Easter weekend - 1863
As I sit in front of my warm fireplace this morning, I cannot help but think of the rich blessings in my life. God has been so good to me through the years, and I have been so undeserving of what He has poured out. Easter weekend has always been a time of celebration for our family, marked by mutual worship, sunrise services, family get-togethers and good food, Easter baskets for the kids, games and family activities, and thankfulness.
A few times over the two-plus decades we lived in exteme northeastern Ohio, Easter was also marked by something else - a blizzard! Even in late April a couple of times, we arose on Easter Sunday to find that more than a foot of snow blanketed the ground (it's easy to hide, but tough to find Easter eggs in the snow drifts!).
For one Pennsylvania infantry regiment, Easter 1863 also brought a blanket of the white crystals...
The 127th Pennsylvania was a veteran regiment that had seen action in many of the Army of the Potomac's battles. They were led by Colonel William W. Jennings, a wealthy young industrialist from Harrisburg who would later be the long-time Dauphin County sheriff. As spring came in 1863, the regiment was nearing the end of its three-year enlistment, and the men would go home in late May. Some would re-enlist in the 26th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia and would be a part of the small force Major Granville Haller led from Gettysburg to York and then to Wrightsville to defend the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge in June 1863.
For for now, the service in York County was still months away. It was Easter weekend, Saturday April 4, 1863. Major Jeremiah Rohrer, later a prosperous Lancaster merchant, recorded in his diary the mundane events of army life on their final Easter in the ranks of the 127th... it was an Easter weekend we veterans of Lake Erie's bitter spring blizzards could readily sympathize with, but this event was a rarity for northern Virginia.
Saturday, April 4: Could not sleep. Got up at 2:00 a.m. and rode over to the line (very cold for April), and returned at 4:00 a.m. I sat by a poor fire, perfectly chilled, until daylight. The relief came at 9:30 a.m. The major of the 34th New York relieved me, and Colonel Jennings relieved the division officer. I returned to camp. The regiment reviewed at 3 p.m. Cold and stormy... At dusk a terrible snow storm. Lieutenant Colonel Alleman's chimney blew down, falling on his tent, but did not break through. Other chimneys and tents blew down. The whole camp aroused. Some fires among the tents, but nothing serious.
The sudden April blizzard chilled the soldiers, blanketed their camp with snow, and made the Easter weekend miserable. Rohrer continued...
Sunday, April 5: This morning there were six inches of snow in front of my tent. Our sleeping tent [was] all right... Easter Sunday. Still snowing. Our pickets came to camp; they suffered much. No fires allowed on the picket line.
The exposure to the elements caused Rohrer to miss an event he had looked forward to...
Monday, April 6: Colonel Jennings and Lieutenant Colonel Alleman started to go see a review of cavalry by President Lincoln. I did not go; had a bad cold and felt very unwell.
For one of Major Rohrer's men from his old company he had recruited near Middletown in Dauphin County, that Easter was his last on earth. John Osman of Company H died after a struggle with typhoid fever, a grim reminder of the mortality of man. Despite his illness, Rohrer had to ride to brigade headquarters to fill out the furlough paperwork so that another of his men could escort Osman's body back to Pennsylvania for burial.
As I sit by the comfort of my fireplace and reflect on Jeremiah Rohrer's Easter weekend nearly 145 years ago, I cannot help but think we have another generation of young soldiers away from home on Easter weekend - scattered at posts throughout the world, with some in harm's way. Take a minute this weekend to say a prayer for those servicemen and women who volunteered their time and energies to their country. Some will face cold and rain; others the deserts of Iraq and Afghanistan. To each of you, I give the old cheer that would have been very familiar to Jeremiah Rohrer -- Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah!
