Prisoners of War

It is very difficult, perhaps impossible, to determine precise numbers of Civil War casualties, whether it be soldiers killed or wounded in battle, or the number of men taken prisoner and held in captivity. Anyone who has studied the Civil War in depth can attest to this.

Joseph Gould, in his regimental history of the 48th PA, wrote that throughout the four years of the Civil War, just 46 soldiers of the regiment were taken prisoner and held in captivity, while 28 of them died as a prisoner of war. A look at the company rosters, however, reveal that Gould's numbers, on both counts, were too low.

I have found that 98 soldiers from the 48th Pennsylvania were captured in battle and held for a time in Confederate prisoner-of-war camps. Of this number, 31 died while in captivity, or 32%. It should be noted that these men were all captured from late 1863 through April 1865. Prisoners taken previous to this time were either quickly paroled or exchanged, but by 1863, with the cessation of the prisoner exchange program, those unfortunate enough to be captured were forced to sit out the war in one of the many hellish prison camps.

Several soldiers were captured at the battle of Knoxville in November 1863, while eleven more were taken during the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. In the many attacks against Petersburg, including the final one on April 2, 1865, 27 soldiers from the 48th were taken prisoner. Most of the regiment's prisoners, however, fell into captivity at the battle of Pegram's Farm on September 30, 1864. Here, at least 42 soldiers of the 48th were taken prisoner and all of these men were subsequently confined at Salisbury Prison in North Carolina. The others were held at Andersonville Prison in Georgia, with the exception of one, who died in Libby Prison.

What follows is a list of those soldiers from the 48th who died as prisoners of war.

Andersonville Prison, Georgia

The following soldiers died at Andersonville:

Frank Boyer

Private, Co. E; 23 years old; laborer; Captured at Cold Harbor, VA, 6/12/1864; Died 8/17/1864 of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #5969

J. Braney

Private, Co. K; Died July 7, 1864 of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #3027

James Brennan

Corporal Co. E; 38 years old; coal miner; Died Date Unknown

Isaac Fetterman

Private, Co. H; 18 years old; laborer; Died September 8, 1864 of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #8175

Edward Gallagher

Private, Co. A; 2o years old; coal miner; Died on August 21, 1864, of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #6859

James McElrath

Private, Co. C; 21 years old; laborer; Captured at Knoxville, 11/1863; Died July 12, 1864, of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #3017

J. Meese

Private, Co. A; Died October 4, 1864, of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #10306

Daniel Root

Private, Co. B. 26 years old; boatman; Captured at Knoxville, 11/1863; Died September 14, 1864, of chronic diarrhea; Buried in Grave #8742

Salisbury Prison, North Carolina

The following soldiers died at Salisbury, Prison:

Walter P. Aims

Corporal, Co. D; 21 years old; Captured at Cold Harbor, VA, 6/6/1864; Confined at Salisbury Prison, and died on August 12, 1865, from the effects of his imprisonment

Joseph Cobus

Private, Co. I; 19 years old; laborer; a native of Germany; Wounded and Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died on October 4, 1864

Michael Condron

(Pictured Above)

Corporal, Co. C; 25 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died of starvation 11/30/1864

Patrick Crowe

Private, Co. I; 19 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died on November 19, 1864

Elijah DeFrehn

Private, Co. F; 31 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, 9/30/1864; Died December 30, 1864

Charles F. Dintinger

Private, Co. C; 18 years old; teamster; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died November 1864

Joseph Finley

Private, Co. F; 19 years old; laborer; a native of Ireland; Captured at Pegram's Farm, 930/1864; Died

January 22, 1865

William Fulton

Private, Co. F; 42 years old; coal miner; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died February 12, 1865

Henry C. Graeff

Sergeant, Co. D; 21 years old; student; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, and Confined at Salisbury Prison; Died at his home in Pottsville on March 29, 1865, from the effects of his imprisonment

Nicholas Gross

Private, Co. G; 37 years old; watchmaker; a native of Prussia; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864, and Confined at Salisbury, Prison; Died on March 12, 1865, of chronic diarrhea, in Annapolis, MD, the effect of his imprisonment

John Hammer

Private, Co. B; 36 years old; coal miner; a native of Germany; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died on 11/12/1864

Philip Heffron

Private, Co. H; 19 years old; laborer; a native of Ireland; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died on November 25, 1864 of starvation

William H. Kohler

Private, Co. F; 18 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died Date Unknown

Edward McGinnis

Private, Co. E; 18 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died on November 17, 1864

David Miller

Private, Co. F; 22 years old; coal miner; a native of Scotland; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864, and Confined at Salisbury Prison; Died November 6, 1864, in Annapolis, MD, from the effects of his imprisonment

Joshua Reed

Private, Co. G; 29 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864, and Confined at Salisbury Prison; he died at his home in Barry Township from the effects of his imprisonment

Samuel Shollenberger

Private, Co. A; 18 years old; carpenter; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died on January 16, 1865

Lewis Sterner

Private, Co. A; 21 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Confined at Salisbury Prison and Died on April 11, 1865, at Tamaqua from the effects of his imprisonment

George Welsh

Private, Co. B; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died February 6, 1865 of starvation

Michael Welsh

Private, Co. F; 19 years old; laborer; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died Date Unknown

Jacob Wigner

Private, Co. B; 18 years old; machinist; Captured at Pegram's Farm, VA, 9/30/1864; Died on January 1, 1865

Other:

George A. Livingston

Private, Co. A; 28 years old; boatman; Captured at Knoxville, 11/1863; Died in Libby Prison, Richmond, VA, on February 14, 1864