Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 17, 2012

Part 6 of 7.  In a prior post, one branch of the Riegel family’s origins in America was presented – that of Mattheis Riegell (born about 1615) of Bad Muenster, Palatinate, Germany, who married Maria Werner.  They had a son, Jost Riegell (1615-1687) who married Maria Honen (or Hoenen).  Their son, Cornelius Riegel (1674-175) was the immigrant who arrived in Philadelphia in 1733, with his wife Anna Gertrude Ehrmann, and their family.  Two of the sons of Cornelius and Anna Gertrude had preceded the family by arriving in Philadelphia in 1732.

From Philadelphia, the members of this family migrated first to Berks County and later westward, with many of the descendants ending up in the Lykens Valley while others went to Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

During the Civil War, more than 100 different men with the Riegel surname (or some variation of the name) served in Pennsylvania regiments.  Some of these men will be presented in this and future posts.  For many, the connection has already been made to the line of Matheis Riegel.  For others, very little is known.  It is hoped that readers will help complete the stories and genealogies of each of the men named Riegel.

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Continued from Friday, 12 October 2012.

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William Reigle

William Reigle (1839-1928).  46th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, Private.  William Reigle was a tailor from West Hanover Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, who stood 5′ 6.5″ tall, had fair complexion, blue eyes, and light hair.   He was a brother of Mitchell Reigle, who also served in the Civil War.  After enrolling at Harrisburg, he was mustered into service at Muddy Branch, Maryland, and served until his discharge on 16 July 1865.  At discharge, the record indicates that he owed an ordinance fine of $6.  William married Mary Nornhold.  In 1890, he told the census that he was ruptured and deaf in his left ear in addition to swelling in his right leg and arms, which he claimed were war-related disabilities.  He is buried at Broadview Cemetery, Hershey, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.  Grave marker photo is from Ancestry.com.

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William H. Riegel

William H. Riegle (1839-1910).  Also known as Riegel and William R. Riegle.  153rd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company C, Private.  A cigar-maker from Northampton County, Pennsylvania, he enrolled there and then was mustered in at Harrisburg, 8 October 1862.  On 1 March 1863, he was promoted to Corporal and then to Sergeant.  His wife’s name was Emma.  He is buried at Easton Heights Cemetery, Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania.  The grave stone photo is from Ancestry.com.

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William J. Reigle

William John Reigle (1829-1908).  Also found as Riggle, Reagle, Riegle, Riegel, and Rigel.  In the 1860 Census, he was found in Lower Mahanoy Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  208th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company G, Private.  He was mustered in on 30 August 1864 and mustered out on 1 June 1865.  He was married twice, first to Catherine Wertz, and his second wife’s name was Annie.  He is buried in the Wright’s Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Millerstown, Perry County, Pennsylvania.  The grave photo is from Ancestry.com.

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William H. Reigle (c. 1845- ?).  Found as Riegle and Reigel.  208th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, Private.  At age 19, he was enrolled and mustered in at Harrisburg, 30 August 1864 and served until muster out on 1 June 1868.  Because of the age difference between this William and the one in Company G of the same regiment (above), it has to be assumed that they are two different people.

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William Reagle (c. 1838 – ? ).  4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company I, Private.  At the time of enrollment, he was a farmer who had been born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, but was living in Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.  He was mustered in t Harrisburg on 17 March 1864.  At the time of the discharge of the regiment, 1 July 1865, William was a patient in a Washington, D.C. hospital, recovering from wounds.  There was a William H. Reagles living in Cambridge Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in 1890.  William might be confused with another Reagle in the same regiment – a Wilson Reggle (see below).

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Wilson Reggle (c. 1838 – ? ).  4th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company I, Private.  More research need to be done to determine if William (above) and Wilson were two different people.  There are two sets of records.  Muster in dates and places are the same and residence fr both is Meadville, Crawford County, Pennsylvania.  A widow named Caroline applied for Wilson’s pension and received it.

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William Riggle (1843-1895).  Records indicate his name was also given as Riegle.  131st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, Private.  He enrolled at Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, and was mustered in at Harrisburg, 12 August 1862.  He mustered out 23 May 1863.  His wife’s name was Elizabeth.  He is buried at Salladsburg Cemetery, Salladsburg, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.

