George W. Maxwell, 72nd Pennsylvania, Company A

On October 8, Elizabeth Maxwell wrote to Lieutenant Commanding John Holahan of the 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry inquiring about her son George W. Maxwell's death at Antietam on September 17. George served in Company A and like many in that company came from the 19th Ward on Philadelphia. His company, part of Baxter's Fire Zouaves of the 72nd Regiment, formed in Philadelphia in August and September 1861. Here is Lt. Holahan's reply to her letter.

Head Quarters 72nd Regt P.V.

Bolivar Heights

October 11, 1862

Mrs. Elizabeth Maxwell

Madam

I received your letter of the 8th inst. Inquiring the Particulars of your Sons Death. All that I can say is that he fell at his Post while the regiment was advancing in line of Battle to meet the Enemy on the Morning of the 17th of Sept. 1862 at the Battle of Antietam. He received a Ball through the Heart and Expired a few moments afterwards. If you should wish to get his Body, you can do so. His gave is marked with his name & Regt. It is on the Sharpsburg Turnpike about one mile this side of Sharpsburg. The easiest way of getting his Pay is by applying to Jos. Devitt & Co.[1] Walnut St. bet. 4th St. Philad. He was Paid up to the 30th April 1862,

Respectfully yours,

Jno. Holahan

Lieut. Coming. Co. N 72 P.V.

====

John A. Holahan (aka Hollahan) is 1st Lieutenant of Company N. The regimental report filed from Bolivar Heights post battle shows its captain, Joseph Ellis, absent since August 14 and 2d Lieutenant James M. Sunderland on recruiting service.  

As for Maxwell, the "Brief in Case" signed by James Morgan, Examining Clerk, assigned to the Maxwell application lists him as a member of Company A.  But Elizabeth's Maxwell's declaration and assignment-of-attorney on February 25, 1863 places him in Company N "commanded by Captain Ellis." Her printed pension application form also shows him in Company N.  

National Archives RG 94, Records of the Adjutant General's Office, Book Records of Volunteer Union Organizations, 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry, Descriptive Book, Companies A and L, E112-115, PI-17, Vol. 1 of 1, Return of the Seventy Second Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Army of the Potomac, Bolivar Heights [Virginia]; RG 94, Indexes to the Carded Records of Soldiers Who Served in Volunteer Organizations During the Civil War, compiled 1899 - 1927, documenting the period 1861 - 1866.

[1]  Joseph Devitt headed "The Military and Naval Agency" of the Joseph E. Devitt & Co. in Philadelphia. He identified himself as a "Late Pension Agent for U.S. Government." 

An Excursion of the Philadelphia Brigade to Antietam, September 17, 1906

What follows is an account of the excursion of the Philadelphia Brigade Association to its Antietam Monument on September 17, 1906. 

"At a meeting of the Philadelphia Brigade Association, held at Grand Army headquarters, Fifth and Chestnut streets, on Tuesday evening June 12, 1906, upon motion of Comrade John W. Frazier, it was unanimously agreed that the Brigade Association make a visit to Gettysburg and Antietam, on September 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th, and that a Committee of Seven, with Commander John D. Worman, as chairman, be appointed to make all arrangements for such a trip."

"On the following day Adjutant Frazier wrote to Comrade Chas. T. Loehr, Secretary Pickett's Division Association, informing him of the action taken by the Brigade Association, and suggesting that the survivors of the Philadelphia Brigade would like to meet the comrades of Pickett's Division upon this occasion." 

Soon, the Pickett's Division Association accepted the invitation and the Reunion of the Blue and Gray took shape and dates established. The two former foes would devote September 15-16 to memorializing Gettysburg. On the 17th, the Philadelphia Brigade Association embarked on a day trip to Antietam "to honor by our presence the memory of 545 of our Brigade, who fell in that one day's battle." Things did not go well.  

The itinerary laid out, they would leave Gettysburg, "on Monday morning, at 8.30 o'clock, take a special train for Antietam. Drive to Philadelphia Brigade Park, where dinner will be served, after which a drive over the Antietam battle-field, returning to Gettysburg in time for supper."

And so, "on Monday morning at 8.30 o'clock, the whole party took the special train for Antietam, and although the promise of the Railroad Company was to put us at the Antietam Station at 11 o'clock--a run of about 40 miles in 2 1/2 hours--it was half past one o'clock when the train reached Antietam, full two hours and a half behind time, thus making our trip to Antietam one of vexation, instead of pleasure, inasmuch as dinner had been provided for 150 persons at the Philadelphia Brigade Park at 11.30 o'clock, remaining cooked and uneaten until two o'clock, and depriving us of our anticipated trip over the Antietam battle-field, as we were scheduled to return to Gettysburg at 4 o'clock."

While their dinner must have been a hurried affair, the brigade did have time for a memorial photograph during  their less than two hour visit to the field.

"Starting from Antietam at 4 o'clock, we reached Gettysburg at 6:15, in time for supper, making the return trip in 2 1/4 hours--just half the time it took to make the trip to Antietam from Gettysburg."

Source: John W. Frazier, Reunion of the Blue and Gray: Philadelphia Brigade and Pickett's Division, July 2, 3, 4 1887 and September 15, 16, 17, 1906 (Philadelphia, Ware Bros. Company, Printers, 1906), pp. 10, 57, 113-14.

"Resting awhile but not left alone:" Thomas H. Eaton and the 72nd Pennsylvania in the West Woods.

Phoenixville April 1st 1905.

