Download PRIVATE JACKSON HARTLEY AND THE BATTLE

PRIVATE JACKSON HARTLEY AND THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG
JULY 1-4, 1863
William G. Hartley (a great-grandson)
July 2, 2013
Private, Company G, 148th Pennsylvania Volunteers
4th Brigade, 1st Division,
2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac.
Length of Service: August 4, 1862 to June 1, 1865
Jackson Hartley was born on June 24, 1841, in Union County, Pennsylvania, near
Centerville (in an area that became Snyder County in 1855). Union County is located in central
Pennsylvania about midway between today's Williamsport and Harrisburg. His parents were
Daniel Hartley and Magdaline (Molly) Strause. Jackson was the firstborn of four children.
Two months after his 21st birthday, Jackson enlisted to fight in the Civil War. He
enlisted on August 4, 1862 at Boalsburg in Center County, Pennsylvania, perhaps forty miles
west of his home, near present State College, Pennsylvania. (His 1912 pension declaration states
that officially he enlisted at Harrisburg.) He signed up to be a soldier for three years.
At the time of enlistment he was five feet seven inches tall, had a light complexion, black
eyes, and dark hair, and was a shoemaker by occupation. (Jackson Hartley, 1912 Declaration for
Pension)
He was a private in Company G, 148th Pennsylvania Infantry Volunteers. Jackson's war
record showed that he reported at all muster rolls of the company from the day of his enlistment
until April 30, 1865, and that he was mustered out on June 1, 1865.
In 1895 his wife Sarah Ann Swalley Hartley put together a written memorial to
summarize his Civil War service. It reads:
Know ye, that Jackson Hartley enlisted in the United States Service, August 11,
1862 [really August 4], as a private, in Company G., 148th Regiment,
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under Captain John H. Harpster, and Colonel
James A. Beaver, to serve three years during the war.
The Regiment was assigned to the 4th Brigade, 1st Division, 2nd Corps, Army of
the Potomac. During his term of service, said Jackson Hartley participated in the
following engagements:
Chancellorsville, Va.
Gettysburg, Pa.
Bristoe Station, Va
Rappahannock Station, Va.
Mine Run
Wilderness
Spottsylvania
North Anna River
Coal Harbor
Siege of Petersburg
Welton RR., Va
Prebles Farm
Hatchers Run
Five Forks
Petersburg
Appomattox
May 1-4, 1863
July 1-4, 1863
Oct. 14, 1863
Nov. 7, 1863
Nov. 28, 1863
May 5-7, 1864
May 8-18, 1864
May 23-27, 1864
June 1-14, 1864
June and July, 1864
July 22 and 23, 1864
Sept. 30, 1864
Oct. 27, 1864
Feb. 5-7, 1865
April 1, 1865
April 2, 1865,
We have two military histories that give details about Pvt. Hartley’s Pennsylvania unit
and sometimes about him specifically. One is Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania
Volunteers, 1861-1865; Prepared in Compliance with Acts of the Legislature, Vol. IV
(Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: State Printer, 1870). The other is Adjt. J. W. Muffly, ed., The Story
of Our Regiment: A History of the 148th Pennsylvania Vols., Written by the Comrades (Des
Moines, Iowa, Kenyon Printing, 1904)
Enlistee Jackson Hartley in the Pennsylvania 148th Regiment
At the start of the Civil War, in mid-April 1861 President Lincoln called for 75,000
volunteers to serve for three months. In May he issued two more calls for volunteers. On July
1,1862 he issued a call for 300,000 troops to serve for three years. In August in Center County,
Pennsylvania, "the call came as a personal appeal to each and every one." Eligible males
discussed it at the work shop and on the farm. Public meetings took place in various locations, to
promote enlistments. At Boalsburg, a quiet little village at the foot of Tussy's Mountain, Captain
Robert McFarlane who had been in the 7th Pennsylvania Infantry for three months, acted as
leader of the recruitment. On Sunday, August 2, he enrolled two men. The next day, August 3,
Jackson Hartley was among eleven who enlisted, bringing the enlistment number to fourteen,
counting the Captain. The main recruitment meeting took place at Boalsburg in the Old Stone
Church, recruits were sought to fill Company G. Several earnest addresses were delivered, and
thirty- three names were enrolled.
