Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania, Samuel P. Bates, 1876 - Part 2, Chapter 8, 662- 697 Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Judy Banja jbanja@msn.com and transcribed by Judy Banja, Judith Bookwalter, Cyndie Enfinger, Linda Horn, Margaret Long, Patricia Martz, Barbara Milhalcik, Leah Waring and Marjorie B. Winter Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ________________________________________________ MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA by SAMUEL P. BATES. PHILADELPHIA: T. H. DAVIS & CO., 1876. MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 662 Part II. BIOGRAPHY. CHAPTER VIII. JOHN FREDERICK HARTRANFT, first Colonel of the Fifty-first regiment, Brigadier and Brevet Major-General, and Governor of Pennsylvania, was born in New Hanover township, Montgomery county, on the 16th of December, 1830. He was the son of Samuel E. and Lydia (Bucher) Hartranft, both of German origin, their ancestors having emigrated to this country in the first half of the last century. He received his elementary training in his native county, from the lips of those esteemed educators, John F. Evans, Philip Cressman, and Samuel Aaron. At the age of nineteen he entered Marshall College, and at the end of one year passed to Union College, Schenectady, New York, where he graduated in 1853. He distinguished himself in mathematics and civil engineering, and was popular among his fellows, being selected as their leader for society positions likely to be hotly contested, and, as in later years when on the broad arena of State and National politics, was sure to come out of the struggle bearing the palm. He practiced his favorite employment, civil engineering, for a time, having been engaged in running the line of the Mauch Chunk and Wilkesbarre Railroad, and subsequently of a proposed route from Chestnut Hill to Doylestown or New Hope. In 1854 he was made Deputy Sheriff of Montgomery county by the incumbent of the office, M. C. Boyer, though of opposite politics, Hartranft's business tact and popularity commending him above all others who were eligible. In this position he continued for nearly two terms, a period of four and a half years, in which he had a good opportunity for the development of his capacity for settling intricate business transactions, this being one of the largest counties in the State, and its interests varied. In the meantime, JOHN F. HARTRANFT - 663 he read law with James Boyd, and finally in the office of A. B. Longacker, and was admitted to practice in 1859. The citizens of Norristown, where he now dwelt, manifested their confidence in him, thus early, by electing him a member of the Council, School Director, and President of a fire company - offices of little or no emolument, but demanding judgment and sound discretion. For several years he had been active in a militia organization, serving in various grades up to that of Colonel, in which capacity he was acting when the war broke out. Though opposed to the policy of the new administration, his resolution was at once formed. It was enough for him to know that the flag of his country had been fired on, and that its government was in peril. He proceeded to Harrisburg and tendered the services of his regiment, which were promptly accepted, and it became the Fourth of the line. Its term of three months expired just previous to the first battle of Bull Run, and it was mustered out; but Hartranft returned to the field and was assigned to duty on the staff of General Franklin. On that terrible day, when the hopes of twenty millions of people were dashed, and hosts of brave soldiers went down, he was in the hottest of the fight, encouraging the brave and holding the wavering, himself a tower of strength. "His services," says Franklin, in his report, "were exceedingly valuable to me, and he distinguished himself in his attempt to rally the regiments - Fifth and Eleventh Massachusetts - which had been thrown into confusion." And McDowell, in a letter afterwards addressed to him, said: "I always regretted that I did not make an exception in your case in my report of the battle of Bull Run, and name you for your good conduct, instead of leaving it with General Franklin. I regret this the more as General Franklin's report was not printed." Some time previous he had sought and obtained permission to recruit a regiment for three years or the war. The fires of Bull Run had only tried, not weakened his ardor to serve his country, and before the smoke of that awful struggle had cleared away, he was on his way to Pennsylvania to call his trusty followers of his old command about him. An organization was speedily completed, in which he was Colonel, and it was sent under Burnside to the coast of North Carolina. The troops had a stormy pas- MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 664 sage, and were with difficulty landed. The enemy was found intrenched on Roanoke Island. To attack in front was to entail disaster. Hartranft was, accordingly, sent to lead his men through a swamp, which the foe had supposed was impassable, and to storm the works. The result was a signal victory, nearly the entire rebel force being captured. It was the key-note to the campaign, and inspired all with hope. The mainland was reached on the 13th of March, 1862, and an advance at once commenced upon Newbern. The place had been well fortified, the approaches being guarded by thirteen finished redans, well provided with artillery to sweep the ground for miles around. Skirmishing commenced early in the day, and at noon the battle became general. For three hours the roar of artillery and the crash of small arms was incessant. Finally, the Fifty-first was ordered to lead in a charge on the works. It was planned with judgment and executed with gallantry. A redan was carried from which the enemy fled in precipitation. It was the signal for a general advance, and the whole rebel line of works was soon waving with the stars and stripes. The city fell without further struggle, and the entire North Carolina coast was under the power of the Union arms. Hartranft was not present in the affair at Camden, the only engagement in which his regiment had a part while he remained at its head in which he did not participate. Sickness in his family induced him to ask for a furlough of twenty days. Two of his children died, and after committing them to the grave he hastened again to his post. It was about this time that he was asked by his political friends to accept the nomination for Surveyor-General of the State. His answer disclosed the feeling which actuated him in going to the field, and of what manner of man he was: "I thank you," he says, "and my friends in Blair county, for your kind intentions; but I do most positively decline to have my name brought before the public as a candidate for office. I desire to serve my country in no other position, during the continuance of the Rebellion, than that in which it has been my fortune to act since President Lincoln issued his proclamation for 75,000 men." On the 22d of July, 1862 - Burnside having returned to Virginia with his troops, except Foster's division, and Stevens JOHN F. HARTRANFT - 665 having joined him with a division from Port Royal-was organized the Ninth corps, with whose career-a long succession of glorious achievements - Hartranft and his regiment were identified. It was hurried forward to the relief of Pope, who was beginning to feel the weight of the enemy's power. Hartranft was sent with the brigade - Ferrero, its commander, being absent - to dispute his crossing the Rapidan. Without attempting to force a passage the enemy moved above, and soon had turned the right of Pope's army. Hartranft was ordered to retire across the Rappahannock, and act as rear-guard to the column in its movement back. A few days of manoeuvring and fighting brought the two armies upon the old battle- ground of Bull Run, Hartranft's position on the line being almost identical with that on which he had fought in the former battle. It was at a critical moment in the struggle when the Union forces, broken and overborne, were being forced back, that Ferrero's brigade was posted in support of Graham's guns, to check the oncoming foe. Three times with desperation the enemy charged; but he met an unyielding resistance. Finally Ferrero with one of his regiments retired under a misconstruction of orders; but Hartranft, who had received his commands from General Reno, held fast his ground with the two remaining regiments, until the way was clear, when he withdrew with his guns unmolested. No less calm and considerate was his conduct at Chantilly. He had posted his guns where they would be particularly effective, when he was ordered by Reno to withdraw them. This he refused to do until he had seen that officer and explained his situation. Relying upon his judgment Reno directed him to remain; and when, in the progress of the fight, the fiery missiles of that battery rolled back the torn columns of the foe, it was seen how clear and correct was the judgment of Hartranft. At the southern pass near Turner's Gap of the South Mountain, he again met the enemy. They were screened from view, and as he led on his regiment to the support of troops who had been ordered before him, and where he supposed a line had been established, he was suddenly assailed by a powerful force. Falling back to a wall near by he opened in reply, and by steady and stubborn fighting held his assailants in check until reinforced. MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 666 The bridge of Antietam has come to be celebrated with that of Lodi. It is on that part of the Antietam field, where it was necessary for the left of McClellan's forces to cross in order to reach the foe. Burnside with the Ninth corps was there, and he had ordered parts of Crook's and Sturgis' divisions to carry it. It is a stone structure of three arches, and the causeway leading over it was commanded by artillery which swept it from end to end, while infantry crouching behind the walls that skirt the roads leading above and below, and in the wooded thickets overhanging, were ready to shoot down any force which should approach from the Union side. Crook made a good fight but was beaten back. Sturgis charged gallantly, and his men reached the head of the bridge; but they also were unable to stem the tide of destruction