Chapter 10 - The 147th P.V.I.

CHAPTER X

THE 147^TH  P. V. I.

Shortly after the events narrated in the previous chapter, an event took place which sealed the destiny of our company.

On the 10th of November, Major John Craig of the 147^th P.V.I., arrived at Harrisburg in search of new companies to recruit the Regiment to ten companies as required in order to entitle the regiment to its full compliment of field officers.

The regiment was then lying at Harper’s Ferry, under command of Colonel Arlo Pardee, Jr., late Major of the 28^th P. V. I.  This was Col. John W. Geary’s old regiment and was organized with fifteen companies, and owing to an order from the War Department which called for the consolidation of all regiments with more than the usual number of companies to ten, the officers of the five surplus companies, viz. L,M,N,O and P decided upon organizing a new regiment to be denominated the 147th of the line.

It was with this object in view that Major Craig visited Harrisburg, he succeeded in getting Company “F” which was then lying in camp, having been recruited in Luzerne County, mostly in and around Hazelton, and commanded by Jacob Kreider, who was perhaps better known as old “Jack of Clubs.”

Major Craig made application for our company to join his regiment, and on the morning of the 12th of November, the officers of the company called the men in line and put the question of joining the old regiment, or whether they would wait until a new regiment was formed, to a vote of the company.

The boys were anxious to see service and with but one dissenting voice they voted to become Company G, 147^th P.V.I.  Thus the fate of the company was sealed, and we sincerely believe, when we take into consideration the history of the organization, that an over ruling Providence had much to do with our selection.

At this time there was another company of men in camp, recruited from the whole of the United States including New Jersey, officered by Captain Alfred Schwartz and Lt. Daniel Bower, formerly editor of the Shamokin Herald, better known in after days as “Lt. Walk-Your-Beat.” This also joined the regiment and became Company H.

Our officers on the 14th of November then made application to be relieved from duty at the hospitals, which was promised should be done just as soon as any other troops could be furnished to take our place.

After this step was taken, the boys felt that they would soon be called to perform a soldier’s duty in good earnest, proceeded to make the best of the time allotted to them in Harrisburg.

It was whilst we were waiting to be relieved that Corp. Freddy Ulrich came to the Chestnut Street Hospital with a gentleman of Jewish descent, Freddy having informed him that our company was composed of “pack” carriers.  The Jew tho’t that Freddy meant that we had a Jew company, whereas Freddy only referred to the knapsacks which we were compelled to carry.  The stranger saw the joke and taking a number of the boys to Koenig’s Lager Beer Saloon, soon succeeded in getting them all full of beer and patriotism.  It was whilst in this condition that we visited the brewery and watched the modus operandi of manufacturing the liquid.

Whilst one the employees was up on a platform playing a stream of water through rubber hose from a hydrant into a large stand, containing the “mash,” Freddy Ulrich took advantage of the man when be had his back turned on the hydrant, and shut off the water.  When the man, who was a German, discovered the trick that had been played upon him, his tongue which appeared to be loose at both ends let fly a volley of German adjectives that almost staggered those who heard them.  Freddy nothing daunted, requested him to speak United States, which only added fuel to the flames.  The foreman came to the rescue, and the matter was settled by handing around a big copper dipper filled with fresh lager, which had the effect of restoring peace and harmony.

One of the characters who frequented Chestnut St., was “Fiery Facias,” a per­son whom some of the boys have occasion to remember to this day.

It was about this time, the 18th of November, that the body of John W. McBay, a member of  Captain George W. Ryan’s company, who died in Virginia, pass­ed through Harrisburg; a number of the boys went to the depot out of respect for him.  This event gave rise to the expression by  the “little one” [M. L. Parks,] of  “oh, how can a Selinsgrove man die with­out a bullet in his heart?”

After returning from the train, U. P. Hafley, D. W. Gross and the writer were arrested by the patrol, and taken to the guard-house. When we arrived there we met Levi H. Patterson, formerly a play­mate of ours, and who now was a member of company “A,” 127th, P. V. I., who interceded for us, and we were permitted to bunk with the guards.

On the following morning early we were taken before the Provost Marshal, Col. Chas. Kleckner, who heard us and gave us a paper previously prepared and sealed which he instructed us to give to the first patrol we should meet, and then dismissed us.  As soon as we were out of sight of the office, we opened the document and read as follows:

“Take these men to their quarters.”

Of course we did not think it necessary to have an “escort” since we were only privates, and made our way to hospital head-quarters without meeting a guard, and reached there just in time to go on boat.

Quite a number of the members of the company during our stay at Harrisburg had been arrested by the patrol, but were always released in the morning. One night however Henry Kreamer, Jeremiah Hathaway, Peter Lahr and several more were escorted to camp and placed upon the camp sanitary corps.  They had halted on their way out to camp and purchased penny musical instruments.  They came into camp, fully representing the “Little German Band.”

Upon one occasion, Serg’t Stuck and about 20 of the company were “gobbled” up at the depot.  As soon as the provost guard moved the column, which was in charge of a corporal, the boys decided that Stuck out-ranked the Corporal, and that he must take command, which he at once did.  For more than an hour we pa­raded the streets of Harrisburg.  When the Corporal in charge of the squad gave the command to “file left,” Stuck would countermand the order by a decided ‘right flank,’ and the boys would obey his com­mand greatly to the chagrin of the corporal.  Reaching the Provost Marshal’s office at last, Col. Kleckner informed us that since we belonged to the Snyder County Company, we might consider ourselves discharged, after which he ordered Serg’t Stuck to march us back to our quarters.

Nov. 20th, we received two months pay and two dollars bounty.  Thus equipped a number of the boys visited the Gaiety, and made a famous night of it, Serg’t Townsend and several of the boys got in­to a fight, and had they not been reinforc­ed by Lt. Schroyer and several others, who heard of the fight on the street, they would in all human probability have been ­cleaned out, as it was they came off conquerors.  The boys placed the “little one,” who as usual was conspicuous in jobs of this kind, upon their shoulders and march­ed off in triumph.

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