DOCSLIB.ORG

Keyser Family

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Keyser Family THE ilict1tttnnfal 1\nmfon O'ITHX 1688-1888. THE KEYSER FAMILY DESCENDANTS DIRCK l{EYSER OF AMSTERDAM. COMPILED BY CHARLES S. KEYSER.• PHILADELPHIA: 1889, CONTENTS. tACM r. Introductory to the l.eu:nioa,. • • • • . • • • • • • • • .~. • • 1.. 14 •• The Opemng Prayer, bf Bp. N. a Grubb, • • • • • 14-15 3. 1'1le FamilJ Histoiy, bJ Charla$._ IC.eyser, • • • • • 1;-75 4. The Homes, Meedng Housa, and Burial Gzouada, of the Famil7, by_Dr. Peter ~irck Keyser, •••••••••• • .••••• II, •••• 75--81 5• The Mennonites, read by Julia A. Orum, • • • • • • • • • 81-89 6, The Martymom. ofLeonhatcl K.eyaer, read by Julla.·A. Orum, • 89-91 7. The Levering Family, by Hon. Horatio Gates Joms, •• , ••• , •• 9>-94 8. The Panaebecker lJne, by HOD. Samuel W. Pennypacker, u..o., ••• . •. 9H7 9- The GermlDlOWD Emigration, by Prof. Oswald Seide1111kker, • • • 97-100 io. The Ul80ll cf the Reaalon, bf Lun Westerpard, • , • • • • • • , • • * • • , 101-IOZ u. Tbe Mennonites In Holl111cJ. by Adrian YaA Heldeo, • • • , • • , , • • • 102-104 1i. 'l1lo Corre&pODdeace ,nth the Family: • • • • • , , • , • , • • • • • . • • 105--9, 115-117 13. The La8t Hoara of'tbe Reualoo, , • • • • , • • ' , • • • • , • , • • , • • , • 109-115 14, Tbe Genealol, attlut F..U,1 o • o o o o o • ■ • O O O o ■ I a· o a o o a o o Jl,S- ILLUSTRATIONS. '!l'HB Aa11a .or Dia.~ Knsn., . ~ . • • . to face title. THB MDNoNITB MEETJNG HousE, • • • • • • • • - . 13 ·ENTaia IN Dia.ex KEYSJtR.'s Bmu Cfae 1imit1), • 18 FuKa..u. NOTICE Vae dmi/1), -. • , . .. ... 20 Aun 01' AMSTERDAM. , • • 16 • • e a I a, GsllMANTOWN, Aus or • • • • • a II' • • • ■ 15 Auls OI' WILLIAM P&MN, • •. DlllCJt XEYSEB.'s SJGNATUJI.E (fae .1imil1), TR& CoPPD Pun: (fi,e dtnik), • • • • 31 Dl1Clt Xnsn. J1.!s, SIGlfATUllE Vae dlnil,), . 33 Pnn D1aat ICJcygu•a S1GHA'1111Ut Cf•, nmw)~- .- • • . ll l>mat KBYSBP.'1 REslDDClt IN GU.KA.NTOWN, . 76 JOHN KDSB&'s Rl'su>DcB lN GBUIANTOWN, , • , • • ' 78 TD Sornancos ol' THE Ms!Cl'fomTES, •••• , 87 Tm M.ilTYll>OM OP LEoNHAkD KBYSD, 1S27, , . 91) AallS OW TBB NETHER.LANDS, , , ••• . • • • • • 119 PollTLUTI. Tolilu Govertnandea Wyngaert, Rev. Peter Keyser, Elbanan W; Keyser, Nath81l L. Keyser, Peter A. Keyaer, Mary Slingluff', William S. Baker, Dr. J. K. Knorr, C. Marts lte)'fff, Philip W. K.eyaer, DIIDW L. Xeyaer, General B. F. Prentiss, William Kcyw, Julia A. Orum, Dr. P. D, Xeyaer, SilffSter Xeyser, Samael Ke,-r, Miller Bullard, Cbarla s: lteyaer. W.1.P:IJr ......... DlBCJIC ....,. .... Tll&V... ARD?lll> ur B'IIT QIUll':K.LLOGlflCK 'IIN 111:BAl.'lllSOl' .AIIOBJ:IJ' Tll ' ■ GR&'VINBAGZ, (NJ:Dll'R.l..l.MD.) THE BICENTENNIAL REUNION OJ'. THB KEYSER FAMILY OLD MENNONITE MEETING-HOUSE, GER.MAN'l'OWN, PENNSYLVANIA, OCTOBER 101 1888. S the two hundredth. year after the arrival of our ancestor Dirck: Keyser, in Germantown, was nearing, some time in x887, Dr. A Peter Dirck 'Keyser, i11 whose possession mttch of the family genealogy has been preserved, 11tggested to the writer or this paper that some commemoration or the event would interest the family generally, and that it was, in a. senae. a duty to our ancest9r's memory~ A year later, in the aummer of 1888, it WU the subject of further conversation from time