Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 13, 2012

The Dauphin County Memorial to the Civil War is currently located in a park at 3rd Street and Division Streets near William Penn High School and near Italian Lake.  It is now in the Uptown section of Harrisburg, north of what was once the entrance area to Camp Curtin.  The monument stands about 110 feet high and is a single obelisk which resembles a smaller version of the monument to George Washington in Washington, D.C.  The stone of the monument is native to the area and was cut from the banks of the Susquehanna River.

The monument was originally located at the intersection of North 2nd Street and State Streets but in 1960, after years of deterioration, it was cleaned and restored and moved to the park where it presently resides.

While the monument inscription indicates that it was originally erected in 1869, the fact is that it was not completed until 1876 and before its completion, the “pile of stone” was an eyesore and embarrassment in downtown Harrisburg.  The long, difficult struggle to get funding for the monument and complete it in a reasonable amount of time after the war will be discussed in a series of five posts beginning today. The story will be told as reported in the Harrisburg Patriot, 25 December 1903.

THE INTERESTING STORY OF THE STATE STREET MONUMENT

How the Great Shaft Was Raised as a Memorial to Dauphin County’s Soldiers and Sailors in the Civil War

The younger generation, to whom the great granite obelisk at the intersection of State and Second Streets has always been as much a part of Harrisburg as the street itself, has little or no knowledge of the deep reverence and often deeper sorrow for now almost forgotten heroes which animated the men and women of Dauphin County who were instrumental in its erection.  Few perhaps of the boys and girls who in the past thirty years have played tag around its base, or who have climbed the four old cannon, which until the past few weeks, have marked the four corners, have even read the inscription upon it.  “To the soldiers of dauphin County, who gave their lives for the life of the Union in the War for the Suppression of the Rebellion, 1861-1865.  erected by their fellow citizens 1869”; nor have they the faintest conception of the time and strength and labor, the intense enthusiasm, the hopes and fears, the bitter disappointments and long delays, which mark its history.

Several circumstances recently have revived an interest in this monument.  An agitation for its removal from its present site has been started. ; it has also been proposed to erect a new monument to the soldiers and sailors who fell in the Civil War; and within the last fortnight has added the wife of the War Governor of Pennsylvania who heartfelt interest in the State so greatly endeared her to the people, and who was one of the directors in raising funds for this monument to their memory.

Dauphin County took no small part in the preservation of the Union.   Her sons fought in nearly every Pennsylvania regiment; and their names were found on the regimental rolls of Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and California; in the regular army and the navy.  The Thirty-third Pennsylvania Regiment [33rd Pennsylvania Infantry] had three distinct Dauphin County companies, and there was also a large quota of colored troops [African American].  Many of her sons laid down their lives for the cause they loved, and some to-day rest in unmarked graves in far Southern States.  It is not surprising then that in the days when the wounds of this bitter struggle still bled, the citizens of dauphin County wished to do honor to those who had died for their country’s honor.

On 12 January 1866, a meeting was held in the old State Capital Hotel, where the Post Office now stands, in the interest of a monument to the soldiers of Dauphin County.  The project immediately took hold upon the community.  Gen. E. C. Williams was made president of a Monument Association; Maj. J. S. Detweiler, secretary; George Small, treasurer; Col. H. C. Alleman, chairman, and an executive committee of fifty prominent officers was appointed.  These were Gen. Joseph F. Knipe, E. C. Williams, Thomas J. Jordan; Colonels W. W. Jennings, Henry McCormick, F. Asbury Awl, Horace Porter, John E. Parson, E. G. Savage, J. Wesley Awl, E. L. Whitman, James A. Congdon; Majors W. D. Earnest, Henry Sheffer, John P. Brua, T. D. Greenawalt, Jacob Rehrer, Charles C. Davis, Frank Miller, John Gotchall, D. J. Boynton, John T. Morgan, E. C. Reichenbach, O. S. Simmons; Captains John Nevin, W. H. Harris, John K. Shott, T. S. Freeland, T. K. Scheffer, Levi A. Weaver, C. A. Nissley, G. W. Fenn, J. T. Ensminger, T. J. Novinger, P. Bergstresser, Charles D. Wise, J. Henderson, H. A. Miles, M. Novinger, J. F. Bossler; Surgeons S. S. Shultz, George Dock, Charles Bower, William H. Egle, Harry Buehler; Adjutants A. L. Chayne and George W. Boyd.

