Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 20, 2011

The Seven Days Battles, occurring from 25 June 1862 to 1 Jul 1862, resulted in a retreat of Union forces away from the Confederate capital of Richmond and down the Virginia peninsula.  The Union Army was headed by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and the Confederate Army by Gen. Robert E. Lee.  Battles took place at Oak Grove, Gaines’ Mill, Garnett’s and Golding’s Farm, Savage’s Station, and Harrison’s Landing on the James River.  The final battles were at Glendale, where poorly executed orders from Lee led to Union forces retreating to strong defensive positions, and at Malvern Hill, where Lee’s forces suffered heavy casualties in failed frontal assaults against McClellan’s artillery and infantry.  McClellan ended up in safe positions along the James River, but the Union Army had nearly 16,000 casualties as a result of the seven days of fighting; Lee lost more than 20,000 men.  Lee correctly guessed that McClellan would not again press forward against Richmond and he began preparing his army to move north into northern Virginia and Maryland.

Many men from the Lykens Valley area participated in the Seven Days Battles.  Most would have served with the Pennsylvania regiments who were part of the several army corps that made up McClellan’s forces.  Some served with regiments from other states or served with regular army forces, but those will not be discussed in this post. To help identify those Pennsylvania regiments and the generals who commanded them, the following extract from the “Order of Battle” is presented:

THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC – Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, Commanding

Brig. Gen. George B. McClellan (1826-1885)

—————————————-

SECOND ARMY CORPS – Brig. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner

Brig. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner (1797-1863)

FIRST DIVISION, Brig. Gen. Israel B. Richardson

Brig. Gen. Israel Richardson (1815-1826)

FIRST BRIGADE:  81st Pennsylvania Infantry.  THIRD BRIGADE: 53rd Pennsylvania Infantry

SECOND DIVISION, Brig. Gen. John Sedgwick

Brig. Gen John Sedgwick (1813-1864)

SECOND BRIGADE:  69th Pennsylvania Infantry.  71st Pennsylvania Infantry.  72nd Pennsylvania Infantry.  106th Pennsylvania Infantry.

—————————————-

THIRD ARMY CORPS – Brig. Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman

Brig. Gen Samuel P. Heintzelman (1805-1880)

CAVALRY – 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry

FIRST BRIGADE:  26th Pennsylvania Infantry

THIRD DIVISION – Brig. Gen. Phillip Kearny

Brig. Gen. Phillip Kearny (1815-1862)

FIRST BRIGADE:  57th Pennsylvania Infantry.  63rd Pennsylvania Infantry.  105th Pennsylvania Infantry.

—————————————-

FOURTH ARMY CORPS – Brig. Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes

Brig. Gen. Erasmus Keyes (1810-1895)

CAVALRY – 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry

FIRST DIVISION – Brig. Gen. Darius N. Couch

Brig. Gen Darius N. Couch (1822-1897)

FIRST BRIGADE:  93rd Pennsylvania Infantry.  98th Pennsylvania Infantry.  102nd Pennsylvania Infantry.

SECOND BRIGADE:  23rd Pennsylvania Infantry.  31st Pennsylvania Infantry.  61st Pennsylvania Infantry.

ARTILLERY:  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery C.  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery D.

SECOND DIVISION – Brig. Gen. John C. Peck

No photo available

FIRST BRIGADE:  52nd Pennsylvania Infantry.  104th Pennsylvania Infantry.

SECOND BRIGADE:  85th Pennsylvania Infantry.  101st Pennsylvania Infantry.  103rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

CORPS ARTILLERY RESERVE:  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery E.  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery H.

—————————————-

FIFTH ARMY CORPS – Brig. Gen Fitz John Porter

Brig. Gen. Fitz John Porter (1822-1880)

SECOND BRIGADE:  62nd Pennsylvania Infantry.

THIRD BRIGADE:  83rd Pennsylvania Infantry.

SECOND DIVISION – Brig. Gen George Sykes

Brig. Gen George Sykes (1822-1880)

THIRD DIVISION – Brig. Gen. George A. McCall, Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour

Brig. Gen. George A. McCall (1802-1868)

Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour (1824-1891)

FIRST BRIGADE:  1st Pennsylvania Reserves.  2nd Pennsylvania Reserves.  5th Pennsylvania Reserves.  8th Pennsylvania Reserves.  13th Pennsylvania Reserves.

