Civil War Soldier unknown family

These two "family" photographs are from my 3 Great's Grandmother's collection. They were not included in an album, but were with about 25 other older photographs. These two pictures were back to back in the collection, however I cannot be certain they had not been mixed up quite a few times over the last 150 years. In looking at the two images, it appears to me they are the same person. Do you agree? The first picture was most likely taken earlier than 1864 because it does not have a tax stamp and it is obviously a Civil War soldier, complete with a faux cannon in the background. The second picture does include a tax stamp dating it to between 1864-1866. Since this picture came to me from my Grandmother Hornberger and I have excluded her uncles from the Rock family as possible subjects of the picture, I have guessed this to be a picture of her husband, Martin S. Hornberger. Martin served in the 195th Infantry Regiment, Co. C. Martin survived the war, but was wounded and walked with a limp afterwards according to family legend. After reviewing his compiled Civil War records from NARA it appears he was not injured in war, but did suffer greatly from disease. He received a small pension due to the infirmities he suffered after contracting Typhoid Fever after a long wet march from Martinsburg, VA to Brown's Crossing, VA. Martin entered a Martinsburg Post Hospital (Ward 2) on November 23, 1864 and remained there until March 9, 1865. He was removed from the Martinsburg Hospital to one in Harpers Ferry on March 13, 1865 and eventually ended up at Fredericksburg, MD where he was discharged on the 19th of May 1865. He had a dislocation of his left hip, swelling in his left leg, pain in the left knee with open sores below the knee. He wore an  elastic stocking and used crutches or a cane at times. A Lititz physician, Dr. Roebuck, told him he should not walk on his leg at all. He claimed total disability for Martin.

Martin S. Hornberger married Mary Ann Cooper on February 3, 1870. Mary was the daughter of Richard Cooper and Caroline Rock. Martin and Mary had thirteen children. Three died in infancy and their daughter Mary C. Hornberger died just before her 18th birthday. The remaining children lived to adulthood. Martin and Mary's last son, Walter, was born after Martin died. Mary Ann was 45 years old at his birth. The family was as follows...

..... 1   Martin S. HORNBERGER (1845 - 1896) B: 23 Apr 1845, M: 03 Feb 1870 in Lanc Co., D: 31 Oct  1896 in Warwick Twp., Lancaster Co., PA

.....   + Mary Ann COOPER (1852 - 1915) B: 19 Mar 1852, M: 03 Feb 1870 in Lanc Co., D: 23 Aug 1915  in Lititz (about a mile east)

........... 2   Anna HORNBERGER (1870 - 1956) B: Jul 1870, M: 1888, D: 1956

...........   + Oscar WEIDMAN (1870 - 1933) B: Oct 1870, M: 1888, D: 19 Oct 1933

........... 2   Infant Daughter HORNBERGER (1872 - 1872) B: 24 Apr 1872 in PA, D: 24 Apr 1872

........... 2   John Cooper HORNBERGER (1873 - 1963) B: 01 May 1873 in Owl Hill Road, near  Millport.(Warwick Township), M: 24 Nov 1895 in Rothsville, PA, D: 14 Jan 1963 in Ephrata  Community Hospital, Ephrata, PA

...........   + Salinda Kline ECENROAD (1876 - 1954) B: 25 Feb 1876, M: 24 Nov 1895 in Rothsville, PA,  D: 30 Jul 1954 in Ephrata Community Hospital, Ephrata, PA

........... 2   Monroe Cooper HORNBERGER (1875 - 1944) B: 04 Oct 1875, D: 11 Nov 1944 in 132 E.  New Street, Lititz, PA

...........   + Lizzie FRANKFORD (1873 - 1908) B: 10 Oct 1873, D: 04 Sep 1908

...........   + Lizzie STURGIS

........... 2   Martin C. HORNBERGER (1876 - 1969) B: Nov 1876 in Warwick Township, PA, M: 07 Apr  1900, D: 29 Oct 1969 in Ephrata Community Hospital, Ephrata, PA

...........   + Emma GIFT ( - 1962) M: Bef. 1930, D: 1962

...........   + Kathryn H. NAGLE (1882 - 1924) B: Apr 1882, M: 07 Apr 1900, D: 10 Apr 1924

........... 2   Ella C. HORNBERGER (1879 - 1965) B: Feb 1879 in PA, M: 1899, D: 23 Dec 1965

