One of the most recognizable symbols of Mansfield University is the Mountaineers mascot. He is often portrayed as an independent and self-reliant individual clad in furs and carrying a musket. He is ready an able to take on any foe, man or beast.
Over the years, the Mansfield University sports teams, known as the Mountaineers, have known their share of success over the years. Several Mountaineers have even gone on to professional sports careers. The story of the Mountaineer, however, comes from the battlefield, rather than the sporting arena.
While the early settlers of Mann’s Field certainly were mountaineers, the origins of the Mountaineer lies with the Ladies’ Aid Society, which operated during the American Civil War.
Most of the information in this article was provided by the book Tioga Mountaineers by Chester Bailey, Mansfield historian and former owner of the Mansfield Advertiser. Additional information came from the 101st Pa. Historical Society. The society credits Bailey’s book, along with several other sources. These sources, as well as Tri-Counties Genealogy and History by Joyce M. Tice, provide additional histories of the unit.
Note: These articles are about Co. B, 101st regiment of the Pennsylvania Volunteers. Mansfield also contributed soldiers to Co. C of the Pennsylvania 7th Calvary as well as the 149th Regiment, Co. A who earned the nickname “Bucktails.”
Even before the war, Mansfield and the rest of Tioga County were loyal to the union and firmly against the “peculiar institution” of slavery, as the Wellsboro Agitator called it at the time. A home at 304 N. Main Street, Mansfield, built by Ezra Davis in 1838, even served as a station on the Underground Railroad to shelter escaping slaves.
A printing press from Mansfield ended up in Kansas printing abolitionist newspapers. In 1856, the printing press was thrown in a river during the Pottawatomie Massacre over the future of slavery in the territory.
It was not surprising then, that Mansfield and surrounding Richmond Township responded to President Lincoln’s call for troops when war erupted in 1861.
Maj. Joseph S. Hoard, who suggested the founding of Mansfield Classical Seminary seven years earlier, sent out a call for local volunteers. By Nov. 2, 1861, 84 men had volunteered for the local unit. Another 20 joined later. The oldest recruit was Ebanezer Burley, 60. A number of recruits listed their ages as 18, though it was not uncommon for younger boys to lie about their ages to join the army as soldiers. James E. Young, 16, is listed as the drummer for the unit.
Most of the new privates came from Mansfield Borough, which had incorporated only four years earlier, and surrounding Richmond Township. Others came from nearby municipalities. One recruit listed his home as Hartford, Conn. while another was from Sullivan County, Pa. Many were farmers and laborers. Several were students at Mansfield Classical Seminary. There were also carpenters and mill wrights as well as a mason, blacksmith, glassblower, miner, cabinet maker, and boatman rounded out the privates and non-commissioned officers.
Victor A. Elliott, 22, a Michigan University student from Cherry Flats was elected captain. Abraham Young, a 43-year-old jeweler, was elected first lieutenant. George Gaylord was elected second lieutenant. Melvin L. Clark, 21, a mason from Mansfield, served as first sergeant.
One month earlier, the Richmond Ladies Soldier’s Aid Society (later called the Mansfield Soldier’s Aid Society) formed to provide financial and material support for the unit. According to minutes of the meeting posted on Tri-Counties Genealogy and History by Joyce M. Tice, the society formed after an appeal by the state quartermaster for supplies. The initial meeting was held Sept. 26, 1861. It was held following a religious ceremony on the National Fast Day. Mrs. Marriott made the first donation: ¾ pound of stocking yarn.
While the society’s regular meetings were held on every other Wednesday at 2 p.m., bad weather and sickness often forced meeting cancellations. Meetings became more regular after the Confederate Army invaded Pennsylvania in the summer of 1863 and 52 more local men left to serve in the militia for three months.
By the end of the war, the society had sent 22 large boxes and three barrels to the soldiers, including clothing, blankets, food, newspapers and books. Ice cream socials were held to raise funds for the effort. They were probably the first such society in the state and were highly regarded among the other societies. Sarah Morris, wife of Dr. Joseph Morris, served as secretary of the organization and was later promoted to the position of Associate manager of the women’s Pennsylvania Branch for this section of the county.
