“Reckoning of years commencing with June 9, 1838, alone proves that Joseph Henry Schwab is the oldest resident of Catasauqua, its oldest Civil War veteran and its oldest native born citizen. Judging from his easy carriage and steady walk Mr. Schwab could easily be taken for the youngest of the borough’s veterans. He served in the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers.”

— The Morning Call, 14 February 1926

 

They were first-generation Americans who were sons of German immigrants. They were also brothers-in-arms during the American Civil War who founded post-war businesses that were so successful that they became prominent civic leaders during America’s Gilded Age.

Formative Years

Born “at the North Catasauqua lock” in Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania on 9 June 1838, according to a profile of him that was published in Allentown, Pennsylvania’s Morning Call newspaper in February 1926, Joseph Henry Schwab (1838-1929) was a son of Solomon Schwab (1811-1878), a native of the Grand Duchy of Baden, and Caroline E. Kugel (1812-1882); alternate surname spellings: “Cappel” and “Kuggel”), a native of the Kingdom of Württemberg (both of which are now part of Germany).

A first-generation American, Joseph H. Schwab was raised and educated in Pennsylvania’s bucolic Lehigh Valley with his younger, first-generation American siblings: Mary Ann Schwab (born circa 1840-died before 1906); Richmond Harrison Schwab (1842-1905), who was born on 31 October 1842 and would later serve with Joseph H. Schwab in the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War; Franklin Solomon Schwab (1845-1934), who was born in Hanover Township, Lehigh County on 11 July 1845) and grew up to become a moulder at Bethlehem Steel and marry Ellen E. Hauck (1844-1928); and Sarah Jane Schwab (1849-1910), who was born on 17 July 1848 and would later wed Isaac Davis (1840-1911).

By 1845, Joseph and Richmond Schwab were residing in Hanover Township, Lehigh County with their parents and siblings: Mary Ann, Franklin and Sarah Jane. More siblings then soon followed: Caroline Elizabeth Schwab (1851-1906), who was born in Catasauqua on 26 July 1851, was known to family and friends as “Carry” and would later wed John Stewart (1846-1915); David Schwab (1855-1918), who was born on 20 February 1855; and Samuel Benjamin Schwab (1858-1907), who was born in Catasauqua on 17 March 1858 and would later wed Octavia McCamy (1860-1948; alternate surname spellings: “McAmey” and “McCarney”).

Residents of the Borough of Catasauqua by the time that a federal census enumerator arrived on the Schwabs’ doorstep in 1860, the Schwab household included parents Solomon and Caroline Schwab and their children: Joseph, who was employed as a tailor; Mary Ann, who was employed as a tailoress; Richmond, who was apprenticed to a local printer; Frank, Sarah, Carry, and David, who were all enrolled in the borough’s common schools; and little Samuel, a toddler who was just two years old.

But their largely tranquil lives and those of their neighbors and friends would soon be transformed as their nation was rocked by a secession crisis that quickly devolved into a disastrous civil war.

American Civil War

Both of the Schwab brothers then officially mustered in at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Dauphin County on 30 August 1861 with Company F of the newly-formed 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Joseph H. Schwab entered at the rank of corporal while Richmond H. Schwab entered at the rank of private.

* Note: Company F of the 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was the first company of that Union regiment to muster in for duty. Initial recruitment for the new company was conducted in Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania by Henry Samuel Harte, a native of Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse (now Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany) who had become a naturalized American citizen in New York on 15 October 1851 and had been appointed captain of the Lehigh County militia unit known as the Catasauqua Rifles during the late 1850s.

Following a brief training period in light infantry tactics at Camp Curtin, the men of Company F and their fellow members of the 47th Pennsylvania were transported south by rail to Washington, D.C. Stationed roughly two miles from the White House, they pitched their tents at “Camp Kalorama” on the Kalorama Heights near Georgetown beginning 21 September. Henry D. Wharton, a musician from the regiment’s C Company, penned an update the next day to the Sunbury American, his hometown newspaper:

“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.

“…. 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.”

While at Camp Kalorama, Captain Harte issued his first directive (Company Orders, No. 1), that the men of F Company drill four times per day, each time for one hour.

On 24 September, the 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry finally became part of the United States Army when its men were officially mustered into federal service. On 27 September — a rainy day, the 47th Pennsylvania was assigned to the 3rd Brigade of Brigadier-General Isaac 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 47th Pennsylvanians 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 fairly close to the headquarters of Brigadier-General William Farrar Smith (also known as “Baldy”) and were now part of the massive 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….”

On 1 October 1861, Company F Sergeant James W. Fuller, Jr., was promoted from his service with Company F to the rank of first lieutenant and regimental adjutant with the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry’s central command staff — a position he would lose due to “a protracted illness, which overtook him during the first year of the Civil War in Virginia” and culminated in his honorable discharge, according to A History of Catasauqua in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania by James Franklin Lambert and Henry J. Reinhard.

Sometime around that same time, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers and their fellow 3rd Brigade soldiers 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 mid-October letter home, 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. 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….”

On Friday morning, 22 October 1861, the 47th engaged in a Divisional Review, described by regimental historian Lewis Schmidt as massing “about 10,000 infantry, 1000 cavalry, and twenty pieces of artillery all in one big open field.” Less than a month later, in his letter of 17 November, Henry Wharton revealed 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….”

On 21 November, the 47th participated in a morning divisional headquarters review that was overseen by the regiment’s founder and commanding officer, Colonel Tilghman H. Good, followed by brigade and division drills all afternoon. According to Schmidt, “each man was supplied with ten blank cartridges.” Afterward, “Gen. Smith requested Gen. Brannan to inform Col. Good that the 47th was the best regiment in the whole division.” As a reward for their performance — and in preparation for bigger things to come, Brigadier-General John Milton Brannan obtained brand new Springfield rifles for every member of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers.

1862

Next ordered to move from their Virginia encampment back to Maryland, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers left 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 transported by rail to Alexandria, Virginia, where they boarded the steamship City of Richmond, and sailed the Potomac to the Washington Arsenal. Reequipped there, they were then marched off for dinner and rest at the Soldiers’ Retreat in Washington, D.C.

The next afternoon, the 47th Pennsylvanians hopped 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 U.S. Oriental. They then boarded the Oriental on 27 January (enlisted men first followed by the officers) and, at 4 p.m., per the directive of Brigadier-General John Milton Brannan, steamed away for the Deep South. They were headed for Florida which, despite its secession from the Union, remained strategically important to the Union due to the presence of Fort Taylor (Key West) and Fort Jefferson (Dry Tortugas).

The Schwab brothers and the other members of Company F arrived in Key West in early 1862 and were assigned with their fellow 47th Pennsylvanians to garrison Fort Taylor. During the weekend of Friday, 14 February, the regiment announced its presence to Key West residents by parading through the streets of the city. That Sunday, members of the regiment also mingled with locals by attending area church services.

Drilling daily in heavy artillery tactics, they also strengthened the fortifications at this federal installation. On 1 April 1862, Sergeant Augustus Eagle was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant.

In addition to their exhausting military duties, the 47th Pennsylvanians also encountered the persistent and formidable foe of disease. Several members of the regiment fell ill, largely due to poor sanitary conditions and water quality. As a result, Privates W. H. Moyer, II and Frederick Eagle were discharged on surgeons’ certificates of disability and Second Lieutenant Henry H. Bush and Private Edward Bartholomew died at Fort Taylor, respectively, on 31 March and 3 April. Privates Samuel Smith and John G. Seider were then also both discharged on surgeons’ certificates on 12 April 1862.

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.” This was then followed by a concert by the Regimental Band on Wednesday evening, 26 February.

According to Schmidt, 4 June 1862 was also a festive day for the regiment. As the USS Niagara sailed for Boston after transferring its responsibilities as the flagship of the Union Navy squadron in that sector to the USS Potomac, the guns of fifteen warships anchored nearby fired a salute, as did the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Captain Harte and F Company played a prominent role in the day’s events as they “fired 15 of the heavy casemate guns from Fort Taylor at 4 PM.”

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 in the U.S. Army’s 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 members of the 47th Pennsylvania 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). During the second week of July, according to Schmidt, Major William H. Gausler and Captain Henry S. Harte returned home to the Lehigh Valley to resume their recruiting efforts. After arriving in Allentown on 15 July, they quickly re-established an efficient operation, which they would keep running through early November 1862. During that time, Major Gausler was able to persuade fifty-four new recruits to join the 47th Pennsylvania while Harte rounded up an additional twelve.

Meanwhile, back in the Deep South, Captain Harte’s F Company men were commanded by Harte’s direct subordinates, First Lieutenant George W. Fuller and Second Lieutenant August G. Eagle. On 26 July, F Company Corporal Joseph Schwab was admitted to the 47th Pennsylvania’s regimental hospital for treatment of bilious remittent fever, according to regimental physician Jacob H. Scheetz. Following his recovery, he returned to duty with his company. On 12 September, Colonel Tilghman Good and his adjutant, First Lieutenant Washington H. R. Hangen, issued Regimental Orders, No. 207 from the 47th Pennsylvania’s Headquarters in Beaufort, South Carolina:

“I. The Colonel commanding desires to call the attention of all officers and men in the regiment to the paramount necessity of observing rules for the preservation of health. There is less to be apprehended from battle than disease. The records of all companies in climate like this show many more casualties by the neglect of sanitary post action then [sic] by the skill, ordnance and courage of the enemy. Anxious that the men in my command may be preserved in the full enjoyment of health to the service of the Union. And that only those who can leave behind the proud epitaph of having fallen on the field of battle in the defense of their country shall fail to return to their families and relations at the termination of this war.

“II. All the tents will be struck at 7:30 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday of each week. The signal for this purpose will be given by the drum major by giving three taps on the drum. Every article of clothing and bedding will be taken out and aired; the flooring and bunks will be thoroughly cleaned. By the same signal at 11 a.m. the tents will be re-erected. On the days the tents are not struck the sides will be raised during the day for the purpose of ventilation.

“III. The proper cooking of provisions is a matter of great importance more especially in this climate but have not yet received from a majority of officers of the regiment that attention that should be paid to it.

“IV. Thereafter an officer of each company will be detailed by the commander of each company and have their names reported to these headquarters to superintend the cooking of provisions taking care that all food prepared for the soldiers is sufficiently cooked and that the meats are all boiled or seared (not fried). He will also have charge of the dress table and he is held responsible for the cleanliness of the kitchen cooking utensils and the preparation of the meals at the time appointed.

“V. The following rules for the taking of meals and regulations in regard to the conducting of the company will be strictly followed. Every soldier will turn his plate, cup, knife and fork into the Quarter Master Sgt who will designate a permanent place or spot each member of the company and there leave his plate & cup, knife and fork placed at each meal with the soldier’s rations on it. Nor will any soldier be permitted to go to the company kitchen and take away food therefrom.

“VI. Until further orders the following times for taking meals will be followed Breakfast at six, dinner at twelve, supper at six. The drum major will beat a designated call fifteen minutes before the specified time which will be the signal to prepare the tables, and at the time specified for the taking of meals he will beat the dinner call. The soldier will be permitted to take his spot at the table before the last call.