SECOND BRIGADE:  3rd Pennsylvania Reserves.  4th Pennsylvania Reserves.  7th Pennsylvania Reserves.  11th Pennsylvania Reserves.

THIRD BRIGADE:  9th Pennsylvania reserves.  10th Pennsylvania Reserves.  12th Pennsylvania Reserves.

ARTILLERY:  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery A.  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery B.  1st Pennsylvania Artillery, Battery G.

CAVALRY:  4th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

—————————————-

SIXTH ARMY CORPS – Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin

Brig. Gen. William B. Franklin (1823-1903)

FIRST DIVISION – Brig. Gen. Henry W. Slocum

Brig. Gen. Henry W. Slocum (1827-1894)

SECOND BRIGADE:  96th Pennsylvania Infantry.

THIRD BRIGADE:  95th Pennsylvania Infantry.

SECOND DIVISION – Brig. Gen William F. Smith

Brig. Gen. William F. Smith (1824-1903)

FIRST BRIGADE:  49th Pennsylvania Infantry.

CAVALRY:  5th Pennsylvania Cavalry (Company I & K)

—————————————-

Other

ARMY CAVALRY RESERVE -Brig. Gen. Phillip St. George Cooke

Brig. Gen. Phillip St. George Cooke (1809-1895)

FIRST BRIGADE:  6th Pennsylvania Cavalry

CASEY’S COMMAND AT WHITE HOUSE:  4th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  11th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Photos of the generals are from Wikipedia and are either in the public domain because their copyright has expired or because they were taken by U.S. government employees in the course of their duties. Some of the information for this post was taken from the Wikipedia article on the Seven Days Battles.

An excellent source of information on the Seven Days Battles is:  Echoes of Thunder, A Guide to the Seven Days Battles, by Matt Spruill II and Matt Spruill IV, published by University of Tennessee Press, 2006. The book is filled with battle maps showing the movements of the various regiments as well as information on how to locate the exact places the battles took place.

Category: Research, Resources | 1 Comment »
Tags: Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 19, 2011

The number of Jews who served in Civil War military units is in some dispute, but most authorities contend that it was somewhere around 10,000 soldiers and sailors.  Several attempts have been made to identify specific veterans with the first comprehensive study published in 1895.  That 1895 study by Simon Wolf named 7038 veterans and included their state, military regiment and company.  Biographical information was provided on some of the veterans.  Of those identified, 527 served in Pennsylvania regiments.   It is not completely clear how Wolf chose to include veterans (or not include veterans) in his listing although he does provide original sources on where many of the names were obtained.

In a prior post on this blog, the issue of Jewish chaplains was discussed.  See:  The Execution of Deserters and an All-Denomination Funeral.  By law, military regiments has Protestant chaplains, and Catholic soldiers even had difficulty getting attention to their religious needs.  See:  Pennsylvanians in the Irish Brigade.

A searchable database of Jewish-American Civil War veterans can be found on Ancestry.com:

Lynn Berkowitz, comp. U.S. Civil War Jewish-American Veterans, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008. Original data: Simon Wolf. The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen. Philadelphia:: The Levytype Company, 1895. This data is provided in partnership with JewishGen.org.

Additional information about the Berkowitz database can be found at:  click here.

For those who wish to download the Simon Wolf book (free download), chapters selections are provided below with page numbers from the original as well as page numbers to find the material in the “pdf” version.  The “pdf” page numbers are in brackets following the original page numbers.  The American Jew as Patriot, Soldier and Citizen.  Free download from Google Books.

A Page from the Secret History of the Civil War (Introductory).  87-90 [118-121].

A Remarkable Episode.  91-97 [122-128].

Jewish Soldiers in the Civil War (Introductory).  98-105 [129-136].

Medals of Honor.  106-108 [137-139].

Families of “Brothers in Arms”.  109-111 [140-142].

Jewish Staff Officers in the Union Army.  112-113 [143-144].