James J. Patterson, principal of the Boalsburg Academy closed the school by announcing
that duty called him to enlist, which prompted several of his students to enlist. After the
meeting, "a general informal gathering" occurred in jeweler Jacob B. Edmond's shop. "The
shop was thronged with young men and as they passed in and out, there was continually heard,
'Yes, I am going." Jackson Hartley was among the young men in the shop who encouraged
others to enlist.1 Recruiting continued into mid-August. Several men were turned down who
failed to pass the surgeon's examination. Total enrollment reached 135, but the company limit
was 101.2
Men received bonuses for enlisting. Congress authorized a $100 bounty in July 1861 to
men enlisting for three years. In terms of soldiers’ pay, Union privates were paid $13 per month
until after the final raise of June 20, 1864, when they got $16. Soldiers were supposed to be paid
every two months in the field, but were fortunate if they got their pay at four-month intervals.
s
(Sample recruiting poster, from Maine)
1
Adjt. J. W. Muffly, ed., The Story of Our Regiment: A History of the 148th Pennsylvania
Vols., Written by the Comrades (Des Moines, Iowa, Kenyon Printing, 1904) Muffly, p. 696.
2
Muffly, pp. 697, 698.
Jackson Hartley's official enlistment date is August 4, 1862. He was listed as age 21 and
a resident of Boalsburg. On August 13, the company gathered at Boalsburg and formed a line in
the street composed of 127 men. "After an affecting leave-taking they were bourne away in the
carriages and wagons of their friends and kindred." They stopped at Potters Mills where they
were joined by other enlistees, and the group elected officers. Ballots showed that Robert A.
McFarlane, who had spearheaded the recruiting, was unanimously chosen Captain. James J.
Patterson was made First Lietuenant and Jacob B. Edmonds Second Lieutenant. Residents then
served the boys a "bountiful dinner." After that, the company went over the mountains to
Lewistown where they boarded a 10:30 p.m. train for Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.
They arrived at 1:30 a.m., which was then August 14th, and "were marched to the State Capitol
building and slept in the Senate chamber." In the morning they marched out to Camp Curtin,
"that great rendezvous camp for the Pennsylvania soldiers." The next day the official rolls of
men were recorded, and the following day the men passed the surgical examination. On August
17th the muster rolls were set. On the 18th the company was sworn into the United States
service. Jackson Hartley officially mustered in on August 18, 1862.3
Jackson and his company waited in camp for the arrival of other companies in the
regiment. On August 29th the others began arriving and on September 5th the enlisted men were
paid their county bounty money and enlistment premium. How much Jackson received is not
known. Three days later the Regiment was organized, and the Boalsburg company became
Company G in the 148th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.4 By the end of the month, seven
companies had been recruited for the 148th regiment, and mustered into service. These seven
companies met at Camp Curtin. From them, and from two companies raised in Jefferson and
Indiana counties and one in Clarion, the 148th Regiment was created on September 8, 1862. Its
field officers were:5
James A. Beaver
Robert M'Farlane
George A. Fairlamb
Colonel
Lt. Colonel
Major
One day after it was organized, the regiment was ordered to guard a section of the
Northern Central Railway. Four companies, along with the regimental headquarters, went to
Cockeysville. Another company posted at Lutherville, one at Phoenix, another at Glencoe, and
Companies E, H, and Jackson Hartley's Company G guarded Gunpowder Bridge.6
Jackson had been in the army less than two months when he contracted diphtheria. He
"entered Regimental Hospital Oct. 9th, 1862, with Diphtheritis and returned to duty Oct. 13,
3
Muffly, pp. 694-698, 995.
4
Muffly, p. 698.
5
Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865; Prepared in Compliance
with Acts of the Legislature, IV (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: State Printer, 1870), p. 577.
6
Ibid.