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William M. Rigle (1828-1895).  Also spelled Riegle and Reiggle.  131st Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, Private.  Enrolled at Lewistown, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, and mustered in at Harrisburg, 12 August 1862.  He was mustered out on 28 May 1863.  He married Sarah Lavina Arnold.  In 1890, William was living in Lewistown.  His widow collected a pension, but only for a short time as she died in 1896.

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William F. Riegel (1838-1869).  In some records, he is “Riegle.”  179th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, 1st Sergeant.  He enrolled and was mustered in in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on 23 October 1862 and was mustered out on 27 July 1863.  His wife’s name was Anna.

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William Riegle (c. 1838 – ?).  Also found as Reigle and Reigel.  167th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company D, Private.  Mustered in at Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, on 12 November 1862.  Mustered out on 12 August 1863.  There are two possible places of burial:  Bern Church Yard, Bernville, Berks County – or Spies Zion Cemetery, Alsace Manor, Berks County.

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William C. Riegel (dates unknown).  According to pension records, he served in the 2nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Company H.  He also served in the U.S. Regular Army.  He was living in Florida in 1927.  Not much further is known about him.

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William C. Reigel (dates unknown).  95th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company Unknown, Corporal.  Living in the State Lunatic Hospital in 1890.

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Concluded tomorrow.  For a list of all posts in this series, click here.

To add information to this post, complete the “comments” section below or send an e-mail to the blog (click here).  Of special interest are pictures, military and pension records, stories and genealogies of the veterans and their families.

Category: Queries, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Riegel Family Veterans of Pennsylvania Civil War Regiments (Part 6 of 7)
Tags: Lower Mahanoy Township

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 16, 2012

John Buyers (1827-1908) was the son of George Patton Buyers, a merchant of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  He was born in Sunbury.  Before the Civil War, he worked as a merchant in Sunbury and also for some time as a farmer.

When the Civil War broke out, he raised Company I of the 58th Pennsylvania Infantry, which was known as the Augusta Rangers (named after Augusta Township, the original area of what is presently Upper Augusta Township and Lower Augusta Township, Northumberland County).  His service record indicates that he originally was a 1st Lieutenant but was rapidly promoted to the rank of Captain.  In all, he served from 28 January 1862  through 30 May 1863 when he was forced to resign due to disability.  The Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card (above) from the Pennsylvania Archives, states that he became a Captain of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry, but other records have not been located to support this.  A biographical sketch of him which appeared in the Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County (Chicago: J. L. Floyd & Company, 1911), states the following:

Mr. Buyers was a man of typical military appearance, weighed 160 pounds, and was of medium build and straight as an arrow.  He was officially connected with the old state militia, and he was a member of Good Intent Fire Company.  His neighbors and friends held him in high esteem, and he was called upon to fill township office.  But for the last twenty-five years of his life he spent most of his time reading, enjoying newspapers and books, and he became unusually well informed.  In religion he was a strict Presbyterian (page 986).

The marriage of John Buyers and Mary Alice Painter took place about 1854 and to the couple were born nine children:  William Buyers, who died when a boy; John Buyers Jr., who moved to Texas; Heber Buyers, who died at Fort Concho, Texas; Mary H. Buyers, who married the Rev. William P. Taylor, of the Methodist church, who died in Delaware while her husband was employed there; Howard Buyers, of whom more is said below; Kate R. Buyers, who did not marry and resided at Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Pennsylvania; Harris P. Buyers, who was residing in Sunbury in 1910; the Rev. Frank C. Buyers, who became a Methodist minister had had a parish in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; and Emily A. Buyers, residing in Sunbury and who like her sister Kate did not marry.

In 1869, John Buyers moved to Buyers Island in the Susquehanna River south of Sunbury where he was able to farm about 95 fertile acres of land that belonged to his family for more than 100 years.  He remained there until 1887, when he moved back to Sunbury.

In 1890, he reported to the census that he was suffering from “nervous prostration” that resulted from his Civil War service. He did not apply for a disability pension until 1892 as the Pension Index Card (above) shows.

John Buyers remained in Sunbury until his death in April 1908.  He is buried in Pomfret Manor Cemetery, Sunbury.