The story of the monument will continue in the post tomorrow.

Category: Memorials, Research, Resources, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: African American, Monument, Regiments

Posted By Brian Tomlin on March 12, 2012

Improvements in mechanical factory systems and the movement of many people from farms to cities helped drive the need for “convenience foods,” and many we still depend on were introduced during the 1860s.

• Tobasco sauce. Edmund McIlhenny (1815-1890), a New Orleans banker, was given a gift by a soldier returning to New Orleans from Mexico of some dried peppers that were acquired in Mexico during the United States-Mexican War (1846-1848. The soldier told him to try them in his food. He used one or two and like it, so he saved the seeds from the remaining peppers and planted them. He devised a spicy sauce using vinegar, Avery Island salt, and chopped capsicum peppers. McIlhenny packaged his aged sauce in 350 used cologne bottles and sent them as samples to likely wholesalers. He passed some of his sauce onto General Hazard, who was the federal administrator in the region. The general knew a good thing when he tasted it. His brother happened to be the largest wholesale grocer in the United States. General Hazard sent some of the hot sauce to his brother in New York, and told him it was made from a new kind of chili pepper. On the strength of the purchase orders that followed, Edmund McIlhenny began a commercial operation in 1868. More detailed history: http://www.tabasco.com/mcilhenny-company/about/
• Gulden’s Mustard. Started by Charles Gulden in 1862 in New York City, the original Gulden’s mustard was spicier than the current version. Today Gulden’s mustard is made in Milford, PA.

• canned foods. Commercially sold canning methods had been developed in the early nineteenth century, but the products were not very popular because of the decreased quality of the foods having been canned. The Civil War contributed significantly to the popularization of canned foods in general due to the need to feed soldiers in the field and, in the South especially, the disruption of the fresh food supply.  The army had to be fed and the government contracted with firms to supply food. Under difficult circumstances, people learned that canned foods such as condensed milk can be tasty and nourishing. The invention of practical can openers at the end of the nineteenth century made cans easier to open, making them even more convenient for consumers. Products such as canned peas and salmon were usually sold to people living on the American prairies, most of whom had never eaten the fresh product. In addition, losses due to spoilage caused by microorganisms remained high.
• peanuts as food. The first notable increase in USA peanut consumption came in 1860 with the outbreak of the Civil War. Soldiers on both sides turned to peanuts for food. They took their taste for peanuts home with them and peanuts were sold freshly roasted by street vendors and at baseball games and circuses. While peanut production rose during this time, peanuts were still harvested by hand, leaving stems and trash in the peanuts.
• jelly beans. Jelly beans as we know them today  first surfaced in 1861 when Boston confectioner William Schrafft urged people to send his jelly beans to soldiers during the American Civil War.
• breakfast cereal. The first breakfast cereal, Granula was invented in the United States in 1863 by James Caleb Jackson, in Dansville, New York. The cereal never became popular since it was inconvenient, as the heavy bran nuggets needed soaking overnight before they were tender enough to eat. Granula was a precursor to the modern Grape Nuts cereal.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 11, 2012

DEATHS

SAMUEL S. MATTER

LYKENS, 20 November 1903. — Samuel S. Matter, an old resident of this place, was found dead in a back kitchen at his residence on Main Street, about 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.  Mr. Matter, who was employed at Short Mountain Breaker, returned home from work shortly after five o’clock and entered the back kitchen to take a bath, as was his daily custom.  When ready for the water he would rap on the door and his wife would hand the water in to him.  She heard what she thought was his rap and went out with the water, and finding the door locked called him several times.  Failing to receive and answer she became alarmed and ran to Mrs. Frank Grow, residing next door, and told her she feared something was wrong.  Mrs. Grow ran across the street and notified her father, Asley Cook, who with William Pickup, another neighbor, gained entrance to the kitchen through a window, when they found Mr. Matter lying on the floor in front of the door dead.  He had removed his shoes, coat and pantaloons, the latter being found rolled up under his head and used for a pillow.  It is inferred from this that he was taken suddenly ill while making preparations for his bath and laid down with the hope that the spell would pass off shortly.  Death was doubtless due to heart failure.

