Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 20, 2015

The 115th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located south of the town of Gettysburg on DeTrobriand 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 115th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the second monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 115th Pennsylvania Infantryy, can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889 told of the “falling back” of the regiment from its original position on the battlefield and gave the the point of meeting of the survivors for the monument dedication day:

Where the 115th Didn’t Stay.

Robert E. Patterson‘s regiment, the 115th, was engaged in provost duty at Taneytown, 29 June 1863, and at Emmittsburg the next day.  In command of Major John P. Dunne it rejoined its brigade in front of Round Top in an untenable position.  The enemy shelled it out and it took another position along a wooded eminence to the southeast of the wheat field, under cover of a low stone wall, and by the side of the 8th New Jersey [8th New Jersey Infantry].  The regiment here held on intact while the lines on both sides were broken away, and not until flanked did it fall back.  It retired to the Union battery’s position and with another charge checked the onset until the guns could escape.  The men knelt in the tall wheat and drove the swarming rebels back into the woods.  On the morning of the 3rd it was brought early to the front and at 3 P.M. was huried away at a double quick to support the Irish Brigade on the left centre, but did not reach that point in time to render any assistance.  After the work of this regiment at Petersburg it had but 7 officers and 84 men present for duty, so it was consolidated with the 110th [110th Pennsylvania Infantry], with which it served until the close of the war.

The Survivors’ Association of the 115th will rendezvous on the field of Gettysburg at Meade Post Headquarters, on Cemetery Hill.

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The commander of the 115th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg was Major John P. Dunne of Philadelphia.

Dunne joined the 24th Pennsylvania Infantry on 1 May 1861 as 1st Lieutenant of Company E.  After completing the 3-month service he received an honorable discharge on 9 August 1861.  He then enrolled in the 115th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B as Captain in January 1862.  Several months prior to the Battle of Gettysburg, he was promoted to Major at headquarters.  As Major, he assumed command of the regiment at the death of Colonel Francis Lancaster at Chancellorsville.  After the Battle of Gettysburg, he was again promoted on 27 October 1863 to Lieutenant Colonel of the regiment.  John P. Dunne was discharged from the service on 22 January 1864.

On 15 March 1889, he applied for a disability pension, which he received and collected until his death which occurred at Norristown, Pennsylvania, on 23 December 1891.  His wife survived him and she collected pension benefits until her death.  Dunne is buried in the Old Cathedral Cemetery, Philadelphia.

More information about John P. Dunne can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.

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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 115th 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 115th 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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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 19, 2015

The 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located south of the town of Gettysburg on Emmitsburg Road at the Sherfy farmhouse.  It was dedicated in 1886 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the statue on top was added in 1888.

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 114th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the second monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry, can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.

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The Philadelphia Inquirer of 11 September 1889 reported some of the history of the regiment and some of the activities on monument dedication day:

The Zouaves d’Afrique.

The first company of the 114th Regiment, known by the caption title, was recruited by C. H. T. Collis, who had served in the 18th Regiment [18th Pennsylvania Infantry] for three months.  It was raised at the insistence of General Banks.  Its other officers were S. A Barthoulot, 1st Lieutenant and George Heimach, 2nd Lieutenant.  Its uniform material was purchased from the French Government.  After the Zouaves covered General Bank’s rear in his retreat from Winchester, Colonel Collis was complimented for gallantry and directed to recruit a whole regiment of Zouaves.  The regimental officers were Colonel Collis, Lieutenant Colonel Frederick F. Cavada, Major Joseph S. Chandler.  The regiment suffered severely in the fight below Fredericksburg, where the groans of the wounded on that stubbornly contested ground were heard all night long.  In Burnside’s campaign the Zouaves manned the pontoons and laid the bridge across the Rappahannock.  At Gettysburg, on the 2nd, the 114th held the centre of the brigade line, resting on the Emmittsburg Pike, opposite Sherfy’s house.  An artillery and infantry attack drove the brigade back in the afternoon, when Lieutenant Colonel Cavada was captured and Major Bowen succeeded to his position.

The members of the 114th Regiment Association will assemble at the Eagle Hotel, under the command of Robert C. Kretchmar, president.  They will proceed to the monument on Sherfy farm on the Emmittsburg Pike.  The oration will be delivered by Colonel Edward R. Bowen, who commanded the regiment in that engagement.  About 150 members are expected to be present.

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The commander of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg was Lieutenant Colonel Frederick F. Cavada.  After he was taken prisoner on the 2nd day of the battle, Captain Edward R. Bowen took over the leadership of the regiment.