to time, Dr. Keyser desiring that a atone should be erected to mark the place of our ancestor's ministry and burial. A committee wu formed, consisting of Dr. Peter Dirck Keyser and Charles S. Keyser of Philadelphia, and Romaine Keyser of Gennantown, by whom the follow• ing circular was addressed to the members of the family whose places of residence could be ascertained: 6 THE -KEYSER FAMILY. WHD William Penn visited Holland and Gennany, promulgating bis doctrines of f'ree religious thought in antagonism to the forms of established churches, he invited all to join­ him in his iettlement in the new countr;1. Accepting his ideas, Francis Daniel Pastorius o( Frankfort, Germany, organized a company for taking up land 'and forming the settlement o( Germantown, now part of this city. The Mennonites of Holl&!1(1 and the lower Rhine o( Germany joined with him, and among those who came here was Dirck. Keyser of Amster­ dam.. He was a manufacturer of and dealer in all kinds of silk goods, and a man of promi­ nence, but, desiring to worship God in all freedom, he came over· with his son,. Pieter Dirck Kcyacr, in 1688. There are many descendants of the family throughout this country and Mexico. In com~emoration of the arrival here of Dirck Keyser, a bicentennial reunion of his descendants will be held in Gennantown (Twenty--Second Ward), Philadelphia,-in the old Mennonite church, on or near the oriiUlal ground of. said Dirck Keyser, on the 10th day of October next, at 10 A. K., being, according to the present mode of chronological reckoninr, the two hundredth anniversary of the day on which he came to the place. It will be a social family gathering on ~e ground where our common ancestor is buried, and where he built his domicile in the wilderness of the New World. Sketches of the family history will be read, the old family Bible and such other relics u can be obtained will be exhibited. A cordial invitation is extended to all descendants of the family to be. preaent and bring with them anything they may have in their possession that will thro1r any light on the history of the family or indicate its progress •.. Can you be present on the oceaaion, with any of your Immediate connexions of the family l An early answer will greatly oblige the undersigned. CHAU.II S. KEYSD, A1l'l'Ollffll'IIT-LMI', No. 514 Walnut Street. Pimm. Dmca Knna, M. D.,. No. s:8Jtl Arch Street. RoKA1n Knu:a. eor. Mala u4 RlttenbOUM Streets {OIWWITOWW), PHIi.A. THE REUNION. 7 It was determined, as the invitation indicates, that' the commemoration shpuld be of an historic character. The day selected for the anniversary was the roth of October, 1888; the place was the old Mennonite meeting­ house in Germantown in whose :first structure, on the same site, our ances-­ tor had passed his Jife in the ministry, ,and in whose ground he was buried. It was determined to confine participation in the ceremonies to the mem­ bers of the family, embracing both ·-male atid female lines, and this was not deviated from, except in that th'e.fullowing gentlemen were invited in their representative characters:.: Ed-win ·.H., Bitler, the mayor of the city of Philadelphia; J. R. Plantin, · the consul-general of the Netherlands to the United States; Lars Westergaard, consul of the Netherlands in Phil­ adelphia; Professor Oswald Seidenstic~er of the University of Pennsyl­ vania; and the Rev. Nathaniel B. Grubb, the bishop of the. (present) First Mennonite Church in Philadelphia. An invitation was also sent to Dr. G. De Hoop Sheffer of the Mennonite college at Amsterdam, to Daniel K. Cassel and Abraham H. Cassel, in recognition of their services in the preservation of Mennonite literature, and to Adrian Van Helden; a gen­ tleman of Holland ·now residing in our city, to whom the committee is under many obligations. · · After consultation with those wh0i were to take part in the ceremonies, a programme was arranged, of.which the following is a copy: BICENTENNIAL REUNION of the 1688 Descendants of Dirck Keyser 1888 int.he Mennonite Meeting-House, Germantown, October 10th, 1888. 8 THE KEYSER FAMILY. Programme. IO A. M. GIDEON KEYSER, the oldest male member of the family, will preside. PRAYER, by Bishop N. B. GRUBB of the Fint Mennonite Church of Philadelphia. HYMN, Te Deum Laudamus. THE FAMILY IN AMSTERDAM AND -GERKANTOWN, by CHARLES S. KEYSER. THE Ho.MES, MEETING-HOUSES AND B:ullIA:r.-GllOUNDS OP THE FAMILY, by Dr. PETER DIKCK KEYSER, THE MENNONITES, AND THE MAB.TYllDOX OF LEONHARD KEYSD, read by JULIA A. Oauu:, a descendant of Dirck Keyser. HYMN, Jubilate Deo, Psalm C. THE LEVE:RINO LINE 01' THE FAMil.Y, by HORATIO, GATBS JONES, a descendant of Rosier Levering. 1'Jm PANNEBAK&Ell Ll~E OP THE FAMILY, by SAMUEL W •. PENNYPACKEK. LLD.1 .a descendant of Henry Pannebecker, the tint emigrant. I.Emms FROM ABSENT Muu:as OF THE FAHILY, rcad°by RoMAINE KEYSER. HYMN, Old Hundred. A dinner was provided for on the occasion. For this purpose Dr. Peter Dirck :i{eyscr tendered the use of his summer residence, then ·vacant, in Germantown;"' a notice, in the following form, was sent to the members of the family: The Bicentennial Reunion O,TQ 1688 llescmbaatts of ■ lict ltt1sn, 1sss AT GERMANTOWN, WBDNBSDAY, 0cToB£& 10, 1888. To THE F.AlltLY : As there are no bOl'ela in Germutown, 1 dinner will be sewed in the aftmnoon at the summer residence r4 Dr. P. o~ Keyser (Tulpehocken Sta~ Pennsylvania Railroad). who ha& placed it, for the day, at the di1posal of the committee. • The expenditures a tho oeculon, be:,ond the sum which remained after the .payment for the dinner• ..,. provided by William Keyser or e.ltimore, Dr, Peter Direk Kefser, Charles s. Keyser, Romaine X..,. and George G. Piede of Pblladelphia. THE REUNION. 9 The members of any family wishing dinner must enclose one dollar for each person on or before the 5th of October to either of the undersigned, when the ticket and programme will be forthwith mailed to them. All tickets must be ordered by that day. CHARLES S. KEYSEJ.\, 5114 Walnut Street, Philada. ROMA.INK KEYSER, Germa11town, Philada. SlplnMw 19, rl88, THE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY partiQipating in the reunion were John Heisler Adams and Mrs. John Heisler Adams, Edgewater Park, New Jersey; T. A. Alexander, Mrs. Kate C. Keyser Alexander, Baltimore, Maryland; George J.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • March 2009 Rodes Camp Newsletter