...........   + Paris M. NEIDERMYER (1875 - 1940) B: May 1875, M: 1899, D: Aft. 1940

........... 2   Mary HORNBERGER (1881 - 1899) B: 25 Oct 1881, D: 16 Oct 1899

........... 2   Allen C. HORNBERGER (1886 - ) B: 24 Nov 1886, M: 1909

...........   + Minnie ESLINGER (1889 - 1970) B: 1889, M: 1909, D: 27 Oct 1970

........... 2   James C. HORNBERGER (1890 - 1968) B: 18 Jan 1890 in PA, M: 1913, D: Apr 1968 in  Succasunna, Morris, New Jersey

...........   + Lydia HORNBERGER (1893 - ) B: 1893 in NJ, M: 1913

........... 2   Albert C. HORNBERGER (1893 - 1956) B: 11 Jun 1893 in PA, M: 1928, D: 27 Nov 1956 in  Allentown, Lehigh County

...........   + Florence I Mollet (1898 - ) B: 1898, M: 1928

...........   + Esther UNKNOWN (1896 - ) B: 1896

........... 2   Infant Son HORNBERGER (1895 - 1895) B: 13 Sep 1895, D: Aft. 1895

........... 2   Walter C. HORNBERGER (1897 - 1966) B: 29 Mar 1897 in PA, D: Dec 1966 in Turners Falls,  Franklin, Massachusetts, United States of America

...........   + Grace HOVER (1898 - ) B: 1898

After Martin's death, Mary applied for a widows pension. In a description of her property, she said she has a one and half story log cabin on between 4-5 acres of land on Owl Hill, Warwick Township. The property had a lean on it for $400.00 held by Elias Bear. She said she made some money from manufacturing cigars, however, it wasn't enough to sustain her and her young children. She was approved for the pension. When Mary died, she had about $150.00 which was used to pay for the funeral expenses. Her son, John Hornberger calculated the total expenses at $106.00 which included groceries, horse feed, and the grave diggers. The grave digger earned $2.50, his assistant earned .50. Two caretakers, her daughter, Ella Neidermyer and son, Walter Hornberger were each paid $10.00. Mary Hornberger died on the 23rd of August 1915. The cause of death was cancer of the uterus. She was buried along side her husband Martin at the Millport meeting house. I am grateful she kept a family photo album and feel fortunate that her pictures came into my care.

While I can not be certain that the pair of pictures are Martin S. Hornberger, it seems likely.

This portrait is from the Rock Family photo album. I don't believe this young lady is a relative however. It has a marking on the reverse that reads....

Published by E.& H.T. Anthony 501 Broadway New York

from Photographic Negative in BRADY'S National Portrait Gallery

The woman is standing against a padded arm with a tassel hanging by the end. A drapery hangs behind her. On closer inspection she is wearing beads as a necklace and holding a small object about the size of a harmonica. Her hair is parted in the center with long spiral curls. She looks to be in her late teens or early twenties. 

Any help in identifying this woman would be greatly appreciated. 

The reverse image is below.... 

John Rock in the Civil War continues...

While stationed near Fort Monroe, John Rock would have participated in continuing drills, although they were given respite from these exercises on occasion due to the cold weather. I suppose their commanders wanted to protect the soldiers health. There were cases of diarrhea and camp fever during their encampment near the town of Hampton, which the soldiers called Fort Hamilton.

Town of Hampton near what was Fort Hamilton, VA.

On the morning of December 8, 1861 John boarded another steamer ship. This time, they were heading further south. A three day voyage to Port Royal, South Carolina. Today, the area is known to include Parris Island and is near the town of Beaufort, S.C. While the steamship made a pleasant voyage on calm waters, the 97th P.V. arrived too late to be brought ashore. They soon found themselves in a storm. The ship had to back away from the dangerous port and wait out the storm. The men of Co. B would have to ride out the storm below decks. Many of the men became severely sea sick. By 4 PM the following day the soldiers were once again on dry land at Fort Walker on Hilton Head Island setting up camp in an old cotton field.

By late January, the 97th boarded yet another steamer with a destination of Warsaw Sound, Georgia. It was just  thirteen miles below Savannah. Although, they were landed near Warsaw Sound, they did not remain on land. They spent 44 days aboard steam ships between January and March 5th 1862. The 97th must have felt overjoyed by the welcome news that they would be the first regiment to take up picket duty at the newly captured Fort Clinch at Fernandina along the most northern reaches of the Florida coastline.

