The 48th/150th: Burnside Arrives!

Burnside's Fleet Arrives From Fortress Monroe

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"On or about the 12th of January, 1862," said regimental historian Joseph Gould, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania, stationed at Camp Winfield, Hatteras Island, North Carolina, "were surprised, on answering the Reveille Call, to see, far out upon the broad Atlantic, first one ship, then another and another, until the ocean seemed full of ships."

What the men of the 48th were seeing was the vast fleet carrying troops assembled by Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside to invade North Carolina by sea, and secure its coastline for the Union. Federal troops had already been stationed at Hatteras since August 1861, including the 48th Pennsylvania, which had helped secure the island since November. In late 1861, General-in-Chief George McClellan persuaded Lincoln to launch an amphibious effort to capture key Confederate forts on Roanoke Island and venture inland toward New Bern and he selected to lead the operation his good friend Ambrose Everett Burnside, who immediately began recruiting regiments for the undertaking. He focused on regiments from New England, and on men familiar with life at sea. In all, Burnside pieced together a force consisting of three brigades, led by Generals John Foster, Jesse Reno, and John Parke. This force was the genesis of what would in the summer of 1862 become the Ninth Army Corps, to which the 48th Pennsylvania would also be attached.

Brigadier General Ambrose E. Burnside

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In January 1862, the vast fleet carrying Burnside's force set sail from Fortress Monroe, heading south toward the Carolina coastline, where they were to land at Hatteras Inlet. Joseph Gould describe the fleet as it arrived:

"The coast of Hatteras at the best is stormy, dangerous and treacherous, even in fair weather; but, when this fleet arrived, the ocean was unusually stormy and anchorage was difficult, hence the individual ships were tossed about like toys, frequently dragging their cables, and, for safety, 'running before the gale.' With what interest, from our safety on shore, did we, from the roof of the barracks, watch the appearing and disappearing vessels and feel for the safety of the troops we knew to be on board. With the abatement of the storm, with what joy and pleasure did we watch their reassembling in something like naval order. At night, this large aggregation of ships, lit 'from stern to stern' with varied colored lights, resembled a large city in the midst of the ocean, the lights dancing with the rise and fall of the ships, reminding the beholder of so many 'Jack-O-Lanterns' or 'Will-O-The-Wisps.' Between the ocean and the Pamlico Sound a strong, shallow, and constantly shifting sand-bar exists, making it difficult and exceedingly dangerous for vessels to attempt to enter the sound, even at full tide, but impossible for ships of large draft at low tide.

"Many of the vessels grounded on the bar during the attempt. Thus, this beautiful sight lasted for nearly a week, gradually diminishing as ship after ship essayed the passage. At last, all had disappeared and the 48th saw the fleet pass up the sound to Roanoke Island, some of the regiments that had, with the 48th, garrisoned Hatters, accompanying the expedition. In a few days, the roar of the heavy guns was heard, as the gunboats bombarded the rebel forts, and soon the glad news reached us that 'Roanoke Island was captured.' The 48th had no individual share in this glory, except that the capture was effected by troops with whom our future lot was cast for four strenuous years."

The 48th/150th: Thoughts on General Thomas Williams. . .

Brigadier General Thomas Williams
(www.generalsandbrevets.com)

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During first winter of the American Civil War, the 48th Pennsylvania found themselves encamped at either Fort Clark or Fort Hatteras on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. For these Pennsylvanians, this winter must have been much different than those they were accustomed to in Schuylkill County. At Hatteras, the volunteers learned the trade of the soldier, and overseeing the post was a non-nonsense U.S. Regular, Brigadier General Thomas Williams.

Williams was born on January 16, 1815, in Albany, New York, though his family soon moved to Michigan. His father, General John Williams, served for a time as mayor of Detroit. Following in his father's footsteps, young Thomas took an interest in military affairs and even served as a private in the Black Hawk War. He next entered West Point, graduating twelfth in a class of fifty, and alongside such future Civil War notables as Braxton Bragg, Jubal Early, William French, John Sedgwick, John Pemberton, and Joseph Hooker. Williams fought creditably in Mexico, earning several brevet promotions for gallantry in action, and after the war, advanced steadily to the rank of captain.