setting against them. Is that bridge to defy the whole Ninth corps, glorying in valor, and never defeated? Shall a half of McClellan's army lie idly by, and see their comrades upon the right devoted to destruction for the lack of a crossing? It was not in the nature of the stubborn Burnside to bend to this humiliating alternative. When told that two determined attempts had been thwarted he exclaimed: "What! not carry that bridge! I will see! Ride to Ferrero's brigade, and tell Hartranft that I order him to open a passage." From a sheltered position Hartranft had watched all that had been done, and when the order came from his chief his plan was already matured. Avoiding the highway which leads up the bank of the creek, and where he would be exposed to a withering fire in reaching the bridge, he led his command along the bluff till he had come to a point opposite its head, when he burst like an avalanche upon it. Scarcely had the enemy time to point his guns before Hartranft was already upon the bridge. The Fifty-first New York, Colonel Potter, was advanced rapidly to his assistance, and though torn by shot and shell and many of his bravest stricken down, no destruction nor danger could deter his troops, and that narrow causeway, obstructed by the mangled and the dying, was crossed and the enemy dispossessed. "It was not till after Lodi," said Napoleon, "that I was struck with the possibility of my becoming a decided actor on the scene of political events. There was first enkindled the first spark of a lofty ambition." The triumph at JOHN F. HARTRANFT - 667 this bridge may not have inspired such ambitious desires, but it was no less signal and complete. When Burnside, then in command of the Army of the Potomac, crossed the Rappahannock at Fredericksburg to offer battle, he put the Ninth corps upon the right centre; and here Hartranft manifested the same sterling qualities as on other fields. It was from the start a struggle against hope; but he faced the terrible storm with the intrepidity inspired of success. In the campaign before Vicksburg he led a brigade, and though prostrated by sickness, directed the movements in the march upon Jackson from an ambulance. But in no part of his career were his talents and military skill more conspicuous than in the management of the retreat from Loudon to Knoxville, Tennessee, previous to siege of the latter place by Longstreet. He had just risen from a protracted illness, and had been placed in command of the Second division of the Ninth corps. Longstreet, who had suddenly cut loose from Bragg before Chattanooga, had come upon a fragment of Burnside's force unawares, and was likely to sever and overwhelm it. His purpose was discovered in time to thwart it. And to Hartranft was given the difficult task. Longstreet had already got upon the most direct road to Campbell's Station, a point where several thoroughfares cross, and the party which should reach it first was sure to win. Hartranft had heavy artillery and long trains to move. The roads were sodden, and terribly cut by the passage of heavy pieces. All night long his men toiled on. A stout heart and never yielding courage triumphed. Hartranft reached the menaced point in advance, and deploying upon the Kingston road was ready to meet the foe when they arrived. Burnside posted his artillery and infantry, as they arrived, in commanding positions, and as the masses of Longstreet came on, he hurled them back, torn and bleeding. But he was everywhere immensely outnumbered, and it was only for a little time that he could hold his ground. By retiring to new positions as often as turned out of the preceding, and at every turn fighting with the most determined spirit, Hartranft held Longstreet at bay until darkness set in, when the struggle was given over, and under cover of night the whole force with its guns and trains were brought safely into Knoxville. Here Burnside was closely MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 668 besieged, and the troops were kept busy night and day fortifying for its defence. The place was invested by the foe and the siege vigorously pushed; but before Longstreet was ready to assault, the defences were measurably complete, and his best efforts to carry it were fruitless. At the point where Hartranft's division lay was a small stream, by damming which it was made to flood a considerable area, rendering his position secure. Finally the troops began to suffer from famine, and were driven, at last, to subsist on meager and unwholesome diet; but they never for one moment faltered, and their endurance was at length rewarded with success; for Sherman, who had been detached by Grant at Chattanooga, came thundering upon the rear of Longstreet, causing him to relax his firm grip, and make a hasty retreat towards Virginia, whither he was pursued and sorely harassed. The three years for which his regiment had enlisted being now near its close, he returned home and was joyfully welcomed, "his foresight on the march, his coolness, bravery and judgment on the battle-field,' being publicly recounted and commended. His regiment reenlisted and was strengthened with recruits, and he again entered, with the Ninth corps, the Army of the Potomac. At the Wilderness, where many of his troops were raw, he was fearful lest they might be thrown into confusion by the sudden attack of the enemy. To assure them, he freely exposed his person, riding down the whole front of his line while the battle was on, and just as they were ordered to make a charge, and pausing before each regiment to give a word of advice. Its effect was electrical, and he had no difficulty ever after in manoeuvring them in the most exposed positions. Few troops were more conspicuous for gallantry in the obstinate and bloody battle around Spottsylvania Court House than were those of Hartranft's brigade. He led them in a charge which shattered the rebel front, and for the time a marked advantage was gained, guns and prisoners falling into his hands; but the enemy rallying and receiving strong supports, checked him in his progress, and entailed a desperate struggle, in which both sides sustained terrible losses. From this charge dates Hartranft's commission as Brigadier- General. It had been fairly won at Bull Run, at Antietam, at Fredericksburg, and at Campbell's Station, each of JOHN F. HARTRANFT - 669 which should have brought the promotion. But from none of these was the general advantage gained equal to the expectations of the Government, and it was consequently slow in recognizing even conspicuous merit. In the actions at Cold Harbor and before Petersburg, his conduct was alike worthy of notice; but it is unnecessary as it is impossible to exemplify all of that brilliant series of actions with which his name will ever be honorably associated. During the excavation of the noted Petersburg mine, it was given to him to guard the engineers and working parties. Wilcox's division was chosen by Burnside to make the attack, and Hartranft's brigade was selected to lead; but before the explosion occurred, which gave to destruction an immense fort with all its heavy armament and garrison - lifting the huge mass high in air, and then burying all in undistinguishable ruin - the plans were changed, and what was hoped might result in the rout of the rebel army ended in ignominious failure, though not from any fault of the troops making the assault: for never did men behave with greater gallantry. General Hartranft led his command resolutely forward to the crater; but the movement had been so long delayed that the enemy had fully rallied from the surprise, and had concentrated his fire upon the men huddled together, and no valor would suffice to gain an advantage. The only course dictated by wisdom in the emergency was to get the troops back with as little loss as possible. Hartranft was the ranking officer, and when the order came to retire, he sent a messenger out requesting that the guns to right and left should be opened upon the enemy, under the fire of which he might move. For a long time he was held in painful suspense; but finding no indications of compliance, and discovering that the enemy was preparing to deliver a relentless charge, gave the order to fall back, as commanded. This he managed to accomplish, narrowly escaping with his own life, men falling on every side. A notable example of General Hartranft's presence of mind and soldierly judgment is afforded in his conduct at the Weldon Railroad, on the 18th of August. His brigade was supporting General Warren, who had captured an important portion of the road. There was danger that the enemy would assault at some MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 670 vulnerable point and retake it. Towards the close of the day he was ordered to go to the assistance of General Ayers, the enemy just then attacking. But he had but a few moments before come from the head-quarters of that officer, and knew from the sound of the fray that Ayers was not in danger. He accordingly acted upon his own judgment and replied, "I will move in the direction of the fire." Most fortunate was the decision! For the rebel General Mahone, having attacked, routed and captured a considerable part of Crawford's division, was bearing down all before him, and making for the very vital point in Warren's corps. Forming rapidly, Hartranft met him, and after a determined struggle beat him back and saved the whole corps from inevitable discomfiture. Hartranft's horse was killed under him, and his losses were very severe. In December, 1864, General Hartranft was assigned to the command of a division of new troops, consisting of six full regiments - all Pennsylvanians. To the disciplining of this force, 6000 strong, he gave himself unreservedly. With this division he was engaged in two actions which will be ever memorable in the history of this war. The first was the recapture of Fort Steadman. Early on the morning of March 25th, 1865, the rebel commander, having assembled a powerful body of his best troops, assaulted just before day, and captured this strong fort with all its outlying works, and was advancing unchecked upon the railroad that led to City Point, where were the immense stores of the whole army. At four in the morning General Hartranft was aroused from sleep by an unusual noise, occasioned by the moving of signal officers upon the roof of his head-quarters. Springing