*Clearfield’s Military History The Eighty-Fourth Regiment Companies H, I and K History
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Aldrich History Project
Chapter XII
Clearfield’s Military History
The Eighty-Fourth Regiment
Companies H, I and K
The Eighty-Fourth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was organized under a special order from the war department, issued by General Cameron, then secretary of war, to General J. Y. James, of Warren county. William G. Murray, of Blair county, as colonel; Thomas C. McDowell, of Dauphin county, as lieutenant-colonel; Walter Barrett, of Clearfield county, as major; Thomas H. Craig, of Blair county, as adjutant; Dr. G. F. Hoop, of Clearfield county, as surgeon; C. A. W. Redlick, of Allegheny county, as assistant surgeon; Alexander MacLeod, of Clearfield, as chaplain, and J. Miles Kephart, of Centre county, as quartermaster.
The point of rendezvous was Camp Crossman, three miles from Huntingdon. Late in the fall of 1861 the regiment moved to Camp Curtin, at Harrisburg. In December of the same year the regiment was ordered to Hancock, Md., to protect that point from a threatened invasion by the command of General Jackson. There the regiment received their arms in the afternoon, and the next morning, before daylight, ordered to march to the town of Bath to assist in bringing away a battery artillery. Before they reached that point they were informed of the near approach of Jackson’s army. They succeeded in securing the artillery, but one-half of the regiment was compelled to wade the Potomac River to escape capture.
From there, under the command of General Lander, they marched to Cumberland, Md., from whence, in a few days, they went into camp at a point on the Paw Paw River, where General Lander formed his division. They remained at this point until the early spring of 1862. General Lander having died during the winter, General James Shields was appointed to the command.
As soon as the season permitted, the camp was broken up and the division moved to Martinsburg, Va. At this time Clearfield county was represented by Company G, captain, Merrick Howsler, of Cameron county; Company H, captain, William M. Behan; Company I, captain, Joseph L. Kirby, first lieutenant, Clarence L. Barrett, second lieutenant, John B. Ferguson; Company K, captain, Matthew Ogden, and second lieutenant, John S. Jury; also from Clearfield county was Fred Barrett and Richard H. Shaw, hospital stewards. At the point last above referred to, the Eighty-fourth was brigaded with the One Hundred and Tenth Pennsylvania, the Fourteenth Indiana, and the Thirteenth Indiana, under the command of Colonel Nathan Kimball, of the Fourteenth Indiana. Upon arrival of the division in Martinsburg, immediate preparation was made to attack General Jackson at Winchester, Va. In less than a week the whole force was marching to that point. When the division arrived at Winchester, it was found that Jackson had retired down the Shenandoah valley.
General Shields immediately put the division in light marching order, moved down the valley to Strasburg, reconnoitering as he proceeded, remained there one night. The next morning, by a forced march, returned to Winchester, passing hurriedly through the town, encamping upon the other side of town some two or three miles distant. The people of Winchester, of southern sympathy, were greatly elated at what they supposed and termed “shield’s scare.” Belle Boyd, a woman of subsequent notoriety, immediately rode to Jackson’s camp and informed him of Shield’s hasty retreat, and the supposed demoralized condition of his army – at least that was the information received by Shield’s division.
Early in the morning of March 22 the pickets were driven in, and by ten o’clock the battle of Kernstown was commenced. It raged fiercely until the afternoon. Here Colonel Murray was killed, evidently by a sharpshooter. The figure “84” in his cap was driven into his brain by the force of the bullet; also Captain Patrick Gallagher, of Company E, and Lieutenant Charles Reem, of Company A. Nearly one-half of the regiment were killed or wounded. The regiment was made the subject of a special complimentary order from the commanding general for gallantry upon this occasion.
After the battle of Winchester, Major Barrett being in command, on account of the severe loss it had sustained, the regiment was assigned to provost duty at Berryville, Va. While here Lieutenant-Colonel McDowell joined the regiment for the first time. In a short time at that place they were ordered to rejoin the division, which was then under orders to join General McDowell’s forces at Falmouth. On this march, at the town of Luray, Colonel McDowell resigned his commission and severed his connection with the regiment. The command again devolved upon Major Barret, there being neither colonel nor lieutenant-colonel. They proceeded to Falmouth in a ragged and forlorn condition, having had no clothing issued to them since the winter before. After three days’ rest at Falmouth, Shield’s division was again ordered to retrace their steps up the Luray Valley to head off Jackson, who was then on his way to join Lee in front of McClellan, who (Lee) was being pursued by Fremont and Sigel. By forced marches the first brigade of the division to which the Eighty-fourth was attached, reached Port Republic at the same time that Jackson’s army appeared upon the other side of the river Shenandoah.
