Chapter 3 - Our First Lessons

September 17-19 1862

CHAPTER III

OUR FIRST LESSONS

On the 17th of September our officers at attempted to procure arms, and begged for permission to march us on towards the field of action, as the rebels were then in­vading “My Maryland.”

Old Captain Tarbutton, to whom the application had been made, politely informed them that they should rest easy, since they and their men would see fighting enough before their term of service would expire.  A verification that was lit­erally fulfilled.

On the 18th of the same month, the wounded from the battle field of Antietam reached Harrisburg, and part of the com­pany was detailed to assist in unloading the cars, freighted with the mangled and maimed Union soldiers, none of whose wounds had as yet been dressed.

To hear the moans and groans of the poor fellows, was sufficient to convince the most stout-hearted of Company G’s boys, that to play soldier was a very dan­gerous game and to say the very least, we had chosen an avocation that would certainly call us to places where death and destruction stalked through the land in an open and defiant manner.

We have always surmised that the experience gained upon that occasion had a great deal to do with several members of our company getting discharged from service on account of physical disability.  ­We remember one of these chaps who car­ried a beg of sweet potatoes on his shoulder on the day he was discharged, when a few hours before, he had been almost too weak to carry his discharge from one ward to the other.

The first guard duty that the company performed with muskets and accouterments, was on the 19th of September, 1862, in the Capitol grounds, upon the occasion of firing a salute of one hundred guns, in honor of the victory obtained over the Rebel Army at Antietam.

It was upon this occasion that the writer halted A. G. Conic, the then great war Governor. Upon being informed as to who it was that stood at the mercy of our bayonet, we brought the old fuzee to a present, recognizing the salute, his Excel­lency passed on.

At this time we were kept very busy do­ing guard duty on the hill.  The Capitol grounds were dotted with tents which had been used by the Militia, who had flocked in by the thousands to defend the State from the invasion which was then being threatened by the Rebels.

Here the members of the company had ample opportunity of playing the part of Sunday soldier in its brightest light.  The grounds were nearly always filled with strangers who visited Harrisburg to catch a glimpse of army life.

Soldiers are apt scholars, and we believe that we can truthfully claim as much aptitude and shrewdness for the members of Company G as was possessed by any other company, or at least it did not take our boys long to learn that it was a good thing to be provided with a piece of raw bacon, the fattest we could get, with several hard-tack, and whenever there would be any persons about who by their actions gave us reason to believe that they were friends of the soldier, we would seat ourselves near them on the ground, take out our “prepared” grub and commence to eat it with the keenest appetite.  As a general thing the first vender of pies and cakes that happened to pass that way would receive an order for the balance of stock, and as a natural result the soldiers would get something better than bacon for that meal.

Part of the above arrangement is what perplexed Peter Laubenstine our cook.  He reported the case to our officers in about the following words;

“I can’t understand what ails the boys, when they go to town they can’t get their meat fat enough and when they are in camp, why I can’t get the meat lean enough, it just beats the ‘old boy.’”

The officers said that it was strange, but it was impossible for them to tell how this change in the diet was brought about.  And as to the company cook he remained in ignorance until long after we left Harrisburg.

Time passed rapidly, we had been in camp two weeks, and the company under B.T. Parks’ skillful hands, was making rapid progress in the school of the company, and we were pronounced by Capt. Tarbutton to be the most efficient troops in camp.

Up to the 30th of September, our officers had not been announced yet, we had been actually awaiting to hear who the favored ones were to be.  At last the appointments were made, and at roll-call on the morning of November 1st, B. T. Parks called the roll in the following order for the first time. (I have added the officers in order that the company roster may be complete.

Captain      Charles S. Davis

1^st  Lieutenant             Nelson Byers

2nd Lieutenant           William H. Schroyer

        NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS

1^st  Sergeant           B. T. Parks

2^nd      “                   James E. Lloyd

3^rd           “                  George W. Townsend

4^th       “                  Henry W. Baker

5^th       “                  Franklin M. Stuck

1^st  Corporal           Isaac D. Whitmer

2^nd       “                  John R. Reigel

3^rd        “                 Francis W. Wallace

4^th        “                 Frederick B. Ulrich

5^th        “                 Henry Shrawder

6^th        “                 Jeremiah Malick

7^th        “                 Samuel H. Bower

8^th        “                 George W. VonNeida

MUSICANS

           Lewis C. Schroyer

           Antes Ulrich

                  PRIVATES

App, Solomon                    Millhoff, John

App, Jeremiah                    Miller, Elias

Bingaman, Jno. F.   Moyer, Jeremiah

Churchill, Asa B.    Mull, John

Doebler, Henry J.   Miller, Reuben

Eby, Amantes                     Matter, John

Ehrhart, Daniel                   McFall, William

Fisher, Edward                   Napp, Isaac J.

Fausnacht, W. E.    Nerhood, Jacob

Griggs, George D.   Noll, Elias

Garman, Jacob                   Noaker, George

Gross, Daniel W.    Parks, Calvin E.

Henninger, Win.     Parks, Martin L.

Herbster, Win. H.   Reed, Isaac E.

Herbster, Thomas   Reed, John

Hassinger, Allen     Romig, Levi J.

Hafley, Uriah P.     Reigle, Jacob J.

Herbster, Daniel     Reed, Isaac B.

Haas, John P.                      Schroyer, M. S.

Hathaway, Jere.      Shreffler, Henry E.

Jarrett, Samuel                   Stuck, John K.

Krebbs, Jacob                     Smith, James W.

Keller, William S.   Spade, William

Kreamer, Henry      Swab, Jacob

Knarr, Franklin                   Seesholtz, Win. E.

Kreamer, Daniel W. Swartz, John A.

Knight, Fred H.      Sholly, Adam S.

Lahr, Peter             Shaffer, Michael S.

Lahr, Daniel D.      Shiffer, Wm. H. H.

Long, John C.                     Templin, Stephen

Lumbard, Joseph A. Ulsh, Joseph S.

Leider, Jacob                      Ulrich, James P.

Mark, John T.                     Ulrich, Lot

Millhof, Elias

Millhoff, Lewis

     The above is a correct roster of the original company, as well as the first non-commissioned officers appointed by the officers, but by the discharge of Sergeant Lloyd and the transfer of Corp. Shrawder to the 14^th United States Regular, other changes soon followed.

John A. Swartz was the first member of the company to desert, which he did on the 25^th of September.  No effort was ever made to compel him to return. 

The company mustered all told, rank and file 88 men.  An effort was made during our stay at Harrisburg to have it recruited up to the maximum number, 101 men, and the following recruits to the company were secured.

 Bastian, Joseph F.

 Hoffer, Peter H.

Marks, Cyrus

Shearer, Jacob

Waughen, Wm. Henry H.

All of the above, excepting Hoffer, deserted, which take with Swartz, Daniel Lahr who also deserted, and Lloyd , discharged with Shrawder transferred, the company reduced to 80 men.

The name of Rev. Hall, who had died from an attack of small-pox and who lied buried in the Even. Lutheran Cemetery in Selinsgrove never had his name on the company roll, as he was endeavoring to secure Chaplaincy.