from bed, he had not had time to dress, before it was reported to him that the enemy had assaulted and captured Fort Steadman. His faithful aide, Captain Dalien, was dispatched to verify the report, and he at once got his division under arms. In the meantime he received orders from Parke, who commanded the corps, to support Wilcox, whose division was upon the front and had been thus suddenly broken in upon. His whole division was speedily in motion, all bearing upon the dissevered line. Wilcox was found, but was in total ignorance of the real condition of affairs - his Adjutant-General and McLaughlin's brigade having JOHN F. HARTRANFT - 671 been captured - and was mounted with his staff, his tents struck, in readiness for a movement to the rear. Hartranft perceived at a glance that what was to be done must be done quickly, and that he must rely upon his own troops unaided. He accordingly made his dispositions, and having drawn a cordon around the break, and resolutely driven back the enemy from his advanced position, ordered an assault along his whole line. At the moment of moving he got an order from General Parke to defer his attack until support should be sent. But his troops were full of spirit and confident of success; and he deemed it unwise as it would have been difficult to arrest a movement which was already in progress. He accordingly led on, and though fearfully exposed on all sides and suffering severe losses, he paused not until the entire works were in his possession, and nearly the whole rebel force were captives in his hands. His loss in killed and wounded was less than two hundred and fifty, while that of the enemy, in killed, wounded, and prisoners exceeded three thousand. "When you were about to make your final charge," said a rebel officer to Captain Sholler, who was detailed to deliver up the dead under flag of truce, "our Generals were holding a council of war; but it was the shortest council of war you ever saw; for when they beheld such magnificent lines advancing, they adjourned by each taking to his heels without ceremony." This action brought the eyes of the whole army upon Hartranft, and he received universal applause. The President immediately conferred upon him the rank of Brevet Major-General, and he was everywhere hailed as the Hero of Fort Steadman. The second action was his assault upon and capture of the enemy's works before Petersburg, on the 2d of April. As a military exploit it far exceeded, in daring and resolute courage that at Steadman, and had it been executed before the army had moved on its final victorious campaign, when the whole heavens were resounding with the noise of battle, it would have been bruited as one of the great triumphs of the war. The rebel works stood as they had for nearly a year previous, defying the best efforts of the Union arms. They were manned by as strong a force as they had ever been; the only difference being that there were no supports behind them. His division had never been in MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 672 but one heavy engagement before - that at Steadman - and in that it had been successful. It accordingly went to the work with a confidence that old troops would have lacked. The left of his line rested upon the Jerusalem Plank Road, with a part of Wilcox's division upon his right, and Potter's upon his left. The enemy were on the alert and their artillery was in full play, the sky being ablaze with bursting shells, and the fiery trails of the mortal missiles. At daybreak a rocket was sent up from the head-quarters of Hartranft, which was the signal for the advance. It was gallantly executed, Colonel Cox of the Two Hundred and Seventh leading the way. A murderous fire from the whole rebel front tore their ranks; but they unfalteringly moved on, fired by the spirit of their leader, and rested not until they had passed picket line, double line of chevaux-de-frise, moat and ditch, and had scaled the steep sides of the main works. The victory was complete, the enemy being driven, and his own guns turned upon his fleeing troops. The rebel cordon of works was broken, and that city which for so many months had defied the most subtle arts known to war, was finally compelled to yield to the gallant division of Hartranft. Hostilities soon after ceased and the armies returned home. In the meantime the good President had been assassinated, and the conspirators who had plotted the foul deed had been apprehended. The Secretary of War was seeking some fearless, vigilant officer to take charge of them and hold them securely. General Hancock was consulted. He named Hartranft, and the appointment was immediately made. It was a just tribute to a true man. He executed that trust, as he had all others, with fidelity, and, while he showed the prisoners every kindness, he suffered no laxity of duty. In the summer of 1865 he was nominated for Auditor-General of Pennsylvania, an office the most responsible of any in the government, even more so than that of the executive. He was triumphantly elected. At the end of three years he was reelected, and by the unanimous action of the Legislature held it for a part of a third term. In 1872 he was nominated for Governor, and though, in the complication of party and personal interests, he was violently opposed, he was again triumphant. RICHARD COULTER - 673 In person Governor Hartranft is tall and commanding, of dark complexion, with a fine prominent eye, and is well preserved by temperance and sobriety. In all that pertains to executive ability in the management of the complicated affairs of State he is unsurpassed, the Commonwealth having rarely if ever had an executive so fully master of every subject himself, and so little dependent upon his constitutional advisers. He was married on the 26th of January, 1854, to Miss Sallie Douglas Sebring, daughter of William L. Sebring, of Easton. The issue of this marriage has been six children, of whom four survive - two sons and two daughters. RICHARD COULTER, Colonel of the Eleventh regiment, and Brevet Brigadier and Major-General. The Mexican War schooled many a soldier who figured prominently on either side in the War of the Rebellion. Of such, none proved a more apt scholar and none served in the latter contest with more signal ability than Richard Coulter. He was born in Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, on the 1st day of October, 1827. His father, Eli Coulter - an active business man and prominent politician, holding the office of prothonotary for many years - was a brother of the Hon. Richard Coulter, a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, and died on the 18th of April, 1830. His mother was a daughter of Colonel John Alexander, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, an officer of the Revolution, and a sister of Major John B. Alexander, of Greensburg, and of General Samuel Alexander, of Carlisle. She was a woman preeminent for her Christian character, amiable disposition, and many virtues, and died on the 7th of August, 1854. The son was educated at the Greensburg Academy, at the University Grammar School at Carlisle, and at Jefferson College. After leaving college in 1845, at the age of eighteen, he entered the office of his uncle, Richard Coulter, then a leading member of the Westmoreland bar, as a student at law, where he remained until the breaking out of the war with Mexico. On the 24th of December, 1846, he was enrolled in the service of the United States, as a private in Company E, Second regi- MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 674 ment, Pennsylvania volunteers, to serve during the war, and was on active duty throughout its entire period of service. He was engaged in the siege and capture of Vera Cruz, in the battles of Cerro Gordo, at the storming of Chapultepec, Garita de Belen, and in the capture of the City of Mexico. Returning at the close of the war he was mustered out of service, with his regiment, at Pittsburg, on the 14th of July, 1848. He immediately resumed the study of the law, and was admitted to practice on the 23d of February, 1849. His uncle having in the interim been elevated to the Supreme bench, the nephew, upon his admission to the bar, succeeded to the business of the office, and zealously pursued his profession until the opening of the Rebellion. The mutterings of treason were listened to with an attentive ear, and when, in the early spring of 1861, the intelligence was brought to the young lawyer that the old flag had been fired on, he had no question as to his duty. Turning his back upon a successful and lucrative practice, he sounded the call for recruits, and on the 20th of April reported at Camp Curtin, in Harrisburg, with a full company, of which he was chosen Captain. His company became part of the Eleventh regiment, of which he was made Lieutenant Colonel. At Falling Waters this, with other troops, was pitted against rebel forces commanded by the afterwards famous Stonewall Jackson, and in the brisk skirmish which ensued that commander was driven, Coulter's regiment bearing a leading part and being crowned with the credit of that achievement. At the conclusion of the three months' service, for which all Pennsylvania troops had been called, Colonel Coulter set about reorganizing his regiment for three years. It was composed largely of the men of the old regiment, and retained its former number. Of this he was appointed Colonel. During the Peninsula campaign he remained with McDowell, opposing the demonstrations of Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley. In Pope's campaign he rendered signal service at Cedar Mountain, upon the line of the Rappahannock, and at Thoroughfare Gap, in opposing the progress of the rebel army; and in the battle of Bull Run his command suffered great loss in men and officers. In the midst of the latter battle, the fall of General Tower and Colonel RICHARD COULTER - 675 Fletcher Webster left Colonel Coulter at the head of the brigade, who, with his accustomed heroism and daring, succeeded in checking the enemy's onset, and in bringing off his command. On the morning of the 17th of September, the brigade, now commanded by General Hartsuff, was led into action on the field of Antietam with the corps of Hooker. With almost the first shot, Hartsuff was wounded, and Coulter took command of the brigade. For four hours he faced the enemy fighting to