Frederick F. Cavada

Frederick F. Cavada was born in Cuba in 1831 and was one of two brothers who were officers in the Union Army during the Civil War.  On 6 August 1861, at Philadelphia where he was then living, Cavada joined the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry as Captain of Company K.  While serving as Captain, he was offered a commission as Lieutenant Colonel of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry.  In order to accept the commission, he had to resign from the 23rd Pennsylvania Infantry, which he did on 20 July 1862.  A copy of that resignation letter is available on Fold3 (2 pages).  Cavada took his new command and led in the field at Gettysburg until his capture.  He was sent to Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, where he remained until exchanged.  In returning he resigned on 19 June 1864 and was discharged by General Order of 20 June 1864.

In 1865, he wrote a book describing his life in prison, Libby Life: Experiences of a Prisoner of War in Richmond, Virginia, 1863-64, but soon thereafter he pursued a second military career in the Cuban War of Independence which began in 1868.  In 1871 he was captured and executed by Spanish authorities.

More information about Frederick F. Cavada can be found on another blog.  His book about life in Libby Prison is available as a free download from the Internet Archive.

Edward R. Bowen

Edward Roscoe Bowen joined the 75th Pennsylvania Infantry as Captain of Company D on 21 August 1861 and 6 days later was transferred to the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry as Captain of Company B.  He was reportedly wounded at Chancellorsville, Virginia, on 3 May 1863.  After the battle of Gettysburg and his taking over of command of the regiment, Captain Bowen was awarded a promotion to Major at headquarters on 1 September 1863.  His promotion to Lieutenant Colonel came on 15 November 1864 and he served in that position until discharged on 29 May 1865.

While Bowen was Captain of Company B, a Corporal in his charge, John Bell, was accidentally shot by a comrade and Bowen had to submit a report on the accident.  That report is available at Fold3 (1 page) and is part of the application for pension benefits by Bell’s widow.

Edward R. Bowen died on 6 April 1908 of pneumonia in Haverford and is buried at Church of the Redeemer Cemetery, Bryn Mawr, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. More information about him can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.

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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 114th 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 114th 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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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 18, 2015

On 1 March 1905, the Harrisburg Patriot reported the marriage of a “grizzled” Civil War veteran and the sweetheart of his youth:

JOINED AT ALTAR AFTER MANY YEARS

Romantic Ending of Love affair of T. S. Kaufman, a Grizzled Veteran, and Mrs. Scheaffer

A love affair that started many years ago, before the Civil War, and furnished a romance fraught with such monstrous difficulties that a gallant soldier boy of the Union and his loving school girl sweetheart had many time ceased hoping would terminate in happy marriage, ended in Harrisburg yesterday in just that way.

Theodore S. Kaufman, a grizzled veteran and a widower, claimed as his bride, his first love, Mrs. Anna D. Scheaffer, who herself had married before, when she thought she would never again see her soldier beau, at the parsonage of the Fourth Reformed Church, 1508 Market Street, at 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon.

In the year 1861, the time of the opening of the Civil War, when Kaufman and his young sweetheart, who was Miss Anna Kaufman and a third cousin, were still attending school at their home in Boiling Springs, Cumberland County, he went to war, telling her that he would return with honor and epaulets and claim her as his wife.

Upon returning he found her married to another man,  Soon after he left home and married and became a resident of Steelton, at which place he kept a general store.  From there he went to Philadelphia, where he has resided for years.  Some years since his wife died.

Mrs. Scheaffer’s husband died some years ago, and several summers ago when Kaufman was visiting his old home in Boiling Springs, he met his former sweetheart and both learning the circumstances of each other’s life, the broken strings of a one-time love were again tied together.

Kaufman is sixty-one years of age and his bride is a few years younger.  They are both well known throughout Cumberland County, she being a daughter of the late Daniel Kaufman, who was an agent of the Underground Railroad.

The newly-married couple left last evening for the East on a week’s wedding trip and will be at home to their friends at the old Kaufman homestead in Boiling Springs.

Fact checking this story is relatively easy with the on-line resources that are now readily available.

First, there is no record that Theodore S. Kauffman went to war in 1861 as is stated in the wedding story. The military and pension records confirm that he had only one company and regiment of service – the 209th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, where he served as a Private from 6 September 1864 through 31 May 1865, and that he was 20 years old at the time he went to war.  Other sources confirm that his birth year was 1844, which matches the military record.

The Pension Index Card, shown above from Fold3, gives the same dates of service as found in other military sources.  Also on that card is his date of death of 7 December 1908 and the fact that he first applied for a pension on 16 August 1887.

At the time of the 1890 Census of Steelton, Dauphin County, Theodore Kauffman reported his service in the 209th Pennsylvania Infantry, with the years 1864-1865 as the time of service.

Theodore Kauffman‘s first wife’s name was “Sally A.” but a maiden name has not yet been located, nor has her date of death.  The last census entry for Sally was in 1880, when she was living in Steelton with Theodore; two sons were in the family. Theodore appears in the 1900 census for Philadelphia as a widower.  Thus, Sally died some time between 1880 and 1900.  The news article suggests that Sally, the first wife, was from Steelton, not from Boiling Springs, and that the marriage to Theodore occurred after his discharge from the army which was on 31 May 1865.