Gen E. A. Carman_

Dear General

In answer to your favor of the 29th inst. In looking over my Diary in relation to the 17th of September 1862_ I find that there is so few remarks in regard to this great battle that it looks as if it was a mere outline of a lecture to be filled out at any time and not twice alike^⁠1.[1] 

The Cope/Carman 1908 map showing action

around the Dunkard Church at approximately

9 to 9:30 a.m. The worm fence mentioned

by Eaton may have been the one running

adjacent to the Smoketown Road [at 1] which

veers northeast from the church [at 3] to the upper 

right corner of this image. The road that runs

west from the church [at 2] is the trace that

connects Hagerstown Pike to the Alfred 

Poffenberger farmstead. Library of Congress.

Wednesday Sept 17, 1862. Up at 2 a.m. Coffee 80 Rounds Cartridges. Took our shelter tent down. Shelling from the Confederates. Started at 7 a.m. crossing a creek, but just filled Canteens (with water). B[rigade]  movement over fields &c_ brought in line of battle, 34 NYI^⁠2 broke through our lines throwing us into great disorder. Pvts. Diackery^⁠3, Wm Prior^⁠4 both of my company H, one of the 71st, and myself went on our own luck (I might say here that we recrossed the Hagerstown Pike North of the Dunker Church up to this time[,] near noon[,] had not seen the Church it was on our left.) W Prior’s leg broken by a party^⁠5 that were laying in the Pike. I judge to the South of the Church. Put Prior on my back and[,] strange to say[,] took his Haversack and placed it on my should the strap like my other (now had two). Took him to the rear of two pieces of Artillery that must have been left by the Confederates, as they were pointed towards our lines and were roughly mounted.

Resting awhile but not left alone by the enemy who kept firing at us from there to a Road which I noticed afterwards runs nearly West from the Dunker's Church and to the North of which our artillery brass pieces were firing upon the enemy^⁠6. The fence was a worm fence and as Prior said[,] [“]let me down I am about to faint,[“] did so in an angle formed by this kind of fence. Now and then a row would be knocked off near us from Confed Batteries, so I went to short distance and found our stretcher Carriers who at once took Prior to the Hospital. 

I being now free[,] returned to the West Woods and through the Dunker Church noticed how the windows were broken and particularly a section of stove pipe was in the end of the room held together by fragments that had not yet been perforated. I noticed the Church had never been used for the wounded as a hospital (This section of pipe my father in Law Angus N. MacPherson^⁠7 Esq secured as a souvenir of the battle). 

From memory and my diary I am positive that we were[,] as a regiment[,] had been close to the church but to the front of it. Col C. H. Banes says on page 112 History of the Philad Brigade the formation of our brigade was 106^⁠8 on the right then 69^⁠9 then 72^⁠10 and left was the 71st^⁠11. My diary fails to state it but my memory fills the gap by knowing this. Capt. I MacBride^⁠12 of Co. B was on our extreme left then came Co. H my Company under Command of Ct. J Neal^⁠13 and as we being left of the colors I could have seen the Dunker's Church had we got in sight of it. The officer I mentioned with other Capt. Frank MacBride^⁠14 were often in the front of the line tearing away obstructions that presented as we kept so long marching in line of Brigade. History of the Second Army Corps Francis A. Walker ^⁠15page 106 speaks of the 72nd Pa being on the left of the line and had entered the West Woods but a few yards [left] of the Dunker Church when Hookers men who were in possession of that part of the field were driven out &c. The Maryland Campaign by Geo Hess¹⁶ on page 30 says the 34th New York_ which had broken at a critical moment while attempting a maneuver under a terrible fire, was nearly cut to pieces. The best or plainest map that I have looked at I think not showing the position of troops is that in Walker’s book page 103^⁠17_ I send you the remarks that were made in Sharpsburg Sept 17 1904_ which may be of interest and if they meet your approval just enclose it and return if you pleas as it is the only type written copy in my possession_ Thank you for your approval of what was written before.

I remain, Yours Sincerely, Thomas H Eaton

Co. H 72nd Pa I.

================

Source: Ezra Carman Papers, Box 3, Folder 2, New York Public Library. Thanks to Tom Clemens for supplying the photocopy of the manuscript transcribed and annotated here.

Notes:


1 This was a fairly common phrase in the mid to late 19th Century. The meaning Eaton is trying to convey is that each “lecture” ought to be different from the one before it. See, for example, Francis Thompson’s poem “To the Sinking Sun.” Describing the variety of sunsets, Thompson wrote: “Here every eve thou goest down/Behind the self-same hill/Nor ever twice alike go’st down/Behind the self-same hill/Nor like-ways is one flame-sopped flower/Possessed with glory past its will.” Thompson (1859-1907) published three works of poetry between 1893 and 1897. Retrieved from www.PoemHunter.com/fancis-thompson/biography.

2 This is the 34th New York Volunteer Infantry located on the Cope/Carman map adjacent to and south of the Dunkard Church.

3 This is Private Joseph Diackery. Company H. He survived the war and was mustered out with his unit on August 24, 1864. Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, Vol. II (Harrisburg, Pa., B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869), p. 855.

4 This is Private William Pryor. Company H. He was discharged on January 11, 1863 for wounds he received at Antietam. Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, Vol. II (Harrisburg, Pa., B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869), p. 855.

5 These pieces have not be identified.

6 The only road running west and north from the Dunkard Church is a farm trace that connected the church to the Hauser, Nicodemus, and Poffenberger farmsteads.

7 There is no MacPherson listed in Bates nor in the 72nd Pennsylvania roster at the Penn State Population Studies Database. The 1860 Federal Census shows Angus MacPherson (44) and Emeline Macpherson (38) and their seven children living in Philadelphia’s Second Ward. One of his daughters, Margaret, later married Thomas Eaton. How MacPherson came to be on the battlefield is not clear. Simple Online Data Archive for Population Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 72nd Pennsylvania roster.