Howard Buyers, son of the Civil War veteran, was born in 1862 and because there were no no schools on Buyers Island where he was raised, he was self-taught as well as receiving instruction from his father.  According to the Genealogical and Biographical Annals, “they kept regular school hours, and as the father was a man of remarkable intelligence and well informed, the children did not suffer for the lack of public school advantages (page 986).  Howard learned electrical engineering and construction and was employed by the Susquehanna Silk Mills to expand their facilities.

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The Pension Index Card is from Ancestry.com.  The portrait of John Buyers was cropped from a picture posted on Ancestry.com.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 15, 2012

In this, the second of two posts on the Pennsylvania regiments present during the Petersburg-Richmond Campaign, the “order of battle”, or the listing of how the Union Army was organized for battle, concludes.  Many men from the Lykens Valley area participated in the campaign around Richmond which was one of the longest, largest and most unique of the war and many stories have come out of this campaign – including the tunnel dug by Schuylkill County coal miners and the resulting Battle of the Crater.

For a summary of the battle/campaign and the first part of the listing, click here.

Continuing, with the Ninth Army Corps…

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NINTH ARMY CORPS

Orlando B. Wilcox

NINTH ARMY CORPS – Brig.-Gen. Orlando B. Wilcox.

Escort: 2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry (detachment).

Provost Guard: None

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FIRST DIVISION – Col. Napoleon B. McLaughlen.

First Brigade: 51st Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade:  50th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Third Brigade:  100th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Acting Engineers:  None

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Simon G. Griffin

SECOND DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Robert B. Potter (on leave); Brig.-Gen. Simon G. Griffin.

First Brigade: 45th Pennsylvania Infantry; 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade:  None.

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John F. Hartranft

THIRD DIVISION – Brig.-Gen John F. Hartranft

First Brigade: 200th Pennsylvania Infantry; 208th Pennsylvania Infantry; 209th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade: 205th Pennsylvania Infantry; 207th Pennsylvania Infantry; 211th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Artillery Brigade: None

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Henry E. Davies

CAVALRY – Brig.-Gen. David McM. Gregg (on leave); Brig.-Gen. Henry E. Davies.

First Brigade: 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry (5 companies).

Second Brigade:  2nd Pennsylvania Cavalry; 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry; 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry; 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry; 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Third Brigade:  21st Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Unattached:  None.

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ARMY OF THE JAMES

Benjamin F. Butler

ARMY OF THE JAMES – Maj.-Gen. Benjamin F. Butler.

Engineers: None.

Charles K. Graham

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TWENTY-FOURTH ARMY CORPS

Alfred H. Terry

TWENTY-FOURTH ARMY CORPS – Maj.-Gen. E. O. C. Ord (on leave); Brig.-Gen. Alfred H. Terry.

Headquarters Guard: None

Provost Guard & Orderlies: None

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Robert S. Foster

FIRST DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Robert S. Foster

First Brigade:  199th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade:  None

Third Brigade: 206th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Fourth Brigade: 55th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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Adelbert Ames

SECOND DIVISION – Brig.-Gen Adelbert Ames.

First Brigade: None

Second Brigade: 76th Pennsylvania Infantry; 97th Pennsylvania Infantry;  203rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

Third Brigade:  None.

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Charles Devens Jr.

THIRD DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Charles Devens Jr.

First Brigade:  None

Second Division: None

Third Brigade:  58th Pennsylvania Infantry; 188th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA

Thomas M. Harris

FIRST INFANTRY DIVISION of ARMY OF WEST VIRGINIA – Col. Thomas M. Harris

First Brigade:  None

Second Brigade:  54th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Third Brigade: None

Artillery Brigade: 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery A.

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TWENTY-FIFTH ARMY CORPS

Godfrey Weitzel

TWENTY-FIFTH ARMY CORPS – Maj.-Gen. Godfrey Weitzel (Note:  all the infantry were “colored” troops – only those “colored” regiments from Pennsylvania are noted)

Provost Guard: None

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Charles J. Paine

FIRST DIVISION – Brig.-Gen Charles J. Paine

First Brigade:  None

Second Brigade:  6th U.S. Colored Troops

Third Brigade:  None

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William Birney

SECOND DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. William Birney

First Brigade: None

Second Brigade: 8th U.S. Colored Troops; 45th U.S. Colored Troops; 127th U.S. Colored Troops.