“VII. Commanders of companies will see that this order is entered in their company order book and that it is read forth with each day on the company parade. All commanding officers of companies will regulate daily their time by the time of this headquarters. They will send their 1st Sergeants to this headquarters daily at 8 a.m. for this purpose.

“Great punctuality is enjoined in conforming to the stated hours prescribed by the roll calls, parades, drills, and taking of meals; review of army regulations while attending all roll calls to be suspended by a commissioned officer of the companies, and a Captain to report the alternate to the Colonel or the commanding officer.

“At 5 a.m., Commanders of companies are imperatively instructed to have the company quarters washed and policed and secured immediately after breakfast.

“At 6 a.m., morning reports of companies request [sic] by the Captains and 1st Sgts and all applications for special privileges of soldiers must be handed to the Adjutant before 8 a.m.

By Command of Col. T. H. Good
W.H. R. Hangen Adj”

In addition, First Lieutenant and Regimental Adjutant Hangen clarified the regiment’s schedule as follows:

• Reveille (5:30 a.m.) and Breakfast (6:00 a.m.)
• First and Second Calls for Guard (6:10 a.m. and 6:15 a.m.)
• Surgeon’s Call (6:30 a.m.)
• First and Second Calls for Company Drill (6:45 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.)
• Recall from Company Drill (8:00 a.m.)
• First and Second Calls for Squad Drill (9:00 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.)
• Recall from Squad Drill (10:30 a.m.) and Dinner (12:00 noon)
• Call for Non-commissioned Officers (1:30 p.m.)
• Recall for Non-commissioned Officers (2:30 p.m.)
• First and Second Calls for Squad Drills (3:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.)
• Recall from Squad Drill (4:30 p.m.)
• First and Second Calls for Dress Parade (5:10 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.)
• Supper (6:10 p.m.)
• Tattoo (9:00 p.m.) and Taps (9:15 p.m.)

As the one-year anniversary of the 47th Pennsylvania’s departure from the Great Keystone State dawned on 20 September, thoughts turned to home and Divine Providence as Colonel Tilghman Good issued Special Orders, No. 60 from the 47th’s Regimental Headquarters in Beaufort, South Carolina:

“The Colonel commanding takes great pleasure in complimenting the officers and men of the regiment on the favorable auspices of today.

“Just one year ago today, the organization of the regiment was completed to enter into the service of our beloved country, to uphold the same flag under which our forefathers fought, bled, and died, and perpetuate the same free institutions which they handed down to us unimpaired.

“It is becoming therefore for us to rejoice on this first anniversary of our regimental history and to show forth devout gratitude to God for this special guardianship over us.

“Whilst many other regiments who swelled the ranks of the Union Army even at a later date than the 47th have since been greatly reduced by sickness or almost cut to pieces on the field of battle, we as yet have an entire regiment and have lost but comparatively few out of our ranks.

“Certain it is we have never evaded or shrunk from duty or danger, on the contrary, we have been ever anxious and ready to occupy any fort, or assume any position assigned to us in the great battle for the constitution and the Union.

“We have braved the danger of land and sea, climate and disease, for our glorious cause, and it is with no ordinary degree of pleasure that the Colonel compliments the officers of the regiment for the faithfulness at their respective posts of duty and their uniform and gentlemanly manner towards one another.

“Whilst in numerous other regiments there has been more or less jammings and quarrelling [sic] among the officers who thus have brought reproach upon themselves and their regiments, we have had none of this, and everything has moved along smoothly and harmoniously. We also compliment the men in the ranks for their soldierly bearing, efficiency in drill, and tidy and cleanly appearance, and if at any time it has seemed to be harsh and rigid in discipline, let the men ponder for a moment and they will see for themselves that it has been for their own good.

“To the enforcement of law and order and discipline it is due our far fame as a regiment and the reputation we have won throughout the land.

“With you he has shared the same trials and encountered the same dangers. We have mutually suffered from the same cold in Virginia and burned by the same southern sun in Florida and South Carolina, and he assures the officers and men of the regiment that as long as the present war continues, and the service of the regiment is required, so long he stands by them through storm and sunshine, sharing the same danger and awaiting the same glory.”

A Regiment Victorious — and Bloodied

During a return expedition to Florida beginning 30 September, the 47th joined with 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, the 47th captured artillery and ammunition stores (on 3 October) that had been abandoned by Confederate forces during the bluff’s bombardment by Union gunboats.

* Note: The capture of Saint John’s Bluff followed a string of U.S. Army and Navy successes that enabled the Union to gain control over key southern towns and transportation hubs. In November 1861, the Union’s South Atlantic Blockading Squadron had established an operations base at Port Royal, South Carolina, facilitating Union expeditions to Georgia and Florida, during which U.S. troops were able to take possession of Fort Clinch and Fernandina, Florida (3-4 March 1862), secure the surrender of Fort Marion and Saint Augustine (11 March), and establish a Union Navy base at Mayport Mills (mid-March). That summer, Brigadier-General Joseph Finnegan, commanding officer of the Confederate States of America’s Department of Middle and Eastern Florida, ordered the placement of earthworks-fortified gun batteries atop Saint John’s Bluff overlooking the Saint John’s River and at Yellow Bluff nearby. Confederate leaders hoped to disable the Union’s naval and ground force operations at and beyond Mayport Mills with as many as eighteen cannon, including three eight-inch siege howitzers and eight-inch smoothbores and Columbiads (two of each).

After the U.S. gunboats Uncas and Patroon exchanged shell-fire with the Confederate battery at Saint John’s Bluff on 11 September, Rebel troops were initially driven away, but then returned to their battery on the bluff. When a second, larger Union gunboat flotilla tried and failed again six days later to shake the Confederates loose, Union military leaders ordered an army operation with naval support.

Backed by U.S. gunboats Cimarron, E. B. Hale, Paul Jones, Uncas, and Water Witch armed with twelve-pound boat howitzers, the fifteen hundred-strong Union Army force commanded by Brigadier-General Brannan moved up the Saint John’s River and further inland along the Pablo and Mt. Pleasant Creeks on 1 October 1862 before disembarking and marching for the battery atop Saint John’s Bluff. The next day, Union gunboats exchanged shellfire with the Rebel battery while the Union ground force continued its advance. When the 47th Pennsylvanians reached Saint John’s Bluff with their fellow Union brigade members on 3 October 1862, they found the battery abandoned. (Other Union troops discovered that the Yellow Bluff battery was also Rebel free.)

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 rations 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 that mission were 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers from Company C, Company E and Company K.

One of the first groups to depart — Company C of the 47th Pennsylvania — did so that Saturday as part of a small force made up of infantry and gunboats, the latter of which were commanded by Captain Charles E. Steedman. Their mission was to destroy all enemy boats they encountered to stop the movement of Confederate troops throughout the region. Upon arrival in Jacksonville later that same day, the infantrymen were charged by Brannan with setting fire to the office of that city’s Southern Rights newspaper. Before that action was taken, however, Captain Gobin and his subordinate, Henry Wharton, who had both been employed by the Sunbury American newspaper in Sunbury, Pennsylvania prior to the war, salvaged the pro-Confederacy publication’s printing press so that Wharton could more efficiently produce the regimental newspaper he had launched while the 47th Pennsylvania was stationed at Fort Taylor in Key West, Florida.

On Sunday, 5 October, Brannan and his detachment sailed away for Jacksonville at 6:30 a.m. Per Wharton, the weekend’s events unfolded as follows:

“As soon as we had got possession of the Bluff, Capt. Steedman and his gunboats went to Jacksonville for the purpose of destroying all boats and intercepting the passage of the rebel troops across the river, and on the 5th Gen. Brannan also went up to Jacksonville in the steamer Ben Deford, with a force of 785 infantry, and occupied the town. On either side of the river were considerable crops of grain, which would have been destroyed or removed, but this was found impracticable for want of means of transportation. At Yellow Bluff we found that the rebels had a position in readiness to secure seven heavy guns, which they appeared to have lately evacuated, Jacksonville we found to be nearly deserted, there being only a few old men, women, and children in the town, soon after our arrival, however, while establishing our picket line, a few cavalry appeared on the outskirts, but they quickly left again. The few inhabitants were in a wretched condition, almost destitute of food, and Gen. Brannan, at their request, brought a large number up to Hilton Head to save them from starvation, together with 276 negroes — men, women, and children, who had sought our protection.”

Receiving word soon after his arrival at Jacksonville that “Rebel steamers were secreted in the creeks up the river,” Brigadier-General Brannan ordered Captain Charles Yard of the 47th Pennsylvania’s Company E to take a detachment of one hundred men from his own company and those of the 47th’s Company K, and board the steamer Darlington “with two 24-pounder light howitzers and a crew of 25 men.” All would be under the command of Lieutenant Williams of the U.S. Navy, who would order the “convoy of gunboats to cut them out.”

According to Brigadier-General Brannan, the Union party “returned on the morning of the 9th with a Rebel steamer, Governor Milton, which they captured in a creek about 230 miles up the river and about 27 miles north [and slightly west] from the town of Enterprise.… On the return of the successful expedition after the Rebel steamers … I proceeded with that portion of my command to St. John’s Bluff, awaiting the return of the Boston.”

In his report on the matter, filed from Mount Pleasant Landing, Florida on 2 October 1862, Colonel Tilghman H. Good described the Union Army’s assault on Saint John’s Bluff:

“In accordance with orders received I landed my regiment on the bank of Buckhorn Creek at 7 o’clock yesterday morning. After landing I moved forward in the direction of Parkers plantation, about 1 mile, being then within about 14 miles of said plantation. Here I halted to await the arrival of the Seventh Connecticut Regiment. I advanced two companies of skirmishers toward the house, with instructions to halt in case of meeting any of the enemy and report the fact to me. After they had advanced about three-quarters of a mile they halted and reported some of the enemy ahead. I immediately went forward to the line and saw some 5 or 6 mounted men about 700 or 800 yards ahead. I then ascended a tree, so that I might have a distinct view of the house and from this elevated position I distinctly saw one company of infantry close by the house, which I supposed to number about 30 or 40 men, and also some 60 or 70 mounted men. After waiting for the arrival of the Seventh Connecticut Volunteers until 10 o’clock, and it not appearing, I dispatched a squad of men back to the landing for a 6-pounder field howitzer which had been kindly offered to my service by Lieutenant Boutelle, of the Paul Jones. This howitzer had been stationed on a flat-boat to protect our landing. The party, however, did not arrive with the piece until 12 o’clock, in consequence of the difficulty of dragging it through the swamp. Being anxious to have as little delay as possible, I did not await the arrival of the howitzer, but at 11 a.m. moved forward, and as I advanced the enemy fled.