Deceased was born in Mifflin Township, Dauphin County, 3 March 1837, died 16 November 1903, aged 66 years, 9 months and 13 days.  On the 9 March 1856 he married Miss Lydia Matter of Berrysburg.  Nine children were born unto the couple, four of whom preceded him to the grave.  He is survived by his wife, two sons, and three daughters, viz: N. F. Matter of Harrisburg; William H. Matter of Youngstown, Ohio; Jennie J. Matter of Philadelphia; Ida (Mrs. William Stuppy)[Ida Matter], and Ophelia Matter.

In 1869 Mr. Matter moved to this place and secured employment at the roundhouse, which position he held about 13 years, after which he was night watchman at Short Mountain Colliery for a number of years.  His last employment was at the breaker feeding a counter screen.

He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served as a Private in Company G, 26^th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers [26^th Pennsylvania Infantry] and a member of Heilner Post, No. 232, G.A.R., of this place.  He was of a quiet disposition, a good citizen and a kind husband and father, and will be sadly missed by his numerous friends.  The funeral will take place this afternoon at 1 o’clock, Rev. S. E. Haas conducting the services in the Evangelical Church, after which the remains will be laid to rest in Wiconisco Cemetery.

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Funeral of Samuel S. Matter

LYKENS, 27 November 1903. — The funeral of Samuel S. Matter, whose death occurred on Tuesday of last week, was held at 1 o’clock Friday afternoon and was largely attended.  Post 132, G.A.R. and the Sons of Veterans turned out in full uniform.  The following from a distance attended the funeral:  N. F. Matter and wife, Harry Matter (brother of deceased), Harry Matter Jr. and wife, Harvey Matter, wife and son, Dr. Harry Stites, Harrisburg; Jennie J. Matter, Philadelphia; Jonas Hawk and wife, Clayton Hawk and wife, Edward Riegel and wife, Gratz; Elmer Wolfe and wife, Loyalton; Mrs. Emanuel Shoop and daughter, Mrs. Keboch, Berrysburg; Henry Bressler and daughter Amanda Bressler, Tower City; Dr. George Stites and wife, Miss Lydia Stites, George Bates, wife and son, James Bates and wife, Mrs. Emanuel Dietrich and son, Mrs. William Wingard, Mr. Elias Grimm, Williamstown; Jacob Swab and wife, Mrs. James Hoke, Jonas Row and wife, Elizabethville; Mrs. Ira S. Wolcott, Tremont; Emanuel Stoneroad and daughter, Mrs. Thomas George, Reading.

The family desire to return thanks to neighbors and friends, and also to the G.A.R. and Relief Corps for their kindness during the sad hour of bereavement.

Mr. Matter’s age was 66 years, 8 months and 12 days, instead of the 66 years, 9 months and 13 days as stated in our last issue.

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Samuel S. Matter (1837-1903) was the son of Joseph M. Matter (1797-1842) and Catherine “Katie” [Schopp] Matter (1804-1879).  He married a cousin, Lydia Matter (1838-1915).  Both were descended from Revolutionary War soldier Johannes Matter (1732-1802), one of the earliest settlers of the Lykens Valley area.  As the descendants of an early settler, the Matters had many family interconnections with the other pioneer families of the area, including the Hoffman family, the Riegle family, the Dietrich family, and the Eisenhower family to name a few.

During Samuel Matter‘s life, he worked at various jobs including farming, carpentry, and as a watchman for the railroad and at the mines.

During the Civil War, he answered the call to service and was sent to Gettysburg and took part in the battle there.  His Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card at the Pennsylvania Archives shows (below) that he was 26 years old when he enrolled at Lykens.  There is little else about him on the card, except for his dates of service.

