The Story Behind a Gravestone in Lancaster Cemetery

Gravestone of Jacob and Elizabeth Gemperling, Lancaster Cemetery
Local artist J. Augustus Beck sculpted the wreath in 1854.

 Gravestones provide one of the most accessible and intimate connections to the nineteenth century.  However, the personal, commercial, and artistic decisions behind them rarely show up in research, so I jumped at the chance when I accidentally ran across an article in the May 16, 1854, Lancaster Intelligencer while pursuing another research tangent. 

In an article that led with "Lovers of Art" that the Intelligencer actually copied from the Inland Daily, a couple items in the marble yard of Lewis Haldy on North Queen Street received attention.  The first was actually a relief sculpture by J. Augustus Beck -- son of the noted artist from Lititz -- on its way to the Washington Monument.  Commissioned by the American Medical Association via Dr. John L. Atlee in 1852, Beck's sculpture depicted Hippocrates refusing the gifts of the Persian King Artaxerxes meant to entice him to provide medical aid to his country's enemies.  The newspaper reported, "The execution of the work is in the highest style or art, and evinces extraordinary talent in the artist."  Some sources indicate that the sculpture is still in the Washington Monument in very damaged form and others say that it is in the Smithsonian Institute. 

Gravestone detail
Jacob and Elizabeth Gemperling
Lancaster Cemetery

The article continued:

We might mention several other fine specimens of art, the productions of this talented young artist, which may be seen at the same place.  Among other things we note a beautiful wreath--the prettiest thing of the kind we have ever seen.  It is engraved on a marble slab, and designed for the grave of the late Mrs. Gemperling, whose remains repose in the Lancaster Cemetery.  

The deceased referred to in the article is Elizabeth Gemperling (1785-1854), and the gravestone still stands in Lancaster Cemetery not far from the entrance.  I have not found anything about Elizabeth, but her husband Jacob and son Daniel received attention in the Biographical Annals of Lancaster County (1903) in an entry on Elizabeth and Jacob's grandson, Henry Clay Gemperling:

Jacob Gemperling, grandfather of Henry Clay, who was a distiller and farmer, was born near Rohrerstown; his son Daniel, who was born in Lancaster, died Nov. 13, 1895 at the age of eighty-seven years.  The latter and his brother John, were the leading tinsmiths of the city for many years, filling many important contracts.  Daniel Gemperling conducted the business on East Orange street alone to within a short time of his death, and became one of the best-known citizens of his time, owning a large amount of real estate, and making his influence felt in business and commercial circles.  Anna Hurst, his wife, was a half-sister of Elam Hurst, a prominent citizen of Lancaster, and also a sister of the mother of H. C. Demuth.  From this union were born three children, two of whom, William and Anna, died in early childhood, and the only survivor is Henry Clay Gemperling. 

Henry Clay Gemperling
Biographical Annals of
Lancaster County (1903)

Henry Clay Gemperling was born in the large brick mansion at the southwest corner of East King and Jefferson streets, then the home of his parents, in February, 1846, and was educated in the city schools and at John Beck's celebrated school in Lititz.  When less than sixteen years old he left school to enlist in the Union army, joining Co. A, 79th P.V.I., Aug. 19, 1861, and served throughout the war, receiving his discharge Aug. 12, 1865.  He took a gallant part in all the battles and skirmishes in which his command participated, and was wounded in the arm at Jonesboro, Ga., under Gen. Sherman, being promoted to the position of corporal.  After the war Mr. Gemperling was captain of "The Boys in Blue," a campaign organization in the first campaign of Gen. Grant for the presidency.  After Gen. Grant's election the boys in blue were organized into two military companies, A and B, and attached to the National Guard of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gemperling being commissioned captain of Co. B, both companies taking part in the inauguration of Gen. Grant as President.  Until 1879 he worked with his father at the tinsmith and plumbing trade, and then removed to Ephrata, where he engaged for himself in the same lines.  There he remained until March 13, 1895, when he returned to Lancaster, to become a tip-staff in the court house, very shortly being made a court crier for court No. 2, and in November, 1899, he was made court crier of the courts of Lancaster county, to fill a vacancy created by the death of Joseph C. Snyder, a position which he still holds.

