Spellings of Surname: Wolf, Wolfe

 

The descendant of an emigrant from the Kingdom of Württemberg who settled in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley during the early nineteenth century, native Pennsylvanian Allen David Wolf grew up to become one of his father’s two successors in the Wolf family’s successful blacksmith shop and carriage-making business, which was located at the southeast corner of Church and Turner streets in the Borough of Allentown in Lehigh County.

But before he could become that businessman, Allen Wolf would need to survive one of the most dangerous periods in American History.

Formative Years

Born in Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania on 18 October 1843, Allen David Wolf was a son of Allentown native Julianna (Clewell) Wolf (1817-1857), and Ludwig Wolf (1814-1897), a native of the Kingdom of Württemberg (in what is now the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany) who had emigrated from Württemberg with his parents at the age of four, had arrived in New York City, New York after a six-month journey by ship, and had then settled in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. Apprenticed for three years to a master blacksmith there, Ludwig Wolf subsequently established his own blacksmith’s shop at Sixth and Turner Streets in Allentown in 1838, which he then built into the highly successful blacksmith and carriage-making company that later became known as L. Wolf’s sons. A Democrat, politically, he and his family were members of the Lutheran Church.

* Note: Allen Wolf’s mother, Julianna (Clewell) Wolf, whose name was spelled as “Julia Ann” when later carved on her tombstone, had been born on 23 April 1817, and was a daughter of Joseph Craft Clewell (1760-1832) and Elizabeth (Leibert) Clewell (1764-1850).

In 1850, Allen Wolf resided in the Borough of Allentown with his parents and siblings: Lewis Henry Wolf (1837-1917), who had been born in the village of Emaus, Lehigh County on 30 September 1837 and would later wed Mary M. Worman (1837-1923); Milton Joseph Wolf (circa 1840-1856), who had been born in Allentown circa 1840; and Richard Wolf, who had been born in Allentown circa February 1850, but had died in infancy or early childhood.

The life for Allen and his siblings that year (1850) was a comfortable one. His father’s business and real estate were valued by a federal census enumerator at four thousand dollars (the equivalent of roughly one hundred and sixty-six thousand U.S. dollars in 2025), which enabled Allen and his siblings to attend the city’s public schools and seminary school before completing their education at the Allentown Academy. Also living at the family’s home in 1850 were: Mariah Reinsmith and two blacksmiths who were employed by Allen Wolf’s father: Tilghman Bahl and Elwin Shoemaker.

More siblings soon followed at the Wolf’s home in Allentown: Mary Amanda Wolf (1852-1920), who was born on 18 June 1852 and later wed Clinton Engleman (1847-1931); and Henry C. Wolf (1856-1907) who was born on 1 June 1856 and later wed Agnes Kline (1857-1901).

But then tragedy struck. Allen Wolf’s older brother, Milton Joseph Wolf, died at the age of sixteen (circa 1856), followed by the Wolf family’s matriarch, Julia Ann (Clewell) Wolf, who passed away sometime before November of 1857. Following their respective funeral services, both were laid to rest at the Linden Street Cemetery in Allentown.

By 1860, Allen Wolf was still living at home with his father, Ludwig, and siblings, Mary and Henry Wolf. But the siblings’ household now also included two new members: their stepmother, Hannah (Mickley Amey) Wolf, a widow who had married Ludwig Wolf in Allentown on 3 November 1857; and their stepbrother, Milton J. Amey (1853-1948), Hannah’s son from her first marriage to John Amey.

* Note: Wolf family history researchers can be certain that Julia Ann (Clewell) Wolf died sometime before November of 1857 because Julia Ann was listed on federal census records for 1850, but not 1860; because her badly-worn gravestone was carved with a death year of 1857; and because subsequent records for Julia Ann’s husband, Ludwig Wolf, reported that her husband had remarried later that same year — on 3 November 1857 — to Hannah (Mickley) Amey (1821-1910).

Julia Ann’s successor as Wolf family matriarch, Hannah (Mickley Amey) Wolf, had been widowed by her first husband John Amey (alternate surname spelling: “Amig”), sometime before November 1857. A daughter of Joseph Mickley (1802-1832) and Catharina (Miller) Steckel (1803-1888). Hannah was also a paternal great-granddaughter of John Jacob Mickley, one of the Pennsylvanians involved “in moving the Liberty Bell from Philadelphia to Allentown, when it was threatened with destruction by the British in the Revolutionary War,” according to Allentown’s Morning Call newspaper.

Hannah’s son from her first marriage, Milton J. Amey (1853-1948), would go on to travel the world during his late teens and early twenties, visiting Algeria, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cape Horn as a member of the United States Navy, before returning home to Allentown to pursue a career as an independent portrait painter and as a minstrel in light opera and theatrical performances. According to the Morning Call, Milt Amey “made countless headlines in newspaper and theatre publications” and later became a familiar face to Allentonians as a regular “attendant at the entrance to the paddock at the Allentown Fair…. Middle-aged and young people would assemble to hear tales of the sea and the old minstrel days from the man ‘with the big straw hat and the cane.'”

Although that year of 1860 was a financially comfortable one for Allen D. Wolf and his siblings (their father’s real estate and personal property were now valued at twenty-three thousand dollars — the equivalent of more than eight hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars in 2025), the year ended on a somber note for the family and their friends and fellow Pennsylvanians with a crisis caused by the secession of South Carolina from the United States on 20 December 1860 — a crisis that would soon escalate into a disastrous civil war that would result in the deaths of more than seven hundred thousand Americans.

American Civil War

Unable to sit on the sidelines as his friends and neighbors marched off to war, Allen D.Wolf enrolled for military service in Allentown on 11 September 1861. He then officially mustered in for duty at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Dauphin County on 18 September as a private with Company G of the newly-formed 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

Company G was initially led by Charles Mickley, a miller and merchant who was a native of Mickleys near Whitehall Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. After recruiting the men who would form the 47th Pennsylvania’s G Company, Charles Mickley had personally mustered in for duty as a corporal with the 47th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on 18 September 1861, and was then promptly commissioned as a captain and given command of Company G that same day. Also on that day, Charles A. Henry was made Company G’s second lieutenant, and John J. Goebel was commissioned as G Company’s first lieutenant. The remainder of Company G — ninety-five men — also enrolled and mustered in that same day; by the next month, the roster numbered ninety-eight — a figure that would hold until 1862. By the time the Civil War ended in 1865, a total of one hundred and ninety-five men would ultimately serve with G Company, including Thomas B. Leisenring, who would go on to become the company’s captain.

