Missing Person

FahanParish

Private
Joined
Apr 4, 2014
Location
Pennsylvania
My Civil War interest has become increasingly personal - and lately I've spent time trying to find out more about relatives who served in it - even trying to reconstruct their experiences - though ultimately that's futile. But at the least I want to find out what happened to them - did they survive the war? I found one relative had actually won the Medal of Honor - something my father must not have known or as he described his cousin taking him on his lap and doing the Rebel yell for him, I think he would have mentioned the man had been awarded the Medal of Honor. Thanks to CWT post, I found a NYT report that described the battlefield at Antietam and mentioned the relative who was killed that day.

But today hit a brick wall - my gr. gr. grandfather's farm helper enlisted in 1861 and just this year I came upon letters in a box that he had written home from the war. They're in beautiful shape and he mentions a friend - the friend is killed in 1864 but the regimental roster simply says "Not on Muster Out Roll".

What does that most commonly mean? Any ideas where I might look further for the fate of Alexander Beck, 97th Pennsylvania, Company C?
 
Residence Chester County PA; a 19 year-old Painter.

Enlisted on 9/15/1861 as a Private.

On 9/15/1861 he mustered into "C" Co. PA 97th Infantry
(date and method of discharge not given)
(Estimated date of enlistment; no further record)


He was described at enlistment as:
5' 6.0", light complexion, blue eyes, light hair

Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:

- History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865
- PA State Archives: Civil War Veterans' Card File 1861-1865
(c) Historical Data Systems, Inc. @ www.civilwardata.com
 
According to the soldiers and civil war database he went to the signal corps in 1864 he left the 97th as a private.
 
Thanks so much to all who replied - which tells me Alexander Beck survived to 1864. Are there muster out rolls for the Signal Corp?

My next mysteries - I came on two photographs in a family album - a Capt. A. Royer. Nothing more but the album was in my family's old homestead in Leesport, PA - Berks County. I can't find him on the PA Roots site listing those who served in the war.

I could find John M. Biery, Co. F, 3rd Reg. PA but his regiment is blended into another and I lose his trail.

Where should I be looking to find the fate of these men?

Does the National Archives have a online searchable data base? If they had survived wouldn't they have been pensioners?
 
Thanks so much to all who replied - which tells me Alexander Beck survived to 1864. Are there muster out rolls for the Signal Corp?

My next mysteries - I came on two photographs in a family album - a Capt. A. Royer. Nothing more but the album was in my family's old homestead in Leesport, PA - Berks County. I can't find him on the PA Roots site listing those who served in the war.

I could find John M. Biery, Co. F, 3rd Reg. PA but his regiment is blended into another and I lose his trail.

Where should I be looking to find the fate of these men?

Does the National Archives have a online searchable data base? If they had survived wouldn't they have been pensioners?
John Biery was enlisted in the 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves, the formal designation of which was the 32nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Ancestry.com shows a pension application in his name filed in 1883. In this case the dependent was his father, David Biery. The same David Biery also filed a pension application for another son, William H. Biery, in which he was the dependent.
 
Thanks so much to all who replied - which tells me Alexander Beck survived to 1864. Are there muster out rolls for the Signal Corp?

My next mysteries - I came on two photographs in a family album - a Capt. A. Royer. Nothing more but the album was in my family's old homestead in Leesport, PA - Berks County. I can't find him on the PA Roots site listing those who served in the war.

I could find John M. Biery, Co. F, 3rd Reg. PA but his regiment is blended into another and I lose his trail.

Where should I be looking to find the fate of these men?

Does the National Archives have a online searchable data base? If they had survived wouldn't they have been pensioners?

Abraham B. Royer

Residence was not listed;
Enlisted on 8/24/1864 as a 2nd Lieutenant.

On 8/24/1864 he was commissioned into "B" Co. PA 200th Infantry
He was Mustered Out on 5/30/1865 at Alexandria, VA


Promotions:
* Capt 3/31/1865


Sources used by Historical Data Systems, Inc.:

- History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865
(c) Historical Data Systems, Inc. @ www.civilwardata.com
-------------------------------------------------------------