1862." The records of the Regiment cover from Sept. 23rd 1862 to April 9th 1864 “and furnish
no additional evidence [of physical problems] in this case." 7Apparently Jackson recovered and
was a full-service soldier during the next year when his regiment fought at Chancellorsville,
Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, and Rappahannock Station.
On December 7th, the eve of the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the regiment was
ordered to the front. It marched via Washington D.C. to Liverpool Point, and arrived in the
neighborhood of Falmouth , Virginia, on the 18th--too late for the Battle of Fredericksburg,
which the Union army had fought and lost. So the regiment was assigned from the 4th Brigade to
the main army's 1st Brigade, 1st Division, of the 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac.8
The regiment's published history skips from December 1862 to April 1863.
On April 27, 1863 the 148th Regiment moved with the Second Corps in the spring
campaign, crossed the Rappahannock River at United States Ford on the 30th, and at midnight
reached the “White House,” a short distance west of Chancellorsville, Virginia. The next day
they engaged in the Battle of Chancellorsville, which lasted from May 1st to May 4th.
That first day, May 1st, the 148th marched toward Fredericksburg between the River
Road and Old Turnpike, but settled into a position a half mile in front of Chancellorsville, upon
the picket line, "with skirmishers thrown out." Confederates shelled this position until late at
night, and "the men slept upon their arms." Before dawn, on May 2, the regiment posted six
companies on the picket line while the rest pulled back to a slight elevation in front of the
Chancellor House behind breast-works of logs and earth. The next day, May 3, at 8 a.m.,
Jackson Hartley's company G along with companies D, C, and H, "having in charge the colors,"
were sent from entrenchments and led "at double-quick" to a position in the woods in front of
White House Hospital, "the line being nearly parallel with the plank road." It advanced through
the thick underbrush, and received a volley "which was promptly answered, and the firing soon
became general and rapid." Jackson, for the first time, tasted combat. In this firing, the
regiment’s main officer, Colonel James A. Beaver, fell severely wounded and was carried from
the field. For three hours, until 11 a.m., "the line swayed backward and forward before the
terrific storm of battle, but held, substantially, its original position." It was relieved and allowed
to retire to a position along the opposite woods where breastworks were erected. Meanwhile, the
six companies [not Jackson’s] on the picket lines "gallantly held their position against
overpowering odds," and repelled repeated charges. They rejoined the rest of the regiment in its
new position. Regiment losses were "very severe." Seven of its officers and twenty-five enlisted
men died, and ninety-three enlisted men were injured.9
7
Surgeon General's Office, Verification, Sept. 10, 1883, in Jackson Hartley Pension File,
National Archives, Washington D.C.
8
Bates.
9
Bates, p. 578.
The Battle of Gettysburg
After the Battle of Chancellorsville, Jackson and his 148th Regiment returned to its camp
near Falmouth, Virginia where it remained except for a slight change of location until the
Gettysburg Campaign opened.
Chancellorsville has been a superb Southern victory, but costly for them in lives (such as
the loss of their notable officer Stonewall Jackson). Southern forces couldn’t stand such attrition
for long, so their best chance to end the war was for General Robert E. Lee to win a major
victory in the eastern theater before the South’s armies suffered expected defeats in the West.
Boldly,General Robert E. Lee's Second Corps pushed north through Maryland and
invaded Pennsylvania, reaching the Susquehanna River and threatening the state capital of
Harrisburg. However, the Army of the Potomac was in pursuit. When Lee realized his opponent
had crossed the Potomac and headed his way, he quickly concentrated his army around the
crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, on June 14, 1863 Private Jackson Hartley’s regiment moved with the Second
Corps, Army of the Potomac, by way of Thoroughfare Gap and Edwards’ Ferry to Uniontown,
Maryland, where they arrived on June 30th.10 Major General Winfield S. Hancock commanded
the Second Corps, with divisions commanded by Brigadier Generals John C. Caldwell, John
Gibbon, and Alexander Hays. Thus, Jackson was part of General Hancock’s Second Corps.
