Orwigsburg Historical Society talk on the 48th

    (Photo Credit RON DEVLIN – REPUBLICAN-HERALD)

      Article in the Reading Eagle

    I just recently gave my second talk on the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry to a enthusiastic audience at the Orwigsburg Historical Society. 

    I think one of my favorite things about doing these presentations is telling these brave soldiers stories having relatives of those who served in the unit come up to me and sharing their own personal research of their family member. Or watching their faces light up when they learn something new about the experiences of their relative in the war. 

    The purpose of this project has always been to try to get the information out on these soldiers so that families can share their stories and their memories can live on for generations. 

    Its no secret that the generation of "History Lovers" is an older group, but I feel like family is the tie that binds us all. I would encourage you to learn the stories of your relatives and teach them to your children. Even if they weren't Veteran's, take your kids to where they lived, where they are buried, find out stories about them and try to share those with your kids. 

Walking in their shoes, stepping on the same ground, breathing the same air makes the experience even more real. I feel that is the thing that is going to get/keep the younger generation interested in history.

I encourage you to contact/join your local historical society and go out and see some of these presentations they give. 

Both the Hamburg and Orwigsburg society's have a treasure trove of artifacts books and pictures remembering the histories of their communities. If you need help with family heritage from your community reach out to them for help.

Orwigsburg Historical Society Facebook Page

Hamburg Historical Society Facebook Page

As always if your organization or group would like a presentation on regiments or general area civil war knowledge feel free to contact us at WITSCivilWar@gmail.com

Soldier Highlight: Lieutenant Henry Rothenberger, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry

Henry Rothenberger was born February 10th, 1844, to William and Christiann Rothenberger in Hamburg Pennsylvania. He was employed as a Brickmaker when the Civil War broke out and he enlisted as a Private in Company D of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. He fought throughout the war rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. 

At Petersburg he was shot in the face, losing his left eye. According to his obituary it was at the hospital that he got to meet and shake the hands with President Lincoln. After he was discharged, he kept his eye in a jar at his home until the day he died. Later on in life he would become the Postmaster for Hamburg. 

Lieutenant Rothenberger pass from this world on  August 16th, 1925 and be buried in St. Johns Cemetery in Hamburg.

 The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment holds a distinguished place in the annals of the American Civil War. Comprised primarily of coal miners from Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, the regiment was mustered into service in 1861, under the command of Colonel (then General) James Nagle

The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry was not just a military unit, but a band of brothers who stood shoulder to shoulder in the face of the nation’s greatest crisis. They fought in some of the war’s most brutal battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Wilderness, Cold Harbor and Petersburg, demonstrating their bravery and commitment to the Union cause.

Perhaps the most notable contribution of the 48th  was during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864. Using their mining skills, they dug a tunnel under the Confederate lines and filled it with explosives, leading to the Battle of the Crater. This innovative tactic, although not ultimately successful in breaking the siege, showcased the ingenuity and resourcefulness of these men.

Throughout the war, the 48th  exemplified the spirit of duty and sacrifice. They endured harsh conditions, faced formidable enemies, and suffered heavy casualties. Yet, they remained undeterred, their resolve only strengthening with each challenge.

By the time the regiment was mustered out in July 1865, it had left an indelible mark on the Civil War. The legacy of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry serves as a testament to the courage, resilience, and dedication of the men who fought for the preservation of the Union. Their story is a vital part of our nation’s history, a reminder of the cost of freedom and the enduring strength of the American spirit.

Memorial Day Flag Placing List Campaign

 I often get asked how I get started identifying the soldiers in the cemetaries that I have worked on. It all starts with help from the folks that take care of their final resting places.

As memorial day approaches men, women and organizations are going out to these cemeteries and placing flags on the graves of these fallen soldiers. We would like to get ahold of these lists. They will provide a valuable starting place for us to do our work.

If you know anyone who has these lists, or you yourself has a copy please email it to witscivilwar@gmail.com

If you look at the top right of this site you will see the cemeteries we are working on 

If your cemetery isnt listed we are definately looking for your help!

Even though Berks and Schuylkill are the primary locations that I am working on, we have other folks working on Carbon, Allegheny and Lebanon Counties and we will gladly take any lists from any of those or any other county in Pennsylvania!

Thank you for helping us with our project, without you we couldnt keep these soldiers stories alive!

Soldier Highlight: The Curious Case of Captain Samuel Becker

 

On Christmas Eve of 1942 the oldest living Civil War Veteran in Berks County shuffled off this mortal coil.

Samuel B Becker was a native of Reading and a longtime resident of Strausstown PA where he taught school, worked at a hotel, sold farm machinery, and worked as a blacksmith.

