CHAPTER VIII.

THE SECTIONAL ISSUE.

INDENTURED servants in the early years of the province were common, and few well-to-do Friends came to this country without more or less of this class of laborers. These servants were at first considered in the same social scale with the ordinary farm laborer of England, and many of them reached positions of affluence and became leading characters in the community. Indeed, as Smith writes in his History of New Jersey, "many that came as servants succeeded better than some that brought estates; the first, inured to industry and the ways of the country, became wealthy, while others obliged to spend what they had in the difficulties of first improvement, and others living too much on their original stock for want of sufficient care to improve their estates have, in many instances, dwindled to indigency and want." The great German immigration, which subsequently supplied so large a proportion of this class of laborers, degraded the character of the service to something nearly akin to slavery. Gangs of these victims of unscrupulous shipmasters and agents passed through the country in quest of purchasers, driven by men who were appropriately termed "soul-drivers." As late as 1759, it is said, "the labor of the plantations was performed chiefly by indented servants brought from Great Britain, Ireland, and Germany; nor because of the high price it bears can it be performed any other way." Such persons were sold to a term of five years’ service for ten pounds, and during this period were the legal property of their master. They were sold, bequeathed, and like other chattels were seized for debt. In 1683 an act prohibited the selling of servants out of the province, and in 1700 it was provided "that every servant that shall faithfully serve four years, or more, shall, at the expiration of their servitude, have a discharge, and shall be duly clothed with two complete suits of apparel, whereof one shall be new, and shall also be furnished with one new axe, one grubbing-hoe, and one weeding-hoe at the charge of their master or mistress." The ease with which such persons escaped from their masters, and the more profitable character of negro slavery, led to its gradual substitution for the less repulsive form of service.

Negro slavery was introduced into the river colony by the Dutch at a very early date, and it continued to thrive here until abolished by legislative act after the revolution. After the founding of Philadelphia this city became the general port of entry for the cargoes of slaves, which came principally from the Barbadoes, and were usually landed in the months of May, June, and July. Numerous legal restrictions to the traffic were attempted by the provincial government, but without avail until after the achievement of independence. Shortly after 1700 an effort was made to discourage the importation of blacks by the imposition of a tariff, but this was annulled by the home government, which declared through the lower house of parliament "that the trade was important and ought to be free." A law with more moderate provisions was enacted in 1715, and similar laws were passed in 1722, 1761, and 1773, all of which shared the fate of the first attempt.

The police regulation of this class of the community was not unusually nor unnecessarily severe. In 1693 a law was passed against the "tumultuous gatherings of negroes of the town of Philadelphia the first day of the week." The constables or any other persons were authorized "to take up negroes, male or female, whom they should find gadding abroad on the first day of the week, without a ticket from their master or mistress, or not in their company, or to carry them to jail, there to remain that night, and that without meat or drink, or to cause them to be publicly whipped." For the latter service the owners were to pay fifteen pence to the wielder of the lash. A general law for the "trial and punishment of negroes" was passed in 1700, but this was repealed five years later, when a more stringent measure was adopted. By this the lash was prescribed for petty offenses and capital punishment for graver misdeeds. The carrying of a gun without permit, the meeting together of more than four, and being abroad after nine o’clock at night were declared punishable offenses.

Public agitation against the system began as early as 1688, when a number of Mennonites entered a formal protest at the Friends’ yearly meeting against the common practice of the latter in holding slaves. On Penn’s return to the province in 1700 he laid before the Philadelphia yearly meeting his concern for the instruction of negroes in Christianity, and a meeting was appointed for them every month. In 1706 the white laborers presented to the assembly a petition, in which they asked for such restraint upon slave-owners as would prevent the hiring of slaves by the day, the scarcity of work and the lowness of wages moving them to this action. The chief opposition, however, was based on moral grounds, and Anthony Benezet and Ralph Sandiford as early as 1729 published labored arguments against the crime of slavery.

