Road Trippin' Through History: Civil War Notables Buried at Philadelphia's West Laurel Hill Cemetery

Here are four other Civil War folk:

OLIVER CHRISTIAN BOSBYSHELL  (1839-1921)-- Claims he was the first Union soldier wounded by enemy activity in the war after receiving a bruise on his head after being hit with an object thrown by a Confederate sympathizer as his regiment marched through Baltimore to relieve Washington, D.C. on April 17, 1861.

CLARISA F. DOYLE  (1832-1921)--Army nurse during Civil War.  President of National Association of Army Nurses of the Civil War.

JOHN TROUT GREBLE  (1834-1861)--  First USMA graduate killed at Battle of Big Bethel.

HERMAN HAUPT  (1817-1905)--  Union general and engineer.  Revolutionized U.S. military transportation, particularly with the railroads.

--Old Seceh

Anthony Eugene Stocker, MD

From Find-A-Grave.

BIRTH:  5 March 1819

DEATH:  23 May 1897 (aged 78)

BURIAL:  Saint James the Less Episcopal Churchyard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

PARENTS: 

John Clements Stocker (1786-1833)

Louise Francoise Caroline, De Tousard Stocker (1788-1877)  (Daughter of Anne-Louis de Tousard, if American Revolution fame (see my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog).

Ephraim Dod Saunders of Philadelphia

Back on February 16 and 17, I wrote about this man, who was the father of Captain Courtland Saunders who was killed at the Battle of Shepherdstown at the end of the Antietam Campaign.

From the Famous Americans.net site.

EPHRAIM DOD SAUNDERS

Clergyman born in Brookside, Morris County, New Jersey, 30 September 1808; died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 13 September 1872.

He graduated from Yale  in 1831, and after studying theology in New Haven for a few months, went to Virginia where he was engaged in teaching.  He was licensed to preach there in 1833, ordained to the Presbyterian  ministry in 1834 and was instrumental in building three churches, but relinquished  preaching on account of throat problems and became  principal of an academy in Petersburg, Virginia.

After traveling to Europe, he engaged in missionary work in the Pennsylvania coal region, but in 1852, established, in West Philadelphia, the Saunders  Institute, a military school which attained a high reputation.

He discontinued the school in 1870, and in 1871, gave the buildings and grounds, which was valued at $100,000, to found, as a memorial to his son, Courtland, the Presbyterian Hospital, towards whose endowment he raised $100,000 more by his personal efforts.

He received a degree of D.D. from Lafayette.

During the Civil War,  Dr. Saunders was active in raising volunteers and obtaining money for bounties, and established a drill class in which he trained a lot of officers for the volunteer service.  His son Courtland was a teacher at the institute.

--Old Secesh

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, a Tribute to Courtland Saunders

From Wikipedia.

PENN PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER

Is a hospital located in the University City section of  West Philadelphia.  It was founded by Reverend Ephraim D. Saunders in 1871 and formally joined the Pennsylvania  Health System in  1995.

Presbyterian was founded  in 1871 by the  Alliance of Philadelphia Prebyteries as a 48-bed facility on 2.5 acres.  The Reverend Dr. Ephraim D. Saunders, a Presbyterian minister, dedicated the land  in memory of his son, Courtland, who was shot and killed as a captain in the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Shepherdstown on September 20, 1862.

He also gave a $400,000 endowment to it.

Reverend Saunders said the dedication, "A few days before the Battle of Antietam ... he[Courtland] passed with me  from his tent in the forest....  In view of the perils of war ... he recommended that in the case of his death ... the property should all be donated to some prominent ... charity."

So, the father donated the land and $400,000 to the memory of his son.

The incorporators of the Presbyterian Hospital declared its purpose was "to provide medical and surgical aid and nursing for the sick and disabled..."  Care and nursing was granted to the indigent of Philadelphia, funded by donations from individuals and Presbyterian churches.

It is now a 300-bed institution on 16.5 acres of land.

So, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Owes Its Start to Capt. Courtland Saunders and His Father.  --Old Secesh

Captain Saunders' Father, Rev. Ephraim Dod Saunders

From Find-A-Grave.

BORN:  30 September 1808    Morris County, New Jersey

DIED:  13 September 1872 (aged 62)

BURIED:  Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Graduated from Yale College in 1831 with a Doctorate in Theology.

At the death of his son, Courtland Saunders, he donated all his land and gave a $400,000 endowment  to start Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia.

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It still exists and is now called Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

--Old Secesh

Recruitment Poster for Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry-- Part 2: Monetary Incentives

Then followed a long lost of monetary incentives.

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$2, Government Premium when Recruit is Mustered in.

$10, Corn Exchange Bounty, when sent to Camp.

$25, City Bounty, when the Company is full.

$25, City Bounty, when the Regiment is formed.

$13, One Month's Pay  in advance.  And

$25,  One-fourth of Government Bounty.

Total, $100  before leaving the City.

$75,  Remainder of Government Bounty, when Mustered Out of service.

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Pretty good work and pay if you can get it.

"Jine" the 118th, Co. K.  Make Some Bucks!!  --Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Abraham Lincoln-- Part 4: The President's Pocket Knife

At the 1864 Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia a gentleman presented Abraham Lincoln with a beautiful pocket knife with engravings on the blade.  This knife will be up for auction and will come with a letter from Lincoln thanking the man who presented him with it.

"So when you hold this knife in your hand, you're holding something that our 16th president held at one time," Curtis Linder if the auction house said.  "When someone buys something like this, it may not be seen for another 50 years.  You may never know."

Linder explained that some buyers may pass their collections on to their children and hey van get passed along from generation to generation without any public viewing.

Others may set up a private display for their local area.

"When someone wins something from our office, they take possession of it and then some people donate things to museums and other institutions while other people build their own museums," Linder explained.  "Mist people put it in their collection and they put it in a safety deposit box or they frame it and put it on the wall and they enjoy it that way."

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 3: A Lincoln Letter of the Army of the Potomac and a Sanitary Fair

The auction house also has a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Army of the Potomac, the Union army operating in Virginia and protecting Washington, D.C..  It was written after the Battle of Fredericksburg which resulted in a huge defeat for the North.

The Army of the Potomac suffered twice the casualties as the Confederates.  Lincoln wrote to the army that they were still a great army and the country is proud of you.  This was an attempt to build up their morale.

Heritage Auctions says this was one of the most important letters Lincoln wrote.

Another collectible being offered is from the United States Sanitary Commission, an agency that aided families of soldiers who died or were wounded.  The group supported those families by providing finances, food and boarding.

Between 1863 and 1865, an event called the Sanitary Fair  would take place in larger cities like New York, Chicago and Boston to raise those funds.

In 1864, Lincoln attended the Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia.

What Did He Get There?  --Old Secesh

Lincoln Stuff at Auction

From the January 30, 2022, Chicago Tribune advertisement of Heritage Auctions.

Americana & Political Auction:  February 12-13, 2022

**  Handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln to the Army of the Potomac after the Union disaster at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Opening bid: $250,000.

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**  Abraham Lincoln:  His personal example of his iconic portrait bust by Leonard Volk, presented to him by the sculptor himself.

Opening bid:  $100,000.

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**  Abraham Lincoln Assassination John Wilkes Booth:  $100,000 Reward Poster issued by the U.S. War Department, April 20, 1865.

Opening bid:  $40,000.

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**  Abraham Lincoln:  Exquisite Pocket Knife Presented to the President at the 1864 Philadelphia Sanitary Fair.

Opening bid:  $120,000.

Get Yer Lincoln Stuff Here.  --Old Secesh

Capt. Joseph Wattson Ricketts

From Find a Grave.

BORN:  16 January 1836   Baltimore, Maryland

DEATH:  20 September 1862  Shepherdstown, West Virginia

BURIED:  Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Civil War Union Army officer.  He served during the Civil War as commander of Company K, 118th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, being mustered in on August 21, 1862.