With the outbreak of civil war, Williams was made Major of the 5th U.S. Artillery then given the rank of brigadier general of volunteers. In that capacity, he was sent to Hatteras where he was named post commander. Afterward, he fought alongside Federal land and naval forces in the capture of New Orleans. On August 5, 1862, during the siege of Baton Rouge, Williams was shot through the chest at killed. His remains were taken back to Detroit, where they were laid to rest in Detroit's Elmwood Cemetery.

Williams's Final Resting Place
(www.findagrave.com)

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Williams certainly left an impression on the soldiers of the 48th during his tenure in command of Hatteras. Joseph Gould recorded his thoughts in his regimental history: "General Thomas Williams. . .came upon the scene to make our lives miserable, as we believed, by inaugurating five drills per day. Later we thought better of him as we grew older, and as we learned that the extra drills and discipline he enforced upon us did a great amount of good when we were called upon to assume the heavy work attending the life we had chosen, many were the expressions of sorrow from the boys of the regiment when news came of his death."

Oliver Bosbyshell had more to say about Williams, and recorded some memorable moments:

"The post was commanded by the veteran, Brigadier General Thomas Williams, U.S.A., and those who had the experience of serving under him, well remember his severe discipline. There probably was no one man ever more heartily hated than this same General Williams by the members of the Forty-eighth. He was abused roundly every day for his tyrannical orders, rigid discipline, frequent calls for duty, severe guard regulations, excessive drills, thorough inspections, and the like. He issued an order depriving the regiment of the every day use of its flags. This seemed so harsh and uncalled for that all the denunciatory terms in the dictionary were poured upon his head. When least expected he would turn up, and woe betide the soldier found derelict. It is easy to remember the constant vigilance of the old General as he paced the front of his quarters, one hand supporting his coat-tail, the other twirling his stiff, wiry moustache, whilst his watchful eyes would detect a slouchy sentinel, and then, 'Orderly, send the officer of the guard to me.'

"The senior captain of the Forty-eighth, making his report as officer of the day, with his arms folded majestically across his breast, broke down in the middle of his narration by General Williams' peremptory order, 'Put down your hands, sir!' Down they dropped, little fingers on the seams of the trousers. Seven days after arriving at Hatteras, whilst enjoying the ills of the island to its full extent, at Fort Clarke, a review of the regiment was ordered. As the maneuvering had to be made in sand ankle deep, it was a rather laborious undertaking, especially as the General required the review to be in heavy marching order. The eighth corporal of 'G' was a stout little fellow, noted for carrying the largest and fullest knapsack in the regiment. He bore the marching in review at common time, and then at quick time with some equanimity, but when the order came to 'Pass in review, double quick time,' his patience was exhausted, and as he trotted with gun at a 'right-shoulder-shift,' his left arm supporting his great knapsack, he gave vent to his feelings at every step, by hissing through his closed teeth, 'White-livered-son-of-a-_____,' 'White-livered-son-of-a______.'

"The General had few friends those early days on Hatteras, but as the weeks went by each day developed the fact that beneath the rough exterior and austere demeanor, beat a heart of true devotion to the old flag, a heart overflowing with love and regard for his soldiers. His strict discipline made the regiment a body of well-trained soldiers. Revering the flag with a feeling akin to holy awe, he sought to inculcate the same reverential feeling in the men, and whenever the standard was brought out the ceremonies attending its reception were of the most dignified and lofty character.

"When he received his orders to proceed to Ship Island, the writer happened to be standing beside him on the ramparts of Fort Hatters. 'What,' he exclaimed, 'am I to go there and leave all these noble boys? What shall I do without them?' He was a true man and thorough soldier, and died where such a veteran would wish to die--on the field--at the battle of Baton Rouge. As the colonel of the Twenty-first Indiana was being borne severely wounded, from the front, General Williams rode up to that regiment and said: 'Boys, your field officers are all gone; I will lead you.' Almost immediately afterward a rifle bullet pierced his chest, and he fell a corpse.

"The War of the Rebellion brought so many men into prominence through great deeds, grandly accomplished, that there is danger of forgetting the patient, earnest, loyal soldiery of the regular army, whose trained officers did so much as schoolmasters in bringing the raw material, gathered from all over the North, into shape for such stern work as war.
"General Williams was one of these, and deserves a place upon the same plane with the most honored heroes of the great struggle."