While living in Ephrata, Mr. Gemperling bought and remodeled a fine property.  For fifteen years he was a deputy coroner of the district, for nine years he was a notary public, and was the first president of the Pioneer Steam Fire Engine and Hose Company, and was acting in that capacity, when he left the borough; he was commander of Post No. 524, G.A.R., of Ephrata, for three years, and was the second man to be elected burgess after Ephrata became a borough.

While a resident of Lancaster he served as a policeman during Mayor Stauffer's first term, and is remembered as one of the best police officers this city ever had.  During his residence in Ephrata he twice arrested Abe Buzzard, the noted outlaw, "putting him behind the bars."  This he did as a private citizen, his fellow townsmen calling on him because of his well-known fearlessness.  When thieves broke into the store of Schaeffer & Reinhold, at Ephrata, Mr. Gemperling discovered one of the thieves, arrested him, and took him to jail.  This same bravery was conspicuous through his army experiences.

Mr. Gemperling was married Aug. 14, 1869, to Miss Susan Jacobs, daughter of William Adam Jacobs, a farmer living near Beartown, Lancaster county.  From this union were born four children: Anna Maria, the wife of E. E. Royer, a farmer of Ephrata township; Martha Alpha, unmarried and at home; Daniel H., a paper hanger; and Henry Clay, Jr., now at school. 

Henry Clay Gemperling Service Record (PA Civil War Card File)

 While on the subject of the Gemperling family, you may note that another soldier with the surname Gemperling served in the 79th Pennsylvania.  William Gemperling also enlisted in Company A with Henry Clay Gemperling.  William Gemperling was wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga.  He died a year later in the Andersonville prison, although I'm not sure if he was captured at Chickamauga or elsewhere.  I also cannot establish the relationship between Henry and William Gemperling, which I guess to be first or second cousins.  If anyone knows more about William Gemperling, feel free to leave a comment below. 

William Gemperling Service Record (PA CIvil War Card File)

The Attack on Chattanooga, June 7, 1862

Map of Road from Jasper to Chattanooga (on the right edge of the map)
Detail of Map by N. Michler, 1862 (Library of Congress)

From Sweeden's Cove to Chattanooga

After a perfectly executed surprise attack on Confederate cavalrymen at Sweeden's Cove on June 4, 1862, the 79th Pennsylvania and other units in Gen. Negley's command continued east towards the critically important city of Chattanooga.  They arrived in the town of Jasper, Tennessee, on June 5 where the collected prisoners from the battle the day before and stared up at the mountains before them.

Almost every account from the 79th Pennsylvania mentions hordes of Unionist refugees living under pieces of canvas in the mountains and swamps.  In his diary entry for June 6, Sgt. William T. Clark (bio) remarked

We passed through some pretty good country, the people showering blessing upon us. One woman gave a Cavalry man a flag with the inscription the Union & Constitution & Remember Washington. In another place we saw a family who had been driven from home because their son would not enlist in the rebel service. They were in a swamp with nothing but a piece of canvas to protect them from the weather. She said she hoped that God might bless us & our Cause. We caught seventeen prisoners. This is the most loyal part of the country we have been in yet.

In a letter to his wife on June 14, Pvt. Lewis Jones (bio) echoed Clark

when we got over the Cumberland mountins in to Eastern Tennssee ther was the firs union men I saw the first Union men I saw for months when they hear that we wer a coming a long they com out of the mountins  I saw one old man com to me and asked a bout his sons that had wen of in the night to Kentucky to join the union armey and he had bin liven in th ewood for weeks a frad to go to his sons  I saw women and childer a living in the oods that had bin run out of town on acont of ther sones a beaing in the union armey

The First Battle of Chattanooga

Sketch of Chattanooga (Source)

On June 7, the 79th Pennsylvania left its lofty bivouac early in the morning and began to descend the mountains to Chattanooga--scenery that Clark called "beautiful in the extreme."  Colonel Hambright's makeshift brigade arrived at the Tennessee River shortly after noon, and ascended a hill that commanded Chattanooga from the opposite side of the river.