Among the first functions of the society was to settle on a name for the unit. They sent a letter to Maj. Hoard to settle on a suitable nickname.
It was Mrs. Morris who suggested “Tioga Mountaineers.” A flag with all the appropriate mountings was purchased for $21 and 50 cents was paid to the express agent. Hoard had asked for a flag costing not less than $20 and not more than $25.
The Mountaineers became associated with the institution on the hill in late October, 1861 when the Seminary hosted a send-off for the soldiers at their dining hall. The keynote address was delivered by George King, a veteran of the War of 1812, and father of Mart King, a prominent citizen of Mansfield. During the banquet, members of the society presented Hoard with the flag. Bailey speculates that the incident probably forever associated the mountaineer with Mansfield. None of the sources provides an exact date for the banquet, but the minutes of the Ladies Aid Society indicate that the men left for Troy at 11 p.m. that night.
The banquet was quite an affair as some volunteers stayed up cleaning until long past midnight and still did not get everything done. The minutes requested that anyone not willing or able to work not volunteer in the first place.
The first group of soldiers from Mansfield and vicinity went to Troy to board a train bound for Camp Curtain in Harrisburg for training.
First Sgt. Clark was not impressed with camp life, which consisted mainly of drilling. In November, he wrote home complaining that the men were housed in tents without floor boards, the food was not as good as expected, and the officers had not yet received their commissions. It was not until early February, 1862 that the men were finally issued their Harper’s Ferry muskets.
Company B, the Tioga Mountaineers, was one of 10 companies from across the state that formed as the 101st Regiment of the Pa Volunteer Infantry. There was some jockeying for position and the Mountaineers ended up on the extreme left of the marching line. Other companies in the regiment were raised in Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence, Bedford, Butler, Adams, Cumberland, Northumberland, and Schuylkill counties.
Joseph Hoard was elected Major of the 101st, making him third in command of the regiment.
The first Mountaineer casualty was Pvt. Ora S. Cleveland, an 18-year-old farmer from Richmond Township who died of measles and pneumonia in a Harrisburg hospital.
On Feb. 26, 1862 Gov. Andrew Curtin presented the regimental flag and the 101st started out the next day for Washington D.C., where they camped at Camp Meridian. Companies A and B exchanged their muskets for the more accurate Hungarian rifles. The other companies received Austrian rifles. Companies A and B later got the more standard Austrian rifles. The Union imported thousands of .54 caliber rifles from Austria. Many of these were later re-bored to the standard .58 caliber.
The 101st left Washington as part of the Army of the Potomac on March 28, which was commanded by Gen. George McClelland. The Mountaineers were about to embark on the Peninsula Campaign, in which the Union Army nearly captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Va.
The Mountaineers saw their first real action at the siege of Yorktown. Pvt. Elisha Smith, 33, from Rutland Township was the first combat fatality among the Mountaineers.
Union forces took Williamsburg after a Rebel retreat on May 3. They were within 20 miles of Richmond, but the overly cautious McClelland did not press his offensive, instead waiting for reinforcements.
During this time, Maj. Hoard was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, making him second in command of the regiment.
Over the next several weeks, the Mountaineers marched around the swamps of Virginia during the rainy season. They arrived in Fair Oaks, also called Seven Pines, on May 26 and Fair Oaks on May 29 and began to dig rifle pits. The Rebel army was right on top of the 101st. Pvt. Samuel W. Jerould, 19, a farmer from Richmond Township was the first combat death at Fair Oaks.
On May 30, the entire regiment was on the picket line and Company B exchanged its first fire of the war. Lt. Col. Hoard was wounded and taken off the battlefield. He was treated at a Philadelphia hospital and was back home in Mansfield by July 12.
Back in Virginia, Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston’s force of between 30,000 and 40,000 soldiers attacked the Union division of less than 6,000. The 101st held their line as long as they could and only retreated when ordered to do so. The soldiers lost all of their personal belongings during the retreat.
