Results tagged “Union officers” from Cannonball

York County, Pennsylvania, was a valuable source of war materiel, woolen blankets, supplies, and perhaps most of all, fresh troops. As the war progressed, the need for additional manpower caused the Lincoln Administration to institute the first mass conscription in U.S. history, a controversial move that led to riots in several places, including a large scale civil disturbance in New York City in the summer of 1863. By the following year, the draft resistance had somewhat calmed down, but the Overland Campaign and the subsequent Siege of Petersburg, created the need for manpower in the Eastern Theater, while William T. Sherman's activities in Tennessee and Georgia also demanded soldiers by the tens of thousands.

"Hundred days regiments" helped fill the void, providing temporary manpower to guard bridges, railroads, and supply lines, thereby freeing veteran troops for combat duty. Additional front line troops were also being raised, including the 209th Pennsylvania.

In northwestern York County's Franklin Township, a prominent carpenter and builder stepped up to do his civic duty...

Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Civil War is one of my favorite websites. I use it often as a reference site, as it contains a lot of useful information, including the text of Samuel Bates' classic History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, as well as the corresponding card file of the vast majority of Keystoners who served in the Union Army during the war. The webmaster also includes a list of soldiers hailing from York County, Pennsylvania, who served in the officially mustered units, as well as several independent companies. Biographies of several men are included in the website, as well as other pertinent information of value to the local researcher.

Even more impressive is a database at the York County Heritage Trust contributed by author and researcher Dennis Brandt, who compiled every known Civil War soldier from York County. For more information, please see the YCHT webpage.

This impressive headstone in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Hanover, Pennsylvania, commemorates the brief life of one of York County's many Civil War veterans, Major William Slyder Diller of the 76th Pennsylvania Volunteers, also known as the "Keystone Zouaves". During his three years in the Union Army, Diller saw action in several significant engagements in Virginia, Georgia and South Carolina, including participating in the unsuccessful attacks on Fort Wagner (made famous in modern times through the Denzel Washington / Morgan Freeman movie Glory).

So, who was William Diller?

Col. Matthew S. Quay was one of the Civil War heroes from northern York County. Born and raised in Dillsburg, he took command of the 134th Pennsylvania when it was first organized in August 1862 at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg. The regiment was taken by train through York and Hanover Junction down to Baltimore, where it changed trains for the ride to the nation's capitol. In Washington's defenses, Quay and the 134th were attached to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 5th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac.

They marched into Maryland from September 1-18, but did not see action at the Battle of Antietam. Along with the rest of George McClellan's army, they remained inactive at Sharpsburg until October 30. After a quick reconnaissance mission to Smithfield in what is now West Virginia, they marched to Falmouth, Virginia, where Quay's career reached a sudden unexpected crossroads...