In 1861 when the war broke out at the age of 14, he enlisted as a drummer boy in Philadelphia. He would serve through two enlistments with Company B of the 107^th Pennsylvania Infantry and the 53rd Pennsylvania infantry. He would transfer from a musician to a fighting roll and fight at Gettysburg and a few other engagements in Virginia eventually rising in the ranks to a Company Captain. 

He would attend the Gettysburg reunion.

He would fight at the famed “Devils Den” in Gettysburg and was cited many times for bravery once saving his regimental colors from capture. During this action he would be wounded numerous times, once in the leg where he would carry the bullet for 15 days before getting treatment.

Later in life he would procure a “Canon de 75 model 1897” WW1 artillery piece for a Veterans memorial at the end of town in Strausstown. His great-granddaughter would unveil the piece.

He was well liked and well respected, the story of his service was amazing…

                                 

                                                           If it were true…

 

You see, there was a problem with “Captain” Becker's story. When researching Zions Blue Mountain cemetery for my project I began to pull up information on him and things didn’t match.

First off let’s look at the regiments. He claimed to be in the 53^rd Pennsylvania Infantry and the 107^th (not specifying which one first). However, he also claimed to be at Gettysburg and fought at Devils Den which ruled out the 107^th which on the first day fought at Oak Ridge on the Northern side of the battlefield and spend the second day in a position near the “Bryan” house near the old location of the Cyclorama (near Meades Headquarters)

The 53^rd Pennsylvania showed up to the Gettysburg battlefield on the afternoon of July 2^nd and immediately moved to the position of the Wheatfield. Not Devils Den but close enough.

So, I dug into the 53^rd Pennsylvania. First, I looked at their muster rolls from 1865. I went to Company B and scanned down the list for Samuel Becker or anything that could be close (sometimes they spelled their names incorrectly).

 I searched the names and found no Becker present at all, weird but not unexpected. The closest was a John Baker who was 32 which didn’t fit. Throughout the course of my project there had been many names that were left off the muster rolls for one reason or another, so it was nothing new.

I went through the other company rolls just in case his company was misrepresented and found nothing.

Next, I turned to Samuel Bate’s “History of Pennsylvania Volunteers” considered to be the “Bible” of Pennsylvania Regiments. Nothing in there for a Samuel Becker in the 53^rd. So, then I did an OCR search for “Samuel Becker”.

The first hit that came up was for a Samuel B Becker….

that’s a match.

in the 53^rd Pennsylvania…

yup that’s a match too

Company B…

match again

emergency militia…

not a match

 Then I go to the official muster rolls of the 53^rd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia Company B

 

If he is claiming to have joined at 14 in 1861 this age would be close to correct (depending on his birthday)

 

In 1863 General Robert E Lee was working his way north to attack Pennsylvania after an immense victory at Chancellorsville to try to win a battle on Northern Soil and turn the tide of the war. On June 12^th 1863 Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin quickly calling for the men of Pennsylvania to enlist in an emergency militia to protect their homes from Southern invasion. Thousands of men enlisted from all over the state but luckily didn’t see action because of the Union forces stopping General Lee at Gettysburg.

The 53^rd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia served from July 2^nd, 1863, to August 18^th 1863, a little over one month, and never set foot in Gettysburg.

Then I turn to his second claim, to be enlisted in the 107^th Pennsylvania Infantry which would have been the regiment that he rose to the rank of “Captain.”

First, I turn to the muster rolls for the 107^th Pennsylvania Company B where I find an 18-year-old Samuel “Baker”

Again, not uncommon for names to be misspelled on muster rolls and everything else matches. This is a Muster OUT roll from 1865 and shows his rank to be “Private.”

Then I turn to the Soldier and Sailors national database to double check

Rank in Private…Rank out…Private.

The other point found in the muster rolls was the description of his enrollment.

 

It seems mister Becker was DRAFTED into the 107^th Pennsylvania.

 

The final nail in the coffin for “Captain” Samuel Becker's story came from the 1890 census. In 1890 the US Pension Office requested this special enumeration to help veterans with pension claims and determine the number of survivors and widows for legislation.

This would be from Samuel Becker's own words to the person collecting the census.

 

Samuel Becker served in the 53^rd Emergency militia as a Private for one month (the numbers were reversed on the census), then was drafted, and served as an orderly in the 107^th Pennsylvania. Even though he claims to have served in the 107^th from June of 1863 (maybe to reinforce his claim that he was at Gettysburg) all other records show that he served from June 3^rd 1864 to July 13^th 1865 at the end of the war. This matches with the draft of the time. He participated in the Petersburg siege campaign until the end of the war one year later.

As far as any records show he was never promoted, never wounded, and never received any citations for bravery.