Military records at the time described Private Allen Wolf as an eighteen-year-old machinist living in Lehigh County who was five feet, four inches tall with dark hair, brown eyes and a fair complexion. According to Lehigh Valley historian John Wolff Jordan, by the time that Allen D. Wolf entered military service, he had already trained and worked as a machinist for three years at the Shimer & Kistler Axle Works, “becoming master of the same at the age of seventeen years.”

Following a brief light infantry training period at Camp Curtin, Private Wolf and his company were sent by train with the 47th Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C., where they were stationed at “Camp Kalorama” on the Kalorama Heights near Georgetown, about two miles from the White House, beginning 21 September. Henry Wharton, a field musician (drummer) with the regiment’s C Company, penned an update the next day to his hometown newspaper, the Sunbury American:

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.

On 24 September 1861, the members of Company G and their fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers officially mustered in with the U.S. Army. Three days later, on 27 September, a rainy, drill-free day which permitted many of the men to read or write letters home, the 47th Pennsylvanians were assigned to the 3rd Brigade of Brigadier-General Isaac Ingalls Stevens. By that afternoon, they were on the move again, headed for the Potomac River’s eastern side where, upon arriving at Camp Lyon in Maryland, they were ordered to march double-quick over a chain bridge and off toward Falls Church, Virginia.

Arriving at Camp Advance at dusk, the men pitched their tents in a deep ravine about two miles from the bridge they had just crossed, near a new federal military facility under construction (Fort Ethan Allen), which was also located near the headquarters of Brigadier-General William Farrar Smith (nicknamed “Baldy”), the commander of the Union’s massive Army of the Potomac (“Mr. Lincoln’s Army”). Armed with Mississippi rifles supplied by the Keystone State, their job was to help defend the nation’s capital.

While all of that was unfolding, however, Private Allen D. Wolf and three of his fellow G Company soldiers were having their own adventure elsewhere. In a 1911 interview with The Allentown Democrat, Allen Wolf recalled what happened one very special day in September 1861 when he and three of his G Company comrades (Private George Heppler, Drummer William N. Smith and Private Jacob Peter Worman) decided that they wanted to meet President Abraham Lincoln in person:

“Our regiment went in 1861 from Harrisburg to Washington where we were encamped just outside the city limits. It was our dream to see Lincoln. Accordingly one day the four of us secured a pass to go into the city, but the time set for our return was 5 o’clock. We were all young fellows — I was seventeen years of age — and thrown into a new world. Everything seemed so wonderful to us and so different from Allentown. We were enjoying our holiday immensely, when some one suggested that we try to see President Lincoln. We had heard so much about this great man and when the matter was suggested we were all agreed.

“Let me tell you, however, that to start out to see the president and to actually see him in those days was [sic] two different things. Little did we dream of the difficulties that we would encounter. We started for the White House and arrived in due time. We got into the green room, where a negro servant met us and asked us our business. We told him that we were young soldiers from Pennsylvania and were very eager to see the president. The black man retired and returned a few moments later with the message that the president was very busy and could not see us at that time. We were disappointed, of course.

“We walked around the city for about an hour, but we were not satisfied. The disappointment over our failure to see the president weighed heavily on our minds. It was then that we determined to make another effort to have our ambition gratified and presented ourselves at the White House again. The negro servant recognized us and laughed when he saw us. We prevailed upon him to see the president and to find out whether we couldn’t see him. The negro again went up stairs and returned with the message that the president was still busy. We went away the second time disappointed.

“Again we walked about the city. Nothing seemed to interest us, however. We nursed our disappointment as best we could, but we simply could not rid ourselves of the desire to see the president. At four o’clock in the afternoon we determined to make a final effort. Again we ascended the White House steps and again we were met by our negro friend…. He consented to intercede for us and went up stairs. A few moments later the president came down the stairway. We were standing at the bottom. There was a kindly, patient smile on his face. He greeted us cordially, shook each by the hand and said: ‘Boys, you are young soldiers. Be good and above all obey your commander.’ With that he retired. We were satisfied and went away brimful of happiness and patriotism.”

Their mission accomplished, Private Wolf and his three G Company comrades had a new and more vexing problem — they not only needed to get back to camp, they needed to do so quickly because the pass that they had been given by one of their superior officers, which had authorized their visit to Washington, was set to expire at 5 p.m. that same day.

But that task would prove to be even more difficult than had their successful quest to meet President Lincoln. As a result, they didn’t quite make it back in time. According to Private Wolf:

“When we got to the point where our regiment had been encamped in the morning we saw nothing but strange faces. We asked for Company G, and were directed to a point. When we came there we found that during our absence the Forty-seventh had been ordered to move and a Wisconsin regiment was encamped there. We decided to return to the city [Washington, D.C.] and in due time fell into the hands of the patrol. We showed our pass and were sent to the headquarters of General McClellan. The general met us personally. We told him of our predicament and he told us that our regiment was now encamped in a different location. He directed us to cross the chain bridge. The general also informed us that a wagon train would go that way and that we should follow it. We did as he instructed us to do. What a march that was, however! It was raining all night and we were drenched to the skin by the time we reached our regiment. But we felt amply repaid. We had seen the greatest man in the country and had spoken to General McClellan.”

Their inability to locate their regiment’s camp is more easily understood when reading a letter penned on 29 September by Company C Musician Henry Wharton, in which he informed readers of the Sunbury American that the 47th Pennsylvania 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 [sic] 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….

Apparently protected by their encounter with Major-General George McClellan, which likely resulted in a pass granting them permission to travel from the city of Washington to Virginia, Private Allen Wolf and his three G Company comrades apparently did not face any significant disciplinary consequences from their delayed arrival at the 47th Pennsylvania’s encampment. Sometime afterward, they and their fellow 47th Pennsylvanians were moved with the 3rd Brigade to a site that they initially christened “Camp Big Chestnut” in reference to a large chestnut tree nearby. The site would eventually become known to the Keystone Staters as “Camp Griffin,” and was located roughly ten miles from Washington, D.C. — and near what is now the city of Langley, Virginia.

While en route, according to historian Lewis Schmidt, “Pvt. Reuben Wetzel, a forty-six-year-old cook in Capt. Mickley’s Company G,” climbed up on a horse that was pulling his company’s wagon while his regiment was engaged in a march from Fort Ethan Allen to Camp Griffin (both in Virginia). When the regiment arrived at a deep ditch, “the horses lost their footing and the wagon overturned and plunged into the ditch, with ‘the old man, wagon, and horses, under everything.’”