There are many allusions to slaves in the early records of Bucks county, and about the time of the revolution but few of the wealthy Friends were without more or less of them. In a letter to his steward William Penn wrote from England in 1685, referring to the difficulty of retaining laborers: "It were better they were blacks, for then we might have them for life." Again, later in the year, he wrote: "The blacks of Captain Allen I have as good as bought, so part not with them without my order." In Penn’s will he freed his slaves and to "Old Sam" gave one hundred acres, "to be his children’s after he and his wife are dead." In 1742 Jeremiah Langhorne died possessed of thirty or forty slaves to whom he gave their freedom in his will, after they should arrive at the age of twenty-four, and ten pounds apiece in money. The institution was found here in its mildest form, and the general sentiment favored its final extinction. In 1780 there were five hundred and fourteen listed in the county, and in 1790 there were two hundred and sixty-one. The great proportion of these were in the lower portion of the county, only twenty-five being found in ten of the upper townships. The revolutionary war interrupted the importation of slaves, and its result left the province untrammeled to follow its own course in putting a stop to the traffic. The number of these chattels accordingly rapidly decreased, and in 1780 there was very little determined opposition to the act providing for their eventual emancipation.

While the Friends were accessible to humanitarian influences and accepted emancipation without strong opposition they felt some repulsion to the race and declined to be closely associated with it even in the grave. In the record of the Friends of Middletown, in 1703, it is declared that the "Friends are not satisfied with having negroes buried in the Friends’ burying-ground, therefore Robert Heaton and Thomas Stackhouse are appointed to fence off a portion for such uses." In 1738, in the same record," negroes are forbidden to be buried within the walls of the graveyard belonging to this meeting." In many cases the bodies of deceased negroes were buried in unmarked graves in the orchards or other parts of the plantations of the owners. The humanitarian sentiment of the Friends, however, kept pace in subsequent years with the most enlightened development of public thought. The change was gradual, but from a slave-holding community the people of Bucks county had become, to a very large degree, in favor of universal freedom at the time of Lincoln’s inauguration as president.

As elsewhere throughout the land the questions which led up to the civil war of 1861—5 enlisted the active interest of the people here. Slaves fleeing from their masters found here an asylum from their pursuers and assistance to reach Canada or other places of safety. A line of the "underground railway" was early established in the county and was well patronized. In 1826 an escaped slave from Maryland came to Bucks county and found work among the farmers of the central part of the county. For eleven years he remained here unmolested, but in 1837 he was discovered by his master, and after a stout resistance on his part was captured while at work. He was subsequently purchased of his master for five hundred and thirty dollars by Jonathan Bowman and George Chapman and, set at liberty. Similar cases kept the subject of slavery and its evils prominently before the people and the cause of freedom gradually grew stronger in the community. The "Intelligencer," supplied with such topics as the Passmore Williamson case in 1855, the Kansas trouble, the speech of Sumner, and the Brooks assault in 1856, the Dred Scott decision, and the campaign literature of 1857, devoted the larger part of its space to the discussion of this matter, and the general interest in the subject is evinced by the numerous local contributions which found utterance in the exponent of free-soil and republican principles.

The fall of Fort Sumter aroused the intensest excitement throughout the county. With few exceptions all joined in expressions of enthusiastic loyalty to the national government. Flags were everywhere displayed. The old streamer that had previously done service on the "Intelligencer" office was replaced by a new flag, and that with the colors of the Doylestown Union Club was subsequently hoisted at the old court-house. Thursday evening, April 18, 1861, a public meeting was held in the court-room, over which Judge Chapman presided. He assumed the chair with a stirring speech which excited the enthusiasm of the audience to the highest pitch, and when opportunity was offered for the enrolment of those who wished to join the Doylestown guards, a militia company whose services had been accepted by the governor, a considerable number promptly subscribed their names. Similar meetings were held in other parts of the county, and in a fortnight more than a dozen companies were in the various stages of organization for the war.