The 48th/150th: A New Year's Flag For Company B

New Year's Day, 1862, found the 48th Pennsylvania encamped along the sandy shores of North Carolina. The men had been soldiers for just over three months and had yet to experience any combat; however, the year ahead--1862--would witness some of the hardest action of the war for these Schuylkill County volunteers, beginning with a supporting role at New Berne, but continuing at 2nd Bull Run (which proved the costliest battle of the war for the 48th), Chantilly, South Mountain, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. For scores of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers who welcomed in the New Year at either Fort Clark or Fort Hatteras in North Carolina, 1862 would be their last year; hundreds more would fall wounded or be debilitated by diseases in the months ahead.

The soldiers of Company B, commanded by Captain James Wren, welcomed in the New Year in ceremonial fashion; having received a flag as a gift from the citizens of Schuylkill County, they gathered to raise it over the ramparts of Fort Clark. The ceremony was recorded in the Miners' Journal for the people of the county:

"Company B of the 48th Regiment, Penna. Volunteers, being the recipients of a handsome flag, furnished them by your generosity, set apart New year's day to the hoisting of it upon Fort Clark, which pleasing ceremony was performed in the presence of Col. James Nagle, Major Daniel Nagle, the Chaplain of the Regiment, and the members of Company D amid a multitude of cheers and cries of 'long may it wave.' After the flag had been spread to the breeze, Col. Nagle and our worthy Captain made some appropriate remarks, which were attentively listened to, after which the Chaplain led in a patriotic prayer. The committee on resolutions then withdrew and formulated the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:

Resolved: That we, officers and men of Company 'B,' to offer our sincere thanks to the citizens of Schuylkill County for their extreme kindness in bestowing upon us such a beautiful emblem of our country.

Resolved: That the members of Co. 'B' in gratitude to the donors, do hereby repledge their word of honor, that they will ever be true to the Flag of Our Country, which has so ruthlessly been trampled upon by rebellious feet, in defense of which they will shed their lifeblood if necessary.

Resolved: That the members of Co. 'B' will make this flag the special object of their pride and care, so long as it shall remain in their power.

Resolved: That a copy of these resolutions be sent to the Miners' Journal for publication, through which medium our friends may be made acquainted with our doings, etc.

Serg't Jno. Geo. Bossler

" Wm. Humes

Committee on Resolutions

[Photo: Captain James Wren, Company B, USAMHI]

The 48th/150th: Hatteras~Part Two

Union Soldiers Drill at Camp Winfield~Hatteras, North Carolina

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"Our first impressions of Hatteras were not favorable," wrote regimental historian Joseph Gould. "When we relieved the 20th Indiana Regiment, which had previously occupied the post, and saw their deplorable condition, heard their tales of woe and had some experience with the troops--of bugs and things they left to our care--we certainly felt despondent, and 'many a time and oft' wondered 'why we came for a soldier.' However, after spending some weeks on the sandy shores, the soldiers of the 48th, spending their first Christmas and New Year's Day in uniform, far from Schuylkill County, they grew to love Hatteras. Said Gould fondly, "we learned to love the old place in time, and often in our after experience we wished we were back. . . ."

While Company B, commanded by Captain James Wren, remained at Hatteras Inlet to garrison Forts Hatteras and Clark, the remaining nine companies enjoyed more comfortable wooden barracks quarters at Camp Winfield, a few miles further up the island, which was constructed by the men of the 48th shortly after their arrival. "A large earthwork had been erected by the regiment," said Gould, "and it was a very formidable looking structure. We never had any occassions to use it, and our idea at the time of its construction was that it was done to keep us employed."

Drills became more frequent as the days continued to pass on Hatteras. In charge of the area was General Thomas Williams, a career soldier, afterwards killed at the battles for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Williams was a tough, no-nonsense officer. He "came upon the scene," remembered Gould, "to make our lives miserable. . .by inaugurating five drills per day." But his work in transforming the volunteers into soldiers paid off. "Later we thought better of him as we grew older," admitted the regimental historian, "and as we learned that the extra drills and discipline he enforced upon us did us a great amount of good when we were called upon to assume the heavy work attending the life we had chosen." When the soldiers of the 48th learned of his death, there were "many expressions of sorrow."