PENNSYLVANIA
TWO HUNDREDTH INFANTRY
(One Year)
Two Hundredth Infantry. - Col., Charles W. Diven; Lieut.-
Col., W. H. H. McCall; Maj., Jacob Rehrer. The 200th, from the
counties of York, Cumberland and Dauphin, was mustered into the
S. service at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, Sept. 3, 1864, for one
year. All the field officers had served in the reserve corps
and were experienced in military tactics. It left for the
front on Sept. 9, joined the army of the James, was posted at
Dutch gap on its arrival and assisted in repelling the attack
of the enemy at Chester Station, on Nov. 19. On the 28th it
was transferred to the army of the Potomac, assigned to the 1st
brigade, (Col. Diven) 3d division (Gen. Hartranft) 9th corps,
(Gen. Parke) and stationed at a camp near the Dunn house bat-
tery on the road to Fort Stedman. During the ensuing winter
it was well drilled and performed fatigue duty upon the forti-
fications in the rear of the army. The command was hotly en-
gaged at Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865, losing 14 killed and
109 wounded, among the latter being Col. Diven. Said Gen. Har-
tranft, in his official report: "The 200th Pa. Volunteers,
Lieut.-Col. McCall commanding, deserves particular mention.
This regiment was put to the severest test and behaved with the
greatest firmness and steadiness. The regiment made two stub-
born attacks on the enemy and when compelled to retire it fell
back in good order." It participated with its division in the
final assault on Petersburg, where it again behaved with great
gallantry and coolness, losing 2 killed, 34 wounded and 3 miss-
ing. It then shared in the pursuit of the enemy until his sur-
render on the 9th. After Johnston's surrender it proceeded to
City Point and thence by transport to Alexandria, where the re-
cruits were transferred to the 51st Pa. on May 30, 1865, and on
the same date the regiment was mustered out.

Source: The Union Army, vol. 1

*************************************************************************************


Report of Lieut. Col. William H. H. McCall, Two
hundredth Pennsylvania Infantry, of operations March 25.

HDQRS. 200TH REGT. PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS,
March 26, 1865.
SIR: I have the honor to submit the following report of the part taken
by my regiment in the operations at Fort Stedman on the 25th instant:

Upon hearing the firing on the line in front at dawn of day I
immediately formed my regiment and held it under arms awaiting
orders, and in a few minutes I received an order from Gen. Willcox,
through one of his staff, to report at the Friend house (Gen.
Willcox's headquarters) with my regiment, but upon arriving within
about half way from my camp to his headquarters I saw a number of
men retreating from the front, when I immediately halted my regiment
and moved it forward a short distance, with my right resting near the
Dunn House Battery, and attempted to drive back the men who had
retired from the front. A few moments after this Gen. Hartranft
appeared on the ground in person, and ordered my regiment forward,
at the same time advancing with it to the camp of the Fifty-seventh
Massachusetts Volunteers, driving back the enemy's skirmishers, who
had advanced beyond the camp, and at the same time charging the
enemy, but finding him too strong and suffering terribly from this fire
my men were driven back to an old line of works a few rods in rear
and right of the camp of the Fifty-seventh Massachusetts Volunteers,
where my regiment was reformed. Another attack was ordered by
Gen. Hartranft, and my regiment moved forward handsomely and
gained a position quite near the enemy. This position was held fifteen
or twenty minutes, with a large loss, when the regiment again retired
to the cover of the old line, where a connection was formed with the
Two hundred and ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers on the right. Here the
left wing of my regiment inflicted severe injury on the enemy by its
fire, and prevented any farther advance.

Gen. Hartranft now directed me to hold this position, which I did,
against any farther advance of the enemy. I remained in this position
some time, when Maj. Berlolette, assistant adjutant-general, of Gen.
Hartranft's staff, who had been rendering valuable assistance all the
time informed me that an assault would soon be made by the division
to retake the works, and that my regiment, with the Two hundred and
ninth Pennsylvania Volunteers, would conform to the movement of
the Second Brigade, which was several hundred yards to my left, and
that the signal for the assault would be the advance of the Two hundred
and eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers from the high ground in rear
of Stedman and the regiments on my right. I immediately prepared my
command for the movement, and when the advance of the Two
hundred and eleventh Pennsylvania Volunteers and the troops on my
left was made, Maj. Bertolette ordered the charge, which was made
instantaneously, the men moving forward in the most gallant style,
charging the right corner of Stedman and the main line of works
leading from it. My regiment alone captured at least 350 prisoners
and a like number of small-arms, but my men were so eager to regain
the fort and works that they paid but little attention to the prisoners,
telling them to pass to the rear, where they were picked up by troops
of the First Division, and claimed by that division, when they were
really captured by and passed to the rear through my command.

The officers and men of my command all behaved with the greatest
daring and bravery. Capt. F. A. Hoffman seized the colors in the
hand of a rebel color bearer, but was short through the hand and
knocked down with a musket, retaining a piece of the flag, which he
tore from the standard.

Private Levi A. Smith, Company E, deserves particular mention. After
the color bearer had been shot down I grasped the colors and called
for some one to take them, this boy sprang forward and asked me to
permit him to carry the flag, which he did throughout the action.

All of which is respectfully submitted.

W. H. H. McCALL,
Lieut.-Col., Cmdg. Regt.

Lieut. C. L. BUFFINGTON,
Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen., First Brig., Third Div., 9th Army Corps.


Source: Official Records
PAGE 351-95 N. AND SE. VA., N. C., W. VA., MD., AND PA. [CHAP. LVIII.
[Series I. Vol. 46. Part I, Reports. Serial No. 95.]
 
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