“The Last Full Measure: Voices from Gettysburg”
An America 250 Commemorative Youth Project
In partnership with: The Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, Gettysburg National Military Park, and Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania
In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this collaborative project invited a small group of 8th graders from Gettysburg Area Middle School Students to work with Dr. Ashley Luskey (Civil War Institute) in researching, interpreting, and reflecting on the lives of Union soldiers buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery. Guided by the words of Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address,” which were heavily rooted in the Revolutionary ideas of our nation’s Founders, students explored how themes of liberty, equality, sacrifice, and national purpose were embodied—imperfectly but powerfully—by individuals who gave their “last full measure of devotion” at Gettysburg. These soldiers’ stories can be explored in Gettysburg National Cemetery. Special thanks to Ranger John Hoptak (Gettysburg National Military Park) for research assistance. All information derived from the Widows’ Pension files of each soldier, accessed at Gettysburg National Military Park’s library.
| Private Pliny White, 14th Vermont Infantry By Harlow Tyler Private Pliny White was from Whiting, Vermont. He enlisted as a soldier at Brattleboro in October of 1862 and was sent to guard the defenses of Washington, D.C. His army contract was for 9 months. Pliny’s father had died when he was young and his mother, Julia, had remarried Hubbard Morrill, who lived as a tenant farmer on a 70-acre farm belonging to the family of Apollus Austin. Pliny was away studying for the ministry when his stepfather died, but he quickly gave up his studies and came home to help care for the farm, his mother, and his 21-year-old sister, Sarah, who were very poor. Although his home community voted heavily Republican and was home to many abolitionists, it is most likely that Pliny enlisted out of financial need for his family. When Pliny enlisted, he arranged to have most of his army pay sent home directly to his family. He hoped to eventually earn enough money to buy the farm from the Austin family so the family could become financially independent. Pliny did not see much active fighting during the war. However, on July 3, the final day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 25-year-old was wounded in the right arm by a shell fragment as his regiment engaged with two Confederate brigades from Alabama and Florida that were supporting Pickett’s Charge. He was moved to the field hospital at Gettysburg’s Lutheran Theological Seminary. Pliny’s recovery went well for the first 2 weeks, and he wrote hopeful letters to his family assuring them that he would be home soon. However, diarrhea and severe fever soon set in, and Pliny ultimately died at the Seminary hospital on August 5th—just around the time that his army contract had been set to expire. He was later buried in the Vermont section of the National Cemetery. His family had a funeral for him at his local church at home. |
| Corporal Theodore Strayline, 72nd Pennsylvania Volunteers By Zane Day Theodore Strayline was born in Philadelphia, and enlisted in the army on August 10, 1861. His father, Charles, had abandoned his mother, Catherine around 1851, leaving Theodore and his family extremely poor. From 1858-1861, Theodore regularly contributed his weekly earnings to help pay his mother’s rent. He likely joined the army to earn more money to support his mother with. He regularly sent his army pay home to his mother, and made sure not to waste money on his own spendings in camp. In the letters he sent to his mother while in the service, Theodore wrote on a uniquely detailed patriotic stationery containing Union-themed images and sayings, including “The Constitution must and shall be preserved!” and “Stand by the flag”-- and that he did. It is clear that Theodore was deeply dedicated to the Union and its values, and wrote often to his mother about fulfilling his duty to his country. He also wanted his mother to know that, unlike many men in the army who were tempted by camp vices, he was actively maintaining his Christian faith, reading his Bible nightly and saying daily prayers. Theodore survived many intense battles, including those of the Peninsula Campaign in 1862 and the Seven Days Battles outside Richmond, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Strayline was killed in action during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, while helping to repulse Pickett’s Charge. Originally buried on the Peter Frey farm, near Meade’s Headquarters, Theodore’s body was later exhumed and transported to Philadelphia Memorial Park. Strayline embodies the meaning of the Gettysburg Address as one of the many deceased soldiers who are honored in the speech. He had sworn his allegiance to the preservation of the Union until death. In the address, Lincoln mentions how after the nation’s very structure was challenged by the war, we must continue the unfinished work of the Union. In many ways, Theodore represents the soldiers who struggled and died to create that progress. |