Private Samuel Becker would be honored as a hero in the little town of Strausstown. He would tell his tale of “heroism” to anyone that would listen and even travelled to join the soldier’s reunion of Gettysburg, a battle that he never participated in.

My goal here is not to smear the life of Samuel Becker. He undoubtedly should be remembered for his record of service. In fact, I am sure if he had shared his stories of Petersburg and his time there, I’m sure he would have received the same amount of respect from his fellow citizens.

This is a cautionary tale that in history sometimes you shouldn’t take things at face value and stresses the importance of trying to get the information right for future generations which is what I hope my project will do.

Cut from website not sure what newspaper this is from

                                                        Harrisburg Telegraph  December 1942

Soldier Highlight- James L. Baum - Hamburg PA

James L. Baum, a 19 year old molder from Hamburg enlisted in the 128th Pennsylvania Infantry, a 9 month unit, on August 9th 1862. 

After being mustered in in Harrisburg the James and the rest of the 128th headed to Washington DC. There they would work on fortifications around the capitol until the 6th of September where they were ordered north to Maryland to stop an invasion by Robert E Lee.

The 128th moved their way northward reaching South Mountain just after the battle there, then moved over the mountain and down into the valley crossing the Antietam Creek the evening of the 16th. The Confederates had drawn back and built up their defenses around the town of Sharpsburg.

Battle of Antietam

At 2am the 128th moved forward to a plowed field at the north end of town close enough to the enemy lines that they could hear the rattle of gear and muffled talking.

At Sunrise the next day the brigade was moved forward and the battle kicked off. The 128th was pushed to the edge of the "Cornfield" where it hurried to get into battle lines under fire. However since the regiment had only been in existence for five weeks they were disorganized and slow. This allowed the Confederates hiding in the corn to open fire on them which caused more confusion and panic. Both of their commanders Colonel Croasdale and Lt Colonel Hamersly were wounded and killed which added the the chaos.

Soon General Williams, division commander ordered them forward and they charged rebels in the cornfield. Just as the corn that surrounded them however they were quickly hewn down and retreated. In that short 10 minute fight 34 were killed and 85 were wounded and the regiment was sent to reserve.

After the Battle of Antietam they were sent to Sandy Hook and Maryland Heights with 12th Corps here they stayed until January of 1863 where they went into winter camp at Stafford Heights

On the 1st of May James and the rest of the 128th were involved in General Joe Hookers Chancellorsville Campaign. Their orders were to entrench on the Plank Road near Wilderness. The next day they moved out to United States Ford to open the way over the Rappahannock. That evening they returned to their entrenchments.

The next evening General Jacksons troops smashed the left wing of the Union army, in the darkness the regiment was surrounded and 225 men were captured. Corporal Baum was listed as missing when the regiment mustered out, because his end of enlistment was so close to the time when the majority of the regiment was captured he may have just went home.

48th Pennsylvania

In February of 1864 James joined the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry when they were home on furlough filling their ranks.

From this point James would join the 48th on General Grants Overland Campaign through Wilderness, Spotsylvania Courthouse, Anna River, Cold Harbor and Petersburg. He would assist them in constructing the mine used to destroy the Confederate works in Petersburg known as the "Battle of the Crater" and participate in the final destruction of the Confederacy and capture of the Capitol of Richmond. He would be mustered out with the rest of the regiment in July of 1865 at the end of the war.

After the War

After the war James would join the 4th Regiment Company E of the National Guard Post of Hamburg as a Second Lieutenant. 

He opened a goods store on the Corner of Main and State Streets in Hamburg (this was according to a newspaper article not sure what they are considering Main Street?)

He was a well known businessman and well liked. 

Suffering from bouts of "Sadness" (depression?) James took his own life at the home of his niece, Mrs John Baer where he lived on May 12th 1901.

He was buried with full military honors at Greenwood Cemetery in Hamburg. 

A Soldiers Letter

    I think its because I grew up in the Atari Generation, the generation that I appreciate the technology of today. I got to experience the transition of playing games that were just a block with an arrow for a sword moving around the screen ( Atari's Adventure) and watch it grow into photorealistic games and movies of today. 

    The on thing that still blows my mind to this day is just our sheer access to things. I think the kids of the youngest generations take this for granted. If you wanted to research the Civil War in the 80's and 90s you had to wait until you saw a documentary on TV or go to a library to find a book and most of the time they didn't have the exact thing you were looking for. 

    

    Today however you can order the exact book on Amazon or browse E library's for old and ancient books. You could even read them on your watch "Dick Tracy" style. (The older folks will explain that one to you kids). The sheer amount of information at your fingertips is unbelievable.