The regular drills and camp life continued until March 24, when the 97th was sent to reinforce the troops at Jacksonville upon the steamer Cosmopolitan. Upon landing, the troops were quartered in storehouses and other large buildings that were found unoccupied, the 97th being at the corner of Bayard and Orange Streets, in a large warehouse. While the support at Jacksonville did not bring an all out battle, rebel sharpshooters along the bluffs of Jacksonville caused some pause at their landing. The soldiers of the 97th were engaged a 1/2 mile beyond the town in order to build earthen works to protect against a confederate attack at Jacksonville. Orders eventually came to abandon Jacksonville however, and the 97th boarded crowded ships and were back at Fernandina, Florida by mid April.

The ship at far right is the steamer Cosmopolitan

Photo Credit: U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph

The 97th had guarded forts and towns along the coast for most of their enlistment by this point in their 8 month careers as soldiers. They would see their first action just outside Charleston, SC at James Island in early June of 1862. A New York Newspaper correspondent described it as follows.

I think no battle field of
this war has been the scene of more tenacious, determined and gal-
lant fighting than ensued on the part of our men. From the pecu-
liarity of the country, which abounds in all portions with thick
underbrush, the enemy were enabled to keep themselves under
cover, while our men were obliged either to hunt them from their
hiding places or wait for uncertain glimpses through the dense shrub-
bery. Notwithstanding these disadvantages our men behaved like
veterans, standing up before the enemy's galling fire of musketry
without wavering or wincing. * * * The fire of our troops
was most effective. After charging wildly at all points of the line,
the rebel commander gave up the attempt and his forces fell back
in hotter haste than they came up. * * * Col. Guss, of the
97th Pennsylvania, who had command of our forces during the
fight, rode gallantly up and down the line encouraging his men, and
though prominently exposed, in the thickest of the fight, escaped
without harm. There were numerous other hair-breadth escapes,
to be accounted for only by the fact that the fire was so rapid and
the smoke, in consequence, so dense as to partially keep the men
from view.

The protracted and arduous service of the unprecedented siege on Morris Island, during July, August
and September, 1863, had so prostrated the men as to render rest and change absolutely essential to
restore the Regiment to its usual efficiency.

Fernandina; October 1, 1863, to April 25, 1864.

Rock Family: Another Related Pursuit

The Rock family is also represented in the U.S. Civil War by John Rock. John is another son of Peter Rock and Mary Graver mentioned in the previous blog. John's fate was not as fortunate as his brothers. He did not survive the war. He was killed in action at the charge on Fort Gilmer just outside Richmond, VA.

John was born just twelve days before his father died in May of 1845. The Rock family was thrown into turmoil following the death of a very young 40ish Peter Rock. Most of the children were still at home when Peter died. The family was split up among neighbors of the West Earl Township community located between Akron and Brownstown. All of the children were living in individual households with neighbors. John, however, remained with his mother, Mary, as evidenced in the 1850 census where he was the only child in Mary Rock's household. In 1860, he was still living with his mother in Lancaster City. At this time, his older sister, Caroline, my Gr Gr Gr Gr Grandmother, who was recently divorced from Richard Cooper was also in the household. John, 15 years of age, was a saddlers apprentice. In just over a year from this census record, John would volunteer for service in the Union army. He claimed to be 18 years old.

After the bombardment of Fort Sumpter in April 1861, President Lincoln called for troops to volunteer for service in the union army. John's brother, Miles Rock, enlisted in June of 1861 with the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, Co. B. They were known as the Union Guards because so many of them were members of the Union Fire Company of Lancaster.

Sixteen year old John must have also felt the call for service, but waited a couple months later than his brother. He may have been motivated by the disastorous news of the Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run just a month earlier or even by the President himself. Lincoln visited Lancaster on February 22, 1861 and gave a short speech only a few blocks from John's home. John may have wanted to support this new president when he would later call for soldiers. Or perhaps John followed his brother to the burgeoning camps being formed outside West Chester, where Miles company was drilling in preparation and saw this as his opportunity to enlist. He would have been away from his mother's eyes and possibly his actual age wouldn't be a factor if he joined further away from his hometown. Most of the men of John's company were from the Chester County area. They were the 97th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Company B, also known as the Chester County Grays. John enlisted on August 30, 1861.