As Hambright sent skirmishers forward to the river bank, Confederate infantry and artillery entrenched about 400 yards away on the city-side of the river opened fire and prepared to dispute any crossing.  The two artillery sections (four guns total) attached to Hambright's command replied very effectively.  (Note: the alleged first shot has been preserved and is now in a private collection.)  The cannonading and sharpshooting continued five hours until the Confederate guns became silent, although actual losses are hard to ascertain from official reports. [Link: Hambright's Official Report]

One 79th Pennsylvania soldier on the firing line was Pvt. James Fields of Company A, whose letter to his father was printed in the July 5, 1862, Weekly Mariettian.

In the morning...we continued our march over the mountain chain, toward the great city of Chattanooga at the foot of the great Cumberland mountain, where the rebels were laying with the city well fortified and entrenched with rifle pits and in readiness for us--but all this was of no avail, for we knocked theam into a three-cocked hat when we came.  We planted six cannon pointing right into the rifle pits and then we got reinforcements of the Ohio 5th, of four cannons, making ten pieces, which enabled us to give them brisk work.  The Colonel then employed skirmishers to go down to the river's edge to shoot them from the rifle pits while the cannon would fire on their entrenchments.  I was one of the number to skirmish, and we fired at them all afternoon while the cannon blazed away at them until their guns were disabled.  We could see them all afternoon carrying out their dead, and at sundown they ceased firing and evacuated the place, which we soon took possession of.      

View of Tennessee River
from Lookout Mountain
(Library of Congress)

The Union artillery reopened fire the next day but failed to solicit a response.  By afternoon, Negley declared his mission a success and started to make the return trip back over the mountains.  Remaining in Chattanooga would have meant vulnerability to attack and a very precarious supply chain (that would cause problems in October 1863 for the Union army) which Negley seemed to have no interest in testing.

Casualties on both sides are difficult to verify, but the 79th Pennsylvania did have one man wounded--the first battle casualty of the war for the regiment.  Pvt. Joshua Geiter of Company A was wounded in the arm, although he returned to the regiment, dying in the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863.  Geiter also was the son in the only father-son combination that I know about in the regiment.  His father Henry, a printer by trade who wrote to the Lancaster Intelligencer later in the war, served the entire war in Company I.

Strategically, although Union forces did not end up taking possession of Chattanooga, they accomplished their goal of attracting Confederate attention and proving that a division-sized force could hop over the mountain range and strike quickly against the city.   The battle is credited with causing Confederate troop redeployment that allowed Union forces to capture the Cumberland Gap eleven days later.

The expedition with its heavy marching, tall mountains, cool streams, excited Unionists, and lopsided battles certainly made a positive impression on the men of the Lancaster County Regiment.  Elias Witmer (bio) counted marching three hundred miles over fifteen days (read his letter here), and claimed the title of the most active marchers in all the Union army during that time.  Pvt. Lewis Jones gave the best review, though, "I woul not mist the trip for fifty dollars."

(If anyone has assembled a more complete picture of the battle, please let me know.  Some of the details presented above regarding casualties, Confederate movements, other Union infantry, etc., are incomplete.)

The Battle of Sweeden's Cove, June 4, 1862

Map of Sweeden's Cove
Detail of Map by N. Michler, 1862 (Library of Congress)

The 79th Pennsylvania's very first engagement--on June 4, 1862, at Sweeden's Cove near Jasper, Tennessee--also happened to be perhaps its most tactically interesting and superbly executed mission of the entire war.  On May 28, the 79th Pennsylvania and other infantry, cavalry, and artillery under the command of General Negley left camp with twelve days' rations to march south again in the direction of Pulaski, Tennessee.  Instead of continuing south to Rogersville, as they had a couple weeks early, they veered east to march over mountainous roads to Fayetteville, Winchester, and ultimately the all-important city of Chattanooga approximately 90 miles east of Pulaski. Although I haven't seen it stated explicitly, I surmise the goal of this mission, which would have been planned by Negley and his superior General Mitchel, to feint towards Chattanooga to draw Confederate resources there and also encourage Unionist sentiment. 