Their destination became Gettysburg, which meant Jackson’s 148th Pennsylvania
regiment now had to defend their home state from a Confederate invasion. Gettysburg stood 40
miles south of Harrisburg., about 50 miles northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, and about 80
miles north of Washington D.C. By 1860, the Gettysburg borough, which was the county seat of
Adam’s county, had 450 buildings, some used for manufacturing, shoemaking, and tanneries.
The Battle of Gettysburg, one of the largest and most crucial battles of the war, was fought
across fields and heights south of Gettysburg.
On July 1st, the battle opened and the 148th Regiment, not there yet, moved towards the
field of action. On the outskirts of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee, with almost 75,000 men,
in his Army of Northern Virginia, faced the Union Army of the Potomac, about 90,000 strong,
under General George G. Meade. The Union army had come up to Gettysburg from the south, so
the Confederate army basically had stationed itself north of them.
On the warm morning of July 1st, 1863, a small Union calvary brigade encountered two
brigades of advancing confederate troops. With breech-loading carbines, the Union troops were
capable of getting off eight shots per minute to the Confederate's three. Despite smaller numbers,
the Union's technology held the Confederates at bay. Quickly both sides called for
reinforcements, and the battle picked up. Several thousand federals managed to make it up
Cemetery Ridge, a strategic lookout over the field. By nightfall, the federals had a defensive line
three-and-a-half miles long, following strategic landmarks of the area (later to be a part of the
10
Bates, p. 577.
Gettysburg Cemetery). Their line resembled a large fish hook. The Union had a distinct
advantage in this battle. They were on the defensive, on their own turf. That first day Jackson’s
regiment advanced about sixteen miles in the direction of Gettysburg. They erected a “slight
breastwork” in their front while encamping (going into bivouac). Jackson Hartley now was
within 90 miles of his home. The night passed quietly.11 The first day was fought fiercely at
high cost to those present, but was nothing compared to what was to come.
By the start of Day Two, over 75,000 confederate forces were positioned along Seminary
ridge, a wooded area parallel to the Union's defenses along Cemetery Ridge and Culp's Hill.
General Lee started off the day with a full fledged attack against the well positioned northern
troops with a 150 gun volley that was quickly answered with a 100 cannon volley. At this point,
the North decided to save ammunition and wait for the ensuing enemy. The Army of Northern
Virginia’s Major General Jubal Early attempted to take Culp's hill, but was decisively repulsed
by the defending Unionists. As the second day wound to an end, it was apparent that the
northern fish hook was still intact. Although battered, “it had risen victorious.”
On that Day Two, July 2nd, Jackson’s regiment marched to the battlefield and took
positions along the crest on the left of Cemetery Hill, on Mr. Hummelbaugh’s farm. At 4:00
p.m. the First Brigade (not Jackson’s) was ordered into action on the left, advancing through a
wheat-field in front of Round Top Mountain. This field was quite surrounded by woods, in
which nearly all of the six companies on the left were obliged to move. The enemy’s line was
drawn up in the edge of the woods in front, and extended right and left. Firing commenced at
close range. “The men displayed admirable coolness,” Jackson’s regimental history says of the
First Brigade, “and in general took deliberate aim before firing. At the expiration of one hour
from the time firing commenced, the line was relieved, and fell back in good order, occupying
the position held in the morning.” During the night, Jackson’s regiment’s history says, a
substantial breastwork was erected.
11
Bates, p. 578.
Day Three can be called the turning point of the war. It was the most costly battle against
General Lee. Lee, realizing the strategic importance for the south of capturing Little Round Top
(as it would have allowed southern artilliary fire to hit every section of the Union army) ordered
a massive attack at the center of the Union army. With more than 15,000 men under his charge,
Major General George Pickett ordered the running assault against the opposing forces. The
Union, also realizing the importance, beefed up theirdefense, and calmly mowed down the mile
long fury of attackers with rifle and cannon fire. This would infamously be known later as
“Pickett's Charge.” Jackson’s regiment’s history states that on July 3rd, in the afternoon, the
enemy launched a “determined attack” on the Union line, under cover of its artillery. But the
troops on the right of Jackson’s regiment “triumphantly repulsed” the attack.