8 This was the 106 Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

9 The 69th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

10 The 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

11 The 71st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

12 This is Captain Isaac McBride, Captain of Company F of the 72nd Pennsylvania. He received a “gunshot wound of the knee-joint” and was carried off the field where he was treated on Sept. 23 at the Smoketown Army Hospital north of the field. National Archives, RG 94, Box 35035.

13 This was Captain John E. Neall, Company H. He was discharged on December 28, 1862 for causes unknown. Simple Online Data Archive for Population Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 72nd Pennsylvania roster.

14 Frank McBride would take command of Company F after Isaac McBride left the field.

15 Francis A. Walker, History of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891).

16 George Hess, The Maryland Campaign (Hagerstown: Globe Job Rooms Print, 1890). Hess was the superintendent at the Antietam National Cemetery. He served with the 28th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry mustering in on January 23, 1864 and was wounded at the time of the unit’s muster out. Simple Online Data Archive for Population Studies, Pennsylvania State University, 72nd Pennsylvania roster.

17 Francis A. Walker, History of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891), page 103.

"We now cross the Hagerstown Pike into the West Woods...the men in the best of spirits:" Thomas H. Eaton and the 72nd Pennsylvania in the West Woods

Detail from the Cope/Carman 1908 map,
9 to 9:30 a.m. view.  The map shows
the positions of the 125th Pa. and
Monroe's Battery and includes
a notation "9 to 9:20 AM" for both positions.

Remembrances of the Civil War as told by Thomas H. Eaton, [1] Co. H 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteers [2] Sept 17 1904 [3] in Sharpsburg Md on Pennsylvania Day. Page 4, Sept 17. 1862 [4] 

It rained quite hard during the night. Roll call at 2.00 in the morning. 80 rounds of cartridges were distributed, shelling from the Confederates at 7.00. Gen. Hooker had opened the fight at daylight, Gen. Mansfield going to his support had met with such a severe fire that a movement to the rear was inaugurated. Hooker was wounded & Mansfield killed. At this time the Second Corps which had been prepared to move at daylight, started [5] from Keedysville toward the right through some woods, then down a hill to the Antietam Creek which the men waded, taking care to keep their ammunition above the rushing water. The point of crossing was at the first ford above bridge No. 1. On the other side of the stream we ascended a hill then through the open country to the right until Miller’s house was reached, when the line of battle was formed by the left flank while marching.[6] From this point to the point of attack was one mile.

As Col. Banes [7] gave such a graphic account I will use his language. 

“All of this distance was moved was in battalion front, the movement hurrying us through pieces of woods, across fences, through barnyards and other obstacles which continually threw the line into confusion. In addition to this we were subjected to a heaver artillery fire from the enemy, but in spite of all the opposition the advance never stopped until the fatal Cornfield was reached, &c. Here Gen Sedgwick gave the command “Push into the woods” _ ["]

We now cross the Hagerstown Pike into the West Woods. Inclined as we were to the left of the Dunkard’s Church, the men in the best of spirits when on our flank and left were seen the colors of the Confederacy a mighty host. It was a bad position, and the fact of our flanks having no support we were ordered to retire. It was at this time when the 34th NY fell back. I wrote Gen Howard in relation to this critical movement. His[8] reply was

"My dear Sir_ I commanded Sedgwick’s Division after his wound, when the Division gave way to the

The same map without the 125th Pa. and Monroe's 
Battery positions and associated notations 
removed. The Left Wing and Right Wing notations 
associated with the 72nd Pennsylvania have been
 also removed. The resulting image 
without these features produces a much 
different view of the 72nd's position 
adjacent to the Dunkard Church.

rear, its flank was already turned. It only went from one piece of woods to another about a quarter of a 

mile. There was considerable confusion in the retirement, but I believe the movement was necessary to prevent annihilation or capture. What was true of the division was true of the Brigade."

I find as we grow older our ideas of the different battle fields change, and but very few are alike. If however this will do you any good in any way I am pleased that I was in any way of some service and will gladly answer at any time as to any information there may be in my possession. I kept a diary for three years but find that the data  kept was so restricted[.] [H]oping some day to write it out in full but this day will never come_

Yours truly, Thomas H. Eaton

==========

Notes

Source: Ezra Carman Papers, Box 3, Folder 2, New York Public Library. Thanks to Tom Clemens for supplying the photocopy of the manuscript transcribed and annotated here.

1. Twenty-four year old carpenter Thomas H. Eaton enlisted as a Corporal in Company H, Pennsylvania 72nd Infantry Regiment on August 10, 1861. He was promoted to Sergeant on July 4, 1863 and mustered out on 24 Aug 1864 at Philadelphia, PA. At the time of his enlistment, Thomas lived in Philadelphia’s Ward 2 with his father, Thomas Francis Eaton (52) an English-born grocer, his mother Rebecca Negley Eaton (42) a Pennsylvania native, two sisters, a boarder, and an 18-year-old female Irish servant. Following the war, he married Margaret MacPherson and relocated to Bordentown, NJ where two daughters Mary and Emeline soon joined the family. His carpentry business was profitable enough to allow the family to keep a 21 year old Irish domestic servant, Allice Hopkins. The effects of the war began to show its toll on him and on April 21, 1879 he applied for an invalid pension. Thomas and Margaret eventually moved in with their daughter Mary’s growing family in Phoenixville, Chester County, Pennsylvania. By 1910 Thomas and Margaret established residence at 4925 Larchwood Avenue, Philadelphia. Sometime during the next decade Margaret died and Thomas, then 83, began to take boarders into his Larchwood Avenue home. He died in Philadelphia on December 22, 1920. 1860, 1870, 1900, 1910, 1920 Federal Census; General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C., T288, roll 546; Eaton, Ritchie, and Winn Family Trees maintained on Ancestry.com.