“After reaching the house I awaited the arrival of the Seventh Connecticut and the howitzer. After they arrived I moved forward to the head of Mount Pleasant Creek to a bridge, at which place I arrived at 2 p.m. Here I found the bridge destroyed, but which I had repaired in a short time. I then crossed it and moved down on the south bank toward Mount Pleasant Landing. After moving about 1 mile down the bank of the creek my skirmishing companies came upon a camp, which evidently had been very hastily evacuated, from the fact that the occupants had left a table standing with a sumptuous meal already prepared for eating. On the center of the table was placed a fine, large meat pie still warm, from which one of the party had already served his plate. The skirmishers also saw 3 mounted men leave the place in hot haste. I also found a small quantity of commissary and quartermasters stores, with 23 tents, which, for want of transportation, I was obliged to destroy. After moving about a mile farther on I came across another camp, which also indicated the same sudden evacuation. In it I found the following articles … breech-loading carbines, 12 double-barreled shot-guns, 8 breech-loading Maynard rifles, 11 Enfield rifles, and 96 knapsacks. These articles I brought along by having the men carry them. There were, besides, a small quantity of commissary and quartermasters stores, including 16 tents, which, for the same reason as stated, I ordered to be destroyed. I then pushed forward to the landing, where I arrived at 7 p.m.

“We drove the enemys [sic] skirmishers in small parties along the entire march. The march was a difficult one, in consequence of meeting so many swamps almost knee-deep.”

Integration of the Regiment

On 5 and 15 October 1862, respectively, the 47th Pennsylvania made history 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 were Bristor Gethers, Abraham Jassum and Edward Jassum.

Battle of Pocotaligo, South Carolina

Serving under the brigade and regimental commands of Colonel Tilghman H. Good and Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Alexander, respectively, roughly six hundred of the more than one thousand members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry courageously engaged Confederate forces in and around Pocotaligo, South Carolina on what turned out to be a date so difficult that surviving members of the regiment would continue to honor the anniversary of that battle for decades after the American Civil War’s end.

Landing at Mackay’s Point, the men of the 47th were placed on point once again, leading their 3rd Brigade comrades into a direct faceoff with a larger and better-equipped Confederate force than senior Union Army officials had anticipated. Harried by snipers en route to the Pocotaligo Bridge during what would come to be known as the Second Battle of Pocotaligo, they also met resistance from an entrenched, heavily-fortified Confederate battery which opened fire on the Union troops as they entered an open cotton field. Those headed toward higher ground at the Frampton Plantation fared no better as they encountered artillery and infantry fire from the surrounding forests.

Losses for the 47th Pennsylvania were significant. Two officers and eighteen enlisted men died; an additional two officers and one hundred and fourteen enlisted were wounded. Following their return to Hilton Head, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers recuperated from their wounds and resumed their normal duties. In short order, several members of the 47th were called upon to serve as the funeral honor guard for Major-General Ormsby M. Mitchel, and given the high honor of firing the salute over his grave. (Commander of the U.S. Army’s 10th Corps and Department of the South, Mitchel succumbed to yellow fever on 30 October 1862.)

Having been ordered back to Key West on 15 November 1862, much of 1863 would be spent garrisoning federal installations in Florida as part of the 10th Corps, U.S. Department of the South. Companies A, B, C, E, G, and I would once again garrison Fort Taylor in Key West — but this time, 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 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 5 p.m. that same evening, the regiment sailed for Florida, during what was later described by several members of the regiment as a treacherous and nerve-wracking voyage. According to 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, 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 a 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 sailor’s 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 river boat, 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]. 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 the 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, where they were placed under the command of Major William H. Gausler, the regiment’s third-in-command. The men from Companies B and E were assigned to the older barracks that had been erected by the United States Army, and were placed under the command of B Company Captain Emanuel P. Rhoads while the men from Companies A and G were placed under the command of A Company Captain Richard A. Graeffe, and stationed at newer facilities known as the “Lighthouse Barracks” on “Lighthouse Key.”

Three days later, on Saturday, 21 December, Lieutenant-Colonel George Warren Alexander, the regiment’s second-in-command, sailed away aboard the Cosmopolitan with the men from the regiment’s remaining companies — Companies D, F, H, and K — and headed south to Fort Jefferson, where they would assume garrison duties at the Union’s remote outpost in the Dry Tortugas, roughly seventy miles off the coast of Florida (in the Gulf of Mexico). According to Henry Wharton:

“We landed here on last Thursday at noon, and immediately marched to quarters. Company I. and C., in Fort Taylor, E. and B. in the old Barracks, and A. and G. in the new Barracks. Lieut. Col. Alexander, with the other four companies proceeded to Tortugas, Col. Good having command of all the forces in and around Key West. Our regiment relieves the 90th Regiment N.Y.S. Vols. Col. Joseph Morgan, who will proceed to Hilton Head to report to the General commanding. His actions have been severely criticized by the people, but, as it is in bad taste to say anything against ones [sic, one’s] superiors, I merely mention, judging from the expression of the citizens, they were very glad of the return of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers….

“Key West has improved very little since we left last June, but there is one improvement for which the 90th New York deserve a great deal of praise, and that is the beautifying of the ‘home’ of dec’d. soldiers. A neat and strong wall of stone encloses the yard, the ground is laid off in squares, all the graves are flat and are nicely put in proper shape by boards eight or ten inches high on the ends sides, covered with white sand, while a head and foot board, with the full name, company and regiment, marks the last resting place of the patriot who sacrificed himself for his country.”

1863

Although water quality was a challenge for members of the regiment at both of their Florida duty stations, it was particularly problematic for the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers who were stationed at Fort Jefferson. According to Schmidt:

“‘Fresh’ water was provided by channeling the rains from the fort’s barbette through channels in the interior walls, to filter trays filled with sand; and finally to the 114 cisterns located under the fort which held 1,231,200 gallons of water. The cisterns were accessible in each of the first level cells or rooms through a ‘trap hole’ in the floor covered by a temporary wooden cover…. Considerable dirt must have found its way into these access points and was responsible for some of the problems resulting in the water’s impurity…. The fort began to settle and the asphalt covering on the outer walls began to deteriorate and allow the sea water (polluted by debris in the moat) to penetrate the system…. Two steam condensers were available … and distilled 7000 gallons of tepid water per day for a separate system of reservoirs located in the northern section of the parade ground near the officers [sic, officers’] quarters. No provisions were made to use any of this water for personal hygiene of the [planned 1,500-soldier garrison force].”

As a result, the Schwab brothers and other soldiers who were stationed there washed their bodies and their clothes, using saltwater from the ocean. As if that weren’t difficult enough, “toilet facilities were located outside of the fort,” according to Schmidt:

“At least one location was near the wharf and sallyport, and another was reached through a door-sized hole in a gunport, and a walk across the moat on planks at the northwest wall…. These toilets were flushed twice each day by the actions of the tides, a procedure that did not work very well and contributed to the spread of disease. It was intended that the tidal flush should move the wastes into the moat, and from there, by similar tidal action, into the sea. But since the moat surrounding the fort was used clandestinely by the troops to dispose of litter and other wastes … it was a continuous problem for Lt. Col. Alexander and his surgeon.”

As for daily operations in the Dry Tortugas, there was a fort post office and the “interior parade grounds, with numerous trees and shrubs in evidence, contained … officers quarters, [a] magazine, kitchens and out houses,” according to Schmidt, as well as “a ‘hot shot oven’ which was completed in 1863 and used to heat shot before firing.”

“Most quarters for the garrison … were established in wooden sheds and tents inside the parade [grounds] or inside the walls of the fort in second-tier gun rooms of ‘East’ front no. 2, and adjacent bastions … with prisoners housed in isolated sections of the first and second tiers of the southeast, or no. 3 front, and bastions C and D, located in the general area of the sallyport. The bakery was located in the lower tier of the northwest bastion ‘F’, located near the central kitchen.”

Additional Duties: Diminishing Florida’s Role as the “Supplier of the Confederacy”

In addition to the strategic role played by the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers in preventing foreign powers from assisting the Confederate Army and Navy in gaining control over federal forts in the Deep South, members of the 47th would also be called upon to play an ongoing role in weakening Florida’s abilities to supply and transport food and troops throughout the area held by the Confederate States of America.

Prior to intervention by Union Army and Navy forces, the owners of plantations and livestock ranches, as well as the operators of small, 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 large orange groves. In addition, the state was also a major producer of salt, which was used as a preservative for the foods. As a result, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers and other Union troops across Florida were ordered to capture or destroy salt manufacturing facilities in order to further curtail the enemy’s access to food.

But they would be undertaking all of these duties in conditions that were far more challenging than what many other Union Army units were experiencing up north in the Eastern Theater. The weather was frequently hot and humid as spring turned to summer, the mosquitos and other insects were an ever-present annoyance and serious threat when they were carrying tropical diseases, and there were also scorpions and snakes that put the men’s health at further risk.

Despite those hardships, though, more than half of the men serving with the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry opted to re-enlist when their original terms of service expired, including both of the Schwab brothers who both re-enrolled at Fort Jefferson on 19 October 1863, earning the coveted title of “Veteran Volunteers.”

1864

In early January 1864, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was ordered to expand the Union Army’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 General D. P. Woodbury, Commanding Officer, U.S. Department of the Gulf, District of Key West and the Tortugas, that the fort be used 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 had begun 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 of the 47th Pennsylvania 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 U.S. Department of the Gulf’s 19th 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 that would enable them to catch up with the main part of their regiment. Charged with guarding two hundred and forty-five Confederates, those A Company men boarded the Ohio Belle with their prisoners on 7 April and reached Alexandria, Louisiana 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 their new duties would be. From 14-26 March, the regiment marched for the towns of Alexandria and Natchitoches, near the top of the L-shaped state. As they did, they passed through 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) the night of 7 April before continuing on the next day.

Rushed into battle ahead of other regiments in the 2nd Division, sixty members of the 47th were cut down on 8 April during the intense volley of fire unleashed during the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads (also known as the Battle of Mansfield because of its proximity to the community of Mansfield). The fighting waned only when darkness fell. The exhausted, but uninjured collapsed beside the gravely wounded. After midnight, the surviving Union troops withdrew 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 who was the 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 that engagement, which has since become known as the Battle of Pleasant Hill, the 47th Pennsylvania succeeded in recapturing a Massachusetts artillery battery lost during the earlier Confederate assault. Unfortunately, the regiment’s second-in-command, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander, was severely wounded during the fight that day, and Color-Sergeant Benjamin Walls was shot in the left shoulder while mounting the 47th Pennsylvania’s colors on one of the recaptured caissons. Sergeant William Pyers was then also wounded while grabbing the American flag from Walls as he fell to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Alexander, Walls and Pyers all survived the day and continued to fight on, but many others were killed in action or wounded so grievously that they were unable to continue their service with the 47th. Still others from the 47th were captured by Confederate troops, force 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 until they were released during prisoner exchanges that began in July and continued through November. At least three members of the 47th Pennsylvania never made it out of there alive.

Meanwhile, as the captured 47th Pennsylvanians were being spirited away to Texas, the bulk of the regiment was carrying out orders from senior Union Army leaders to head for Grand Ecore, Louisiana. Encamped there from 11 April to 22 April 1864, they engaged in the hard labor of strengthening regimental and brigade fortifications. They then moved back to Natchitoches Parish on 22 April. While en route, they were attacked again — this time at the rear of their retreating brigade, but were able to quickly end the encounter and continue on to reach Cloutierville at 10 p.m. that same night — after a forty-five-mile march.