    Commander : Joey Smithson 1st Lieutenant Cdr: David Allen 2nd Lieutenant Cdr: Robert Beams Adjutant : March 2009 Frank Delbridge Color Sergeant : Jarrod Farley I salute the Confederate Flag with Affection, Reverence, and undying Devotion to the Cause for which it stands. Chaplain : Dr. Wiley Hales Notes From The Adjutant Newsletter : Gen R. E. Rodes Camp 262, Sons of Confederate Veterans, will meet at 7 PM Thursday James Simms night, March 12th, 2009, at the Tuscaloosa Public Library. H) 556-8599 C) 792- 1840 David Allen will be showing a film about "The Battle of Brices Crossroads", in which Gen. [email protected] Nathan B. Forrest won one of the most decisive victories of the War. David will discuss the battle, and describe why it was such an outstanding victory. INSIDE THIS ISSUE We will be discussing plans for Confederate Memorial Day in April, and future events such as the Sanders Lecture at the University of Alabama, and the re-enactment of the Battle of Cuba Station to be held at Gainesville, AL March 14th and 15th. General Rodes 2 We have received the membership certificates for new members Lt. Colonel Danny Clark and Lewis Barrett, and will be welcoming them into our Camp. Historical Marker & 3 Members who have not yet paid their dues are reminded that their dues are now $57.50, which Generals Birthdays includes a late fee of $5.00 for SCV National and $2.50 for Alabama Division. AL Civil War Unit 4 20th AL Inf Rgmt UDC License 5 Plate Upcoming Events 12 March - Camp Meeting 11 June - Camp Meeting Anniston Dispute 6 14-15 March - Gainesville Reenactment 9 July - Camp Meeting “Show and Tell” TBD April is Confederate History and Heritage Month 4 April - J.C.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Antietam Hooker's I
    ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CIVIL WAR BATTLES 63 - Antietam Gen. George Brinton McClellan, Gen. Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker (seated, second from right) and his staff in a photo taken shortly who obtained a copy of Lee’s before Antietam. Hooker’s I Corp led the attack, his troops cut to pieces by Rebels under Stonewall battle plans. Jackson and John Bell Hood. Hooker’s I Corps is shown crossing Antietam Creek at dawn, Sept. 17, 1862, to lead the attack against Jackson and the Confederate left flank in what was to become the first of three major battles of that day, the bloodiest day in the Civil War; within three hours, thousands of these men lay wounded or dead and Hooker, wounded himself, would retreat, then renew the attack to decimate the ranks of Jackson and Hood. Antietam - 64 ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CIVIL WAR BATTLES southeast of Sharpsburg, and here the opposing lines were very Hooker’s men kept advancing in columns, finding little close as the Confederates jealously guarded this crossing point. resistance, mostly Confederate sharpshooters behind trees, Union reserves consisted of V Corps under the command fences and rocks, picking away at the formations and then of Gen. Fitz-John Porter. McClellan’s plan was simple and falling back to where they joined Jackson’s main forces. methodical. He would send his strongest corps, under the com- Jackson’s men were massed on high ground, some of his units mands of Hooker, Mansfield and Sumner, against Lee’s strung- near a small building called Dunker Church, which was about out and thinly guarded left flank, held by Jackson.