Samuel S. Matter‘s service at Gettysburg entitled him to recognition on the tablet for the 26th Pennsylvania Infantry Emergency Force of 1863.  However, he is named as “Samuel Motter” on the tablet.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Samuel S. Matter was also recognized on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument:

The above articles were taken from Lykens Standard issues of the dates indicated.  A Pension Index Card has not yet been located for Samuel S. Matter.

The Civil War Research Project is seeking additional information of the life of Samuel S. Matter and any family connections he had to other Civil War veterans from the area.  Pictures, copies of documents, genealogies, etc., are especially welcome contributions.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Death of Samuel S. Matter
Tags: Berrysburg, Elizabethville, G.A.R., Gratz Borough, Loyalton, Lykens Borough, Matter family, Mifflin Township, Wiconisco, Williamstown

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 10, 2012

TWO KILLED IN PLYMOUTH MINE

PLYMOUTH, 27 August 1903. — A heavy fall of coal in the Red Ash vein of the No. 5 colliery of the Delaware and Hudson Coal Company in Plymouth at 10:30 this morning cost the lives of two men.  They are,

J. W. Steever, miner, aged 52 years, of East Plymouth.

Peter Krok, laborer, aged 32 years, of Plymouth Township.

The men were at work as usual at the time of the big fall and were not given any warning of the unsafe roof before many tons of sand rock fell upon them, mangling their bodies almost beyond recognition.

When the heavy report of the fall was heard by the other miners they rushed immediately to the scene and made haste to retrieve the unfortunates.  After an hour’s hard work the body of Steever was recovered from beneath several tons of rock.  At 2:30 this afternoon that of Krok had not been recovered.

Mr. Steever was a highly esteemed resident of the township and an expert miner.  He was a member of the Odd fellows Lodge of Plymouth, Captain Asher Post of the G.A.R. and a member of the United Mine Workers of American, and a veteran of the Civil War.  He is survived by his wife and the following children:  Mrs. David Holland of Waverly, New York; Mrs. Joseph Bertram of Plymouth Township; Mrs. Thomas Berry and Samuel Steever of Forty Fort; Thomas Steever of New Jersey; and Fred Steever of Dauphin County.

Peter Krok, the dead laborer, was 32 years of age and single.

The following story appeared in the Lykens Standard on the date indicated:

DEATHS AND FUNERALS

FUNERAL OF JOSIAH W. STEEVER

LYKENS, 4 September 1903. — By request we publish the following notice of the funeral of Josiah W. Steever:

The funeral of Josiah W. Steever, who was killed at No. 5 D. & H. Mine at Plymouth last week, took place on Saturday morning from his late home on Welsh Hill.  The funeral was one of the largest to occur at Plymouth in some time and demonstrated the esteem in which deceased was held.  Services were conducted at the house by Rev. E. A. Loux, assisted by Rev. Thomas Cook.  A quartet from the Methodist Episcopal Church Choir rendered several selections.  There was a large number of floral offerings sent by sorrowing friends.  The obsequies were attended by the members of Local 1132; G.A.R., Washington Camp, P.O.S. of A., and the three lodges of Odd Fellows.  The pallbearers were C. A. Hochlander, Jacob Bush, Jonah James, Alfred Verry, Benjamin Howells and Benjamin Jackson.  Interment was in Shawnee Cemetery.

Deceased was born at Millersburg, Dauphin County, nearly 65 years ago, where he spent his boyhood.  At the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted in Company E, Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry [9^th Pennsylvania Cavalry] and served until its close.  He was with Sherman in his famous march from Atlanta to the sea.  At the termination of the war he returned to his widowed mother’s home at Wiconisco and soon afterwards married Miss Rebecca Workman of that town.  He was for several years a hoisting engineer at the Lykens Valley Coal Mines.  He came to Plymouth in the year 1884 and followed the occupation of a miner until his sad and sudden death last week.  He was for many years a member of Wiconisco Lodge of Odd Fellows at Lykens, and Washington Camp, No. 148, Wiconisco, was also a member of Post 232, G.A.R.  He was also a member of the Royal Arcanum of Plymouth.  He was a brother of the late Joseph M. Steever, for many years outside foreman at the D. & H. Mines, and Mrs. Jacob Kramer, deceased.  His wife, who is 63 years of age, was stricken with paralysis a few months ago and is still in a helpless condition.