The men of the Lancaster County Regiment enjoyed the first opportunity for real mountain marching, and soldier-correspondent Corp. Elias H. Witmer (bio) described the march on May 30 between Pulaski and Fayetteville:

The day is warm, the hills become steeper, the roads rougher, the poorly fed and worse cared for cavalry horses pant and fall to the ground, the artillery horses have become powerless, but the 79th is full of life--they laugh at their mounted fellow soldiers--the artillery call us the bull-dog regiment--the cavalry say we are the 1st Pennsylvania foot cavarly; we take it as a compliment, it gives us new life, and we push forward as fast as though the enemy, with 50,000 men, were on our heels.  We waded streams, crossed a small creek forty-one times, arrived at our place of bivouac, took a bathe, eat supper, made out bed, squatted, "good night," and were sound asleep. 

Confederate Col. John Adams
(Source)

Over the next few days, they continued marching east through a fertile valley and then through more mountains, reaching the peak of that section of the Cumberland Mountains on June 4.  Somewhere along the way, they discovered that Confederate cavalry, which Witmer plausibly estimates at 600-800, was encamped in the valley (Sweeden's Cove) that they were about to enter from the backdoor and descend.  The Confederate cavalry was a brigade under the command of Col. John Adams that had move out of Chattanooga and crossed the Tennessee River on May 29 and 30 under the orders of Gen. Beauregard. [OR Chap XXII, pp. 895-896]

After already having marched twenty miles that day, General Negley and acting brigade commander Col. Henry A. Hambright (bio) of the 79th Pennsylvania prepared to attack the rebels at the foot of the mountain.

Although it's not clear the specific roles of Hambright and Negley, they positioned two sections (four guns) of artillery just off the wood line and prepared their two regiments of cavalry out of sight.  Companies A, D, and F of the 79th Pennsylvania moved out of the woods and engaged the Confederates as skirmishers, soliciting the intended response of the cavalry being drawn up in a battle line. 

Satellite View of Sweeden's Cove near Jasper, Tennessee (Google Maps)
Union forces attacked from west to east (left to right on the map).

As soon as Adams' men were ready to charge, Hambright's artillery opened fire, initiating a panicked retreat by the Rebel horsemen.  One of the 79th Pennsylvania's skirmishers, Pvt. James Fields, wrote, "the moment [the Confederate cavalry] began the work [of attacking] we let drive and showered them in earnest from our cannon, which made them look two ways for Sunday." [7/5/1862 Weekly Mariettian]

It was then the Union cavalry's turn, and the 7th Pennsylvania Cavalry and 5th Kentucky Cavalry chased the routed Rebels for five miles.  Fields continued,

as the shot came thick and fast amongst them, they began to think about getting out of reach, and then our cavalry came rushing from the bushes and on them--and such getting away you never saw--they ran as if the devil was after them, dropping canteens, swords, sabres, guns, pistols, haversacks, overcoats... 

Sgt. William T. Clark (bio) recorded in his diary that the people in the nearby town of Jasper "told us the rebels didn't run, they flew."  The victory was decisive, and the pathway to continue the expedition to Chattanooga was now open.  

Besides captured ammunition and commissary wagons, the Confederates lost 20 killed, another 20 wounded, and 12 captured.  Clark mentioned on the next day that "Our cavalry found 20 bodies of the rebels that were killed yesterday," which must be those now buried in Bean-Roulston Cemetery in a mass grave.  Union losses were two killled and seven wounded, mostly among the 5th Kentucky, I believe.  The 79th Pennsylvania suffered no losses. 