maintain their well- chosen position; but the valor of those troops led by the gallant Coulter proved superior, and the enemy was forced back. When relieved, one-half of the effective strength of the brigade had fallen, having lost six hundred and three out of twelve hundred and eleven. In the battle of Fredericksburg Colonel Coulter was severely wounded, and for a considerable time he was confined to the hospital; but a few days before the battle of Chancellorsville he was so far recovered as to resume command, and led his regiment in the desperate fighting of that unfortunate field. At Gettysburg Colonel Coulter was upon the soil of his native State, and within sound of the homes of many of his relatives and friends; and never did the begrimed veterans of this regiment meet the storm of battle with stouter hearts. They were of the First corps, which soonest met the shock, and the ground on the right flank, where repeated assaults were triumphantly met, and the desperate charges of his men were rewarded with substantial fruits, is thickly strewn with the graves of friend and foe. In the desperate encounter of that First corps, when opposed by thrice their number, the commander of the First brigade, General Paul, was severely wounded. Thereupon the Eleventh Pennsylvania regiment was transferred from the Second brigade, where it belonged, to the First, and Colonel Coulter was ordered to assume command in place of the fallen General. In the last desperate struggle, on the afternoon of the third day of the battle, Colonel Coulter, while in the act of leading his brigade to a threatened part of the line, received a severe wound in the arm ; but he persisted in remaining with his command until the battle was ended. In the campaign of the Wilderness and before Petersburg, MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 676 Colonel Coulter was constantly at the post of duty, leading his own regiment, endeared to him by years of constant and devoted service, or the brigade and division as the exigencies required. For his services in these campaigns he was made a Brevet Brigadier-General, a recognition tardily bestowed, and not until after many an officer with far less experience and merit but more pretension had received it. General Coulter sharing the fortunes of his brigade to the last hour of its service, and until every enemy of the Government was willing to lay down his arms, and acknowledge that flag which in the beginning had been derided and trampled in the dust. The rank of Brevet Major-General was conferred upon General Coulter for meritorious services in the final campaign, and in four years of constant and devoted duty. The record of the casualties which befell him show how well he deserved of his country. In the Second Bull Run, his horse was shot under him. At Fredericksburg, he was severely wounded, in the heat of the battle. At Gettysburg, he was struck in the arm. On the first day in the Wilderness, he had his horse killed and on the second day another horse wounded. At Spottsylvania, while drawing up his brigade for a charge upon the enemy's works, he received a wound in the left breast from a missile of the enemy's picket. On being mustered out of service at the conclusion of the war General Coulter returned to the practice of his profession at Greensburg. In person he is five feet and eleven inches in height and stout, of fair complexion, and blue eyes. ADOLPH BUSCHBECK, Colonel of the Twenty-seventh regiment and Brigadier-General. On the evening of Saturday, the 2d of May, 1863, the Eleventh corps of the Army of the Potomac, while in position on the right wing on the field of Chancellorsville, was attacked on its right flank and rear by Stonewall Jackson, with an overwhelming force of the rebel army. At the time this attack was made, Buschbeck's brigade was occupying a ADOLPH BUSCHBECK - 677 position on the extreme left of the corps. "At about four o'clock P. M." says General Steinwehr, who was commanding the division, in his report to General Howard, "you ordered me to send the Second brigade, General Barlow commanding, to support the right wing of General Sickles' corps, then engaged with the enemy. The brigade started immediately and, accompanied by yourself and myself, reached the right wing of General Birney's division of Sickles' corps in about an hour's time. We found General Birney's sharpshooters skirmishing with the enemy, and as no engagement was imminent, I returned to the First brigade, Colonel A. Buschbeck, commanding, near Dondall's Tavern. Soon I heard heavy firing in that direction, which showed that a strong attack was being made upon our corps. When I arrived upon the field I found Colonel Buschbeck with three regiments of his brigade still occupying the same ground near the tavern, and defending this position with great firmness and gallantry. The fourth regiment he had sent to the south side of the road to fill the place lately occupied by the Second brigade. The attack of the enemy was very powerful. They emerged from the woods in close columns, and had thrown the First and Third divisions - which retired toward Chancellorsville - into great confusion. Colonel Buschbeck succeeded to check the progress of the enemy, and I directed him to hold his position as long as possible. His men fought with great determination and courage. Soon, however, the enemy gained both wings of the brigade, and the enfilading fire which was now opened upon the small force, and which killed and wounded nearly one-third of its whole strength, forced them to retire. Colonel Buschbeck then withdrew his small brigade, in perfect order toward the woods, the enemy closely pressing on. Twice he halted, faced around, and at last reached the rear of General Sickles' corps, which had been drawn up in position near Chancellorsville. There he formed his brigade in close column and you will recollect offered to advance again to a bayonet charge." Rarely on any field were soldiers subjected to such an ordeal as were those of Colonel Buschbeck in this terrible conflict. The whole right wing of the army was flying in disorder. The first troops to meet and interpose a check to the hordes of the enemy MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 678 rushing forward, exultant and victorious, was this small brigade. The heroism there displayed is of so signal and pronounced a character that it stands out as one of the striking events in that battle, and as a brilliant achievement in the life of its commander. Adolph Buschbeck was born on the 23d of March, 1822, in Coblentz, Prussia. His father, Adolph Buschbeck - Major in the Engineer corps - and his mother, Minna (Morgenstern) Buschbeck, were natives of Dresden, Saxony. From his eleventh to his seventeenth year he was a cadet in the military school at Berlin. He received the full education necessary to enter the University, besides instruction in tactics for infantry, cavalry, and artillery, practical surveying, and in the German, English, and French languages. Upon his graduation from the military school, he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Prussian army, and in 1846 was commended by the then Prince of Prussia, now the Emperor William. General von Steinwehr said of him, "I can also state from personal knowledge that Colonel Buschbeck is one of the most thoroughly educated officers of the service." Colonel Buschbeck came to this country several years before the war, and in September, 1861, was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Twenty-seventh Pennsylvania volunteers. A month later he was made colonel of the regiment, and on the 25th of October, 1862, was assigned by General Banks to the command of the First brigade, Second division of the Eleventh corps. During the winter of 1864 he commanded a division of this corps, and was subsequently brevetted a Brigadier-General of volunteers. Of the character of General Buschbeck, the authority of his superior officers will be received as conclusive. General Sherman, in his report of the 19th of December, 1863, says: "The brigade of Colonel Buschbeck, belonging to the Eleventh corps, which was the first to come out of Chattanooga to my flank, fought at the Tunnel Hill, in connection with General Ewing's division, and displayed a courage almost amounting to rashness. Following the enemy nearly to the Tunnel gorge, it lost many valuable lines." General von Steinwehr, in a communication of the 26th of February, says of him: "He distinguished himself partic- CHARLES P. HERRING - 679 ularly in the battle of Cross Keys, where he saved his regiment and a battery attached to it during the action, by resolute determination and intrepidity." General Hooker says, in a communication addressed to the Secretary of War, dated March 3d, 1864, at his camp in Lookout Valley: "His mode of governing men and enforcing discipline is excellent. He is cool, prompt, and fearless in battle and his private relations are unexceptionable." General Buschbeck since the close of the war has for the most part resided in Philadelphia, where he married Agnes, youngest daughter of the late Doctor William E. Horner, Professor of Anatomy in the University of Pennsylvania. CHARLES P. HERRING, COLONEL OF THE One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born in the city of Philadelphia. Until the opening of the Rebellion he was engaged in mercantile pursuits. In June, 1861, he became Second Lieutenant of Company C, of the Grey Reserves, commanded by Captain Charles M. Prevost. In May, 1862, he acted as Adjutant of the battalion under Colonel Charles S. Smith, in its service in quelling the Schuylkill county riots. In August, 1862, he was commissioned Major of the One Hundred and Eighteenth regiment, and commanded the camp for recruits in Indian Queen Lane, near the Falls of Schuylkill. With little opportunity for drill the regiment was called to the front at a time when the Antietam campaign was in full progress. On the 20th of September, 1862, two days after the battle of Antietam, Barnes' brigade, which embraced the one Hundred and Eighteenth, was ordered across the Potomac to follow up the retreating foe. But Lee had left a strong rear-guard under A. P. Hill, which was held in ambush, and this regiment, which was in advance, was no sooner over than the enemy attacked and overwhelmed it, killing, wounding, and capturing considerable numbers. Its commander, Colonel