During the battle, Pickett’s division was throughly defeated. Tragically, of his own
brigade of 5,000 men, only 800 returned. His command for the charge was 15,000 men, of
which only 5,000 lived to tell the sad tale. The charge was a complete and dismal failure, while
only a couple dozen of the original 15,000 troops even saw the top of Little Round Top, and they
were killed or promptly captured upon arrival.
Lee watched the survivors return and confessed, "It is all my fault. This has been my
fight, and upon my shoulders rests the blame." About 28,000 men were lost to Lee, and 30,000
arms, costing his army a huge lose. Although Meade lost almost as many men in the battle,
23,000, the loses were not as disastrous because the North had deep resources. Lee lost a third of
his army, while Meade lost a quarter of his. The First Corps suffered almost 50% casualties, and
the Second (Jackson Hartley’s), theThird and the Eleventh about 40%, the Fifth about 20%, the
Twelfth about 11% and the Sixth less than 2%.
On July 4th, the armies stared at one another in a heavy rain across the bloody fields.
During the night Lee had reformed his lines into a defensive position on Seminary Ridge,
evacuating the town of Gettysburg. The Confederates remained on the battlefield, hoping that
Meade would attack, but he decided against the risk. Both armies began to collect their
remaining wounded and bury some of the dead. A proposal by Lee for a prisoner exchange was
rejected by Meade. Lee started his army in motion late the evening of July 4th. For Jackson
Hartley and his comrades the 4th of July passed quietly, so at 4:00 p.m. the 1st Division, which
included Jackson’s 148th regiment and 4th brigade, left their entrenchments and marched about
five miles and encamped at Two Taverns.
The Confederates’ retreat into Virginia was plagued by bad weather, difficult roads, and
numerous skirmishes with Union cavalry. However, General Meade's army did not maneuver
aggressively enough to prevent the Army of Northern Virginia from crossing the Potomac to
safety on the night of July 13–14.
The impact of Gettysburg was heavy on both sides. The North felt their side won the
battle, but southerners believed their soldiers had not lost the battle. The Battle of Gettysburg is
considered to be a turning point in the Civil War. It brought the Union victory, placing the
Confederacy on the defensive. The battle ended Gen. Robert E. Lee’s most ambitious attempt to
invade Union territory. Gettysburg has often been referred to as the “High Water Mark of the
Rebellion.”
More than four months after the bloody battle, on November 19, the Soldiers' National
Cemetery was dedicated. During this ceremony, President Abraham Lincoln honored the fallen
and redefined the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address. His carefully crafted
address, two minutes long, came to be regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American
history. Today, the Gettysburg National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Military Park are
maintained by the U.S. National Park Service as two of the nation's most revered historical
landmarks. A monument in the cemetery to Pennsylvania units that fought at Gettysburg lists
their men’s names, and Jackson Hartley’s name is on the list of the Pennsylvania 148th Regiment
of Volunteers.
Meanwhile, on July 6th Major Fairlamb re-joined Jackson’s regiment, from an absence on
account of sickness. The regiment’s loss in the Battle of Gettysburg was about fifty killed or
wounded. Among those killed was Captain Robert M. Forster, and Lieutenant John A. Bayard
was mortally wounded.12 On July 16th, Jackson’s regiment crossed into Virginia. On the 19th,
Colonel Beaver, who had been absent since the battle of Chancellorsville, on account of wounds,
returned and resumed command. Action died down, and the regiment’s history says simply that
“after crossing the Rappahannock some skirmishing occurred with the enemy’s calvary.”
Jackson’s unit’s next engagement would come in mid-October at Bristoe Station, Virginia.
A question among Pvt. Jackson Hartley’s descendants, proud of their Civil War ancestor,
is “who has Jackson’s sword?” Thus far no one knows. If found, though, covetousness could
produce a civil war among Jackson’s numerous living descendants.
12
Bates, 578.