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 from Emory’s brigade attacked Bee’s flank to force a Rebel retreat, and then erected a series of pontoon bridges that enabled the 47th and other remaining Union soldiers 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, they 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. 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 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.”

Continuing their march, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers headed toward Avoyelles Parish. According to Wharton:

“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], 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 47th Pennsylvanians marched for Simmesport and then Morganza, where they made camp again. While encamped there, 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 regiment between 20-24 June 1864.

The regiment then moved on once again, finally arriving in New Orleans in late June. On the Fourth of July, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers learned that their fight was not yet over as they received new orders to return to the East Coast for further duty. Shortly thereafter, they began a two-phase departure from Louisiana.

On 7 July, Companies A, C, D, E, F, H, and I steamed for the Washington, D.C. area aboard the McClellan while the men from Companies B, G and K remained behind on detached duty and to await transportation. Led by F Company Captain Henry S. Harte, the latter group finally sailed away at the end of the month aboard the Blackstone, arrived in Virginia on 28 July, and reconnected with the main part of the regiment at Monocacy, Virginia on 2 August.

* Note: Due to their delayed departure from Louisiana, the Schwab brothers missed out on a memorable encounter with President Abraham Lincoln and also did not participate in the Battle of Cool Spring near Snicker’s Gap, Virginia in mid-July 1864.

Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Attached to the Middle Military Division, United States’ Army of the Shenandoah beginning in August 1864, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was assigned to defensive duties in and around Halltown, Virginia during the opening days of that month. Involved at that time in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign of Union Major-General Philip Sheridan, they subsequently engaged in a series of back-and-forth movements over the next several weeks between Halltown, Berryville, Middletown, Charlestown, and Winchester as part of a “mimic war” being waged by Sheridan’s Union forces with those commanded by Confederate Lieutenant-General Jubal Early.

From 3-4 September, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers also fought in the Battle of Berryville. But it would be the last fight for multiple commissioned officers and enlisted members of the regiment because those 47th Pennsylvanians had completed their respective, original three-year terms of enlistment and had decided not to re-enlist. Among those awarded honorable discharges at Berryville between 11-18 September were F Company’s Captain Samuel Harte, Second Lieutenant Augustus G. Eagle, and Sergeants William H. Glace and John W. Heberling.

The remaining members of the 47th Pennsylvania who stayed, however, like the Schwab brothers, were about to engage in their regiment’s greatest displays of valor. On 18 September 1864, Private Richmond H. Schwab was promoted to the rank of corporal.

Battle of Opequan, Virginia 

On 19 September 1864, the Schwab brothers and their fellow 47th Pennsylvanians helped to inflict heavy casualties on Lieutenant-General Jubal Early’s Confederate forces during the Battle of Opequan (also spelled as “Opequon” and referred to as “Third Winchester”) as part of a large Union force led by Union Major-General Philip H. Sheridan (“Little Phil”) and Brigadier-General William H. Emory, commander of the 19th Corps. Still considered by many historians to be one of the most important battles of Sheridan’s 1864 campaign, that military engagement resulted in a Union victory that helped to ensure the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln.

The 47th Pennsylvania’s march toward destiny began at 2 a.m. as the regiment left camp and joined up with others in the Union’s 19th Corps. Advancing slowly from Berryville toward Winchester, the massive movement of troops and supply wagons soon bogged down, enabling Early’s Confederates to dig in. When they finally reached Opequan Creek, Sheridan’s men came face to face with Early’s army. The fighting, which began in earnest at noon, was long and brutal. The Union’s left flank (6th Corps) took a beating from Early’s artillery, which was positioned on higher ground.

Meanwhile, the 47th Pennsylvanians and their fellow 19th Corps members were directed by Brigadier-General Emory to attack and pursue Major-General John B. Gordon’s Confederate forces. Casualties mounted as Confederate cannon opened fire on Union troops trying to cross a clearing. When a nearly fatal gap began to open between the 6th and 19th Corps, Sheridan responded by ordering the units of Brigadier-Generals Emory Upton and David A. Russell to plug the hole. Russell, hit twice — once in the chest — was mortally wounded. As the battle intensified, the 47th Pennsylvania opened its lines long enough to enable the Union cavalry under William Woods Averell and General George Crook’s foot soldiers to charge the Confederates’ left flank.

The 19th Corps, with the 47th in the thick of the fighting, then began pushing the Confederates back. Retreating in the face of the valor displayed by Sheridan’s “blue jackets,” Early’s “grays” left twenty-five hundred wounded behind. Finally stopping eight miles south of Winchester, they turned and fought the 47th Pennsylvania and other Union regiments in the Battle of Fisher’s Hill (21-22 September) — another Union victory in which Sheridan’s Union men outnumbered Early’s three to one. Skedaddling further, the Rebels headed for Waynesboro, with Sheridan’s men in dogged pursuit.

Afterward, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers returned to the Union’s encampment at Cedar Creek. A week later, the regiment lost its two most senior leaders when Colonel Tilghman Good and his second-in-command, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander, mustered out upon expiration of their respective terms of service.

Battle of Cedar Creek, 19 October 1864

It was during that part of the American Civil War that Major-General Sheridan began the Union’s “scorched earth” campaigns — starving the Confederacy into submission by destroying Virginia’s farming infrastructure. Viewed through today’s lens of history as inhumane, the strategy claimed many innocents, but also contributed to the war’s shift in the Union’s favor — especially during the Battle of Cedar Creek on 19 October 1864, as Early’s seemingly unstoppable troops peeled off in growing numbers to forage for food, enabling the 47th Pennsylvania and others under Sheridan’s command to rally and win that tide-turning engagement.

From a military standpoint, it was an impressive, but heartrending day. During the morning of 19 October, Early launched a surprise attack directly on Sheridan’s Cedar Creek-encamped forces. His troops captured Union weapons while freeing a number of Confederates who had been taken prisoner during previous battles — all while pushing seven Union divisions back. According to Bates:

“When the Army of West Virginia, under Crook, was surprised and driven from its works, the Second Brigade, with the Forty-seventh on the right, was thrown into the breach to arrest the retreat…. Scarcely was it in position before the enemy came suddenly upon it, under the cover of fog. The right of the regiment was thrown back until it was almost a semi-circle. The brigade, only fifteen hundred strong, was contending against Gordon’s entire division, and was forced to retire, but, in comparative good order, exposed, as it was, to raking fire. Repeatedly forming, as it was pushed back, and making a stand at every available point, it finally succeeded in checking the enemy’s onset, when General Sheridan suddenly appeared upon the field, who ‘met his crest-fallen, shattered battalions, without a word of reproach, but joyously swinging his cap, shouted to the stragglers, as he rode rapidly past them – “Face the other way, boys! We are going back to our camp! We are going to lick them out of their boots!’”

Sheridan then rode from his headquarters in Winchester to spur his men into a fierce counterattack that pounded Early’s forces into submission. So effective were the men of the 47th Pennsylvania during that fight that they were later commended for their heroism by General Stephen Thomas who, in 1892, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his own “distinguished conduct in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter, in which the advance of the enemy was checked.” Bates later described the 47th’s actions as follows:

“When the final grand charge was made, the regiment moved at nearly right angles with the rebel front. The brigade charged gallantly, and the entire line, making a left wheel, came down on his flank, while engaging the Sixth Corps, when he went ‘whirling up the valley’ in confusion. In the pursuit to Fisher’s Hill, the regiment led, and upon its arrival was placed on the skirmish line, where it remained until twelve o’clock noon of the following day. The army was attacked at early dawn…no respite was given to take food until the pursuit was ended.”

But once again, casualties for the 47th Pennsylvania were high. Multiple members of the regiment had been captured and taken to Confederate prisons, where they were held as held as prisoners of war (POWs); a shocking number later died from starvation or physical abuse. In addition, the equivalent of nearly two full companies of men from the 47th were dead with many, many others wounded.

Following those engagements, the 47th was based at Camp Russell near Winchester from November through most of December. Rested and somewhat healed, the 47th was then ordered to Camp Fairview in Charlestown, West Virginia to end the attacks by Rebel guerrillas that had been damaging the Union’s railroad operations and supply distribution in the region. Five days before Christmas, they trudged through a snowstorm to reach that new home.

1865 — 1866

Still stationed at Camp Fairview as the New Year of 1865 dawned, Corporal Richmond H. Schwab was recognized for his leadership abilities once again with a promotion to the rank of sergeant on New Year’s Day. He and his brother then spent much of that snowy month in winter quarters with their fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers when not on guard duty. When the weather improved, they resumed their pursuit of Confederate guerrillas. According to historians at the Pennsylvania State Archives, who uncovered details about the regiment’s time at Camp Fairview by reading the diaries of Jeremiah Siders of Company H, the 47th Pennsylvanians were also “employed building blockhouses at all the railroad ‘posts’ (meaning loading stations).” As the end of March 1865 loomed, according to The Lehigh Register, “The command was ordered to proceed up the valley to intercept the enemy’s troops, should any succeed in making their escape in that direction.”

While returning to Virginia as winter waned, the 47th Pennsylvania marched through Winchester and Kernstown. On 9 April 1865, a celebration broke out among the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers at their camp upon receiving word that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered his Confederate Army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. In a letter penned to the Sunbury American, 47th Pennsylvanian Henry Wharton described that moment:

“Letter from the Sunbury Guards.
CAMP NEAR SUMMIT POINT, Va.,
April 12, 1865

“Since yesterday a week we have been on the move, going as far as three miles beyond Winchester. There we halted for three days, waiting for the return or news from Torbett’s cavalry who had gone on a reconnoisance [sic] up to the valley. They returned, reporting they were as far up as Mt. Jackson, some sixty miles, and found nary an armed reb. The reason of our move was to be ready in case Lee moved against us, or to march on Lynchburg, if Lee reached that point, so that we could aid in surrounding him and [his] army, and with Sheridan and Mead capture the whole party. Grant’s gallant boys saved us that march and bagged the whole crowd. Last Sunday night our camp was aroused by the loud roar of artillery. Hearing so much good news of late, I stuck to my blanket, not caring to get up, for I suspected a salute, which it really was for the ‘unconditional surrender of Lee.’ The boys got wild over the news, shouting till they were hoarse, the loud huzzas [sic, “huzzahs”] echoing through the Valley, songs of ‘rally round the flag,’ &c., were sung, and above the noise of the ‘cannons opening roar,’ and confusion of camp, could be heard ‘Hail Columbia’ and Yankee Doodle played by our band. Other bands took it up and soon the whole army let loose, making ‘confusion worse confounded.’

“The next morning we packed up, struck tents, marched away, and now we are within a short distance of our old quarters. – The war is about played out, and peace is clearly seen through the bright cloud that has taken the place of those that darkened the sky for the last four years. The question now with us is whether the veterans after Old Abe has matters fixed to his satisfaction, will have to stay ‘till the expiration of the three years, or be discharged as per agreement, at the ‘end of the war.’ If we are not discharged when hostilities cease, great injustice will be done.