It was dangerous work being a soldier.

On 11 October 1861, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers engaged in a grand review of Union Army troops at Bailey’s Cross Roads. In a letter that was written to family back home around this same time, Captain John Peter Shindel Gobin (the leader of C Company who would be promoted in 1864 to head 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, the 47th engaged in a divisional review, described by historian Lewis Schmidt as massing “about 10,000 infantry, 1000 cavalry, and twenty pieces of artillery all in one big open field.” In late October, according to Schmidt, the men from Companies B, G and H woke at 3 a.m., assembled a day’s worth of rations, marched four miles from camp, and took over picket duties from the 49th New York:

Company B was stationed in the vicinity of a Mrs. Jackson’s house, with Capt. Kacy’s Company H on guard around the house. The men of Company B had erected a hut made of fence rails gathered around an oak tree, in front of which was the house and property, including a persimmon tree whose fruit supplied them with a snack. Behind the house was the woods were the Rebels had been fired on last Wednesday morning while they were chopping wood there.

In his letter of 17 November, Henry Wharton revealed still more details about life at Camp Griffin:

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

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

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

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

On 21 November, the 47th participated in a morning divisional headquarters review that was overseen by Colonel Tilghman 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 — 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.

1862

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Next ordered to Hilton Head, South Carolina from mid-June through July, the 47th Pennsylvanians camped near Fort Walker before relocating to the Beaufort District, Department of the South, roughly thirty-five miles away. Frequently assigned to hazardous picket detail north of their main camp, which put them at increased risk from enemy sniper fire, the 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), while men from Companies B and H “crossed the Coosaw River at the Port Royal Ferry and drove off the Rebel pickets before returning ‘home’ without a loss,” according to Schmidt. The actions were the Union’s response to the burning by Confederate troops of the ferry house at Port Royal.

While Private Allen Wolf was away at war, his received word at his regiment’s encampment in South Carolina that his father, Ludwig Wolf, and stepmother, Hannah (Mickley Amey) Wolf, had welcomed the birth of a daughter, Annie Louise Wolf (1862-1934) at their home in Allentown, Pennsylvania on 31 July 1862.

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

During a return expedition to Florida beginning 30 September, Private Allen Wolf and his fellow 47th Pennsylvanians 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, they subsequently captured artillery and ammunition stores (on 3 October) that had been abandoned by Confederate forces during a bombardment of the bluff by Union gunboats.

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

Meanwhile that same weekend (Friday and Saturday, 3-4 October 1862), Brigadier-General Brannan, who was quartered on board the Ben Deford as the Union expedition’s commanding officer, was busy penning reports to his superiors while also planning the next move of his expeditionary force. That Saturday, Brannan chose several officers to direct their subordinates to prepare 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 this mission were 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers from Company C, Company E and Company K.

Boarding the Union gunboat Darlington (formerly a Confederate steamer), they moved upriver, along the Saint John’s, with protection from the Union gunboat Hale, ultimately traveling a distance of two hundred miles. Charged with locating and capturing Confederate ships that had been engaged in furnishing troops, ammunition and other supplies to Confederate Army units scattered throughout the region, including the batteries at Saint John’s Bluff and Yellow Bluff, they played a key role in capturing the Governor Milton, a Confederate steamer that was docked near Hawkinsville.

Integration of the Regiment

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

Battle of Pocotaligo, South Carolina

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

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

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

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

Following the 47th Pennsylvania’s return to Hilton Head on 23 October, members of the regiment mourned their lost friends and attempted to heal from the physical and mental trauma they had sustained. A week later, several 47th Pennsylvanians were called upon to serve as the funeral honor guard for Major-General Ormsby M. Mitchel, commander of the U.S. Army’s Tenth Corps (X Corps) and Department of the South, who died from yellow fever on 30 October.

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

After packing their belongings at their Beaufort, South Carolina encampment and loading their equipment onto the U.S. Steamer Cosmopolitan, the officers and enlisted members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry sailed toward the mouth of the Broad River on 15 December 1862, and anchored briefly at Port Royal Harbor in order to allow the regiment’s medical director, Elisha W. Baily, M.D., and 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 described by several members of the 47th as a treacherous and nerve-wracking voyage. According to historian Lewis Schmidt, the ship’s captain “steered a course along the coast of Florida for most of the voyage,” which made the voyage more precarious “because of all the reefs.” On 16 December, “the second night, the ship was jarred as it ran aground on one during a storm, but broke free, and finally steered a course further from shore, out in the Gulf Stream.”

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

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

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

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

On Saturday, 21 December, Lieutenant-Colonel George Warren Alexander, the regiment’s second-in-command, sailed away aboard the Cosmopolitan with the men from Companies D, F, H, and K, and headed south to Fort Jefferson, roughly seventy miles off the coast of Florida (in the Gulf of Mexico) to assume garrison duties there. According to Musician Henry Wharton:

We landed here [Fort Taylor] on last Thursday at noon, and immediately marched to quarters. Company I. and C., in Fort Taylor, Company 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 relieved the 90th Regiment N. Y. 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 superiors, I merely mention, judging from the expression of the citizens, they were very glad of the return of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers….

1863

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

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

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

But once again, they were performing their duties in often dangerous conditions. The weather was frequently hot and humid as spring turned to summer, mosquitos and other insects were an ever-present annoyance (and a serious threat when they were carrying tropical diseases), and there were also scorpions and snakes that put the health of the entire regiment at further risk. In addition, there was a serious shortage of clean water for drinking and bathing.

On 1 May 1863, Private Allen D. Wolf was promoted to the rank of corporal.

1864

In early January 1864, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers experienced yet another significant change when members of the regiment were ordered to expand the Union’s reach by sending part of the regiment north to retake Fort Myers, a federal installation that had been abandoned in 1858, following the federal government’s third war with the Seminole Indians. In response, Company A Captain Richard Graeffe and a detachment of his subordinates traveled north, captured the fort and began conducting cattle raids to provide food for the growing Union troop presence across the region. They subsequently turned their fort not only into their base of operations, but into a shelter for pro-Union supporters, escaped slaves, Confederate deserters, and others fleeing Rebel troops.

Red River Campaign

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, the men from Companies B, C, D, I, and K headed for Algiers, Louisiana (across the river from New Orleans), followed on 1 March by the men from Companies E, F, G, and H.

