Company F of this regiment was recruited at Tidioute, by Captain Kimball
H. Stiles, in the summer of 1862. The regimental rendezvous was the city
of Erie — the camp previously occupied by the Eighty-third and the One
Hundred and Eleventh Regiments — where a regimental organization was
effected on the 5th of September, 1862. Its original field officers were
Hiram
L. Brown, colonel; David B. McCreary, lieutenant-colonel;
John W. Patton,
major. The latter died May 15, of wounds received at
Chancellorsville, Va.,
May 3, 1863.
Without arms, and with scarcely any knowledge of military duty, the regiment
left Erie on the 11th of September, and proceeded toward the front via
Harrisburg to Chambersburg, Pa., arriving in thirty-six hours within sound
of the enemy's cannon, Lee having already crossed the Potomac and
penetrated
to the South Mountain. Halting at Camp McClure for two days, the
men were supplied with the old Harper's Ferry musket, and then moved under
orders from General John F. Reynolds, in the direction of Hagerstown. But
partially supplied with equipments, and men and many officers fresh from civil
life, the command experienced much suffering from exposure and inadequate
supplies.
At daylight on the morning of the 17th the regiment was under arms, the
heavy booming of cannon on the field of Antietam, ten miles away, being
distinctly heard. Colonel Brown was ordered forward with his command, and
a little after noon arrived upon the extreme right of the Union line, at this
time desperately engaged with the troops under "Stonewall" Jackson. It
was moved into position between the Federal right and the Potomac, holding
the tow-path and the road which runs along under the high bluff skirting the
river, thus preventing the enemy from flanking the Union forces in that direction.
This position was held without loss until McClellan permitted the enemy
to retire almost without molestation. The regiment was then assigned to
the duty of burying the dead and caring for the wounded. The stench that
filled the air was exceedingly offensive — the dead having lain as they fell for
four days — and this, together with the exposure and severe duty imposed
upon men unaccustomed to campaigning, resulted in wide-spread sickness.
Indeed, within a month from the time of taking the field, between two and
three hundred men of the regiment were unfit for duty. Many died or were
permanently disabled, and were discharged from service.
From Antietam the regiment proceeded to Harper's Ferry, where it was
assigned to duty with Meagher's Irish Brigade, and continued with that command
until just before the beginning of the Fredericksburg campaign, when
it was attached to the First Brigade, First Division of the Second Army Corps,
and moved with the army under Burnside against the enemy. The morning
of December 11 broke clear and crisp along the Rappahannock, and early the
whole army was astir. The One Hundred and Forty-fifth, with its division,
crossed on the upper pontoon bridge on the afternoon of the 12th, and formed
in line upon a street running parallel with the river, where it remained during
the succeeding night. On the morning of the 13th it moved forward two or
three squares, its right resting near the court-house, where it came under a
heavy artillery fire, and an incessant fusillade from sharpshooters concealed
from view.
About noon the division marched by the flank up the streets and out upon
the plain, between the town and the battery-crowned hills that encircled it
beyond. The regiment moved forward with the steadiness of veterans, over
various obstacles, towards the fatal stone wall at the foot of Marye's Heights,
though its ranks were shattered and torn by the fire from concealed infantry,
and the batteries which confronted and enfiladed it, until it reached the front
line of the Union forces. Here it remained until after nightfall, and until the
fighting ceased, when the division was relieved and returned to town. "Of
the five thousand men," says Swinton, "Hancock led into action, more than two
thousand fell in that charge; and it was found that the bravest of these had
thrown up their hands and lay dead within five and twenty paces of the stone
wall." On the night of the 15th the army recrossed the river, and on the
following morning the fragments remaining of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth
took possession of its old quarters on Stafford Heights. On the morning
previous to the battle five hundred and fifty-six men reported for duty. A
portion of two companies were upon the skirmish line when the rest of the
regiment moved for the field, and consequently did not accompany it. Of
those who crossed the river, less than five hundred in number, two hundred
and twenty-six, nearly one half, were either killed or wounded.
On the 1st of May, 1863, while being mustered for pay, the first gun in the
battle of Chancellorsville was fired. The Second Corps was immediately thrown
forward on the road leading to Fredericksburg, the First Division in advance.
At evening it was marched back to a slight ravine, where, in a dense wood,
nearly the entire night was spent in throwing up breastworks, and in cutting
and forming an abatis in front The enemy opened fire at intervals upon the
troops while at work, but with little effect. At daylight the main body of the
command was moved back three-quarters of a mile near to the Chancellor
house, a heavy skirmish line only being left in the advanced works. During
the day of the 2d artillery firing occurred at intervals, and at night the enemy
made his fierce assault, which resulted in the discomfiture and rout of the
Eleventh Corps, posted on the extreme right of the Union lines. The night
was passed in intense excitement along the whole line, the battle raging fiercely
on the right center. On the morning of the 3d a detail of one hundred and
fifty men, from the One Hundred and Forty-fifth, and one hundred from other
regiments of the brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel McCreary, was ordered to
the relief of the skirmish line left in the works thrown up on the night of the
1st. The remainder of the regiment was engaged in supporting the batteries
around the Chancellor house, which had been massed to resist the troops of
Jackson, now led by Stuart. It was here exposed to a severe fire of musketry
and artillery. Here Major Patton was mortally wounded by a piece of shell.
