Armstrong County in the Civil War

The Great Civil War.---Armstrong county was prompt in her response to Abraham Lincoln's call for troops when the Union flag went down on Sumter's shattered walls. On April 18, 1861, Capt. Sirwell left with a company of one hundred and fourteen men for the seat of war, and four days later another company left which was followed in a short time by a company from Apollo, under Captain (afterwards General) S. M. Jackson. Camp Orr was soon established on the fair grounds above Kittanning, where the 78th and 103d regiments were recruited and drilled. The 78th, commanded by Col. William Sirwell, left camp on October 14, 1861, and the 103d, under Col. T. F. Lehman, went to the front on February 24, 1862. Citizens of Armstrong county served in considerable numbers in the 8th, 9th and 11th Pennsylvania Reserves, the 2d cavalry and 62d, 78th, 103d, 139th, 155th, 159th (14th cavalry), and 204th (Fifth artillery) regiments, Pennsylvania Volunteers. The county was also represented in forty-five other Pennsylvania regiments. According to an accurate calculation of Col. Sirwell, Armstrong county furnished three thousand six hundred and fifty-two men to the Union armies during the war. Over fifty-seven thousand dollars were paid from the county treasury for relief of soldiers' families, and thirty-three thousand dollars were paid for bounties.

Excerpt from Biographical and Historical Cyclopedia of Indiana and Armstrong Counties, Pennsylvania.

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This page was last updated on -03/05/2010

By Linda Blum-Barton