Upon the second group’s arrival, the now almost-fully-reunited-regiment moved by train to Brashear City (now Morgan City), before heading to Franklin by steamer through the Bayou Teche. There, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry joined the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division of the 19th Corps (XIX) of the United States’ Army of the Gulf, and became the only regiment from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to serve in the Red River Campaign commanded by Union Major-General Nathaniel P. Banks. (Unable to reach Louisiana until 23 March, the soldiers from Company A were assigned to detached duty while awaiting transport that enabled them to reconnect with their regiment at Alexandria, Louisiana on 9 April.)

The early days on the ground quickly woke Corporal Allen Wolf and his fellow 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers up to just how grueling their new phase of duty would be. From 14-26 March, most members of the 47th marched for Alexandria and Natchitoches, near the top of the L-shaped state. Among the towns that the 47th Pennsylvanians passed through were 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 officially mustered into the regiment on 22 June at Morganza, Louisiana. 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, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers 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 second division, sixty members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry were cut down on 8 April 1864 during the intense volley of fire in the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads (also known as the Battle of Mansfield due to its proximity to the town of Mansfield). The fighting waned only when darkness fell. The exhausted, but uninjured collapsed beside the gravely wounded and dead. 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 unto 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, a 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 Union force, the men of the 47th were forced to bolster the 165th New York’s buckling lines by blocking another Confederate assault.

During that engagement (now known as the Battle of Pleasant Hill), the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers succeeded in recapturing a Massachusetts artillery battery that had been lost during the earlier Confederate assault. Unfortunately, the regiment’s second-in-command, Lieutenant-Colonel George Warren Alexander, and its two color-bearers, Sergeants Benjamin Walls and William Pyers, were wounded. Alexander sustained wounds to both of his legs, and Walls was shot in the left shoulder as he attempted to mount the 47th Pennsylvania’s colors on caissons that had been recaptured, while Pyers was wounded as he grabbed the flag from Walls to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands.

All three survived the day, however, and continued to serve with the regiment, but many others, like K Company Sergeant Alfred Swoyer, were killed in action during those two days of chaotic fighting, or were wounded so severely that they were unable to continue the fight. (Swoyer’s final words were, “They’re coming nine deep!” Shot in the right temple shortly afterward, his body was never recovered).

Still others were captured by Confederate troops, 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 a series of prisoner exchanges that began on 22 July and continued through November. At least two members of the regiment never made it out of that prison camp alive; another died at a Confederate hospital in Shreveport.

Meanwhile, as the captured 47th Pennsylvanians were being spirited away to Camp Ford, the bulk of the regiment was carrying out orders from senior Union Army leaders to head for Grand Ecore, Louisiana. Encamped there from 11-22 April, the Union soldiers engaged in the hard labor of strengthening regimental and brigade fortifications.

They then moved back to Natchitoches Parish on 22 April. While they were in route, they were attacked again, this time, at the rear of their retreating brigade, but they were able to end the encounter quickly and move on to reach Cloutierville at 10 p.m. that same night (after a forty-five-mile march).

The next morning (23 April), 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 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 from enemy troops positioned atop a bluff and near a bayou, Brigadier-General Emory directed one of his brigades to keep Bee’s Confederate troops busy while sending two other brigades to find a safe spot for the Union’s forces to cross the Cane River. As part of “the beekeepers,” the 47th Pennsylvania supported Smith’s artillery.

Meanwhile, additional troops under Smith’s command attacked Bee’s flank to force a Rebel retreat, and then erected a series of pontoon bridges that enabled the 47th Pennsylvania and other Union regiments 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, C Company Musician Henry Wharton described what had happened:

Our sojourn at Grand Score 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 for the boys, for at 10 o’clock at night they made Cloutierville, a distance of forty drive miles. On that day our 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 rebels 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 if 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 in 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 that 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 construction work, helping to erect “Bailey’s Dam,” a timber structure that was designed to enable Union gun boats to safely navigate the fluctuating water levels of the Red River. According to Musician Henry 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 gun boats 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 iron clads down the river. After a great deal of labor this was accomplished and by the morning of May 13th the last one was through the shute [sic, chute], 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 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 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 15th, we left the river road and took a short route through the woods, saving considerable distance. The windings of the Red river are so numerous that it resembles the tape-worm railroad where with 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 into 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.

“Resting on their arms” (half-dozing, without pitching their tents, and with their rifles right beside them), they were now positioned just outside of Marksville, 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, they reached Missoula [sic, Mansura], where they formed in column, taking the whole field in an attempt to flank the enemy, but their running qualities were so good that we were foiled. The maneuvring [sic, maneuvering] of the troops was handsomely done, and the movements was [sic, were] 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 directly, 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 the army. I have it from the best source that the Federal loss from Franklin to Mansfield, and from their [sic, there] 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 healthy members of the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 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 regiment in Beaufort, South Carolina (1862) and Natchitoches, Louisiana (1864) were officially mustered into the regiment between 22-24 June.

The regiment then moved on and arrived in New Orleans in late June. On the Fourth of July, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers received orders to return to the East Coast. Three days later, they began loading the regiment and its men onto ships, a process that unfolded in two stages. Companies A, C, D, E, F, H, and I boarded the U.S. Steamer McClellan on 7 July and departed that day, while the members of Companies B, G and K, including Corporal Allen Wolf, remained behind, awaiting transport. They subsequently departed aboard the Blackstone, weighing anchor and sailing forth at the end of that month. Arriving in Virginia, on 28 July, the second group reconnected with the first group at Monocacy, having missed an encounter with President Abraham Lincoln and the Battle of Cool Spring at Snicker’s Gap in mid-July (a battle in which the first group of 47th Pennsylvanians had participated).

Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Attached to the Middle Military Division, U.S. Army of the Shenandoah, beginning in early August of 1864, and placed under the command of Union Major-General Philip H. Sheridan, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was assigned to defensive duties in and around Halltown, and also engaged over the next several weeks in a series of back-and-forth movements 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.

The 47th Pennsylvania then engaged with Confederate forces in the Battle of Berryville from 3-4 September. That would be the last military battle fought by Corporal Allen D. Wolf, however; on 18 September 1864, he was honorably mustered out at Berryville, upon expiration of his original term of service.

*Note: According to historian John Wolff Jordan, Corporal Allen Wolf “was never taken prisoner, and received but one slight wound” during his three-year tenure of service with the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers. Decades later, American Civil War veteran Allen Wolf would minimize his wound even further by not even mentioning it to the federal census enumerator who was documenting the disabilities of Allentown veterans, as part of the special veterans’ census of 1890.