Third Brigade:  None

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Edward A. Wild

THIRD DIVISION – Brig.-Gen Edward A. Wild

First Brigade: None

Second Brigade:  41st U.S. Colored Troops

Third Brigade:  43rd U.S. Colored Troops

Unassigned:  None

Artillery Brigade: 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery E.

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August V. Kautz

CAVALRY DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. August V. Kautz

First Brigade: 5th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Second Brigade:  11th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Third Brigade:  None

Artillery: None

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DEFENSES OF BERMUDA HUNDRED

Edward Ferrero

DEFENSES OF BERMUDA HUNDRED – Brig.-Gen. Edward Ferrero

First Brigade: 104th Pennsylvania Infantry (5 companies)

Second Brigade: None

Provisional Brigade: 2nd Pennsylvania Artillery (battalion)

Siege Artillery: 3rd Pennsylvania Artillery, Batteries E, G, & M

Pontoniers: None

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SEPARATE BRIGADE

SEPARATE BRIGADE – Col. Wardwell G. Robinson

Fort Pocohontas: None

Harrison’s Landing: 3rd Pennsylvania Artillery (detachment)

Fort Powhatan: 3rd Pennsylvania Artillery (detachment)

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Please report errors and broken links via e-mail (click here).  Comments to this post are welcome!

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Regiments at Petersburg and Richmond – Corps and Generals (Part 2 of 2)
Tags: African American, Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 14, 2012

In this, the first of two posts on the Pennsylvania regiments present during the Petersburg-Richmond Campaign, the “order of battle”, or the listing of how the Union Army was organized for battle, will begin.  The listing will conclude tomorrow.  Many men from the Lykens Valley area participated in the campaign around Richmond which was one of the longest, largest and most unique of the war and many stories have come out of this campaign – including the tunnel dug by Schuylkill County coal miners and the resulting Battle of the Crater.

The following summary is taken from Wikipedia, which also presents (in its own format), the “order of battle.”

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865,during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a classic military siege, in which a city is usually surrounded and all supply lines are cut off, nor was it strictly limited to actions against Petersburg. The campaign was nine months of trench warfare in which Union forces commanded by Lt.-Gen. Ulysses S. Grant assaulted Petersburg unsuccessfully and then constructed trench lines that eventually extended over 30 miles (48 km) from the eastern outskirts of Richmond, Virginia, to around the eastern and southern outskirts of Petersburg. Petersburg was crucial to the supply of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee‘s army and the Confederate capital of Richmond. Numerous raids were conducted and battles fought in attempts to cut off the railroad supply lines through Petersburg to Richmond, and many of these caused the lengthening of the trench lines, overloading dwindling Confederate resources.

Lee finally yielded to the overwhelming pressure—the point at which supply lines were finally cut and a true siege would have begun—and abandoned both cities in April 1865, leading to his retreat and surrender at Appomattox Court House. The Siege of Petersburg foreshadowed the trench warfare that was common in World War I, earning it a prominent position in military history. It also featured the war’s largest concentration of African American troops, who suffered heavy casualties at such engagements as the Battle of the Crater and Chaffin’s Farm.

The Wikipedia article on the Petersburg-Richmond Campaign also gives the Confederate “order of battle,” but for the readership of this blog, the primary interest is in locating the Pennsylvania regiments and determining how they participated in the battle.  For those who seek an explanation of how the army was organized (army, corps, division, etc.) reference can be made to a prior post entitled Pennsylvania Regiments at Gettysburg – The Makeup of an Army, in which a chart is given showing these army components and how they fit together as a well-organized fighting force.

Most men were assigned to companies within regiments and they often referred to their company by the name of the captain.  But companies were part of regiments and regiments were the way Pennsylvania (and other states) provided men for the war effort.  Since the regiment was the primary organizational unit for most Pennsylvanians, they saw the war and reported on it from that perspective.  When they applied for pensions, they did so by stating the regiment and company in which they served.  But the larger battles and campaigns were not fought by individual regiments.  The regiments were assigned to brigades; the brigades were assigned to divisions; the divisions were assigned to corps; and the corps were assigned to armies.  The overall Union commander at Petersburg-Richmond was Lt.-Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and under his control were several armies.  Pennsylvania regiments were components of each of the armies under Grant.  This blog post (as well as its conclusion tomorrow) seeks to identify where each of these Pennsylvania regiments fit into the overall command structure.