    [Show full text]
  • Civil War Sites by Clint Johnson
    Clover Lake Wylie Smyrna Filbert Fort Mill Hickory Grove York Sharon Rock Hill 97 321 Jonesville McConnells 21 72 521 176 Lockhart Pageland 215 9 Cheraw Union Lancaster Chesterfield 9 151 Chester Richburg Elgin Heath Springs 1 Jefferson Kershaw Carlisle Blackstock Great Falls 72 Woodward 321 77 Blair McBee Liberty Hill 341 215 Winnsboro 97 601 Bethune York Union Chester Monticello Lancaster Chesterfield Fairfield Kershaw Ridgeway Camden Lugof f 20 521 Boykin This brochure is a work-in-progress, and will be updated regularly. Therefore feedback and additional information on these and any other sites related to this topic in the Olde English District are welcomed. For further information, contact: Olde English District Tourism Commission 3200 Commerce Drive, Suite A Richburg, South Carolina 29729 803-789-7076 or 1-800-968-5909 • Fax: 803-789-7077 www.OldeEnglishDistrict.com email: [email protected] Printed in USA 6/12 50M army, which was trapped in Petersburg, Virginia, by Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Still, Sherman wanted to be careful. He was deep in hostile territory, hundreds of miles from supplies and any other Union forces. He had to keep the Confederates guessing what he would do next. After leaving Columbia, Sherman’s next objective was either (The following material is excerpted from the book, Touring the Raleigh or Goldsboro in northeast North Carolina. However, to keep Carolinas’ Civil War Sites by Clint Johnson. Used with permission.) Confederates in North Carolina from concentrating their forces in the northeast part of the state, he decided to “feint” directly north of Sherman’s Feint Tour Columbia in the direction of Charlotte, North Carolina.
    [Show full text]
  • March 2011 Newsletter
    March 2011 I Salute The Confederate Flag With Affection, Reverence, and Undying Devotion to the Cause for Which It Stands. From The Adjutant Commander : David Allen 1st Lieutenant Cdr : Gen. RE Rodes Camp 262, Sons of Confederate Veterans, will meet Thursday night, John Harris March, 10th, 2011, at 7 PM in the Tuscaloosa Public Library. 2nd Lieutenant Cdr & Adjutant : Commander David Allen will present a program on "Coins, Currency and Economic Frank Delbridge Policy of the Union and Confederacy through 1865". He will have examples of many of the Color Sergeant : items discussed to display. Clyde Biggs Chaplain : It is time to begin planning something special to do during April 2011, Confederate History Dr. Wiley Hales Month, this Sesquicentennial year. Bring up any suggestions you have at this meeting. Newsletter : James Simms [email protected] The date for dedication of the General N. B. Forrest monument in Gainesville, AL has been Website : Brad Smith set for 10:00 AM, Saturday, March 12, 2011 at the site. Reenactors will be present to participate [email protected] in the program activities. Walter Dockery has provided directions for getting to the site as given below. INSIDE THIS Take Interstate 59-20 south to County Road 14 which leads to Clinton, Alabama. At Clinton, take County Road 39 through Mt. Hebron to Gainesville. Stay on 39 to County Road ISSUE 116 (State Street). You will see a small park with a gazebo. The Forrest Monument is located 2 General Rodes on the road to the west (Gainsville Noxubee Road). You should see a small fenced-in area on a 4 News of the Rodes small raised area and the monument in within the fenced area.
    [Show full text]
  • Bourquin Family
    SOME HUGUENOT FAMILIES of SOUTH CAROLINA and GEOR-GIA Supplement No. 3 BOURQUIN FAMILY Second Edition; revised Compiled by HARRY ALEXANDER DAVIS MAJOR, U.S. ARMY, RETIRED Washington, D. c. 1940 PP~FACE BOURQUIN F.AMILY of CAROLINA and GEORGIA In the colony of Huguenots that came to South Carolina with Colo­ nel John Pury in 1732 and settled at Purysburg, S.C. mre two of the mur..e of BOURQUIN, Henry Francois and Dr. John Baptiste, probably broth­ ers. The following account will assist in placing many of the name and some of the collaterals. Washington, D.C. 1926 THE BOURQUIN FAMILY PREFACE., Second Edition, revised Several years after the public~tion of the brief record of the BOURQUIN FAMILY in 1926 l'2 discovered several records in private hands that caused us to make an exhaustive search of records in several places formerly unknown. A careful analysis of the land records of South Caro­ lina and Georgia disclosed there -were MARIE BOURQUIN., Widow., and at least FOUR children who came to South Carolina in 1732, i.e.: JEAN BAPTISTE, HENRI FRANCOIS., AL"rnE MA.Rm and BENEDICT. We felt that what had been published should be carefully revised and made to accord with new evidence. This has been done during the past ten years and it is believed every possible source of information has been exhausted. While some changes in the original article 1Vere necessary they are of a nature that does not disrupt the continuity. To all those who have aided in any manner in making this record complete grateful thanks are herewith extended.