Return to Civilian Life

Following his honorable discharge from the military, Allen D. Wolf returned home to Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, where he resumed work as a wheelwright in Allentown. On 4 February 1866, he wed Anna C. Fink (1844-1915), who was a daughter of Jacob H. Fink (1818-1901) and Louisa (Harwick) Fink (1822-1897).

The young couple subsequently welcomed the Allentown arrivals of: Edward J. Wolf (1861-1941), who was born on 8 September 1866 and grew up to become a cigarmaker; and Mary Wolf (1869-1902), who was born in Allentown on 19 July 1869. During the 1870s and 1880s, the quartet resided in Allentown’s Fifth Ward. An active volunteer with Allentown’s Rescue Hook and Ladder Company, Allen Wolf was also a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F., Lehigh Lodge, No. 87), and was a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic’s E. B. Young Post (No. 87), which was established on 19 October 1877.

Employed by L. Wolf’s Sons, a carriage, cart and wagon manufacturing company that had been founded by his father, Ludwig Wolf, at Church and Turner streets in Allentown, Allen Wolf continued to work at that firm after he and his brother, Lewis H. Wolf, inherited it upon their father’s death on 21 January 1897. According to Ludwig Wolf’s final will and testament, his sons, Lewis and Allen were appointed to serve as the executors of his estate, and were expected to carry out the following instructions, after paying for his funeral and paying off his outstanding debts:

I give and devise unto my wife Hannah all that certain house and lot of ground situate on the South side of Chew Street, between Church and Seventh Streets, being No. 832 Chew Street, in the City of Allentown, Pa., and now occupied by J. W. Grisley; to have and to hold the same, to take all the rents and income therefrom, for and during the term of her natural life, she to pay all the taxes thereon, keep the same in good repairs and condition and properly insured, all at her own expense. And upon her decease I order and direct that this house be sold by my hereinafter executors and the proceeds therefrom distributed as is hereinafter provided.

I further give and bequeath unto my hereinafter named executors the sum of five thousand dollars, to have and hold the same in trust, to invest the same in good first mortgage security, to collect and receive the interest therefrom, and to pay over the said interest, semi-annually to my said wife for and during the term of her natural life; and upon her decease the said principle sum shall form a part of my estate and be distributed as is hereinafter provided.

I further give and bequeath unto my said wife the use and benefit of so much of my household furniture as she may need for her use, for and during the term of her natural life; and the balance of my household furniture and effects shall after my decease be sold by my executors; and the furniture so kept by my wife shall be sold by them after the decease of my wife.

I order and direct my executors to settle the partnership now existing between myself and them, within two years after my decease.

I further order and direct my hereinafter named executors to sell all my real estate, wherever situate, at public sale, for the best price that may be obtained for the same, and at such time within two years after my decease as may be deemed most advantageous to my estate, (excepting the Chew Street house which shall not be sold until after the decease of my wife); and at such sale or sales of my real estate, my executors or either one of them shall have the right to bid thereon and become the purchaser or purchasers thereof, and I hereby authorize and empower them my said executors or the survivor of them to execute and deliver to the purchaser or purchasers thereof deeds of conveyance in fee simple for the same; and for any property that may be so bought by one of my executors, the other executor shall execute and deliver the deeds of conveyance therefor with like force and effect as a deed signed by the two executors in case of a purchase by persons other than my executors; and in the event of a purchase by my two executors jointly of any of my real estate, the deed therefor shall be executed and delivered by the clerk of the Orphans Court of the County where the land is situate, and the executors shall account for the purchase money for such real estate.

The provisions hereinbefore contained for my said wife shall be in lieu of her share of my estate under the intestate laws, and my real estate shall be sold clear of dower.

And all the proceeds of my estate so arising, including the proceeds of the sale of the Chew Street house which shall be sold after the decease of my wife, as also the household furniture selected by her, after first paying thereout all my just debts and necessary expenses, I order and direct to be divided into five equal shares, which I hereby give and bequeath as follows:-

One of said shares or one fifth part, I give and bequeath unto my son Lewis Wolf, and to his heir and legal representatives.

One other of said shares or one fifth part, I give and bequeath unto my son Allen D. Wolf, and to his heirs and legal representatives.

One other of said shares or one fifth part, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mary, the wife of Clinton Engleman, and to her heirs and legal representatives.

One other of said shares or one fifth part, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Annie, the wife of Henry Hohl, and to her heirs and legal representatives.

And the remaining one of said equal shares or one fifth parts, I give and bequeath unto my hereinafter named executors, to have and to hold the same in trust for my son Henry Wolf for the following purposes; to wit:-  To first pay thereout all just debts which my said son Henry may have contracted during my lifetime for necessaries of life, and whether the same be barred by the statute of limitations or not, without interest, and to invest all the balance of said share in good and sufficient securities, to collect and receive the interest therefrom, and to devote and apply the said income to and for the maintenance and support of my son Henry for and during the term of his natural life, with the intent and purpose that the said trustees may either pay said income into the hands of my son Henry or disburse the same in such manner as to them may seem best for the comfortable support and maintenance of him my said son and his family for and during the term of his natural life, such payments and disbursements to be at the sole discretion of said trustees; and upon his decease I hereby give and bequeath the principal of said trust fund to his children, share and share alike, and to their heirs and legal representatives, the issue of any deceased child together to take the share the parent would have taken if living.

And lastly I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my sons Lewis Wolf and Allen D. Wolf the Executors of this my last will and testament; and as commissions or compensation for their services as executors, they shall together receive out of my estate the sum of eight hundred dollars.

The Wolf siblings subsequently learned that, prior to his death, Ludwig Wolf, had revised his will by adding a codicil, which directed that the two shares that he had planned to give to his married daughters, Mary and Annie, be bequeathed instead to  his son, Allen D. Wolf, to enable Allen to create an additional trust fund.

Still residing in Allentown after the turn of the century, Allen Wolf owned his home at 524 Turner Street, where he continued to reside with his wife and children, Edward and Mary. As with many Allentonians, a significant percentage of the income he brought in as a wagon maker was used to help pay off his mortgage. His son, Edward, who worked as a cigarmaker, also likely helped support the family.

But those largely happy times would be interrupted yet again by tragedy. On 26 August 1902, Allen Wolf’s daughter, Mary Julia Wolf, died at the age of thirty-three. Following funeral services at her parents’ home, she was laid to rest at the Fairview Cemetery in Allentown. The next year, Allen Wolf endured more grief as he served as a pallbearer at the funeral of his old friend and comrade from the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Jacob P. Worman. Joining him in the solemn duty on 2 December 1903 were fellow G Company comrades Solomon Becker, Lewis Dennis, Charles Hackman, William N. Smith, and George Xander.

