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The One Hundred and Fortieth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers was recruited in August, 1862, and hastily equipped for service in one of the darkest hours in the history of the Civil War. What was known as the Hookstown Company became Company H of the aforesaid regiment. It is our purpose to set forth, as best we may, What this company did from the time of its enlistment August 22, 1862, to the time of its discharge May 31, 1865.
At the time of enlistment, one hundred men of Hookstown and adjoining Townships marched into the Hookstown Church, signed the roll and pledged themselves to the defense of the Union. This number was increased from time to time with recruits which brought the roll up to one hundred and thirty-two.
At the organization of the regiment, Richard P. Roberts, Esq., a member of the Beaver Bar, was elected Colonel and Samuel Campbell of Hanover Township was elected Captain of the Company. The company enlisted in response to the call of President Lincoln for 300,000 men which resulted in the enlistment of somewhat over the number he asked for. At the time of the call a gentleman of New York wrote a song entitled "We are coming Father Abraham, 300,000 more." The author of this stirring lyric was a Hicksite Quaker with a reasonable learning, however, toward wrath in case of emergency. It fell in at once with the sentiment of the hour and did much in the way of securing recruits.
Twenty-four of the members of the Company were from Hookstown; eighteen from Greene Township and ninety from the Townships of Raccoon and Hanover.
Twenty-nine men had enlisted in other regiments, which brings the total enlistments from Hookstown to fifty-three. But few communities sent so large a proportion of its citizens into the service as Hookstown, out of a population of less than two hundred fifty.
The Company with the Regiment took part in the following battles, viz: Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Todds Tavern, Corbins Bridge, Po River, North Ann River, Totopotomy Creek, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Reams Station, Weldon Railroad, Deep Bottom, Hatchers Run, South Side Railroad, Sutherland Station, Boydton Road, Sailors Creek and Farmville. This last battle was fought on April 8, 1865, and was the last battle fought, the Confederate forces having surrendered April 9.
The Regiment had the honor of being in the foremost rank when General Lee surrendered to one of our officers standing at the gate of the McLean house as the General with bowed head passed out, thus bringing an end to the most disastrous war in modem history.
The Company lost in killed, 28; wounded 50; taken prisoner 10; died in prison, 2; missing in action, 2 (these were undoubtedly killed); died of disease, 3. At the time of enlistment, twenty-one of the Company were under twenty-one years of age, the youngest being under seventeen. On this 12th of November 1924, but ten are living. Many regiments in the Union Army did not have such heavy casualties as Company H. The Regiment lost in killed 198; died of wounds 128; died in prison 30; died of disease, 74; wounded 534.
The Regiment had a total of 1132 men and of this number 63 are still living (November 12, 1924). It lost more men in killed and wounded than any other regiment that went from Pennsylvania and but two regiments in the entire Union Army exceeded it in losses. The records at Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pa., bear out these statements.
It has been well said "that men of the regiment were remarkable for their intelligence and of having exceptionally high standards of manhood and morality." This was true of Company H, the greater number of them being professing Christians, this also being true of the Regiment. Of these boys of Hookstown one became a brigadier-general; one brevetmajor; eight became lieutenants; one the adjutant of the regiment; two became chaplains; three became brigade hospital stewards and one became one of the most daring and valuable of Major General Philip Sheridan's scouts. These scouts were a notable organization and the story of their work is one of the most thrilling of all the stories that have come down to us. Their work consisted of their going over to the enemy, mingling with the Confederates, getting all the information possible and then getting back to our lines. It took fearless men to do this as they well knew that if captured they would be quickly hanged to the nearest tree. The scout thus referred to was a Hookstown boy named William Whitehill. Company H was on a skirmish line at the battle of North Ann River. He had come through the Confederate line on quite a foggy morning and was not seen until quite near us when he raised both hands and shouted "don't shoot," when he saw the blue uniform. As he had a Confederate uniform, we took him for a Confederate, we had our guns ready for him in case of necessity. On divesting himself of this, we saw at once not only the Union Scout but the boy with whom we had played with when children and a school fellow. This was quite an incident and the writer is the only survivor of those who witnessed it.
This article would be incomplete if some
record was not made relating to the work done by the men and women
of those days. As parents they suffered much, as parents spent
anxious days and nights not knowing what hour they might hear
of the death of a father or son. Nearly every one of them had
a son or near relative in the Army. Among them was Milton Lawrence,
M.D., who served rich and poor alike with rare skill and heartfelt
sympathy. His kindly attention to the wife and children (when
sick) of the absent father, his care for the sick or wounded soldier
invalided at home, also for the widow and children whose husband
had been killed in battle; these were his constant care. He was
a man of more than average ability in his profession and of sterling
qualities in his general makeup. He served for some years as one
of the associate judges of Beaver County with the Hon. Daniel
Agnew, who later became chief justice of the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania.