The 48th/150th: May 12, 1864: Springtime Slaughter at Spotsylvania.

The rain fell heavily on the night of May 11, 1864 as the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac moved about in the wet darkness, taking up their assigned positions and preparing themselves for the morning attack. Soldiers of Hancock’s 2^nd Corps stood poised to assault the Confederate “Mule Shoe” salient; to their left went the soldiers of Burnside’s 9^th Corps. They were to strike the east side of that Mule Shoe while Hancock struck it head-on.

May 12, 1864, was a Thursday.

The morning, said Oliver Bosbyshell of the 48^th PA, was “an exceedingly foggy one.” The men were up early—very early. The regiments composing the Second Division of the 9^th Corps were formed up in two lines of battle. In the front line were the regiments of the Second Brigade; behind them, constituting the second line, went the soldiers of the First Brigade, including those of the 48^th Pennsylvania.

The men readied themselves as best they could for the attack; taking deep breaths, grabbing a quick bit to eat, wiping the dew from their muskets. . .and thinking of their loved ones back home in Schuylkill County. But no matter how well and how much they calmed their nerves and prepared for the attack, no one could have known just how deadly this day would become and just how many of those loved ones back home would, that day, lose a son, a husband, a brother, a father. . .

At 4:00 a.m., through the fog and through the trees, the soldiers of the Second Division stepped forward. Within half an hour they came under skirmish fire and by 5:00 a.m., said Bosbyshell, “the engagement became very hot.”

Kurz & Allison Depiction of the Battle of Spotsylvania

In front, soldiers of the 17^th Vermont slugged it out with Confederate soldiers from Georgia and North Carolina. The Granite State men were holding a position on top the crest of a hill. In front of this hillside was an open field and a swamp, through which ran a creek. On the opposite side of this creek, the ground rose once more and on top this second hill was the main Confederate line, the gray-and-butternut-clad soldiers well-positioned in their earthworks. To the left extended a thick woods, which ran beyond the swamp and toward the Confederate lines.

The 48^th Pennsylvania were in a reserve position on the second line, watching as the fighting continued to intensify to their front. Then the fateful orders came. Captain Gilbert McKibben of divisional commander Robert Potter’s staff galloped up to Colonel Henry Pleasants and personally directed the regiment forward, directing them to form up in line of battle. The Vermont men were running low on ammunition and soldiers were needed to relieve them on the front.

"The fog lifting," wrote Bosbyshell, "a party of rebels was discovered occupying the fork formed by the banks of the stream." Colonel John Curtin, commanding the brigade, ordered the 48th to advance and the men swept past the flank of the Vermonters and were able to cut off the Confederates' retreat. Several dozen men of the 13th Georgia fell into the Pennsylvanians' hands as prisoners of war. The rest of that regiment was "badly situated and fought desperately to resist the attack," admitted Bosbyshell, but the 48th "steadily maintained its position under a destructive fire of musketry and artillery."  Additional Confederate troops soon arrived and the morning fight in the lifting fog was growing "exceedingly lively." But the opposing fire would soon begin to slacken and one man of the 48th yelled out that the Confederates were trying to surrender. Pleasants responded by ordering his men to "Continue firing!" Then, in a wave, the Confederates threw down their arms and ran into the 48th's lines. The regiment captured 200 Confederate soldiers and had caused heavy loss, but their success of that morning would be tempered by heavy losses of their own later on that morning.

Bosbyshell did not write much about the late morning attack, noting only that the regiment "made another assault in the afternoon [it was around 11:00 a.m.], charging forward to the swamp, but being unsupported moved by the flank into the woods, around on to the crest of the hill occupying its former position." Regimental historian Joseph Gould also spoke but briefly on this struggle. However, It was during this second assault, which was made under "a most disastrous fire," that the regiment sustained its heaviest loss. When the smoke lifted and the shooting stopped, 128 soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania were either dead or wounded.

May 12, 1864
Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW

Among the slain was Lieutenant Henry Clay Jackson of Company G. He was a school teacher from St. Clair who had earned the love and respect of every man in the company; "an able and fearless officer," wrote Bosbyshell. Jackson had been captured at 2nd Bull Run, wounded at Fredericksburg, and wounded again at Knoxville. But on May 12, a bullet tore into his neck and within a matter of minutes he drew his last, painful breath.