    [Show full text]
  • Lid L(O'l ~.C.Il!> Cf6olfml Tf:~E.L ~
    g. e, ~· ; o , .....I f·;;;t e II· r7buth/ ~u,po-d7ta-j/ .. .. LiD l(o'L ~.C.Il!> Cf6olfml tf:~e.l ~ JOHN C. CALHOUN STATUE IN STATE HOUSE LOBBY S. C ST~TE PRP~RY BOARD Published by the S. C. State Library Prepared by Emily Bellinger Reynolds, Former State Librarian and Joan Reynolds Faunt, State Librarian 1966 After the surrender of Columbia on February 17, the city was almost totally destroyed by fire . Among SOUTH CAROLINA'S the buildings burned was the old State House. The quoin-stones and basement cornices at the STATE HOUSE southwestern comer of the new building crumbled South Carolina's handsome State House, constructed off three or four inches from the heat of the burning old building, according to Niernsee's report to the of native granite in Roman Corinthian style, ante­ legislature in 1865. The architect's plans, drawings, dates the Confederate War. The building was begun specifications, and all other records "were utterly in 1855 and the cornerstone laid June 9, 1856. swept away during that terrible night." The former State House was first occupied in De­ After the post-war reorganization of the state gov­ cember, 1789, when the capital was removed to ernment, the General Assembly, which had been Columbia from Charleston, the seat of provincial and meeting on the campus of the South Carolina College state government since 1670. Its architect was James (now the University of South Carolina), again turned Hoban, a young Irishman who later designed the its attention to completing the State House. Governor executive mansion in Washington.
    [Show full text]
  • March 2012 from the Adjutant
    March 2012 1 I Salute The Confederate Flag; With Affection, Reverence, And Undying Devotion To The Cause For Which It Stands. The Sons of Confederate Veterans is the direct heir of the United Confederate Veterans, and is the oldest hereditary organization for male descendants of Confederate soldiers. Organized at Richmond, Virginia in 1896; the SCV continues to serve as a historical, patriotic, and non-political organization Commander : dedicated to ensuring that a true history of the 1861-1865 period is preserved. Membership David Allen is open to all male descendants of any veteran who served honorably in the Confederate 1st Lieutenant Cdr: John Harris From The Adjutant 2nd Lieutenant Cdr & Adjutant : Frank Delbridge Color Sergeant : Gen. Robert E. Rodes Camp 262, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Clyde Biggs will meet on Thursday night, March 8, 2012. Chaplain : Dr. Wiley Hales Adjutant Frank Delbridge will be the speaker on the Rodes Camp Newsletter: namesake, Confederate Major General Robert E. Rodes and his James Simms biography written by Darrell Collins. [email protected] We will also discuss possible activities for Confederate History month Website: Brad Smith in April, this being a sesquicentennial year. [email protected] Inside This Issue The damage done to the Confederate Memorial in Greenwood 3 General Rodes Cemetery seems to have been mostly repaired. 5 Historical Markers 5 Website Report The email for Frank Delbridge on his new computer is 5 Reenactment Dates 6 5th AL Band Dates [email protected] 6 Rodes Camp News 7 AL Personalities 8 AL General of the Please remember the JCC Sanders Lecture is March 7, 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • Wofford Professor Uses Giant Globe \As Aid in His Teaching of History
    William Hem Wofford Professor Uses Giant Globe S. C. Soldier-Statesman Had \As Aid in His Teaching of History Meteoric Rise From The Ranks Union-i-Only one other soldier, ^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^ tj according1 to American history, .When the South Carolina legisla ture met in 1877, following Hamp could boast of a record similar to ton©s election as governor in 1876, that of a man whose 125th birth the house members from La arena day occurs the 27th of this month. and Edgefield were refused ad Within two years and eight mission into the hall by Governor months William Henry Wallace Chamberlain and his henchmen. of Union rose from a private to a The Radicals, the Republican general in the Confederate army. part of the South Carolina claimed Wallace enlisted as a private in that frauds existed in the election Company A of. the 18th Regi in these two counties, and that the ment of infantry, South Carolina Republicans were elected. volunteers, on January 3, 1862, Democratic members from the at Columbia, under Captain Rob other counties would not go in un ert Macbeth of Union. less the representatives from all Just a few days after enlisting, the counties were admitted. The Colonel James M. Gadberry of Democrats retired to Carolina hall. Union appointed Wallace adjut Having a full quoroum, they orga ant of the regiment. nized the South Carolina house of When Colonel Gadberry was representatives. Wallace was. killed at Second Manassas on elected speaker, and the assembly August 30, 1862, Adjutant Wal was called the "Wallace House." lace was appointed colonel of©the regiment.
