“I took ten men, and went out scouting within half a mile of the Rebels…. Do not think I was rash, I merely obeyed orders, and had ten men with me who could whip a hundred; Brosius, Piers, Harp and McEwen were among the number. Every man in the company wanted to go. The Rebels did not attack us, and if they had they would have met with a warm reception, as I had my men posted in such a manner that I could have whipped a regiment.” 

— Captain John Peter Shindel Gobin, commanding officer, Company C, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers (written in a letter to his mother from Camp Griffin, Virginia, October 1861)

 

Formative Years

Born in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania on 26 December 1838, Charles H. Harp was a son of Pennsylvanians Jonathan Harp (1801-1857) and Rebecca Ann Harp (1798-1876; variant: “Ann Rebecca Harp”). He was raised and educated in that county’s Borough of Sunbury with his siblings: William Jackson Harp (1832-1884), who had been born in 1832, was known to family and friends as “Jackson,” would later marry Matilda Frymoyer (1836-1873), and would serve with the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil War; Washington Harp (1833-1913), who had been born in 1833, would later serve with the 57th Pennsylvania Volunteers during the American Civil war and would become known, post-war, as a craftsman of redware pottery; and Sarah Harp (1836-1878), who had been born in 1836 and would later wed Jacob Cassatt (1833-1894).

In 1850, Charles Harp resided with his parents and siblings in Sunbury. His father supported their family on the wages of a potter. By 1860, however, the Harp’s household had changed dramatically, due to the early to mid-1850s marriages of Charles’ older siblings, William Jackson Harp and Sarah (Harp) Cassatt, which had prompted those siblings to each begin their own respective new households in different houses in Sunbury. Further change had then come with the untimely death of Charles Harp’s father, Jonathan Harp, who had passed away at the age of fifty-eight in Sunbury on 21 May 1857.

As a result, the Sunbury household in which Charles Harp resided in 1860 included just his mother, who was now the head of that household, and Charles’ older brother, Washington Harp, who had followed in their father’s footsteps by becoming a potter.

Later that year, their lives were altered yet again as their community, commonwealth and nation were shaken by a secession crisis that would ultimately devolve into one of the darkest periods in American History.

American Civil War — 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers

South Carolina (20 December 1860). Mississippi (9 January 1861). Florida (10 January 1861). Alabama (11 January 1861). Georgia (19 January 1861). Louisiana (26 January 1861). Texas (1 February 1861).

One state after another seceded from the United States of America, as the old year of 1860 gave way to the new, each act a stab at the hearts of Pennsylvanians who worried about the state of their nation and its potential impact on their commonwealth. When Fort Sumter fell to Confederate troops in mid-April 1861, the alarm bells rang, figuratively and literally, calling Pennsylvanians together from small towns to large cities to find a way to save their beloved republic.

In the Borough of Sunbury, the officers of Northumberland County’s local militia group, the Sunbury Guards, quickly decided that they would offer their unit’s services to President Abraham Lincoln, who had called for seventy-five thousand men “to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union,” and sent attorney John Peter Shindel Gobin, to Harrisburg on 18 April to secure approval for their plan from PennsylvaniaGovernorAndrewGreggCurtin. With that authorization in hand, Gobin returned home to Sunbury to help with recruiting efforts.

On Friday evening, 19 April, Charles Harp and his fellow recruits from Northumberland and Juniata counties assembled in the grand jury room at the Sunbury Court House, where they enrolled with the Sunbury Guards and then unanimously elected the officers who would lead them into harm’s way — Captain Charles J. Bruner, First Lieutenant John Peter Shindel Gobin and Second Lieutenant Joseph H. McCarty.

The next morning, Captain Bruner took forty members of the Sunbury Guards with him to the train station and headed for Harrisburg, where they became the first military unit from Northumberland County to join the fight to protect the nation’s capital end the rebellion of southern states.

The next day (Sunday, 22 April 1861), Charles Harp and the remaining thirty-seven Sunbury Guardsmen gathered together for a special worship service at Sunbury’s Lutheran Church in preparation for their own train trip to Harrisburg. Led by Sergeant C. Israel Pleasants, they then departed from the church, marched to the train station and headed for Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, where they were officially mustered in for duty on 23 April and designated as Company F in the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

From that time forward until 3 May, Private Charles Harp and his fellow Sunbury Guardsmen received basic training in light infantry tactics. Then, at eleven a.m. on 4 May, they and their fellow 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers were assembled in formation and marched toward the depot in Harrisburg. Once there, they boarded a train and departed for West Chester. Upon their arrival that evening, they disembarked, reformed and marched for Camp Wayne, which they reached sometime around eight p.m. Stationed there, they continued their basic training until 27 May when they were marched back to the train station, where they boarded a train that took them through Philadelphia and into northeast Maryland, where they disembarked at roughly five p.m.

Captain Bruner wrote home early on to assure the Guards’ loved ones that all was well. Setting a tone of cautious optimism in his 28 May 1861 letter from Company F’s camp in Cecil County, Maryland, he observed:

It is a small town, situated about two hundred yards from the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. We are, however, quartered at the railroad – the men in a large warehouse, the officers at the depot. The quarters are very comfortable…. We have two sentinels posted about three quarters of a mile below the quarters, and two a couple of hundred yards above, along the railroad, to watch the bridges and culverts. At night we increase the number. We have plenty of ammunition. It is forty-eight miles from here to Philadelphia.

Assigned to guard duties in northeast Maryland until 8 June, they were then marched to Havre de Grace, where they remained until 12 June, when they were transported by train back across state lines and moved to the town of Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, where the remained until 17 June, when they were transported back to Maryland and ordered to rest in Hagerstown. The next morning, they marched to Williamsport, Maryland, but returned to Hagerstown later that evening, and remained there until 29 June, when they were marched to Downsville. Stationed there until 1 July, they were then moved back to Williamsport.

Ordered onward again the next day — 2 July 1861, Private Charles Harp and his fellow Sunbury Guardsmen were marched south to Hoke’s Run in Virginia (now part of Berkeley County, West Virginia), where they engaged in intense fighting during the Battle of Falling Waters, the first Civil War battle in the Shenandoah Valley. (A second battle with a different military configuration occurred there in 1863.) Also known as the Battle of Hainesville or Hoke’s Run, this first Battle of Falling Waters helped pave the way for the Confederate Army victory at Manassas later that month.

Afterward, the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers were marched to Martinsburg, Virginia (now part of West Virginia), where they made camp. The next day (3 July 1861), F Company Corporal Henry Wharton wrote a letter to his hometown newspaper, The Sunbury American, in which he described his company’s experience at Falling Waters:

Our boys, Sunbury Guards, were in the hottest of the fight, they being in the centre, and strange to say no one was killed, and but one slightly wounded. The name of the wounded man is Christ Shall, from Cincinnati. I was at the Hospital assisting, when he came in, after the wound was dressed, he turned to me and said, “Harry, where is my gun, I must go help the boys fight it out,” and he went, and after returning helped Bill Christ to kill two…. That is what I call cool and shows considerable bravery.

On the Fourth of July, the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers marched back to Williamsport, Maryland, where they were assigned to guard the Union Army’s baggage wagons and gather provisions. Marched back to Martinsburg the next day, they were stationed there until 15 July, during which time the women of Martinsburg presented the regiment with a flag to thank the 11th Pennsylvanians for protecting the town. They then marched to Bunker Hill on 15 July — and on to Charlestown, Virginia (now part of West Virginia) on 17 July. Stationed in Charlestown until 21 July, they were then marched “to the heights west of Harpers Ferry,” according to Corporal Wharton, where they remained until 24 July, when they were ordered to cross a river and head for Sandy Hook. Encamped at Sandy Hook until 26 July, they were then transported by train to Baltimore, where they remained for a day before they were returned to Harrisburg by train, where Private Charles Harp and other members of his regiment were honorably discharged on 1 August 1861.

American Civil War — 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers

Realizing that the great national crisis was not yet over, Private Charles Harp promptly re-enrolled for military service in Sunbury on 19 August 1861. He then officially re-mustered in at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg on 2 September 1861 as a private with an entirely different regiment — Company C of the newly-formed 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Military records at that time described him as a twenty-six-year-old boatman and resident of Sunbury who was five feet, six inches tall with black hair, gray eyes and a dark complexion.

Once again, Private Charles Harp and his fellow Sunbury Guardsmen would be led into harm’s way by Sunbury attorney John Peter Shindel Gobin — but this time, he would be leading them as a captain, and they would be responsible for safeguarding the regiment’s state and national flags as members of the 47th Pennsylvania’s color guard unit — a sacred duty that would most certainly place them in danger if and when their regiment encountered enemy troops. In a letter sent to family during Company C’s earliest days, Captain Gobin provided these details regarding his regiment’s status:

We expect to leave tonight for Washington or Baltimore. Our company has been made the color company of the regiment, the letter being accorded to rotation used, C. It is the same as E in the 11th. Wm. M. Hendricks has been appointed Sergeant Major, so that Sunbury is pretty well represented in the regiment, having the Quartermaster, Sergeant Major and Color Company…. Boulton is lying by me as I write, just about going to sleep.

Following a brief training period in light infantry tactics, during which time the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were housed at Camp Curtin No. 2, which was located on the field next to the main camp, the men of Company C were then transported by train with their fellow 47th Pennsylvanians to Washington, D.C. where, beginning 21 September, they were stationed roughly two miles from the White House at “Camp Kalorama” on the Kalorama Heights near Georgetown.

“It is a very fine location for a camp,” wrote Captain Gobin. “Good water is handy, while Rock Creek, which skirts one side of us, affords an excellent place for washing and bathing.”

Henry Wharton, a field musician from C Company penned the following update for the Sunbury American on 22 September:

After a tedious ride we have, at last, safely arrived at the City of ‘magnificent distances.’ We left Harrisburg on Friday last at 1 o’clock A.M. and reached this camp yesterday (Saturday) at 4 P.M., as tired and worn out a sett [sic] of mortals as can possibly exist. On arriving at Washington we were marched to the ‘Soldiers Retreat,’ a building purposely erected for the benefit of the soldier, where every comfort is extended to him and the wants of the ‘inner man’ supplied.

After partaking of refreshments we were ordered into line and marched, about three miles, to this camp. So tired were the men, that on marching out, some gave out, and had to leave the ranks, but J. Boulton Young, our ‘little Zouave,’ stood it bravely, and acted like a veteran. So small a drummer is scarcely seen in the army, and on the march through Washington he was twice the recipient of three cheers.

We were reviewed by Gen. McClellan yesterday [21 September 1861] without our knowing it. All along the march we noticed a considerable number of officers, both mounted and on foot; the horse of one of the officers was so beautiful that he was noticed by the whole regiment, in fact, so wrapt [sic] up were they in the horse, the rider wasn’t noticed, and the boys were considerably mortified this morning on dis-covering they had missed the sight of, and the neglect of not saluting the soldier next in command to Gen. Scott.

Col. Good, who has command of our regiment, is an excellent man and a splendid soldier. He is a man of very few words, and is continually attending to his duties and the wants of the Regiment.

I am happy to inform you that our young townsman, Mr. William Hendricks, has received the appointment of Sergeant Major to our Regiment. He made his first appearance at guard mounting this morning; he looked well, done up his duties admirably, and, in time, will make an excellent officer. Our Regiment will now be put to hard work; such as drilling and the usual business of camp life, and the boys expect and hope for an occasional ‘pop’ at the enemy.

On 24 September, the men of Company C became part of the federal military service, mustering in with great pomp and gravity to the United States Army with their fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Three days later, the 47th Pennsylvania was assigned to the 3rd Brigade of Brigadier-General Isaac Ingalls Stevens, which also included the 33rd, 49th and 79th New York regiments. By that afternoon, the 47th Pennsylvania was on the move again. Ordered onward by Brigadier-General Silas Casey, the Mississippi rifle-armed 47th Pennsylvania infantrymen marched behind their Regimental Band until reaching Camp Lyon, Maryland on the Potomac River’s eastern shore. At five p.m., they joined the 46th Pennsylvania in moving double-quick (one hundred and sixty-five steps per minute using thirty-three-inch steps) across the “Chain Bridge” marked on federal maps, and continued on for roughly another mile before being ordered to make camp.