By 1909, local newspapers were reporting a happier milestone for the Wolf family as Allen Wolf’s stepmother, Hannah (Amey Mickley) Wolf, turned eighty-eight, making her the “oldest living descendant of John Jacob Mickley,” who played a prominent role in safeguarding the Liberty Bell during the American Revolution, according to the 29 January 1909 edition of The Morning Call.

Still residing with his wife and son at their Turner Street home in April 1910, Allen Wolf was also still working as a wheelwright at his own shop. Later that year, his stepmother passed away. Following her death on 2 December, Hannah (Amey Mickley) Wolf was buried at Allentown’s Linden Street Cemetery.

The family’s difficulties were compounded in mid-October 1914 when Allen Wolf was injured during a work-related accident. Transported to Philadelphia, he was treated for a month by physicians at the Wills Eye Hospital, who ultimately decided that they could not save his right eye and removed it. A year later, Allen was widowed by his wife, Anna (Fink) Wolf, who passed away in Allentown at the age of seventy, on 28 May 1915. Following funeral services, she was laid to rest at the at the Fairview Cemetery in Allentown.

Grief-stricken but indomitable, Allen Wolf continued to live with his son at 524 Turner Street for the remainder of his days, keeping his mind and body agile by hanging out with friends from the fire company and his local Odd Fellows chapter, as well as through annual reunions of the 47th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers.

Death and Interment

As he had done many times during his life, Allen D. Wolf made a trip in early 1917 to one of his favorite spots to spend time with friends — the Rescue Hook and Ladder Company’s social club, which was located on Linden Street near Seventh in Allentown. But unlike his previous visits, that trip on 14 January came to a tragic end. Ailing with heart disease, he died there from heart failure. When his body was found by fellow club member Harvey Fink, shortly before two o’clock a.m. (on 15 January), a physician was called, but could do nothing more than to pronounce Allen Wolf dead as the result of natural causes. According to The Allentown Democrat:

Death, it is thought, was due to apoplexy. Mr. Wolf was found by Harvey Fink, a member of the Rescue club, who had been sitting in a chair asleep.

Mr. Fink awoke and saw Mr. Wolf lying on the floor with his face downward. He shook him and getting no response called for assistance at the police station.

Following funeral services, which were held at the funeral home operated by V. F. Wonderly on 18 January, Allen David Wolf was laid to rest beside his wife at Allentown’s Fairview Cemetery.

What Happened to Allen D. Wolf’s Son?

A lifelong resident of Allentown and a member of the congregation at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Allentown, Allen Wolf’s son, Edward J. Wolf, continued to work as a cigarmaker until his retirement. Never married, he lived by himself at the home he had shared with his late parents (at 524 Turner Street in Allentown) for the remainder of his days. Ailing with a prostate obstruction during the summer of 1941, he was admitted to Allentown’s Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment on 7 August, but died there at the age of seventy-four, on 16 August. Following funeral services, he was buried at the same cemetery where his parents and sister had been laid to rest (Allentown’s Fairview Cemetery).

What Happened to the Siblings of Allen D. Wolf?

Allen Wolf’s brother, Lewis H. Wolf, survived him by only a matter of months, but his life had been a long and full one. After completing his education, Lewis Wolf had been apprenticed to his father as a wheelwright and blacksmith, and, in 1865, while he was still in his twenties, had then been awarded a partnership share in his father’s blacksmith shop and carriage-making business.

Married to Mary Worman, who was a daughter of Abraham Worman and Esther (Kemmerer) Worman, he had settled with her in the city of Allentown, where he then began to welcome the births with her of: Milton R. Wolf (1859-1915), who was born on 1 June 1859 and later wed Emma Clewell (1861-1944); and Ella Wolf (1865-1870), who was born on New Year’s Day in 1865. In 1870, Lewis H. Wolf’s household in Allentown’s Fifth Ward included his wife, Mary (Worman) Wolf, and their children, Milton and Ella (alternate spelling: “Ellen”), as well as blacksmith Stephen Raubach and farm laborer Nathan Worman and his wife, “Lorane,” according to that year’s federal census, which also noted that Lewis had amassed personal property and real estate valued at eight thousand dollars (the equivalent of more than one hundred and ninety-seven thousand U.S. dollars in 2025). Sadly, his daughter Ella passed away later that same year (on 20 November 1870), while still in her early childhood. Joy subsequently returned to the Lewis Wolf’s home the following year with the arrival of baby George L. Wolf (1871-1909), who was born on 1 October 1871 and would later wed Clara E. Minnich (1869-1964) of Mountainville in Lehigh County and operate a saloon on Siegried Street, before relocating with his family, in 1904, to the city of East Stroudsburg in Monroe County, where he would then open a new saloon.

A member of the Evangelical Church, Lewis H. Wolf was also a Democrat who was active in local politics. Elected to Allentown’s common council circa 1874, he served his community in that capacity for two years alongside: John Biery, John F. Butz, Phaon Diehl, John H. Harkins, Charles K. Heist, William J. Hoxworth, George Kuhl, John J. Lentz, H. A. Santee, George Seiple, Charles C. Leisenbach, Hiram Sterner, Daniel Swoyer, James Trainer, J. H. Troxell, Perry Wannemacher, and August Weidner, according to The Allentown Democrat.

In 1880, Lewis Wolf’s Fifth Ward household was composed of just his wife and their sons, Milton R. and George L. Wolf; by 1900, however, his home on Allentown’s North Sixth Street was a bustling one, which included Emma, Andrew and Laura Wolf — the wife and children of Lewis’s son Milton. Having retired as the senior partner of L. Wolf’s sons in July of 1916, Lewis H. Wolf fell ill with pneumonia during the spring of 1917, and died a week later at the age of eighty, at his home at 218 North Sixth Street in Allentown, at 7:30 p.m., on 6 May 1917. Following funeral services, he was laid to rest at Allentown’s Union-West End Cemetery.