From the June twenty-something (my notes were corrupted), 1862, Daily Evening Express, we have Corp. Elias Witmer's letter describing the engagement which contains Col. Hambright's report: (alternate link)

The 9th Pa Cavalry Arrives at Munfordville

Unidentified cavalry soldier with bugle
(Library of Congress)

Last time we heard from the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, which included Capt. John Wise's Company F from Lancaster County, it was shortly before Christmas and the regiment was drilling at Camp Andy Johnson near Louisville.  On February 4, 1862, they arrived at Munfordville--where the 79th Pennsylvania had been since mid-December--and enjoyed a reunion with friends from back home.

The letter, written by an unidentified officer in Company F, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, began by recounting the Battle of Rowlett's Station on December 17, 1861, in a way that shows how large its memory had grown to the Union soldiers around Munfordville.  Next, "Cavalier" remarks on how the cavalry had superseded infantry in scouting missions out into the surrounding countryside--probably a good thing for the Army of the Ohio as the infantry regiment as scouting force was an accident waiting to happen.  Finally, our cavalryman tells of encountering the 79th Pennsylvania.

With apologies for the poor scan quality, here's the letter from the February 17, 1861, Daily Evening Express: (alternate link)  

'Notoriety Cheaply Bought': The 79th Pa Becomes 'The Dare Devil Regiment'

 A Union Army Company (Mathew Brady, National Archives)
This is another company of the Army of the Ohio (Co. A, 9th Indiana), which was not connected to the incident described in this post.

January 17 marked the 150th anniversary of the first time soldiers from the 79th Pennsylvania were fired upon.  Unfortunately, it was by other Union soldiers who did not recognize the detachment of the 79th Pennsylvania led by Captain William G. Kendrick.  Fortunately, nobody was hurt and Kendrick's men barely even noticed the volley from afar.

The events leading up to this situation were part of a two-day adventure into the Kentucky countryside by Companies A, B, and F in pursuit of Confederate cavalry that was harassing the farthest advance of the Union picket line.  Kendrick's expedition included dramatically charging across an open field against a woodlot that turned out to be devoid of Rebels, saving over a hundred cords of wood which Confederates had tried to burn on their retreat, arresting a "noted secessionist", and interacting with civilians surprised to see Union troops for the first time.  

The three companies' actions led to a general alarm (spread by a frightened farmer) in McCook's whole division and sent the regiments of Camp Wood scurrying, some apparently in retreat.  Capt. Kendrick wrote a colorful letter of to his wife about the incident, and reported the Col. Hambright responded by double-quicking the rest of the regiment down the road to save his senior captain and three companies.  When everything was sorted out, Gen. Negley and his staff thought the whole incident was hilarious,"laughing at the devilish uproar we raised."  Judge Caines met Kendrick and told him "he was satisfied [Kendrick] was caught at last and Company A was a goner."  Kendrick concluded that "I think this will give me some notoriety cheaply bought as our Regiment has bin called the Dare Devil Regiment."  (WGK, 1/18/1862)

Kendrick's prediction turned out incorrect as a special correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette at Munfordville reported on the incident as follows, casting a negative light on bravery of the Lancaster County Regiment: 

Four companies of the 79th Pennsylvania were sent out to make a reconnoisance to Horse Cave. Arriving at that point, they heard firing, which seemed to come from their rear, when they suddenly conceived the idea that it was the enemy, and that they were likely to be cut off. This was enough. It is believed the Pennsylvanians became panic stricken. At Horse Cave, where the railroad and turnpike diverge part took the turnpike and part the railroad, coming together again at Rowlett's station. Which party it was that despatched the courier is not clear--most likely the party that returned by the pike. Judge of the mutual surprise when they met at Rowlett's. It was supposed that the firing was on the left, and played the will-o'-the-wisp caper which so frightened the Pennsylvanians. In the hurried retreat of the Pennsylvanians they scattered the report that the enemy was approaching to attack us.

One of the Pennsylvania soldiers wrote a phrase-by-phrase retort to be published in the Louisville Journal, a copy of which appeared in Franklin County's Semi-Weekly Dispatch--available online here as part of the Valley of the Shadow Project.