According to the article describing the second marriage of Theodore, Anna D. Kaufman, was first married to a man named Scheaffer, and that the marriage occurred while Theodore was at war.  Because the dates of Theodore’s service have now been narrowed to a nine month period from 6 September through 31 May 1865, the marriage of Anna to Mr. Schaeffer had to occur during that time period in order for the news story to be true.

Genealogical records show that Anna’s first husband was James Fortney Schaeffer, born 12 December 1840 and died 1894.  He is buried in Mount Zion Cemetery, Churchtown, Cumberland County, and, according to the grave stone, Anna is also buried there with him – as Anna D. Kaufman (1844-1918).  His Findagrave Memorial, which is maintained by researcher Dennis Brandt, states the following:

The error-prone Pennsylvania Veterans’ Burial Card file claims that he was a Civil War veteran who served as captain of Company A, 105th Pennsylvania Infantry. That is false. None of the captains of that unit was named James Schaeffer or anything close to it. 

Brandt was correct in asserting that James Fortney Schaeffer did not serve in the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry.  The actual veteran who served in that regiment was James K. Shaffer.  He was from the Pittsburgh area and served from 23 October 1861 to the date of his transfer to the Veteran Reserve Corps, 16 February 1864.  He went to Ohio after the war where he died in 1894.  His widow, whose name was Deborah, collected his pension after he died.  No Civil War service has been located for James Fortney Schaeffer and therefore, he was not collecting a pension at the time of his death.

Daniel Kaufman (1818-1902)

Anna D. Kaufman was the daughter of Daniel Kaufman of Underground Railroad fame in Cumberland County.  After James Fortney Schaeffer died in 1894, she went to live with her parents in Boiling Springs (per 1900 census).  In 1905, she re-connected with and married an old schoolmate-sweetheart, Theodore S. Kauffman, who the news article states was her third cousin.  Theodore was a Civil War veteran of the 209th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, Private, who served from 6 September 1864 to 31 May 1865.  When he returned to Boiling Springs after his war service, his sweetheart, Anna D. Kaufman, who was supposed to wait for him to return from the war, had married James Fortney Schaeffer.  So, Theodore moved to Steelton and married a woman named Sally and had at least two children with her.  After Sally died, Theodore moved to Philadelphia and is found in the 1900 census of Philadelphia as a widower.  It was on a return trip to Boiling Springs that Theodore re-discovered Anna and they got married in 1905.

A historical marker in Boiling Springs, describes the activities of Daniel Kaufman as an agent of the Underground Railroad.  More information about him can be found at the ExplorePAHistory web site.  The interesting story of how in the late 1840s he was brought to trial for violating the Fugitive Slave Laws is partially described there.  Kaufman eventually lost the case and had to pay a large fine. This all occurred while his daughter Anna was a young child.  See also Cumberland Civil War and House Divided – Dickinson.

Anna’s mother was Catherine Fortenbaugh (1824-1907).  Catherine was a member of the Fortenbaugh family who were pioneer settlers in the Susquehanna River valley.  Catherine’s father was Andrew Fortenbaugh and her mother was Christiana [Kauffman] Fortenbaugh.  One of Anna’s cousins was Abraham Fortenbaugh, who became a prominent banker and was one of the charter members of the Halifax National Bank in the early 20th century.

Theodore S. Kauffman was collecting a Civil War pension when he married Anna.  Unfortunately, Theodore died on 7 December 1908, but fortunately for Anna, she was married to him so she was able to collect a widow’s pension – but she didn’t apply until 1916 and then she died at the end of 1918.

Theodore S. Kauffman is buried at Paxtang Cemetery, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

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The news article is from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: African American, Women

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 17, 2015

The 111th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument at Gettysburg is located southeast of the town of Gettysburg on Slocum 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 111th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the second monument, its GPS Coordinates, additional photographs, and some of the history of the 111th 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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A brief description of the activity of the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry as well as the rationale for not holding elaborate or lengthy battlefield ceremonies at the site of battle was given in the Philadelphia Inquirer article of 11 September 1889:

General Kane’s Brave Men.

The 111th Pennsylvania Volunteers was recruited in Erie.  It was mustered on 24 January 1862 and re-enlisted 28 December 1863.  It was mustered out 19 July 1865.  The regiment engaged in 35 battles and the total losses were 651.  The effective force on 1 July 1863 at 20 officers and 239 men.  The loss there was 1 officer and 17 men.  The regiment represents the second Division of the Twelfth Corps, and was commanded by General John W. Geary at Gettysburg.

