Pennypacker!
Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 11:19 pm
Here's a bio of Galusha Pennypacker, submitted by a descendant of the general (and a relative of our very own Erik Rutins). Sadly, the name Galusha has become quite rare...
Maj. Gen. Galusha Pennypacker (b. 1844, d. 1916). Pennypacker, born in Schuylkill Township on June 1, 1844, was a great-grandson of Matthias Pennypacker (the Mennonite Bishop) Who? Was he famous?, and a second cousin of the sons of Isaac Anderson Pennypacker Again, was he famous? If so, why?. He grew up close to the old family farm on the Pickering Creek in Chester County, Pennsylvania, being raised by his grandmother after his mother died and his father left for California when he was four years old. The grandson of a soldier in the Revolutionary War, Pennypacker enlisted for three months in the 9th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment when the Civil War broke out, serving as quartermaster-sergeant despite being just sixteen. On the expiration of his term of enlistment, he returned home and recruited Company A of Pennsylvania’s 97th Infantry, of which he was elected Captain on August 22, 1861. Pennypacker was promoted rapidly and attained the rank of Colonel by August 15, 1864. Serving with distinction at Fort Wagner, Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Green Plains, and Fort Fisher, Pennypacker during one stretch was wounded seven times in eight months. At the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, on January 15, 1865, he led his brigade in a charge across a traverse of the works and planted the colors of one of his regiments on the parapet where he fell seriously wounded. For his act of gallantry he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1891, in recognition of his bravery, his nearly mortal wounds, and the opinion of his superior, Gen. Alfred Terry, that he had been “the real hero of Fort Fisher”; more immediately, it earned him a promotion to Brigadier General effective the date of the battle. This appointment, coming when he was just twenty made him the youngest officer of that rank in the war, and he remains the youngest person to hold that rank in the history of the U.S. Army. Less than a month after the appointment was made, on March 13, he was brevetted Major General. But the wounds he had received at Fort Fisher kept him in the hospital until after the war had ended, so Pennypacker never got to command men in the field as a general. A year later, Pennypacker resigned from service, on April 30, 1866, but the following July he was appointed Colonel in the regular army and assigned to the 34th Infantry. He was again brevetted Major General for his conduct at Fort Fisher and for his services during the war, and on March 15, 1869, was transferred to the 16th Infantry, which he commanded until his retirement in 1883. From 1869 to 1877, his regiment was established headquartered in Nashville, where it was engaged in assisting the civil authorities in carrying out the Reconstruction Act. Pennypacker exercised endless patience and tact in executing this very delicate mission and, without departing from his duty, won the respect and affection of the Southern people and did much to reconcile them to the Federal government. After this assignment was over, he saw frontier duty out in Indian country, before retiring from disability caused by his wounds. While still in uniform, Pennypacker had been urged to be a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania in 1872, which declined on the ground that he had no taste for politics. Pennypacker never married and spent the last of his years in lonely retirement at his home in Philadelphia. He died on October 1, 1916, at the age of 74 and was buried with the simple rites of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in the Philadelphia National Cemetery. (Bio by Bill Wilbert)
Maj. Gen. Galusha Pennypacker (b. 1844, d. 1916). Pennypacker, born in Schuylkill Township on June 1, 1844, was a great-grandson of Matthias Pennypacker (the Mennonite Bishop) Who? Was he famous?, and a second cousin of the sons of Isaac Anderson Pennypacker Again, was he famous? If so, why?. He grew up close to the old family farm on the Pickering Creek in Chester County, Pennsylvania, being raised by his grandmother after his mother died and his father left for California when he was four years old. The grandson of a soldier in the Revolutionary War, Pennypacker enlisted for three months in the 9th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment when the Civil War broke out, serving as quartermaster-sergeant despite being just sixteen. On the expiration of his term of enlistment, he returned home and recruited Company A of Pennsylvania’s 97th Infantry, of which he was elected Captain on August 22, 1861. Pennypacker was promoted rapidly and attained the rank of Colonel by August 15, 1864. Serving with distinction at Fort Wagner, Drewry's Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Green Plains, and Fort Fisher, Pennypacker during one stretch was wounded seven times in eight months. At the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, on January 15, 1865, he led his brigade in a charge across a traverse of the works and planted the colors of one of his regiments on the parapet where he fell seriously wounded. For his act of gallantry he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1891, in recognition of his bravery, his nearly mortal wounds, and the opinion of his superior, Gen. Alfred Terry, that he had been “the real hero of Fort Fisher”; more immediately, it earned him a promotion to Brigadier General effective the date of the battle. This appointment, coming when he was just twenty made him the youngest officer of that rank in the war, and he remains the youngest person to hold that rank in the history of the U.S. Army. Less than a month after the appointment was made, on March 13, he was brevetted Major General. But the wounds he had received at Fort Fisher kept him in the hospital until after the war had ended, so Pennypacker never got to command men in the field as a general. A year later, Pennypacker resigned from service, on April 30, 1866, but the following July he was appointed Colonel in the regular army and assigned to the 34th Infantry. He was again brevetted Major General for his conduct at Fort Fisher and for his services during the war, and on March 15, 1869, was transferred to the 16th Infantry, which he commanded until his retirement in 1883. From 1869 to 1877, his regiment was established headquartered in Nashville, where it was engaged in assisting the civil authorities in carrying out the Reconstruction Act. Pennypacker exercised endless patience and tact in executing this very delicate mission and, without departing from his duty, won the respect and affection of the Southern people and did much to reconcile them to the Federal government. After this assignment was over, he saw frontier duty out in Indian country, before retiring from disability caused by his wounds. While still in uniform, Pennypacker had been urged to be a candidate for governor of Pennsylvania in 1872, which declined on the ground that he had no taste for politics. Pennypacker never married and spent the last of his years in lonely retirement at his home in Philadelphia. He died on October 1, 1916, at the age of 74 and was buried with the simple rites of the Society of Friends (Quakers) in the Philadelphia National Cemetery. (Bio by Bill Wilbert)