September 20-24, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (J. Witmer)

If you've been following the adventures of some of the Emergency Militiamen that I have been posting over the Sesquicentennial, my apologies for the lack of postings over the past few days.  I just returned from an absolutely unforgettable week of volunteering/working/helping/guiding, etc. at Antietam National Battlefield during the 150th Anniversary events.  In the days leading up, I tried to prepare these posts to go up automatically, but I sadly just ran out of time before I had to hit the road to Maryland.  Throw in a lack of a laptop, and little to no service on my Droid, and there you have the makings for my posting delay.  In the meantime, let's pick back up with John Witmer of the 2nd PA Emergency Militia...

you can read the previous day here.

Saturday 20 - about daylight, heard a little cannonading. It was quite faint and appeared to be a long way off. I saw Horace Yundt[1] this morning. Our companies had been next to one another all the time and I had not noticed him before. About half past ten o’clock we heard very heavy and rapid artillery firing in the direction of Shepherdstown. It appeared to be across the Potomac, and was the heaviest that I had yet heard. The regiment was now ordered to fall back to Green Castle, most of the men felt chagrined at being sent home before seeing the Potomac, and were quietly listening to the distant cannonading, when two of three heavy reports of cannon, sounded from behind the woods directly in front of us about a mile. It proved to be our own artillery shelling the rebel pickets in the woods, about a mile from Williamsport. You should have seen how the men skedaddled back to where their muskets were stacked, and awaited orders, then scouts began to ride up the road, at a furious rate, and [Kealey’s?] Maryland brigade (2 Regiments of volunteers) a few of whom had suffered at Front Royal were ordered down. They marched out singing “Glory Halleleujah” [sic] and at the same time our orders were countermanded, and we were formed into line and marched down just after the Maryland Brigade, when we got out of the field we commenced likewise to sing and marched on.  Everyone “Eager for the fray” but here again I regret to say, I must stop to tell of others, who instead of proceeding on towards Williamsport, quietly took up their retrograde march for Hagerstown.  Besides the stragglers from the different companies, there was one entire company that declined moving on with the regiment.  So the colonel took their colors and gave them to another company, and thus we moved on, it was now nearly evening and we lay along the turnpike about 1 ½ miles from Williamsport in the rear of our artillery.  While here we had a kettle of coffee brought out, and we feasted on that and crackers for a short time, when we were ordered into line of battle in a field just back of a couple of houses and a barn, where Gen. Reynolds has his headquarters.  From the turnpike at this place Williamsport could be distinctly seen – as well as the course of the river for many miles.  We stacked our arms, and were allowed to build small fires, and then rolled up in our blankets and slept soundly until morning.  Our artillery had been firing at intervals during the evening.  It was said that the rebels had shelled the Anderson Troop out of a woods back of Williamsport.  At any rate they have fallen back toward Hagerstown.

Sunday 21st - Soon after breakfast Genl. Reynolds ordered us back into a woods about half a mile off towards the left.  We now hear that the rebels crossed about 1200 strong (principally cavalry) at Williamsport and it was thought that it was intended to draw off our forces and protect their rear who were crossing into Virginia about Shepherdstown.  It is also reported that our pickets conversed with General McClellan last night, and saved us from being shelled by him.  As he seeing our camp fires mistook us for Rebels, perhaps this not be correct.  A member of the Pottsville Company preached us a sermon this morning  - immediately after which we got dinner and before long were told that the rebels had all recrossed the Potomac, and that Maryland was clear of them.  We now got ordered to march to Green Castle, and about twelve o’clock turned our faces homeward, we stopped a little while at our old camp ground at Hagerstown and got all our effects loaded upon the wagons.  We also sent our knapsacks with the other goods, and before the march was over we were very glad we had done so.  It was very warm, and the dust was almost intolerable.  We halted several times during the afternoon and about nine oclock at night marched into a wood just outside of Green Castle where we lay till morning.  We felt quite ready to halt as we had had a weary march of about 13 miles.

- John Witmer

Now I know this is lazy...but the conclusion of John Witmer's militia adventure was discussed in a previous post that can be read here.  I hope you'll find Witmer's final adventure, before returning home, as fascinating as I did.

---

[1] A member of Co. E, 2^nd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia.

September 19, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (J. Witmer)

Read the previous day here.

 

We awoke feeling very chilly and damp in consequence of the very heavy dew which fell during the night, but after a tin cup full of hot coffee felt much better and were ordered into line, and marched off to get our knapsacks. Uncle George and I then took a walk down through the town, and he returning sooner than I did found Uncle Hugh there, who had been over the battle-field the day before. He left however before I came back. So I did not see him. We were then marched down through the town and out into the fair ground about one mile south of Hagerstown on the Williamsport Turnpike. I was put upon guard at the gate to stay two hours but it was three, before I was relieved, about 1 o’clock P.M. Scouts came riding in from Williamsport bringing with them a parcel of contrabands and extra horses, stating that the rebels were crossing into Maryland at that place; about half past one o’clock after a hasty dinner we were formed into line, and ordered to load our muskets which you may be sure we did with dispatch. We then marched out and took our position in line of battle about three miles from Williamsport, on a hill in a ploughed field on the east side of the turnpike, here again I regret to say some of our regiment skedaddled; subsequently a regt. of Maryland volunteers (3 year men) who were encamped there were formed in line on our left and the 3^rd Militia on our right. Thus we stood awaiting events. We remained by our arms nearly all evening, and just before dark the danger apparently over we stacked muskets and rushed for a neighboring hay stack to get something to lie upon as we had not yet been in the service long enough to bring our minds to lying upon the ploughed ground. We sent a couple of men in to our old camp to bring out some coffee after which we lay upon our arms, [“for the night” scratched out] not knowing what was to happen. We heard artillery firing until after dark, after a little while we stacked arms and bivouacked for the night. during the evening all the farmers in the neighborhood left their homes with their wagons loaded with their movable articles. Expecting I have no doubt that their farms would be a battle field, before morning.

