Frank Strouse, Civil War Soldier

Frank Strouse was my maternal GG Grandfather

I recently visited the Gettysburg battleground. Prior to getting deeply involved in genealogy, I vaguely knew that my maternal GG grandfather, Frank Strouse, served there but knew very little else. Other than telling one funny story, he did not talk to his family about the war. I took the opportunity of preparing for this Gettysburg trip to put more pieces together. Following is what I learned.

 

Pottsville ca 1861. John Warner Barber & Henry Howe,Our Whole Country or the Past and Present of the United States....Volume I (New York: Tuttle & McCauley, 1861), 538

Prior to the Civil War, Pottsville had a longstanding National Light Infantry unit. When President Lincoln issued a call to protect Washington, this unit was among the First Responders. Frank Strouse was not among this initial unit, but at the end of their three months tour of duty, when nearly all of the former National Light Brigade members signed a three-year/duration of the war contract, Frank Strouse and other Pottsville citizens joined them. They became Company A of the newly authorized 96^th Pennsylvania Infantry. Organized right in Pottsville in September, 1861, the unit served in many of the bloodiest fights of the war, finally mustering out after the Battle of Cedar Creek in September, 1864.

Gettysburg is only one of the many battles in which the 96^th was engaged. When I reviewed the service record for the unit, I could understand why he might have chosen not to talk about what he must have witnessed and endured. Following is a partial list of their campaigns and battles:

 

Image from Gettysburg Cyclorama

1862

First Battle of Manassas

Siege of Yorktown

Seven Days Battles before Richmond

Gaines' Mill

Maryland Campaign

Antietam

Battle of Fredericksburg

1863

Burnside's second Campaign, "Mud March"

Chancellorsville Campaign.

Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg

Battle of Gettysburg

Bristoe Campaign

Mine Run Campaign

1864

Rapidan Campaign

Battle of the Wilderness

Siege of Petersburg

Repulse of Early's attack

Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign

Battle of Opequan, Winchester

Battle of Cedar Creek

 

Gettsyburg Battlefield Day 2 (July 2)

With specific reference to Gettysburg, the 96^th was part of the Sixth Corps commanded by John Sedgwick. The rigorous march they made to Gettysburg earned them the nickname “Sedgwick’s Foot Cavalry.” I had believed that the 96^th was held in reserve but that was not exactly true, and certainly was not consistent with the position of their monument on the field. A little more research revealed that when they reached the battlefield the afternoon of July 2nd, Longstreet was in the process of driving Sickles from his position. The men were at once formed, with no rest, to join the battle and wound up to the right and front of Little Round Top. They took position behind a stone fence and held the position with slight loss until end of the battle.

 

Monument marks the position of the 96th near Little Round Top

The 96^th is commemorated with a monument of a prone soldier at the point where they were positioned, and also with a plaque on the huge domed Pennsylvania State Monument, which names every man who fought for Pennsylvania at Gettysburg.

 

The domed Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg.

Closeup of 96th Infantry plaque. Frank Strouse is a private in Company A.

Frank Strouse’s descendants can be proud of his service during the Civil War. We can also count ourselves lucky that he survived the war to marry his sweetheart, Sarah Jane Bast!

Memorial Stone at Highland Park Cemetery in Allentown

For more information you may want to read the History of the 96th Pennsylvania.