Although the campaign took about nine months, the reference time for the following “order of battle” is 31 December 1864 and the primary information for this post comes from Volume IV of Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, pages 590-592.  Where a general was “on leave” as of 31 December 1964, that is noted and only the active general is pictured.  Pictures of generals are readily available on the web and nearly all are in the public domain.  The pictures on this post are from Wikipedia unless otherwise specified.

If the word “None” appears after the designation of a brigade (or other organizational unit), there were no Pennsylvania regiments included in that brigade and it was composed of regiments from other states or of Regular Army components.  Nearly all the brigades were composed of mixed-state regiments, so the naming of one or more Pennsylvania regiments as part of a brigade does not mean that other-state regiments did not also serve in that brigade.  To find the other-state regiments that served alongside the Pennsylvania regiments, either refer to the Wikipedia article or the the print article in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (cited above).

Hopefully, this blog post will be helpful to those writing family histories in that the name of the general at the rank closest to the men of the regiment can easily be identified by finding the regiment in the listing.  Biographies of many of the generals are available on-line through Wikipedia with references given at the end of each Wikipedia article.  These biographies almost almost indicate where the generals were from (many had some connection to Pennsylvania) as well as giving some information about their competency and the careers they had before and after the war.

It is possible that there are errors in the listing, and, as always, comments are welcome – or send an e-mail directly to the blog (click here).

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THE UNION ARMY

Ulysses S. Grant

THE UNION ARMY – Lt.-Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Commanding

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ARMY OF THE POTOMAC

John G. Parke

 ARMY OF THE POTOMAC – Maj.-Gen. George G. Meade (on leave); Maj.-Gen. John G. Parke

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Marsena R. Patrick

Provost Guard- Brig.-Gen. Marsena R. Patrick:  3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry (8 companies); 68th Pennsylvania Infantry; 114th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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Henry W. Benham

Engineer Brigade & Defenses of City Point – Brig.-Gen. Henry W. Benham: None

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Henry J. Hunt

Artillery – Brig.-Gen. Henry J. Hunt:  None

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SECOND ARMY CORPS

Andrew A. Humphries

SECOND ARMY CORPS – Maj.-Gen Andrew A. Humphreys

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Nelson A. Miles

FIRST DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Nelson A. Miles

First Brigade: 81st Pennsylvania Infantry; 140th Pennsylvania Infantry; 183rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade: None

Third Brigade: None

Fourth Brigade: 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry; 116th Pennsylvania Infantry; 145th Pennsylvania Infantry; 148th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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Thomas A. Smyth

SECOND DIVISION – Maj.-Gen. John Gibbon (on leave); Brig.-Gen. Thomas A. Smyth

First Brigade: 184th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade:  None.

Third Brigade: 69th Pennsylvania Infantry; 106th Pennsylvania Infantry (battalion).

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Gershom Mott

THIRD DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Gershom Mott

First Brigade: 99th Pennsylvania Infantry; 110th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade: 57th Pennsylvania Infantry; 84th Pennsylvania Infantry (4 companies); 105th Pennsylvania Infantry; 141st Pennsylvania Infantry.

Third Brigade: None

Artillery Brigade: 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery F.

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FIFTH ARMY CORPS

Gouverneur K. Warren

FIFTH ARMY CORPS – Maj.-Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren

Escort: 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry (detachment).

Provost Guard:  None

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Joseph J. Bartlett

FIRST DIVISION – Brig.-Gen Charles Griffin (on leave); Brig.-Gen. Joseph J. Bartlett

Joshua L Chamberlain

First Brigade – Brig.-Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain:  198th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade: None.

Third Brigade: 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry (6 companies); 91st Pennsylvania Infantry; 118th Pennsylvania Infantry; 155th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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Romeyn B. Ayres

SECOND DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Romeyn B. Ayres (on leave); Col. James Gwyn.

First Brigade: None.

Second Brigade: None.

Third Brigade: 157th Pennsylvania Infantry (4 companies); 190th Pennsylvania Infantry; 191st Pennsylvania Infantry; 210th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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Samuel W. Crawford

THIRD DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Samuel W. Crawford.