The militia of Pennsylvania, as generally throughout the country, was practically to be found only on paper. Bucks, Montgomery, and Delaware counties formed a division of the state militia, under the command of Major. General Paul Applebach. In March, 1860, there were fourteen militia organizations in this county, which were known at least upon the muster-roll, but they proved of only small account in the actual emergency of war. They were organized for the purposes of parade and incidental police duty, and in the presence of the emergency now presented depended for their efficiency upon the volunteers which filled the places of those not at first ready to do active duty. The "Doylestown Guards" were the first of the county organizations to offer their services, and left for Harrisburg on the 29th of April. The company subsequently became company I of the Twenty-fifth regiment of the Pennsylvania line.

On the afternoon of the 15th of April, 1861, the president’s proclamation, with the summons of the state executive, was sent throughout the commonwealth, and the state’s quota of sixteen regiments was immediately filled by the tender of the militia, which had a more or less efficient organization. By the first of May the full complement of Pennsylvania was mustered, and a part already in Washington, or at other threatened points.

The first volunteers to report at Washington in April, 1861, were five independent companies, viz: Logan Guards, of Lewiston; Ringgold Light Artillery, of Easton; Washington Artillery, of Pottsville; Allen Rifles, of Allentown and National Light Infantry, of Pottsville. These troops were the first to go through Baltimore, and though assailed by the mob, escaped the scenes of violence and bloodshed enacted next day on the passage of the famous Massachusetts "Sixth." These companies were kept on special duty at the national capital for some time. Being largely in excess of regulation numbers, seven companies were formed of them, and three companies were added, forming the Twenty-fifth regiment. One of the added companies, company I, was the "Doylestown Guards." The regiment was mustered April 28, 1861.

After some time spent in drilling they were attached to Colonel Stone’s command, and a few days later assigned to General Patterson’s army. It went to Charlestown July 17th, and thence to Harper’s Ferry, where it remained until its term expired. Returning home it was mustered out at Harrisburg July 26th. Company I consisted of W.W.H. Davis, captain; Jacob Swartzlander, first lieutenant; George T. Harvey, second lieutenant four sergeants, four corporals, two musicians, and sixty-four privates.

On the 15th of May the governor was authorized to organize a military corps, to be called the "Reserve Volunteer Corps of the Commonwealth," consisting of thirteen regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry, and one regiment of light artillery. They were to be organized and equipped as similar troops in the service of the United States, and to be enlisted in the service of the state for a period of three years or for the war, but liable to be mustered into the service of the United States to fill any quota under a call from the president. Under this law the governor established camps of instruction at Easton, West Chester, Pittsburgh, and Harrisburg; each county was assigned its quota, and the enthusiastic response everywhere made to the governor’s call soon placed the full force in the course of preparation for active duties.

One of these regiments, the "Third Reserve," was recruited largely in Bucks county for the three months’ service, but was not accepted, the state quota having previously been filled. They tendered their services for the Reserve corps, and became companies C, H, I, and K of the Thirty-second regiment of the line ("Third Reserve").

On the arrival of the different companies in camp at Easton, the regimental organization was completed by electing the following officers: Horatio G. Sickel, then of Philadelphia, formerly of Bucks county, who was captain of company K, raised in Bucks county, was elected colonel, and served until mustered out with his regiment in June, 1864. The lieutenant-colonel was William S. Thompson, also of Bucks county; the major, Richard H. Woolworth, of Philadelphia; and the adjutant, Albert H. Jamison.

Colonel Sickel had been a commissioned officer in the state militia for twenty years, and by the thorough drill and soldierly qualities which he imparted to the Thirty-second made it noticeable as one of the best regiments in the "Reserves." On July 22d the regiment was mustered into the United States service as the "Third Reserve," and ordered to Washington, and on August 2d to Tenallytown, where the "Reserve" regiments had all been ordered. When the corps was organized the Third was assigned to the Second brigade, under general George G. Meade. The regiment was in reserve at the battle of Drainsville, on December 20th of the same year, having been incorporated into the army of the Potomac. On March 10th, 1862, the regiment participated in the general advance of the army of the Potomac. On reaching Hunter’s Mills and receiving news of the evacuation of Manassas by the enemy, the division to which the Third belonged was countermarched to Alexandria, where it remained until ordered to the Peninsula. On May 2d the regiment arrived opposite Fredericksburg and participated in the movement across the river into the city and the advance toward Richmond. On the 11th the Second brigade, including the Third Reserve, opportunely arrived at White House in time to repulse the attack of the enemy’s cavalry on the train of the Reserves, and two days later the Third joined its division at Dispatch Station.