“The members of Co. ‘C,’ wishing to do honor to Lieut. C. S. Beard, and show their appreciation of him as an officer and gentleman, presented him with a splendid sword, sash and belt. Lieut. Beard rose from the ranks, and as one of their number, the boys gave him this token of esteem.

“A few nights ago, an aid [sic] on Gen. Torbett’s staff, with two more officers, attempted to pass a safe guard stationed at a house near Winchester. The guard halted the party, they rushed on, paying no attention to the challenge, when the sentinel charged bayonet, running the sharp steel through the abdomen of the aid [sic], wounding him so severely that he died in an hour. The guard did his duty as he was there for the protection of the inmates and their property, with instruction to let no one enter.

“The boys are all well, and jubilant over the victories of Grant, and their own little Sheridan, and feel as though they would soon return to meet the loved ones at home, and receive a kind greeting from old friends, and do you believe me to be

“Yours Fraternally,
H. D. W.”

The long war appeared to be over; just two days later, however, that fragile peace was shattered when a Confederate loyalist fired a bullet that changed the course of American history forever. As a result, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were ordered to head for Washington, D.C. Stationed there by 19 April 1865, they were now responsible for helping to ensure that the nation’s capital was safe in the wake of the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln — a terrible act of blind hate that threatened to reignite the civil war they had just helped to end. Making camp near Fort Stevens, they were issued new uniforms and additional ammunition.

But that period of service would be a brief one for one of the Schwab brothers. On 25 April 1865, Corporal Joseph H. Schwab was honorably discharged on a surgeon’s certificate of disability because he had sustained an injury to his abdomen, possibly during one of the September or October 1864 battles during Sheridan’s Shenandoah Valley Campaign, or possibly while the regiment was based at Camp Fairview in Charlestown, West Virginia. Sent home to family in Pennsylvania, he left his brother behind to continue protecting the nation’s capital.

During that important and historic period of service, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was headquartered at Camp Brightwood, and was attached to Dwight’s Division of the 2nd Brigade, Department of Washington’s 22nd Corps. Letters sent to friends and family back home around that same time and newspaper interviews that were conducted, post-war, with survivors of the 47th Pennsylvania confirm that at least one 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer was given the high honor of guarding President Lincoln’s funeral train while others may have guarded the Lincoln assassination conspirators during the early days of their imprisonment and trial, which began on 9 May 1865.

Sergeant Richmond Schwab and his fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantrymen also participated in the Union’s Grand Review of the National Armies on 23 May. Nine days later, on 1 June 1865, more soldiers were honorably discharged at Camp Brightwood by General Orders, No. 53 as their terms of enlistment expired. Meanwhile, those men still serving with the 47th Pennsylvania were preparing to head for the nation’s Deep South.

Reconstruction

On their final swing through the South, the still-serving 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers were stationed in Savannah, Georgia by early June. Attached again to Dwight’s Division, they were now assigned to the 3rd Brigade, U.S. Department of the South. Ordered to relieve the 165th New York in July, they were then headquartered at a mansion that had been previously owned by the Confederacy’s Secretary of the Treasury. Their duties in both states were largely related to civil governance and the rebuilding of shattered communities.

Finally, on Christmas Day, Sergeant Richmond H. Schwab and his fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers mustered out for the last time in Charleston — a process that continued through early January 1866. Following a stormy voyage north, they disembarked in New York City and were transported to Philadelphia by train, where the regiment was officially honorably discharged at Camp Cadwalader between 9-11 January 1866.

Return to Civilian Life — Richmond Harrison Schwab

Following his honorable discharge from the military, Richmond H. Schwab returned home to Pennsylvnia’s Lehigh Valley, where he spent time briefly with family and friends before re-enlisting with the United States Army. Officially re-enrolled in New York City by a “Lieut. Remington” on 23 July 1866, as a private with Company K of the U.S. Army’s 12th Infantry, he was described as a twenty-three-year-old printer from Northampton County, Pennsylvania, who was five feet, five inches tall and had light hair, gray eyes and a fair complexion.

Stationed in Washington, D.C. and Fortress Monroe in Virginia as part of a Reconstruction-era peacekeeping force attached to the Department of Washington, the 12th U.S. Infantry periodically sent full companies or detachments of men to various states that required assistance from the military in 1868, including West Virginia, Tennessee and Iowa. Boarding a train in April 1869, Private Richmond Schwab and his fellow 12th U.S. Infantrymen were sent to Omaha, Nebraska, by way of Baltimore, Maryland and Harrisburg and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and remained there briefly before being transported by train to California. (Per General Orders, No. 27, dated 3 May 1869, “In compliance with instructions from the Military Division of the Pacific, the Headquarters of the 12th U.S. Infantry [was] established at Angel Island, harbor of San Francisco.” Those same orders also directed that the men from Companies E and K “proceed to Camp Gaston, California [to] relieve Companies E and K, 9th Infantry,” after a brief period of rest at their stop at Angel Island.

* Note: Companies E and K of the U.S. Army’s 12th Infantry were sent to Camp Gaston in northern California to serve as part of a peacekeeping force that had been ordered to protect the Hupa people (alternate spelling: “Hoopa”) from the increasing number of White settlers moving into neighboring territories. (Hupa tribal leaders had signed a treaty of peace and friendship with the U.S. government on 6 August 1864. Camp Gaston, later known as “Fort Gaston,” was located on land that is now part of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation, and was situated roughly fourteen miles north of the junction between the Trinity and Klamath rivers.)

A week after those orders were issued to the 12th U.S. Infantry, rail lines owned by the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad companies were officially connected during a formal “Golden Spike” ceremony in Promontory, Utah on 10 May 1869, making real the plan approved by President Abraham Lincoln on 1 July 1862 to create a genuine Transcontinental Railroad for the United States of America. Travel between the nation’s east and west coasts was about to become much more affordable and frequent for many more Americans.

Just over two months later, Private Richmond H. Schwab was honorably discharged from the U.S. 12th Infantry at Camp Gaston in Northern California on 23 July 1869, upon expiration of his term of service. Looking forward to what his life as a civilian might now hold, he found work in Oregon in 1870. Three years later, he wed Gennie L. Roth (1855-1929; alternate spelling of given name: “Jennie”) in Salem, Oregon and then settled with her in the city of Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon. Together, they welcomed the Portland births of Richmond Harrison Schwab, Jr. (1874-1917), who was born on 30 June 1874, would become known to family and friends as “Dick” and would later wed Delia May Dearborn (1877-1941); Edward Louis Canby Schwab (1876-1950), who was born on 2 February 1876 and would later wed Charlotte E. Gibbs (1878-1955); and Gertrude Leah Schwab (1878-1966), who was born on 28 January 1878 and would later wed John Martin Budelman (1872-1958). Each of those children subsequently attended the Central Grammar School and Portland High School.

In 1879, Richmond H. Schwab, Sr. and his younger brother, Samuel B. Schwab, opened and operated a Portland-based printing shop that became increasingly successful during each passing year of America’s Gilded Age. By 1880, Richmond and his wife were residing at 243 Lake Street with their children, Richmond Jr., Edward and Gertrude. Also living with them with Richmond’s business partner and brother, Samuel B. Schwab. Initially known as “Schwab & Bro., Artistic Printers” their company was located at 122 Front Street in Portland in November 1883, according to their newspaper advertisements that year. Two months later, they were based at 5 Washington Street, and were known as “R. H. Schwab & Bro., Artistic Printers,” according to their advertisements. In August of that same year, they signed a contract with Portland city officials “for the printing of blanks, etc.,” according to The Sunday Oregonian.

The next decade would prove to be a challenging one for the Schwab brothers and others across Portland, however, when unseasonably warm temperatures caused the snowpack in the Cascade Mountains to melt in 1894, sending a high runoff of water into area rivers and streams that were already at risk of overflow due to an even rainier season than usual. By 31 May, a significant portion of Portland was heavily flooded, including the city’s business district. That disaster was later referred to as the Great Flood of 1894.

Three years later, Richmond H. Schwab retired from Schwab Bros., turning full control of the business over to his brother, Samuel B. Schwab. That change freed Richmond to travel and focus on his health. He also applied for and received a U.S. Civil War Pension.

Illness, Travel, Death and Interment

Despite ailing with Bright’s Disease during his final years, Richmond H. Schwab, Sr. embarked on a lengthy tour of Europe with his wife in April 1905. Then, having returned from Bremen, Germany aboard the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse on 22 August, followed by a brief stay in New York City, they traveled west to Chicago, Illinois, where he was hospitalized when his condition suddenly worsened. He died there at the age of sixty-two on 9 October 1905. Following the transport of his remains to his adopted hometown of Portland, Oregon by train, he was then laid to rest at that city’s Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery.

What Happened to the Widow and Children of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.?

Following his marriage to New York native Delia May Dearborn (1877-1941) in Portland circa 1901, Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.’s son, Richmond Harrison Schwab, Jr. (1874-1917), initially settled with his wife in Portland. In 1910, they resided at 775 Belmont Street in Portland’s Eighth Ward. Also living with them were his wife’s fifty-seven-year-old widowed mother, Alice Derby (1853-1933), and his wife’s fourteen-year-old sister, Margaret Derby (1896-unknown). Known to family and friends as “Dick,” Richmond H. Schwab, Jr. was employed that year as a tobacco salesman, while his wife was employed as a voice teacher. Sometime around 1913, he and his wife moved to the State of New York, where his wife subsequently pursued her career as a professional singer and voice teacher, and where he was employed as an auditor by the Pullman Company. Sadly, he fell ill with pneumonia in mid-April 1917, while still in his early forties, and died in New York less than a week later, on 23 April. Following funeral services there, his remains were returned to Portland, Oregon for interment at that city’s Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery.

Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.’s widow, Gennie L. (Roth) Schwab (1855-1929; alternate spelling of given name: “Jennie”), survived him by nearly a quarter of a century. Subsequently awarded a U.S. Civil War Widow’s Pension circa 1908, she continued to reside in Portland, Oregon. By the spring of 1910, she was residing at 175 Sixteenth Street. Also residing with her were her married daughter, Gertrude (Schwab) Budelman and Gertrude’s husband, as well as their children: John Richmond Budelman (1903-1975), who had been born in Burns, Oregon on 29 August 1903 and would later wed Gladys Elisabeth Doss (1908-1991); and Jean Elizabeth Budelman (1909-unknown), who had been born in Portland on 15 September 1909. In addition, Jennie (Roth) Schwab employed a live-in servant, Mamie Tokiorok [sp?], who had emigrated from Japan in 1891. In 1920, their Sixteenth Street home housed the same occupants, with the exception of the Japanese servant. Ailing with cancer during her final years, she passed away at home in Portland at the age of seventy-four, on 3 December 1929, and was laid to rest beside her husband at Portland’s Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery.