            About midnight we were aroused, and ordered to take our arms quietly, making as little noise as possible. The excitement ran pretty high, as we expected the rebel vanguard to be upon us at any moment. In fact the excitement was so great that a few more skedaddled; as we stood there in line. Every one peering into the darkness we had twenty additional rounds of cartridge given us, which we fully expected to use before morning. We looked in vain however, for the sun rose, and found us still in the same position, and the enemy not in sight. During the night we had a despatch [sic] from General McClelland [sic] (or purporting to be such) read to us stating that he had reliable intelligence that the enemy about 1000 strong with one piece of artillery had crossed into Maryland at Williamsport, that he intended to send a force of 2,000 infantry, four squadrons of cavalry, and a battery of artillery. Which were to arrive as soon after day light as practicable, and that it would be well for General Reynolds to co-operate, with his militia, so that the whole rebel force might be captured. Of course we were jubilant at the idea of capturing some rebels, especially as there were only about one thousand of them. All excitement however died away before morning, and we began to doubt whether the rebels had really crossed the Potomac or not.

- John Witmer

September 18, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (L. Richards)

Read the previous day here.

We waited hour after hour for our train, but in vain.  Wrote letters home beside the railroad tracks, on the ends of the sills.  Various reports from the army were in circulation, respecting the result of the battle, and the movements of the enemy, subsequently found to be unreliable.  After dinner had a battalion drill, and when all expectation of the train had been given up, between 3 and 4 o'clock it suddenly appeared.  Cheers greeted its arrival.  It consisted, like the one in which we had come down, of [freight] cars adapted for the present purpose, and we boarded it just in time to escape a shower which began falling at this moment.  ...arrived about 6 o'clock at Hagerstown, which we found occupied by a considerable militia force that had been pushed forward with the past two days.  Were surprised to find the companies of Captains Hunter and Eisenhower, from Reading, already there, as they had started from home after we had.  Were informed by them that they had left Harrisburg on Tuesday night, and arrived at Hagerstown on Wednesday morning.  They had been attached to the 11th Regiment, to the command of which Charles A. Knoderer, a talented civil engineer of Reading, who went as a private of Captain Eisenhower's company, had been promoted. The regiment was encamped...below town on the Williamsport pike.  Heard more definite intelligence of the result of the great battle fought yesterday, which is claimed as a decided Union victory.  Were informed of the death of Captain William H. Andrews, of the 128th Regiment, who fell in the battle, and also of its commander, Colonel Croasdale.  Captain Andrews's body had already arrived in Hagerstown.  Several other members of the Reading companies had been killed. coincidence

Our company was separated from the regiment and marched in the dusk of the evening into a narrow lane not far from the railroad depot, where we were told we were to pass the night.  The ground was was wet from the rain which had fallen, and a slight drizzle continuing, a most gloomy and uncomfortable aspect was imparted to the surroundings.  There was nothing to lie upon except our gum [rubber] blankets, and no better shelter than what could be improvised by stretching the tents - which we were now temporarily provided - from the top of a fence to the ground.  After supper...went through the town to buy some lanterns and other things for the quartermaster.  We were conducted by an old negro whom we picked up by the way, and obtained what we were in quest of, as well as a couple of bottles of good whiskey, procured at a grocery store, notwithstanding the fact that the town was under martial law, and the sale of liquor to soldiers had been prohibited.

After having made a pretty thorough exploration of the place, we returned to quarters, where we found a sharp discussion going on as to the propriety of the Governor's sending us across the State line, the authority for which some of the men were disposed to question.  The objection evidently proceeded from those who did not like our present proximity to the seat of war. The debate ended, however, in a tacit concurrence in the opinion of the majority that it was all right.  Passed a miserable night in this uncomfortable situation.  Slept but little, and caught a severe cold, from the effects of which I suffered for several weeks.

- Louis Richards

September 18, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (J. Witmer)

Read the previous day here.

 

This morning was quite an eventful one, in the movements of the militia, the men just now appear to understand where they are going. Some companies skedaddled Entire, and a great many straggled from others. the Colonel [Col. John Wright] told us that he wanted all to leave now, that intended to go, as he wished none to leave after they got into Maryland, so that our ranks began to look as much thinned as though we had encountered the enemy. About 2 o’clock P.M. we took the cars and after a very pleasant ride arrived at Hagerstown late in the afternoon. We were then marched out and formed into line in a very rocky lane west of the town, here we stacked arms, and were then ordered to march up to the railroad station and leave our knapsacks, which we did, and they were safely stowed away in the wood shed.

            I never understood this movement, unless it was feared that we would be called into action, or have forced marches to perform. We now got our little shelter-tents which we put up along a pale fence and after getting supper which consisted of crackers, coffee (the real genuine article, unadulterated) and a little fat pork we crawled into bed with as little concern as though the rebel pickets had not left the very place where we were only the Monday before. We likewise heard artillery firing nearly all day to day.

- John Witmer

September 17, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (L. Richards)

Read the previous day here.

 

 

150 years ago today, while the Battle of Antietam raged...