A month later he was killed at the Battle of Sherpherdstown Ford, (West) Virginia.

--Old Secesh

The Eighth United States Colored Troops-- Part 1: Oliver Norton Was a Lieutenant in This Unit

In the last post, I mentioned that Oliver Willcox Norton the man given credit of playing "Taps" for the first time, was a lieutenant in the 8th United State Colored Troops (USCT).  Many white enlisted soldiers and officers saw that commanding in the black units was a chance to be officers and so many volunteered for this service.

The first action this unit saw was at the Battle of Olustee in Florida and despite not being trained yet for battle, they exhibited great courage.

From the Battle of Olustee.org.

This regiment was in Hawley's Third Brigade at the Battle of Olustee.  This was a new unit and completely untrained for combat, having been organized between September 1863 and January 1864 at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia.

Several companies were also raised at Wilmington and Seaford, Delaware.

--Old Secesh

Satterlee General Hospital-- Part 7: A Self-Contained City

In 1862, Satterlee added  military tents with beds to handle the influx of wounded after the second Battle of Bull Run.

The hospital was essentially a self-contained city by 1863.

After the Battle of Gettysburg "the greatest number of wounded were admitted to the hospital in a single month ... swelling the hospital population to more than 6000."  Along with this influx came what the clerks called "the greatest number of deaths  in any one month" in August -- an average of one a day.

By 1864, the hospital was surrounded by a fourteen-foot fence and included a barber shop, carpenter shop, clothing store dispensary, three kitchens laundry, library, post office, reading room and a printing office which printed the hospital's newspaper, The Hospital Register.

Over the course  of its operations, Satterlee treated some 50,000 wounded and deaths were remarkably low  260, quite notable considering the sanitary conditions and medical practices of the time.

After Lee's surrender, the number of wounded coming in dropped dramatically and it closed August 3, 1865.  The buildings were eventually razed and during the 1890s much of the site became residential housing.  The lower portion of the grounds today serves as Clark Park.

Quite A Remarkable Effort.  --Old Secesh

Satterlee General Hospital-- Part 6: The Largest Union Army Hospital

From Wikipedia.

Before I saw  the article in the Civil War Monitor, I had never heard of this place before.

It was the largest Union Army hospital and operate from 1862 to 1965 and rendered recovery to thousands of Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners.  It was originally called West Philadelphia General Hospital but renamed  in honor of Richard Sherwood Satterlee, a surgeon during the Black Hawk War and became a brigadier general during the Civil War for his success in the medical field.

It was founded in 1862 under the order of Surgeon-General William A. Hammond in a sparsely populated area of west Philadelphia by 45th and Pine streets on 15 acres.  The initial 2,500 bed facility was built in just 40 days.

Nursing duties were performed by the nuns of the Daughters of Charity.  Ultimately over 100 of them were at the hospital.

Dr. Isaac Hayes was the hospital's commander who was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and had gained some fame as a polar explorer before the war.

--Old Secesh

Satterlee General Hospital, Philadelphia-- Part 5: Food Consumed in One Year

Food consumed at Satterlee, September 1862 to September 1863

804,418--  pounds of bread

540,519--  pounds of beef and mutton

41,052--  pounds of pork

37,420--  pounds of chicken

95,250--  pounds of fish

490,388--  pounds of potatoes

283,123--  pounds of mixed vegetables

23,635--  pounds of coffee

4,425--  pounds of tea

74,325--  pounds of sugar

334,222--  quarts of milk

27,272--  dozens of eggs

Keepin' 'Em Fed.  --Old SeceshEat

Satterlee General Hospital-- Part 2: Only a 2% Mortality Rate

The hospital occupied roughly 16 acres of high ground, which, according to one of its staff, contributed to it possessing "all that could be desired as to pure air, and other natural helps to the procurement of round health."

During its nearly three years of operation (the hospital closed in August 1865) Satterlee buzzed with activity, its well equipped and trained doctors, nurses and other workers catering to the needs of a rotating array of sick and wounded Union soldiers.