Following his marriage to Charlotte E. Gibbs (1878-1955) circa 1902, Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.’s son, Edward Louis Canby Schwab (1876-1950), settled with her in Oregon City, Clackamas County, Oregon, where he was employed as a bookkeeper at a wool mill. Together, they welcomed the birth of Geraldine Lottie Schwab (1907-1998), who was born on 19 January 1997 and would later wed George William Hodgson (1906-1997). In 1908, Edward Schwab became the corporate secreatry-treasurer of Oregon City Woolen Mills — a position he held for forty-two years. By 1920, he and his wife and daughter were residing at 292 East 23rd Street in Portland. In 1930, their household included their daughter, Geraldine (Schwab) Hodgson, and her son, George Edward Hodgson (1929-2022), who had been born in Fort Worth, Texas on 7 November 1929. Still residing in Portland in 1940, Edward and his wife were “empty nesters,” an arrangement that continued into mid-1950. Sadly, that year (1950), Edward Schwab suffered a fatal heart attack while playing golf with his grandson “at Lloyd’s golf course” on 24 June, according to his obituary. He “had a wide variety of Portland interests, including theater and apartment properties and built the business center in Gladstone along the super highway.” He also “owned considerable west side property.”

His friends said he also was interested in philanthropic enterprises and helped a number of students through school and college.

He was a member of Willamette lodge No. 1, Oregon City, the first lodge of Masons in Oregon territory.

Following funeral services, Edward Louis Canby Schwab was also laid to rest at the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery in Portland.

After her marriage — to John Martin Budelman — Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.’s daughter, Gertrude Leah (Schwab) Budelman (1878-1966), welcomed the birth with him of a son, John Richmond Budelman (1903-1975), in Burns, Oregon on 29 August 1903; John would later go on to marry Gladys Elisabeth Doss (1908-1991). By the time that Gertrude’s second child made her first appearance, Gertrude was residing with her husband and son in Portland. That daughter, named Jean Elizabeth Budelman (1909-unknown), was born on 15 September 1909. In 1910 and 1920, Gertrude and her family resided with her mother, Gennie L. (Roth) Schwab, on Sixteenth Street in Portland’s Fourth Ward. Sometime after her mother’s death in 1929, however, the quartet moved into a home at 488 East 31st Street in Portland.

By 1940, Gertrude and her husband were “empty nesters” residing at 1526 Southeast 23rd Avenue in Portland, an arrangement that continued into the late 1950s. Widowed by her husband in 1958, she survived him by eight years. In her late eighties at the time of her death on 22 April 1966, Gertrude Leah (Schwab) Budelman was also laid to rest at Portland’s Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery.

Return to Civilian Life — Joseph Henry Schwab

Following his honorable discharge from the military, Joseph Henry Schwab (1838-1929) returned home to Pennsylvnia’s Lehigh Valley. Sometime during the mid to late 1860s, he married Marietta Julia Young (1842-1914), a native of Howertown in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, who was known to family and friends as “Mary,” and was a daughter of Northampton County natives Reuben Young (1822-1888) and Julia Ann Neleigh (1817-1891). After settling in the Borough of Catasauqua in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Joseph and Mary Schwab became the parents of: Cora E. Schwab (1869-1955), who was born on 8 December 1869 and would later wed William Heckenberger (1855-1914); Belinda E. Schwab (1870-1955), who was born in September 1870, became known to family and friends as “Linda” and would later wed William Morrison (1868-1919); Reuben Soloman Schwab (1872-1932), who was born on 26 September 1872 (alternate birth year: 1873) and would later wed Olive Juanita Russell (1878-1962), a native of Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania; and Mary Julia Ann Schwab (1875-1968), who was born on 8 October 1875, and would later wed George Davies (1876-1955).

Hired by the Lehigh Car, Wheel and Axle Works in Fullerton, Lehigh County, Joseph H. Schwab supported his family on the wages of a moulder. By 1880, he was residing at 96 Walnut Street in Catasauqua with his wife and children: Cora, Belinda, Reuben, and Mary Julia Ann Schwab. Still employed by the Lehigh Car, Wheel and Axle Works after the turn of the century, Joseph H. Schwab continued to support his family on the wages of a moulder. Residing at 310 Walnut Street in June of 1900, he lived there with his wife and children: Belinda, who was working as a seamstress; Reuben, who was employed as a druggist; and Mary Julia Ann, who was also earning money as a seamstress. By 1910, however, all of Joseph’s children, except for Reuben, had moved out of the Schwab family’s home on Walnut Street. Also living with Joseph and his wife and son were Reuben’s wife, Olive Juanita Russell, and their children: Joseph R. Schwab (1901-1978), who had been born in Catasauqua on 16 August 1901; and Elizabeth M. Schwab (1903-1977), who had been born in Catasauqua on 8 May 1903.

Widowed by his wife, Marietta Julia (Young) Schwab when she passed away at the age of seventy-one on 28 February 1914, Joseph H. Schwab continued to reside in Catasauqua. Still living at 319 Walnut Street in 1920, he was now a member of the household headed by his son, Reuben, that also included Reuben’s wife, Juanita, and their children, Joseph R. Schwab, who was employed as an “alienist” (known today as a pharmacist); and Mary E. Schwab.

Death and Interment

After a long, full life, Catasauqua’s oldest Civil War veteran, Joseph Henry Schwab, died at the age of ninety-nine in Catasauqua on 13 March 1929. Following funeral services, he was laid to rest at the Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua.

What Happened to Joseph H. Schwab’s Children?

Following his marriage to Coatesville, Pennsylvania native Olive Juanita Russell (1878-1962) in Nazareth, Pennsylvania on 7 April 1901, Joseph H. Schwab’s son, Reuben Solomon Schwab (1873-1932), settled with her in Catasauqua, where he was employed as an “alienist” (known today as a pharmacist). They then became the parents of: Joseph R. Schwab (1901-1978), who had been born in Catasauqua on 16 August 1901; and Elizabeth M. Schwab (1903-1977), who had been born on 8 May 1903 and would later wed Wesley Fuller Willoughby (1900-1986) in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York on 20 June 1928. A resident of his father’s home in Catasauqua until his father’s death in 1929, Reuben made a major career change in 1908 by leaving his job as the manager of Heckenberger’s Drug Store, which was owned by his brother-in-law, to become a general delivery mail carrier in Catasauqua — work that he continued to perform into the 1920s. In August 1927, he announced his intent to run for a seat on the Catasauqua borough council. After winning that election and completing his term, he ran for re-election in 1931 and won again, representing constituents in Catasauqua’s Fourth Ward. Ailing with heart disease during his final years, Reuben Solomon Schwab died in Catasauqua on 8 July 1932, and was then buried at Catasauqua’s Fairview Cemetery.

Following her marriage to William Heckenberger (1855-1914) in Catasauqua on 12 May 1887, Joseph H. Schwab’s daughter, Cora E. (Schwab) Heckenberger (1869-1955), settled with her husband in Catasauqua, where he owned and operated a drug store. They then became the parents of: Louise I. Heckenberger (1889-1992), who was born on 11 October 1889 and would later wed Arthur W. Goulden (1891-1934); Olive G. Heckenberger (1892-1981), who was born on 6 February 1892 and would later wed Edward Sandbrook Howells (1896-1971); and William Welcome Heckenberger (1893-1987), who was born on 19 October 1893 and would later wed Catherine I. Nonnemacher (1900-1994). In 1900, Cora and her husband lived at 39 Front Street in Catasauqua with their three children, who were all in school, and a live-in servant, thirteen-year-old Gertrude Mosser. Residents of 145 Front Street in 1910, the quintet resided there without the services of a live-in maid. Widowed by her husband when he died in his late fifties in Catasauqua in 1914, Cora continued to live with her children at her family’s home at 145 Front Street for the remainder of her life. She also continued to operate their family’s drug store business, and was assisted in that endeavor by her son, William W. Heckenberger, who had followed in his father’s footsteps and had become a druggist. Meanwhile, Cora’s daughter, Louise, was employed as a bookkeeper at an automobile company. Still operating her drug store in 1930 and still living in the same home on Front Street, Cora headed a household that included only her married daughter, Olive, and Olive’s husband, Edward Howells, who was employed as an accountant at a steel plant. By 1940, their household also included Cora’s widowed daughter, Louise (Heckenberger) Goulden, who was employed as a cashier at an electric company. That household arrangement continued into the 1950s. Ailing with cervical cancer during her final years, Cora E. (Schwab) Heckenberger developed an infection and anemia circa September 1954. After a valiant fight, she died at the age of eighty-six at the Allentown Hospital in Allentown, Lehigh County, on 5 June 1955. Following funeral services, she was also buried at Catasauqua’s Fairview Cemetery.

Following her marriage to electrical contractor William Morrison (1868-1919) in Catasauqua on 28 June 1900, Joseph H. Schwab’s daughter, Belinda E. (Schwab) Morrison (1870-1955), settled with him in the city of Philadelphia’s Forty-Second Ward. Residents of York Road in that city in 1910, her husband was employed as a buyer and seller of machines. Widowed by her husband when he died at the age of fifty-one in Philadelphia on 5 April 1919, she accompanied his remains to Lehigh County for burial at the Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua, and then returned to Philadelphia, where she began to rebuild her life. Employed at the Pennsylvania Intitute for the Deaf and Dumb in Philadelphia (now known as the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf), she resided at that institute in January 1920. In 1930, she married for a second time — to widower Joseph Wertheim (1862-1936), a butcher at a meat market in Philadelphia. Following their wedding ceremony in Philadelphia, they resided at 3910 Elser Street in Philadelphia’s Forty-Third Ward. Also renting a room from them that year was railroad clerk Herbert Kruse. Ailing during that last year of her life, Belinda E. (Schwab Morrison) Wertheim died in her early sixties in Philadelphia in 1931. Following funeral services in the chapel at the Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua, she was also laid to rest at that cemetery.

Following her marriage in Catasauqua on 20 November 1901 to George Davies (1876-1955), one of the founders of Davies & Thomas Co., Joseph H. Schwab’s daughter, Mary Julia Ann (Schwab) Davies (1875-1968), who was known to family and friends as “Mame,” initially settled with her husband in Catasauqua before relocating with him to the State of New York due to his business responsibilities there. She and her husband then quickly became active participants at social events in Brooklyn, as evidenced by their frequent mentions in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and The Brooklyn Daily Times. By January of 1920, she and her husband were residents of 303 Alger Court in the Village of Bronxville, Westchester County, New York. Also residing with them was their live-in housekeeper, Hilma Kaaria (alternate surname spelling: “Koaria”), who had emigrated from Finland at the age of twenty-six, via a second class cabin aboard the Oscar II on 29 October 1916, had arrived at the Port of New York City, New York on 1 November of that same year, and had then settled in the Borough of Brooklyn, where she had been hired by Mary Julia Ann (Schwab) Davies. In early 1925, Mary Davies applied for a U.S. Passport, indicating her intent to travel to Great Britain, France, Switzerland, and Italy for “study and pleasure” during a roughly eight-month trip to Europe. Her paperwork described her as as forty-nine-year-old resident of Alger Court East in Bronxville, New York who was five feet, four inches tall with brown hair and grayish-green eyes and included her photograph (see image). By 1930, she and her husband, George, and their live-in housekeeper, Hilma, were living in Tuckahoe Village in Westchester County in the State of New York, an arrangement that continued into the 1950s. Also residing with them in 1950 was their nephew, George D. Graffin (1904-1977). Widowed by her husband roughly five years later, when he died at the age of seventy-nine in Bronxville, New York, on 15 April 1955, Mary Julia Ann (Schwab) Davies reportedly survived him by thirteen years, passing away on 15 May 1968. Researchers have not yet located her inurnment or burial location.