2. The 72nd Pennsylvania was organized in Philadelphia.

3. This is the date of the manuscript.

Google Maps view of 4925 Larchwood
Avenue, Philadelphia. Eaton lived here
from 1910 to 1920.

4. This notation may be a reference to Eaton's diary that he mentions at the last paragraph of this letter.

5. From this point to footnote 6. Eaton's account is nearly verbatim to the account published by Charles Banes in his History of the Philadelphia Brigade Sixty-Ninth, Seventy-First, Seventy-Second, and One Hundred and Sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co, 1876, at page 112. Eaton quotes, with attribution, from Banes in the next paragraph [See footnote 7]. In the Preface to his book, Banes states: "In preparation of this History, the author has had access to official documents, as well as journals and reports in the possession of members of the Brigade." [Italics added] Whether Banes was drawing on Eaton or Eaton on Banes cannot be determined. Clearly there was a lot of correspondence back and forth between those that eventually published accounts of the battle and those that kept diaries, journals, and preserved their correspondence to friends and family. In the 19th Century historiographical style, not all sources that made up published monographs were attributed. 

6. See footnote 5 above.

7. The quote is from Charles Banes, History of the Philadelphia Brigade Sixty-Ninth, Seventy-First, Seventy-Second, and One Hundred and Sixth Pennsylvania Volunteers. (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co, 1876, at page 112.

8. Eaton inserted the following at this point “Aug 3d 1883.” Letter from Howard to Eaton not found.

Lt. Robert J. Park, Jr., 72nd Pennsylvania, Company R

From the Philadelphia Inquirer, October 18, 1862.

"Died. Park--On Saturday evening, of wounds received at the battle of Antietam, Lieutenant Robert J. Park, Jr., in the 21st year of his age, of Company R, Baxter's Fire Zouaves, Seventy-second Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers.

Central High School, Philadelphia, 1852

His friends and those of the family, the officers and members of his regiment now in the city, the National Guards, the Faculty and Alumni of the Central High School, are respectfully invited to attend his funeral, from his fathers residence, No. 201 Thirteenth Street, this (Saturday) afternoon, at 2 1/2 o'clock. Interment at Monument Cemetery."

In 1860, Robert J. Park, Jr. (18) resided in Philadelphia's 8th Ward with his father (50) and mother, Mary G. Park (44). His siblings were William D. (20), Annie C. (15), and Orlando B. (12). Also in residence was Kate S. Redgrave (25) and William D. Park (57), and Eliza Cheatam (19) an African American "domestic." The senior Park and William D. Park (who may have been an uncle) listed their occupations as printers. U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, 1860.

Philadelphia's Monument Cemetery was razed in 1956 by Temple University to make room for a parking lot. Of the 28,000 buried there, approximately 8,000 were removed to other cemeteries; the remaining 20,000 were buried in a mass grave in the city's Lawnview Cemetery. The Monument site was later developed from a parking lot to an astroturf field where Temple University’s lacrosse and field hockey teams play. For more on the Monument Cemetery story, see Ed Snyder's blog post on "How Monument Cemetery Was Destroyed." and Katrina Ohstrom' post on Hidden City Philadelphia blog. While Robert J. Park, Jr. may be lost, the regiment's commander, Col. DeWitt Clinton Baxter, can be found in Lawnview's Broad Lawn section, Range 14, Grave 84.

Image of Central High School is from The Stranger's Guide in Philadelphia and Its Environs (Philadelphia, Lindsay & Blakiston, 1852).

"A good and faithful soldier:" Joseph Henry and the West Woods Missing

The May 21, 2009 post titled "West Woods Missing: Some Preliminary Research" listed members of the 72nd Pennsylvania that went missing in the West Woods on September 17. They were:

William H. Butler, sergeant, Company B.
Charles C. Cooper, private, Company E
John Cornwall, private, Company D
Joseph Henry, private, Company F
John J. McCanna, private, Company D
Theodore Pike, private, Company A

Charles C. Cooper and William H. Butler were subjects of subsequent posts. This post provides information on Private Joseph Henry, Company F.

Third Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia

At the time of his enlistment, Joseph, 32, lived with his wife Elizabeth McGregor, 31, at 1722 Burton Street, Philadelphia. Both were Irish. He was a stable man and she a laundress. Thomas Brainerd, DD, pastor of the Third Presbyterian Church married them on September 17, 1851. Ten years later, the family included four children: Sarah Jane, 9, Mary Ann, 7, Elizabeth, 3, and Joseph, 6 months.[1]

On August 10, 1861, Joseph enrolled for three years service and mustered into Company F led by Captain Isaac McBride. The morning of September 17, 1862 found Joseph and his company crossing the Hagerstown Pike near the Dunkard Church and entering the eastern fringe of the West Woods. 

Captain McBride later stated that "although I did not see him fall, it was proven to my satisfaction that he did fall in that battle with one half half of his head carried away[.] [O]ne of his comrades Private John Cunningham same Company same Regiment took the things from his pockets along with a testament with Henry's name on the fly leaf. That the said soldier was in good health at the time he entered the service and was killed as above described having been a good and faithful soldier, to the date of his death."

Three days after the battle "his body was taken from the field and buried by his Comrades."[2]

Elizabeth Henry's "mark."

On November 24, 1862, Elizabeth applied for and received a widow's pension of $8 per month commencing on September 17, 1862. This was later increased to an additional $2 per month per child (under the age of 16) on July 25, 1866. Elizabeth never remarried and lived until November 21, 1908.

Private Joseph Henry is not listed in the National Cemetery roll. If recovered, he is likely one of the over 1,700 unknowns there. 