Following her marriage to Clinton C. Engleman, Allen Wolf’s sister, Mary Amanda (Wolf) Engleman settled with her husband in Allentown, where they welcomed the births of: Elizabeth Owens Engleman (1869-1967), who was born on 28 March 1869 and would later become a practical nurse; Julia A. Engleman (1873-1922), who was born on 26 June 1873 and would later wed Earle B. Douglass (1875-1945); and Rachel Mary Engleman (1884-1969), who was born in Allentown on 2 June 1884 and would later wed Lloyd Woodring Mitchell (1878-1939). By 1880, Mary A. (Wolf) Engleman was residing with her husband and daughters, Elizabeth and Julia, in Allentown’s Fifth Ward, and living a comfortable life there, thanks to her husband’s job as an assessor. By 1900, their Turner Street household in Allentown’s Fifth Ward included Mary; her husband; and their daughters, Elizabeth and Rachel. That year, her husband was employed as a clerk at a railroad company while Elizabeth was employed as a “professional nurse.” Their 1910 Turner Street household included: Mary; her husband, who was employed as a census enumerator by the federal government; their unmarried daughter, Elizabeth Wolf, who was employed as a licensed practical nurse at the Kensington Hospital; and their ten-year-old grandson, Norman Engleman Douglass (1899-1982), who had been born on 7 November 1899, was a son of Julia (Engleman) Douglass and would later wed Helen Hopkins Phillips (1900-1987). Also living with them was Hougton B. Robinson, a boarder who was employed as a draughtsman at the Allentown Rolling Mill plant. But by 1920, Mary and her husband, Clinton Engleman, had moved into the Seventh Street home of his sister-in-law, Elizabeth Lehr. Also living with them were their still-unmarried daughter, Elizabeth, who was now employed as a saleswoman in the women’s apparel department of the department store H. Leh & Co.; and their niece, Helen Douglass, who was a daughter of their daughter, Julia (Engleman) Douglass. Mary’s husband, Clinton, was employed as a clerk at the Allentown City Hall building. Ailing with valvulitis during the final years of her life, Mary Amanda (Wolf) Engleman died at the age of sixty-eight in Allentown, on 5 June 1920, and was subsequently laid to rest at Allentown’s Union-West End Cemetery.

Allen Wolf’s brother, Henry Charles Wolf, was trained as a wheelwright, but later worked as a motorman for a public transit company. Following his marriage to Agnes Kline, he settled with her in Allentown, where they welcomed the births of Henry C. Wolf (1876-1944), who was born on 6 December 1876 and was known to family and friends as “Harry”; and Eva Wolf (1881-1915), who was born on 2 June 1881 and would later wed Norman Engle, before contracting diphtheria in Philadelphia and passing away there at the age of thirty-three in 1915. Divorced from his first wife, Agnes, during the mid to late 1880s or very early 1890s, Henry Charles Wolf subsequently relocated to Philadelphia for work as a motorman with the Union Traction Company. Settled there by 1892, he was also remarried that year — to Lucretia Catherine Lott (1850-1928) — a native of the city of Minersville in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, who was a daughter of Pennsylvanians John T. Lott, Sr. (1819-1896) and Delilah (Hopper) Lott (1822-1906).

In 1900, Henry Charles Wolf was still working as a motorman and still living in Philadelphia with his second wife, Lucretia, who was known to family and friends as “Katie.” Also living with them was Harry W. Hoover, a twenty-three-year-old brewer who had been born in April 1877 and was described by that year’s federal census enumerator as a son of Henry Charles Wolf.

* Note: During that same year (1900), Agnes (Kline Wolf) Ross — the former wife of Henry Charles Wolf — was living at the Philadelphia home of their unmarried son, Henry Charles Wolf, Jr., who was employed as a shoe cutter (and was known to family and friends as “Harry”). Also living there with Agnes was Agnes’s daughter from her first marriage to Henry Charles Wolf — Eva (Wolf) Engle; Eva’s husband, Norman Engle; Eva and Norman’s son, Lloyd Engle; and Agnes’s mother, Mathilda Kline, who had been born circa 1832.

By the time of that year’s federal census, Agnes had already been remarried and widowed by her second husband — a man whose surname was Ross. Following her death in her early forties in Philadelphia on 29 October 1901, her remains were returned to Allentown for burial at the “Salusbury Cem. near Emaus,” according to records of the Oliver Bair Funeral Home in Philadelphia.

Ailing with liver disease during the final two years of his life, Henry Charles Wolf resigned from his motorman’s job at Union Traction and returned to Allentown in April 1906, “with the hopes of regaining his lost health,” according to The Allentown Democrat. But, “although he received the best medical attention possible, he sank gradually,” and was “confined to his bed” for the final four weeks of his life. He died at his home at 141 South Sixth Street in Allentown, on 5 June 1907. Just fifty-one years old at the time of his passing, he was laid to rest at the same cemetery where his parents were buried (Allentown’s Linden Street Cemetery). He was survived by his widow, Katie L. (Lott) Wolf, and daughters: Mrs. Mary Drammer, of Philadelphia; Mrs. Delila Kessler, of Goldsburg; Mrs. Nellie Bearly, of Allentown; Harry H. Hoover, of Philadelphia; and Harry Wolf (also known as Henry Charles Wolf, Jr.), whose place of residency was unknown.

Following her marriage to Heinrich Christian Hohl (1860-1938) in Allentown on 6 May 1886, Allen Wolf’s half-sister, Annie Louisa (Wolf) Hohl, settled with her husband in the city of Allentown, where they welcomed the births of: Mary Ann Hohl (1887-1922), who was born on 4 April 1887 and would later wed Edwin C. Koons (1861-1939); Dorathea C. Hohl (1888-1991), who was born on 25 September 1888 and would later wed John Caleb Erdman; Paul Christian Hohl (1891-1948), who was born on 23 January 1891 and would later wed Elizabeth Honeyman (1891-1979); and Frances F. Hohl (1892-1977), who was born on 9 November 1892 and would later wed William R. S. Kennedy.

A longtime resident of Allentown, Annie Louisa (Wolf) Hohl died in Allentown at the age of seventy-one, on 3 March 1934, and was laid to rest at the Union-West End Cemetery in Allentown.