What Happened to the Schwab Brothers’ Siblings?

Very little is presently known about the life of Joseph and Richmond Schwab’s sister, Mary Ann Schwab (1840-died before 1906). Although she reportedly died circa 1915, according to several family trees on various genealogical websites, that data appears to be incorrect because she was not listed among the survivors of siblings whose obituaries were published prior to, or after, 1915. Researchers are continuing to search for more information regarding her life and burial location, and will add new data to this biography if and when it becomes available.

Following her marriage to carpenter John Stewart (1846-before 1900); alternate surname spelling: “Steward”), the Schwab brothers’ sister, Caroline Elizabeth (Schwab) Stewart (1851-1906), who was known to family and friends as “Carry,” settled with her husband in Catasauqua, where they became the parents of: James S. Stewart (1870-1935; alternate spelling of surname: “Steward”), who was born on 8 January 1870 and would later wed Nora E. Briegle (1871-1918); Ellen Stewart (1871-1941), who was born on 5 January 1871 and would later wed Charles Schneck Pugh (1878-1957); Samuel Benjamin Stewart (1875-1950), who was born on 28 October 1875 and would later wed Edith M. Gruele (1884-1954); and Orpha Stewart (1878-1950), who was born in January 1878 and would later Howard Irvine Zearfoss (circa 1875-1953). In 1880, Caroline (Schwab) Stewart resided at 193 Front Street in Catasauqua’s First Ward with her husband and their children: James, Ellen, Samuel, and Orpha. Also living with them was Carry’s twenty-five-year-old, unemployed brother, David Schwab. Another daughter, Millie May Stewart (1888-unknown), was then born in Catasauqua in October 1888. Widowed by her husband sometime before the federal census of 1900, Caroline E. (Schwab) Stewart continued to reside in Catasauqua for the remainder of her life. Still living with her at her home at 344 Wood Street during the summer of 1900 were her daughters: Ellen Stewart, who was employed as a dressmaker; and Millie May Stewart, who was still enrolled in her local school. Sadly, Caroline Elizabeth (Schwab) Stewart suffered an episode of apoplexy in March 1903. Although she survived, she was unable to walk or talk and “never recovered,” according to The Allentown Leader. She subsequently died at the age of fifty-four at her home in Catasauqua, on 15 January 1906. Following funeral services, she was also buried at the Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua.

Samuel Benjamin Schwab, Sr.

Having apprenticed in the printing trade at the Catasauqua Dispatch newspaper in Catasauqua as a young man, Joseph and Richmond Schwab’s brother, Samuel Benjamin Schwab (1858-1907), had initially secured employment in that trade in Catasauqua during the early 1870s. But as the winds of change swept across a re-united America, in the wake of the Transcontinental Railroad’s completion, Samuel received word from his brother Richmond that there was a brighter future waiting for him on the West Coast. So, in 1875, Samuel packed his bags, boarded a train and headed for Oregon to join his brother in the city of Portland. Still single during the summer of 1880, he resided with twenty-two others at a hotel or large rooming house operated by F. Goodin, and was employed as a “job printer,” according to that year’s federal census. Married to Missouri native Octavia Jackson McCamy (1860-1948; alternate surname spellings: “McCamey” and “McCarney”) in Multnomah County, Oregon in 1881, he welcomed the Portland births with her of: Samuel Benjamin Schwab, Jr. (1884-1903), who was born on 21 August 1884 but contracted tuberculosis that ultimately took his life while still a teenager (on 31 January 1903, in Phoenix, Maricopa County, Arizona, where he had been sent for medical treatment); Marguerite Schwab (1888-unknown), who was born in November 1888 and would later relocate with her mother to San Diego, California and would then adopt the married surname of Johnson; and Genevieve Schwab (1897-1954), who was born on 6 September 1897 and would later wed George W. Tiller.

Tragically, Samuel B. Schwab, Sr. developed mental health issues later in life. According to Allentown’s Morning Call newspaper, “He had been confined to his home with a severe attack of nervous prostration for several months” in 1907, when “he went into the bathroom and sent a bullet through his brain,” on 11 December 1907. Fifty years old at the time of his suicide, he was buried at the Greenwood Hills Cemetery in Portland. Equally tragic, both his widow, Octavia Jackson (McCamy) Schwab, and his youngest daughter, Genevieve (Schwab) Tiller, also suffered horrific deaths. His widow, Octavia, was killed when she fell down an elevator shaft in her apartment building in Long Beach, California in June 1948, and their daughter, Genevieve, died during an accidental drowning in the bathtub at her home in Long Beach on 26 May 1954.

Sarah Jane (Schwab) Davis

Following her marriage to Isaac Davis (1840-1911), the Schwab brothers’ sister, Sarah Jane (Schwab) Davis (1849-1910), settled with her husband in Catasauqua, where they became the parents of: William S. Davis (1868-1902), who was born on 17 July 1868 but never married and would die from typhoid fever in Catasauqua at the age of thirty-four; Oliver I. Davis (1870-1947), who was born on 24 August 1870; Daniel L. Davis (1872-1876), who was born on 17 March 1872 but did not survive early childhood; Franklin Henry Davis (1873-1932), who was born on 22 November 1873 and would later wed Katherine Kramer (1884-1941) in 1903 and settle with her in Brooklyn, New York; Marguerite Emily Davis (1877-1907), who was born on 19 December 1877, was also known as “Margaret” and would later wed Marshall Long Whitney (1876-1942) in Catasauqua on 15 June 1901; Raymond David Davis (1881-1931), who was born on 25 September 1881 and would later work as a confectioner in Catasauqua before relocating to Manhattan and Brooklyn, New York, where he was employed as a machinist and electrician; and Ralph Samuel Davis (1884-1945), who was born on 25 November 1884 and would later wed Laura A. Gross (circa 1885-1954) in Philadelphia in 1925 and settle with her in Jersey City, New Jersey.

A resident of Catasauqua’s Second Ward since at least 1880, Sarah Jane (Schwab) Davis suffered an episode of apoplexy at her home at 432 Bridge Street in Catasauqua in March of 1910 and died there from stroke-related complications at the age of sixty-one, on 21 June that same year. She was survived by her husband and their children: Oliver Davis, of New Britain, Connecticut; Frank Davis, of Brooklyn, New York; and Raymond and Ralph Davis, who were still residing at home in Catasauqua at the time of her death. Following funeral services, she was also laid to rest at the Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua.

David Schwab

Joseph and Richmond Schwab’s brother, David Schwab (1855-1918), who had apprenticed as a printer in 1870, was then employed as a butcher for a significant portion of his adult life, working for Burgess C. D. W. Bower, according to local news reports about him in his later years. Per federal census records, however, David was a teenaged apprentice who lived with his parents in Catasauqua in 1870, but was unemployed and living at the home of his married, older sister, Caroline Elizabeth (Schwab) Stewart at 193 Front Street in Catasauqua’s First Ward in 1880. Still single when the federal census was enumerated in Lehigh County in June 1900, David Schwab was described as an inmate at the Lehigh County Almshouse in South Whitehall Township. Sadly, by the spring of 1910, he was institutionalized at the State Hospital for the Insane in Norristown, Montgomery County. Subsequently released from that facility, he moved to the town of Rittersville in Lehigh County, where he contracted influenza sometime during the fall of 1918. As his condition worsened, he then also developed bronchial pneumonia. Confined to the Homeopathic State Hospital in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, he died there at the age of sixty-three on 11 November of that same year. Following funeral services in the chapel at the Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua at 3 p.m. on 19 November, he was interred in the Schwab family plot at that cemetery.

Franklin Solomon Schwab

Franklin Solomon Schwab, Sr. (1845-1934), who had become a moulder at Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1889 and had held that position until his retirement circa 1914, had also served as a member of the Bethlehem school board. Following his marriage to Ellen E. Hauck, he had initially settled with her in Catasauqua, Lehigh County, where they welcomed the births with her of: Franklin Solomon Schwab, Jr. (1867-1962), who was born on 11 November 1867 and later wed Ella Steinmiller (1874-1961) and settled with her in Bethlehem; Nicholas Schwab (1869-1946), who was born on 18 September 1869 and later wed Stella Lavina Koehler (1872-1941) and settled with her in Bethlehem; Adele Schwab (1873-1947), who was born in June 1873 and later wed Joseph Mathias Leibert (1873-1962) in 1895 and settled with him in Washington, D.C.; Thomas Schwab, M.D. (1876-1955), who was born on 19 February 1876 and later wed Elsa Hoff (1877-1957) and settled with her in Bethlehem; Elizabeth J. Schwab (1877-1957), who was born on 28 September 1877, was known to family and friends as “Lizzie,” later settled in Bethlehem, was never employed, and remained single for the duration of her life; and Laura May Schwab (1880-1935), who was born on 10 August 1880 and later wed the Reverend Arthur E. Francke (1878-1960), a German immigrant and Moravian Church minister, and settled with him in New Jersey.

Widowed by his wife circa 1928, Frank S. Schwab, Sr. subsequently resided in Bethlehem with his daughter, Elizabeth Schwab. During his final years, he suffered a severe fall in early January 1934, during which he fractured a femur bone. That injury then resulted in his death from uremia at the age of eighty-nine, later that month, on 21 January. Following funeral services, he was laid to rest beside his wife at the Nisky Hill Cemetery in Bethlehem. Allentown’s Morning Call newspaper later eulogized him as “the oldest Republican voter in Bethlehem,” noting that his death “removed from the community a representative citizen.”

He always took an active interest in politics and prior to the consolidation of the boroughs of Bethlehem he served as school director for the old borough of Bethlehem. He was a faithful member of the Moravian Church.