On the Peninsula the regiment saw severe service and covered itself with glory. On the Chickahominy the Reserves were the first to feel the terrific onslaught of the combined rebel armies, reinforced by Jackson’s troops from the army of the Shenandoah. Here they held the right of the line, repulsing the most desperate assaults. The Third was in support of Kern’s battery, and was not relieved until two o’clock of the next morning. The next day the regiment bore the rebel attack at Gaines’ Mills, where it lost in killed, wounded, and missing over one hundred men. For its gallant conduct the regiment was highly praised on the battlefield by General Meade.

The Third participated in the subsequent movements on the Peninsula, and on the 30th of June was on picket duty when it was attacked by a vastly superior force, which it received at fifty paces with such a torrent of fire as to drive it back, leaving the greater part on the bloody field. An unfortunate mistake here occurred, the Third being mistaken for a rebel regiment by one of its supports and fired upon, occasioning, however, but slight loss. General Meade being wounded, the command of the brigade devolved upon Colonel Sickel, while Lieutenant-colonel Thompson took command of the regiment. On the following day, at Malvern Hill, the Third was in reserve.

The army of the Potomac being ordered to reinforce Pope’s army of Virginia, the Third was moved to Acquia creek, from there by rail to Falmouth, and thence to Rappahannock station. They participated in the marches of that army, but were not actively engaged until the 29th, when a severe skirmish occurred in which the regiment lost considerably. The next day the second battle of Bull run was fought, in which the reserves took a prominent part, and although finally driven back, succeeded in defeating the enemy’s purpose of dividing our army, holding him in check until reinforced by a brigade of regulars, and securing the safe retreat of the army. In this engagement Captain H. Clay Beatty, of company I, was killed, and the regiment lost heavily.

In the battle of Chantilly, next day, the Third was in reserve, and thence it went to Antietam, where it was engaged and suffered considerable loss.

General Burnside having been placed in command of the army began a movement against Fredericksburg, his objective point being Richmond. On December 13th was fought the battle at the former place, and again the Third was in the hottest of the fight, losing in killed, wounded, and missing one hundred and twenty-eight. It took part in no other battles at this time, and was ordered back to Washington to rest and recruit its shattered ranks. It remained there until January, 1864, when with the fourth, both commanded by General H.G. Sickel, it was ordered to West Virginia, where it encountered much severe labor and suffered from forced marches in pursuit of the flying foe, who made stand at what is known as Cloyd mountain, where the Third again distinguished itself and suffered much loss, among others losing three color-bearers in the charge on the enemy’s works, which they carried in gallant style. This battle was fought on May 9, 1864. From this time until May 30th the regiment was continually on the march. Their term of enlistment having expired they were ordered home, and on June 17th were mustered out at Philadelphia, with a record not surpassed by any regiment which took the field.

