On Sun, 27 Feb 2000 nnebiker@impop.bellatlantic.net wrote: > Civil War > > Recruited at Armstrong County Company K > > Alwine, Francis Rank DO ---Date of Muster into service Oct 12, 1861 > ---------Term Years 3 > ---------Mustered out with Company November 4, 1864 > > Alwine, Lewis --Rank DO--Date Muster into Service February 24, 1864 > -------Term Years 3 > -------Transferred to Company B October 18, 1864 > > > ARE THEY SON'S OF JOHN > ALWINE > AND CATHERINE "KATE" LAWRENCE? > > > > Nancy Allwein Nebiker > Dear Nancy: Re: Alwines/Allweins in the Civil War I have found some interesting information in the valuable reference source HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 1861-65, edited by Janet Hewett (Wilmington NC: Broadfoot Publishing Co., 1994), concerning Alwines/Allweins from Pennsylvania who served with the Union forces during the Civil War. I have focused especially on my great grandfather Sylvester and his brothers' participation in the Civil War. The four brothers -- Francis (Frank), Sylvester, Lewis, and Dominic -- served with the Union forces for varying numbers of terms and for differing amounts of time, and all four survived the War. It appears that their father John also served for two weeks of training in what were called "militia and emergency troops," but which were not called into any of the major campaigns of the War. John Alwine and his twin brother Peter, sons of Conrad II (b. 1783, d. 1846) and Susanna (Eckenroth) Alwine, were born October 1, 1816 in Adams County and grew up in the Conewago Creek Catholic community there. John married Catherine Lawrence on June 2, 1837 at the Conewago Chapel in Adams County. They had nine children -- Elisa Anne (b. 1839), Mary Anna (b. 1840), Anna Mary (b. 1841), Francis Xavier (b. 1843), Sylvester - twin (b. 1845, d. 1923), Lewis - twin (b. 1845), Dominic (b. 1848), Jerome (b. 1851), and Sebastian (b. 1854). John and Catherine Alwine moved their family to Butler County in western Pennsylvania between 1850 and 1860 residing in a place called Buena Vista in Fairview Township, Butler County. John was a miller by trade and operated a mill for Jacob Ziegler, one of the wealthiest men of Butler County. Later Sylvester would write (in an application for veteran pension benefits) that in 1858 the family's home in Buena Vista was destroyed by fire. Census Bureau records indicate that in 1860 the family was living in the borough of Millerstown near present-day Chicora, not far from there. John and Catherine Alwine's four oldest sons served with the Pennsylvania Volunteers, having been recruited from the counties of western Pennsylvania. The HISTORY OF PENNSYLVANIA VOLUNTEERS 1861-65 compiled a list of the names and affiliations of all men from Pennsylvania who served with Union forces during the Civil War. For each of the military units from Pennsylvania that fought in the War this source gives the name and rank of every man who served, along with the dates of their service. The names listed under Alwine, Allwine, or Allwein are as follows, given here roughly by date of service. Those names accompanied by an asterisk (*) in the following list are John and Catharine Alwine's sons. 1. William Alwine, (1) 26th Regiment, Company A, recruited in Philadelphia, May 31, 1861 - Discharged on Surgeon's Certificate, Jan. 1862; (2) 115th Regiment, Company B, recruited in Philadelphia, March 8, 1862 - Not accounted for. 2. *Francis Alwine, (1) 78th Regiment, Company K, recruited in Armstrong Co., Oct. 12, 1861- Nov. 4, 1864; (2) 205th Regiment, Company I, recruited in Blair Co., Sept. 1, 1864 - June 2, 1865. 3. *Lewis Alwine, (1) 134th Regiment, Company C, recruited from Butler Co., Aug. 11, 1862 - May 26, 1863; (2) 78th Regiment, Company K, recruited in Armstrong Co., Feb. 24, 1864 - Transferred to company B, Oct. 18, 1864 - Sept. 11, 1865. 4. *Sylvester Conrad Alwine, (1) 134th Regiment, Company C., recruited from Butler Co., Aug. 11, 1862- May 26, 1863; (2) 204th Regiment, 5th Artillery, Battery L, recruited from Allegheny, Lawrence, Beaver, Cambria, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Greene Co., Aug. 30, 1864 - June 30, 1865. 5. Franklin P. Allwein, 126th Regiment, Company E, recruited in Dauphin Co., Aug 13, 1862 - May 29, 1863. 