Berks-Schuylkill County PA Archives Military Civil War .....Ringgold Artillery: First Defenders-Berks County 1861 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Neil Scheidt neilain@dejazzd.com January 15, 2011, 6:46 pm Ringgold Light Artillery On April 12, 1861 Abraham Lincoln issued his first call for troops. He asked for 25,000 volunteers. On the day of his call the Ringgold Light Artillery was drilling on its accustomed drill grounds. The ninety men were promptly marched to the center of Penn square in Reading where they staged an exibition drill. They were then to the Armory which stood near 8th and Penn Streets, adjoining the Union House. From that point they were sent home to straighten out their private affairs and wait further orders. At dawn, on the morning on the 18th of April, 1861, the five companies pf Pennsylvania Volunteers were marched to the railroad station at Harrisburg where they were mustered into federal service. The men were then huddled into box cars of the Northern Central Railroad and the train began to move toward Baltimore where a junction was to be made with the Washington branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Following is the list of soldiers who were first to arrive in Harrisburg and subsequently arrived in Washington where they were greeted by Abraham Lincoln: Captain James McKnight 1828-1886 buried Charles Evans First Lieutenant Henry Nagel 1826-1876 buried Charles Evans Second Lieutenant William Graeff 1823-bef 1889 First Sergeant George W Durell 1816-1883 buried Charles Evans Second Sergeant Daniel Kreisler 1822-1872 buried Charles Evans Third Sergeant Henry Rush 1833-1915 buried Trinity Lutheran Fourth Sergeant Jerimiah Seiders 1830-1909 buried Charles Evans First Corporal Levi J Homan 1825-1879 buried Aulenbach Second Corporal Frederick W Folkman 1829-bef 1900 Allentown, Pa Third Corporal Jacob Womert 1817-1895 buried Charles Evans Fourth Corporal Horatio N Leader 1831-1897 buried Charles Evans Bugler John A Hook 1827-1915 buried Boalsburg Cem., Centre Co, Pa Musician George B Eckert 1840-1899 buried Charles Evans Drivers Addison Gery 1838-1914 buried Aulenbachs Frederick Peck 1833-1907 buried Charles Evans Privates Charles B Ansart Anthony Ammon 1817-1894 buried Charles Evans James Anthony Solomon Ash 1829-1907 buried Charles Evans Aaron Bechtel 1841-1883 buried Alsace David Bechtel 1832-1901 buried Alsace Augustus Berger 1829-1877 buried Charles Evans George S Bickley 1826-1901 buried Aulenbachs Charles A Bitting 1842-aft 1900 Bucks Co., Pa. Harrison G Bouse 1835-1873 buried Charles Evans William W Bowers 1837-1890 buried Charles Evans Reuben R Burkert 1829-1890 buried Charles Evans William Christ 1831-1895 buried Seilings Grove, Kn Henry Coleman 1842-1875 buried Aulenbachs Daniel W Dickinson 1839-aft 1910 Hampton, Va. Amos Drenkel 1829-1898 buried Aulenbachs William C Eben 1840-1862 buried Charles Evans Edward G Ebling 1839-1899 buried Aulenbachs Henry E Eisenbise 1817-1904 buried Charles Evans Robert Eltz 1841-1875 buried St Peters Catholic, Reading Benjamin F Ermentrout 1832-1861 buried Charles Evans Samuel Evans 1829-1909 buried Charles Evans Adam Faust 1837-1882 buried Charles Evans William W Fix 1832-1908 buried Aulenbachs Henry Fleck 1832-1862 buried Charles Evans Harrison Fox 1841-1906 buried Charles Evans James A Fox 1825-1862 buried Charles Evans Christian C Frantz 1832-1903 buried Charles Evans Adam Frees (Fries) 1841-1893 buried Charles Evans John W Fries 1838-1927 buried St Peters Catholic Charles W Gebhart 1829-1898 buried Charles Evans Addison Gery 1838-1914 buried Aulenbachs Henry Geiger 1836-1872 buried Trinity Lutheran James H Gentzler 1836-1870 buried