Sources

Unless otherwise stated, all sources come from Widow's Certificate File Number WC 3807. Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Civil War Veterans, Ca. 1861-ca. 1910. NARA, RG 15. 

[1] The 1860 U.S. Census for Philadelphia, shows Joseph, 31, and Elizabeth, 30, living in Philadelphia's Seventh Ward. Their children included Rufus, 10, Sarah, 7, Martha 4, and Joseph 1 month. There is no explanation for the discrepancy between children listed in the Census and children recorded in the Widow's Certificate File documents.

[2] Nevertheless, the company muster roll for the months of September and October reported him "missing since the Battle of Antietam."

Notes on the Missing

Pennsylvania State Archives card for David Carter,
72nd Pennsylvania (see below)

In an earlier post I listed six members of the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment who went missing in the West Woods on September 17. I reported on William Butler and made another report on Charles C. Cooper at a later post. On Friday I visited the National Archives to  continue the search for the missing from the 72nd Pennsylvania. I was able to retrieve the records of each of the six but found nothing more than what had been previously known--that on September 17 all went missing in the West Woods. While searching, however, the records revealed the fate on a seventh member of the 72nd who went missing that day and shed light on the whereabouts of another who went missing at a later engagement. Here is the report.

William H. Butler was 20 years old when he enlisted as a Private in Company B on August 10, 1861 in Philadelphia. The Company Muster Roll for September and October 1862 shows him “Missing since battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. Due Sutler $4.00.” U.S. National Archives, Washington (Hereafter: NARA) Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35022 (Bonefon to Byrnes).

Charles C. Cooper was 22 years old when he enlisted as a Private in Company E on August 10, 1861 in Philadelphia. The Company Muster Roll for September and October 1862 shows him “Wounded at the Battle of Antietam, Md. September 17, 1862.” He was carried in subsequent Company Muster Rolls as “absent, wounded” until January and February 1864 when the clerk entered “Supposed dead. Nothing heard from since battle of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862.” NARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35024 (Coady to Crossin). As reported on an earlier post, both Butler and Cooper disappear from their family census records after the 1860 enumeration.

Listed but not reported in earlier posts are the following missing.

John H. Cornwall was 21 years old when he enlisted as a Private in Company C on August 10, 1861 in Philadelphia. The Company Muster Roll for September and October 1862 shows him “Missing since battle of Antietam, Sept. 17/62” and he is “dropped” from the roll on the March and April 1863 report. NARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35024 (Coady to Crossin).

Joseph Henry was 25 years old when he enlisted as a Private in Company F on August 10, 1861 in Philadelphia. The Company Muster Roll for September and October 1862 shows him “Missing since battle of Antietam, Sept. 17.” He is carried on the rolls until the Company Muster Out Roll of August 24, 1864 and there is listed as “Wounded & Missing in Action since Sept. 17, 1862.” NARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35030 (Harringan to Himes).”

John J. McCanna was 21 years old when he enlisted as a Private in Company D on August 10, 1861 in Philadelphia. The Company Muster Roll for September and October 1862 shows him “Missing since battle of Antietam, Sept. 17 1862.” The Company Muster Roll for November and December 1862 shows him as “Wounded at Antietam…” but no other mention is made of his condition other than “missing” until he is “Dropped” from the roll in March & April reports. NARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35035 (Martin to McGrittigan).

Theodore Pike was 22 years old when he enlisted as a Private in Company D on August 10, 1861 in Philadelphia. The Company Muster Roll for September and October 1862 shows him “Missing since battle of Antietam, Sept. 17/62.” The roll for March / April 1863 shows that he owed the Sutler $6.00. NNARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35038 (O’Brien to Potts).


David Baxter was 31 years old when he mustered in a Camp Lyon, Philadelphia, Pa on August 10, 1861. Although the muster-out roll dated August 24, 1864 and filed in Philadelphia states that he was “Wounded and Missing in Action since Sept. 17, 1862” a “Record of Death and Internment” in his papers at NARA show that he died on September 30, 1862 of tetanus at the U.S. Army General Hospital Number 5 in Frederick Maryland. He was buried there at grave number 101, Area M. A clerk, Thomas W. Dalton, noted on his “Casualty Sheet” that upon death he had “No effects.” NARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Box 35021 (Baldwin to Boland).

The following entry is for Ferdinand Beideman who was at Antietam with the 72nd Pennsylvania but did not go missing until nearly two years later. I am including him in this list because most published sources still carry him as missing.

Pennsylvania State Archives card for
Ferdinand Beideman, 72nd Pennsylvania

Ferdinand Beideman was 21 years old when he enlisted with the 72nd Pennsylvania, Company F, in Philadelphia. He stood 5 foot 8 and 3/4 inches, was dark complexioned with black eyes and black hair. He listed his occupation as a lumberman. He was with Company F as it fought near the Dunkard Church. He continued with the regiment until he went missing on May 8, 1864 at the Potomac River, Virginia. Most records, including the Pennsylvania State Archives card catalog show him as missing after that date. In fact, he was taken prisoner of war at Spottsylvania Courthouse on May 10, 1864 and confined at Andersonville, Ga. to an unknown date. On December, 11, 1864 he is paroled at Charleston, S.C. and sent to Camp Parole, Maryland on December 17, 1864. By 1878 he has moved to Maryland, where on October 17, 1878 he applied for invalid pension benefits. On December 28, 1894 his wife Susan E. Beideman applied for widow's benefits.  NARA Record Group 94 (Adjutant General’s Office), Civil War (Union) Compiled Military Service Records, Memorandum from Prisoner of War Records, Army of the U.S. Certificate of Disability for Discharge, Box 35021 (Baldwin to Boland); Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 Record for Ferdinand Beideman (retrieved from ancestry.com).
 

