James Wudarczyk wrote the following review of In the Center of the Storm for the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table.
In the Center of the Storm (A Review)
by Jim Wudarczyk
When I started researching and writing about local history in 1979, there was not very much recent material relating to Pittsburgh. Sometimes I had to wonder if Pittsburgh even had a heritage. Then in the early and mid-1980s, it was if artists, writers, photographers, and historians suddenly discovered the city. Moreover, it was a time when there was a proliferation in the number of local historical societies. One area that was slow in developing was our awareness of Western Pennsylvania’s role in the Civil War. Therefore, we should be most grateful to the Western Pennsylvania Civil War Round Table and the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Round Table for their roles in creating a greater awareness of the most turbulent era in American history.
Slowly but surely, books on the subject of the Civil War from a Western Pennsylvania perspective began to emerge. Early works that began to fill the void included Dear Teres: The Civil War Letters of Joseph Duff and Dennis Dugan of Company F, the Pennsylvania Seventy-Eighth Infantry by Ron Gancas and Dan Coyle, Sr.; The Gallant Seventy-Eighth by Ron Gancas; Industry and Infantry: The Civil War in Western Pennsylvania edited by Brian Butko and Nicholas P. Ciotola; Pittsburgh During the American Civil War by Arthur B. Fox; The Forgotten Charge: The 123rd Pennsylvania at Mayre’s Heights, Fredericksburg, Virginia by Scott Lang; Waiting for Jacob by Edwin P. Hogan; and The Granger Brothers: In Their Own Words by Lou D’Angelo. In more recent years, a number of other outstanding works have added to our library of knowledge regarding our area’s role in the American Civil War.
The latest work by Arthur Fox and John Haltigan is a comprehensive examination of the 139th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. As noted in the last newsletter, both Fox and Haltigan set out to show the human side of history. By referencing newspaper articles of the period, journals, and letters in the early chapters of their book, they demonstrate how the 139th played a key role in the major campaigns. The authors quickly point out that there were 380 regiments organized in Pennsylvania between the Spring of 1861 and Spring of 1865. They also indicate that during the course of the war, the federal government and the states paid $750,000,000 in recruiting bounties.
One learns that the 139th was recruited in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, and Mercer counties, with smaller numbers from Westmoreland and Butler counties. They were soon shipped to Camp Howe in the present-day Oakland section of Pittsburgh. An early description of this camp may be found in the August 18, 1862, edition of the Pittsburgh Gazette. To illustrate life at Camp Howe, Fox and Haltigan indicate that in the early days of the camp’s existence, water had to be brought in barrels via rail transportation. It must be noted that there isn’t any shortage of documentation to substantiate the text. The authors demonstrate a keen ability to incorporate primary sources into the text to give clear and logical progression of events as they impacted the 139th. For example, they cite an article in the August 30, 1862, issue of the Pittsburgh Gazette that describes the last days spent by the regiment at Camp Howe.
Working closely with contributor Dianne Rosell, the authors reference a 53-page book by Conrad Smith of Co. I of Birmingham (now the South Side of Pittsburgh). The privately published 1920 book was titled My Life and the Civil War. One of the earliest tasks of the139th was to bury the dead of the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). The descriptions chosen by the authors clearly illustrate that if the soldiers of the 139th had any romantic notions of war, they quickly perished on the site of nearly three thousand dead whose bodies had laid on the field in the hot sun for six days. Conrad Smith noted that four hundred of our men had taken sick and were unfit for work. Adjunct Albert Harper wrote that fourteen soldiers had been dead so long that “they are perfectly black and alive with maggots.” Harper looked on the experience as a good thing because it made the men look on death “as quite a common thing and they say they are anxious for a fight.”
As one reads the book, one comes to the conclusion that supplying the Union army with basic necessities was a frequent problem. There were periods when the men lacked tents, shirts, and even fresh bread was often considered a delicacy. Even when the men had adequate food, they frequently lacked fresh vegetables, meat, and fruit. There were complaints of inefficient supply systems, corruption, and incompetence, which hindered or stopped deliveries of supplies to the front.
There were other hardships that the men endured. For example, the march to Fredericksburg, Virginia, was called the mud march as the men trudged over poorly constructed roads in a downpour of rain. Furthermore, the men complained of being cold, “in fact, half-frozen.”
Men in the service wrote letters—and many of them. Often, they expressed concern for loved ones, descriptions of military life, and ordinary events in the camp. As Corp. James B. Heaslet (or Hazlett) wrote to his niece on October 17, 1862, “We was introduced to our chaplain on last Sabbath who is the Rev. Robt. McPherson. He is a Presbyterian and I have a very great notion of him as chaplain. We listened to a very appropriate sermon from (him) and all seemed to be pleased with him.”
Fox and Haltigan point out, “In early 1863, a rumor had started that the 139th was a nine months regiment, rather than a three-year regiment, and would return home in May, although to the dismay of the troops, disregarded not as a fact.” The eventual revelation that an early return home was a rumor must have been extremely disappointing not only for the troops, but for their families as well. On April 16, 1863, Corporal George Wesley Hawk wrote to his mother, “As regards the 9 months matter, I hear nothing contrary. We are expecting to get (our discharges) at the expiration of the 9 months.” Among the tables interspersed in the book was one that showed the Third Brigade casualties at the Battle of Salem Church. At this battle, the 139th Pennsylvania suffered 12 killed, 53 wounded, and 11 missing. Considering the fact that the Third Brigade had 50 killed, 235 wounded, and 200 missing; this means that nearly one in four of the killed and nearly 23 percent of the wounded came from the 139th Pennsylvania.
The 139th was also at Gettysburg. “Of the 464 men of the 139th, no men died (outright) on the field, however 17 wounded are reported, and 2 captured, a total of 23 men, or 5% of those engaged from the regiment.” Since the number of wounded and captured do not add to 23, the recorder of the original report may have accidently omitted the number of missing.
On August 28, 1863, Sergeant William Dunlap was near Waterloo, Virginia, when he wrote to his wife regarding the soldier’s pay and clothing allowance. While Dunlap was lacking in basic grammar, his observation was extremely interesting. “Some will not get one cent this time our clothing bill will be taken out this time some owes 50 dollars and has only 26 dollars coming to them…they would draw clothes to wear them, they would get dirty and instead of washing them they would throw them away and draw new ones.”
Another interesting observation in the book was a letter dated September 29, 1863, by Corporal William McGill to his brother. “We are now laying at the base of the Blueridge Mountains near Culpepper C. H. with 5 days rations in our knapsacks and 3 in our haversacks and order to be ready to move at any moment. The weather is getting pretty cold and we are not in a very good condition to stand much cold. When we were on the march to Gettysburg, we threw away all our blankets and tents and we find it very uncomfortable these nights without them but I think we will be fitted out for the winter in a few days.”
Since there is no way that one review may do justice to the tremendous amount of research in this massive volume, in a future newsletter I hope to reference more samplers from In the Center of the Storm: The 139th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. As previously noted, this book makes a very valuable addition to one’s personal Civil War library.
Cost of In the Center of the Storm: The 139th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment in the Civil War is $40.00 (which includes postage and tax). Copies may be purchased by sending cash, check, or money order to Arthur B. Fox, 2627 Broadway Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15216.