6. Adam Allwein, 152nd Regiment, 3rd Artillery, Battery A, recruited variously, Oct. 22, 1862 - July 25, 1865. 7. Joseph B. Allwein, 152nd Regiment, 3rd Artillery, Battery A, recruited variously, Oct. 22, 1862 - July 25, 1865. 8. Isaac M. Allwine, 93rd Regiment, Company A, recruited in Lebanon Co., Feb 26, 1864 - June 27, 1865. 9. *Dominic, 212th Regiment, 6th Artillery, Battery B, recruited mainly from Allegheny, Butler, Westmoreland, Fayette, Washington and Lawrence Cos., Sept. 3, 1864 - June 13, 1865. 10. Jonathan Allwine, 50th Regiment, Company E, recruited at Reading, Feb. 25, 1864 - killed at Petersburg, Va. -- buried on Mrs. V. Armstead's property, Virginia. A search of the pension and military records from the Civil War at the National Archives (1400 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.) turns up several additional Alwines, mainly from Ohio, Indiana and New York: Barnard Alwine, 3rd Ohio Infantry, Company D (no dates); Charles Alwine, Company L, 25th Ohio Infantry, 12th Battery, Ohio Light Artillery (no dates); James H. Alwine, 69th Ohio Infantry, Company H (no dates); William L. Alwine, Ohio Infantry (no dates); Jacob Alwine, Indiana Infantry (no dates); Theodore Alwine, 106th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company K (no dates); and George Alwine, A65 New York Infantry (no dates). Except for names, the information here is relatively sparse, and more effort is needed to uncover the service dates and activities of these soldiers. Four of the names listed above of Pennsylvania Civil War veterans are sons of John and Catherine Alwine. The first of their sons to enlist was the eldest, Francis, who enrolled for a three-year term of service with the 78th Regiment on the 12th of October, 1861, serving in the southern theater of the War. His regiment fought in several battles in Tennessee and participated in the defense of Nashville. In December of 1862 the 78th fought in the Battle of Stones River (or the Battle of Murfreesboro) under General William S. Rosecrans, a hard-fought battle that dragged on for several days. In the end, the battle had the highest casualty rate of the war, with each side losing about one-third of its men. The 78th alone lost one hundred ninety men (either killed or wounded). Later on the following fall, Rosecran's forces would be attacked by a reinforced Confederate army under General Brag at Chickamauga, Georgia, Sept. 19-20, 1963. After a fierce two-day battle, Rosecrans' army had to retreat to Chattanooga. This was the Confederacy's last important victory in the Civil War. General Ullyses S. Grant took over the command from Rosecrans and from there the 78th participated in several major battles: the Battle of Chattanooga in November 23-25, 1863 and the Battle of Kenesaw Mountain in June 27, 1864. The regiment was mustered out of service in Kittaning in Armstrong Co., Pa. (near Pittsburgh) on the 4th of November, 1864, after more than 3 years of service. After the war Francis (Frank) Alwine settled in Saxonburg, Butler Co. Pa., where he was still living in 1923 at the time of Sylvester's death and where he, like his father before, worked as a miller. There is an "Alwine Road" to be found a short ways from Saxonburg -- which connects South Rebecca Street and Addy Boy Lane -- on which I am told his mill was located. An index for the 1870 Census I recently examined lists a Franklin Alwine, 27 years of age, living in Jefferson Township of Butler County where Saxonburg is located. The age matches the baptismal records for Francis from Conewago Chapel in Adams County. Francis's twin brothers Sylvester and Lewis first joined the Union forces early in the War for a 9-month term of service. They joined the 134th Regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers in Butler, Pa. on August 11, 1862 and were assigned to Company C. They were recruited at a time when the Confederate army was advancing towards Washington and troops were badly needed. Their regiment joined a brigade, commanded by General E.B. Tyler, which was ordered into service and departed immediately for Washington. On the 30th of August the regiment marched out towards the Bull Run battlefield, but did not arrive in time to participate in the fighting in the 2nd Battle of Bull Run (Aug. 27-30, 1862). Later, on September 18th, after a