98th PA

Ok....its taken me awhile, but I have finally gotten around to writting about the 98th PA....my great great grandfathers regiment. Peter Stroup was born and lived his entire life in and around the Germantown section of Philadelphia. His daughters, daughter was my grandmother on my dad's side of the family. In 1861, the 17th PA was being pulled together, and for whatever reason, he decided to join up. This was a three month regiment, so after 3 months he was mustered out and he rejoined with the 21st PA. Again, this was a three month regiment and at the end of the three months, he again was mustered out. Then he joined up again and this regiment became the 98th PA. I'm not sure but I believe the 17th PA just turned into the 21st and the 21st turned into the 98th....but I don't know that for sure. Its just that a lot of the names are the same in each of the regiments.

The 98th PA seems to have participated in most of the major battles. Although it seems that they were held in reserve in quite a few....or that's what my research has found. I know that they were at Chancellorsville (although they technically fought at Marye's Heights in Fredericksburg) and they were also at Antietam (although they were following Darius Couch on a mission of wandering the valley and never actually made it into the fight). I do know that they DID participate in the Battle at Gettysburg. And here is what they did at Gettysburg.

The Sixth Corps made an incredible march of 26 miles from Manchester, Md all the way to Gettysburg in about 24 hours, arriving on July 2. As they arrived, they were to go to the middle part of the battlefield and be held in reserve. The 98th was the lead regiment in this march and as they approached Gettysburg, somehow they missed the message of where they were supposed to go. They ended up on Little Round Top....on the northern slope of the hill.

As the battle was progressing, the fighting in the Wheatfield was heating up. General Samuel Wylie Crawford decided that he had had enough and he grabbed the colors from the color-bearer, who refused to let him have them, and he grabbed some troops that he found in the area (mostly the U.S. Reserve troops of Day and Burbank), including the "lost" 98th PA, and off they went to end the fighting in the Wheatfield. From the slopes of Little Round Top, they went down, through the Valley of Death (Plum Run Valley) and up Day's Hill to the edge of the Wheatfield. They weren't able to regain the Wheatfield (which had changed hands at least 6 times) but they were able to push the Confederates back so that at the end of the fighting, the Wheatfield was considered No-Man's Land.

After this fight, the 98th PA was reunited with its brigade, who happened to be on the farm lane that led up to the Althoff farm (or the John Weikert Farm....depending on which farmer you choose to name the farm after). Today, there are two monuments to the 98th PA: one on the northern slope of Little Round Top and one back by the Weikert/Althoff house.

My great great grandfather may not have been one of the "big" heroes of the Civil War, but because he actually stood and fought, reenlisted when he could have just gone home, and was wounded twice and still went on, he will always be my hero. Each one of the guys who fought at Gettysburg or any of the other battles will always be the greatest men who ever lived!