The Louisiana Tigers left the Willoughby Run / Oak Hill area northwest of Gettysburg on June 27, 1863, and marched through East Berlin into western York County, finally camping late that afternoon near Big Mount. The roads were "exceedingly muddy," and scores of men straggled in the slop and mire. A few never rejoined the ranks, taking the opportunity to slip away and desert. An old book has a cryptic entry for Private Charles Brown of the 8th Louisiana, who was "supposed to have been killed by the citizens of Penn[sylvania]."
Was the German immigrant murdered by irate farmers who resented the Confederate incursion and confiscation of their horses, livestock, and material of use to the Rebel army? Or, did he merely desert, and his officers invent the story that Keystoners had killed him in an effort to try to keep other soldiers in the ranks? Certainly, there were documented cases of bushwhacking in other areas that did result in Rebel casualties, but I have never seen any confirmation that Berlin-area residents did so.
Here is Brown's service record from the Index to Louisiana Confederate Soldiers...
"Brown, Charles, Pvt. Co. I. 8th La. Infty. En. June 19th, 1861, Camp Moore, La. Present on Rolls to Aug., 1861. Roll for Sept. and Oct., 1861, Absent. On detached service attending to wounded man at Carter's Mills, London Co., Va. Roll for Nov. and Dec., 1861. Present. Promoted to Corpl. Dec. 27th, 1861. Rolls from Jan., 1862, to April, 1862, Present. Roll for May and June, 1862, Present. Reduced to Pvt. May 1st, 1862. Rolls from July, 1862, to May 1st, 1863, Present. Rolls from May 31st, 1863, to Oct., 1863, Absent without leave since June 27th, 1863. Roll for Nov.and Dec., 1863, Absent without leave since July __, 1863. Record copied from Memorial Hall, New Orleans, La., by the War Dept., Washington, D. C., June, 1903, Born Germany, occupation laborer, single, straggled on march from Gettysburg to York and supposed to have been killed by the citizens of Penn.
Has anyone living near East Berlin ever heard local legends or tales of citizens taking out their frustrations by murdering a Confederate straggler???
About 20 years ago, when I was in the midst of researching and writing a master's thesis about York County during the Civil War, someone from the Dover or East Berlin area told me about a Confederate deserter who had deserted and was killed by a local citizen when the ex-rebel was trying to steal a horse. The unfortunate deserter alledgedly was buried in the vicinity of the old school house near the intersection of Canal Road and the East Berlin Road. The school house is post-Civil War (at least that's what I remember), and it now serves as someone's residence. I looked into the story, but could not substantiate it. Looks like there may be some truth to it after all.
Thanks Mark! In researching my book on John Gordon's brigade, I also heard the tale that a dead Reb was buried near that intersection. I had not heard how he died, so perhaps your story and Mr. Brown's service record describe the same event.