 



Drilled in the morning in the adjoining fields, and while thus engaged observed a renewal of the reports of artillery towards the south, heard on the day previous, and with still greater distinctness.  These proceeded, as we afterwards learned, from the battle-field of Antietam, some thirty miles off.  A dull gruff belch, at irregular intervals, accompanied by a sense of concussion, told the story of the distant conflict.  This inspired strange and solemn feelings.  Human lives were being offered up as a sacrifice upon the altar of our country, and thousands of homes would sit in dread suspense until it should be known upon whom the fatal blows had fallen.  The result, too, was of great concern to us, who were auxiliaries in reserve against an untoward crisis.  The evolution now assumed a significance they had not heretofore possessed.  Their object seemed no longer to be skill merely, but preparation.  The zeal for duty was quickened, and it was the idea of responsibility which was uppermost in the minds of all.  Additional regiments meanwhile arrived, among others two of the Gray Reserves and Home Guards of Philadelphia, which left Harrisburg yesterday.  With drilling, guard mounting, and the usual routine of camp duties, the day wore slowly away.  Another picturesque scene at night.  After roll-call crawled again into our comfortable domicil [sic] of cornstalks, with every reason to expect another good night's sleep.

 

About 11 o'clock...the beating of the ominous long roll aroused us from our peaceful slumbers, and the word quickly passed that we had received marching orders for Hagerstown, and were to be ready to leave at 12. The accouterments having been collected by the light of the fires, the regiment marched to the railroad, a mile off, where it was expected a train would be waiting for us. Alas! we here received our first practical lesson of the great uncertainty of military movements, and the mechanical nature of the duties of the soldier, who must obey orders, simply, without inquiring for reasons. In the quality of civilians, which we could not altogether consent to drop, our sense of individual importance was frequently infringed upon in our new capacity. Each in his turn felt disposed to divide with his superiors the responsibility of command. After waiting several hours in the crisp cool air of the autumn night without and train appearing, we lost all patience and lay down on our blankets for temporary repose. As the dews of heavens gently distilled upon our unprotected forms, the memory of the comfortable quarters we had just left did not add to the feelings of reconciliation to our present miserable situation. Morning broke at length and breakfast was improvised by the cooks.

- Louis Richards

September 17, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (J. Witmer)

Read the previous day here.

We were awakened just before daylight with orders to pack our knapsacks and prepare to march. We hastily got our blankets rolled up, and all our goods packed into our knapsacks with the exception of our plate and tin-cups and awaited breakfast fully expecting to be hurried off immediately. We got coffee and fresh beef for breakfast this morning, with crackers as usual.  I wrote my first letter home this morning, telling of adventures. We heard very heavy cannonading which continued all day in the direction of Harpers-Ferry.  We afterwards learned that it was the Antietam battle. Still the orders to march did not come, and we waited patiently until night came, when we thought certainly we would be allowed to sleep once more in our shanties, in anticipation of which I drove in a couple of stout stakes just above where I lay to prevent my being rolled out again in the night. I had just got my stakes driven, and was thinking how completely every thing was fixed when we received orders to fall in. We now had 50 rounds of cartridge given us (I had 10 rounds before which made 60.) and were told that we were to march to the railroad to get transportation, for Hagerstown. Every one seemed in good spirits, they apparently did not know that in order to reach that place, the state line had to be crossed. We marched about 1 ½ miles before arriving at the railroad, and then waited a long time for the cars, they finally came, but owing to some mistake they had another regiment on board and we had to wait till morning. We lay down on the ground in our blankets without any fires, and in spite of our hard beds and the cold, slept quite soundly.

- John Witmer

September 16, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (L. Richards)

Read the previous day here.

 

Part of the morning was devoted to foraging at the neighboring farmhouses, but little or nothing could be procured, the ground having already been pretty well covered by advance parties.  Apples, however, were abundant, as there were many fine orchards in this vicinity.

Here, under the direction of the Quartermaster, a sort of wigwam was constructed, built of fence-rails and cornstalks, and floored with straw.  It was long enough to accommodate the entire company, and formed a very tight and really comfortable tenement.  The Conococheague Creek ran within a few hundred yards of the camp, and the men had several good baths in it.  Regiments were continually arriving from the railroads, and the shrieks of the steam-whistles, the blasts of bugles, clatter of drums, and the cheering of the trrops enlivened the day.  Among the accessions were the Blue Reserves, of Philadelphia, a uniformed organization, which made a handsome appearance.  Before night there were said to be ten thousand men on the ground.  A large force of militia was evidently intended to be concentrated at this point.  Met a number of acquaintances among the new arrivals.  Had several squad and company drills, and expected, from the arrangements we observed in progress, to remain some time in this situation.  While out for excercise we could hear the noise of distant artillery proceeding from the direction of Sharpsburg and Harper's Ferry.  The anxiety increased to hear something from the army.  Occasionally a newspaper, a day or two out of date, was brought in from the railroad, and its contents eagerly devoured.  It was said that Hagerstown had been abandoned by the rebels, and that telegraph and railroad communication had been re-established with that point.  Reports circulated, which were afterwards verified, that fighting had commenced between the corps f Generals Hooker and Reno had been killed.  When the camp-fires were lighted, after nightfall, the woods resounded with martial music, song, and cheers, and the scene was a highly animating and inspiring one.  Such sights are seldom witnessed, and are not to be soon forgotten.  Before turning into our hut, seated myself on a bank a little distance apart from the rest, in company with my friend K., and we took a quiet smoke and talked of home, whither our thoughts continually turned.  Enjoyed the best night's rest of the campaign, owing to the comfort of our quarters.

- Louis Richards

September 16, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (J. Witmer)

Read the previous day here.

We started about sunrise and marched down the road toward Greencastle in search of our regiment, not knowing where it was situated, and being told that it was still further on, we continued marching down the road until we were stopped by our pickets on the side of Greencastle. They told us that our Regiment was encamped back a mile of two towards Chambersburg.  So back we started, tired & hungry and found the regiment encamped in a wood about five miles south west of Chambersburg, it was now nearly three oclock P.M. and the most of us had not eaten any thing since we left Harrisburg, so you may believe we had a good appetite for the dandelion coffee, and bean soup, which we got about four o’clock. We then set about erecting shanties in the woods, which was done by putting up a ridge pole, leaving nails against it (the fences were torn down for this purpose) and thatching with straw and corn fodder. The straw we carried from a barn about a half a mile off and the fodder we brought from the fields. We cut and husked the corn and carried off the fodder. Then we thought we had very comfortable quarters, but as the shed was built up the side of a hill, and Uncle George and I slept at the lower end, the men slid down in the night and we were rolled out into the woods which was not very pleasant especially as it was raining.  Our ration this day were bread, hard crackers, and bean soup.  The crackers were prefferable to the bread as it was generally sour. Some of the men bought chickens, and I saw some from the Pottsville company carrying in a large pig. I felt quite ready to retire after roll call which was at nine oclock, and with the exception of rolling out of  bed slept very soundly until morning “And the Evening and the morning were the first day”.

- John Witmer

September 15, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (L. Richards)

Read the previous day here.

 

We are now down to regular army fare, our bill consisting of rations of bread, meat, coffee, and that well-known item of camp necessaries called "hardtack," which is a host in itself, being made to go a great way by reason of the degree of mastcation which it requires.  There can be no complaint as to the strength of the coffee, since there is no milk to dilute it, but the color of the sugar might afford groun of exception on the part of the over-fastidious.  Soups of rice, meat-bones, and occasionally poultry, when there happen to be any hen-roosts in close proximity, make a substantial dinner.  Soldiers' appetites are uniformly good, and little defects in the system of cookery are not ordinarily closely crticised.  Alcoholic beverages also are stored away in flasks against cases of emergency, which, in military affairs, as is well known, are of constant occurence. 

During the morning we were gratified with the sight of the enemy's paraphernalia, consisting of a train of captured baggae wagons, taken from Longstreet, and which were being driven in the direction of Harrisburg, whither, it is said, some hundred of more of prisoners from the same corps are being conducted.  With a view of the latter we were not rewarded.  The curiousity of the men to see a live rebel - in a captured condition - is very great.  A slight change in the position of our quarters was ordered during the day, and tents were struck about 4 P.M. and the company marched about two miles further to the south, halting in a large stubble field west of the railroad, in a position which had been dignified by the title of "Camp McClure."

- Louis Richards

September 15, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (J. Witmer)

After returning home from his adventure with the Emergency Militia, John Witmer, of Co. H 2nd PA Emergency Militia, wrote an extensive letter to his grandfather telling him all about what he had seen and done.

150 years ago today...

I started for Harrisburg on Monday Sept. 15^th expecting to find someone to go with but found that Uncle George had gone on towards Chambersburg with his Regiment, and that there was no intelligence to be had of Fred, so I concluded to go on myself, and join the Christianna [Lancaster County] Company. I had just got a pass from the Chief of the transportation department to carry me to Chambersburg, when I stumbled very luckily upon Mr. [William] Briton 2^nd Lieut. of the Christianna Company, who procured for me a musket, knapsack, canteen & haversack, so I transferred all my goods into my knapsack and about six o’clock in the evening, we got aboard of the [train] cars and were off for Chambersburg.  There was very little to be seen during the ride down the valley as it got dark almost directly after we started. Nothing of interest occurred while we got from the cars about twelve o’clock at night (there it became interesting) in an old orchard about two miles below Chambersburg, we rolled ourselves up in our blankets and lay under a tree (there were about 20 of us recruits for the Company) and posted guards. I went on guard about 2 o’clock and stayed till daylight.

source:
Witmer, John S. to Grandfather, September 29, 1862. Pennsylvania State Archives, Manuscript Group 7, Military Manuscripts Collection.

September 14, 1862: 2nd PA Emergency Militia (L. Richards)

Louis Richards, of Reading, a member of Co. G, 2nd PA Emergency Militia, published his daily thoughts years after the war, but his subtle sarcasm, and dry humor help to place the reader amongst the events of '62.  150 years ago, Richards and the 2nd PA were on the move through the scenic Cumberland Valley, and as the "saviors" of the Valley moved againt Robert E. Lee and his "rebel horde", they recieved quite a memorable excursion.
 