The men under Lieutenant-Colonel McCreary were hotly engaged during the
early part of the day, and, with the troops on their right, successfully resisted
repeated assaults of the enemy under Anderson and McLaws, and completely
foiled all attempts to turn the left and reach Hancock's main line of battle.
When the army fell back towards the river, the troops upon this skirmish line
failed to receive the order to retire, and fell into the enemy's hands, most of
the detail from the One Hundred and Forty-fifth being among the captured.
The Second Corps reached the field of Gettysburg on the morning of the
2d of July, the First Division taking position on the left center, and in rear
of the line taken up by the Third Corps. Towards evening, and when the
lines of the Third Corps had been shattered and driven back, the division was
sent to their relief. The brigade, now led by Colonel Brooke, passed over the
low grounds to the right of Little Round Top and, crossing the road leading
out to the Peach Orchard, soon came upon the Wheat Field, where the battle
had raged and was now raging fearfully. With great daring Brooke led his
devoted band against the enemy, holding the fastnesses of wood and rock
wrenched from the Third Corps, drove him in confusion from his dearly-bought
ground, and silenced a battery which was annoying the Union troops.
But the advantage, so bravely won, could not be held; for the rebels, in heavy
force, were flanking the position on the right and exposing the brigade to
capture or annihilation, and no alternative existed but to retire. The One
Hundred and Forty-fifth held the extreme right of the brigade in this terrible
encounter, and suffered severely. It entered the battle two hundred strong,
and lost in killed and wounded more than eighty men. On the 3d the regiment
was posted with the division on the left of the corps, and, during the fierce
struggle of the afternoon, was exposed to a fearful artillery fire, but in the
infantry engagement which followed, was not involved, the enemy being
repulsed before it could reach the scene of close conflict.
During the following winter the thinned ranks of the regiment were filled
by new recruits, so that at the opening of the spring campaign of 1864 it was
ready to again assail the enemy, with nearly its original strength in numbers.
The Rapidan was crossed on the 5th of May, and the enemy under Lee was
met in the Wilderness. Upon arriving at the Po River, Hancock, who commanded
the Second Corps, found the enemy on the opposite bank, in a good
defensive position, well fortified. In the face of these obstacles, Hancock, on
the afternoon of the 10th, threw a portion of his command across, but subsequently,
by order of General Meade, attempted to withdraw it. The enemy,
discovering this retrograde movement, immediately attacked with great spirit
and determination. The brigades of Brooke and Brown, the former of which
included the One Hundred and Forty-fifth, received the weight of the blow;
but so determined was the front they presented, and so deadly the volleys that
poured into the faces of the foe, that he was forced to retire. At this juncture
the woods in the rear of these two brigades took fire from the enemy's shells,
making their position one of great peril. They finally recrossed the river,
but not without having sustained serious loss, some of the wounded perishing
in the flames, from which it was impossible to rescue them.
Failing to carry the enemy's position by direct assault, General Grant
ordered a blow at his left. The Second Corps was selected to deliver it.
Moving over from the extreme right to the left of the Union line, under cover
of the darkness of the night of the 11th, Hancock attacked at dawn of the 12th.
Barlow's Division had the advance, Brooke's and Miles's Brigades in the first
line, Brown's and Smyth's in the second. The enemy was taken by surprise.
His skirmish line was swept away with but little opposition, and the abatis
crossed and the intrenchments carried before he fully realized the situation.
But the struggle soon commenced in earnest, and was at close quarters until he
was forced to yield the ground, large captures of men and material being made.
Attempts to carry his inner line were unsuccessful, and he struggled fiercely to
regain his lost works, piling the ground with his slain, but to no purpose.
The One Hundred and Forty-fifth was in the lead in this assault and lost heavily.
The struggle was continued until the 20th, when the Union army again
moved forward and crossed the North Anna, only to encounter again the
enemy in impregnable works.
The Second Corps was but little engaged here, and upon recrossing the
stream pushed on to Cold Harbor, where, in face of a defiant enemy and over
difficult ground, it charged close up to his intrenchments, but failed to carry
them. The ground gained was held, and a line of fortifications was thrown
up. So close were the opposing lines here, that a stone could be easily tossed
from one to the other. It was instant death to expose any vital part of the
person. The regiment again suffered severely in gaining and holding this
position.