(Photo Credit: Charles X. Carlson, Old Lancaster by Frederic S. Klein)

Shortly after the 1st Pennsylvania, Miles Rock's company, moved on to Washington D.C., the 97th P.V. occupied the same area known as Camp Wayne. Clothing, supplies and weapons were issued to the 97th in short order. Drilling, discipline, Sunday services, and camp life would have been the norm for John for the first few months of his time at Camp Wayne. One soldier stationed at Camp Wayne described the daily life.

“The military duties daily are as follows: roll call at 5 o’clock, A.M.; drill from 5½ to 8½; between 9 and 12; between 2 o’clock P.M. until 4; dress parade, at present, at 6½ P.M., after which the various camp amusements commence, ball playing, music, vocal and instrumental, sparring, shows and serenades, or to use the language of the ‘boys,’ ‘the circus we have joined for three years is open.’ At 9½ o’clock P.M. roll call, and at 10 the lights are extinguished, and quietness in their bunks is enjoined.”

(Source: Lancaster Examiner Newspaper)

On November 12, 1861 the regiment recieved its stand of colors from the visiting Governor Curtain. Four days later, the 97th regiment had orders to leave Camp Wayne. In the early morning of November 16th John marched with his company through the main streets of West Chester with the crowds waving from the sidewalks and windows bidding them farewell. The regiment boarded trains and passed through the countryside heading to West Philadelphia where they would have lunch at the Cooper Shop Refreshment Saloon, at Otsego Street and Washington Avenue. By 5:30 that evening they were back aboard trains headed to Washington D.C.  With stops at Wilmington Delaware they arrived in Baltimore, Maryland at 5:30 AM on November 17th. They finally arrived in Washington D.C. at 3:30 PM on November 17th. They marched from the depot to their camp a half a mile north of the Capitol building.

A view of the U.S. Capitol Building in 1861.

I imagine this was John's first trip to these major cities across the eastern seaboard. His mind must have been jumbled with thoughts of home and of his fate as a soldier. He wouldn't have had much time to ponder his lot, for on November 20th the regiment was ordered to pack up and move out. They boarded trains at the depot and went back to Baltimore. The purpose this time however was to board another form of transportation. They arrived in Baltimore at 11 PM and spent the night at the depot in that city. The next morning John's portion of the regiment boarded the steamship, Georgiana, and sailed for Fortress Monroe, Virginia. On the 22nd of November company B set up camp about half way between Fort Monroe and the town of Hampton. Here they would hear the drum beats of the enemy rebels for the first time.

Fort Monroe, Virginia view of moat.

Sources: U.S. Federal Census Records 1850 and 1860, History of the Ninety-Seventh Pennsylvania Volunteers by Isaiah Price, Old Lancaster by Frederic S. Klein, Military Pension Records of Miles Rock and John Peter Rock.
           

John William Rauch

I came across a civil war era letter from Miles Rock. He served with the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves. He often wrote letters to friends and relatives offering moral and occupational advice. In one of his letters to his brother, Allen Rock, a boot and shoes salesman of North Queen street in Lancaster, PA, he asked how uncles John and William Rock are doing? I've known for sometime that Miles Rock was the son of Peter Rock (1801-1845). Peter may have been the son of the tailor, Jacob Rock, of Lititz whose home burnt to the ground in a terrible fire in Lititz in 1838. I didn't however, know any information about other siblings in the family tree, so this mention of uncles is an exciting road to investigate. 

I started by searching for Rock's and Rauch's who lived in Warwick Township in 1860. Miles Rock's letter was dated 1862, so I figured they must have been living near by in the 1860 census. I found both of these uncles. They both spelled their last names with the more German sounding spelling, Rauch. I soon discovered other information concerning these Rauch's in Lititz. I thought the name Rauch was a familiar name in old Lititz history so I consulted my bicentennial and other Lititz history books only to find the story of a John William Rock born 1790 who was a baker and confectioner in Lititz. He held a monopoly in the marketplace of Lititz as most workers of this time did. John Rauch was best known for being the first pretzel baker in the United States. He later turned his business over to his son, Henry Rauch, who in turn sold the business to his apprentice, the more famous pretzel baker, Julius Sturgis. The pretzel bakery on Main Street established by him in 1861 still stands and operates as a bakery to this day.

Photo by: Michael Kendrick

The next step will be to research these possible connections and put together the family of Peter Rock and William and John Rauch. The search continues.