The next morning, they broke camp and moved again. Marching toward Falls Church, Virginia, they arrived at Camp Advance around dusk. There, about two miles from the bridge they had crossed a day earlier, they re-pitched their tents in a deep ravine near a new federal fort under construction (Fort Ethan Allen). They had completed a roughly eight-mile trek, were situated close to the headquarters of Brigadier-General William Farrar Smith (also known as “Baldy”), and were now part of the massive U.S. Army of the Potomac (“Mr. Lincoln’s Army”). Under Smith’s leadership, their regiment and brigade would help to defend the nation’s capital from the time of their September arrival through late January when the men of the 47th Pennsylvania would be shipped south.

Once again, Company C Musician Henry Wharton recapped the regiment’s activities, noting, via his 29 September letter home to the Sunbury American, that the 47th had changed camps three times in three days:

On Friday last we left Camp Kalorama, and the same night encamped about one mile from the Chain Bridge on the opposite side of the Potomac from Washington. The next morning, Saturday, we were ordered to this Camp [Camp Advance near Fort Ethan Allen, Virginia], one and a half miles from the one we occupied the night previous. I should have mentioned that we halted on a high hill (on our march here) at the Chain Bridge, called Camp Lyon, but were immediately ordered on this side of the river. On the route from Kalorama we were for two hours exposed to the hardest rain I ever experienced. Whew, it was a whopper; but the fellows stood it well – not a murmur – and they waited in their wet clothes until nine o’clock at night for their supper. Our Camp adjoins that of the N.Y. 79th (Highlanders.)….

We had not been in this Camp more than six hours before our boys were supplied with twenty rounds of ball and cartridge, and ordered to march and meet the enemy; they were out all night and got back to Camp at nine o’clock this morning, without having a fight. They are now in their tents taking a snooze preparatory to another march this morning…. I don’t know how long the boys will be gone, but the orders are to cook two days’ rations and take it with them in their haversacks….

There was a nice little affair came off at Lavensville [sic, Lewinsville], a few miles from here on Wednesday last; our troops surprised a party of rebels (much larger than our own.) killing ten, took a Major prisoner, and captured a large number of horses, sheep and cattle, besides a large quantity of corn and potatoes, and about ninety six tons of hay. A very nice day’s work. The boys are well, in fact, there is no sickness of any consequence at all in our Regiment….

Sometime during this phase of duty, as part of the 3rd Brigade, the 47th Pennsylvanians were moved to a site they initially christened “Camp Big Chestnut” in reference to a large chestnut tree located nearby. The site would eventually become known to the Keystone Staters as “Camp Griffin,” and was located roughly ten miles from Washington, D.C.

On 11 October, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers marched in the Grand Review at Bailey’s Cross Roads. In a letter home in mid-October, Captain John Peter Shindel Gobin (the leader of C Company who would be promoted in 1864 to lead the entire 47th Regiment) reported that companies D, A, C, F and I (the 47th Pennsylvania’s right wing) were ordered to picket duty after the left-wing companies (B, G, K, E, and H) had been forced to return to camp by Confederate troops:

I was ordered to take my company to Stewart’s house, drive the Rebels from it, and hold it at all hazards. It was about 3 o’clock in the morning, so waiting until it was just getting day, I marched 80 men up; but the Rebels had left after driving Capt. Kacy’s company [H] into the woods. I took possession of it, and stationed my men, and there we were for 24 hours with our hands on our rifles, and without closing an eye. I took ten men, and went out scouting within half a mile of the Rebels, but could not get a prisoner, and we did not dare fire on them first. Do not think I was rash, I merely obeyed orders, and had ten men with me who could whip a hundred; Brosius, Piers [sic, Pyers], Harp and McEwen were among the number. Every man in the company wanted to go. The Rebels did not attack us, and if they had they would have met with a warm reception, as I had my men posted in such a manner that I could have whipped a regiment. My men were all ready and anxious for a ‘fight.’

In his letter of 13 October, Henry Wharton described their duties, as well as their new home:

The location of our camp is fine and the scenery would be splendid if the view was not obstructed by heavy thickets of pine and innumerable chesnut [sic] trees. The country around us is excellent for the Rebel scouts to display their bravery; that is, to lurk in the dense woods and pick off one of our unsuspecting pickets. Last night, however, they (the Rebels) calculated wide of their mark; some of the New York 33d boys were out on picket; some fourteen or fifteen shots were exchanged, when our side succeeded in bringing to the dust, (or rather mud,) an officer and two privates of the enemy’s mounted pickets. The officer was shot by a Lieutenant in Company H [?], of the 33d.

Our own boys have seen hard service since we have been on the ‘sacred soil.’ One day and night on picket, next day working on entrenchments at the Fort, (Ethan Allen.) another on guard, next on march and so on continually, but the hardest was on picket from last Thursday morning ‘till Saturday morning – all the time four miles from camp, and both of the nights the rain poured in torrents, so much so that their clothes were completely saturated with the rain. They stood it nobly – not one complaining; but from the size of their haversacks on their return, it is no wonder that they were satisfied and are so eager to go again tomorrow. I heard one of them say ‘there was such nice cabbage, sweet and Irish potatoes, turnips, &c., out where their duty called them, and then there was a likelihood of a Rebel sheep or young porker advancing over our lines and then he could take them as ‘contraband’ and have them for his own use.’ When they were out they saw about a dozen of the Rebel cavalry and would have had a bout with them, had it not been for…unlucky circumstance – one of the men caught the hammer of his rifle in the strap of his knapsack and caused his gun to fire; the Rebels heard the report and scampered in quick time….

A Sad, Unwanted Distinction

On 17 October 1861, death claimed the first member of the entire regiment — the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers’ little drummer boy, John Boulton Young. The pain of his loss was deeply and widely felt; Boulty (also spelled as “Boltie”) had become a favorite not just among the men of his own C Company, but of the entire 47th. After contracting Variola (smallpox), he was initially treated in camp, but was shipped back to the Kalorama eruptive fever hospital in Georgetown when it became evident that he needed more intensive care than could be provided at the 47th’s regimental hospital in Virginia. Captain Gobin subsequently wrote to Boulty’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell Young of Sunbury, “It is with the most profound feelings of sorrow I ever experienced that I am compelled to announce to you the death of our Pet, and your son, Boulton.” After receiving the news of Boulty’s death, Gobin said that he had “immediately started for Georgetown, hoping the tidings would prove untrue.”

Alas! when I reached there I found that little form that I had so loved, prepared for the grave. Until a short time before he died the symptoms were very favorable, and every hope was entertained of his recovery… He was the life and light of our company, and his death has caused a blight and sadness to prevail, that only rude wheels of time can efface… Every attention was paid to him by the doctors and nurses, all being anxious to show their devotion to one so young. I have had him buried, and ordered a stone for his grave, and ere six months pass a handsome monument, the gift of Company C, will mark the spot where rests the idol of their hearts. I would have sent the body home but the nature of his disease prevented it. When we return, however, if we are so fortunate, the body will accompany us… Everything connected with Boulty shall by attended to, no matter what the cost is. His effects that can be safely sent home, together with his pay, will be forwarded to you.

Just thirteen years old when he died, John Boulton Young was initially interred at the Military Asylum Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Established in August 1861 on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home, the cemetery was easily seen from a neighboring cottage that was used by President Abraham Lincoln and his family as a place of respite. In letters sent to family and friends back home later that month, Captain Gobin asked Sunbury residents to donate blankets to comfort and protect the Sunbury Guards:

The government has supplied them with one blanket apiece, which, as the cold weather approaches, is not sufficient…. Some of my men have none, two of them, Theodore Kiehl and Robert McNeal, having given theirs to our lamented drummer boy when he was taken sick… Each can give at least one blanket, (no matter what color, although we would prefer dark,) and never miss it, while it would add to the comfort of the soldiers tenfold. Very frequently while on picket duty their overcoats and blankets are both saturated by the rain. They must then wait until they can dry them by the fire before they can take their rest.

By early November, Captain Gobin was telling his supporters that “the health of the Company and Regiment are in the best condition. No cases of small pox [sic]  have appeared since the death of Boultie.” A few patients remained in the hospital with fever, including D. W. Kembel and another member of Company C. Gobin reported that Kembel was “almost well.”

Half of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers, including Company C, were next ordered to join parts of the 33rd Maine and 46th New York in extending the reach of their division’s picket lines, which they did successfully to “a half mile beyond Lewinsville,” according to Captain Gobin. In his letter of 17 November, Henry Wharton revealed still more details about life at Camp Griffin:

This morning our brigade was out for inspection; arms, accoutrements [sic], clothing, knapsacks, etc, all were out through a thorough examination, and if I must say it myself, our company stood best, A No. 1, for cleanliness. We have a new commander to our Brigade, Brigadier General Brannen [sic], of the U.S. Army, and if looks are any criterion, I think he is a strict disciplinarian and one who will be as able to get his men out of danger as he is willing to lead them to battle….

The boys have plenty of work to do, such as piquet [sic] duty, standing guard, wood-chopping, police duty and day drill; but then they have the most substantial food; our rations consist of fresh beef (three times a week) pickled pork, pickled beef, smoked pork, fresh bread, daily, which is baked by our own bakers, the Quartermaster having procured portable ovens for that purpose, potatoes, split peas, beans, occasionally molasses and plenty of good coffee, so you see Uncle Sam supplies us plentifully….

A few nights ago our Company was out on piquet [sic]; it was a terrible night, raining very hard the whole night, and what made it worse, the boys had to stand well to their work and dare not leave to look for shelter. Some of them consider they are well paid for their exposure, as they captured two ancient muskets belonging to Secessia. One of them is of English manufacture, and the other has the Virginia militia mark on it. They are both in a dilapidated condition, but the boys hold them in high estimation as they are trophies from the enemy, and besides they were taken from the house of Mrs. Stewart, sister to the rebel Jackson who assassinated the lamented Ellsworth at Alexandria. The honorable lady, Mrs. Stewart, is now a prisoner at Washington and her house is the headquarters of the command of the piquets [sic]….

Since the success of the secret expedition, we have all kinds of rumors in camp. One is that our Brigade will be sent to the relief of Gen. Sherman, in South Carolina. The boys all desire it and the news in the ‘Press’ is correct, that a large force is to be sent there, I think their wish will be gratified….

Then, on 21 November, the 47th participated in a morning divisional headquarters review overseen by Colonel Tilghman H. Good, followed by brigade and division drills all afternoon. According to Schmidt, “each man was supplied with ten blank cartridges…. After the reviews and inspections, Gen. Smith requested Gen. Brannan to inform Col. Good that the 47th was the best regiment in the whole division.”

As a reward for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers’ outstanding performance during this review and in preparation for the even bigger adventures yet to come, Brigadier-General John Milton Brannan directed his staff to ensure that new Springfield rifles were obtained and distributed to every member of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers.

As fall turned to winter, multiple members of Company C sent part of their soldiers’ pay back home to their families in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania. Around this same time, members of the regiment were moved into winter quarters. Thoughts then began to turn to the approaching holidays.

Regimental Quartermaster James Van Dyke, who was enjoying an approved furlough at home, was able to procure “various articles of comfort, for the inner as well as the outer man” while there, according to the 21 December 1861 edition of the Sunbury American. Upon his return to camp, many of the 47th Pennsylvanians of German heritage were pleasantly surprised to learn that their town’s well-liked, former sheriff had thoughtfully brought a sizable supply of sauerkraut with him. The German equivalent of “comfort food,” this favored treat warmed stomachs and lifted more than a few spirits that first cold winter away from loved ones.

1862

The New Year of 1862 arrived with news that more change was coming for members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. In response to orders from senior Union Army leaders to head for Maryland, Private Charles Harp and his fellow 47th Pennsylvanians departed from Camp Griffin at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, 22 January 1862. Marching through deep mud with their equipment for three miles in order to reach the railroad station at Falls Church, they were then transported by rail to Alexandria, Virginia, where they boarded the steamship City of Richmond. Transported via the Potomac River to the Washington Arsenal, they were reequipped before they were marched off for dinner and rest at the Soldiers’ Retreat in Washington, D.C.

The next afternoon, they hopped aboard cars on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and headed for Annapolis, Maryland. Arriving around 10 p.m., they were assigned quarters in barracks at the United States Naval Academy. They then spent that Friday through Monday (24-27 January 1862) loading their equipment and other supplies onto the steamship Oriental.

Ferried to the Oriental by smaller steamers during the afternoon of 27 January 1862, the enlisted members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry commenced boarding the big steamship, followed by their officers. Then, per the directive of Brigadier-General Brannan, the Oriental steamed away for the Deep South at 4 p.m. and headed for Florida which, despite its secession from the Union, remained strategically important to the Union due to the presence of Forts Taylor and Jefferson in Key West and the Dry Tortugas.