Howard's Left (Part 2)

Over the summer I posted a note regarding the location of the left of Howard's Philadelphia Brigade in the West Woods. All accounts show that the 72nd Pennsylvania (Baxter's Fire Zouaves) took up the extreme left of the brigade; the exact position of the regiment, and Howard's left was the mystery. Some maps show them within the confines of the 11 acre Philadelphia Brigade park; others, including the Cope/Carmen map, show them much further south at the Dunker Church.

Don Gallagher, Historian of the 28th Pennsylvania Historical Association (http://www.28thpvi.org/) forwarded an article that supports the view that the 72nd operated near the Dunker Church. The article, written by James F. Larkin, Company K of the 72nd Pennsylvania, was published in the Philadelphia Weekly Times in 1882.

Don wrote: "[Larkin] mentions seeing the 28th PA as they were advancing out of the Cornfield and towards the West Woods. A large number of the men in the 28th were from Philadelphia and the whole regiment was organized and trained in the city. Several companies of the 28th were recruited from the same neighborhoods as 72nd and it's likely there were acquaintances. At the time I believe the 28th was just south of the Smoketown Road probably near or possibly South West of the Mumma Cemetery. This would place the 72nd pretty far to the left on Howard's line. "

Below is an excerpt from the article that Don forwarded and is posted here with permission. To the left is the Cope/Carmen map of the West Woods action between 9 and 9:30. This along with the Larkin account suggests that the left of Howard's brigade rested very close to the Dunker Church.

Larkin writes: "...On arriving at the Antietam creek, which was waist deep, we were compelled to ford it, holding our guns and ammunition up over our heads.

During our advance we passed through an apple orchard, the trees of which were fairly bending to the ground with their loads of ripe, luscious fruit, and the men actually under fire, with shot and shell screaming and tearing around and among them, their line dressed as if on parade, with arms at “right shoulder shift” went on at a “quick step,” eating apples. We had now reached the famous cornfield, and death and destruction were seen on every side of us.

We emerged from the cornfield into a freshly ploughed field. Here we passed Geary’s Twenty-eighth Pennsylvania Regiment lying as support or reserve, who gave us three hearty cheers as we passed on, and above the din and roar of battle we distinctly heard them give “three more for Philadelphia,” You cannot conceive with what wild joy and excitement the mention of our dear home at such a time created. It electrified the men, and the answering shout that went up from us was enthusiastic beyond description. Our advance was still beautiful, the alignment perfect, but still the cautionary command of the file closers of “steady men,” “guide on the colors,” was at short intervals heard.

We had now arrived within two hundred feet of a piece of thick woods, where the enemy’s artillery had been planted early in the morning and the hundreds of dead and wounded that strewed the ground in every direction, mutely attested with what terrible vigor and execution those guns had been served. Suddenly, loud above the rattle of musketry and the roar of the artillery, that historic rebel yell was heard. To those who have never heard it I will simply say that it is indescribable; but if ten thousand fiends were unchained and let loose it could not be more unearthly.

We rightly surmised that this yell boded no good to the Union troops, for immediately from the wood in front came pouring in the utmost disorder and confusion our whole front line in wild retreat. What caused this break is a mystery, as no better or braver troops than Sedgwick’s Division of Sumner’s Corps (the Second) ever shouldered gun or drew sword in defense of the Union. The command to fix bayonets was promptly obeyed, the object being to endeavor to prevent the breaking of our line, but in vain, for such was the rush and crush that it was beyond human power to stop the frantic retreat of the fugitives.

Our splendid line, before this mad rout, was broken badly and almost rendered useless for effective work; but the color guard with the colors still stood firm with four or five companies intact, and the remnant of the other companies, which had been shattered, quickly rallied on this point.

We were all this time exposed to a galling, murderous fire in front left flank and rear, and the casualties were terrible. Human flesh and blood could not stand that iron storm longer, and the command was given to “fall back.” The writer of this was wounded within thirty yards of the piece of woods where we first saw our front lines fleeing and lay on the field until late in the afternoon, and can, therefore, truthfully bear witness that the Seventy-second Pennsylvania was the “last to go” from that part of the field of Antietam, and for the information of our Massachusetts friend (1) I would state that the troops which we recognized as breaking through our line was the Thirty-fourth New York Volunteers and that they were either a portion of Gorman’s or Dana’s Brigade- he probably knows which. Who were “the first to go” I am unable to say; but this I do know, that after they did go, and were no longer to be seen, the Seventy-second Pennsylvania lost more than one-half it’s effective force."

Many thanks to Don Gallagher for his invaluable contribution to this post.

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Note:
(1) A reference to Frances Winthrop Palfrey's criticism of the 72nd's action in the West Woods in his book published in 1882 titled The Antietam and Fredericksburg. Palfrey wrote: "The third line, the Philadelphia brigade, so called, was the first to go. Sumner tried to face it about preparatory to a change of front, but, under the fire from its left, it moved off in a body to the right in spite of all efforts to restrain it." Larkin titled his article "The Last To Go: A Description of the Charge by a Private in the Seventy-Second Regiment."

Howard's Left

What was the position of Oliver O. Howard's brigade of Sedgwick's division in the West Woods? Howard's brigade was the third of three brigades that made up Sedgwick's division--the first was Willis Gorman's and the second, Napoleon J.T. Dana's.