Our company had been attached to the Second Regiment of Militia, as Company "G."  The Colonel was John L. Wright, of Columbia.  There were ten companies, mostly full, from Columbia, West Chester, Reading, Pottsville, and Lancaster City and County.  The First Regiment, commanded by Colonel Henry McCormick, and containing companies from Harrisburg, Philadelphia, and Chester and Lebanon counties, had already been sent off down the Cumberland Valley Railroad to Chambersburg.  At 11 o'clock we received marching orders for the same place, and about 1 1/2 P.M. the regiment proceeded out to near Camp Curtin and got aboard a train of freight cars, which had been provided with seats for the transportation of troops.  A long delay, with the explanation of which we were not furnished, ensued; but about 3 the train started.  A halt of an hour or more was made in town.  A tremendous and enthusiastic crowd was out to see us off.  Moved over the Long Bridge and stopped another half hour west of the Susquehanna.  Chambersburg, our destination, was fifty-two miles distant.  Passed successively through Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, and Shippensburg, at each of which places short stops were made.  Were struck with the great natural beauty of the Cumberland Valley region.  Crowds of people came out to the stations to meet us, and black and white, old and young, all joined in the heartiest demonstrations of welcome.  Were also greeted from the houses and roadsides all the line by people waving their handkerchiefs and swinging their hats.  At Mechanicsburg a whole girls' school was out to see us.  This was a specially engaging sight to some of our number, who thought that that village would be a good place to camp.  The elite of the town were at the station, and "S." pointed out to me the leading beauties of the place - I mean the ladies .  Soldiers of a day, we already began, in the midst of these inspiring scenes, to feel like real veterans.  Between stops the men beguiled the time singing, jesting, smoking, etc., and every one was in the best possible humor.  Private T.H., among the rest, favored the company with a curious song in Pennsylvania Dutch called "Babbel Maul," which performance his delighted auditors compelled him frequently to repeat.  It was generally agreed that the most desirable way to march was by railroad.  Dusk deepened into night, and at about 9 o'clock Chambersburg was reached.  Proceeded a mile or two below the town, when the train halted in a wood brightly illuminated with camp-fires, and resonant with the cheers of soldiers.  Disembarked and went into camp.  Rigged the tents, built the fires, mounted the large cooking kettles with which we had been furnished at Harrisburg, boiled coffee and got our supper - "grub" is the military term for it.  No news of any account from Maryland.  My two comrades of the night before and myself constructed a sort of crib with fence rails put up between adjoining trees, and, after a smoke, laid ourselves up in it to sleep.  The arrangement worked well, and we slept comfortably in this rustic bedstead until 5 A.M.

An Emergency Man Visits Antietam

With the Battle of Antietam over, and the Rebel army back across the Potomac River, the men of the Pennsylvania Emergency Militia who had entered Maryland, even stood poised in line of battle all day on September 19th outside of Williamsport, were finally given orders to return to Pennsylvania.  For one militiaman, coming within ear shot of a battlefield was not enough.  Upon returning to the camps just outside of Chambersburg, PA, Private John Witmer, Co. H, 2nd PA Emergency Militia, decided to once more head south.  Writing to his grandfather on Sept. 29, Witmer described the day-by-day actions of his adventure in the Emergency Militia, including his two day excursion to the battlefield at Antietam.  In his writings, Witmer offers us a fascinating glimpse of what the landscape looked like a full week after the fighting, and gives us insight into the scenes at the many field hospitals that littered the landscape.  At one point a soldier of the 15th Massachusetts acted as Witmer's battlefield guide, showing the militiaman where the 15th had suffered more casualties than any other regiment that day; over 50% (330 men) in roughly 20 minutes of fighting.  One wonders how Witmer's fellow militiamen reacted when he told them what he saw and heard during his Antietam battlefield adventure.  

Monday 22nd     We marched through Greencastle and encamped in a woods about a mile beyond.  Here I left the Regiment, and in company with [Robert] Houston, from the neighborhood...set out for the battle field of Antietam.  We walked to Green Castle and about five o'clock took the [train] cars for Hagerstown where we arrived about six o'clock.  We found all the hotels crowded, and it was with great difficulty that we got room to sleep upon the floor in an entry, and still more difficult to get any thing to eat.  We slept well that night - as it was quite an improvement upon lying on the ground in the open air.

Tuesday 23rd     We had a very scanty breakfast for which and our bed we paid seventy five cents, we then got upon the top of a stage [coach] paid one dollar and were driven out to the battle field, where we arrived about Eleven o'clock A.M.  We immediately went down across that part of the field where our right wing commenced the engagement, and through a cornfield out of which our men had charged the enemy, next through a piece of woods where nearly every tree was shattered by the fire from the artillery.  The ground every where was strewn with broken guns, knapsacks, haversacks, canteens, clothing and every thing that a soldier carries about him.  
                               We passed among the hospitals and found great numbers of wounded, both of our own and the rebels.  The barn floors, stables, hay mow's and in many cases the barnyards were filled with sick and wounded, besides the quantities in all the houses, in the neighborhood of the battle-field.  

an Antietam field hospital

We found Dr. Houston from about the Gap [in Lancaster County, PA], surgeon in charge of Sedgewick's [sp] division hospital.  He received us very kindly, and invited us to take dinner with him, which we did quite willingly.  He went over a part of the battle field with us and about for o'clock in the afternoon in company with a soldier* of the Massachusetts 15th we went over a part of it again.  He seemed interested in showing us where the heavy fighting had taken place, but as for that it was very evident that the ground along the whole line had been fiercely contested.  I picked up a good Enfield rifle which I brought home with me, likewise numerous bullets and such things as trophies.  We stayed all night at the hospital, and on

Wednesday 24th     started to join our regiment which we hoped to join before they were disbanded, we walked across the battle field to the turnpike and got into an army wagon going to Hagerstown and reached that place about 2 1/2 o'clock, just in time to take the cars for Greencastle.

*Could Witmer's guide have been one of these men?
(click "Faces of the 15th")

  Standing in front of the 15th Massachusetts monument, Antietam volunteer Jim Buchanan shares the story of the 15th with Antietam visitors, just as an actual soldier of the regiment had done with militiaman John Witmer.

sources:
Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5 : prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869. 

Witmer, John S. to Grandfather, September 29, 1862. Pennsylvania State Archives, Manuscript Group 7, Military Manuscripts Collection.