Henry A. Morrow

First Brigade – Brig.-Gen. Edward S. Bragg (on leave); Col. Henry A. Morrow:  143rd Pennsylvania Infantry; 149th Pennsylvania Infantry;  150th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade – Brig.-Gen. Henry Baxter:  11th Pennsylvania Infantry; 88th Pennsylvania Infantry; 107th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Third Brigade: 56th Pennsylvania Infantry; 121st Pennsylvania Infantry; 142nd Pennsylvania Infantry.

Artillery Brigade: 1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery B.

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SIXTH ARMY CORPS

Horatio G. Wright

SIXTH ARMY CORPS – Maj.-Gen. Horatio G. Wright.

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Frank Wheaton

FIRST DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Frank Wheaton

First Brigade: None

Ranald S. Mackenzie

Second Brigade – Brig.-Gen. Ranald S. Mackenzie: 95th Pennsylvania Infantry (6 companies).

Third Brigade: 49th Pennsylvania Infantry; 82nd Pennsylvania Infantry; 119th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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Lewis A. Grant

SECOND DIVISION – Brig-Gen. George W. Getty (on leave); Brig.-Gen. Lewis A. Grant

First Brigade: 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry; 98th Pennsylvania Infantry; 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry; 139th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Second Brigade: None.

Third Brigade: None.

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Truman A. Seymour

THIRD DIVISION – Brig.-Gen. Truman Seymour.

First Brigade: 87th Pennsylvania Infantry (5 companies).

Second Brigade: 67th Pennsylvania Infantry; 138th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Artillery Brigade:  None.

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This post continues tomorrow with the NINTH ARMY CORPS.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Pennsylvania Regiments at Petersburg and Richmond – Corps and Generals (Part 1 of 2)
Tags: African American, Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 13, 2012

David W. Brown, born on 25 September 1802 in Northumberland County, England, came to America in 1829 and soon after settled in the area of Pottsville, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.  He had learned coal mining at the Hetton Colliery in Durham, England, where he worked from 1826 to 1829.  Knowing of the opportunities available to develop the vast coal reserves of the region around Pottsville, he formed a partnership and created Brown and Daddow eventually buying out Daddow and operating the enterprise himself until he died in 1846.  David W.Brown‘s marriage with Elizabeth Percy in England in 1824 had produced five children, each of whom was associated in some way with the coal business and each of whom – themselves or in the case of the daughters, their spouses – served in some distinguishing capacity in the Civil War.

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David Percy Brown (1825-1908), son of David W. Brown, was born in England and became a successful coal merchant and operator in the area around Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania:

He was but eight years old when he took up his life work, commencing in the capacity of a screen boy at his father’s Oak Hill Colliery, and working upward, filled almost every position about the breaker before he grew to manhood.  When his father died, he was so thoroughly familiar with the details of the business that he was enabled to continue uninterrupted the operation of the colliery for the estate, which he and his brother William did, under the firm name of David P. Brown & Company, until 1864, when the business was disposed of.  The development of the Mahanoy Coal Basin was then in its incipience.  Packer Collieries Numbers 1 & 2 had been opened and were being operated by the Philadelphia Coal Company.  The position of superintendent of these works was tendered to [David P. Brown], and he accepted and assumed charge at once.  The Philadelphia Coal Company was subsequently merged into the the Lehigh Valley Coal Company and Packer Colleries Number 3, 4, & 5 operated under the direction and management of Division Superintendent Brown, who has operated them successfully ever since…. Brown stands in the front rank among the progressive and successful colliery managers in the anthracite region, and the collieries at his charge are among the best equipped for the production, preparation, and shipment of coal.  Many of the mechanical devices for the movement of coal underground, for hoisting it to the surface and preparing it for the marker, are of his own invention, and have been adopted by other colliery managers.  He has devoted a great deal of time to the subject of mine ventilation, with the result that mine workings of the Packer collieries are the best ventilated perhaps in the entire anthracite region….

He also served in the Union Army during the War of the Rebellion.  Early ion 1861 he enlisted ion Company D, 6th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers [6th Pennsylvania Infantry], of which he was subsequently elected lieutenant.  He served three months, taking part in the skirmish at Falling Water, Virginia.  At the expiration of his term of service he received a captain’s commission, with authority to recruit a company for the three years’ service, but, on account of his brothers having enlisted, he was obliged to abandon this purpose in order to give his time to the management of his father’s estate.  He is a member of Gowen Post… G.A.R., of Pottsville….