Private Harp and his fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers subsequently arrived in Key West, Florida In early February 1862, where they were assigned to garrison Fort Taylor. During the weekend of Friday, 14 February, the regiment introduced itself to Key West residents as it paraded through the streets of the city. That Sunday, a number of the men from the regiment mingled with local residents at area church services.

Drilling daily in heavy artillery tactics and other military strategies, they felled trees, built new roads and helped to strengthen the facility’s fortifications. But there were lighter moments as well.

According to a letter penned by Henry Wharton on 27 February 1862, the regiment commemorated the birthday of former U.S. President George Washington with a parade, a special ceremony involving the reading of Washington’s farewell address to the nation (first delivered in 1796), the firing of cannon at the fort, and a sack race and other games on 22 February. The festivities resumed two days later when the 47th Pennsylvania’s Regimental Band hosted an officers’ ball at which “all parties enjoyed themselves, for three o’clock of the morning sounded on their ears before any motion was made to move homewards.” That was then followed by a concert by the Regimental Band on Wednesday evening, 26 February.

As the 47th Pennsylvanians soldiered on, many were realizing that they were operating in an environment that was far more challenging than what they had experienced to date — and in an area where the water quality was frequently poor. That meant that disease would now be their constant companion — an unseen foe that would continue to claim the lives of multiple members of the regiment during this phase of duty — if they weren’t careful.

Next ordered to Hilton Head, South Carolina from mid-June through July, the 47th Pennsylvanians camped near Fort Walker before relocating to the Beaufort District, Department of the South, roughly thirty-five miles away. Frequently assigned to hazardous picket detail north of their main camp, which put them at increased risk from enemy sniper fire, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers became known for their “attention to duty, discipline and soldierly bearing,” and “received the highest commendation from Generals Hunter and Brannan,” according to historian Samuel P. Bates.

Detachments from the regiment were also assigned to the Expedition to Fenwick Island (9 July) and the Demonstration against Pocotaligo (10 July), while men from Companies B and H “crossed the Coosaw River at the Port Royal Ferry and drove off the Rebel pickets before returning ‘home’ without a loss,” according to Schmidt. The actions were the Union’s response to the burning by Confederate troops of the ferry house at Port Royal.

As summer deepened, they continued to spar with Confederates as they worked to solidify the Union’s hold on the Beaufort area. Meanwhile, back home in Pennsylvania, Private Charles Harp’s older brother, Washington Harp, was enrolling for military service in Sunbury. He then officially mustered in at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg as a private with Company G of the 57th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Military records described him as a twenty-eight-year-old native of Northumberland County who was employed as a potter and was five feet, seven inches tall with dark hair, gray eyes and a dark complexion. (Washington Harp would subsequently go on to fight in multiple battles in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.)

Saint John’s Bluff and the Capture of a Confederate Steamer

During a return expedition to Florida beginning 30 September, members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry joined with members of the 1st Connecticut Battery, 7th Connecticut Infantry, and part of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry in assaulting Confederate forces at their heavily protected camp at Saint John’s Bluff, overlooking the Saint John’s River area. Trekking and skirmishing through roughly twenty-five miles of dense swampland and forests after disembarking from ships at Mayport Mills on 1 October, they subsequently captured artillery and ammunition stores (on 3 October) that had been abandoned by Confederate forces during a bombardment of the bluff by Union gunboats.

According to Henry Wharton, “On the day following our occupation of these works the guns were dismounted and removed on board the steamer Neptune, together with the shot and shell, and removed to Hilton Head. The powder was all used in destroying the batteries.”

Meanwhile that same weekend (Friday and Saturday, 3-4 October 1862), Brigadier-General Brannan, who was quartered on board the Ben Deford as the Union expedition’s commanding officer, was busy penning reports to his superiors while also planning the next move of his expeditionary force. That Saturday, Brannan chose several officers to direct their subordinates to prepare rationsAccording to Henry Wharton, “On the day following our occupation of these works the guns were dismounted and removed on board the steamer Neptune, together with the shot and shell, and removed to Hilton Head. The powder was all used in destroying the batteries.” and ammunition for a new foray that would take them roughly twenty miles upriver to Jacksonville. (A sophisticated hub of cultural and commercial activities with a racially diverse population of more than two thousand residents, the city had repeatedly changed hands between the Union and Confederacy until its occupation by Union forces on 12 March 1862.) Among the Union soldiers selected for this mission were 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers from Company C, Company E and Company K.

Boarding the Union gunboat Darlington (formerly a Confederate steamer), they moved upriver, along the Saint John’s, with protection from the Union gunboat Hale, ultimately traveling a distance of two hundred miles. Charged with locating and capturing Confederate ships that had been engaged in furnishing troops, ammunition and other supplies to Confederate Army units scattered throughout the region, including the batteries at Saint John’s Bluff and Yellow Bluff, the members of Company C were charged by Brannan with setting fire to that city’s Southern Rights newspaper, due to its repeated publication of pro-Confederacy propaganda, while the members of Companies E and K played a key role in capturing the Governor Milton, a Confederate steamer that had been transporting Confederate troops and military supplies throughout the region. Docked near Hawkinsville when captured, the Milton was subsequently moved back down the river and behind Union lines by members of the 47th Pennsylvania.

Integration of the Regiment

The 47th Pennsylvania also made history during the month of October 1862 as it became an integrated regiment, adding to its muster rolls several Black men who had escaped chattel enslavement from plantations near Beaufort, South Carolina. Among the formerly enslaved men who enlisted at this time were Bristor Gethers, Abraham Jassum and Edward Jassum.

Battle of Pocotaligo, South Carolina

From 21-23 October 1862, under the brigade and regimental commands of Colonel Tilghman Good and Lieutenant-Colonel George Warren Alexander, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers joined with other Union troops in engaging heavily protected Confederate forces in and around Pocotaligo, South Carolina, including at the Frampton Plantation and the Pocotaligo Bridge, a key piece of railroad infrastructure that senior Union military leaders felt should be eliminated.

Harried by snipers while en route to destroy the bridge, they also met resistance from Confederate artillerymen who opened fire as they entered an open cotton field.

Those headed toward higher ground at the Frampton Plantation fared no better as they encountered rifle and cannon fire from the surrounding forests. But the Union soldiers would not give in. Grappling with Rebel troops wherever they found them, they pursued them for four miles as the Confederate Army retreated to the bridge. Once there, the 47th Pennsylvania relieved the 7th Connecticut.

The engagement proved to be a costly one for the 47th Pennsylvania, however, with multiple members of the regiment killed instantly or so grievously wounded that they died the next day or within weeks of the battle. Among those killed in action was Captain Charles Mickley of Company G; one of the mortally wounded was K Company Captain George Junker.

In a letter penned to friends back home in Sunbury on 27 October 1862, C Company Captain John Peter Shindel Gobin provided details about the Battle of Pocotaligo and about members of his company who had been killed or wounded:

For the first time since our terrible engagement on the main land, I find time to write you an account of the affair…. On Tuesday morning [21 October 1862] our regiment received orders for six hundred men to embark on a Transport, with two days’ rations, at 1 o’clock P.M. I selected sixty men, and embarked. Our destination was unknown, although it was the general opinion that it was the Charleston and Savannah Railroad bridges. We steamed down the river, and were all advised by. Gen. Brannan, who was on the boot with our regiment, to get as much sleep as possible. I sought my berth, and when I awoke next morning, found we were in the Broad River, opposite Mackay’s Point. A detachment of the 4th New Hampshire, sent on shore to capture the enemy’s pickets, having failed, we were ordered to disembark immediately. Eight Companies of our regiment, (the other two being on another Transport) were gotten [illegible word], and at once took up the line of march. After about three miles, we came in sight of the pickets, when we halted until joined by the 55th Pennsylvania, 6th Connecticut, and one section of the 1st U.S. Artillery. We were again ordered forward — a few of the enemy’s cavalry slowly retiring before us, until we reached a place known as Caston, where two pieces of artillery, supported by cavalry, were discovered in position in the road. — They fired two shells at us, which went wide. While our artillery ran to the front and unlimbered, our regiment was ordered forward at double quick. The enemy however left after receiving one round from our artillery, which killed one of their men. We followed them closely for about two miles, when we found their battery of six pieces, posted in a strong position at the edge of a wood, supported by infantry and cavalry.

They opened upon us immediately, which was replied to by our artillery, posted in the road. This road ran through a sweet potato field, covered with vines and brush. Our regiment was thrown in mass and deployed on my company [Company C, the flag-bearer unit], which brought my right in the road. We were ordered to charge, and with a yell the men went in. We had scarcely taken a dozen steps before we were greeted with a shower of round shot and shell from the enemy’s artillery. A round shot struck the ground fairly in front of me, covering me with sand, bounding to the right and killing the third man in the company to my right. It was followed by a shell, that gave us another shower of sand, and flew between the legs of Corporal Keefer, the man on my left, tearing his pantaloons, striking his file coverer, Billington [Samuel Billington], on the knee, and glancing and striking a man named Gensemer on Billington’s left, and bringing them to the ground, but fortunately failing to explode. Almost at the same instant Jeremiah Haas and Jno. Bartlow were struck, the former in the face and breast by a piece of shell, the latter through the leg by a cannister shot. The shower we received here was terrific. Nothing daunted, on they rushed for the battery, but it was almost impossible to get through the weeds and vines. When within a hundred yards the enemy limbered up, and retreated through the woods. We followed as rapidly as possible, but we had scarcely entered the woods, when we were again greeted with a terrific storm of shell, grape and cannister from a new position, on the other side of the woods.

Ordering my men to keep to the right of the road, we pushed forward through a wood almost impenetrable. We were at times obliged to crawl on our hands and knees. — In the meantime the enemy’s infantry opened upon us, and assisted in raking the woods. Sergeant Haupt [Peter Haupt] here received his wound. When at length we pushed through, we found ourselves separated from the enemy by an impassable swamp, about one hundred yards in width. The only means of getting over was by a narrow causeway of about twelve feet in width. Seeing this, our regiment fell back to the edge of the woods, lay down and engaged the enemy’s infantry opposite us. In the meantime two howitzers from the Wabash, [which] had been placed in position in the rear of the woods, commenced shelling the enemy, whose artillery was on the right of the road on the opposite side of the swamp. The latter replied, the shells of both parties passing over us. Our situation here was extremely critical. Exposed to the cross-fire of the contending artillery and the infantry in the front, with the limbs and tops of trees falling on and around us, it was indeed a position I never want to be placed in again. — Here, Peter Wolf, while endeavoring in company with Sergeant Brosious, Corp S. Y. Haupt and Isaac Kembel, to pick off some artillerymen, received two balls and fell dead. I had him carried five miles and buried by the side of the road. Corporal S. Y. Haupt, had the stock of his rifle shattered by a rifle ball, that embedded itself.

In about twenty minutes the fire became too hot for them, and they again “skedaddled” just as Gen. Terry’s Brigade, 75th Pennsylvania in advance, were ordered up to relieve us. They followed them up rapidly until they arrived at Pocotaligo creek, over which the rebels crossed, and tore up the bridge, and ensconced themselves behind their breastworks and in their rifle pits. — We were again ordered forward, deployed to the right, and advanced to the bank of the creek, or marsh, which was fringed by woods. We lay a short time supporting the 7th Connecticut, when their ammunition became expended, and we took the front. Here occurred the most desperate fighting of the day. The enemy were reinforced by the 26th South Carolina, which came upon the breastworks with a rush. We gave them a volley that sent them staggering, but they formed in the rear of the first line, and the two poured into us one of the most scathing, withering fires ever endured. Added to it, their artillery commenced throwing grape and cannister amongst us, but we soon drove the artillerymen from their guns, and silenced them. The colors on the left of my company attracting a very heavy fire, I ordered the Sergeant to wrap them up. — This caused quite a yell among the Confederates, but we soon changed their tune. — We fired until our ammunition was nearly expended, when we ceased. This caused the enemy’s artillery to open upon us, while the musketry continued with redoubled energy. Eight men of my company fell at this last fight. We held our position, unsupported, until dark, when we were ordered to fall back. We did so and covered the retreat. We were the first regiment in the fight, and last out of it. Our men fought like veterans, and did fearful execution among the enemy. Our loss was very heavy, losing one hundred and twelve men out of six hundred. I detailed my entire company to carry their dead and wounded comrades to the boat, which I did not reach until 4 o’clock A.M., bringing with me the last man, Billington. In consequence of having no stretchers or ambulances, we were compelled to carry our wounded in blankets. They were, however, all taken good care of.