Mechanicsburg's Irving Female College

When the 2nd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia left Harrisburg for the "seat of war", they, like other regiments, were speedily transported along the Cumberland Valley Railroad.  At each of the small towns along the route, hordes of townspeople turned out to cheer on the defenders of the Commonwealth.  Located about 8 miles west of Harrisburg, the small town of Mechanicsburg (originally named for the abundant amount of mechanics and machinists who lived in the area) turned out at the railroad station, and along the tracks, in droves that mid September in 1862.  The sights of their journey would be forever etched into the "green" soldiers' minds.  Louis Richards, a Reading militiaman in Co. G, remembered one particularly pleasing sight for the young men while passing through Mechanicsburg:

Crowds of people came out to the stations to meet us, and black and white, old and young, all joined in the heartiest demonstrations of welcome.  Were also greeted from the houses and roadsides all along the line by people waving their handkerchiefs and swinging their hats.  At Mechanicsburg a whole girls' school was out to see us.  This was a specially engaging sight to some of our number, who thought that that village would be a good place to camp.  The elite of the town were at the station, and S. pointed out to me the leading beauties of the place - I mean the ladies.  Soldiers of a day, we already began, in the midst of these inspiring scenes, to feel like real veterans.

An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania



Founded in 1856, the Irving Female College was named for famed author Washington Irving, who served on the board of trustees until his death in 1859.  It became the first female college in the nation to grant degrees in arts and science.  Irving Hall, a large Italianate building, was soon constructed, "amongst a beautiful grove and grounds" located along the Cumberland Valley Railroad tracks, and on the eastern end of town (an area soon known as Irvington).  Irving Hall could house "forty students, as well as supply the classroom, the parlor, the library, and the college offices."  In the early days of the school, the average enrollment was 91 students (many of which were day students who lived in the surrounding region).

By the end of the 19th Century, the College was prospering; a second building was needed.  Known as Columbian Hall, the new building, "contained 40 additional dormitory rooms on the upper floors and a large auditorium on the first floor."  In 1901, an expanded wing was constructed onto the eastern wing of Irving Hall, creating rooms for music, a kitchen, a cafeteria, and a gymnasium.  In it's hey-day, Irving Female College had buildings that were, "...imposing in appearance, substantially built of brick, conveniently arranged, and comfortably fitted up with the modern conveniences, and every thing calculated to make it an attractive and safe home, with full and thorough educational advantages for young ladies."  Some of Irving's "young ladies" would go on to be accomplished alumnae, including Ida Kast, Cumberland County's first female attorney, and Jane Deeter Ripon, President of the Girl Scouts of America. 

postcard of Irving Female College ca. 1901. Columbian Hall is located on the right.



postcard of Irving Female College ca. 1901. Expansion can be seen at left-rear of Irving Hall.



The presence of Irving was not just enjoyed by the young men of the Emergency Militia, but by the town itself, as it, "...provided Mechanicsburg with a source of culture, music, great literature and drama that the rural town would not have experienced otherwise."  An alumna later said "The college meant a great deal to the community.  It was a social center."

Sadly, the College's brighter days would soon be behind it. Suffering from a combination of the economic downturn due to the Great Depression, and increased competition from larger private universities and state funded colleges, the College was closed and its buildings sold off by 1937.  Irving and Columbian Halls would soon be renovated on the interior, and converted into apartment space, which they still remain as to this day. 



President's Hall ca. 1982 (built 1911, since demolished)

In 1954, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission placed a historical marker in front of the College along Main St., and in 1983, Irving Female College was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  Through adaptive reuse and historic preservation, these historic buildings have stood, and continue to stand, as silent observers of our past. 



Irving Hall as seen today - Dave Maher

sources:

Egle, M.D., William H. An Illustrated History of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Civil, Political, and Military, From it's Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Including Historical Descriptions of Each County in the State, Their Towns, and Industrial Resources. Harrisburg, PA: De Witt C. Goodrich & Co., 1876.

Richards, Louis. Eleven Days in the Militia During the War of the Rebellion; Being a Journal of the "Emergency" Campaign of 1862. Philadelphia: Collins, Printer, 1883.

Rose, Sarah, "Irving Female College National Register of Historic Places nomination form", 1982.  on file at the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office, or online through the Cultural Resource GIS.

The Pennsylvania Reserve Corps (part I)

Recently, while digging through the collections of the Pennsylvania State Archives, I unearthed a very interesting letter written after the Battle of Antietam, by Brigadier General Truman Seymour, which described the condition of the famed Pennsylvania Reserve Corps.  Many letters and accounts written by members of the Pennsylvania Emergency Militia note the Reserves, and describe their own volunteerism as not only in defense of Pennsylvania, but as almost a sort of rear-guard support for the Reserve Corps, who had been called to the front.  "The Reserves," wrote a soldier in the 2nd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, "had been called away to succor the hard-pressed army of McClellan, and the borders were left wholly unprotected at the inviting season of harvest."  This, coupled with the discovery of the letter, prompted me to write a brief overview of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps [a topic easily able to fill an entire blog...see http://www.pareserves.com/], as another link in the story of Pennsylvania's Emergency Men.
 
Long before Pennsylvania men rushed to fill the ranks of the Emergency Militia to act as the Commonwealth’s last line of defense, or front line in some cases, the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps had been raised for that same purpose.  On April 15, 1861, President Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to help quell the boiling rebellion in the southern states.  Initially, Pennsylvania’s quota was fourteen regiments (quickly raised to twenty five), which were to serve for a period of three months.  However, so many Keystone men marched forward, that nearly thirty whole regiments had to be turned away from Federal service.  "One of the greatest perplexities of the government," stated Lincoln, "is to avoid raising troops faster than we can provide for them."  