fatiguing night march, the regiment arrived on the battlefield of Antietam, but the battle was substantially over and the enemy withdrew into Virginia. The Confederate retreat gave Lincoln the occasion to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. The brigade under General Tyler saw battle at Fredericksburg on December 13-15, 1862, but the winter weather cut short the progress of either side. On the 27th of April, 1863, the spring campaign commenced and the 134th regiment saw battle at Chancellorsville. Confederate forces were victorious, although Stonewall Jackson was killed. After the battle the regiment was ordered to Harrisburg, where on the 26th of May, it was mustered out of service. More than a year later, Sylvester Alwine would re-enlist for one year's service in the 204th Regiment, Fifth Artillery and would be assigned to Battery L from August 30, 1864 through to the end of the War. His regiment saw very little military action and spent the winter near Washington building stockades and block-houses. Lewis would later re-enlist as well, serving in the 78th Regiment (with his brother Francis) briefly from February 24th through September 11, 1865, well past the end of the War. The youngest brother Dominic, who was only 13 when the War broke out, served from Sept. 3, 1864 for 6 months toward the end of the War through to June 13, 1865. He was primarily on duty at the forts in Washington guarding the Capital. After the war, my great grandfather Sylvester worked as a miller in the Beaver and Butler region of western Pennsylvania. He married Mary Sarver on June 5, 1870 at New Brighton in Beaver County. In 1884 Sylvester and Mary Alwine joined the Western expansion of the United States and settled on a farm in Washington County, Kansas. They farmed there until his retirement in 1911 when they moved to the town of Washington where they lived until their deaths in 1923 (Sylvester) and 1930 (Mary). Dominic resided at Glade Mills in Butler County until 1867 when he settled in Beaver Falls in nearby Beaver County for the remainder of his life. He was a shoemaker. There is no record of what happened to Lewis, although there is a story that has been passed down through the years that he drowned in an accident while he and Sylvester were crossing the Ohio River. Although America sacrificed tens of thousands of young men in the Civil War -- a war whose casualties far exceed those of any other war in American history -- all four of John and Catherine Alwine's sons survived the ordeal. The brothers Sylvester and Lewis Alwine came close to battle at Antietam and the 2nd Battle of Bull Run, and were involved to some extent in the fighting at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. With these exceptions their regiments were not really involved in any of the major engagements of the War, which probably accounts in part for the fact that they survived. Francis's regiment on the other hand, engaged in some of the fiercest battles of the Southern campaign, and his pension papers suggest he suffered some health problems that he attributed to the War. As far as I can tell, at War's end all of their regiments were stationed in the vicinity of Washington D.C. and they remained there on duty well after it ended on April 9th, 1865. Five days later President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. Sylvester Alwine's obituary states that toward the end of the War "his regiment was stationed at Washington D.C. where he was detailed as one of the body guards of Abraham Lincoln and was just off duty a short time, and had not yet reached the barracks, when the word came of the assassination." I am sure there is more to be learned on the subject of Alwine/Allwein participation in the Civil War -- this is what I have turned up so far. If you recognize any of your ancestors in the above lists of Civil War veterans, I would be happy to know more about them. Best wishes, Cousin Duane ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Duane F. Alwin Senior Research Scientist Professor and Chair and Program Director Department of Sociology Survey Research Center 3030 LS&A 4067 Institute for Social Research Phone: 734-764-5554 Phone: 734-764-6597 Fax: 734-763-6887 Fax: 734-647-4575 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~