My men fought as men accustomed to it all their life. Nothing could exceed their valor. In addition to the loss in my own company, of the color guard, composed of Corporals from other companies attached to it, all but two were struck. Every man seemed determined to win.

My loss is as follows: — Killed — Peter Wolf, Sunbury, Pa.; George Harner, Upper Mahanoy; Seth Deibert, Lehigh county. — Wounded — Sergeant Peter Haupt, Sunbury, Pa., cannister shot through the foot, will save the foot; Corporal Samuel Y. Haupt, Sunbury, rifle shot on chin, will be ready for duty in a week. His rifle was struck with a piece of shell, and after shattered by rifle ball. Corporal William Finck, near Milton, rifle shot through leg — amputation not necessary; private S. H. Billington, Sunbury, struck on knee by shell, will save the leg; private John Bartlow, cannister shot through leg, will save the leg; private Jeremiah Haas, struck in face and breast by piece of shell, will soon be well; private Conrad Halman [sic, “Holman”], Juniata county, shot in face by rifle ball — teeth all gone, will recover; private Theodore Kiehl, Sunbury, struck in the mouth by a rifle ball, lower jaw shattered, but will recover; Charles Leffler [sic, “Lefler”], Lehigh county, rifle shot through leg — will recover without amputation; Michael Larkins [sic, “Larkin”], Lehigh county, wounded in side and hip in a hand to hand fight with a mounted officer, killed the officer and captured his horse, able to be about; Thomas Lotherd [sic, “Lothard”; alias of “Charles Marshall“], Pittston, Pa., grape shot through right side — will recover; Richard O’Rourke, Juniata county, rifle ball through right side — will recover; James R. Rine [sic, “Rhine”], Juniata county, struck on leg by round shot — not serious.

In a follow-up letter penned to friends three weeks after the battle, Captain Gobin provided this update regarding his C Company men who were either convalescing at the 47th Pennsylvania’s camp in Beaufort, South Carolina or were still hospitalized on Hilton Head Island:

…. I have not heard from Sergt. Haupt [sic, Peter Haupt] today. Yesterday he was still living and improving, and I now have hopes of his recovery. I was down on Saturday last and both nurses and doctor promised me to do everything in their power to save him. If money or attention can save him it mustbedone.

The rest of the wounded of my Company are doing very well. All will recover, I think, and lose no limbs, but how many will be unfit for service I cannot yet tell. Billington, Kiehl, Barlton [sic, “John Bartlow“], Sergt. Haupt and Leffler [sic, “Lefler”] are yet at Hilton Head. Billington is on crutches and attending to Haupt or helping. Barlton [sic, “John Bartlow”] and Leffler [sic, “Lefler”] are also on crutches. Kiehl is walking about, but his jaw is badly shattered. Corp. S. Y. Haupt is on duty. Haas’ wound is healing up nicely. Corp. Finck is about on crutches. O’Rourke, Holman, Lothard, Rine [sic, “Rhine”], and Larkins [sic, “Larkin“] are in camp, getting along finely. Those who were wounded in the body, face and legs all get along much better than Sergt. Haupt who was wounded in the foot. His jaws were tightly locked the last time I saw him.

The Yellow fever is pretty bad at the Head, and I do not like to send any body down. I am holding a Court Martial, and keep very busy. The fever creates no alarm whatever here. No cases at all have occurred save those brought from Hilton Head. We have had two frosts and all feel satisfied that will settle the fever. Some good men have fallen victims to it. Gen. Mitchell [sic, “Major-General Ormsby Mitchel”] is much regretted here.

Sixty of my men are on picket under Lieut. Oyster [sic, “Daniel Oyster”], Lieut. Rees [sic, “William Reese”] having been on the sick list. However he is well again. The balance of the men are all getting along finely. Warren McEwen had been sick but is well again. My health is excellent. Spirits ditto. I suppose however by the looks of things I will be kept in Court Martials for a month longer, the trial list being very large. The men begin to look on me as a kind of executioner as it seems I must be upon every Court held in the Dep’t [Department of the South]….

The day after that letter was written by Captain Gobin, Sergeant Peter Haupt succumbed to “lockjaw” — a complication from the tetanus virus that he had contracted when cannister shot penetrated his foot during the Battle of Pocotaligo.

Ordered back to Key West on 15 November 1862, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers would spend the coming year guarding federal installations in Florida. Companies A, B, C, E, G, and I would once again garrison Fort Taylor in Key West, while the men from Companies D, F, H, and K would garrison Fort Jefferson, the Union’s remote outpost in the Dry Tortugas off the southern coast of Florida.

After packing their belongings at their Beaufort, South Carolina encampment and loading their equipment onto the U.S. Steamer Cosmopolitan, the officers and enlisted members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry sailed toward the mouth of the Broad River on 15 December 1862, and anchored briefly at Port Royal Harbor in order to allow the regiment’s medical director, Elisha W. Baily, M.D., and other members of the regiment who had recuperated enough from their Pocotaligo-related battle injuries at the Union’s general hospital at Hilton Head to rejoin the regiment.

At five p.m. that same evening, the regiment sailed for Florida, during what was described by several members of the 47th as a treacherous and nerve-wracking voyage. According to historian Lewis Schmidt, the ship’s captain “steered a course along the coast of Florida for most of the voyage,” which made the voyage more precarious “because of all the reefs.” On 16 December, “the second night, the ship was jarred as it ran aground on one during a storm, but broke free, and finally steered a course further from shore, out in the Gulf Stream.”

In a letter penned to the Sunbury American on 21 December, Company C soldier Henry Wharton provided the following details about the regiment’s trip:

On the passage down, we ran along almost the whole coast of Florida. Rather all dangerous ground, and the reefs are no playthings. We were jarred considerably by running on one, and not liking the sensation our course was altered for the Gulf Stream. We had heavy sea all the time. I had often heard of ‘waves as big as a house,’ and thought it was a sailors yarn, but I have seen ’em and am perfectly satisfied; so now, not having a nautical turn of mind, I prefer our movements being done on terra firma, and leave old neptune to those who have more desire for his better acquaintance. A nearer chance of a shipwreck never took place than ours, and it was only through Providence that we were saved. The Cosmopolitan is a good riverboat, but to send her to sea, loadened [sic, loaded] with U.S. troops is a shame, and looks as though those in authority wish to get clear of soldiers in another way than that of battle. There was some sea sickness on our passage; several of the boys ‘casting up their accounts’ on the wrong side of the ledger.

According to Corporal George Nichols of Company E, “When we got to Key West the Steamer had Six foot of water in her hole [sic, hold]. Waves Mountain High and nothing but an old river Steamer. With Eleven hundred Men on I looked for her to go to the Bottom Every Minute.”

Although the Cosmopolitan arrived at Key West Harbor on Thursday, 18 December, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers did not set foot on Florida soil until noon the next day. The men from Companies C and I were immediately marched to Fort Taylor, while the men from Companies B and E were assigned to older barracks that had previously been erected by the U.S. Army. Members of Companies A and G were marched to the newer “Lighthouse Barracks” located on “Lighthouse Key.”

1863 

Stationed in Florida for the entire year of 1863, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were literally ordered to “hold the fort.” Their primary duty was to prevent foreign powers from assisting the Confederate Army and Navy in gaining control over federal installations and other territories across the Deep South. In addition, the regiment was also called upon to play an ongoing role in weakening Florida’s ability to supply and transport food and troops throughout areas held by the Confederate States of America.

Prior to intervention by the Union Army and Navy, the owners of plantations, livestock ranches and fisheries, as well as the operators of smaller family farms across Florida, had been able to consistently furnish beef and pork, fish, fruits, and vegetables to Confederate troops stationed throughout the Deep South during the first year of the American Civil War. Large herds of cattle were raised near Fort Myers, for example, while orchard owners in the Saint John’s River area were actively engaged in cultivating sizeable orange groves. (Other types of citrus trees were found growing throughout more rural areas of the state.)

Florida was also a major producer of salt, which was used as a preservative for food. Consequently, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers and other Union troops across Florida were ordered to capture or destroy salt manufacturing plants in order to further curtail the enemy’s access to food.

Once again, though, water quality was a challenge for members of the regiment; as a result, disease became their constant companion and most dangerous foe. Even so, when their initial three-year terms of enlistment were about to expire, more than half of the officers and enlisted members of the 47th Pennsylvania opted to re-enroll for additional tours of duty with the regiment.

1864

In early January 1864, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was ordered to expand the Union’s reach by sending part of the regiment north to retake possession of Fort Myers, a federal installation that had been abandoned in 1858 following the U.S. government’s third war with the Seminole Indians. Per orders issued earlier in 1864 by Major-General D. P. Woodbury, Commanding Officer, U.S. Department of the Gulf, District of Key West and the Tortugas, that the fort be reclaimed to facilitate the Union’s Gulf Coast blockade, Captain Richard Graeffe and a group of men from Company A were charged with expanding the fort and conducting raids on area cattle herds to provide food for the growing Union troop presence across Florida. Graeffe and his men subsequently turned the fort into both their base of operations and a shelter for pro-Union supporters, escaped slaves, Confederate Army deserters, and others fleeing Rebel troops.

Meanwhile, all of the other companies of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry were preparing for the regiment’s history-making journey to Louisiana. Boarding yet another steamer — the Charles Thomas — on 25 February 1864, the men from Companies B, C, D, I, and K headed for Algiers, Louisiana (across the river from New Orleans), followed on 1 March by other members of the regiment from Companies E, F, G, and H who had been stationed at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.

Upon the second group’s arrival, the now almost-fully-reunited regiment moved by train on 28 February to Brashear City (now Morgan City, Louisiana) before heading to Franklin by steamer through the Bayou Teche. There, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry joined the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division of the Department of the Gulf’s Nineteenth Army Corps (XIX Corps), and became the only Pennsylvania regiment to serve in the Red River Campaign of Union Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks. (Unable to reach Louisiana until 23 March, the men from Company A were effectively placed on a different type of detached duty in New Orleans while they awaited transport to enable them to catch up with the main part of their regiment. Charged with guarding and overseeing the transport of two hundred and forty-five Confederate prisoners, they were finally able to board the Ohio Belle on 7 April, and reached Alexandria, Louisiana with those prisoners on 9 April.)

Red River Campaign

The early days on the ground in Louisiana quickly woke the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers up to just how grueling this new phase of duty would be. From 14-26 March, most members of the regiment marched for Alexandria and Natchitoches, Louisiana, by way of New Iberia, Vermilionville (now part of Lafayette), Opelousas, and Washington.

From 4-5 April 1864, the regiment added to its roster of young Black soldiers when Aaron Bullard (later known as Aaron French), James Bullard, John Bullard, Samuel Jones, and Hamilton Blanchard (also known as John Hamilton) enrolled for military service with the 47th Pennsylvania at Natchitoches. According to their respective entries in the Civil War Veterans’ Card File at the Pennsylvania State Archives and on regimental muster rolls, the men were then officially mustered in for duty on 22 June at Morganza. Several of their entries noted that they were assigned the rank of “(Colored) Cook” while others were given the rank of “Under-Cook.”

Often short on food and water throughout their long, harsh-climate trek through enemy territory, the 47th Pennsylvania encamped briefly at Pleasant Hill (now the Village of Pleasant Hill) on the night of 7 April.

Rushed into battle ahead of other regiments in the 2nd Division, sixty members of the 47th were cut down on 8 April during the volley of fire unleashed in the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads. The fighting waned only when darkness fell as those who were uninjured collapsed beside the gravely wounded. Finally, after midnight, the surviving Union troops were ordered to withdraw to Pleasant Hill.

The next day, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were ordered into a critically important defensive position at the far right of the Union lines, their right flank spreading up onto a high bluff. By 3 p.m., after enduring a midday charge by the troops of Confederate Major-General Richard Taylor (a plantation owner and son of Zachary Taylor, former president of the United States), the brutal fighting still showed no signs of ending. Suddenly, just as the 47th was shifting to the left side of the massed Union forces, the men of the 47th Pennsylvania were forced to bolster the 165th New York’s buckling lines by blocking another Confederate assault, during what has since become known as the Battle of Pleasant Hill.

During this engagement, the 47th Pennsylvania recaptured a Massachusetts artillery battery that had been lost during the earlier Confederate assault. While he was mounting the 47th Pennsylvania’s colors on one of the recaptured Massachusetts caissons, C Company Color-Sergeant Benjamin Walls was shot in the left shoulder. As Walls fell, C Company Sergeant William Pyers was then also shot while preventing the American flag from falling into enemy hands. Both men survived their wounds and continued to fight on, but others from the 47th were less fortunate, including Private John C. Sterner (killed at Pleasant Hill), and Privates Cornelius Kramer, George Miller, and Thomas Nipple (wounded). In addition, the regiment nearly lost its second-in-command, Lieutenant-Colonel G. W. Alexander.