According to Ezra Carmen "Howard's line advanced from the East Woods in some disorder. As it approached the Hagerstown Road, the right of the brigade began obliquing to the right, while part of the left wing (which had been halted) was attracted by the contest around the [Dunkard] Church and began to oblique in that direction. Part of the 69th Pennsylvania followed the 106th Pennsylvania, and part overlapped the 72nd Pennsylvania but was soon moved to the right. Under a fire that struck down many, the 72nd reached the road [Hagerstown Pike]--somewhat broken by the rush of the retreating 125th Pennsylvania through it. It was aligned by dressing to the right and then advanced about ten yards into the woods. Its left, which was near the church, could not fire because some of the 34th New York were in front, but the right wing was uncovered and began firing."[1] The colored map at left is the familiar Cope/Carmen Map and faithfully reflects Carmen's narrative.

Here's the problem. Nearly all of the recent accounts of Sedgwick's advance place the left of the including Howard's brigade much further to the north and in the clover field adjoining the West Woods At left is Marion Armstrong's map that shows the 72nd further north and well away from the church.[2] Richard F. Miller puts the 34th and 125th at the Dunkard Church and, like Armstrong, locates Howard's brigade northward.[3] So does John Priest [4]. Luvass' Guide to the Battle of Antietam, appears to place only two units near the church which are unlabeled but can be assumed to be the 34th NY and 125th Pa. [5] On the web, the ehistory site at Ohio State University places Sedgwick and all of his brigades at the same map location as Armstrong and others. [6] Ethan Rafuse places the 72nd Pa. according to the Cope/Carman map but does not note the location of the 69th Pa. and instead shows the 7th Michigan on the right of the 72nd. [7]

So what to make of this? It appears that there are two map models representing very different unit locations. One representation replicates the Cope/Carman map; the other consistently follows what I will call the Armstrong map (even though some maps here precede Armstrong's map). So who is right? Where was Howard's left? Who wants to challenge Carmen? He was there and spent his life chronicling the battle. Nearly all of the histories above agree that the 34th New York angled down to the church--that is not in dispute. What is in dispute are the locations of the 69th and 72nd Pennsylvania of the Philadelphia Brigade. Consulting the ORs do not provide a definitive answer (is there one?). For example, here's Col. James A. Suiter's report for the 34th New York:

"From some cause to me unknown, I had become detached from my brigade, the one hundred and twenty-fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers being on my right. On my left and rear I was entirely unsupported by infantry or artillery." -- Col. James A. Suiter's (34th New York) OR.

Where are the 72nd and 69th? According to Carmen/Cope, they should have been right behind the brigade. If so, why does Suiter say he was unsupported in the rear by infantry?

Joshua T. Owen's report on the 69th Pennsylvania further confuses things. He writes:

"With some confusion upon the left, the brigade retired. The Sixty-ninth, One hundred and sixth, and Seventy-first Pennsylvania Volunteers retired in good order; the Seventy-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, however, being on the extreme left, subjected to a heavier fire, and the first to encounter the panic-stricken fugitives from the left, did not retire in the same good order as the other three regiments, nor was it reformed, nor did it rejoin the brigade until a late hour in the afternoon." --Joshua T. Owen, (69th Pennsylvania), OR, 9.21.62.

According to the Carmen/Cope map, the 125th and 34th appears to have retreated through the 69th and 72nd positions but Owen reports that only the 72nd encountered the unknown "panic-stricken fugitives from the left." Could these "fugitives" have been the 7th Michigan and the 42nd New York which were to the left of the 72nd in the Armstrong map?

The 72nd's commander Col. Dewitt Clinton Baxter left no report and the division commander Oliver O. Howard does shed any light on the location of the left of the division.

I hope someone who finds this entry may be able to clear up the two map representations and help find Howard's left. If you are out there and can help, please post.

Notes.

[1] Joseph Pierro, ed., The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Ezra A. Carman's Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam ( New York: Routledge, 2008), p. 264.

[2] Marion V. Armstrong, Jr., Unfurl Those Colors! McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army Corps in the Antietam Campaign (Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2008), p. 186.

[3] Richard F. Miller, Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (Hanover, NH: University Press of New England, 2005, p. 166).

[4] John Priest, Antietam: The Soldier's Battle (New York: Oxford University Press), p. 121.

[5] Jay Luvaas and Harold W. Nelson, eds. Guide to the Battle of Antietam: The Maryland Campaign of 1862 (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1987), p. 166.

[6] Map of General Sedgwick's assault on the West Woods, retrieved on August 10, 2009 at http://ehistory.osu.edu/uscw/features/regimental/pennsylvania/union/71stPennsylvania/antietam.cfm.

[7] Ethan Rafuse, Antietam, South Mountain & Harpers Ferry: A Battlefield Guide, (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2008), p. 71.

The West Woods Missing, Part 3: Charles C. Cooper, 72nd Pennsylvania

In an earlier entry I listed six members of the 72nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment who went missing in the West Woods on September 17. At that time, I posted a report on William Butler, whose story is still unknown. Today's report, also unresolved, is that of Charles C. Cooper.

Private Cooper, 21 years old, enlisted in Company E of the 72nd Pennsylvania on October 8, 1861. At the time of his enlistment, he lived in the Kensington section of Philadelphia north of city center and situated along the Delaware River north of the Franklin Bridge. The 72nd recruited heavily in the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Kensington, Fishtown, and the Northern Liberties all of which lay in the 16th, 17th, and 18th Census Wards of Philadelphia. Many of those in the 72nd grew up together, went to the same schools, played on the same streets, went to the same church, and joined the same neighborhood social clubs such as the local volunteer fire association.

The wards were, for the most part, populated by second or third generation Philadelphians and first generation, German, Irish and English immigrants. Most were employed as skilled tradesmen, journeymen, artisans, and laborers. Charles Cooper listed his occupation at time of enlistment as a shoemaker apprentice.

