"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.

Illumination 2011

Dunkard Church, looking North Northwest, 17:04 Hrs., Saturday, December 3, 2011


At the break of dawn thousands of volunteers began laying out one candle for each casualty
 of September 17, 1862.


By early evening nearly 23,000 candles, now lit, glowed in the swales and meadows of the field.

"Such destruction that as I had never seen before:" H.W. Addison and the 7th South Carolina, Part 2

Photo ca. 1884 showing the area south of the
Dunkard Church. The Seventh S.C. pushed
out of the West Woods just to south
of the farmhouse depicted here (it was built after
the battle) and into the fields in the foreground.
Photo courtesy of Dan Gallagher.

This is the second of a two part post on the correspondence of H.W. Addison to Ezra Carman.

[Henry W. Addison to Ezra Carman, November 3, 1898][1]

Dear Sir;

If my memory serves correctly (and I think it does) my Regt_ 7th S.C., at Sharpsburg_Sept 17./62., left the Dunkard Church, as we went into Battle, to our left one or two hundred yards. It is hard to say where the Union fire was deadliest: we thought the Union Army had or was retreating, but as we reached the end of the crest, under the declivity, we were confronted with Artillery and any numbers of lines of Infantry that belched forth such destruction that as I had never seen before, though no novice in the business. I believe we lost, in killed & wounded near 75 percent in twenty minutes. My impression that our destruction was on our left: to the front of us on our right was green standing Corn, & we could not tell how deep was the Fed [Infantry]. It seemed to me w[h]ere the open ground occupied by them & where they joined the standing corn was the most terrific. I should have said at first that we went up the Turn Pike Road and left it in rear of us, formed & moved facing Fed Army with Church toward our left__ I think there had been considerable fighting before we arrived, from a short distance on the right of the Road, as we passed over dead & wounded before we began firing_ at which time, our impression was that the Enemy was retreating[.] I am sorry I cannot be more explicit; but a grape_shot disabled me soon after our firing began.

Our Adjt of the Regt, Amon Stallsworth,[2] Phoenix P.O. Edgefield County, S.C. I not only refer you, but have sent him your letter to me. I think Col Wm Wallace,[3] of 1st S.C. Regt Columbia, S.C. & Judge Y. J. Pope[4] (Agt Genl of 3d S.C. Regt) can enlighten you.

Yours Truly

H.W. Addison[5]

=======Notes====

[1] Antietam Studies, Record Group 94, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
[2]  Amon C. Stallworth, Adjutant, Seventh South Carolina Infantry Regiment. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina (National Archives, RG 109, M267, Roll 0221, Cat. ID 586957).
[3] At Antietam, William Wallace was Captain of Company C, Second South Carolina Infantry Regiment (Palmetto). Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina (National Archives, RG 109, M267, Roll 0160, Cat. ID 586957).
[4] Y. J. Pope, Adjutant, Third South Carolina Infantry Regiment. Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina (National Archives, RG 109, M267, Roll 0176, Cat. ID 586957).
[5] Henry W. Addison, a 28 year old lawyer in 1862, lived in Edgefield Village, S.C. in 1860. He was Captain of Company H, 7th South Carolina Infantry. 1860 Federal Census; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of South Carolina (National Archives, RG 109, M267, Roll 0214, Cat. ID 586957).

"Just wide enough for two wagons:" Robert L. Lagemann's Investigation of the Hagerstown Pike

Illustration 1.
Lagemann Photo Number 10. Taken June 1, 1903.
The glare emanating from the church comes from the glossy
photo reflection in the original. The War Department plaque 
mentioned in Illustration 3, Photo 11 (below) is clearly visible 
to the right of the door. I will post a better image 
in the coming weeks.

Every now and again a visitor will ask this question: "How wide was the Hagerstown Pike in 1862? Was it as wide as it is now?" A century later, Park Historian Robert L. Lagemann attempted to answer that question. In a 37 page report titled "The Environs of the Dunkard Church: Antietam National Battlefield Site"[1] Langemann appears to have interviewed or corresponded with Joseph H. Hildebrand, Hagerstown Resident Maintenance Engineer for the Maryland State Roads Commission about the Pike as it may have been on September 17, 1862. Not only does the finished report give us information on the width of the Pike but it also describes the lowering of the road elevation of the Pike in front (or due East) of the Dunkard Church. The finished report is in the Antietam National Battlefield Library. Here are excerpts  from his report.

"The primary road in the area...is the Hagerstown Pike. In 1951 the road and right-of-way were widened, shifting the center line less than one foot to the east, on the section of road frontage immediately adjacent to the church site. The road surface here was lowered about three-and-a-half feet. The peak of the road is now about eight feet below the ground line at the northeast corner of the foundation wall. Prior to this highway rehabilitation in 1951, the road peaked at an elevation about five feet below the foundation ground line.

Illustration 2. Dunkard Church, October 2, 2011.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rosebrock.

The road is now twelve feet wide on each side of the center line. According to an estimate made by Mr. Joseph H. Hildebrand, Hagerstown Resident Maintenance Engineer for the Maryland Roads Commission, the old Hagerstown Pike was eighteen feet wide, total, before it became the property of the public roads system. [Lagemann adds a footnote here: "To Mr. Joseph H. Hildebrand's knowledge there are no records in his office nor local 'tradition' to indicate the road had undergone change in this section from 1862 until well after 1903."] ...

"In 1951 the paved surface of the highway was widened three feet on each side, thereby increasing the width of the original Pike (which had been paved but not widened subsequent to its acquisition by the Highway Commission) from eighteen to twenty-four feet. The road level area remains approximately the same width it was in 1862, but the road surface proper is now one-third wider. This area was obtained not by cutting back the bank, but by paving part of the lane adjacent to the road proper which in the horse-drawn vehicle era was used as a 'parking lane.'"

"Plans for this highway rehabilitation were made in 1950. Most of the work was accomplished in 1951. And it was completed in 1952. Records and drawings pertaining to this work are on file at the Maryland State Roads Commission office..."

Langemann pasted two black and white glossy photos to his report--Photo 10 and Photo 11.

Illustration 3.
Lagemann Photo Number 11. The Dunkard
Church ca. 1880s. Lagemann noted that "the gable
and roof of the house appearing to the left of the church 
indicate that one at least of the present [1962] periphery
buildings had already been constructed.
No structure was present there in 1862."
Click on the photo to enlarge.

"Photo No. 11. This was probably taken in the 1880's; before the War Department plaque was fastened to the front wall of the Dunkard Church, and after the West Woods had been cut down. A portion of the post-and-rail fence may be examined in the center left. In 1862 such a fence made a corner here as does the one pictured. The paling and board fencing across the road had been added after the Civil War. The junction of the Smoketown Road and the Hagerstown Pike appear here very much as they probably did in 1862. The Smoketown Road is dirt; the Pike is 'hard' surfaced by a version of the early, dry macadmising. The 'road' part of the Pike is just wide enough for two wagons. ..."

Compare Photos 10 and especially 11 with Illustration 2--a modern day image taken from nearly the same angle. The three and a half foot drop in the road is clearly visible as a bank in Illustration 2. In Illustration 3, the drop in elevation is very gradual with a gentle slope leading down to the Hagerstown Pike.

Notes

[1] Robert J. Lagemann, "The Environs of the Dunkard Church: Antietam National Battlefield Site: Prepared by Robert L. Lagemann, Park Historian, March 12, 1962, 37 pages." Typescript, Antietam National Battlefield Library.