Still others from the 47th were captured, marched roughly one hundred and twenty-five miles to Camp Ford, a Confederate Army prison camp near Tyler, Texas, and held there as prisoners of war (POWs) until released during prisoner exchanges beginning 22 July 1864. At least two men from the 47th never made it out of that camp alive; another member of the regiment died while being treated at the Confederate Army hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Following what some historians have called a rout by Confederates at Pleasant Hill and others have labeled a technical victory for the Union or a draw for both sides, the 47th fell back to Grand Ecore, where the men engaged in the hard labor of strengthening regimental and brigade fortifications. After eleven days at Grand Ecore, they then moved back to Natchitoches Parish on 22 April. Marching forty-five miles that day, they arrived in Cloutierville at 10 p.m. While en route, they were attacked again — this time at the rear of their brigade, but they were able to quickly end the encounter and continue on.

The next morning (23 April 1864), episodic skirmishing quickly roared into the flames of a robust fight. As part of the advance party led by Union Brigadier-General William Emory, the 47th Pennsylvanians took on the Confederate cavalry of Brigadier-General Hamilton P. Bee in the Battle of Cane River (also known as “the Affair at Monett’s Ferry” or the “Cane River Crossing”).

Responding to a barrage from the Confederate artillery’s twenty-pound Parrott guns and raking fire from enemy troops situated near a bayou and on a bluff, Brigadier-General Emory directed one of his brigades to keep Bee’s Confederates busy while sending the other two brigades to find a safe spot where his Union troops could ford the Cane River. As part of the “beekeepers,” the 47th Pennsylvania supported Emory’s artillery.

Meanwhile, other troops in Emory’s command worked their way across the Cane River, attacked Bee’s flank, forced a Rebel retreat, and erected a series of pontoon bridges, enabling the 47th and other remaining Union troops to make the Cane River Crossing by the next day. As the Confederates retreated, they torched their own food stores, as well as the cotton supplies of their fellow southerners.

In a letter penned from Morganza, Louisiana on 29 May, Henry Wharton described what had happened to the 47th Pennsylvanians during and immediately after making camp at Grand Ecore:

Our sojourn at Grand Ecore was for eleven days, during which time our position was well fortified by entrenchments for a length of five miles, made of heavy logs, five feet high and six feet wide, filled in with dirt. In front of this, trees were felled for a distance of two hundred yards, so that if the enemy attacked we had an open space before us which would enable our forces to repel them and follow if necessary. But our labor seemed to the men as useless, for on the morning of 22d April, the army abandoned these works and started for Alexandria. From our scouts it was ascertained that the enemy had passed some miles to our left with the intention of making a stand against our right at Bayou Cane, where there is a high bluff and dense woods, and at the same attack Smith’s forces who were bringing up the rear. This first day was a hard one on the boys, for by ten o’clock at night they made Cloutierville, a distance of forty-five miles. On that day the rear was attacked which caused our forces to reverse their front and form in line of battle, expecting too, to go back to the relief of Smith, but he needed no assistance, sending word to the front that he had ‘whipped them, and could do it again.’ It was well that Banks made so long a march on that day, for on the next we found the enemy prepared to carry out their design of attacking us front and rear. Skirmishing commenced early in the morning and as our columns advanced he fell back towards the bayou, when we soon discovered the position of their batteries on the bluff. There was then an artillery duel by the smaller pieces, and some sharp fighting by the cavalry, when the ‘mule battery,’ twenty pound Parrott guns, opened a heavy fire, which soon dislodged them, forcing the chivalry to flee in a manner not at all suitable to their boasted courage. Before this one cavalry, the 3d Brigade of the 1st Div., and Birges’ brigade of the second, had crossed the bayou and were doing good service, which, with the other work, made the enemy show their heels. The 3d brigade done some daring deeds in this fight, as also did the cavalry. In one instance the 3d charged up a hill almost perpendicular, driving the enemy back by the bayonet without firing a gun. The woods on this bluff was so thick that the cavalry had to dismount and fight on foot. During the whole of the day, our brigade, the 2d was supporting artillery, under fire all the time, and could not give Mr. Reb a return shot.

While we were fighting in front, Smith was engaged some miles in the rear, but he done his part well and drove them back. The rebel commanders thought by attacking us in the rear, and having a large face on the bluffs, they would be able to capture our train and take us all prisoners, but in this they were mistaken, for our march was so rapid that we were on them before they had thrown up the necessary earthworks. Besides they underrated the amount of our artillery, calculating from the number engaged at Pleasant Hill. The rebel prisoners say it ‘seems as though the Yankees manufacture, on short notice, artillery to order, and the men are furnished with wings when they wish to make a certain point.

The damage done to the Confederate cause by the burning of cotton was immense. On the night of the 22d our route was lighted up for miles and millions of dollars worth of this production was destroyed. This loss will be felt more by Davis & Co., than several defeats in this region, for the basis of the loan in England was on the cotton of Western Louisiana.

After the rebels had fled from the bluff the negro troops put down the pontoons, and by ten that night we were six miles beyond the bayou safely encamped. The next morning we moved forward and in two days were in Alexandria. Johnnys followed Smith’s forces, keeping out of range of his guns, except when he had gained the eminence across the bayou, when he punished them (the rebs) severely.

Having finally reached Alexandria on 26 April, the 47th Pennsylvanians learned they would remain at their latest new camp for at least two weeks. Placed temporarily under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph Bailey, they were assigned yet again to the hard labor of fortification work, helping to erect “Bailey’s Dam,” a timber structure that enabled Union gunboats to more easily make their way back down the Red River. While stationed in Rapides Parish in late April and early May, according to Wharton:

We were at Alexandria seventeen days, during which time the men were kept busy at throwing up earthworks, foraging and three times went out some distance to meet the enemy, but they did not make their appearance in numbers large enough for an engagement. The water in the Red river had fallen so much that it prevented the gunboats from operating with us, and kept our transports from supplying the troops with rations, (and you know soldiers, like other people, will eat) so Banks was compelled to relinquish his designs on Shreveport and fall back to the Mississippi. To do this a large dam had to be built on the falls at Alexandria to get the ironclads down the river. After a great deal of labor this was accomplished and by the morning of May 13th the last one was through the shute [sic], when we bade adieu to Alexandria, marching through the town with banners flying and keeping step to the music of ‘Rally around the flag,’ and ‘When this cruel war is over.’ The next morning, at our camping place, the fleet of boats passed us, when we were informed that Alexandria had been destroyed by fire – the act of a dissatisfied citizen and several negroes. Incendiary acts were strictly forbidden in a general order the day before we left the place, and a cavalry guard was left in the rear to see the order enforced. After marching a few miles skirmishing commenced in front between the cavalry and the enemy in riflepits [sic] on the bank of the river, but they were easily driven away. When we came up we discovered their pits and places where there had been batteries planted. At this point the John Warren, an unarmed transport, on which were sick soldiers and women, was fired into and sunk, killing many and those that were not drowned taken prisoners. A tin-clad gunboat was destroyed at the same place, by which we lost a large mail. Many letters and directed envelopes were found on the bank – thrown there after the contents had been read by the unprincipled scoundrels. The inhumanity of Guerrilla bands in this department is beyond belief, and if one did not know the truth of it or saw some of their barbarities, he would write it down as the story of a ‘reliable gentleman’ or as told by an ‘intelligent contraband.’ Not satisfied with his murderous intent on unarmed transports he fires into the Hospital steamer Laurel Hill, with four hundred sick on board. This boat had the usual hospital signal floating fore and aft, yet, notwithstanding all this, and the customs of war, they fired on them, proving by this act that they are more hardened than the Indians on the frontier.

On Sunday, May 15, we left the river road and took a short route through the woods, saving considerable distance. The windings of Red river are so numerous that it resembles the tape-worm railroad wherewith the politicians frightened the dear people during the administration of Ritner and Stevens. – We stopped several hours in the woods to leave cavalry pass, when we moved forward and by four o’clock emerged into a large open plain where we formed in line of battle, expecting a regular engagement. The enemy, however, retired and we advanced ‘till dark, when the forces halted for the night, with orders to rest on their arms. – ‘Twas here that Banks rode through our regiment, amidst the cheers of the boys, and gave the pleasant news that Grant had defeated Lee.

Having entered Avoyelles Parish, they “rested on their arms” for the night, half-dozing without pitching their tents, but with their rifles right beside them. They were now positioned just outside of Marksville, Louisiana on the eve of the 16 May 1864 Battle of Mansura, which unfolded as follows, according to Wharton:

Early next morning we marched through Marksville into a prairie nine miles long and six wide where every preparation was made for a fight. The whole of our force was formed in line, in support of artillery in front, who commenced operations on the enemy driving him gradually from the prairie into the woods. As the enemy retreated before the heavy fire of our artillery, the infantry advanced in line until they reached Mousoula [sic, Mansura], where they formed in column, taking the whole field in an attempt to flank the enemy, but their running qualities were so good that we were foiled. The maneuvring [sic] of the troops was handsomely done, and the movements was [sic] one of the finest things of the war. The fight of artillery was a steady one of five miles. The enemy merely stood that they might cover the retreat of their infantry and train under cover of their artillery. Our loss was slight. Of the rebels we could not ascertain correctly, but learned from citizens who had secreted themselves during the fight, that they had many killed and wounded, who threw them into wagons, promiscuously, and drove them off so that we could not learn their casualties. The next day we moved to Simmsport [sic, Simmesport] on the Achafalaya [sic, Atchafalaya] river, where a bridge was made by putting the transports side by side, which enabled the troops and train to pass safely over. – The day before we crossed the rebels attacked Smith, thinking it was but the rear guard, in which they, the graybacks, were awfully cut up, and four hundred prisoners fell into our hands. Our loss in killed and wounded was ninety. This fight was the last one of the expedition. The whole of the force is safe on the Mississippi, gunboats, transports and trains. The 16th and 17th have gone to their old commands.

It is amusing to read the statements of correspondents to papers North, concerning our movements and the losses of our army. I have it from the best source that the Federal loss from Franklin to Mansfield, and from their [sic] to this point does not exceed thirty-five hundred in killed, wounded and missing, while that of the rebels is over eight thousand.

Continuing on, the surviving members of the 47th marched for Simmesport and then Morganza, where they made camp again. On 21 May, the men of C Company were “detailed by the General in command of the Division to take one hundred and eighty-seven prisoners (rebs) to New Orleans,” according to Henry Wharton.

This they done [sic] satisfactorily and returned yesterday [Saturday, 28 May] to their regiment, ready for duty. While in the City some of the boys made Captain Gobin quite a handsome present, to show their appreciation of him as an officer [and] gentleman. The boys are well. James Kennedy who was wounded at Pleasant Hill, died at New Orleans hospital a few days ago. His friends in the company were pleased to learn that Dr. Dodge of Sunbury, now of the U.S. Steamer Octorora, was with him in his last moments, and ministered to his wants. The Doctor was one of the Surgeons from the Navy who volunteered when our wounded was [sic] sent to New Orleans.

While encamped at Morganza, the nine formerly enslaved Black men who had enlisted with the 47th Pennsylvania in Beaufort, South Carolina (1862) and Natchitoches, Louisiana (April 1864) were officially mustered into the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry between 20-24 June 1864. The regiment then moved on yet again, and arrived in New Orleans in late June. As they did during their tour through the Carolinas and Florida, the men of the 47th had battled the elements and disease, as well as the Confederate Army, in order to continue to defend their nation.

Ironically, on the Fourth of July — “Independence Day” — the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers learned from their superior officers that their independence from military life would not be happening anytime soon. The 47th Pennsylvania had received new orders to return to the Eastern Theater of the war. Per those orders, the members of C Company were among the first members of the regiment to depart Bayou Country. Boarding the U.S. Steamer McClellan, they sailed out of the harbor at New Orleans on 7 July 1864, along with the members of Companies A, D, E, F, H, and I. (The remainder of the regiment headed out later that same month aboard the Blackstone.)

An Encounter with Lincoln and Snicker’s Gap

Following their arrival in Virginia and a memorable encounter with President Abraham Lincoln on 12 July, the first group of 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantrymen were assigned to Major-General David Hunter’s forces at Snicker’s Gap in mid-July 1864. While there, they fought in the Battle of Cool Spring and assisted in defending Washington, D.C. while also helping to drive Confederate troops from Maryland.