Harrisburg, at this point, had become overrun with organized militia companies from all over the state who were “itching to fight”.  Rather than waste the effort put forth by these troops, and the State, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin signed legislation on May 15, 1861, that would organize these militia companies into the “Reserve Volunteer Corps of the Commonwealth”.  According to the law, the Reserves would consist of thirteen infantry regiments, one cavalry, and one artillery regiment, to serve for a term of enlistment of three years, or for the duration of the conflict.  Similar to the Emergency Militia in the coming years, the Reserves were, “…liable to be called into the service of the State at such times as the Commander-in-Chief [Curtin] should deem their services necessary, for the purpose of suppressing insurrections, or to repel invasions."  

Gov. Curtin - Library of Congress

An early test for the Reserves came in late June 1861, when the 5^th (aka 34^th Pennsylvania Volunteers) and 13^th (aka 42^nd Pennsylvania, aka the “Bucktails”, aka the 1^st Pennsylvania Rifles) Reserve regiments were ordered to protect the Pennsylvania/Maryland border in southern Bedford County.  Confederate forces had been in the area of Cumberland, MD, and many in Pennsylvania feared the rebels would continue to move north.  The citizens of Cumberland urged the men of the Reserve Corps to enter Maryland and protect their city.  Just as many in the Emergency Militia of ’62, some in the Reserves discussed the, “…constitutional propriety of passing State troops beyond the State limits”.  In the end, the Reserves did enter Maryland, and successfully defended the town from a rebel attack. 

Over the next month, Gov. Curtin offered, several times, the services of the Reserve Corps to the Federal government, and each time they were refused.  It wasn’t until the days leading up to the Battle of 1^st Bull Run, that Curtin’s offer was finally accepted.  Perhaps this was due to the fact that many of the regiments in the Union Army would soon be heading home, since their enlistment periods were nearing an end, and a decisive battle had yet to be fought.  On the day of the Battle, July 21, and the days following the devastating Union defeat, Washington writhed in chaos.  The Capital sent many frantic messages to Gov. Curtin, demanding the assistance of the entire Reserve Corps for the stabilization and bolstering of the Union defenses.  From this point forward, the Pennsylvania Reserves would serve the Commonwealth, and the Nation, on the front lines.

Fighting with distinction and bravery during McClellan's Peninsula Campaign, the Battle of 2nd Bull Run, and the Battle of South Mountain, the Reserves earned a reputation as stubborn fighters that could be counted on in tough situations.  However, like most brave unit reputations earned during the Civil War, the Reserves paid for theirs in blood.  By the time the Reserve Division reached the battlefield along the Antietam in September of 1862 as part of the I Corps, they were hardened veterans, whose ranks continued to be cut down by enemy fire.  Again and again, newspapers around the state would note the actions and the losses in the Reserve regiments.  In the death notice of Capt. James S. Colwell, Co. A 7th Regt., who was killed at the Battle of Antietam, the author notes, "In the beginning of the war he volunteered his services to his country and was present with and participated in all the severe battles which will immortalize in history the names of the Pennsylvania Reserves."  

In the late summer of 1862, Gen. Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia began to push north through Maryland.  Fearing a rebel army crossing the Pennsylvania border, while no longer having the protection of the Reserve Corps within the state, Gov. Curtin scrambled to put together a force of Emergency Militia in the hopes of turning back a rebel invasion.  Curtin sought out a tested and experienced soldier to lead men who were, for the most part, very much the opposite.  "We want an active, energetic officer to command the forces in the field, and one that could rally Pennsylvanians around him", wrote Curtin in a message to Washington, "It is believed that General Reynolds would be the most useful..."  At the outset of the Maryland Campaign of 1862, Gen. John Reynolds, a Pennsylvanian, commanded the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps.  Many in the Army of the Potomac tried to keep Reynolds from being ordered away from the army to command the Emergency Militia.  Gen. McClellan responded by telling Washington, "He has one of the best divisions [the Reserves] and is well acquainted with it.  I cannot see how his services can be spared at the present time."  Despite these efforts, Reynolds, for the remainder of the campaign, was in command of the militia, and not his beloved Reserve Corps.

Gen. Reynolds - http://www.generalsandbrevets.com

Check out The Pennsylvania Reserve Corps (part II) here.

 

sources:

"Another Hero Has Fallen," Cumberland Valley Journal, October 4, 1862.

Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5 : prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.

Newland, Ph.D., Samuel J. The Pennsylvania Militia: Defending the Commonwealth and the Nation 1669-1870. Annville, PA: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, 2002.

Nichols, Edward J. Toward Gettysburg: A Biography of General John F. Reynolds. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1958.

Richards, Louis. Eleven Days in the Militia During the War of the Rebellion; Being a Journal of the "Emergency" Campaign of 1862. Philadelphia: Collins, Printer, 1883. 

Sypher, Esq., J. R. History of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. Lancaster, PA: Elias Barr & Co., 1865.

"Some of the men...were walking armories of miscellaneous weapons"

Louis Richards, a Private in Co. G, 2^nd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, wrote in 1883 of his experiences in September 1862.  Among his many recollections, Lewis gives us an interesting picture of how Emergency Militia of 1862 were supplied and outfitted.

On September 10, 1862, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin called upon all organized militias to report to Harrisburg for the defense of the Commonwealth.  Louis noted:
The companies were directed to be filled in accordance with the army standards of the United States, and as it was stated that the call might be sudden, the officers and men were required to provide themselves with the best arms they could procure, with at least sixty rounds of suitable ammunition, good stout clothing, uniform or otherwise; boots, blankets, and haversacks.