While the Union forces inflicted heavy losses at Fair Oaks, one-third of the men in the 101st were killed or wounded in the battle. Company B lost 23 men. The 60-year-old Pvt. Burley died after being taken to a hospital in Philadelphia. Several of the wounded, including Sgt. Justus B. Clark Jr. and Pvt. John C. Howe, rejoined the unit after recovering from their wounds.
Following Fair Oaks, the 101st marched with the rest of the Army during the Seven Days campaign, http://www.civilwarhome.com/sevendays.htm but only saw limited action. The army eventually retreated to Harrison’s Landing. On Aug. 16, the 101st began their march to Fortress Monroe, Va., arriving Aug. 24 only to learn that the boat carrying their knapsacks had sunk. It was the third time many of the soldiers had lost their belongings.
President Lincoln reviewed the troops four days after arriving at Harrison’s Landing.
Around this time, Lt. Col. Hoard officially resigned his commission and Capt. Elliott retired on a surgeon’s certificate due to typhoid pneumonia. Col. Hoard returned to Mansfield. He later moved to New York and then to Florida in the hopes that the climate would improve his health. He was 64 years old when he died.
Also discharged were Lieutenants Young and Gaylord.
The 101st was stationed at Fortress Monroe until Sept. 18, when they were ordered to Suffolk, Va. While at the fortress, the 101st drilled and recruited new soldiers to replace their losses.
Melvin Clark, who left Washington as first sergeant had been promoted to captain by Sept. 23, 1862.
While in Suffolk, the 101st was engaged in a few skirmishes, but nothing major.
On Dec. 4, 1862, the 101st was dispatched to North Carolina, where they saw duty for nearly a year and a half.
The 101st saw action at Kinston and White Hall (now Seven Springs), and Goldsboro in December, though much of the fighting involved artillery and the infantry saw little actual fighting.
On New Year’s Day, 1863 the 101st arrived in New Bern, N.C., where the unit was attached to the First Brigade, 4th Division, 18th Corps. The Mountaineers were there for the next four months.
While camped at New Bern, the Union forces saw action in a few minor skirmishes and raids. Most notable were raids in Fairfield and Hyde County. In Fairfield, Union troops captured a Confederate unit called Spencer’s Rangers. The Rangers funneled supplies to the Southern Army. In Hyde County, Union troops raided one of more fertile areas of the south and captured a lot of supplies. About 40 slaves followed the Northern troops to freedom.
In early May, 1863 the Union forces at New Bern were ordered to Plymouth, N.C. They arrived May 6 and began fortifying the town. The 101st was initially assigned to guard the eastern end of town on the south shore of the Roanoke River.
The 101st only saw minor skirmishes for almost a full year and many reenlisted on New Year’s Day, 1864.
On Sunday afternoon, April 17, between 12,000 and 15,000 Confederate troops under the command of Gen. Robert F. Hoke attacked the Union garrison of about 3,000 soldiers, including Co. B. A boat took the non-combatants to Roanoke and brought Company A to Plymouth.
At the time, the 101st was assigned to the forts and trenches on the eastern part of town.
Confederate forces took the forts at Plymouth on April 18. The following day, the newly built ironclad CSS Ram Albemarle arrived, sank a Union vessel, and effectively took control of the Roanoke River. Confederate forces had surrounded the town. Union forces were cut off from reinforcements and had no route to retreat.
That same evening, the 101st skirmished with advancing Confederate Troops on the eastern end of town.
The following morning, April 20, Confederate troops charged on Fort Compher and Conaby Redoubt, which were held by the 101st. The Pennsylvania troops were outnumbered and surrounded, but fought valiantly by all accounts.
When it became clear that they were going to be captured, the 101st tore their flag and buried it so that it would not fall into enemy hands. The 101st Pa. Historical Society website includes links to official reports that provide many more details of the last stand of the 101st.
It was a sad ending to the valorous story of the 101st.