On 24 July 1864, Captain John Peter Shindel Gobin was promoted from leadership of Company C to the 47th Pennsylvania’s central regimental command staff, and was also awarded the rank of major. By early August, the regiment was back to full strength, thanks to the arrival of the members of B, G and K aboard the Blackstone.

Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Attached to the Middle Military Division, U.S. Army of the Shenandoah from August through November of 1864, it was at this time and place, under the leadership of legendary Union Major-General Philip H. Sheridan and Brigadier-General William H. Emory, that the members of the 47th Pennsylvania would engage in their greatest moments of valor. Of the experience, Company C’s Samuel Pyers said it was “our hardest engagement.”

Records of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers confirm that the regiment was assigned to defensive duties in and around Halltown in early August 1864, and engaged in a series of back-and-forth movements between Halltown, Berryville, Middletown, Charlestown, and Winchester, Virginia as part of a “mimic war” being waged by Sheridan’s Union forces with those commanded by Confederate Lieutenant-General Jubal Early.

On 1 September 1864, First Lieutenant Daniel Oyster was promoted to the rank of captain of Company C. William Hendricks was promoted from second to first lieutenant, Sergeant Christian S. Beard was promoted to second lieutenant, Sergeant William Fry was promoted to the rank of first sergeant, and John Bartlow was promoted to the rank of sergeant.

From 3-4 September, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers fought in the Battle of Berryville and engaged in related post-battle skirmishes with the enemy over subsequent days. On one of those days (5 September 1864), Captain Oyster and a subordinate, Private David Sloan, were wounded at Berryville, Virginia.

Color-Bearer Benjamin Walls, the oldest member of the entire regiment, was mustered out upon expiration of his three-year term of service on 18 September — despite his request that he be allowed to continue his service to the nation. Also mustering out that same day upon expiration of their own individual terms of service were Privates D. W. and Isaac Kemble, David S. Beidler, R. W. Druckemiller, John H. Heim, former POW Conrad Holman, George Miller, William Pfeil, William Plant, Alex Ruffaner — and Private Charles H. Harp.

Return to Civilian Life

Following his honorable discharge from the military, Charles Harp returned home to Northumberland County, Pennsylvania and married Rebecca Banks (1844-1900; alternate spelling: Bancus), a native of Halifax, Dauphin County who was a daughter of Michael Banks (circa 1815-1896) and Leah (Straw) Banks (1817-1882). Together, they welcomed the Northumberland County births of: Levi Harry Harp (1867-1917), who was born on 2 May 1867 and would later wed Mary Malinda Silks (1874-1937); and Mary Jane Harp (1869-1934), who was born in that county’s Borough of Sunbury on 16 October 1869 and would later wed John Ezra Pressler (1871-1935).

In 1870, Charles and Rebecca Harp worked in Sunbury and also resided there  in the borough’s West Ward with their children, Levi and Mary Jane. Also residing with the Harp family that year was sixteen-year-old Aremetta Haas, who was described as a “workwoman” on that year’s federal census.

More children soon followed at the Harp’s Sunbury home: Emma L. Harp (1872-1949), who was born on 28 June 1872 and later wed Edward Wanamaker Bankes (1870-1958) in 1892; Ellen Rebecca Harp (1875-1917), who was born on 13 March 1875, was known to family and friends as “Rebecca” and would later wed John L. Forney and move to the Borough of Duncannon in Perry County; Susanna Ida Harp (1877-1948), who was born on 17 July 1877, was known to family and friends as “Susan” and would later wed George W. Britsch (1878-1965); Charles Henry Harp (1880-1941), who was born on 12 May 1880 and would later become an axe grinder and marry Annie Rachel Campbell (1890-1940); and Frank Harp, who was born in January 1885 and would later reside Springfield, Massachusetts during the late 1940s.

During that same period of growth for his own family, Charles Harp also experienced the loss of his mother, Rebecca Ann Harp, who died at the age of seventy-seven at the home of her son-in-law, Henry Bucher, Sr., in Sunbury in March 1876.

Still living in Sunbury with his wife and children as of 1880, Charles Harp, Sr. continued to support his family on the wages of a laborer.

Illness, Death and Interment

Increasingly ill as he aged, however, Charles Harp became locked in a battle with a foe that he simply could not defeat — a medical condition known as “dropsy.” Commonly known today as “edema,” according to physicians at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, it was a type of “swelling caused by too much fluid trapped in the body’s tissues,” that was caused by “congestive heart failure, kidney disease, venous insufficiency or cirrhosis of the liver.” Forty-eight years, seven months and fifteen days old at the time of his death from disease-related complications in Northumberland County on 9 August 1887, he was laid to rest in the “Lower Cemetery” (the Sunbury Cemetery) in Sunbury, according to Lutheran Church records.

What Happened to the Widow and Children of 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Charles H. Harp?

In 1890, the special federal census of Civil War veterans and widows recorded that Charles Harp’s widow, Rebecca Harp, had returned to her hometown of Halifax in Dauphin County. Still residing there in 1891, she received word from the federal government in October of that year that she would be granted a U.S. Civil War Widow’s Pension of eight dollars per month (the equivalent of roughly two hundred and eighty-five U.S. dollars per month in 2025). In addition, the government sent her a check for the total amount of pension payments that she should have been receiving since filing her pension claim — one hundred and eighty dollars (the equivalent of roughly six thousand four hundred U.S. dollars in 2025).

She and her children appear to have lived quietly for the next several years because they were not mentioned in local newspapers. All that changed when Rebecca Harp moved her family to neighboring Perry County sometime during the late 1890s. By the summer of 1899, local newspapers were reporting that Rebecca Harp was being terrorized by a neighbor — “John Benner, of East Newport” — who “was arrested by Sheriff Kough, and lodged in jail on complaint … that Benner pointed a revolver at her and threatened to kill her,” according to Harrisburg’s Patriot newspaper. Benner’s arrest, which occurred on 10 June of that year, resulted in his brief incarceration, his release on bail of two hundred dollars during the week of 21 June, and his subsequent prosecution in August for “carrying concealed deadly weapons” and “threats to kill,” according to multiple newspaper accounts. After Benner physically assaulted her in mid-September of that same year, “Mrs. Rebecca Harp, of Newport … had a warrant issued by Squire Amos Hair, of this place [Newport], charging John Benner, of Newport, with assault and battery,” according to The Newport News.

Sometime after that incident, she and her children returned to Dauphin County and settled in the city of Harrisburg. Sadly, the U.S. Civil War Widow’s and Orphans’ Pension funds that she had been receiving appear to have been shamefully inadequate. A survivor of gender-based violence during the late 1890s, she and at least one of her children were living in poverty by early 1900, as evidenced by a news report that she and her son, Frank Harp, were severely burned “while gathering rags” at a garbage dump on 5 May of that year, according to The Patriot in Harrisburg.

While gathering rags on the South Tenth street dump, on Saturday [5 May 1900], Mrs. Rebecca Harp accidentally set her clothing on fire by some burning rubbish and was severely burned about the lower limbs. Her son Frank was also burned badly while assisting to extinguish the fire of his mother’s clothes. The two were removed to the Harrisburg hospital and admitted for treatment.

The injuries of the woman were very severe although not considered serious. She was burned from the waist down, but the injuries were on the surface and not at all deep. Her one hand was also burned while the boy had both hands and arms painfully hurt in his efforts to save his mother. Mrs. Harp and her son reside at 1242 North Cameron street.

Her horrific accident was even reported in The Philadelphia Inquirer. Tragically, though, her physicians’ assessment of her condition was incorrect. She succumbed to complications from her injuries just over two weeks later, according to the Harrisburg Telegraph newspaper.

Mrs. Rebecca Harp, who was burned so badly over the lower portion of her body on May 5th, while gathering rubbage on the public dump on South Tenth street, died yesterday at 3 A.M. at the City Hospital. Her injuries were regarded as very serious at the time she was admitted, but it was thought she would recover. Every effort was made to heal her wounds, but the skin tissues were totally destroyed and a change for the worse took place Saturday night and she died early Sunday morning [20 June 1900]. Her remains were taken in charge by her family.

Harrisburg’s Patriot newspaper noted that she had suffered greatly and added these details:

The death of Mrs. Rebecca Harp occurred at the Harrisburg hospital on Sunday [20 May 1900], where she had been under treatment for several weeks for burns. Mrs. Harp was accidentally burned by getting her clothing in a fire on the South Tenth street dump. That she did not burn to death on the spot was due to the heroic efforts of her son, Frank Harp, who was seriously injured in extinguishing the fire. 

She was taken to the Harrisburg hospital, and it was at first supposed that she would recover. The shock, however, was too great, and her condition was precarious for the past week. During the past few days she sank slowly and became very weak. Her death occurred yesterday morning at 2 o’clock.

Mrs. Harp was a widow, and was fifty-five years of age. She resided on Cameron street for a number of years. She is survived by several children, who live in this city. Th funeral arrangements have not been announced yet.

The remains of Rebecca (Banks) Harp were subsequently transported by a local undertaker to the nearby town of Halifax for burial at Fetterhoffs Cemetery.

Her fifteen-year-old son, Frank Harp, who had also been severely burned while trying to save his mother at the dump fire in Harrisburg, ultimately survived, and was taken in by his older brother, Levi Harry Harp. In June of 1900, they resided at Levi’s home in Tuscarora Township, Perry County. Also residing there were Levi’s wife, Mary Malinda (Silks) Harp, and their children: Benjamin Franklin Harp (1896-1964), who had been born in Newport, Perry County on 12 June 1896; and Margaret Catharine Harp (1898-1972), who had been born in Tuscarora Township, Perry County on 1 October 1898, was known to family and friends as “Maggie” and would later wed Raymond George Hammaker. Both Levi and Frank were employed as day laborers at that time. By 1910, however, Frank had moved out of his brother’s home to begin his own journey as an adult. By 1949, he had migrated north, and was living in Springfield, Massachusetts, according to the obituary of his sister, Emma (Harp) Bankes, who passed away on 15 September of that year.

* Note: Researchers for 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers: One Civil War Regiment’s Story have not yet determined what happened to Frank Harp after 1949, but hope that Harp family descendants will share any data that they have regarding his life, death and burial location. Pleaae see our website’s “Contact” section for details on how to share data with us.

Meanwhile, Charles and Rebecca Harp’s son, Levi Harry Harp (1867-1917), was continuing to forge his own path in life. Following the births of his children, Benjamin Harp (1896-1964) and Maggie C. Harp (1898-1972), Levi and his wife, Mary Malinda (Silks) Harp (1874-1937), welcomed the Newport, Perry County births of more children: Ellen Rebecca Harp (1900-1973), who was born in 1900 and later wed Edward H. Dudley; Mary V. Harp (1903-1963), who was born on 27 May 1903 and later wed Wilbur H. Hockenberry. Sometime after their daughter Mary’s birth, Charles and Rebecca Harp moved their family to Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, where Charles had found work as a laborer at a steel plant. Settled in the Borough of Lewistown, he and his family continued to welcome the births of more children, including: Charles William Harp (1904-1975), who was born on 30 May 1904 and later wed Margaret M. Beck; Emma Elizabeth Harp (1905-1979), who was born on 2 November 1905 and later wed John Earle Dudley; and Carrie Esther Dudley, who was born on 11 April 1909 and later wed Harry Rinehart. Sadly, Levi Harry Harp’s health would also fail him. Ailing with organic heart disease, he died at the age of fifty in Penn Township, Perry County on 31 August 1917. Following funeral services, he was laid to rest at the Duncannon Union Cemetery.

Following her marriage to John Ezra Pressler in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania on 20 August 1891, Charles and Rebecca Harp’s daughter, Mary Jane (Harp) Pressler, settled with him in Dauphin County, where they welcomed the Harrisburg births of: Edward George Pressler (1892-1949), who was born on 22 April 1892 and would later serve overseas with the United States Army during World War I, before marrying Bessie E. Hockenberry in New Bloomfield, Perry County on 25 October 1923; and William O. Pressler (1893-1957), who was born on 8 January 1893 and would later wed Viola Wright (1906-1976). After the turn of the century, Mary Jane (Harp) Pressler and her husband, John, resided with their two sons in Oliver Township, Perry County, where John Pressler was employed as a laborer at a blast furnace. By 1910, the quartet resided in the First Ward of Perry County’s Borough of Newport, where John Pressler was employed as a railroad laborer. Still residing in Perry County as of 1920, where John Pressler was now employed as a railroad watchman, the Presslers resided in Penn Township at the time of that year’s federal census. John, Mary Jane and William still resided there in 1930, but without Edward, who had moved on to begin his own life. Ailing with heart and kidney disease during her final years, Mary Jane (Harp) Pressler subsequently passed away in Penn Township on 30 June 1934. Following funeral services, she was also interred at the Duncannon Union Cemetery.