Announcement of Mr. Steever’s burial also appeared in his local newspaper, the Wilkes-Barre Times, 29 August 1903:

LAID AT REST

Wilkes-Barre, 29 August 1903. — All that was mortal of the late J. W. Steever, who was instantly killed in the D & H No. 5 Mine on Wednesday was consigned to his last resting place in the Shawnee Cemetery.  The funeral services were held at the family residence on Washington Avenue.  Rev. E. A. Laux, of the Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Thomas Cook, officiated at the services and paid a high tribute to the righteousness of the deceased.  The obsequies were largely attended by an outpouring of relatives and friends who respected and esteemed the deceased in life.  The members of Elm Hill I. O. O. F., Camp 137 P. O. S. of A., and the colliery local No. 1130 attended the funeral in a body, and the funeral procession was an exceptionally large one and significant of the high esteem in which the departed one was held in the community.

Josiah W. Steever (1838-1903) was born in Upper Paxton Township, near Millersburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Steever, a boatman on the Susquehanna River.  At an early age he worked in an iron furnace as a puddler, then enlisted in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, Company E, as a Private, at Phoenixville, Pennsylvania.  He served a full enlistment of three years and then re-enlisted at Mossy Creek, Tennessee, for an additional term of three years, or for the duration of the war.  At the time of his re-enlistment, he was promoted to Wagoner.  From his Pennsylvania Veterans’ File Card, it is learned that he was 23 years old at the time of his enlistment, was very tall (at 5’11”), had dark hair and eyes, but a light complexion.

Josiah Steever‘s Civil War service time was sufficient to gain a pension, but for some reason, although he applied, he was not awarded one (see Pension Index Card below).  In what appears to be an application date more than two years after Josiah’s death from the mine accident, his widow, Rebecca [Workman] Steever applied for a widow’s pension, which she was awarded.  Being that his obituary states that the wife was in a state of paralysis, the funds were probably applied for by her family on her behalf.  There were no pensions for men killed in the mines, and it is fortunate that Josiah Steever’s military service did qualify his survivor for assistance.

The picture of the grave marker (below) of Josiah Steever is from an Ancestry.com family tree and was supplied by Ancestry member Pollyann43.

For his Civil War service, Josiah W. Steever was honored on the Lykens G.A.R. Monument – as J. W. Steever.

It is not known at this time whether the wife of Josiah Steever, Rebecca [Workman] Steever, was related to Sallie Workman who married Henry Keiser of Lykens who was prominent in the Heilner Post, G.A.R., and who was one of the driving forces behind the erection of the Lykens G.A.R. Monument.  If the two women were sisters, then Josiah Steever was the brother-in-law of Henry Keiser.

Finally, this notice appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot:

LYKENS, 28 August 1903. — Joshua W. Steever, a former resident of this place, who recently secured work as a miner at a colliery at Plymouth, Luzerne County, and who was killed while on duty in the mine at that place, as was also his laborer, was a member of Lodge No. 533, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of this place, and was well known throughout Lykens and Wiconisco, having resided here a number of years.

The Civil War Research Project is seeking more information about Josiah W. Steever and his connection to the Lykens Valley area.  Readers are invited to contribute.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 1 Comment »
Tags: G.A.R., Lykens Borough, Millersburg, Regiments, Steever family, Upper Paxton Township, Wiconisco, Workman family

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on March 9, 2012

Death of Dr. H. B. Buehler

LYKENS, 5 February 1904. — After an illness lasting almost two years, Dr. Henry B Buehler, one of Harrisburg’s best known citizens, died Monday evening at his residence, No. 227 North Second Street.  The direct cause of his death was dropsy born of the lingering illness that struck him down years ago.