    [Show full text]
  • The Battle of Five Forks Essay
    Essential Civil War Curriculum | Edward S. Alexander, The Battle of Five Forks | May 2020 The Battle of Five Forks By Edward S. Alexander he Battle of Five Forks marked the largest single engagement in the last offensive (March 29 to April 2, 1865) of the Petersburg campaign. Lieutenant General T Ulysses S. Grant began his efforts the previous June to capture the city of Petersburg, the supply hub located twenty miles south of the Confederate capital at Richmond. For the next nine-and-a-half months, the armies under Grant and General Robert E. Lee opposed each other along a growing front eventually extending forty miles around the cities. After employing a variety of methods to capture either city, destroy Lee’s army, or isolate all three from the rest of the Confederacy, the Union army settled into winter camps at distances ranging from hundreds of yards to several miles from their foe. During the campaign, Grant left the tactics to Major General George Gordon Meade, commanding the Army of the Potomac, and his subordinates. Though stymied from their objectives in 1864, Meade’s army managed to pin Lee’s army for the rest of the year into their protective earthworks surrounding the two cities while Union forces elsewhere carved swaths of destruction through the remaining Confederate-held territory to the south. In the spring of 1865, Grant intended to bring Major General Philip Henry Sheridan’s independent cavalry force from the Shenandoah Valley to Petersburg and send them at the head of a mobile column past the right flank of Lee’s entrenched army.
    [Show full text]
  • Company A, Nineteenth Texas Infantry, a History of a Small Town Fighting
    COMPANY A, NINETEENTH TEXAS INFANTRY: A HISTORY OF A SMALL TOWN FIGHTING UNIT David J. Williams, BA Thesis Prepared for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS August 2014 APPROVED: Richard B. McCaslin, Major Professor and Chair of the Department of History Gustav L. Seligmann, Committee Member Alex Mendoza, Committee Member Mark Wardell, Dean of the Toulouse Graduate School Williams, David J. Company A, Nineteenth Texas Infantry, A History of a Small Town Fighting Unit. Master of Science (History), August 2014, 92 pp., 9 illustrations, bibliography, 60 titles. I focus on Company A of the Nineteenth Texas Infantry, C.S.A., and its unique status among other Confederate military units. The raising of the company within the narrative of the regiment, its battles and campaigns, and the post-war experience of its men are the primary focal points of the thesis. In the first chapter, a systematic analysis of various aspects of the recruit’s background is given, highlighting the wealth of Company A’s officers and men. The following two chapters focus on the campaigns and battles experienced by the company and the praise bestowed on the men by brigade and divisional staff. The final chapter includes a postwar analysis of the survivors from Company A, concentrating on their locations, professions, and contributions to society, which again illustrate the achievements accomplished by the veterans of this unique Confederate unit. As a company largely drawn from Jefferson, Texas, a growing inland port community, Company A of the Nineteenth Texas Infantry differed from other companies in the regiment, and from most units raised across the Confederacy.
    [Show full text]