Following her marriage to Edward Wanamaker Bankes (1870-1958) in Harrisburg on 25 July 1892, Charles and Rebecca Harp’s daughter, Emma L. (Harp) Bankes, settled with her husband in Harrisburg. By 1900, they were residing in that city’s Seventh Ward, and her husband was employed as a railroad brakeman. Still a childless couple by 1910, they were now residing in Upper East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, where her husband was employed as a railroad flagman. By 1930, the duo resided in the Borough of West Fairview in Cumberland County, where her husband continued to work for the railroad as a flagman — an employment and residency status that continued into the 1930s. With her husband retired by 1940, she continued to maintain her home with him there until she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on 12 September 1949. Transported to Harrisburg for treatment at the Polyclinic Hospital, she died there at the age of seventy-seven on 15 September. Following funeral services, she was also laid to rest at the Duncannon Union Cemetery.

Following her marriage to John L. Forney in New Buffalo, Perry County on 13 May 1896, Charles and Rebecca Harp’s daughter, Ellen Rebecca (Harp) Forney, who was known to family and friends as “Rebecca,” settled with her husband in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, where they welcomed the birth of son Harry L. Forney (1898-1863), who was born in Benvenue on 10 January 1898 and would later marry Lucille M. Bartch (1910-1982). By 1900, Rebecca and her husband and son were residing in Reed Township, Dauphin County, where her husband was employed as a lock tender on the canal. More children soon followed: John E. Forney (1902-1986), who was born in the Borough of Duncannon, Perry County in 1902 and would later work for Wyeth Laboratories in Marietta, Pennsylvania as a custodian; and Eva Edna Forney (1908-1999), who was born in Center Township, Perry County on 20 December 1908 and would later wed Charles Meredith Grab. Ailing with cancer during her final years, she died at the age of forty-two in Duncannon, and was laid to rest at the “U. Brothern Cemetery,” according to her death certificate.

Following her marriage to George W. Britsch in the city of Harrisburg on 20 February 1899, Charles and Rebecca Harp’s daughter, Susanna Ida Harp (1877-1948), who was known to family and friends as “Susan,” settled with him on Fourth Street in Harrisburg’s Sixth Ward and then welcomed the birth of daughter Pearl M. Britsch (1899-1976), who was born on 18 June 1899 and later wed James T. Bennett (1894-1943). More children soon followed: Ralph Edward Britsch (1906-1985), who was born in Harrisburg on 20 December 1906 and later wed Elva A. Cocklin (1908-1962); and Eva Violet Britsch (1908-2000; alternate given name: “Beatrice”), who was born on 26 July 1908 and later wed Louis J. Hobbs (1903-1979). In 1910, Susan (Harp) Britsch and her family still resided Harrisburg’s Sixth Ward, where her husband worked as a laborer at a paper mill; however, her brother, Charles Harp, had moved on to begin his own life. By 1920, Susan and her husband were residing in Harrisburg’s Twelfth Ward with their children, Ralph and Beatrice, but by 1930, the quartet were residents of Cumberland Street in Harrisburg’s Fifth Ward. An empty nester with her husband at their home on Hamilton Street in Harrisburg’s Twelfth Ward by 1940, Susan I. (Harp) Britsch developed arteriosclerosis and high blood pressure during her final years. After suffering a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of seventy-one at her home at 329 Granite Street in Harrisburg, she died there on 12 November 1948, and was subsequently laid to rest at the East Harrisburg Cemetery in Dauphin County.

Charles and Rebecca Harp’s son, Charles Henry Harp, had initially worked as a day laborer before becoming an axe grinder. A resident of his sister Susan (Harp) Britsch’s home in Harrisburg in 1900, he had gone on to marry Annie Rachel Campbell (1890-1940) sometime around 1906. After relocating with his wife to Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, his wife subsequently gave birth to a son, James W. Harp (1908-1908), who was born in that county’s Borough of Lewistown on 14 May 1908. Sadly, that child died three days later and was buried at the county cemetery in Derry Township, Mifflin County, according to his death certificate. Charles Henry Harp and his wife, Annie, then welcomed the Derry Township birth of another son, Robert William Harp (1909-1994), who was born on 13 July 1909. By 1910, the three Harps were residing in the First Ward of the Borough of Lewistown in Mifflin County, where Charles Henry Harp was trying to support his young family on the wages of a day laborer who found “odd jobs” whenever he could. Also residing with his family at that time were his brother-in-law Harry D. Brubaker, who was employed as a puddler at an iron mill, and Annie Danchus, a boarder who also supported herself by working “odd jobs.” More children soon followed: Frank Henry Harp (1912-1987), who was born in the Borough of Burnham on 15 January 1912 and would later wed Pauline Catherine Rupp in Perry County on 10 March 1945; and Elias Edward Harp (1914-1994), who was born in Penn Township, Perry County on 12 July 1914. That year (1914), Charles Henry Harp was employed as a railroad “trackman,” according to his son’s birth record. Still working as a railroad laborer when both the 1920 federal census and 1930 federal census were enumerated, he still resided with his wife and three sons in Penn Township. Sadly, on 16 March 1940, he was widowed by his wife, Annie Rachel (Campbell) Harp, who had been suffering from cervical cancer during the final two years of her life. Following her passing (which occurred less than two months prior to her fiftieth birthday), she was buried at the Union Cemetery in Perry County, according to her death certificate. The next month, Charles Henry Harp and his sons were documented as residents of the same home in the Borough of Duncannon. In a nation and state struggling to recover from the Great Depression, he was employed by the Works Progress Administration that year as a laborer for area road projects. Unfortunately, the stress of those years, combined with the loss of his wife, finally took their toll on his his health. Ailing with arteriosclerosis, he suffered two cerebral hemorrhages in May and July of 1941 and died at the County Home of Perry County (also known as the Alms House or Poorhouse) in Loysville, Perry County on 23 July 1941, and was buried at the Perry County Home Cemetery the next day, according to his death certificate.

What Happened to the Siblings of 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Charles H. Harp?

Following her marriage to Jacob Cassatt in Sunbury on 5 August 1855, Charles H. Harp’s sister, Sarah (Harp) Cassatt, settled with her husband in Sunbury, where they welcomed the Sunbury births of: Annie Rebecca Cassatt (1856-1921), who was born on 24 January 1856 and would later wed Valentine Mackert (1853-1901) in 1872; and Jacob Daniel Webster Shindel Cassatt (1867-1923), who was born on 20 June 1867. Still residing with her husband and two children in Sunbury in 1870, Sarah’s husband was employed as a boatman that year. Tragically, Sarah (Harp) Cassatt subsequently died while still in her early forties in Sunbury in 1878, and was laid to rest at the also interred at the Sunbury Cemetery in Sunbury.

Following his marriage to Matilda Frymoyer (variant: “Frymirer”) during the early to mid-1850s, Charles H. Harp’s brother, William Jackson Harp, who was known to family and friends as “Jackson,” had settled with his wife in Sunbury, where they had welcomed the births of: Mary Rebecca Harp (1855-1916), who had been born on 15 January 1855 but had never married; William Jackson Harp, Jr. (1856-1923), who had been born on 1 September 1856 and had later wed Susan Oliphant (1860-1926); John H. Harp (1858-1882), who had been born in 1858 and had later been mortally injured during a work-related accident “while coupling cars at Derry station, forty five miles east of Pittsburg, on the main line of the Pennsylvania railroad,” according to a report in the 14 April 1882 edition of The Democrat newspaper in Sunbury; and Katherine L. Harp (1860-1919), who had been born on 21 July 1860 but never married; and George B. McClellan Harp, who had been born circa 1863. As the American Civil War had raged on into 1865, William Jackson Harp had decided that his family was secure enough that he could risk life and limb to help save his nation from ruin. So, on 17 March 1865, he had enrolled for military service at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg and had then officially mustered in there that same day as a private with Company C of the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, which had been assigned to guard duty in West Virginia. Military records at the time had described him as a thirty-three-year-old laborer and resident of Sunbury who was five feet, seven inches tall with black hair, black eyes and a dark complexion.

* Note: Although William Jackson Harp was a member of the Sunbury Guards prior to the start of the American Civil War, he had not mustered in with his old militia unit at the beginning of the war, but had chosen instead to remain at home to support his family. According to at least one record, he may have attempted to enroll for military service in Sunbury with Company D of the 3rd Pennsylvania Militia (1862) on 12 September 1862; if so, he had been discharged two weeks later on 25 September and sent back home, where he and his wife had then welcomed the birth of son George B. McClellan Harp sometime in 1863. As the war persisted, he had worked to support his family and community until 17 March 1865 when he had finally been successful in enrolling with the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry at Camp Curtin. (Assigned to help protect areas of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in West Virginia around that same time, the 74th Pennsylvanians were later reassigned to occupation and guard duties in Beverly and Clarksburg, West Virginia from 8 April to 12 May 1865 and then reassigned to guard duties along the B&O’s Parkersburg line, where they remained until they were honorably discharged in late August of 1865.)

Following his honorable discharge on 29 August 1865, William Jackson Harp then returned home to his family in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife welcomed the births of: Frances F. Harp, a daughter who was born circa 1867; and Charles E. Harp (1868-1919), a son who was born in Sunbury on 24 October 1868. (That Charles Harp would later go on to marry Lulu Stapleton and become an engineer with the Sunbury Water Company.) By 1870, William Jackson Harp was employed at a grocery story and resided with his wife and children in Sunbury’s West Ward. Another son, Solomon Shipe Harp (1871-1930), was then born in Sunbury on 31 January 1871. (Solomon would later go on to become a brakeman with the Pennsylvania Railroad and the husband of Katherine Ann Weller.) Sadly, two years after the birth of his youngest son, William Jackson Harp became a widower when his wife, Matilda, passed away in Sunbury on 27 April 1873. By 1880, the widower was residing on Pine Street in Sunbury’s West Ward with his daughter, Catherine (aged eighteen), and his two young sons, Charles (aged eleven) and Solomon (aged nine). Ailing with dropsy, he succumbed to disease-related complications at the age of fifty-two years and one month in Sunbury on 4 February 1884 and was also laid to rest at the Sunbury Cemetery.

Meanwhile, Charles H. Harp’s brother, Washington Harp (1833-1913), had become a potter like his father. After marrying sometime before the federal census of 1870, which was enumerated in Lower Augusta Township, Northumberland County on 12 August that year, he settled in that township, near the town of Augusta, with his forty-five-year-old wife, Lavina, and became increasingly known as a craftsman of of redware pottery. He was still living with her in that township at the time of the 1880 federal census. By 1900, however, he had become a widower who was living and working as a laborer on the Lower Augusta Township farm of Newton Long, according to that year’s federal census. During the summer of 1902, however, Washington Harp received an increase in his U.S. Civil War Pension to twelve dollars per month (the equivalent of roughly four hundred and fifty U.S. dollars per month in 2025), which enabled him to move into his own home by 1910. But his health was declining due to alcoholism. On 7 October 1913, he suffered an episode of apoplexy and died just weeks shy of his eightieth birthday in Lower Augusta Township. Following funeral services, he was laid to rest at that township’s St. Elias Lutheran and Reformed Church Cemetery.