On the 12th of June the corps withdrew from its position at Cold Harbor,
and on the night of the 14th the First Division crossed the James. After a long
and fatiguing march it arrived in front of Petersburg, and on the evening of
the 16th three brigades of the division charged at different points and independently
of each other. The movement proved disastrous to the troops engaged,
and Lieutenant-Colonel McCreary, commanding the One Hundred and
Forty-fifth, together with eight other commissioned officers, and about eighty
enlisted men belonging to the regiment, were taken prisoners. The men were
hurried away to Andersonville, and the officers to Macon, and were afterwards
held at Charleston, Savannah, and Columbia, being kept in confinement until
March, 1865, enduring all the hardships and sufferings which at this period
were visited upon Union prisoners of war, many yielding up their lives. Only
about two hundred men were present for duty when the charge was made, and
of this number about fifty were either killed or wounded. On the 22d of
July the regiment was again warmly engaged, and in resolutely attempting to
hold their position against a superior force of the enemy, a number were killed,
wounded, and captured, among the latter Major Lynch, then in command of
the survivors.
During the remainder of the summer the handful of men left was ever at
the post of duty in the trenches, and almost constantly under fire. It participated
in the battles of Reams's Station and Deep Bottom, sustaining losses in
each. It spent the fall and winter in the trenches, in close proximity to the
worried enemy, engaged in picket and fatigue duty. Upon the opening of
the spring campaign of 1865 the corps was early put in motion, and in the
battle of Five Forks the division was detached and sent to the aid of Sheridan,
rendering efficient service. After the surrender of Lee the regiment
returned through Richmond with the corps, to Alexandria, and a few days
later participated in the grand review at Washington, D. C. It was mustered
out of service on the 31st of May, and arrived at Erie, Pa., on the 5th of June,
when it was disbanded.
Its members, credited to Warren county, were as follows :
COMPANY F.
Captain Kimball H. Stiles, discharged June 16, 1864.
First Lieutenant Richard Magill, discharged March 30, 1862.
First Lieutenant Jeremiah Birtcil, discharged June 17, 1864.
Second Lieutenant Stephen H. Evans, discharged March 30, 1863.
Second Lieutenant Louis B. Carlile, discharged May 17, 1865.
First Sergeant Charles C. Merritt, commissioned captain May 22, 1865, not mustered; mustered out with company.
Sergeant John L, Cohell, commissioned first lieutenant May 22, 1865, not mustered; mustered out with company.
Sergeant Charles H. Hill, mustered out with company.
Sergeant William H. Broughton, mustered out with company.
Sergeant O. S. Brown, died, date unknown, of wounds received in action.
Sergeant John T. Roberts, died at Alexandria, Va., June 21, 1864, of wounds received in action.
Sergeant Nicholas Sheppard, not accounted for.
Sergeant Gregory L. Root, wounded at Chancellorsville; discharged, date unknown.
Corporal Benjamin Richards, mustered out with company.
Corporal Jonathan Lemon, mustered out with company.
Corporal Henry Gibbons, mustered out with company.
Corporal Marvin Gilson, taken prisoner ; discharged by general order June 29, 1865.
Corporal John Stewart, discharged by general order June 24, 1865.
Corporal Darius W. Hunter, died January 4 of wounds received at Spottsylvania C. H., Va., May 10, 1864.
Corporal Jethro Doty, discharged on surgeon's certificate, 1863.
Corporal Aaron M. Vincent, not accounted for.
Corporal Wilton M. Lindsey, discharged on surgeon's certificate January 27, 1863.
Corporal J. H. Richardson, discharged February, 1863, for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862.
Privates.
George W. Alcorn, captured; died at Andersonville July 28, 1864.
Richard J. Arters, killed at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862.
Thomas Acox, died near Falmouth, Va., November, 1862.
George W. Arters, discharged on surgeon's certificate, date unknown.
William Berkey, mustered out with company.
Henry R. Baker, mustered out with company.
Joseph J. Burnett, mustered out with company.
William H. Earnhart, prisoner; discharged by general order June 29, 1865.
Sullivan Baker, died 1862.
J. C. Bennesholtz, killed at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862.
John Belford, captured ; died at Andersonville, Ga., July 5, 1864.
Frederick Birch, killed at Spottsylvania C. H., May 12, 1864.
John D. Burdick, dishonorably discharged February 15, 1867, expiration of term.
Lloyd Bailey, not accounted for.
Lewis Bimber, discharged on surgeon's certificate, date unknown.
James Conrad, mustered out with company.
Shamb't Chambers, died February 2, 1863, near Washington, D. C.
Stephen Chambers, died March 30, 1863, near Washington, D. C.
Philemon Clark, killed at Chancellorsville, Va., May 3, 1863.