 

Sources:

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8. Cora E. Schwab (the bride) and Joseph Schwab (the father of the bride); and William Heckenberger (the groom) and Wm. A. Heckenberger (the father of the groom), in “Marriage License Docket of Lehigh County, PA.” (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, date of marriage: 12 May 1887). Allentown, Pennsylvania: Clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
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46. Kern, Sylvanus (superintendent, Lehigh County Almshouse), Ellen, J. C. (wife), Rosa, J. E. (daughter); Kuhns, Wm. (officer), Emma C. (wife), Berry, C. F. (son); Kern, Mary (officer); Fegely, Elvina (officer); Binder[?], Mary (servant); and 190 inmates, including Schwab, David (a brother of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab), in U.S. Census (Lehigh County Almshouse, South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
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51. Morrison, Wm. M. and Belinda (a daughter of Joseph H. Schwab), in U.S. Census (Philadelphia, Forty-Second Ward, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
52. Mrs. Joseph Wertheim [sic, “Belinda E. (Schwab Morrison) Wertheim] (burial notice of a daughter of Joseph H. Schwab), in “Catasauqua.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 28 October 1931.
53. “Mrs. Tiller, Semi-Invalid, Dead in Tub” (report regarding the accidental drowning of Genevieve (Schwab) Tiller, who was a niece of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab and a daughter of Samuel B. Schwab, Sr.). Long Beach, California: Press-Telegram, 27 May 1954.
54. “Movement of Troops” (brief report regarding the relocation of the 12th U.S. Infantry to California). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Daily Milwaukee News, 12 April 1869.
55. Noyalas, Jonathan. “The Fight at Cedar Creek Was Over. So Why Couldn’t Union Troops Let Their Guard Down?” Arlington, Virginia: HistoryNet, 27 February 2023.
56. “Obituary: David Schwab” (obituaries of a brother of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat and The Morning Call, 19 November 1918.
57. “Obituary: Mrs. Caroline E. Stewart” (obituary of a sister of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 16 January 1906.
58. Photo of Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr. with his grandson, John Richmond Budelman. Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian, 11 October 1995.
59. “Printer Ends Life: Samuel Schwab Sends Bullet Through Brain: Victim of Despondency” (report on the life and death of Joseph H. and Richard H. Schwab’s brother, Samuel B. Schwab, Sr.). Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian, 12 December 1907.
60. “R. H. Schwab Is Dead: Passes Away at Chicago on His Way Home” (obituary of Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.). Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian, 10 October 1905.
61. “Ralph S. Davis” (a nephew of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab and a son of Sarah Jane (Schwab) Davis), in “Wills Probated.” Jersey City, New Jersey: The Jersey Journal, 19 February 1945).
62. Reports and Other Correspondence of W. D. C. Rodrock, Chaplain, 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (Record Group R29). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, 1864-1865.
63. Reuben Schwab (the groom) and Joseph and Mary Schwab (the groom’s parents; and Olive J. Russell (the bride) and John Russell (the father of the bride), in “Marriage License Docket of Lehigh County, PA.” (Nazareth, Pennsylvania, date of marriage: 7 April 1901). Allentown, Pennsylvania: Clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
64. Reuben S. Schwab (announcement of the campaign for the Catasauqua borough council by a son of Joseph H. Schwab), in “Other Items.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 17 August 1927.
65. Reuben S. Schwab (announcement of the re-election campaign for the Catasauqua borough council by a son of Joseph H. Schwab), in “Borough Politics.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 4 August 1931.
66. Reuben S. Schwab (a son of Joseph H. Schwab), in Death Certificates (file no.: 67813, registered no.: 18, date of death: 8 July 1932. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
67. “Review of the Garrison of Washington” (report regarding a monthly review of U.S. Army troops, which included the 12 U.S. Infantry). Washington, D.C.: The Daily Morning Chronicle, 20 November 1867.
68. Richmond Schwab and Jeannie Schwab, in “List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the U.S. Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival (S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, sailing from Bremen Germany, 22 August 1905; arriving Port of New York), in Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957 (microfilm serial or NAID: T715; record group title, “Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004,” RG: 85). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
69. “Roster of the 47th P. V. Inf.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 26 October 1930.
70. Samuel B. Schwab, Jr. (report of the lung illness of a nephew of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab and a son of Samuel B. Schwab, Sr.), in “Personals.” Portland, Oregon: The Oregon Daily Journal, 23 January 1903.
71. Samuel B. Schwab, Jr. (report of the death from tuberculosis of a nephew of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab and a son of Samuel B. Schwab, Sr.), in “Deaths.” Portland, Oregon: The Oregonian, 11 February 1903.
72. Schmidt, Lewis. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
73. “Schwab” (death, funeral and burial notice of Joseph and Richard Schwab’s brother, David Schwab). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 19 November 1918.
74. “Schwab” (death notice of Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.’s widow). Portland, Oregon: The Oregon Daily Journal, 3 December 1929.
75. “Schwab & Bro.” (mentions Schwab Brothers’ printing contract with Portland, Oregon’s city government), in “In and About Portland.” Portland, Oregon: The Sunday Oregonian, 31 August 1884.
76. Schwab, Edward (a son of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.) and Lottie, in U.S. Census (Oregon City, Clackamas County, Oregon, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
77. Schwab, Edward L. (a son of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.), Lottie and Geraldine, in U.S. Census (Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, 1920). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
78. Schwab, Edward L. (a son of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.) and Lottie; and Hodgson, Geraldine (Edward Schwab’s daughter) and Hodgson, George E. (Geraldine’s son), in U.S. Census (Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, 1930). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
79. Schwab, Edward L. (a son of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.) and Lottie, in U.S. Census (Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, 1940, 1950). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
80. “Schwab, Gennie L.” (obituary of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.’s widow), in “Deaths.” Portland, Oregon: The Oregon Daily Journal, 5 December 1929.
81. “Schwab, Jennie L. (the widow of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.); Budelman, John M., Gertrude (Jennie Schwab’s daughter), John M., and Patricia E. [sic, “Jean”]; and Tokiorok [sp?], Mamie (servant), in U.S. Census (Portland, Fourth Ward, Multnomah County, Oregon, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
82. “Schwab, Jennie L. (the widow of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.); and Budelman, John M., Gertrude (Jennie Schwab’s daughter), John M., and Jean, in U.S. Census (Portland, Fourth Ward, Multnomah County, Oregon, 1920). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
83. Schwab, Joseph, Mary, Belinda, Reuben, and M. Anne, in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
84. Schwab, Joseph H., Mary S., Reuben S., Wahneta O. [sic, “Olive Juanita”] (Reuben’s wife), and Joseph R. and Elizabeth M. (Reuben’s children in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
85. Schwab, Octavia J. (the widow of Joseph H. and Richmond Schwab’s brother, Samuel Benjamin Schwab) and Marguerita (Octavia’s daughter and a niece of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab), in U.S. Census (San Diego, San Diego County, California, 1930). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
86. Schwab, R. H. [sic, “Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.”], Jennie, Richmond (son), Edward L., Gertrude, and Samuel [sic, “Samuel B. Schwab”] (the business partner and brother of Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.), in U.S. Census, Portland, Oregon, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
87. Schwab, Reuben S., Juanita, Joseph R., Elizabeth M., and Joseph H. [sic, “Joseph Henry Schwab”] (Reuben’s father), in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Fourth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1920). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
88. Schwab, Reuben S. (a son of Joseph H. Schwab), Juanita and Joseph R., in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Fourth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1940). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
89. Schwab, Richmond H. [sic, “Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.”], in “Register of Enlistments, United States Army” (12th Infantry, Company K, 23 July 1866 to 23 July 1869). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
90. Schwab, Richmond H. [sic, “Richmond H. Schwab, Sr.”] and Jennie L., in U.S. Civil War Pension General Index Cards (veteran’s application no.: 1251723, veteran’s certificate no.: 1105262, filed by the veteran from Oregon, 14 July 1900; widow’s application no.: 897456, widow’s certificate no.: 733165, filed by the veteran’s widow, Jennie L. Schwab, 8 June 1908). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
91. Schwab, Richmond H. [sic, “Richmond H. Schwab, Jr.”] and D. May [sic, “Delia May (Derby) Schwab”]; and Derby, Alice (Delia’s mother) and Margret (Delia’s sister), in U.S. Census (Portland, Eighth Ward, Multnomah County, Oregon, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
92. “Schwab Rites Set” (funeral notice of Richmond Harrison Schwab, Sr.’s son, Edward L. C. Schwab). Portland, Oregon: The Oregon Daily Journal, 26 June 1950.
93. Schwab, Samuel B. (the groom and a brother of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab), in Multnomah County Marriages, 1855-1899 (date of marriage: 1881). Portland, Oregon: Genealogical Forum of Oregon (GFO).
94. Schwab, Solomon, Caroline, Joseph, Mary, Richmond, Franklin, and Sarah, in U.S. Census (Hanover Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1850). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
95. Schwab, Solomon, Caroline, Joseph, Maryann, Richmond, Frank, Sarah, Carry, David, and Samuel, in U.S. Census (Borough of Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1860). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
96. Scott, Robert N. The War of War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, series I, vol. XXXIV, part II: “Correspondence, etc.-Union,” Chapter XLVI: “Louisiana and the Trans-Mississippi,” p. 199. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1891.
97. 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.
98. Staubach, Lieutenant Colonel James C. “Miami During the Civil War: 1861-65,” in Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, vol. LIII, pp. 31-62. Miami: Historical Museum of Southern Florida, 1993.
99. Stewart, John, Caroline (a sister of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab), James, Ellen, Samuel, and Orpha; and Schwab, David (Caroline’s younger brother and a brother of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab), in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, First Ward, Lehigh County, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
100. “Survivors at Easton: The Gallant 47th Regiment Holds Its Annual Reunion.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Critic, 23 October 1891.
101. Swab [sic, “Schwab”], Joseph, Mary and Cora, in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
102. Swab [sic, “Schwab”], Joseph H., Maretta, Cora E., Belinda E., Reuben S., and Mary J. A., in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
103. Swabz [sic, “Schwab”], Solomon, Carolina, David, and Samuel, in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
104. Swab [sic, Schwab], Frank (father), Ellen, Frank (son), and Nicholas, in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
105. Swab [sic, Schwab], Frank (father), Ellen, Frank S. (son), Nicholas, Adelle [sic, Adele], Thomas W., and Lizzie J., in U.S. Census (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
106. Tamiami Trail Modifications: Next Steps — Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Appendix E. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Park Service: Everglades National Park: 29 January 2010.
107. “The History of the Forty-Seventh Regt. P. V.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Lehigh Register, 20 July 1870.
108. “Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between the United States Government and the Hoopa, South Fork, Redwood, and Grouse Creek Indians, 1864 (6 August 1864), in “Tribal Treaty Database: Treaties.” Stillwater, Oklahoma: Digital Resources & Discovery Services, Oklahoma State University Library, retrieved online 1 August 2026.
109. “Troops in the Department of Washington” (brief notice regarding the 12 U.S. Infantry’s service with the Department of Washington). Washington, D.C.: The National Republican, 13 October 1866.
110. “Veterans’ Reunion: Heroes of the 47th Assembled at the Duck Farm: Their Old Commander Present: Large Gathering of Old Soldiers in Whom Martial Spirit Is Still Strong.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, 22 October 1902.
111. Wharton, Henry D. Letters from the Sunbury Guards. Sunbury, Pennsylvania: Sunbury American, 1861-1868.
112. “William Davis” (obituary of a nephew of Joseph H. and Richmond H. Schwab and a son of Sarah Jane (Schwab) Davis). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 10 October 1902.
113. Wm. M. Morrison (the groom) and John and Mary Morrison (the groom’s parents); and Belinda E. Schwab (the bride) and Joseph and Mary Schwab (the bride’s parents), in “Marriage License Docket of Lehigh County, PA.” (Catasauqua, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, date of marriage: 28 June 1900). Allentown, Pennsylvania: Clerk of the Orphans’ Court of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
114. Wutheim [sic, “Wertheim”], Joseph (the second husband of Belinda (Schwab Morrison) Wertheim, who was a daughter of Joseph H. Schwab) and Linda [sic, “Belinda (Schwab Morrison) Wertheim], (a daughter of Joseph H. Schwab); and Kruse, Herbert (roomer), in U.S. Census (City of Philadelphia, Forty-Third Ward, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, 1930. Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.