The Eighty-ninth regiment (Third cavalry) was first intended to be a rifle regiment, but was subsequently changed to cavalry. It was raised mainly in Philadelphia, but Bucks county contributed many men to its ranks, noticeably in company M, in which they were in a majority. The regiment was mustered into the service for three years on July 23, 1861. Until March of the following year the regiment was engaged in drill and camp duty with an occasional scouting expedition. It was engaged in some slight skirmishes, but met its first losses in battle at Garnett’s, in front of the Union lines. In the campaign on the Peninsula the Eighty-ninth was actively engaged, and was part of the rear-guard on the retrograde movement from Harrison’s Landing to Yorktown. From this time forward the regiment was actively engaged in skirmishing without much loss until the battle of Antietam, where it lost several men. In the latter part of October, and until winter rendered movement impossible, the Eighty-ninth was constantly in motion, and suffered severe losses. In April, 1863, it was in the van on the march to Chancellorsville, and on its way two squadrons successively surprised and captured two of the enemy’s picket-guards. From this time until the fight opened at Chancellorsville on May 18th the regiment was constantly engaged with small bodies of the enemy, and was the first to engage in battle on the field of Chancellorsville, where they kept the advance of the enemy in check until relieved by Sykes’s division of regulars, losing heavily in killed and wounded. On the evening of the following day, when Stonewall Jackson’s troops were driving back the Eleventh corps in much disorder, General Pleasonton was asked to try and check the enemy long enough to give the shattered line time to re-form and bring some guns to bear on the enemy. Knowing that it was almost certain death, he told Major Keenan, in command of the Eighty-ninth, what he wished. The brave Major replied, "General, I will do it," and at once started in with his regiment, numbering between four and five hundred men. It was a dreadful sacrifice by brave men who knew the danger and freely offered their lives to save the rest of the army. The movement was entirely successful, but at a cost of the lives of the brave Major and nearly half of his force. From this time on the regiment was mainly under Sheridan’s command, and participated in all of his operations until the winter of 1864, when it numbered only two hundred men. Its ranks were still further depleted by the numerous and brilliant actions in 1865, losing heavily in every engagement, until, on the surrender of Lee, but a handful was left of the once full regiment, and they were incorporated into the Sixteenth cavalry, with which they were mustered out in August, 1865.

The First New Jersey Cavalry (Sixteenth New Jersey Volunteers) was raised under authority granted to Hon. William Halsted, of New Jersey, by the secretary of war, in August, 1861. In the following month ten companies were filled and were in Washington, and were known as "Halsted’s Horse," but were not then recognized by the state of New Jersey. Its first experiences in camp were disheartening, but a reorganization of the regiment and the appointment of Percy Wyndham as colonel, an English soldier with a brilliant war record, and the recognition of the regiment by the state, set things straight, and the regiment spent the winter and spring months in drilling and camp duty.

A large number of the men of this regiment were from Bucks county, including the captain of company A, James H. hart, who was afterward promoted to the position of major, and was killed at Stony Creek. His body was brought home and interred in the old church-yard in Southampton township, and over his tomb is a handsome monument on which are inscribed the names of the principal engagements in which he participated.

The history of the regiment written by its chaplain, Rev. Henry R. Pyre, gives a list of ninety-seven skirmishes and battles in which the regiment took part, beginning with Pohick Church, Virginia, on December 29, 1861, and ending with Appomattox Court-House on April 9, 1865.

Many of the members of the regiment were mustered out at the end of their term of enlistment on September 1, 1864, but there remained enough of the veterans, with new recruits, to keep up the reputation of the Fifteenth New Jersey Cavalry until the close of the war, and among them were to be found no better soldiers than those who joined its ranks from Bucks county.

Independent Battery D (Durrell’s) was made up of men recruited in Bucks and Berks counties, and was organized at Doylestown on September 24, 1861, with George W. Durell as captain. It was in the advance on Manassas in March, 1862, and afterward was with the corps that followed Jackson to Thoroughfare Gap, but was first in action on August 21st, when it was with the troops sent to the assistance of Pope. here it was in action for a considerable time, but lost no men. At the second Bull run battle it was in action again, where one of its guns was dismounted, and one man wounded.

In the battle of Chantilly, on September 1st, but two batteries were in action, this being one of them. In the campaign in Maryland, late in the month, the battery did good service, and met with but slight loss. At Sulphur Springs, Virginia, on November 15, 1862, it had a hot engagement with the rebel artillery, firing over three hundred rounds. In this engagement Lieutenant McIlvaine was mortally wounded.

In March, 1863, the battery was transferred to the southwest, and was in the rear of Vicksburg during the siege of that place, to resist any attempt of Johnston to relieve Pemberton. The principal loss suffered by the organization was from sickness— ten of its number dying, and most of the rest being on the sick list. In consequence, the battery was ordered to Kentucky, and remained at Covington until April, 1864, when, after a few days spent at Johnson’s Island, Lake Erie, where an attempt to rescue the rebel prisoners was feared, it was sent to Washington. Here it was recruited and furnished with a new battery of Parrott guns, and thereafter was attached to the Army of the Potomac. It participated in many of the operations in the final campaigns, was in action at the springing of the mine at Petersburg, and at the capture of that place on April 2, 1865, where it rendered efficient service, not only with its own guns, but by turning those of the fleeing enemy upon his own columns. It was mustered out at Philadelphia on June 13, 1865.