Samuel S. Clark, died, date unknown.
J. Clonay, died at Andersonville, Ga., September 22, 1864.
Thomas Clark, killed at Spottsylvania C. H., Va., May 12, 1864.
Christian Cheeks, died at Andersonville, Ga., date unknown.
Thomas A. Cox, died at Falmouth, Va., December 2, 1862.
Daniel Cochran, died, date unknown, of wounds received in action.
Henry Cope, discharged for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va.
James Donald, discharged by general order June 24, 1865.
James Deacon, died at Andersonville, Ga., date unknown.
James R. Dye, transferred to Company A, 53d P. V., date unknown.
John J. Gorman, died at Harper's Ferry October 20, 1862.
Charles W. Grove, died at Florence, S. C, date unknown.
William A. Goodhard, discharged on surgeon's certificate, date unknown.
James N. G. Graham, not accounted for.
John Gunn, discharged for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va.
William Gunn, discharged for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va.
Leonard Horn, died at Florence, S. C, date unknown.
Henry Holliworth, died January 4, 1864, buried at Culpepper, Va.
David E. Jones, died at Andersonville, Ga., September 26, 1864.
Eli Jason, discharged for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va.
Ransom Kendall, died December 23, 1863.
Jesse Knightlinger, died October 7, 1864, of wounds received in action.
Samuel C. King, died as a prisoner at Salisbury, N. C.
Virgil Libbey, died at Philadelphia, Pa., June 24, 1864.
Joshua Lloyd, died at Andersonville, Ga., September 20, 1864.
Morris J. Lonnen, not accounted for.
George W. Magee, absent, sick, at muster out.
Edward Mellen, discharged by general order June 24, 1865.
John Martin, discharged by general order September 8, 1865.
Brooks Minker, discharged by general order July 22, 1865.
Samuel May, died September 1, 1863.
Thomas J. Magee, died, date unknown.
William Magee, died at Charleston, S. C, date unknown.
George B. Miller, killed at Bristoe Station, Va., October 13, 1863,
Isaac Magee, not accounted for.
James L. Magill, discharged on surgeon's certificate, 1862.
O. Willard Miller, discharged on surgeon's certificate April, 1863.
David McKinley, mustered out with company.
Owen McClure, discharged by general order July 5, 1865.
Charles H. McCoy, not accounted for.
Sidney McKee, discharged on surgeon's certificate October, 1862.
Samuel Parrish, discharged by general order June 29, 1865.
John M. Pearce, died June 4, 1863, of wounds received in action.
P. Quinn, captured; died at Richmond, Va., March 3, 1864.
Simeon J. Roosa, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 2, 1863.
John Rutledge, killed at Fredericksburg December 13, 1862.
George S. Richardson, transferred to 53d P. V.
C. J. Richardson, discharged for wounds received at Gettysburg, Pa.
William H. Rungan, not accounted for.
Harrison Stoddard, mustered out with company.
Byron Sutherland, discharged by general order July 1, 1865.
George W. Shay, captured; died, date unknown.
William Shreve, died December 19, 1862.
Reuben Swaggart, died January 20, 1863.
John P. Small, died at Philadelphia, Pa., August 11, 1863.
Edward Spangler, died June 19, 1864.
Walter R. Stanton, not accounted for.
John D. Stedwell, discharged for wounds received in action.
John Stewart, discharged for wounds received in action.
Jacob Smith, substitute, not accounted for.
James Thompson, mustered out with company.
Charles Thompson, killed at Fredericksburg, Va., December 13, 1862.
John Thompson, died November 22, 1862.
John Tuttle, killed at Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862.
Abraham L. Van Epps, mustered out with company.
Henry Van Keuren, not accounted for.
Lewis A. Van Tassel, discharged on surgeon's certificate, date unknown.
Samuel L. Willard, mustered out with company.
Alex. C. Williams, mustered out with company.
Thomas Williams, mustered out with company.
Andrew J. Westfall, discharged by general order May 29, 1865.
William T. Westfall, discharged for wounds received at Fredericksburg, Va.
George Wheeler, discharged on surgeon's certificate June, 1863.
William Whitman, discharged on surgeon's certificate.
George W. Williams, discharged on surgeon's certificate.
Hiram K. Young, captured; died at Andersonville, Ga., October 17, 1864; grave 11,040.
The foregoing roster of Company F tells a remarkable story. Thus, of the
one hundred and thirteen men who belonged to it, all of whom, with a few
exceptions, were mustered into service August 20, 1862, ten were killed in battle
;
six died of wounds received in action; fourteen died from neglect and
starvation in rebel prison pens, and seventeen died of disease in United States
hospitals, making a total death-roll of forty-seven. Ten were discharged by
reason of wounds received in battle, and only eighteen men, good and true,
were mustered out with the company.
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