The object of the Federal troops was to destroy the bridge in order to prevent Jackson’s artillery from crossing. So near did they to accomplishing this, that several regimental officers were close enough to the bridge to see General Jackson and several members of his staff ride through the bridge to rejoin his command. Of course he was unrecognized at the time, and the incident would not have been known had it not been recorded by General Dick Taylor in his description of the scene. Then commenced what has often been claimed the most fiercely-contested battle of the war, considering the numbers engaged and the inequality of the opposing forces. The Federal troops, all told, did not have over sixteen hundred infantry, four companies of cavalry, and one battery of two guns of the First Virginia Artillery, while Jackson’s force amounted to about seventeen thousand effective men.
The Eighty-fourth formed the left wing along with the two pieces of artillery. Colonel Tyler was in command. He ordered a charge to be made up a hill by the Eighty-fourth, which cost the regiment in killed and wounded about eighty men, which was fully one-fourth of their effective men in the filed, their ranks having been decimated by sickness and exhaustion from the forced marches. For a period of about ten days previous to the battle, no rations had been issued. The troops were compelled to live from food obtained by foraging parties, and which principally consisted of mutton without salt, hickory ashes being used in its stead.
Notwithstanding the disadvantage the Federal troops were under, the gallant soldiers holed Jackson’s army at bay from eleven o’clock a.m. of the 8th day of June until four o’clock p.m. of the 9th, when they were compelled to fall back. The retreat was a running fight from the scene of battle to Conrad Station. General Shields, hurrying forward, joined the retreating force about four miles from the scene of conflict. He immediately ordered Major Barrett to form his regiment and protect the rear of the retreating army, which kept them in a constant fight for a distance of about ten miles. After this provision by General Shields, not a prisoner was lost, although many were killed and wounded. The division returned to Luray, broken in health and decimated in number.
The Eighty-fourth at this time could not muster over two hundred effective men. Major Barrett was ordered from there to Harrisburg to consult with Governor Curtin as to filling up the regiment, both in rank, line and file. At this time there were not captains to over half the companies, but one field officer, the adjutant, having been wounded at Port Republic, left the regiment in a fearfully demoralized condition. The result of Major Barrett’s visit to Harrisburg was an immediate movement to fill up the ranks, and a demand from Governor Curtin that the regiment should be given an opportunity to gather its scattered troops from the various hospitals. Late in Jun colonel Bowman, of Columbia county, was appointed colonel, Major Barrett having declined that commission, but was promoted to lieutenant-colonel; Adjutant Craig was appointed major.
In the mean time, under the command of the senior captain, the division moved to near Alexandria. Two brigades were shipped to join McClellan on the Peninsula, and two went into camp, and thus was Shield’s famous division dissolved.
Colonel S. S. Carroll, having been promoted brigadier-general, was placed in command of the new brigade in Rickett’s Division, to which the Eighty-fourth belonged, marched to Gainesville, and engaged with that division in all the fighting through the second battle of Bull Run.
In August, 1862, Lieutenant-Colonel Barrett received a severe injury from his horse falling upon him, and in September resigned his commission. Major Craig was appointed to succeed him. Captain Milton Opp, of Company F, was commissioned major.
The above has been written in detail, for the reason that up to this period the Eighty-fourth had a distinctive record, being merged only in Shield’s Division, and operating in West Virginia and in the valleys of Shenandoah and Luray, away from large armies, but from and after this date it became a part of the grand Army of the Potomac, sharing in its marches, privations, hardships, battles, and glories; and the history of that grand army is a history of the Eighty-fourth, as well as of the other regiments that composed it. Following, under the various commanders, from the second battle of Bull Run, it participated in all the battles until it was finally merged, January 13, 1865, with the Fifty-seventh Pennsylvania Infantry, and ceased to hold its place in the Pennsylvania line.
On the 11th of June, 1863, Colonel Bowman was ordered to special duty at Washington, and never afterwards was with the regiment. After the consolidation George Zinn was commissioned colonel, Samuel Bryan, major, as representing the Eighty-fourth Regiment in the new organization. The Eighty-fourth took part in the battles of Winchester, Port Republic, Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court-House, Cold Harbor, siege of Petersburg, besides scores of engagements as a regiment, or with brigaded division, which, having been overshadowed by the great battles of the war, are not fixed in the minds and recollection of the people. No braver or better companies were in that regiment than those furnished by Clearfield county. Company K, commanded by Captain Matthew Ogden; Company I, by Captain Joseph Kirby; Company H, by Captain William Bahan; Company G, by Captain Merrick Housler, were either in whole or major part recruited from Clearfield county.
Before the regiment heard a “gun-fire,” but being in line of battle at Hancock, Md., the eccentric but daring General Lander rode along the line, closely inspecting the men. He turned to the field officers and said: “By gosh! Those men will fight.”