The One Hundredth and Fourth regiment was enlisted almost entirely in Bucks county, under authority given to W.W.H. Davis, of Doylestown, already mentioned as captain of company I, Twenty-fifth regiment, of the three months’ service. He was given authority to raise men for a six-gun battery also. A camp was established on the exhibition ground in Doylestown, and recruiting actively pushed forward. The first company was formed in September, 1861, and early in November the regiment was ready for duty, mustering eleven hundred and thirty-five officers and men. The regiment was ordered to Washington, and remained in camp near there until March 29th, when it was ordered to Fortress Monroe. Other than slight skirmishing and reconnoissances, the regiment saw no particularly active duty until May 31, 1862, when it was hotly engaged in the battle of Fair Oaks, having in the early part of the fight the most exposed position in the line, in advance of all the other troops. It held its position until forced to retire before overwhelming numbers. It was here that Major Gries was killed while rescuing a flag that had been left on the advanced line. Company E, on picket duty, was surrounded and captured by the enemy. The loss of the regiment in this battle was about two hundred and forty in killed, wounded, and prisoners. Colonel Davis was one of the wounded. On the retreat to the James river, the regiment, as part of Nagle’s brigade, was engaged in holding in check the advance of the enemy, until Malvern Hill was reached. At the battle at this place it was not called into action. On reaching Harrison’s Landing the regiment mustered four hundred and fifty-three officers and men.

In December of 1862, the regiment was ordered on the expedition to Beaufort, N.C., thence to Hilton Head, S.C., where it remained until the attack upon Morris island, under General Terry. At this time Colonel Davis was in command of the brigade, which was part of a detachment sent to James island to make a demonstration against Charleston by way of Secessionville. The brigade finally returned to Folly island, and on August 22d following was ordered to the trenches on Morris island, and details were made for battery and boat duty. In the subsequent movements against Charleston, the regiment was actively engaged, but the attack on that city failing, it was returned to its camp at Hilton Head, and in July following was sent to Florida. A month later it was sent to the fortifications at Washington, where it remained until mustered out in September. In March of the year following, their colonel, W.W.H. Davis, was brevetted brigadier-general.

A considerable number of the men composing the Fifteenth Cavalry regiment (Anderson’s Cavalry) were enlisted from Bucks county. It was intended to have this body composed of the flower of the state. They were all young men, from almost every county, and were before being accepted put through a rigid examination as to intelligence and character, as well as physical fitness, and the result was an exceptionally fine body of men. Those from Bucks county were principally from the lower part. The regiment was at first commanded by Colonel William J. Palmer, of a Bucks county family, and was assigned for special service under the immediate command of General William S. Rosecrans in the department of the Cumberland, having first participated in the battle of Antietam before going to the western army. From the fall of 1862 until the close of the war the fifteenth participated in all the campaigns of the army of the Cumberland, and took part in the battles of Stone river and Chickamauga, and saw much hard fighting in engagements in Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, North and South Carolina. Among the Bucks county men in the regiment was Charles M. Betts, a native of Warminster township, a gallant soldier, who was wounded in a fight with Cherokee Indians in North Carolina. He enlisted as a private and afterward became colonel of the regiment. Anthony Taylor, from Bristol township, who also enlisted as a private, became first lieutenant in command of company A, and was commissioned captain of company G. Lieutenants John Burton, George Headley, Edward W. Johnson, and ----- Patterson were also from Bristol; James Paxson and John Harrison from Bensalem township; Sergeants William Du Bree and Hough from Doylestown.