    Because of this unprecedented access I get to peruse publications, speeches and documents about the Civil War era that the past day researcher may have taken years to acquire if ever. I've been reading the "Rebellion Record, A Diary of American Event" written in 1861 and "Harpers Weekly" and "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspapers" for years and they have helped immensely with my research. They give you a good snapshot of the times and the attitudes of the citizens back then. 

    One thing that was extremely present in all these old publications was Poetry. You couldn't look at a newspaper or any other sort of publication without poetry being front and center.

    Faith Barret in her book "To Fight Aloud is Very Brave" said that 19th Century writers used poetry to navigate a hotbed of political and social pitfall's and argues that the poetry and writing of the day was destabilizing and influential (ala Uncle Toms Cabin)

    The 19th Century spawned such writers as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickenson, Frances Harper, Herman Melville and Ralph Waldo Emmerson among others.

    That being said when I was coming up with some of my presentations for this project I wanted to feature a bit of period poetry to end the night on.

    The first that came to mind was a poem called "A Soldiers Letter" some versions of it were called "The Boy Who Wore the Blue" which has been attributed to a few different authors including Joseph Pagett

    This poem was recited by heart by 104 year old Daisy Turner poet and story teller and daughter of an enslaved father on Ken Burns "Civil War" series

 

    Of all the poems I've read from that period I feel this one reflected the American soldier the best and paints a picture of the hardships and heartaches that so many of those brave men had to endure so I added it to my presentation. 

I have added Mary C Hovey's version from the Rebellion Record Volume 8 here

Dear madam, I'm a soldier, and my speech is rough and plain;

I'm not much used to writing, and I hate to give you pain;

But I promised that I'd do it-he thought it might be so,

If it came from one who loved him, perhaps 'twould ease the blow--

By this time you must surely guess the truth I fain would hide,

And you'll pardon a rough soldier's words, while I tell you how he died.

'Twas the night before the battle, and in our crowded tent

More than one brave boy was sobbing, and many a knee was bent;

For we knew not, when the morrow, with its bloody work, was done,

How many that were seated there, should see its setting sun.

'Twas not so much for self they cared, as for the loved at home;

And it's always worse to think of than to hear the cannon boom.

'Twas then we left the crowded tent, your soldier-boy and I,

And we both breathed freer, standing underneath the clear blue sky.

I was more than ten years older, but he seemed to take to me,

And oftener than the younger ones, he sought my company.

He seemed to want to talk of home and those he held most dear;

And though I'd none to talk of, yet I always loved to hear.

So then he told me, on that night, of the time he came away,

And how you sorely grieved for him, but would not let him stay;

And how his one fond hope had been, that when this war was through,

He might go back with honor to his friends at home and you.

He named his sisters one by one, and then a deep flush came,

While he told me of another, but did not speak her name.

And then he said: “Dear Robert, it may be that I shall fall,

And will you write to them at home how I loved and spoke of all?”

So I promised, but I did not think the time would come so soon.

The fight was just three days ago — he died to-day at noon.

It seems so sad that one so loved should reach the fatal bourn,

While I should still be living here, who had no friends to mourn.

It was in the morrow's battle. Fast rained the shot and shell;

He was fighting close beside me, and I saw him when he fell.

So then I took him in my arms, and laid him on the grass.--

'Twas going against orders, but I think they'll let it pass.

'Twas a Minie ball that struck him; it entered at the side,

And they did not think it fatal till the morning that he died.

So when he found that he must go, he called me to his bed,

And said: ”You'll not forget to write when you hear that I am dead?

And you'll tell them how I loved them and bid them all good-by?

Say I tried to do the best I could, and did not fear to die;

And underneath my pillow there's a curl of golden hair;

There's a name upon the paper; send it to my mother's care.

”Last night I wanted so to live; I seemed so young to go;

Last week I passed my birthday — I was but nineteen, you know--

When I thought of all I'd planned to do, it seemed so hard to die;

But then I prayed to God for grace, and my cares are all gone by.“

And here his voice grew weaker, and he partly raised his head,

And whispered, “Good-by, mother!” and so your boy was dead!

I wrapped his cloak around him, and we bore him out to-night,

And laid him by a clump of trees, where the moon was shining bright,

And we carved him out a headboard as skilful as we could;

If you should wish to find it, I can tell you where it stood.

I send you back his hymn-book, and the cap he used to wear,

And a lock, I cut the night before, of his bright, curling hair.

I send you back his Bible. The night before he died,

We turned its leaves together, as I read it by his side.

I've kept the belt he always wore; he told me so to do;

It has a hole upon the side--'tis where the ball went through.

So now I've done his bidding; there's nothing more to tell;

But I shall always mourn with you the boy we loved so well.