Lewis Woods of Company F was also among those mortally wounded on May 12. Joseph Gould remembered paying a visit to a field hospital in the wake of the battle and there he was pained to discover Woods, whom he described as "a big, noble-hearted fellow," laying there in a cow stable "with his brains oozing from a ghastly bullet hole in his head." "As I took the gallant fellow's hand and asked him if he recognized me, his only reply was a smile," said Gould. It was at that moment that Gould's mind raced back to the previous year when the regiment was traveling via steamer from Newport News to Baltimore. Woods had fallen asleep on the deck and Gould, "in a moment of boyish deviltry," clipped off half of his mustache. Now, Gould watched as Woods's life ended in that bloody cow stable near Spotsylvania Court House.

Sergeant William Wells, also of Company F, remembered that just prior to the charge across the swampy ground, John Morrisey approached him and bade him goodbye. Asked why he said that, Morrisey replied that "I shall be killed today." "I chided him, and tried to cheer him up," said Wells, "then suggested that he remain out of the fight. . . .He indignantly refused, and said, 'I have never yet shirked my duty, and will not do it now. After I am dead, write to my sister, Mary, and tell her I died facing the enemy.'" Wells remembered that as soon as the assault began he saw Morrisey shot through the forehead and instantly killed. Later, Wells and a few comrades "dug a hole with the bayonet; wrapped [Morrisey] in his blanket and buried him. Then, upon a piece of cracker-box, we wrote, with a charred stick, his name, company and regiment." One year later, Wells was himself wounded outside Petersburg and was taken to a hospital in Chestnut Hill, PA. As a post-script and as a strange coincidence, while there Wells was visited by Mary Morrisey who was presumably a nurse at that hospital. "[F]inding my name among the new arrivals," said Wells, Mary "visited me, and I delivered [her brother's] dying message to her. She was a poor servant girl in the City of Philadelphia," related Wells, "but I shall never forget her distress."

From just these few examples above, it is clear that the fight at Spotsylvania and its terrible toll left indelible impressions upon the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania. It would prove one their worst battles of the war, at least in terms of numbers lost. The 48th sustained a higher number of casualties at 2nd Bull Run, but many of the 152 soldiers the regiment lost there on August 29, 1862, were either missing-in-action or captured and they would soon return to the regiment. At Spotsylvania, the regiment's casualties totaled 128 soldiers killed, wounded, and missing.

That night, the survivors did their best to recover from the savage contest. They built entrenchments and there, settled in for the night, mourning those lost. They would remain in these works for the next five days.

A listing of the regiment's casualties, sustained 150 years ago today, follows. . . .


Killed & Mortally Wounded: (25) 

--Louis M. Robinhold, Company A
--Isaac Otto, Company A
--John J. Huntzinger, Company A
--Charles A.T. St. Clair, Company A
--Sgt. William Kissinger, Company B
--Cpl. David Davis, Company B
--Matthew Hume, Company B
--Frederick Knittle, Company B
--Laurentus C. Moyer, Company B
--Daniel Wary, Company B
--John Deitz, Company B
--Michael Mohan, Company C (Died 5/20/1864)
--Cpl. John Powell, Company F (Died 5/26/1864)
--John Morrisey, Company F
--Lewis Woods, Company F
--Richard Williams, Company F
--Andrew Wessman, Company F
--Lt. Henry Clay Jackson, Company G
--James Spencer, Company G (Died 5/31/1864)
--John Armstrong, Company G 9Died 7/1/1864)
--William Williams, Company G
--Abraham Benscoter, Company H
--Joseph Chester, Company H (Died 5/24/1864)
--Henry J. Ege, Company I
--John W. Henn, Company K

Wounded: (92)