The One Hundred and Twenty-eighth regiment was raised in response to Governor Curtin’s call of July 21, 1862, for nine months’ troops. Two companies, C and F, were raised in Bucks county, the former by Captain Samuel Croasdale, who became colonel, and who was killed at Antietam on September 17th, a month after the regiment had been mustered into service, which was done on August 15, 1862. The day following the regiment was ordered to Washington and was in camp at Arlington Heights for a week, moving on August 21st to Fairfax Seminary, and on the 29th to Fort Woodbury, where they were employed during the fierce fighting of Bull run and Chantilly in erecting fortifications. From there the regiment was ordered to Maryland, and on the 16th of September was at Antietam creek. General Hooker had already offered battle, and the regiment was led across the stream, where it rested for the night. Early the next morning it made a gallant charge on the enemy’s lines, in which the brave Croasdale was instantly killed and Lieutenant-Colonel Hammersly severely wounded. This somewhat disheartened the new troops, but they rallied again and held their ground until relieved. The regiment’s loss was terribly severe, having thirty-four killed and eighty-five wounded, six mortally.

After this battle the regiment was in camp, drilling, and also in erecting fortifications, until December 10th, when it was ordered to Fredericksburg, which Burnside was making preparations to attack. This campaign ended fruitlessly, however, and the regiment did little but camp duty and marching, with some picket and guard duty, until the following May. On the night of the 2d of that month, when near Chancellorsville, it was ordered out to the front, and next day was in a fight. Retiring at night to its camp, it fell into the hands of the enemy, who captured the colonel, lieutenant-colonel, five captains and two lieutenants, and two hundred and twenty-five men. The rest succeeded in reaching the Union lines, and were hotly engaged, losing several more out of their depleted ranks, which were now reduced to one hundred and seventy-two men. Its term of service expired on May 12th, and on the 19th it was mustered out at Harrisburg.

Of the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth regiment one company (H) was recruited in Bucks county. It was originally raised for the nine months’ service, but no more troops being wanted for that length of service its term was changed to three years. Company H was commanded by Captain Lazarus C. Andress, who died on November 12, 1863, of wounds received at Brandy Station four days previously. On August 26, 1862, the regiment was mustered into the service, and was ordered to Maryland.

In June, 1863, the regiment was ordered into active duty, having previously been engaged in guarding railroads and in garrison duty. It was now assigned to guard the ammunition trains and ambulances until the latter part of October, when it was returned to its brigade. In the pursuit of Lee by Meade the regiment saw its first real fighting. It was here that Captain Andress was mortally wounded and several others of his company wounded by the same shell. In the Mine Run campaign the regiment was engaged at Locust Grove on November 27th, where it lost seven killed, forty-five wounded, and three missing. Its next encounter with the enemy was in "the Wilderness" in May, 1864, where in its first two engagements it lost twenty-nine killed, ninety-four wounded, and thirty-five missing.

From this time forward the regiment was constantly under fire, during that fierce summer campaign, but fortunately its losses were slight. Lieutenant Lewis of company I published a history of the campaigns of the regiment shortly after the close of the war, in which he gives an account of its gallant charge at Cold Harbor on June 1st, where it and the Sixth Maryland of the same brigade stormed the rebel works in face of a heavy fire and captured more men than were in their own ranks. In this and succeeding actions to the 11th instant the regiment lost sixty-eight men in killed, wounded, and missing.

The next encounter with the enemy was on July 9th at Monocacy, where Rickett’s division was opposed to a vastly superior force under Early, and was compelled to retreat with some loss. The division, including the Thirty-eighth, was now assigned to the new department created for General Sheridan, and in the skirmishes at and about Fisher’s Hill lost forty-six in killed, wounded, and missing. At Cedar creek, on October 19th, the regiment manfully held its place when others were falling back, and was instrumental in winning the great victory which was won on that day. In all the subsequent operations in Virginia culminating in the surrender of Lee the One Hundred and Thirty-eighth did its full share of duty and participated in all its glorious results. The regiment was mustered out at Washington on June 23, 1865.

