet rank of Major General, the last such Civil War honor bestowed on any commander from that war.  In his later years he served as Pension Agent at Philadelphia, was active as a Catholic layman, and chaired the commission to erect the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg.  He died in Philadelphia on 17 February 1910 and is buried in the Old Cathedral Cemetery there.  His widow continued receiving pension benefits until her death.

More information about St. Clair A. Mulholland can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.  A excellent biographical sketch of him appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 18 February 1910 as part of his obituary.  See also a prior post on this blog entitled Pennsylvanians in the Irish Brigade.

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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.  The plaque for the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry is pictured below.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg.  There could also be errors on the plaque.

Category: Memorials | Comments Off on Monuments at Gettysburg – 116th Pennsylvania Infantry
Tags: Monument