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Jasper County, Iowa
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Joseph
R. Sitler To
say that a man has been true to himself all his days is to pay him very great
compliment, but to add to this that he has been a good father, kind and
considerate husband, brave soldier and a man whose citizenship has been without
taint or flaw is to place that man high among his fellows.
Yet these things may be truthfully said of Joseph R. Sitler, the subject
of this review. Mr.
Sitler was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1832 being the son of
George Sitler, a native of Pennsylvania, and Sarah (Robins) Sitler, a native of
New York. He is one of eight
children, of whom but four survive, as follows:
Mr. Sitler, of this review, the eldest; Henry F., born in 1836, resides
in Dodge City, Kansas, of which city he has been one of the pioneer settlers and
builders. An old cattleman and railroad contractor, he has been one of the most
important factors in the upbuilding of his home city, a portion of it being upon
land which he formerly owned as a cattle ranch; Jessie R. Sitler, born in 1840,
resides in Bliss, Oklahoma, and is engaged in the grain business; Frank J. was
killed at Axtell, Kansas, in 1900, by falling from a loaded straw wagon; he was
born in 1845; Ida Wright, widow of Rev. Byron Wright, a Methodist minister,
resides in New York City; Anna, wife of Rev. Orin B. Coates, died at the age of
twenty-six years, one week after her marriage, her death being as tragic as it
was pitiful. Her husband of one
week enlisted in the army and when the news of his enlistment was brought to
her, she fell to the floor in a swoon, from which she never revived.
The young husband went to the front a broken-hearted man.
Two brothers of the subject died in infancy.
Of Mr. Sitler's parents it may be said that they were hardy, God-fearing
people of culture and refinement. The father was a farmer and was a stalwart
among his fellow men. Neither ever
removed from Pennsylvania. Both are
now deceased. The
military record of Mr. Sitler is as remarkable as it is creditable. Few men,
even though they took part in that great civil war, were compelled to undergo
the misery, hardship and privation through which Mr. Sitler passed.
Modest and retiring in manner, he gave only some of the more striking
details of his varied army experience to the biographer, but it is easy to
"read between the lines" and gather the full purport of what he passed
through. On
October 6, 1861, in company with forty-four neighbor boys, he enlisted in the
Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was placed in the department of the army
guarding Washington. For six months
he took part in the famous chase after Mosby and his men, after which he was
transferred to the Army of the Potomac. He
took part in the second battle of Bull Run and was in the great battle of
Gettysburg. Here it was he acted as
first lieutenant of provost guards, the captain being absent, and, hurrying here
and there, supervising, directing and reporting to his superiors, he was under
fire for hours. He saw the famous charge of rebel General Pickett. The next
battle of importance in which he took part was that of Mine Run, Virginia, and
for days thereafter was under fire. Then
came the terrible battle of the Wilderness and the desultory fighting along the
Rapidan River during which battle he was again in command.
Before the battle of the Wilderness he was sent home to recruit men for
the army, recruiting one hundred men from Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in one
month. On April 26, 1864, along with four hundred men who had been
home on furlough, he re-enlisted and was soon in the thick of the fight, two
days thereafter being detailed with a scouting party to watch the actions of the
rebel cavalry along the Rappahannock river. On the night of May 7, 1864,
following the battle of the Wilderness, he was captured and marched to General
Lee's headquarters, where he was kept for twelve days in company with forty-four
officers and fourteen hundred other prisoners, with no rations except what they
were able to buy for themselves. Next they were marched to Lynchburg, Virginia, a distance of
sixty-five miles, two crackers being issued to each prisoner before starting.
Some of the men got none. At
Lynchburg the men were robbed of everything they possessed, and were then taken
to Macon, Georgia, to the rebel prison camp. Here they were kept until July 10,
when they were taken to Savannah, and then to Charleston, South Carolina. Here it was that they were confined to the jail yard and the
Northern prisoners were exposed purposely to the Northern artillery fire in
order that an exchange might be enforced, but none was made.
October 9, 1864, they were taken to "Camp Sorghum," South
Carolina, so called for the reason that the rations consisted of a pint of corn
meal each day and all the sorghum molasses they could use.
From Camp Sorghum they were taken across the river and put in the asylum
prison at Columbia. Then a number
of moves were made to Raleigh, North Carolina, to Wilmington, South Carolina,
and to many other places in the vain attempt to avoid the fast approaching
Northern Army, but finally at Wilmington, Mr. Sitler, along with many others was
paroled. Here occurred one of those
striking and romantic incidents so frequent in the Great War. Standing among the Northern troops was a tall, commanding
looking man, who eyed the subject of this sketch as he moved about among the
other wretched prisoners. Suddenly,
something familiar appealed, to him and he clasped the thin hand of the
prisoner. It was his brother,
Jesse, at that time an adjutant of the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania. After a long
siege in the hospitals, finding him unable to serve further, the authorities
gave Mr. Sitler an honorable discharge as first lieutenant and he returned home.
Mr. Sitler was commissioned to serve on court martial duty twice, first after
the battle of Gettysburg and second at Annapolis. Maryland.
This was an exceptional honor to be given a line officer and he was the
junior member of the court both times. Mr.
Sitler is a member of Garrett Post No. 16, Grand Army of the Republic, of
Newton, of which he has been adjutant since 1895. He has also been commander of the post. He came to Jasper County August 2, 1866, and has resided here
ever since with the exception of one year spent in Dodge City, Kansas.
On February 16, 1864, he married Carrie Spalding, daughter of Rev. Josiah
Spalding, who bore him the following children: Harry, born March 1, 1867,
residing in Jasper County; Anna, born January 12, 1869, is unmarried, and
resides with her father at home; one child died in infancy, the wife and mother
dying soon after. On
March 2, 1881, Mr. Sitler was married to Rebecca Goodrich, daughter of Levi
Goodrich, a native of Maine. She
still survives and is the considerate and loyal companion of Mr. Sitler, being a
sweet-faced woman of rare accomplishments.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Sitler are members of the Congregational Church of
Newton and Mrs. Sitler is prominent in temperance work, being an active member
of the Anti-Saloon League. Mr.
Sitler is a large land owner, besides owning elegant city property and being
interested in the Jasper County Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance Company, of
which he has been treasurer for seventeen years. Few men are better known and none are more respected.
In politics Mr. Sitler is a Republican. The Past and Present of Jasper County, Gen. James B. Weaver, Editor-In-Chief, 1912 B.F. Bowen Co., Indianapolis, IN, p. 626. |
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