--Sgt. Albert C. Huckey, Co. A, Arm
--Cpl. Charles Brandenburg, Co. A, Knee
--Cpl. Jacob Honsberger, Co. A, Head (slight)
--Morgan Leiser, Co. A, Arm
--Benjamin F.C. Dreibelbeis, Co. A, Arm (slight)
--Charles Hillegas, Co. A, Back
--Sgt. Thomas Williams, Co. B, Concussion by Shell
--Gottleib Shauffler, Co. B, Wrist
--David Deitz, Co. B, Foot
--John Brown, Co. B, Head
--Henry Shoppell
--William Neeley, Co. C, Left Leg
--William J. Haines, Co. C, Side
--Murt Brennan, Co. C
--James Coakley, Co. C
--2nd Lt. Henry Stichter, Co. D, Back
--Sgt. Henry Rothenberger, Co. D, Shoulder
--Cpl. Edward Lenhart, Co. D, Arm
--James Deitrick, Co. D, Thigh and Hand (severe)
--Botto Otto, Co. D, Leg, Arm, and Toe
--Perry L. Strausser, Co. D, Right Hand
--George S. Beisel, Co. D, Leg
--William F. Moyer, Co. D, Shoulder
--John Kohler, Co. D, Chin
--Jonas Miller, Co. D, Arm
--Joseph Zeigler, Co. D, Shoulder
--Patrick Cooligan, Co. D, Head (slight)
--Andrew Knittle, Co. D, Leg
--Gustavus H. Miller, Co. D, Leg
--Henry Moyer, Co. D, Side
--Sgt. John McElrath, Co. E, Head
--Cpl. William J. Morgan, Co. E
--James McLaughlin, Co. E, Right Arm
--George W. Schaeffer, Co. E
--David Williams, Co. E, Foot (slight)
--W. Simmons, Co. E, Arm
--George W. James, Co. E, Leg
--W.C. James, Co. E, Arm
--James Meighan, Co. E, Thumb
--Robert Penman, Co. E, Arm
--Sgt. Richard Hopkins, Co. F, Hand (slight)
--William E. Taylor, Co. F, Hand
--Anthony Carroll, Co. F, Leg
--William S. Wright, Co. F
--James Brennan, Co. F, Abdomen
--Henry Holsey, Co. F, Leg
--William H. Kohler, Co. F, Back
--John Eddy, Co. F, Head
--Jno. T. Reese, Co. F, Arm
--John Crawford, Co. F, Head
--Augustus H. Whitman, Co. F, Leg
--Sgt. Richard M. Jones, Co. G, Head (slight)
--Cpl. George Farne, Co. G, Hand
--Patrick Cunningham, Co. G,
--M. Berger, Co. G, Left Arm
--Clay W. Evans, Co. G, Hand
--Patrick Grant, Co. G, Arm
--William Maurer, Co. G, Shoulder
--John Kautter, Co. G, Hand
--Patrick Savage, Co. G, Arm
--William Huber, Co. H, Arm
--Benjamin Koller, Co. H, Arm (slight)
--John Klineginna, Co. H, Eye
--Daniel Ohnmacht, Co. H, Arm (slight)
--Albert Davis, Co. H, Thigh
--John Stevenson, Co. H, Groin
--Michael Melarkee, Co. H, Right Shoulder
--Daniel Cooke, Co. H, Foot
--John Cruikshank, Co. H, Hand
--Michael O'Brien, Co. H
--Charles Focht, Co. H
--John Olewine, Co. H, Hand
--Joseph Edwards, Co. H, Finger
--Thomas Palmer, Co. H, Leg
--Sgt. Luke Swain, Co. I, Concussion of Shell, Arms and Legs
--Sgt. Jacob Ongstadt, Co. I, Head (slight)
--Cpl. Daniel Klase, Co. I, Thigh
--Cpl. Wesley Knittle, Co. I, Hip
--Charles Lindenmuth, Co. I, Face
--Francis Boner, Co. I, Leg
--Charles W. Horn, Co. I, Both Legs and Hand
--M. Dooley, Co. I, Both Legs
--W. Tyson, Co. I, Concussion, Head
--Charles DeLong, Co. I, Hip
--Cpl. George Weaver, Co. K, Breast
--David R. Dress, Co. K
--Elias Fenstermaker, Co. K, Finger
--Thomas Fogarty, Co. K, Finger
--Henry Schulze, Co. K, Body
--Franklin Ely, Co. K, Foot
--Simon Hoffman, Co. K, Foot
--Andrew Webber, Co. K, Breast

Missing In Action: (11)

--George Seibert, Co. C
--Edward Ebert, Co. D
--John D. Weikel, Co. D
--William Gottschall, Co. E
--George Kramer, Co. F
--Harrison Bright, Co. H--Returned 6/6/1864
--Michael Scott, Co. H
--Lewis Aurand, Co. H--Returned 6/6/1864
--James Wentzell, Co. H
--W.B. Beyerle, Co. I
--W.B. Shearer, Co. I

The 48th/150th: Roads South To Spotsylvania. . .

There would be no turning back.

By the morning of May 7, and after two days of slaughter in the thick Virginia wilderness, Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant determined that instead of the army falling back to lick its wounds, that it would side-step to the left, move to the south and, hopefully, get in between Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate capital of Richmond. That way, he reasoned, Lee could be drawn out in the open and forced to attack. His immediate objective was the crossroads village of Spotsylvania Court House. So, on the morning of May 7, with the Wilderness still aflame, Grant famously directed army commander George Meade to “Make all preparations during the day for a night march” to Spotsylvania.