Their effort proved remarkably successful, resulting in a patient mortality rate of approximately two percent.

Coming up next is a number of figures about Satterlee and its operations.

By the Numbers.  --Old Secesh

Satterlee General Hospital-- Part 1: One Huge Hospital

From the Spring 2019 Civil War Monitor "Salvo  Figures.

Judging just from the picture, this was an absolutely huge hospital.

"I was learning to  love the place -- to love its kind of people, and even its scenery....  Days, months and perhaps years may roll on before I am permitted to see my second home again."  So wrote a grateful Union soldier in 1863 about Philadelphia's Satterlee General Hospital, where he had recently been a patient.

Opened in June 1862 as Western Philadelphia Hospital, it was renamed the following year for the Army's chief medical purveyor, Richard S. Satterlee, and became the Union's biggest hospital.

Designed in the "pavilion" style, with its multiple wards linked to two long central corridors and supplemented by tents.

--Old SeceshSick

Some More On Col. Ulric's Leg-- Part 1: Wounded, Recovery and Death

From the December 12, 2016, The Hill is Home blog  "Lost Capital Hill :  Ulric Dahlgren's Leg."

After his wounding in Hagerstown, Md., on July 6, 1863, Ulric Dahlgren completed his patrol and, while reporting to his commanding officer, fainted from loss of blood.  He was sent home to his father's house by train just south of Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C..

At first it seemed the wound was minor, but it became clear after awhile that it would have to be amputated.  During his recovery, Ulric received a visit from Secretary of War Edwin Stanton who brought good wishes, but also a promotion to colonel.

Ulric Dahlgren rejoined the Army, now with a cork leg.    He was sent on a raid of Richmond targeting Jefferson Davis.  But Davis survived, Ulric did not.  Papers on Dahlgren's body  gave away the story of killing Davis.  Whether those papers were authentic is not known.  However, Southerners were irate and Ulric's body was mutilated.

Much later the body was turned over to Union authorities and taken to Philadelphia for burial in the family plot.

--Old Secesh

Logan Circle (Square) in Philadelphia

From Wikipedia.

Logan Circle is also known as Logan Square.  The circle aspect of it is entirely within the boundaries of the old square.  Logan Square is where the Great Central Fair was held in 1864, which I have been writing about.

It was originally known as Northwest Square in William Penn's 1684 plans for the city.  It was renamed in 1825 after Philadelphia's James Logan (1684-1751), the 14th mayor, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania, lieutenant governor and acting governor.  He was an avid collector of books, eventually amassing 3,000 of them, which he described as "my disease."

During the American Revolution it was essentially a forest.  Over the next 25 years it served as a pasture, cemetery and execution ground.  In 1823, it was the site of the hanging of William Gross, the last person publicly executed in the city.

--Old Secesh

The Great Central Fair, 1864-- Part 4: 250,000 and $1.046,000

The Union League of Philadelphia proposed it.  Its Heritage Center has one of the 48 personally signed by Lincoln Emancipation Proclamations.  It was the Union league which arranged for the 48 signed copies to be sold at the fair.

A total of 250,000 visitors came and it was the second most profitable of all the Sanitary Commission fairs held.  The Sanitary Commission cleared $1,046,000 from it.

One reason so much money was made was because of all the volunteer help provided by the women of Philadelphia.

--Old Secesh

The Great Central Fair, 1864-- Part 3: Not the First Fair, Though

From the Hidden City Philadelphia site.

The official name was the Great Sanitary Fair.  It was also called the Great Central Fair.  Its object was to raise money to buy Union troops food, medical supplies, hospital ships and rest homes.  In effect, it served as a dress rehearsal for Philadelphia's Centennial Exposition of 1876.

It covered Logan Square (now called Logan Circle).  The main building of the fair extended the length of the square.  It was encompassed by smaller structures all of which were connected by corridors.

It was not, however, the first fair for the U.S. Sanitary Commission.  The first was held in Lowell, Massachusetts a year earlier.  It was a modest success and the idea spread to other cities.

--Old Secesh