Dr. Buehler was prominent in military, musical, social and business circles in Harrisburg for many years.  When a young man he graduated from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, the city of his birth.  He was born on 27 September 1835, the son of William Buehler and Henrietta R. Buehler, and in 1848 came to Harrisburg with his parents, his father taking charge of the Buehler Hotel, the present Hotel Bolton.  Dr. Buehler, after graduating at Jefferson Medical College, established a practice in Arkansas, but on the breaking out of the Civil War he returned to Harrisburg and entered the army as a surgeon in the Eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers [11^th Pennsylvania Infantry] serving conspicuously until the close of the war.  After the war he practiced his profession for a while at Lykens, but left there to assist his father in a large insurance business which he had established in Harrisburg at the corner of Second and Walnut Streets.  On the death of the elder Buehler, the con took up the business and continued it until he retired about two years ago, his illness preventing him from active duties.  He was one of the best known insurance men in Pennsylvania and was noted for his accuracy as an insurance adjuster, having but few equals in that particular.

Dr. Buehler in his younger days was prominent in society, and for years he was renowned as a vocalist, being possessed of a deep rich bass voice, which was often heard in choirs and at public concerts.  He was a member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Choir from his boyhood until he was stricken with illness, and was exceedingly popular.  An Odd Fellow for many years, and one of the charter members of Post 58, Grand Army of the Republic [G.A.R.], he was well known in secret society and military circles.

Genial, affable, courteous and always polite, he resembled his father, who Dickens said, in his American notes, was the politest man he met in the United States.

Dr. Buehler is survived by his wife, his daughter Eloise Buehler of Baltimore, and the following brothers and sisters:  Mrs. Robert A. Lamberton, Harrisburg; Mrs. H. Stanley Woodwin, Bethlehem, deceased; Rear Admiral William G. Buehler, U.S. Navy, retired, Philadelphia; Mrs. George Douglass Ramsey, Harrisburg; Edward H. Buehler, wholesale druggist, Chicago, Illinois.

The funeral services were held Wednesday afternoon, at 2 o’clock, from St. Stephen’s Church, North Front Street, the Rev. Hasting conducting the services, assisted by the Rev. Leroy F. Baker, and interment was made in Harrisburg cemetery – Harrisburg Telegraph.

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Dr. Buehler practiced medicine at this place before and not after the war, as stated in the above article, and will be remembered by the older residents of this section.  He and the senior editor of the Standard, with one or two others, composed the choir of the Episcopal Church when services were held in the old school house which stood on the premises on North Second Street where now is located the store and dwelling of J. B. Fisher, or close by.  The late S. H.  Barrett and Dr. Buehler took turns in reading the service, and those were the first Episcopal services held in this valley.  This was in 1860 and the following year Dr. Buehler went to Harrisburg.

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The above article appeared in the Lykens Standard on the date indicated.  Dr. Buehler was previously mentioned in a post entitled,  Gratz During the Civil War – Dr. Isaiah Schminky, Physician.  In that post, it was stated that Dr. Schminky partnered with a Dr. Buehler for a time during the 1860s.  Similar information was also reported in A Comprehensive History of the Town of Gratz Pennsylvania.  At that time not much was known about Dr. Buehler, but the obituary from 1903 now clears up the mystery.  The Dr. Buehler who for a time was a partner of Dr. Schminky was the same Dr. Buehler who was such an influential citizen of Harrisburg and was also a surgeon during the Civil War.

Dr. Buehler’s information card from the Pennsylvania Archives is presented above.  He was commissioned as an Assistant Surgeon in the 11th Pennsylvani Infantry, Headquarters, 26 April 1861.  He only served until 1 August 1861.

For his Civil War service he received a pension and after his death his widow continued to receive the benefits until her death.

Dr, Buehler was also instrumental in raising funds for the Dauphin County Civil War Memorial.  The story of the how the Dauphin County Civil War Memorial came to be erected will appear beginning Tuesday, 13 March 2012.

The portrait of Dr. Buehler is from an on-line volume of MOLLUS (Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States) photographs, the copyright of which has expired.  The complete book of military portraits is available as a free download at the Internet Archive.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 2 Comments »
Tags: Buehler family, Gratz Borough, Lykens Borough, Schminky family