Gouverneur Warren’s Fifth Corps led the way. Moving on a parallel track further to west, however, was Confederate General Richard Anderson’s First Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. Anderson’s men won the race to Spotsylvania and Grant’s way south was once more blocked. The stage was now set for a sanguinary two-week struggle at Spotsylvania.  Tens of thousands in blue and gray would fall. For the 48^th Pennsylvania, the upcoming butchery at Spotsylvania would prove to be one of their worst battles of the war, in terms of numbers lost. In the upcoming days--and especially on May 12--dozens of 48th PA soldiers would be killed or mortally wounded, dozens more would be injured.

From The Wilderness To Spotsylvania
(150spotsylvania.com)

For the moment, however, the soldiers of the 48^th remained encamped on a portion of the old Chancellorsville battlefield through Sunday, May 8. It was not until the afternoon of Monday, May 9, before the regiment marched away from Chancellorsville, leaving the burning embers of the Wilderness behind. Further ahead, elements of the Union Fifth and Sixth Corps had already become engaged with Confederate forces, along the Brock Road and atop Laurel Hill near Spotsylvania.

Piece-by-piece—corps by corps and division by division—the opposing armies arrived and took up their new battle formations.

On May 9, the 48th and the Ninth Corps arrived near Alsop’s House. The march continued through May 10 and May 11, as Burnside positioned his corps on the army’s far left, crossing, recrossing, and again crossing the Ny River and approaching to within a half mile of the Spotsylvania Court House, taking up a position to the left of Winfield Hancock’s Second Corps.

Grant attacked on May 10. He planned to strike again on the morning of May 12, and the 48th would be called into action.

Spotysylvania Court House
(NPS)





The 48th/150th: "It Was Hard To Determine Just How Our Army Was Fronting And The Lines Running:" May 7-8, 1864

May 7-8, 1864. . .Saturday/Sunday

The Wilderness. . .

Daylight on the morning of Saturday, May 7, revealed that the Confederates had abandoned their lines directly to the front of the 48th. A skirmish force was sent forward and few Confederate prisoners were rounded up, but no substantial enemy line was discovered. It was a quiet day, a relatively quiet day, at least. "On the 7th but little hard fighting was done as we were moving about all day for position," recorded regimental historian Joseph Gould, who added that in the thick Virginia wilderness "It was hard to determine just how our army was fronting and the lines running." Soldiers were marching back toward Fredericksburg; others back to Chancellorsville. Meanwhile, said Gould, "the woods were still burning from the effects of yesterday's fighting, and many of the wounded were burned to death ere they could be removed." The dead were buried and the wounded were placed on wagons, heading back toward Fredericksburg. When it was determined that there was no real danger to their front, the soldiers of the 48th helped to build and strengthen earthworks, and even though they were exposed to the fire of Confederate sharpshooters, the records show no injuries or deaths in the regiment on May 7.

A little after 12:00 noon on May 7, the regiment was pulled from its position and directed to a position between the Wilderness Tavern and the Spotswood House. It later marched east toward Chancellorsville and went into bivouac on the "old battlefield."

It remained there throughout the day on May 8.

The 48th/150th: "Through A Dense Wood, Almost Impenetrable. . ." The Wilderness: May 6, 1864

May 6, 1864. . .Friday

With the rest of the Ninth Corps, the 48th Pennsylvania crossed the Rapidan River on the morning of May 5, 1864, and marched toward Spotswood Tavern where the regiment went into bivouac. Only a detail of some 200 soldiers of the 48th--under the command of Captain Joseph Hoskings--witnessed any combat that Thursday in the Wilderness when they were detached from the regiment and sent to the army's far right flank, where they skirmished with Confederate troops.

One man--seventeen-year-old Private David Thiel of Company F, was killed.

After burying the remains of Private Thiel, Hoskings's contingent rejoined the 48th at their bivouac site. Heavier action awaited the 48th the following day.