Charles Evans George W Green 1840-1866 buried Charles Evans Lemuel Gries 1836-1876 buried Charles Evans William Haberacker 1825-1898 buried Buffalo Run, Centre Co., Pa Samuel Hamilton 1824-1874 buried Charles Evans Andrew S Helms 1839-aft 1912 Philadelphia Jacob J Hessler 1827-1899 buried Hampton National Cem., Va. Nathaniel B Hill 1838-1903 buried Chester Rural, Delaware Co., Pa Franklin Housel 1840- Amos Huyett 1837-1891 buried Charles Evans John L Kennedy 1832- buried East End Cem., Pottstown, Pa George W Knabb 1834-1925 buried St Michaels, Birdsboro, Pa John D Koch 1837-1883 buried Charles Evans Peter A Lantz 1827-1892 buried Wood Nat. Cem., Milwaukee, Wis. George S Lauman 1842-1864 buried Charles Evans George D Leaf 1829-1872 buried St Gabriels, Douglassville, Pa Isaac S Leeds 1839-1862 buried Charles Evans Jacob Leeds 1835-1872 buried Aulenbachs Christopher Loeser 1840-1891 Aaron H Levan 1833-1924 buried prob. California Charles Levan 1831-1899 buried Cedar Grove, Chambersburg Harrison Lotz (Lutz) 1841-1917 buried Aulenbach Daniel Maltzberger 1846-1926 buried Charles Evans James L Mast 1841-1930 buried Charles Evans Howard McIlvaine 1839-1862 buried Charles Evans Joseph H McKnight 1841-1895 buried Charles Evans John H McLenegan 1841-1906 buried Charles Evans William M Miller 1840-1904 buried Aulenbachs William P Mack (Mock) 1841-1916 buried Aulenbach Charles P Muhlenberg 1838-1872 buried Woodward Hills, Lancaster, Pa Henry Neihart 1837-1900 buried Trinity Lutheran Edward P Pearson Jr. 1837-1915 buried Fort Rose Nat. Cem., San Diego, Ca. Frederick Peck 1833-1907 buried Charles Evans Frederick H Phillipi 1836-1889 buried Charles Evans James Pfleger 1830-1898 buried Charles Evans Francis Rambo 1833-1902 buried Charles Evans Isaiah Rambo Sr 1829-1903 buried Charles Evans William Rapp Jr 1836-1910 buried Trinity Lutheran George B Rhoads 1820-1864 buried Charles Evans Ferdinand Ritter 1826-1898 buried Charles Evans William Sauerbier 1821-1881 buried Charles Evans Edward Scull 1839-1902 buried Charles Evans Albert H Seyfert 1837-1913 buried Gundy Cem., Vermillon, Il. Francis B Schaeffer 1831-1914 buried Aulenbachs Jonathan Shearer 1839-1936 buried Evergreen Cem, Red Oak, Iowa Jackson Sherman 1827-1884 buried Alsace Albert H Shirey 1839-1899 buried Charles Evans George W Silvis 1837-1914 buried Charles Evans Franklin Smeck 1836-1882 buried Aulenbach Edmund L Smith 1829-1891 buried St Peters Catholic William H Smith 1841-1925 buried Aulenbachs Charles Spangler 1840-1904 buried Charles Spangler Henry Whiteside(s) 1835-1905 buried Union Cem., Richboro, Bucks, Pa Daniel Whitman 1818- 1899 buried Aulenbach Frederick M Yeager 1840-1920 buried Charles Evans Daniel S Yohn 1844-1919 John L Yohn 1840-1870 buried Charles Evans Captain James McKnight - Major Fifth United States Artillery. After the battle of Cedar Creek (October 19, 1864) in which Union losses were heavy, Gen Horatio Wright is reported to have remarked to Major McKnight: "Your Pennsylvania Dutchmen don't seem to know when they are whipped" "By God General," exclaimed McKnight, "most of them don't know when they are killed." Photos: may be seen at http://usgwarchives.net/pa/berks/military.htm First Defenders, Washington Naval Yard, April 1861. 50th Reunion Surviving First Defenders, all five units, which was taken on the 50th anniversary of their departure at the request of Abraham Lincoln, April 18 1861. They reunited every year until they were all gone. Photo from the Reading Eagle, 23 Apr 1911. Additional Comments: Burial and personal details of these soldiers can be viewed on Findagrave.com This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/pafiles/ File size: 7.4 Kb