Prevost, received a severe wound, when the direction of affairs partially devolved upon Major Herring, who with rare tact and judgment brought off the remnants of his troops. In the battle of Fredericksburg he was wounded in both arms, and at Chancellorsville was in command of the rear-guard in the retreat of the army across the river. The service at MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 680 Gettysburg was no less trying. He was brought upon the field at a critical period in the fortunes of the day on the afternoon of the 2d of July, 1863, and aided in checking the foe in his crushing blow aimed at the Third corps. In November he was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. On the 7th of May, 1864, in the midst of the fierce conflicts of the Wilderness, Colonel Herring was placed in command of a brigade of five regiments, two of them of the regular army, and with it made a brilliant charge, driving the enemy and holding his ground. On the following day, at Laurel Hill, occurred the most notable act of his military life. General Crawford was moving forward with his command to charge the enemy when, at five P. M., Colonel Herring with his brigade arrived upon the ground, and was ordered forward to support the movement. He had been on picket all the previous night and had been marching all day, but he went gallantly out, and met and signally repulsed one of the most determined and desperate charges made by the enemy, preserving throughout the struggle an immovable front, inflicted terrible slaughter, captured two hundred prisoners, and took two stands of colors. General Warren, in a familiar letter written just two years later, says: "Your successful engagement of the enemy on the evening of the 8th of May, two years ago, with its captures, will help relieve a record made up of many gloomy repulses so trying to us all." He continued with the army under General Grant, and was conspicuous in all the engagements in which his regiment had a part before Petersburg and Richmond. On the 6th of February, 1865, at Dabney's Mill, while at the head of his command, he was severely wounded in the leg, which resulted in its amputation. For his gallantry here he was brevetted Brigadier-General. After his recovery he sat upon a general court-martial convened in Philadelphia, and soon after his muster out of the service, in June, 1865, was appointed Brigade Inspector of the National Guard, in which capacity he was influential in resolutely holding up the standard of excellence. In a remarkable degree he had the confidence and friendship, not only of his own command, but of his superior officers. General Barnes, in allusion to his loss of a limb, said: "You bear with you the evidence of the perils of the field. This gives me MATTHEW S. QUAY - 681 no cause for surprise; for I had seen you at Shepherdstown, at Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg." "Gallant and ever reliable as an officer," says that bold soldier, General Griffin, "he was humane and considerate towards those under him, always being solicitous for their welfare. On the field of battle, or in camp, his manly bearing won for him the friendship of all. His record is one that he not only should feel proud of, but his State should prize as belonging to one of her sons." "With a moral courage," says Major-General Chamberlain - late Governor of Main - who served with him, "scarcely excelled by his physical daring, he won and held my perfect confidence and love." MATTHEW STANLEY QUAY, Colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth regiment, was born on the 13th of September, 1833, at Dillsburg, York county, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Anderson B. and Catharine (Kane) Quay. He was educated at Jefferson College, where he graduated at the age of sixteen. After completing his course he traveled in the South, but finally settled in Beaver as a student at law, where he was admitted to the bar in 1854. In 1856 he was appointed Prothonotary of Beaver county, and in the fall of the same year was elected to that office by the people, and reelected in 1859. When the tocsin of war was sounded in April, 1861, he resigned his civil employment, and received the appointment of Lieutenant in Company F, Tenth Reserve regiment. In June following, he was elevated to a more arduous and responsible position, that of Assistant Commissary-General of the State. On the 1st of January, 1862, he was selected by Governor Curtin as his private Secretary. In August, when the General Government was importunate for troops, he again took the field as Colonel of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth regiment. He was brought upon the ground at Antietam near the close of the battle, and remained under arms in momentary expectation of a renewal of the fight, until it was discovered that the enemy had fled. On account of serious ill health he was obliged to tender his resignation, which was accepted about a week previous to the battle of Fredericksburg. When he ascertained that a battle was imminent, he refused to leave the field, and volunteered as aid upon MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 682 the staff of General Tyler, commanding the brigade to which his former regiment belonged. In this capacity he was in the hottest of the fight at the Stone Wall on Marye's Heights, and by his courage and endurance won the high commendation of his commander, both upon the field and in his official report. In closing the detail of the action of his brigade, he says: "Colonel M. S. Quay, late of the One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylvania infantry, was on my staff as a volunteer aide-de-camp, and to him I am greatly indebted. Notwithstanding his enfeebled health, he was in the saddle early and late, ever prompt and efficient, and especially so during the engagement." When his health had become measurably restored he was appointed agent of the State at Washington, where he performed highly important and useful labor in looking after and protecting the interests of Pennsylvania soldiers. He had not been long engaged in this capacity when he was recalled to Harrisburg, to perform official duty near the person of the Governor. At the State election, in October, 1864, he was chosen, by the almost unanimous vote of his district, a member of the Legislature, where he exerted a commanding influence, and on being returned for the succeeding term was selected as Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means - the virtual leader of the House. He was returned for a third term, when he was a prominent candidate for Speaker. After retiring from this office he founded at the seat of his county the Beaver Radical, an eight-page sheet, which, under his skilful and able management, gained a large circulation and an influence scarcely second to any in the State. When Governor Hartranft, at the opening of 1873, formed his cabinet, he called Colonel Quay to occupy the first place - that of Secretary of State - which he still worthily holds. In person he is above the medium height, well formed, and of a vigorous and determined mien. In debate he is ready and persuasive; and as a writer, terse and sententious, with few equals in the editorial corps. JACOB H. DEWEES, Colonel of the Thirteenth cavalry, was born in Philadelphia on the 5th of December, 1831. He was the son of Henry and Louise Charlotte (Schollosser) Dewees. JACOB H. DEWEES - EVERARD BIEBER - 683 He was brought up upon a farm, and received a liberal English education at the public schools and at the Lower Dublin Academy, especially distinguishing himself in mathematics and civil engineering. He was fond of field sports, and was a good horseman. Before entering the United States service he had been connected with a volunteer company, known as the Washington Cavalry, where he acquired some knowledge of this arm. In May, 1862, he was commissioned Captain of Company A of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania cavalry. For the rough riding, in which he delighted, he now had ample opportunity; for bands of the enemy led by the daring partisan chieftains Moseby, White, and Imboden were active in the Shenandoah Valley, whither with his command he was sent, and it required all the skill and courage of which the Union forces were master to match them. In November, 1863, Captain Dewees was promoted to Major, and in the campaign of the Wilderness rode with Sheridan in advance of the Grand Army. The cavalry was tireless in this campaign, raiding upon the enemy's communications, pushing up to the very doors of Richmond, and away on the Trevilian Station enterprise. Finally, in the hard battle at St. Mary's Church, on the 24th of June, 1864, Major Dewees was taken prisoner, and for a period of nearly nine months, at a time when Union captives were treated with the greatest severity, was in the enemy's hands, being confined first at Macon, Georgia, for two months under fire of the Union siege guns in the city of Charleston, and finally at Columbia. Early in March he was released, and on rejoining his regiment was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel. At the conclusion of the war, he returned to his home in Philadelphia, and has since been actively engaged in the construction of railroads, for which he has natural talent. He was married on the 29th of January, 1867, to Bella M. Dale, of Venango county, Pennsylvania. EVERARD BIERER, Colonel of the One Hundred and Seventy first regiment, was born at Uniontown, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, on the 9th of January, 1827. His father, Everhart Bierer, was a native of Wurtemberg, Germany, having MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 684 been born in 1795, near Stuttgard. His mother was Catharine Margaretta Rukenbrod. He was reared amidst agricultural pursuits. He received his education at the common schools, and at Madison College, in his native county. A few days after the call of the President for troops, he commenced recruiting, and on the 23d of May was commissioned Captain of Company F, Eleventh regiment of the Reserve corps. He did good service with his company at Beaver Dam Creek, and in the desperate fighting to which his regiment was subjected on the following day at Gaines' Mill - where it was brought up as a forlorn hope - was taken prisoner. With other officers captured