 

Sources: 

1. Annie Rachel Harp (a daughter-in-law of Charles and Rebecca Harp and the wife of Charles Henry Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 32091, registered no.: 7, date of death: 16 March 1940). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
2. Bankes, Edward W., and Emma L. (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in U.S. Census (Harrisburg, Seventh Ward, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
3. Bankes, Edward W., and Emma L. (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in U.S. Census (Upper East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
4. Bankes, Edward W., and Emma L. (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in U.S. Census (Borough of West Fairview, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1930, 1940). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
5. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, vol.1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
6. Bell, Herbert C. History of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Including Its Aboriginal History; the Colonial and Revolutionary Periods; Early Settlement and Subsequent Growth; Political Organization; Agricultural, Mining, and Manufacturing Interests; Internal Improvements; Religious, Educational, Social, and Military History; Sketches of Its Boroughs, Villages, and Townships; Portraits and Biographies of Pioneers and Representative Citizens, Etc., Etc. Chicago, Illinois: Brown, Runk, & Co. Publishers: 1891.
7. “Blankets, Socks, &c.” (mention of donation of blankets and clothing by the “ladies of Sunbury” to soldiers). Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury Gazette, 21 December 1861.
8. Bressler [sic, “Pressler”], John E., Mary (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Willie, and Edgar [sic, “Edward”], in U.S. Census (Oliver Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
9. Bressler [sic, “Pressler”], John E., Mary J. (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), William O., and Edward G., in U.S. Census (Penn Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1920). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
10. Britch [sic, “Britsch”], George W., Susan I. (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp) and Pearl M.; and Harp, Charles H. (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp and a brother of Susan I. (Harp) Britsch), in U.S. Census (Harrisburg, Sixth Ward, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
11. Britch [sic, “Britsch”], George, Sue (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Pearl, Ralph, and Eva, in U.S. Census (Harrisburg, Sixth Ward, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
12. Britch [sic, “Britsch”], George W. , Susan (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Ralph, and Eva, in U.S. Census (Harrisburg, Twelfth Ward, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1920). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
13. Britch [sic, “Britsch”], George W. , Susan (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Ralph, and Eva, in U.S. Census (Harrisburg, Fifth Ward, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1930). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
14. Britsch, George and Susan (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in U.S. Census (Harrisburg, Twelfth Ward, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1940). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
15. “Burned on the Dump” (report regarding the burn injuries sustained by Charles Harp Sr.’s widow, Rebecca (Banks) Harp, and son, Frank Harp, while gathering rags at a garbage dump). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Patriot, 7 May 1900.
16. “Burns Were Fatal” (report regarding the burn injuries sustained by Charles Harp Sr.’s widow, Rebecca (Banks) Harp, and son, Frank Harp, while gathering rags at a garbage dump and Rebecca’s subsequent death). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Telegraph, 21 May 1900.
17. Casette [sic, “Cassatt”], Jacob, Sarah (a sister of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles Harp), Annie, and Jacob, in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
18. Charles Harp, Sr. (death notice), in “Purely Local.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury American, 26 August 1887.
19. Charles Henry Harp (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 67687, registered no.: 19, date of death: July 23, 1941). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
20. Charles Henry Harp, Jr., in U.S. Social Security Administration Application and Claims Index (date of birth:12 May 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
21. “Com. vs. John Benner … prosecutrix, Rebecca Harp” (announcements of the prosecution of John Benner by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for threatening to kill Rebecca Harp, the widow of Charles Harp), in “Quarter Sessions Trial List, August” and in “Nolle Prosequis,” Bloomfield, Pennsylvania: Perry County Democrat, 2 August 1889 and 16 August 1889.
22. “Contributions in Sunbury to the Sanitary Fair.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury Gazette, 23 April 1864.
23. “Died of Injuries” (report of the railroad acident-related death of John H. Harp, a nephew of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp and a son of William Jackson Harp). Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Democrat, 14 April 1882.
24. Ellen R. Forney (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 74589, registered no.: 26, date of death: 12 July 1917). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
25. “Florida’s Role in the Civil War: Supplier of the Confederacy.” Tampa, Florida: Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida (College of Education), retrieved online, 15 January 2020.
26. Forney, John L., Ellen (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp) and Harry L., in U.S. Census (Reed Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
27. Forney, John L., Ellen (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp) Harry L., John E., and Eva E., in U.S. Census (Center Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
28. Gobin, John Peter Shindel. Personal Letters, 1861-1865. Northumberland, Pennsylvania: Personal Collection of John Deppen.
29. Grant, Ulysses S. Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant. New York, New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1885.
30. Grodzins, Dean and David Moss. “The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy,” in When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, from Ancient Athens to the Present Day (chapter 3). New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2024.
31. “Harp” (death notice  of Rebecca Harp, the mother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp). Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury American, 17 March 1876 and The Sunbury Gazette, 24 March 1876.
32. Harp, Ann R. (the mother of 47th Pennsylvania veyeran Charles H. Harp), Washington and Charles, in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennbsylvania, 1860). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
33. Harp, Charles, in Civil War Muster Rolls and Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866 (Company F, 11th Pennsylvania Infantry and Company C, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
34. Harp, Charles, in Records of Burial Places of Veterans (Sunbury Cemetery, Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Military Affairs.
35. Harp, Charles and Rebecca, in U.S. Civil War Pension General Index Cards (widow’s application no.: 364079, widow’s certificate no.: 304343, filed from Pennsylvania by the veteran’s widow, Rebecca Harp, 28 November 1887; minor’s application no.: 726192, certificate no.: 509136, filed from Pennsylvania by the guardian of the veteran’s minor children), Samuel T. Watts, 4 September 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
36. Harp, Chas (father and 47th Pennsylvania veteran), Rebekah, Levie, and Mary; Haas, and Aremetta (workwoman), in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, West Ward, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
37. Harp, Charles (father and 47th Pennsylvania veteran), Rebecca, Levi H., Mary J., Emma E., Rebecca [sic, “Ellen Rebecca”], Susan Ida, and Charles (son), in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
38. Harp, Charles H. (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Annie R. and Robert W.; Brubaker, Harry D. (a brother-in-law of Charles Harp’s son, Charles Henry Harp); and Danchus, Annie, in U.S. Census (Borough of Lewistown, First Ward, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
39. Harp, Charles H. (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Annie R., Robert W., Frank H., and Elias E., in U.S. Census (Penn Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1920, 1930). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
40. Harp, Charles H. (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Robert W., Frank H., and Elias E., in U.S. Census (Borough of Duncannon, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1940). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
41. Harp, Jackson [sic, “William Jackson Harp”] (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), Matilda, Mary, William, and John, in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1860). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
42. Harp, Jackson [sic, “William Jackson Harp”] (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), Catharine L., Charles, and Solomon, in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
43. Harp, Jonathan, Rebecca, Jackson, Washington, Sarah, and Charles, in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1850). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
44. Harp, Levi H. (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Mary M., Benjamin, Maggie C., and Frank (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp and the younger brother of Levi Harp), in U.S. Census (Tuscarora Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
45. Harp, Levi H. (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), Mary, Benney, Maggie, Ellen, Mary, Charles, Emna, and Carrie in U.S. Census (Borough of Lewistown, Sixth Ward, Mifflin County, County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
46. Harp, Rebecca (the widow of Charles Harp, Sr.), in U.S. Census (“Special Census. — Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines, and Widows, etc.”: Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, 1890). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
47. Harp, W. Jacob [sic, “William Jackson Harp”] (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), Matilda, Mary R., William J., Jno. Henry, Catharine L., G. B. McClellan, Frances F., and Charles E., in U.S. Census (Borough of Sunbury, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
48. Harp, Washington (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), in Civil War Muster Rolls and Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866 (Company G, 57th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
49. Harp, Washington, in Records of Burial Places of Veterans (St. Elias Lutheran and Reformed Church Cemetery, Lower Augusta Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Military Affairs.
50. Harp, Washington (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp) and Levina; and Lenig, Eve (servant), in U.S. Census (Lower Augusta Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
51. Herb [sic, “Harp”], Washington and Lavina, in U.S. Census (Augusta, Lower Augusta Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
52. History of Northumberland Co., Pennsylvania, With Illustrations Descriptive of Its Scenery, Palatial Residences, Public Buildings, Fine Blocks, and Important Manufactories, pp. 25 and 48-49. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Everts & Stewart, 1876.
53. “Important From Port Royal.; The Expedition to Jacksonville, Destruction of the Rebel Batteries. Capture of a STEAMBOAT. Another Speech from Gen. Mitchell. His Policy and Sentiments on the Negro Question.” New York, New York: The New York Times, 20 October 1862.
54. Irwin, Jared C. Reminiscences of Sunbury. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: T. J. Silvius, Printer, 1910.
55. Irwin, Richard Bache. History of the Nineteenth Army Corps. New York, New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1893.
56. James W. Harp (a grandson of Charles and Rebecca Harp and a son of Charles Henry Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 47980, registered no.: 117, date of death: 17 May 1908). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
57. John Harp (a nephew of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp and a son of William Jackson Harp), in “Registrations of Deaths in the City of Pittsburgh, State of Pennsylvania, A.D. 1882.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh City Archives.
58. Jonathan Harp (death notice of the father of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), in “Died.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury Gazette, 30 May 1857.
59. Lasansky, Jeannette. Central Pennsylvania Redware Pottery, p. 21. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1989.
60. Levi H. Harp (a son of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 85006, registered no.: 34, date of death: 31 August 1917). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
61. Long, Newton (farmer), Maud R., Mae E., and Edna M; and Harp, Washington (boarder and farm laborer), in U.S. Census (Lower Augusta Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
62. Mary Jane Pressler (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 61477, date of death: 30 June 1935). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
63. Mary Rebecca Harp (a niece of Charles and Rebecca Harp and a daughter of William Jackson Harp, Sr.), in Death Certificates (file no.: 45101, registered no.: 94, date of death: 22 April 1916). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
64. Mrs. Emma E. Harp Bankes, in Death Certificates (file no.: 77711, registered no.: 1381, date of death: 15 September 1949). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
65. “Mrs. Harp Dead” (report regarding the burn injuries sustained by Charles Harp, Sr.’s widow, Rebecca (Banks) Harp, and son, Frank Harp, while gathering rags at a garbage dump, and of Rebecca’s subsequent death). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Patriot, 22 May 1900.
66. Mrs. Susanna I. Britsch (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 96614, registered no.: 1563, date of death: 12 November 1948). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
67. “Mrs. Susanna I. Britsch” (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), in “Deaths and Funerals.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Evening News, 13 November 1948.
68. Pressler, John E., Mary (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp), William O., and Edward G., in U.S. Census (Borough of Newport, First Ward, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
69. Pressler, John E., Mary J. (a daughter of Charles and Rebecca Harp) and William, in U.S. Census (Penn Township, Perry County, Pennsylvania, 1930). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
70. Proctor, Samuel. “Jacksonville During the Civil War,” in Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 41, no. 4, 1962, pp. 343-355. Orlando, Florida STARS (Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship), University of Central, Florida.
71. Rebecca Harp, in “A Glance at the State” (mention of the burn injuries sustained by Charles Harp Sr.’s widow and son, Frank Harp, “while gathering stuff” at a garbage dump). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, 6 May 1900.
72. Rebecca Harp (the widow of Charles Harp, Sr.), in “Pensions.” Bloomfield, Pennsylvania: Perry County Democrat, 7 October 1891.
73. Rebecca Harp (report on threats made by John Benner against the widow of Charles Harp, Sr.), in “Perry County Notes.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Patriot, 15 June 1899.
74. Rebecca Harp (update regarding threats made by John Benner against the widow of Charles Harp, Sr.), in “Local News.” Bloomfield, Pennsylvania: Perry County Democrat, 21 June 1899.
75. Rebecca Harp (update regarding threats made by John Benner and his assault and battery of the widow of Charles Harp, Sr.), in “Interesting Items from the County Seat Papers.” Bloomfield, Pennsylvania: The Newport News, 14 September 1899.
76. “Roster of the 47th P. V. Inf.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 26 October 1930.
77. Sarah Harp (an older sister of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp) and Jacob Casett, in “Marriages.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury Gazette, 11 August 1855.
78. Schmidt, Lewis G. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
79. Sheridan, Philip Henry. Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, General, United States Army in Two Volumes. New York, New York: Charles L. Webster & Company, 1888.
80. Sneden, Robert K. “Topographical Map of Washington, D.C., and Vicinity, Showing the Union Forts and Defenses Built, 1861-1863. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Library of Congress.
81. “The 47th Regiment in Battle” (mentions 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers who were wounded during the Battle of Pocotaligo, South Carolina). Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury Gazette, 1 November 1862.
82. “The following are the names of the members of Capt. Gobin’s Company who sent money home.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury Gazette, 7 December 1861.
83. “The History of the Forty-Seventh Regt. P. V.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Lehigh Register, 20 July 1870.
84. W. J. Harp [sic, “William Jackson Harp”] (death notice of an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), in “Personalities.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury News, 8 February 1884.
85. Washington Harp (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), in “Central Penna. Pensions.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Harrisburg Telegraph, 17 July 1902.
86. Washington Harp (an older brother of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Charles H. Harp), in Death Certificates (file no.: 103181, registered no.: 175, date of death: 17 October 1913). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
87. Wharton, Henry D. “Letters from the Sunbury Guards.” Sunbury, Pennsylvania: The Sunbury American, 1861-1864.
88. William Jackson Harp (a nephew of Charles and Rebecca Harp and a son of William Jackson Harp, Sr.), in Death Certificates (file no.: 39679, registered no.: 87, date of death: 30 March 1923). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.