Alfred Waud Depiction of the Battle of the Wilderness

In his regimental history, Oliver Bosbyshell recounted that it was "very early" on the morning of Friday, May 6, 1864, when the regiment advanced past the Old Wilderness Tavern and toward Parker's Store. While advancing, the soldiers of the 48th were deployed as skirmishers to cover the flanks of the brigade column as it winded its way to the front. After driving back some gray-and-butternut clad skirmishers, the regiment crossed a stream then fell back into line with the brigade. In line of battle, the 48th Pennsylvania advanced until they came under fire. "[T]he enemy was found," said Bosbyshell, "on the opposite side of an open field, drawn up in considerable force, and supplied with a battery." The two sides exchanged brisk volleys while the Confederate battery dropped shot and shell into the trees. The regiment crept forward to the edge of the woods but there, division commander Robert Potter received orders to pull back, turn left, and form up on the right of General Winfield Hancock's Second Corps, which was engaged near the Plank Road. (See Map Below) It was difficult for the men to make their way through the thick trees and underbrush. "This movement was made through a dense wood, almost impenetrable" explained Bosbyshell, "owing to the tangled underbrush." Finally reaching their newly-assigned position, the regiment once more formed into line on Hancock's right then moved forward to the attack. "[T]he attack was made where it was utterly impossible to see anything from the thickness of the woods. The enemy was posted on the opposite side of a swampy raving behind entrenchments. Sharp firing at very close range ensued, following by a savage charge, which brought the boys into the enemy's rifle pits in some places." Any success, however, was fleeting and soon, the regiment fell back, only to again charge forward. Some more ground was gained but, said Bosbyshell, "the enemy retained possession of their lines."

(Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW)

A lively firefight in the dense, thick woods was kept up until nightfall. When the fighting subsided, the 48th was sent forward, once more as a skirmish force, covering the entire division's front.

The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry was more seriously engaged on May 6 at the Wilderness than they were the previous day, and the casualties were heavier. Because of the relentless nature of the fighting that still lay ahead of the regiment, casualty reports from this period are sketchy and sometimes incomplete.

The following, however, were among those of the 48th who fell 150 years ago today, on May 6, 1864. . .

Killed/Mortally Wounded (5):
Private Daniel Brown, Company C
Private Jonathan Kauffman, Company D
Private Lawrence Farrell, Company E (Buried Fredericksburg National Cemetery).
Private Israel Manning, Company F (wounded May 6; died May 8 in Fredericksburg)
Private Benjamin McArdel, Company I

Wounded (6):
2nd Lieutenant William Clark, Company C, Left Hand (slight)
Sergeant Jonas Geiger, Company C, Leg
Corporal Samuel Clemens, Company E, Hand (slight)
Private John Becker, Company G, Foot
Private Adam Hendley, Company G, Neck (slight)
Private Samuel Fryberger, Company H

The 48th/150th: Into the Wilderness. . .

May 5, 1864. . .Thursday

Much of the Army of the Potomac was already south of the Rapidan River by the time Burnside's Ninth Corps crossed. As the 48th Pennsylvania made its way across, the advance elements of the two armies had already made contact to the west, in the thick Virginia wilderness. . .



(Map by Hal Jespersen, www.posix.com/CW)

While the 48th was not heavily engaged on that Thursday, May 5, a detail of 200 men broke away from the regiment, under orders to act as skirmishers on the army's far right flank. Captain Joseph Hoskings, of Minersville, was designated to lead this skirmish force. He afterward penned an account of their experiences that day in the tangled underbrush and thick trees that was the Wilderness:

Captain Joseph Hosking, Company F
(Courtesy Patriotic Order Sons of America)

"After crossing the Rapidan, a detail of 200 men was made and put under my command: Lt. Pollock, of G, and Lt. Eveland of A; Sergeant Al Huckey, of Company A, with a full complement of non-commissioned officers. The names of all but a few [of these 200] have escaped my memory. I recall Bob Reid and Clay Evans, Sandy Govan, David Thiel and Adam Hendley. We left the regiment and moved to our right, and in a very short time came into contact with a line of the enemy's skirmishers; they gave us a volley and their peculiar yell, expecting to start us on the back track; but, instead, we advanced and drove them out of the woods; and, on reaching the open field, we came to a halt. The enemy fell back to a rail fence, some fifty yards to our front, and there we held them until relieved by a Michigan regiment. We then moved to the rear and buried David Thiel, who had been killed in the advance. We then joined the main body of the regiment."



Private David Thiel was the first soldier of the 48th Pennsylvania to lose his life during the Overland Campaign, from the Wilderness to Petersburg. Sadly, he was also one of the youngest--and newest--soldiers in the regiment. Thiel was born in Northumberland County and was a shoemaker by trade--or at least he was training to become one, for, in February 1864, when he decided to leave his home and family to enlist in the ranks of the 48th, he was only seventeen years old. Thiel was mustered into service on February 24, 1864, as a private in Company F, 48th PA. He stood 5'6 1/4" in height, had a Light Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Brown Hair. Thiel had been a soldier for just 72 days when he was struck down and killed in the Virginia Wilderness 150 years ago today, on May 5, 1864. . . .