on that field, Captain Bierer was marched to Richmond, gratifying the eyes of the populace eager for a sight of Yankee prisoners, and was confined in Libby Prison. He was released on the 14th of August, and returned to his command in time to lead his company in the assaults at South Mountain. In the midst of the battle, while the enemy was contesting every inch of ground with the greatest obstinacy taking shelter behind rocks and wooded heights, the regiment was ordered to charge. Captain Bierer was the first of his company to issue from the covert of woods through which the line was moving, and, dashing forward into an open field amidst a storm of bullets, led the way. His heroic conduct reassured his men, and their onward move was resistless; but before the summit of the mountain was reached, while pressing on, he was struck just above the elbow, breaking the arm and injuring the joint. He was carried off the field, and his wound dressed; but not until the 25th of November was the ball extracted. The wound finally healed and the arm was saved. As soon as he was fit for duty, he was appointed, by the Governor, commandant of Camp Curtin, near Harrisburg, with the rank of Colonel, and not long afterwards was chosen Colonel of the One Hundred and Seventy-first regiment. With this he was sent first to Suffolk, Virginia, and thence to North Carolina, where he was engaged against the rebel General Hill. At Blount's Creek, on the 9th of April, the brigade of Spinola was obliged to retire before superior numbers. To Colonel Bierer was assigned the command of the rear guard. The duty was critical, the enemy crowding upon him and attacking in heavy force. Nearly ROBERT THOMPSON - 685 the entire night, in the midst of intense darkness, through pine forests and cypress swamps, the march was pushed, and he finally succeeded in bringing off the column, with the trains and all the wounded. He was subsequently advanced to the command of the brigade, which he led in a diversion towards Richmond, from Fortress Monroe, and subsequently to Maryland, to the aid of the Army of the Potomac in its conflicts with Lee. The term of service of his regiment soon after expired, when he was mustered out. In person he is nearly six feet in height, of an iron frame, and was never sick except when confined in Libby. Studious and industrious, he has acquired varied information, and by his integrity and worth commands respect and confidence. In October, 1850, he was elected district attorney of Fayette county, and in November, 1864, was one of the Presidential electors for Pennsylvania. He was married on the 8th of April, 1852, to Miss Ellen Smouse. In 1865 he removed to Hiawatha, Brown county, Kansas. In November, 1867 he was elected a member of the Kansas Legislature. His occupation has in the main been that of farming, stock-raising, and the practice of law. ROBERT THOMPSON, Colonel of the One Hundred and Fifteenth regiment and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born on the 19th of July, 1828, in Philadelphia. His father was Robert Thompson. His mother was daughter of Dr. William Delaney, a surgeon in the Revolution, and a niece of Sharp Delaney, a prominent patriot in that struggle, contributor to the Robert Morris fund, first Collector of the Port of Philadelphia, having been appointed by Washington, and the founder of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick, from which strictly the First Troop, Philadelphia City Cavalry, originated. He received a thorough education in the schools of his native city. In the July riots of 1844, he served with the Washington Grays, an artillery corps, and subsequently, in 1849, attached himself to the First Troop. In 1852, he was married to Elizabeth S. Winebrener. Just previous to the breaking out of the Rebellion he raised a militia company, known as the State Guard, which became Company E of the Seventeenth regiment, commanded by Colonel Francis E. Patterson, and served as Captain through the three months' MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 686 campaign. When, in April, 1862, the One Hundred and Fifteenth regiment was formed, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel. His first duty was to take charge of five hundred rebel prisoners captured in the fight at Winchester, in April, 1862, whom he took to Fort Delaware, and thence proceeded to Fortress Monroe with his regiment. He joined the Army of the Potomac in July, and had part in the second engagement at Malvern Hill. In the fierce fighting at Bristoe Station, with the enemy under Stonewall Jackson, and at Bull Run, which immediately followed, Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson commanded the regiment, in the former being particularly commended for a charge in which he led, and in the latter was complimented by General Carr, in the report of the battle, for his courage and gallantry in the face of a bold and defiant foe. At the close of Pope's campaign, he was obliged to leave the service on account of illness and loss of hearing incurred in the line of duty, the last four days of this campaign having been very depressing and exhausting. The command was without food, blankets, or covering during all this time, and he was compelled, from the loss of his horse, to march fifty miles, and led in three battles. Upon the recommendation of General Joseph Hooker, who commanded the division, he was brevetted Colonel, and Brigadier-General, which appointments were confirmed by the Senate. JOSEPH H. HORTON, Lieutenant-Colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-first regiment, was born at Tarrytown, Bradford county, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of June, 1842. He received a common school education, and engaged in mercantile pursuits previous to entering the service of the United States. He enlisted in August, 1862, in the One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania regiment for the war, and was elected First Lieutenant of Company A. In August, 1862, he was promoted to Captain. At Fredericksburg he had his first experience of severe fighting, his regiment being in Birney's column. The battle of Chancellorsville brought hard marching and sharp conflict, the regiment sustaining heavy losses. At Gettysburg it performed important service, holding a very exposed position, and keeping back the masses of the enemy until it was finally pushed by sheer weight JOSEPH H. HORTON - JOSEPH W. HAWLEY - 687 of numbers. "Captain Horton," says the Colonel of the regiment, "though severely stunned by the concussion of a shell, remained on the field, and I am greatly indebted to him for his services, as he was the only Captain left with the regiment." He was at Auburn, Bristoe Station, Mine Run, United States Ford, and the Wilderness, preserving, by his devotion to duty, his title to gallantry. At Spottsylvania he was wounded in the left arm and left hip by a gun shot. Neither proving serious, he was on duty again in time to take part in the battle of Cold Harbor, and continued through the siege of Petersburg down to the surrender of Lee. In January, 1864, he was promoted to Major, and in March, 1865, to Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment made the final campaign under his command, and when he was about to start for home, on the morning of May 30th, 1865, General Pierce, who commanded the brigade, said: "I regret that the early hour at which you leave will forbid my turning out the brigade and firing a salute as you start for those homes you left some three years ago to battle for your country. You have all performed your duties faithfully, and the result is, our country is redeemed from traitors, the old flag now waves over every State in the Union, and you go home to be received by a grateful people, who will, I trust, not forget your sufferings and deeds of valor." Since the war, Colonel Horton has been Superintendent of the Sullivan Anthracite Coal Company. JOSEPH W. HAWLEY, Colonel of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth regiment, was born in Lionville, Chester county, Pennsylvania, on the 14th of July, 1836. His boyhood was spent at school and in the intervals in a country store. He received, in addition to that of the public schools, instruction for a year and a half in the best academies of the county. At the breaking out of the war he was paying teller of the Bank of Chester County, at West Chester. He was granted leave of absence therefrom, and recruited a company for the nine months' service, of which he was made Captain. It became part of the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Pennsylvania regiment, which was ordered to the front under his command with the expectation of having Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas S. Bell of the Fifty-first made MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 688 its leader. But this was not permitted, and Captain Hawley was, commissioned Colonel. In the battle of Antietam his regiment was in the hottest of the fight, and was terribly decimated. Colonel Hawley received a rifle ball in the neck which just missed the jugular vein, lodging in the muscle. Its removal being considered dangerous it was allowed to remain, where, after the lapse of more than ten years, it still holds its place. His wound was sufficiently healed at the end of sixty days to enable him to return to his regiment, which in the battle of Chancellorsville was again exposed to a withering fire, and lost heavily. Its term of service expired a few days afterward, and Colonel Hawley returned to his place in the bank. He was afterwards commissioned Colonel of the Twenty-ninth regiment, Pennsylvania volunteer militia, called out for the emergency in 1863, but was in no engagement with the exception of a slight skirmish at Clear Spring, Maryland. On being mustered out he returned to his former duties. In January, 1864, he was appointed paying teller of the First National Bank of West Chester, and in March following was made cashier of the First National Bank of Media, Delaware county. JOHN HERRON CAIN, Colonel of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth regiment, was born at Pittsburg, on the 18th of November, 1839. He is the son of Henry P. Cain, a native of Trenton, New Jersey. His mother was Caroline (Wilson) Cain. He was educated at Bethel under the instruction of the Rev. George Marshall, receiving a