The One Hundred and Sixty-third regiment (Eighteenth cavalry) was recruited in many parts of the state, a good many coming from Bucks, but having no separate organization. Early in 1863 the regiment was sent into Virginia, picketing the line, guarding the defences of Washington, and watching Mosby’s guerrillas. Their first encounter with rebel cavalry was when they with the rest of Kilpatrick’s bold riders attacked Stuart, and kept him from joining Lee, who at that time was in sore need of his services on the historic field of Gettysburg. Kilpatrick by forced marches reached Gettysburg on the night of the 2d of July, and next day the Eighteenth was in hot strife, and rendered valiant service. Next evening it struck Ewell’s wagon-train, capturing it, with a thousand prisoners and some artillery. Two companies of the Eighteenth the next day charged into Hagerstown to test the enemy’s strength, but they being in full force in the side streets, and surrounding the little band, few ever returned. This regiment made for itself an enviable record, taking part, always in the most gallant manner, in all the movements of the Army of the Potomac until the close of the war.

The One Hundred and Seventy-fourth regiment (drafted) was composed of drafted men, eight companies almost entirely from Bucks county and two from Northampton county. Its term of service was for nine months. It was organized at Philadelphia in the beginning of November, 1862, and was ordered to Washington, thence to Suffolk. From there it was ordered to Newbern, North Carolina, where it arrived on January 6, 1863. The regiment was included in the forces ordered to support the army operating against Charleston, and reached Hilton Head on February 5th. It was put into camp on Helena island, and remained there until the 27th, when it was ordered to Beaufort, and later to Hilton Head, where it stayed until its term expired. It was mustered out on August 7, 1863.

The One Hundred and Eighty-first regiment (Twentieth cavalry) was recruited in June and July, 1863, in pursuance of an order of the war department to raise men for six months’ service, at the time when Lee was making his demonstration against Pennsylvania, which ended with his disastrous defeat at Gettysburg. A large number of its men were from Bucks county, but they preserved no independent organization, being found in every company in the regiment, which was composed of seven companies enlisted for six months, and five companies of "emergency men."

Even prior to the organization of the regiment the different companies were called into active service, doing scouting and guard duty at and near Harrisburg, and on the road between that city and the places threatened by the enemy. When Lee was finally driven out of the state the regiment was organized and joined in the pursuit of the retreating rebels, capturing some prisoners and horses near Hagerstown. Shortly afterward the emergency men returned home, and some more six months’ men were enlisted. The regiment was now stationed at different places, and but insignificant actions took place until the expiration of their term. Many of the men desired to remain in the service until the end of the war, and the regiment was reorganized, recruited with men from different places, again some going from Bucks county.

They were sent to Sigel’s command in the Shenandoah, and actively participated in all the movements of that commander, who was shortly after succeeded by General Hunter, who was in turn superseded by General Crook.

In the almost daily skirmishes which took place, the regiment lost a few men every day. At Snicker’s Gap, on July 18, 1864, they lost fourteen men. At Winchester a few days later, in making a daring charge on the turnpike, Captain John C. Henry was killed. A few days later the eighteenth attacked Early at Ashby’s Gap, and a fierce engagement ensued, in which the loss was one hundred and eight killed, wounded, and missing.

In August, 1864, Sheridan was placed in command in the valley, and in all the brilliant after operations of that energetic commander the Eighteenth bore an honorable part. As Sheridan said of the division to which the Eighteenth was attached: "The courage displayed by the cavalry officers and men was superb." Down to the final surrender the cavalry was in constant motion, marching and fighting daily, and losing a large number of their men and officers in passing through this fiery ordeal. The regiment, sadly depleted, was mustered out on July 13th.

The Two Hundred and Thirteenth regiment was recruited mainly in Philadelphia, but contained, as did many others, men from Bucks county. It was organized on March 2d, 1865, and was at once sent to guard Camp Parole, at Annapolis, Maryland. Part of it was afterward assigned to guard a portion of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad. In April it was assigned to the fortifications north of Washington, and was mustered out on November 18, 1865.

The Two Hundred and Fifteenth regiment was the last one raised in the state. It was mustered into service in April, 1865, and was sent to do guard duty at various places on the Eastern Shore. In June it was doing garrison duty at Fort Delaware, and was mustered out on July 31st. Though a Philadelphia regiment, many of the men were recruited in Bucks county.