While still organizing in Reading, prior to taking the train to the capital, Louis describes his company’s supplies situation:
Arms of all kinds were in urgent demand.  Rifles and shot-guns, single and double-barreled, old and new; pistols of all designs, long and short, ancient and modern, together with some other unclassified implements of war, were brought out from their hiding-places, hastily cleaned and put in working order.  Some of the men, when equipped for the march, were walking armories of miscellaneous weapons.  The hardware stores were invaded in search of powder, shot, and ball.  A gum blanket, with which in most cases an army blanket, or in default thereof, a pair of ordinary red blankets, were rolled up; a haversack of canvas or oil-cloth, hastily put together at the saddler’s, a tin cup, knife and fork and spoon, made up the rest of the equipment.

After arriving in Harrisburg, Louis’ company received a welcomed surprise:

We were much relieved to find that we were to be furnished with arms and equipments by the State, as our force was far from effective in its present shape.  At the State Arsenal, on the Capitol grounds, we were supplied with Springfield muskets, knapsacks, haversacks, and canteens.  Delivered up our old guns to be returned home.  The muskets and bayonets, on first introduction, were handled with some curiosity.  As there were no scabbards provided for the latter, the bayonets had to be carried fixed to the pieces.  Of ammunition there was none on hand at present, but it was stated that a supply would be sent after us. 

Among the Governor’s call for militia to organize, was the strong suggestion for the troops to supply their own rations, for which Louis was very grateful after arriving in Harrisburg:
My haversack had been bountifully stocked by my good landlady at home, Mrs. B., whose liberality as a provider and kindness of heart will always be held in grateful remembrance by her guests.  The foresight of the Governor in mentioning in his proclamation the subject of rations, was generally commended, as little or nothing eatable seemed to be obtainable in this town since its occupation as a militia camp.

After leaving Harrisburg, and traveling south along the Cumberland Valley Railroad, the 2^nd PA Emergency Militia camped just outside Chambersburg.  While there, Louis watched as more companies arrived, with one well equipped unit making a lasting impression:
Regiments were continually arriving from the railroad, and the shrieks of the steam-whistles, the blasts of bugles, clatter of drums, and the cheering of the troops enlivened the day.  Among the accessions were the Blue Reserves, of Philadelphia, a uniformed organization, which made a handsome appearance.

On September 19, the men of the 2^nd were in position just outside Hagerstown, MD, when a report of “a considerable body of rebels” nearby spread through the ranks.  Though they were about to march into battle (as far as they knew), they were still lacking important equipment of war:
We were now supplied with sixty rounds of ammunition per man – the first we had received – and loaded our guns, which looked like business.  In default of the usual appliances [cartridge boxes] for that purpose, the cartridges were deposited in our overcoat pockets.  Thus ballasted, we were marched down the road…

Finally, in Maryland, Louis made a comical observation of one of his fellow soldiers, who had supplied himself with a beacon for ridicule:
J. H. F. [Jacob H. Forney], an ex-country justice of the peace, enjoys the distinction of being the only man in the company in regimentals, having donned a uniform made for him some years ago, when he was an orderly sergeant of a company which belonged to the Kutztown battalion.  His avoirdupois [weight] has greatly increased since the garments were made, and his harness is so tight that he finds marching very uncomfortable.  He stands upright a large part of the time from force of circumstances, and sits down with caution.

Illustration from Harper's Weekly showing the variety of the civilian "uniforms" of the militia

source:
Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5 : prepared in compliance with acts of the legislature. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.

Richards, Louis. Eleven Days in the Militia During the War of the Rebellion; Being a Journal of the "Emergency" Campaign of 1862. Philadelphia: Collins, Printer, 1883.

Reading, PA Responds to the Emergency

In September of 1862, Louis Richards was a Private in the "5th Ward Guards" from Reading, PA.  Eventually his unit would be sworn into state service as Company G, 2nd Pennsylvania Emergency Militia.  Writing some twenty years after the events of '62, Richards offers us a comical, if not somewhat innocent, view into the ranks of a "green" militia unit, as well as the excitement, patriotism, and fervor that was bubbling over in the streets of Reading, PA.

"The night was one of much activity and excitement.  Drilling was done in Penn Square to the inspiring accompaniment of fife and drum, which gave the town a decidedly warlike appearance.  This exercise was continued daily and nightly until the militia had marched, and at no period during the entire war did military enthusiasm of the people reach a greater height.

In the instruction of the troops, the manual of arms had to be omitted, for there were no guns.  Officers had been hastily selected, and the commands in most cases given to experienced soldiers, whose services were in sudden and great demand.  The fidelity of the men was accepted without any suggestion to the test of an oath.  The companies recruited rapidly, and were not long in filling up to the standard.  Their evolutions, which were conducted to a large extent in the open square, under the cover of darkness, were at times edifying to witness.  As the battalions marched with sturdy tread up and down on either side of the central market-houses, collisions would now and then derange the symmetry of the forces.  Frequent resort to unmilitary language on the part of the commanders was necessary to bring up the laggard platoons, and movements were habitually executed for which no precedent could have been found in either Scott or Hardee [military drill manuals].  But it was patriotism and not tactics that was uppermost in the minds of all, and trifling imperfections of military discipline were, for the moment at least, sunk out of sight in the sense of common danger."

Photograph of Penn Square in Reading, Pennsylvania, ca. 1870.

Historical Society of Berks County

sources:

Gayley, Alice J. "Histories of the Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiments," accessed 26 June 2011; available from http://www.pa-roots.com/pacw/reghistlist.htm; Internet.

"Penn Street through the years," accessed 26 June 2011; available from http://www.berkshistory.org/pennst/; Internet.

Richards, Louis. Eleven Days in the Militia During the War of the Rebellion; Being a Journal of the "Emergency" Campaign of 1862. Philadelphia: Collins, Printer, 1883.