David P. Brown‘s marriage to Ellen Lloyd produced several children who were connected to the coal industry:  A. David Brown became outside foreman of the Packer Colliers Number 1 and 5;  William Brown became a clerk in the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron Company in Philadelphia;  Hannah Brown married William H. Kaercher who was outside foreman of Packer Collieries Number 2, 3, & 4.

David P. Brown died in 1908 and is buried at Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville.

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William Brown (1827-1878), born in England, was prominent in the coal industry around Shamokin, Northumberland County, where he was an industry operator until his death in 1878, which was the result of an injury sustained at one of his collieries.

During the Civil War, he enlisted in the 16th Pennsylvania Infantry, Headquarters Staff, as Adjutant, on 20 April 1861 and left with the rank of Major on 30 July 1861 at the expiration of his service.

William Brown is buried at the Shamokin Cemetery, Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

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Click on picture to enlarge.

Peter Brown (1840-1862), the youngest son, enlisted at Pottsville, 129th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company B, as a Private.  At Fredericksburg, on 13 December 1862, he was missing in action and presumed dead.  A monument to his honor (pictured above) can be found in the family burial plot in Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville.  It is not known at this time whether he is interred in Pottsville or in an unidentified grave near Fredericksburg.

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Jane Brown, born about 1829 in England, was the oldest daughter of David W. Brown.  She married Joseph Anthony (1829-1885), an Irish immigrant.  Joseph Anthony served in three Civil War regiments.  His first enlistment was on 26 April 1861 when he joined the 16th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, as its Captain.  After his discharge at the the conclusion of this three-months’ service, 30 July 1861, he enlisted again on 23 September 1861 in the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company F, as its Captain.  On the 31 July 1862, he resigned from the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, to accept a commission on the headquarters staff of the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry, as a Major.  He served on the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry from 15 August through 31 July 1863.  On that latter date, he was forced to resign after being seriously wounded at Chancellorsville on 3 May 1863 and sent to a hospital in Washington, D.C., where he recovered enough to go home.  His disability, incurred from the wounds he received, probably resulted in his death some fifteen years later in 1885.

In 1870, Joseph Anthony was living in Williams Township, Dauphin County, where he was working as Superintendent of the Summit Branch, Big Lick, Lykens Valley, and Short Mountain Mines.  In 1880, he was living in Williamstown, Dauphin County, and was still emloyed as superintendent.

He is buried in the Shamokin Cemetery, Shamokin, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.

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Mary Brown (1836-1927) married John Claude White (1829-1902), who first enlisted in the 16th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K, as a Private, on 23 April 1861, but records do not indicate where or when he left the company.  Later, on 23 August 1861, he joined the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company L, as a Captain, but resigned from the company on 1 December 1862 to accept a commission as Major on the headquarters staff of the same regiment.  He served as Major until he was forced to resign on 15 July 1863 due to a debilitating disease he contracted while in the service.  While serving, he reportedly distinguished himself for “coolness and bravery.”

After the Civil War, John Claude White tried working as a farmer in Hegins, Schuylkill County, where he is found in the census of 1880.  Prior to that, in 1870, he was living in Reilly Township, Schuylkill County, where his occupation was “Superintendent of Mines.”  In 1890, he was living in Reilly Township, Schuylkill County, where he indicated to the census that he had served as a U.S. Soldier” in the Civil War but didn’t name his regiment or time of service.  No service-related disabilities were mentioned.  In 1900, he was living in Branchdale Village, Schuylkill County, and declared his occupation as “gentleman.”

It is believed that Mary and John Claude had no children, at least none that survived to adulthood. John Claude White is buried at the Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville.

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Some information on this family was taken from the Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Schuylkill County, by Samuel T. Wiley, published by Rush, West and Company, Philadelphia, in 1893.  A free download of this book is available in “pdf” and other formats from the Internet Archive, click here.  Pension Index Cards are available from Ancestry.com.  Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Cards are available from the Pennsylvania Archives.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on David W. Brown – Coal Magnate
Tags: Branchdale, G.A.R., Hegins, Lykens Borough, Reilly Township, Williams Township, Williamstown