 

Sources:

1. “Agnes J. Ross” (death and burial data for the former sister-in-law of Allen D. Wolf), in Death and Burial Records, October 1901). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Oliver Bair Funeral Home.
2. Allen D. Wolf (47th Pennsylvania pallbearer at the funeral of 47th Pennsylvania veteran Jacob P. Worman), in “Laid to Rest.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, 2 December 1903.
3. Allen D. Wolf (eye injury), in “Personals.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 12 November 1914.
4. “Allen D. Wolf” (funeral report). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 19 January 1917.
5. “Allen D. Wolf” (obituary). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 16 January 1917.
6. “Allen D. Wolf, Veteran Blacksmith, Found Dead.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 15 January 1917.
7. Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.
8. “Do You Remember –” (mention of Allen Wolf as a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic’s E. B. Young Post No. 87). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 30 October 1911.
9. “Do You Remember –” (mention of the tenure of service on Allentown’s common council by Allen D. Wolf’s brother, Lewis H. Wolf). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 17 October 1912.
10. “Edward J. Wolf” (a son of Allen D. Wolf), in “Obituaries.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 17 August 1941.
11. Engleman, Clinton, Mary A. (a sister of Allen D. Wolf), Elizabeth, and Julia, in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
12. Engleman, Clinton, Mary A. (a sister of Allen D. Wolf), Elizabeth, and Rachel, in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
13. Engleman, Clinton C., Mary A. (a sister of Allen D. Wolf) and Elizabeth 0.; Douglass, Norman (a grandson of Allen D. Wolf and a son of Julia (Engleman) Douglass); and Robinson, Hougton B. (boarder), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1910). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
14. “Florida’s Role in the Civil War,” in Florida Memory. Tallahassee, Florida: State Archives of Florida.
15. “Funeral of Mary J. Wolf” (funeral notice of Allen D. Wolf’s daughter). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 30 August 1902.
16. “Gleanings by the Way” (confirmation of Allen Wolf’s encounter with Abraham Lincoln). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, April 4-5, 1911.
17. Grodzins, Dean and David Moss. “The U.S. Secession Crisis as a Breakdown of Democracy,” in When Democracy Breaks: Studies in Democratic Erosion and Collapse, from Ancient Athens to the Present Day (chapter 3). New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2024.
18. Harry Charles Wolf., Sr. (a nephew of Allen D. Wolf and a son of Henry C. Wolf and Agnes (Kline) Wolf), in Death Certificates (file no.: 02013, registered no.: 44160, date of death: 11 February 1944). Columbia, South Carolina: State of South Carolina, Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
19. “Henry C. Wolf” (obituary of Allen D. Wolf’s younger brother). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 6 June 1907.
20. Jordan, John Woolf, Edgar Moore Greene, et. al. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania: “The Wolf Family,” pp. 134-135. New York, New York and Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Co., 1905.
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22. Lehr, Elizabeth (head of household); Engleman, Clinton C. (a brother-in-law of Elizabeth Lehr), Mary A. (a sister of Allen D. Wolf) and Elizabeth 0.; and Douglass, Helen (a granddaughter of Allen D. Wolf and a daughter of Julia (Engleman) Douglass), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1920). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
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24. “Lewis H. Wolf, Retired Carriage Builder, Dies” (obituary of Allen D. Wolf’s older brother). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 7 May 1917.
25. “Milton J. Amey, Minstrel, Sailor, Artist, Raconteur and Mason Dies, Aged 95” (obituary of the stepson of Allen D. Wolf). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 12 September 1948.
26. Mr. Edward Wolf, in Death Certificates (file no.: 72703, registered no.: 1050, date of death: 16 August 1941). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Department of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics.
27. “Mrs. Annie E. Hohl” (obituary of Allen D. Wolf’s half-sister). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 5 March 1934.
28. “Mrs. Clinton C. Engleman” (obituary of Allen D. Wolf’s sister, Mary Amanda (Wolf) Engleman). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 7 June 1920.
29. “Obituary: Allen D. Wolf.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Leader, 15 January 1917.
30. “Obituary: George L. Wolf” (obituary of a nephew of Allen D. Wolf and a son of Lewis H. Wolf). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 6 April 1909.
31. “Obituary: Henry C. Wolf” (obituary of Allen D. Wolf’s younger brother). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Allentown Democrat, 6 June 1907.
32. “Oldest Mickley Descendant.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 29 January 1909.
33. “Roster of the 47th P. V. Inf.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 26 October 1930.
34. Schmidt, Lewis G. A Civil War History of the 47th Regiment of Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers. Allentown, Pennsylvania: Self-published, 1986.
35. “The History of the Forty-Seventh Regt. P. V.” Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Lehigh Register, 20 July 1870.
36. “Wolf” (death notice of Allen D. Wolf’s father, Ludwig Wolf). Allentown, Pennsylvania: The Morning Call, 25 January 1897.
37. Wolf, Allen, in Civil War Muster Rolls (Company G, 47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
38. Wolf, Allen, in Civil War Veterans’ Card File, 1861-1866 (Company G, 47th Pennsylvania Infantry). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State Archives.
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40. Wolf, Allen D., in U.S. Civil War Pension General Index Cards (application no.: 1022263, certificate no.: 816019, filed from Pennsylvania, 8 May 1891). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
41. Wolf, Allen, Anna, Edwin/Edward, and Mary, in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1870, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
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43. Wolf, Harry C. (a nephew of Allen D. Wolf, who was the son of Henry C. Wolf and Henry’s first wife, Agnes (Kline) Wolf); Engle, Norman, Eva (Harry’s sister, who was a niece of Allen D. Wolf and the daughter of Henry C. Wolf and Henry’s first wife, Agnes (Kline) Wolf) and Lloyd (Norman and Eva’s son); Ross, Agnes (Harry’s mother and the former first wife of Henry C. Wolf); and Kline, Mathilda (Harry’s maternal grandmother and the mother of Agnes (Kline Wolf) Ross), in U.S. Census (Philadelphia, Twenty-Sixth Ward, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
44. Wolf, Henry C. (a younger brother of Allen D. Wolf), Agnes and Henry (Henry C. Wolf’s son), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
45. Wolf, Lewis, Julyann [sic, “Juliann” or “Julia Ann”], Lewis, Milton, Allen, and Richard; Bahl, Tilghman (blacksmith); Shoemaker, Elwin (blacksmith); and Reinsmith, Maria, in U.S. Census (Borough of Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1850). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
46. Wolf, Lewis [sic, “Ludwig”], Hannah (Ludwig Wolf’s second wife), Allen, Mary, and Henry; and Amig [sic, “Amey”], Milton (Hannah’s son from her first marriage), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, 1860). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
47. Wolf, Lewis Jr. (Allen D. Wolf’s older brother), Mary, Milton, and Ellen; Worman, Nathan (farm laborer) and Lorane; and Stephen Raubach (blacksmith), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1870). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
48. Wolf, Lewis H. (Allen D. Wolf’s older brother), Mary M., Milton R., and George L., in U.S. Census (Allentown, Fifth Ward, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1880). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
49. Wolf, Lewis H. (Allen D. Wolf’s older brother), Mary M., Milton R., Emma S. (Milton’s wife), and Andrew L. and Laura M. (Milton’s children), in U.S. Census (Allentown, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, 1900). Washington, D.C.: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.