The 48th/150th: Back To The Front & Some Faces of the 48th. . .

150 years ago, and after a six-week's stay at Annapolis, the soldiers of the 48th Pennsylvania received orders to break camp and take up the line of march toward Washington. With winter gone a new campaign had dawned and the regiment, composed now of a solid core of hard-fighting veterans and hundreds of green recruits, was heading back to the front. The 48th marched away from Annapolis on April 23, 1864, and, by the following night, had arrived within six miles of the nation's capital; falling out of ranks, the regiment encamped that night along the Bladensburg Road. The march was resumed at 9:00 o'clock next morning--Monday, April 25--and a few hours later, the 48th was parading through the city, down Fourteenth Street and past Willard's Hotel, on what was a "very hot day." Marching past Willard's the soldiers' heads turned and looking up, they could not help but notice a "number of distinguished men" standing on the balcony. Ambrose Burnside, their beloved corps commander was there, as was President Abraham Lincoln, who had ventured out that morning to review the 9th Corps as it marched through the city. "All day long tramped the men of the Ninth Corps," wrote regimental historian Oliver Bosbyshell, "their splendid bearing calling forth enthusiastic cheers from the thousands of people gathered to witness the pageant."

Having been reviewed by the Commander-in-Chief, the 48th Pennsylvania marched across the Long Bridge and once more entered the enemy soil of Virginia. Spending the night and the next day near Alexandria, the regiment resumed the march on April 27, covering some twelve miles before breaking ranks and camping at Fairfax Court House. Fourteen more miles were covered the following day--April 28--and on April 29, the regiment arrived at Bristoe's Station. There they were mustered for pay and, there, they would remain until "the fateful Fourth of May, the commencement of Grant's great campaign," as Bosbyshell noted. That great campaign--from the Wilderness, through Spotsylvania, to the North Anna and Cold Harbor, and south to Petersburg--would prove to be especially deadly to the 48th Pennsylvania. Spending a few last quiet days at Bristoe Station, the men had no way of knowing that within the next seven weeks, some 300 of them would be dead or wounded.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

 

Photographs From Annapolis

 

 

During the 48th's stay at Annapolis in March-April 1864, many of the soldiers--particularly the new recruits--took the time to get their photographs taken.

 

The following are six CDV images from my personal collection of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers taken by various photographers in Annapolis in the spring of 1864. . . .

 

 

Private George Betz--Company A
Betz enlisted in August 1862 at the age of 18; a few weeks later, he was wounded at Antietam. Betz returned to the regiment and had this image taken while at Annapolis. . . .



John Cochran--Company A
There were two John Cochran's in the ranks of Company A and I am not sure which of the two Cochran's is depicted here.



Lewis Smith--Company A
Smith was 18 years old when he enlisted on February 10, 1864. He stood 5'4" in height, had a Light Complexion, Gray Eyes, and Light Hair. By occupation, he was a "Laborer" who resided in Berks County.

Simon Snyder--Company A
Private Snyder had been with the regiment from the start, enlisting in September 1861. At the time of his enlistment, he was 20 years old, stood 5'8", with Dark Hair, Dark Eyes, and a Dark Complexion. He was a "Yeoman" by occupation.

Charles Abel T. St. Clair--Company A
Private St. Clair stood just 4'11" in height but this did not deter him from joining the 48th Pennsylvania in late February 1864 at the age of 19. Like many soldiers in Company A, he was a laborer from the Port Clinton/Tamaqua area.



Unidentified Soldier--48th Pennsylvania

 

 





These photographs allow us to see the real face of the American Civil War. . .young kids, proud and confident. And to illustrate the cost of war--and especially the price paid by the regiment during the Overland Campaign--within a matter of weeks after these pictures were taken three of these soldiers were dead: George Betz, mortally wounded at Petersburg, June 17, 1864; Simon Snyder, died June 16, 1864, of wounds received in action; and Charles A.T. St. Clair, killed May 12, 1864, at Spotsylvania. The fate of the Unidentified soldier is, of course, unknown, but it must be noted that one of the John Cochran's listed on the roster of Company A was killed at Cold Harbor. Was it the same John Cochran pictured above?