Another source of information about the incident is Lieut. Lyman G. Bodie, originally an officer in Company A who had become the regiment's adjutant by this point.  Bodie wrote this letter published as a rare letter from the Lancaster County Regiment in the January 29, 1862, Examiner and Herald: (alternate link)

Better Know an Officer: Capt. William G. Kendrick

Capt. William G. Kendrick (WGK)

Name:  Capt. William G. Kendrick, Company A, 79th Pennsylvania (later a 14th Corps staff officer)

Born:  August 26, 1815, Cecil County, Maryland

Died:  February 10, 1897, Fort Wayne, Indiana

Pre-war Life:  Sailor from 1837 to 1847.  Married Anna Louise Stoddart in 1849 in Delaware and had several children.  Supervised bricklaying contract for Lancaster County Courthouse.  Local government connections.  

Post-war Life:  Architect in Lancaster.  Moved to Springfield, Ohio, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he died.   

Key Events: Captured with men by Morgan's raiders while on work detail in May 1862.  Battle of Chickamauga.  

On the battlefield, very few men acted like they had less to lose that Capt. William G. Kendrick, but when it came to returning home to their families few men acted like they were missing out on so much by being away in the army.  Kendrick, the senior captain of the 79th Pennsylvania and seemingly Col. Hambright's right-hand man, made a name for himself as a daredevil: first when narrowly escaping cannibals while sailing around the world, then as a captain in the 79th Pennsylvania, and later as a staff officer to Brig. Gen. James Negley of the 14th Corps.       

Fortunately, Kendrick left behind one of the best collections of private letters related to the 79th Pennsylvania, which his descendents have published and made available <here> (warning: file size is very large).  Kendrick writes to his wife with extreme self-confidence regarding his competence as a leader, his favored status among Col. Hambright's line officers, and a bluntness about those he deems poor officers. His letters recounting his close calls in battles and the risks he took on independent expeditions must have terrified his wife.  I'd call him arrogant or narcissistic, but he has some pretty good letters of recommendation in his file to back him up, including one from Gen. George H. Thomas.  Kendrick also writes openly about homesickness and the emotional challenges of leaving his wife and young children and going off to war.

Louisa Stoddart Kendrick (WGK)

Kendrick appears to have had talents in the building trades which he employed during the building boom of the 1850s in Lancaster.  Searching the Lancaster Intelligencer for his name during the 1850s gives some of the details of work he supervised, including a contract for $8,800 to do the brick masonry work for the Lancaster County Courthouse.  Before the war, it also appears Kendrick was active in Lancaster City's Know Nothing Party during the 1850s before getting in trouble for some breaching some secret related to the order.  The economic downtown appears to have hit Kendrick hard though, as he repeatedly states that we would resign as soon as he had enough money to stabilize his family's situation.

Lancaster County Courthouse, built 1852-5.  (Source and info)

Highlights of Kendrick's tenure as officer included dining with Confederate cavalryman John Hunt Morgan after a telegraph detail Kendrick led was captured by him in 1862, working hard as a staff officer during the Battle of Chickamauga, and then supposedly giving up a cot he found to Gen. Thomas the night after the 14th Corps made its famous stand at Chickamauga.  Earlier in the war, Kendrick led a detachment of the 79th Pennsylvania on a daylong expedition into the countryside, and the next post will focus on the excitement that resulted from the excursion.

'Three Days in Camp': A Newspaper Editor's Visit

J. M. Willis Geist, editor of the Daily Evening Express
From Ellis and Evans' 1883 History of Lancaster County

A strong theme that quickly emerges when researching the 79th Pennsylvania is the deep connection between the regiment and the hometown newspapers, especially the Daily Evening Express--the only daily paper at the way's onset and predecessor to the New Era (see examples of printing work here).  Its editor, J. M. Willis Geist (bio), started the paper in 1856 around the same time he was involved with starting Lancaster County's Republican Party.  Throughout the war, soldiers continuously requested their friends in Lancaster forward copies of the Express, and many of the regiment's diarists note regular arrival of the Express in camp.