General Thomas L. Kane was in charge of the brigade, in which were also the 29th and 109th Regiments [29th Pennsylvania Infantry & 109th Pennsylvania Infantry].  General Kane was carried into the fight on a stretcher, and in that position gave directions and held the line.  It was in front of his headquarters at Spangler’s Spring that Charley Miller, of Company B, 111th Regiment, captured a rebel, who was forced to give away information that resulted in General Kane attacking the enemy an hour before they were ready and driving them out of their position.

The dedicatory programme has been made as brief as possible to give the comrades all possible time to look over the battlefield.  There will be no music or speech making.  After a brief prayer Rev. J. R. Boyle, of the New York Conference, formerly an officer in the regiment, will deliver the oration, after which the exercises will be combined with the 107th Pennsylvania Veterans Volunteers [107th Pennsylvania Infantry] , this regiment having been consolidated with the 111th in April 1865.

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Thomas McCormick Walker, who commanded the regiment at Gettysburg, joined the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry at the rank of Major on 23 December 1861 and served the duration of the war until the regiment was discharged on 19 July 1865.  He was wounded twice, first at the Battle of Antietam, 17 September 1862, and then at Wauhatchie, Tennessee, on 29 October 1863.  On 7 November 1862, Walker was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, the rank he held at the Battle of Gettysburg.  On the 23 April 1865, he was again promoted to Colonel of the regiment.  On 5 July 1865, he was breveted Brigadier General.  On 19 July 1865, he was honorably discharged with the regiment.

As with many other commanders, Colonel Thomas M. Walker was called upon to write letters of support for veterans and their widows who sought government pensions.  One such letter was found in the application file of the widow of William Kissel, who served in the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry and was captured in 1864 and probably died in a rebel prison.  Walker verified that Kissel never returned to the regiment.

On 30 January 1883, Walker applied for pension benefits, which he received and collected until his death in 1910. He is buried at Erie Cemetery, Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania.  As shown on the Pension Index Card (above from Fold3), his wife survived him and she applied for pension benefits, which she received until her death.

Additional information about Thomas M. Walker can be found at his Findagrave Memorial.  Also, the text of a letter he wrote to his mother during the Civil War as well as a photograph of that letter can be found at HistoryBroker.

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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 111th 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 111th 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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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 16, 2015

In late 1919, two newspapers reported plans to move a large boulder from Short Mountain between Lykens Township and Wiconisco Township in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, to the Borough of Dauphin, which was on the Susquehanna River just south of Halifax and just north of Harrisburg.  The idea was to create a memorial to area soldiers who served in the World War and Civil War.  A committee was formed to raise the funds for brass plates on which the names of all area veterans would be inscribed.  No subsequent follow-up articles appeared and the idea seems to have been dropped.  What happened to the memorial?  Was it ever erected?  And if not, why?

The first article is from the Harrisburg Patriot, 9 October 1919:

SOLDIERS’ MEMORIAL IS PLANNED AT DAUPHIN

Dauphin Borough, Pennsylvania, 8 October 1919 — Plans for erecting a permanent marker as a memorial to the men and women of the town who served in the World War are being considered.  It will also bear the names of the veterans who served in the Civil War.

It is proposed to bring a huge mountain boulder from the mountains near town and erect it in some central section.  The boulder will be smoothed on at least two sides so that the bronze tablets bearing the names may be attached.  The remainder of the stone will be preserved in its original state.  A number of prominent citizens are backing the project.  Methods for raising the necessary funds will be decided upon later.

The second article is from the Harrisburg Telegraph of 10 October 1919:

FINDS BOULDER FOR MEMORIAL

Massive, Moss-Covered Rock to Bear Bronze Plates with Names of Veterans

Dauphin Borough, Pennsylvania, 10 October 1919 — Daniel F. Seiler, chairman of the “marker” committee of the recently organized Dauphin Memorial Association reported today that he had located a huge, rugged boulder along the slopes of Short Mountain and that it will brought into the borough next week.

The boulder weighs nearly ten tons, Mr. Seiler believes and is particularly suitable for a memorial shaft. It is massive and covered with moss.  As nearly as possible, it will be allowed to remain in its natural state.  It is planned to smooth three sides to allow bronze tablets, bearing the names of Dauphin and nearby veterans of the Great War, veterans of the Civil War and a record of welfare and Liberty Loan contributions on the third.

By the time the boulder is brought to the Borough, it is believe that the tablet committee, consisting of F. C. Gerberich and Charles E. Shaffer, will have secured estimates on the approximate cost of bronze with the inscriptions.  from these the budget can be estimated and a drive for funds launched.  It is believed that the canvass for funds will be started about the middle of next week.  The names of all nearby veterans will be on it.

Comments can be added to this post or sent by e-mail.

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The news article from the Patriot is from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  The news article from the Telegraph is from Chronicling America, a free newspaper resource of the Library of Congress.

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Tags: Halifax, Lykens Township, Wiconisco Township