Brigadier General Thomas Williams

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Wallking In The Footsteps of the 48th. . .With Mr. Siegfried

One of the most memorable highlights of this past year at Antietam. . .my sixth, if you count my first year as a volunteer. . .was walking in the footsteps of the 48th Pennsylvania with Mr. David Siegfried, a direct descendant of the regiment's commander at Antietam, Lt. Col. Joshua K. Sigfried.

Brevet Brigadier General Joshua Sigfried

Born on July 4, 1832, in my own hometown of Orwigsburg, Joshua Sigfried attended school at the Pottsville Academy then found work with the coal business in neighboring Port Carbon. In the pre-war years, Sigfried organized the Marion Rifles, a militia company that would later serve under Colonel James Nagle in the three-month 6th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. With the expiration of this initial term of service in late July 1861, Sigfried helped in raising what would become the 48th Pennsylvania, recruiting many of the members of the Marion Rifles plus more volunteers from the Pottsville/Port Carbon area. When the 48th was organized in September/October 1861, Sigfried was the regiment's major but the resignation of Lt. Col. David Smith would soon elevate Sigfried to that rank, making him the regiment's second-in-command. When Colonel Nagle was elevated to brigade command in April 1862, Sigfried assumed command of the 48th, which he would lead until the spring of 1864, and at such places as 2nd Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and during the regiment's campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee. In April 1864, Major General Ambrose Burnside, recognizing the leadership qualities of Sigfried, named him a commander of a brigade of United States Colored Troops (U.S.C.T.), a brigade he would subsequently lead during the Battle of the Crater.

With Mr. Siegfried at the 48th PA Monument

This fall, I had the distinct privilege of taking one of General Sigfried's descedants on a tour of the 48th's actions at Antietam. We spent three hours walking in the footsteps of the 48th, from their supporting operations during the attacks on the Burnside Bridge to their movement to the front late that afternoon to help stem the tide following A.P. Hill's flank assault. Meeting descendants of 48th PA soldiers is always, always a great thrill for me, and after spending years conversing by letter, it was great to finally Mr. David Siegfried and an honor to stomp the battlefield of Antietam with him and his wife. Just like meeting the Dentzer siblings last summer, whose ancestors fought and died as soldiers in Company K, 48th PA, this will rank among my most memorable experiences at Antietam.

Antietam's Memorial Illumination. . .Few Things Are More Profound

Tonight, a candle will burn on the Antietam National Battlefield in honor of George Dentzer, a twenty-five-year-old private in Company K, 48th Pennsylvania, and a one time railroad laborer from Cressona. On September 17, 1862, Dentzer was killed in action near the Burnside Bridge.

Private George Dentzer, Co. K, 48th PA

Another will burn in tribute to Private Alexander Prince, a nineteen-year-old laborer from St. Clair, just outside of the Schuylkill County seat of Pottsville. Prince survived the carnage on September 17, only to be struck down and killed the following day while trying to save the life of a wounded comrade. The soldiers of the 48th spent most of September 18 on the firing line, subjected to a sometimes heavy skirmish fire. In between shots the cries of the wounded rent the air. The pleas from one soldier were too much for Prince to bear. At 12:15, he crawled forward on his hands and knees despite the protests from his fellow soldiers in order to take water to a grievously wounded man. Prince delivered his canteen, turned around, and began to crawl his way back to the skirmish line when the wounded soldier begged to be carried back. Prince’s comrades on the skirmish line watched as the young soldier turned back and lifted the man on his back. Suddenly, a shot rang out and Prince fell dead. “Whilst humanely trying to give a wounded comrade just over the skirmish line some water for his parched lips,” recorded Bosbyshell, “a minie ball pierced his heart. His death cry as he leaped into the air, and fell to rise no more, is still heard in the ear of imagination.” Captain Wren concluded that “through his kindness [Prince] lost his own life.”
Prince’s comrades were stunned; most of them no doubt outraged that he had been shot down while trying to save a wounded man. As the hours passed that afternoon, Prince’s body lay just to their front. “We dare not go into to him as the enemy had range on that ground & we was very ancious to get his Body,” wrote Wren. Unable to stand looking at the young soldier’s corpse, some members of the regiment finally crawled forward and were able to bring it in. “I had [the body] taken down to the Bridge & had it Buried in the field near the Bridge,” said Wren, “whear we had the struggle for to get across.” The following morning, Captain Wren met with Alexander Prince’s brother, an artilleryman in the Ninth Corps. “He told me he saw his Brother before he was Buried & I was glad he had seen him, even if he was dead. I gave him his pocket book, which contained $1.30 Cents in money & 3 rings & 5 buttons which I gave to him & also the Bible, he showed me a few days ago & he got his Knapsack yesterday & he being his nearest friend, is entitled to it.”