Allegheny Arsenal, Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh, PA
Just up the street from Camp Wilkins (Source)

Shortly after Col. Hambright's regiment left Lancaster, Geist traveled to spend three days, October 12-14, with the regiment in camp.  When he returned, he published the following account posted below in the October 16, 1861, Express (alternate link).  I truncated the company rosters mentioned in the account and will post them on another occasion.

On to Pittsburg

From What a Boy Saw in the Army

Between October 5 and 8, 1861, special trains filled with Col. Hambright's volunteers departed Lancaster to cheers and good wishes of many citizens of Lancaster.  Although some companies briefly rendezvoused at Harrisburg, the regiment's destination was Pittsburgh.  A post tomorrow will feature a letter by one of the soldiers of Company E recounting the scenes in Lancaster and their journey.

The journey was largely without incident.  The Express's editors, who generally supported Temperance causes, lamented in an article entitled, "Disgraceful," that a few hotel keepers in Lancaster threw open their doors to the volunteers and offered complimentary liquor.  Speaking of the saloon owners, the Express wrote: 

If they were prompted to this step under the belief that they were doing the soldier a service they made a deplorable mistake.  When about to leave home an friends for the uncertainties of the battle field, we know that there are many feeling revolving in the heart of the soldier; and the fiery cup, when proffered in supposed friendship, its contents are swallowed down thoughtlessly.  No greater wrong could be done the soldier than to place the poisoned chalice to his lips on the eve of his departure from home.  (10/7/1862)

Capt. William G. Kendrick of Company A, the "Jackson Rifles,"--Col. Hambright's most trusted company and the first to leave Lancaster--had a similar experience.  His first letter home to his wife, written from "Camp Hambright" in Harrisburg on October 6, began:

My Soldier Life has now begun.  A terrible day I had of it yesterday.  Nearly the whole company was about half drunk or stupid, which gave me a delightful day of it.  I fear we will not soon meet again.  We are about to strike our tents now for Pittsburg.  (Kendrick Letters)

Here are newspaper accounts related to the regiment's departure from October 5, 7, and 8, 1861 in the Daily Evening Express: (alternate link)

Recruiting Update

"Recruiting in New York, August 1861" Harper's Weekly September 7, 1861

It's been a couple weeks since my last update on recruiting for Colonel Hambright's regiment, so let's go back a little to an update that appeared in the August 26, 1861, Daily Evening Express. (alternate link) For those unfamiliar with how Civil War armies were structured, a regiment was the basic unit of operation on the battlefield with an ideal strength of 1,000 men. It was comprised of ten companies with 100 men each. Companies were the basic unit of recruiting, and men from each company tended to be from the same hometown or from two or three villages.



And from the August 27, 1861, Daily Evening Express: (alternate link)



Here are some company-by-company notes about the regiment:

• As mentioned in the article, Captain Kendrick's company was filled largely with men from the Jackson Rifles.  More on Captain Kendrick in the future and his company, which became Company A.
• Capt. Seaver never went off to war, but his company of German-speaking men going off to fight under Lieut. Klein as Company F.  According to the article, both of the officers fought in the failed Revolution of 1848 under later Union General Franz Sigel.  Seeing the company described as the "German Sharpshooters," I wonder if they had any connection to popular German shooting clubs of the 1850s and 1860s that occasionally were mentioned in newspapers. 
• The company mentioned being recruited by Capt. Haines might have ended up going off to war with the 45th Pennsylvania led by Col. Thomas Welsh of Columbia. 
• Lieut. Michael Locher, operator of a billiard saloon on Centre Square, ended up leading Company H.
• Capt. Duchman's company later became Company B.
• The other companies mentioned did not end up joining the 79th Pennsylvania, and that's another story for another time, probably related to the article's last couple paragraphs about the chaotic process of organizing companies and assigning them to regiments.

So, as of August 27, we're looking at the origins of four of the companies of what would become the 79th Pennsylvania being accounted for.  More updates to come.

See also:
It's Official: Raise a Regiment