good English training. He enlisted on the 19th of April, 1861, in the City Guards of Pittsburg, which subsequently became Company K, of the Twelfth Pennsylvania regiment, and for a term of three months served as a private. He was here associated with Alexander Hays, killed in the Wilderness campaign, with James H. Childs, who fell while leading a brigade at Antietam, with A. S. M. Morgan, who was fearfully wounded at the head of his regiment at Fair Oaks, and with A. B. Bonaffon, who also became eminent as a soldier, and yielded up his life while in the line of duty. On the 29th of August, 1862, he was chosen Captain of Company C, of the One Hundred and Fifty-fifth Pennsylvania regiment, which he had JOHN H. CAIN - HORATIO N. WARREN - 689 been instrumental in recruiting, and three days thereafter was made Major. In this capacity he participated in the battles of Antietam and Fredericksburg. In the latter, the regiment was subjected to an ordeal such as seldom falls to the lot of even veteran soldiers. In this trying situation he acquitted himself gallantly, and two weeks after was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and given the active command of the regiment. At Chancellorsville, on the morning of the 3d of May, he was brought into conflict with the hitherto invincible troops of Stonewall Jackson, and the fighting was of a desperate character. When the division of Humphreys, to which the One Hundred and Fifty- fifth belonged, was obliged to fall back behind the guns, Lieutenant-Colonel Cain conducted the movement of his own men with much skill. In the battle of Gettysburg he was posted on the summit of Little Round Top, and was largely instrumental in holding that key-point of the field. Sharpshooting was rife, as almost every bush and rock concealed a rebel marksman, and many brave men of his command fell. A month after this battle he was promoted to Colonel, and soon afterwards resigned. Since the war he has been engaged in producing oil at various points in Venango county. HORATIO N. WARREN, Colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-second regiment, was born in Clarence, Erie county, New York, on the 26th of October, 1838. He received a good English education in the Clarence Academy. His early occupation was that of a clerk, and he afterwards engaged in business on his own account. He was married on the 9th of September, 1861, to Miss Mary M. Everhart. On the 8th of August, 1862, he was commissioned Captain of Company A, One Hundred and Forty-second regiment. He at once took the field, and in the battles of Fredericksburg, Salem Church, and Gettysburg, led his company, exhibiting soldierly qualities. In February, 1864, he was promoted to Major and took command of the regiment. In that terribly wasting and bloody campaign from the Rapidan to the James, and subsequently before Petersburg, he displayed the most devoted gallantry, never having been absent from his command for an hour from the time when the army first plunged into MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 690 the Wilderness, on the 4th of May, to the 4th of July, when it finally settled down to the siege of Petersburg. He was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel on the 17th of September, and in the actions of the Weldon Railroad, Hatcher's Run, Dabney's Mill, where he had his horse shot from under him, and Boydton Plank Road, he displayed like devotion and steadfastness. In the battle of Five Forks, on the 5th of April, 1865, he was severely wounded, and had to be removed to the hospital at City Point. For his gallantry in this action he was promoted to Colonel, and at the close of the war was mustered out of service with his regiment. SAMUEL B. M. YOUNG, Colonel of the Fourth cavalry, and Brevet Brigadier-General, was born on the 9th of January, 1840, at Forest Grove, Allegheny county, Pennsylvania. His father, John Young, was of English descent as was his mother, Hannah (Scott) Young. His early years were spent upon the farm and at school, where, in addition to the common English branches, a knowledge of civil engineering was acquired. His youthful inclination was for a military life, and the opening of the Rebellion, just as he was coming of age, afforded him the coveted opportunity. He enlisted in the Twelfth United States infantry, in April, 1861, and was made Corporal in the following June. On the 6th of September, 1861, he was commissioned Captain in the Fourth Pennsylvania cavalry. At the Peach Orchard, and at Charles City Cross Roads, he had experienced in hard fighting, and, mere youth though he was, showed that he was constituted with those qualities of which heroes are made. He led the famous charge of one squadron of his regiment, and one section of Tidball's guns under Lieutenant Dennison, across the Stone Bridge on the left centre of the line, in the battle of Antietam, where in the mortal conflict which ensued in defence of the Union guns the gallant Colonel Childs met his death. In November, 1862, with two squadrons of the Fourth, he attacked the rear of J. E. B. Stuart's column at Jeffersonville, Virginia, and dismounted two guns, destroying the carriages before the supports arrived. In the Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville campaigns the Fourth regiment was with Averell, and SAMUEL B. M. YOUNG - 691 had little hard fighting, though in the latter the cavalry was in motion towards Gordonsville. But in the Gettysburg movement a close conflict occurred at Aldie and Upperville, where Major Young led his battalion in repeated charges with the steadiness and determination of a veteran officer. Moving on the right flank of the Union army this regiment stretched away in its course to the Susquehanna river, arriving at the Wrightsville head of the Columbia bridge just after its destruction. Hastening back, it came up on the flank of the army upon the Gettysburg field during the morning of the 2d of July. In the remainder of the struggle, and in the pursuit of the enemy upon his retreat, it was kept in constant service. On the 12th of October, when Lee attempted his flank movement, the Fourth was sent to the relief of the Thirteenth Pennsylvania cavalry, which, while on picket duty near Jeffersonville, on the right bank of the Rappahannock and opposite the White Sulphur Springs, was attacked and hard pressed by the advancing enemy. What bravery could accomplish was done, and two regiments making a bold stand and fighting with remarkable courage; but it was hopeless, as the overwhelming masses of the enemy were pressing forward from all sides, and a large number of both regiments were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. Major Young was conspicuous for his valor, and in the heat of the engagement was struck by a Minie ball in the right elbow-joint, inflicting a painful and serious wound. After six months of intense suffering, the arm was saved; but the joint was left permanently stiff. In an action on the 20th of July, 1864, this arm was again hit, both bones of the fore-arm being broken. Youth and a good constitution favored recovery, and in a comparatively brief period he was again with his regiment. In the following year the same arm was a third time struck; but from all its hard fate it holds out, and in striking for country is a good arm yet. In October Major Young was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel, and in December following to Colonel. The action at Hatcher's Run, in February, 1865, proved unfortunate for the Union arms; especially disastrous was it to Crawford's division. After an unsuccessful attempt had been made by an infantry brigade to MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 692 drive the enemy from his intrenchments, Colonel Young was ordered to charge with his brigade of cavalry. Gallantly was the command executed, and the intrenched line before which the infantry had recoiled the cavalry carried. Colonel Young was complimented, in the presence of the entire division, by General Gregg for this heroic action. The rebel General John Pegram was killed in this encounter. Colonel Young was active throughout the entire final campaign of Sheridan's cavalry, from Five Forks to the surrender, in which the movements were remarkable for rapidity and skill. He led a charge of his brigade even after the surrender had been consummated, though not known upon the front, routing a rebel brigade and capturing its colors. For this action he was brevetted Brigadier-General. At the conclusion of the war he was appointed to a lucrative position in the Revenue Department of the General Government, but refusing to sacrifice his principles to party purposes, he was removed by President Johnson. He was soon after appointed Second Lieutenant in the Twelfth infantry. At the reorganization of the army, in July, 1866, he was commissioned a Captain in the Eighth United States cavalry, and with one exception has achieved remarkable success in every campaign against the hostile Indians in Arizona and New Mexico, whither his command was ordered. JOHN MARKOE, Colonel of the Seventy-first regiment, and Brevet Brigadier- General, was born in the city of Philadelphia, on the 9th of January, 1844. The family came from Denmark to St. Croix, and afterwards to Philadelphia. His great-grandfather, Abraham Markoe, was the first Captain of the Philadelphia Troop of Light Horse, which acted as escort to Washington in the battle of Trenton. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in the class of 1860. He was fond of athletic sports, and held the bow oar in two races by the University boat. When recruiting of the Washington Grays for the three months' service commenced, he was the first man to affix his name upon the books as they were opened, and served as a private in that regiment throughout that campaign. He proved himself a good marksman, having been excused from guard duty for a time for having made the best shot at target practice. JOHN MARKOE - 693 While in camp at Kalorama, near Washington, he was tendered the position of Second Lieutenant in Colonel Baker's California regiment, Seventy-first Pennsylvania, then being recruited for the war, which he accepted, and was soon after promoted to First Lieutenant of Company A. At Fort Schuyler, New York harbor, where the regiment was encamped before taking the field, he drilled officers and men in the manual of arms and skirmish practice. The regiment was first ordered to Fortress Monroe, where he was promoted to Captain. After the first battle of Bull Run, it moved to Washington, and in the night advance to Munson's Hill he commanded the skirmishers, which were fired into by other United States troops, and had several killed and wounded. In the action at Ball's Bluff, where Baker fell, Captain Markoe was selected to lead two companies of skirmishers upon the left wing. "Captain Markoe," says Colonel Wistar, "had a company I could trust, an excellent company, and I sent it out. . . . They had got about ten paces in the woods, and I was about thirty paces behind with the second company, when the whole of the Eighty Virginia regiment arose up from the ground, about thirty paces off, and ran right at them with the bayonet, without firing a shot. Captain Markoe held his men steady. I ran up with my company, and a very hot fire immediately commenced on our part. . . . I put these two companies in charge of Captain Markoe, and ran back as hard as I could to take command of my regiment. Captain Markoe, with his two companies, held his position there for about fifteen minutes, during which time they lost all their officers, all their sergeants but two, one of them wounded, all their corporals but three, and two-thirds of their privates, when the rest of them, under the command of the only remaining sergeant unwounded, fell back in pretty good order, bringing with them a First Lieutenant and fourteen men of the Eighth Virginia regiment prisoners, under the fire of the whole regiment." Captain Markoe received a severe wound in the shoulder and fell into the enemy's hands, after having himself taken Lieutenant Berry and three privates prisoners. His men did fearful execution in this engagement, as the enemy, being in greatly superior numbers, were much exposed, while his own MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 694 stood in open order. For four months he was a prisoner in Richmond. During that time his name was twice deposited with those from which hostages were to be drawn; but he fortunately escaped the fate of the victims of retaliation. On being exchanged he returned to his regiment in time to go with McClellan to the Peninsula. He was at Yorktown, West Point, and in the fierce fighting at Fair Oaks was severely wounded in the left thigh and right hand. For nine weeks he was unable to move. After the healing of his wound he was appointed by President Lincoln to the additional corps of aids, with the rank of Captain, and for a time served on the staff of General McDowell. But he soon tired of inactivity, and again returned to his regiment, of which he was made Lieutenant- Colonel, and had the active command. He led in a reconnaissance to Charleston, and in the battle of Fredericksburg, on the 13th of December, 1862, was of the column under Howard, where his troops were exposed in open ground to fire of infantry and artillery behind intrenchments, and were terribly cut to pieces. Colonel Markoe himself suffered greatly from his old wound which was still open, the weather being intensely cold. He was ultimately compelled on this account to resign, which he did on the 27th of February, 1863. He was subsequently brevetted Colonel and Brigadier-General. Few more resolute or heroic soldiers faced the enemy in the late war than John Markoe. JOHN BAILLIE McINTOSH, Colonel of the Third cavalry, Brigadier and Brevet Major- General, was born at Tampa Bay, Florida, on the 6th of June, 1829. His father, James S. McIntosh, was a Colonel in the United States army, and a native of Georgia. His mother was Eliza (Shumate) McIntosh. He was educated at Nazareth Hall, Pennsylvania, at S. M. Hammill's School, Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and at Marlborough Churchill's Military School at Sing Sing, New York, receiving a good classical and English training. His tastes were military, and efforts were made to have him appointed a cadet at West Point; but having one brother there already, they were unsuccessful. On concluding his studies he entered the navy as a midshipman, in 1848, at the age of nineteen, but after two years of experience, JOHN B. McINTOSH - 695 resigned. On the 2d of October of that year, he was married to Miss Amelia Short, of New Brunswick, New Jersey. In person he is five feet ten inches in height, and of robust health. Soon after the opening of the Rebellion he was appointed Second Lieutenant of the Fifth United States cavalry, his commission bearing date 8th of June, 1861, and on the 27th of April, 1862, was promoted to First Lieutenant. With this regiment he served upon the Peninsula in the summer of 1862, and won the rank of Major by brevet in the affair at White Oak Swamp. On the 26th of September, 1862, he was appointed Colonel of the Third Pennsylvania cavalry, which he led in the campaigns under Hooker. In the battle of Kelly's Ford, he led a brigade under General Averell, in which Fitz Hugh Lee and Stuart were defeated and driven. "To the intrepidity," says General Averell, "promptitude and excellent judgment of McIntosh on that occasion our success was chiefly attributable. Although off duty from illness, he voluntarily joined his brigade in the field and displayed all the vigor of an indomitable soldier." After the battle of Chancellorsville he was placed in command of the First brigade, Second division, of the cavalry, Army of the Potomac. At the battle of Gettysburg, and subsequently in pursuit of the rebel army, he won for himself an enviable reputation as a leader. When the fighting at Gettysburg was ended, McIntosh's brigade of cavalry and Neill's of infantry were detached to follow up the line of reel retreat, while the main body of Meade's army marched down on the south side of the Blue Ridge. On the 10th of July, McIntosh fell in with the rebel force at old Antietam Forge, where a brisk engagement ensued. In recognition of his services throughout this entire campaign he was brevetted Lieutenant-Colonel in the regular army, having been previously brevetted Major, and in the December following he was promoted to the full rank of Captain. At half past six on the morning of the 5th of May, 1864, he held Parker's store with a single regiment of cavalry, and received the first attack of the enemy in the battle of the wilderness. It was made by the advance of a whole corps, but it was withstood with all the stubbornness and determination of which so small a force was capable, and was finally driven down to near MARTIAL DEEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA - 696 the intersection of the Brock road, where it was relieved by a division of the Sixth corps under General Getty. On the 8th of May McIntosh charged with his brigade into Spottsylvania Court House, took the town and captured many prisoners. Moving forward he attacked the rear of Longstreet's corps, and only withdrew upon the order of General Sheridan. Having defeated W. H. F. Lee's brigade at Hanover Court House on the 31st of May, he achieved a brilliant success on the following day at Ashland, where, with only three regiments, he withstood for two hours the combined attack of three brigades of rebel cavalry, and finally retired with the loss of only a few led horses. For his gallantry here he was brevetted Colonel in the regular service and made Brigadier-General of volunteers. He had already won a reputation for skill and bravery as a cavalry leader before entering with Sheridan upon the Shenandoah Valley campaign, and when that skilful General sought men for desperate and daring work, he chose McIntosh and was not deceived. The Shenandoah Valley, previous to the advent of Sheridan, had been literally the "valley of the shadow of death" to the Union arms. From the start, he was determined to turn the tide of disaster, and at once initiated an active campaign. By adroit manoeuvres he succeeded in drawing his opponent, Early, forward to the Opequan creek. Then did he believe had come his time to act, and falling upon his adversary with the whole weight of his force, he scattered those legions which before had been invincible, as the wind drives the dust of the summer threshing-floor. In that marvelous achievement, Colonel McIntosh bore a conspicuous part. "Although the main force," says General Sheridan in his report, "remained without change of position from September 3d to 19th, still the cavalry was employed every day in harassing the enemy, its opponents being principally infantry. In these skirmishes the cavalry was becoming educated to attack infantry lines. On the 13th one of those handsome dashes was made by General McIntosh, of Wilson's division, capturing the Eighth South Carolina regiment at Abram's Creek." And of the great battle of the 19th, he further on in his report says: "Wilson, with McIntosh's brigade leading, made a gallant charge through the long canon, and, meeting the advance of JOHN B. McINTOSH - 697 Ramseur's rebel infantry division, drove it back and captured the earth-work at the mouth of the canon. This movement was immediately followed up by the Sixth corps." But though triumph could not have been more complete or glorious, it proved a costly victory to General McIntosh. He was struck, in the heat of the battle, in the leg, and so mangled was the limb that amputation had to be resorted to. If wounds must of necessity be received, an action could not have been chosen in which to have had them inflicted, more full of joyful and proud recollections, than this. "For distinguished gallantry, and good management at the battle of Opequan," such was the language in which the distinction was conferred, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General by brevet. In reviewing his record, General Averell said: "I beg to remark that there are few subalterns thoroughly capable of leading an advance guard. I do not remember above six in the cavalry, and McIntosh stood at the head of the list. As a brigade commander, either in camp or in action, he had no superior." And General Stoneman said: "His bravery, loyalty, and integrity are equal to his capacity, and all are conspicuous." On the 28th of July, 1866, he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-second United States infantry, Veteran Reserve corps, which position he held until the reduction of the army. In the summer of 1869, he was retired upon the rank of Brigadier-General.