Jewish Staff Officers in the Confederate Army.  114-115 [145-146]

Lists of Jewish Soldiers in the Union and Confederate Armies during the Civil War, Classified according to States and Alphabetically Arranged.  117-409 [148-440].  Note:  Pennsylvania list is on 344-372 [375-402].

Soldiers of the Civil War, Unclassified as to Commands.  410-422 [441-453].

Addenda to Lists of Soldiers.  423 [454].

Statistical Data.  424 [455].

In addition to the Berkowitz database and the Wolf book, an excellent source on the service of Jews in the Civil War is Bertram K. Korn’s American Jewry and the Civil War, published in 1951 by the Jewish Publication Society of America.

Much research still needs to be done to identify those of the Jewish faith or of Jewish ancestry who participated in the Civil War.  Anyone with information as to other good sources is urged to contribute it.  The origin of the name of the Borough of Gratz is from the Philadelphia Jewish family of that surname and any members of the Gratz family who were Civil War veterans should be included in the Civil War Research Project.

The screen captures of the results in searching the Berkowitz database are from Ancestry.com.

Category: Research, Resources | 3 Comments »
Tags: Gratz family, Jewish, Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 17, 2011

(Part  21 of an ongoing series on the Battle of Gettysburg).  Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg.  This post will present the plaque recognizing the men who served in the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  Following the plaque is a list of the men who have thus far been identified as eligible for inclusion in this Civil War Research Project who, it is believed, served for a time in the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry .  Not all the names may appear on the Pennsylvania Memorial plaques.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg – or it could mean that the soldier was erroneous included in the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry list.  There could also be errors on the plaque.  Readers are invited to submit comments about any names appearing below, or on the plaque, especially if they believe the soldier was from the Lykens Valley area and should be included in this study.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Men from the Lykens Valley area who probably served in the 151st Pennsylvania Infantry:

John Dietrich —- William Furman —- Theodore T. Gratz —- Jacob R. Haertter —- Isaac Morgan Jr. —- Samuel Schwenk —- Jeremiah Starr —- Jacob Weidel —- William Zerbe

Information for this post was taken from the files of the Civil War Research Project.  A separate digital file is kept on each of the above-named men.  Information is sought on any men from the Lykens Valley area who were soldiers or sailors during the Civil War.

Category: Memorials | 16 Comments »
Tags: Monument

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 16, 2011

(Part  20 of an ongoing series on the Battle of Gettysburg).  Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg.  This post will present the plaque recognizing the men who served in the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  Following the plaque is a list of the men who have thus far been identified as eligible for inclusion in this Civil War Research Project who, it is believed, served for a time in the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry .  Not all the names may appear on the Pennsylvania Memorial plaques.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg – or it could mean that the soldier was erroneous included in the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry list.  There could also be errors on the plaque.  Readers are invited to submit comments about any names appearing below, or on the plaque, especially if they believe the soldier was from the Lykens Valley area and should be included in this study.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Men from the Lykens Valley area who probably served in the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry:

James Haskins

Information for this post was taken from the files of the Civil War Research Project.  A separate digital file is kept on each of the above-named men.  Information is sought on any men from the Lykens Valley area who were soldiers or sailors during the Civil War.

Category: Memorials | 1 Comment »
Tags: Monument

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 15, 2011

(Part  19 of an ongoing series on the Battle of Gettysburg).  Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg.  This post will present the plaque recognizing the men who served in the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  Following the plaque is a list of the men who have thus far been identified as eligible for inclusion in this Civil War Research Project who, it is believed, served for a time in the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry.  Not all the names may appear on the Pennsylvania Memorial plaques.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg – or it could mean that the soldier was erroneous included in the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry list.  There could also be errors on the plaque.  Readers are invited to submit comments about any names appearing below, or on the plaque, especially if they believe the soldier was from the Lykens Valley area and should be included in this study.

Click on picture to enlarge.

Men from the Lykens Valley area who probably served in the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry:

Isaac Brown —– Michael Schall

Information for this post was taken from the files of the Civil War Research Project.  A separate digital file is kept on each of the above-named men.  Information is sought on any men from the Lykens Valley area who were soldiers or sailors during the Civil War.

Category: Memorials | 8 Comments »
Tags: Monument