That same day, Captain Wren also sent John Robinson’s knapsack to Robinson’s father in Pottsville, “Just as he had it packed when he was shot.” Like Prince, Private John Robinson, also just nineteen years of age, was shot on September 18. He suffered for a while but finally succumbed to his wounds in the weeks ahead.

Dentzer, Prince, and Robinson were three of the fifty-nine casualties suffered by the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry at the Battle of Antietam and tonight--December 3, 2011--at the twenty-second annual Memorial Luminaries, a candle will burn, lighting the darkness, for each of these fifty-nine soldiers either killed or mortally wounded.

Luminaries burn near the Maryland Monument at Antietam (NPS/Keith Snyder)

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More than 23,000 other luminaries will be lit, one for each of men, Union or Confederate, who fell either killed or wounded or went listed among the missing, during this costliest single-day battle of the American Civil War.

Tonight's event will be the seventh luminary I have had the pleasure to participate in, if only helping to park the vast procession of vehicles. Still, there are few more incredible sights to see than the night sky lit up over this hallowed ground by 23,110 candles. It is a number I say everyday at the battlefield, in my interpretation of the fight. It is an easy one to say, but an impossible number to imagine. Antietam's luminaries reveal just how tremendous a figure 23,110 actually is.

If you have not yet seen Antietam's luminaries for yourself, make it a point, one of these years, to do so.

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There were a total of fifty-nine casualties sustained by the 48th Pennsylvania at Antietam. Eleven of these men were killed or mortally wounded while the remaining forty-eight sustained non-fatal injuries. The names of these men follow:

Killed/Mortally Wounded :
Alexander Prince, Co. B
John Robinson, Co. B
Alva Jeffries, Co. D
John Sullivan, Co. D
Lt. William Cullen, Co. E
John Broadbent, Co. E
Charles Timmons, Co. G
Cpl. Lewis Focht, Co. I
Cpl. Daniel Moser, Co. K
George Dentzer, Co. K
Peter Boyer, Co. K

Wounded:
Company A:
Cpl. Henry H. Price
Charles Krieger
B.F. Dreibelbeis
George Betz
John Whitaker

Company B:
Matthew Hume
Frederick Knittle
Laurentus Moyer
John R. Simpson

Company C:
Sgt. William Clark
Sgt. Edward Monahan
Cpl. Samuel Wallace
Cpl. James Gribons
Robert Rodgers
James Horn
Henry Dersh
John Doughtery
John Shenk

Company D:
Cpl. Henry Rothenberger
George Artz
Walter Aimes
James Evans
George Stillwagon
Samuel Stichter
Franklin Hoch

Company E:
Sgt. John Seward
Sgt. William Trainer
Cpl. John McElrath

Company F:
Sgt. John Jenkins
Sgt. William Taylor

Company G:
Cpl. Charles F. Kuentzler
John Pugh
John Rodgers
Henry Nagle

Company H:
Richard Forney
Jacob Witman
Daniel Ohnmacht
William Davis
Samuel Fryberger

Company I:
Lt. Michael M. Kistler
Charles Millet
Peter Keller
Matthew Fireman

Company K:
David Fenstermaker
Edward Payne
Francis Simon
John Shaw
Sgt. Patrick Quinn

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Henry Rothenberger, Co. D

Daniel Ohnmacht, Co. I


Samuel Fryberger, Co. H

Henry H. Price, Co. A