| Sergeant Isaac Osborn, 62nd Pennsylvania Infantry By Max Cable Sergeant Isaac Osborn served in Company I of the 62nd PA Infantry. He was from Jefferson County, near Pittsburgh, and had a wife and 3 sons—1 from a previous marriage. Isaac was very tall, skinny, and had a long beard with medium-length hair. He enlisted on July 29th, 1861, less than 4 months after the start of the war. His early enlistment might speak to significant patriotic feelings about the Union, which he also expressed in letters home to his family. In those letters, Isaac continually reminded his wife and 2 boys how much he loved them, encouraged them to go to church and learn to love God, and “to always be true to your Country as your father has and ever will be.” Isaac survived many intense battles, including those on the Virginia Peninsula in 1862, the Seven Days Battles outside Richmond, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. Almost two years after he enlisted, he was killed in action, on July 2nd, 1863. He died in the Wheatfield and was initially buried on the battlefield before being removed to Soldiers’ National Cemetery. His third child was born just 3 months after his death; Isaac’s wife named the child Isaac, Jr. Isaac’s wife, Mary Jane Osborn, petitioned for and received a widow’s pension of $8.00/month for herself, and $2.00/month for her and Isaac’s two oldest children. However, due to mistaken record-keeping during the confusion and chaos of the war years, Isaac Jr. was recorded as having been born in 1864, which thus made him ineligible for a dependent’s pension. After much back and forth with the federal government and new petitions for an increased pension, Mary Jane finally received her $2.00 extra per month for Isaac in August of 1869. Mary Jane remarried Charles L. Howe, who collected her $14.00/month total pension as her official new “guardian,” that same month, and later moved to Carroll County, Illinois. If Isaac could have heard the Gettysburg Address, it would have reflected his service and sacrifice in many ways. He fought and died for a better future, not for himself, but for his family, including his youngest son whom he would never get to meet. Lincoln’s words speak to Isaac’s fighting as well as that of his fallen brethren, calling upon the public and the next generations of Americans to finish their work to preserve freedom, democracy, and equality. |
William McGrew with Company K (top right) Company K |
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Private William McGrew, Co. K, 1st Pennsylvania Reserves (30th PA) By Ashton Reichert Private William McGrew served in Company K of the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves, a company also known as the Adams County Infantry. He lived in Mummasburg, located about 9 miles northwest of Gettysburg. William’s father, Alexander, had been very poor and when he died in 1849, Alexander left his wife, Jane and her 7 young children (2 sons and 5 daughters) with little money and a tiny estate. A neighbor and friend of the family, William Hamilton, was soon thereafter appointed guardian of the children. Jane McGrew never remarried. William began learning the shoemaking trade at a young age and practiced as a journeyman with Samuel Hart in nearby Franklin Township to help support his mother and siblings. Financial need was likely one of the main motivators for William to join the army, as the 22-year-old received a bounty and sent much of his army pay home to his mother after his enlistment in York in early September of 1862. His younger brother, who was either 18 or 19 years old at the time of William’s enlistment, was in frail health and could not hold a job, and his sisters and mother were wholly dependent on him. When the war came to the McGrews’ relative backyard in the summer of 1863, William was mortally wounded defending his childhood community in the fighting near Little Round Top on July 2nd. Unlike most soldiers, he was able to be transported home to his family farm, where he was nursed by his mother and siblings and said his final goodbyes. He died from his injuries at his family’s farm on July 26th. William was the only soldier from Company K of the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves to die in the Battle of Gettysburg, and is buried in the Pennsylvania plot of Soldiers’ National Cemetery. Reflecting on my soldier’s story, the Gettysburg Address means to me that, as Lincoln admitted in his speech, words will never be able to capture the heroism and bravery of the soldiers who died at Gettysburg, nor could words ever do justice to the great sacrifice the soldiers gave for their nation. However, as Lincoln said, it is important that no one ever forget what men like McGrew did here. If Theodore could have heard Lincoln’s address, he likely would have taken great pride in his sacrifice and felt respected and honored by the nation. However, he also would have known that Lincoln’s speech was not directed to the greatness of any one individual soldier, but to the collective sacrifice of all of them who made a difference at Gettysburg. |
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