Charles Cooper's mother, Julia Cooper, was 55 years old at the time of his enlistment. She headed the household that included Charles' sisters Rachel (24), who was a sewing machine operator, Elizabeth (12), and Ida Ruth (1). Charles' brother Thomas (18) also lived in the household and worked as an apprentice caner. There is no mention of the whereabouts of his father in the 1860s census.

Company E of the 72nd Pennsylvania (also known as the Philadelphia Fire Zouaves) was a veteran outfit that had been involved in numerous engagements including Balls' Bluff and the actions that were part of the Peninsula Campaign. The company was led by Charles H. Banes, also from Philadelphia. During the battle in the West Woods, the 72nd was positioned on the left of Howard's Brigade which was the third brigade in Sedgwick's Division. There is some dispute as to where exactly the 72nd was positioned (Carmen has them split into left and right "wings" closed up behind the 34th New York at the Dunkard Church; others put them farther north into what has become the Philadelphia Brigade Park. One thing is certain--the 72nd, and Charles Cooper's Company E took the brunt of Anderson's and Barksdale's Brigades counterattack that morning. Somewhere in the melee, Charles C. Cooper went missing; lost to his company, his family, and to history.

In the years following Antietam, the Cooper family stayed together. By 1870 the family had moved to a different dwelling but stayed in the same Kensington neighborhood. Julia Cooper, told the census taker that she "keeps house" and held real estate valued at $2,000 with a personal estate of $200. Her children lived with her. Rachel followed Charles' avocation and became a shoe binder along with her sister Elizabeth (or Lizzie). His brother, Thomas, listed himself as a brick layer. Charles was not listed in the family census.

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Notes: 1860 and 1870 U.S. Census, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; American Civil War Records Database; Penn State University Records, Company E, from Philadelphia County; Image: Library of Congress, Philadelphia Fire Zouave, retrieved from American Memory Project.

The West Woods Missing: Some Preliminary Research

On September 20, 1862 Brig. Gen. Oliver O. Howard filed his official report "of the part taken by General Sedgwick's division" in the West Woods on September 17.

At the conclusion of the report, Howard gives the totals for that day's fighting: 355 killed, 1,577 wounded, and 321 missing. Of those wounded between 15 and 20% would die.

What of the missing?

We know that some who were listed as missing eventually returned to their regiments. But many did not. Of these, a certain percentage deserted. "During the war deserters could either remain at large or return to fight again, either willingly or under duress. Roughly a quarter of 'returned' deserters surrendered voluntarily, including those under presidential amnesty proclamation. The rest had been arrested and sent back to the service."[1]

Some deserters returned to their villages and city neighborhoods. If the the community was anti-war, they might be able to settle back into civilian life; if, however, the community was pro-war, they often faced ostracism. This community pressure eventually prompted many deserters to leave the community--often for less populated areas. "After 1863, deserters fled their home communities... [and] were likely to be found in Canada, the Territory of Wyoming, and the mountainous, wooded, and sparsely settled regions of Pennsylvania." [2].

Others who went missing were captured. Early in the war, most who were captured were paroled or exchanged. Lists of captured soldiers were created by both sides and those on the list were revised from "missing" to "captured."

The likely fate of most of the missing is that they are among the ranks of the unknown who lie buried at the National Cemetery, or in Shepherdstown, Frederick, or Hagerstown.

In honor of Memorial Day, I wanted to see what I could learn more about some of those who went missing in the West Woods.

The 72nd Pennsylvania was an outfit recruited in Philadelphia in the summer of 1861. Also called Baxter's Fire Zouaves, the 72nd was a veteran regiment. On September 17, they stood on the far left of Sedgwick's Division, in Howard's Philadelphia Brigade and as such bore the brunt of the flanking assault by Confederate brigades coming from the south. Casualties in the regiment were high and of those, five soldiers from the 72nd were reported missing. [3]

They were:

William H. Butler, sergeant, Company B.
Charles C. Cooper, private, Company E
John Cornwall, private, Company D
Joseph Henry, private, Company F
John J. McCanna, private, Company D
Theodore Pike, private, Company A

William H. Butler enlisted on October 8, 1861 in Philadelphia. At the time of his enlistment he lived with his family in Philadelphia's center city 13th Ward which was bounded by Poplar Street on the north, Vine on the south, 10th on the west, and 6th on the east. Most of the 72nd were recruited from adjacent wards. The 1860 census lists William's age as 18 and shows that his father was a city alderman and that he was the oldest of eight brothers and one sister. No mother is listed.

The family shows up in the 1870 census (as "Butter"). This time William is not listed but five of his siblings are. William's brother, Lyell, joined the 119th Pennsylvania on August 28, 1862 at age 18 and died in Washington, D.C. on November 18, 1862. [4] William's other brother, Zachary Taylor Butler is neither listed in the household nor enumerated in the 1870 census.

The 1880 census still has the family living in Philadelphia (his father is now the Secretary of Building Inspectors). Five of William's siblings are still living together but William, Zachary and, of course, Lyell are again not listed.

In the 1900 Pennsylvania census, Zachary Taylor Butler shows up. He is now married, living in Philadelphia and has one son, Lyell, named after his deceased brother.

There is more that needs to be done to find William H. Butler. For now, all that can be said is that he went missing in the West Woods on September 17, 1862.

Next post: Finding Charles C. Cooper.


[1] Dora L. Costa, Matthew E. Kahn, Heroes & Cowards: The Social Face of War (Princeton University Press, 2008), p. 171.
[2] Ibid, pp. 170-73.
[3] Civil War Research Database, retrieved May 1, 2009.
[4] The Pennsylvania Civil War Project / Pennsylvanians in the Civil War (Penn State University), by Steve Maczuga, Population Research Institute. Retrieved May 21, 2009 at http://cairo.pop.psu.edu/cw/.