Sergeant Conrad Vogel: From German Immigrant to Civil War Casualty

Conrad Vogel, my 3x great grandfather was born in the town of Germersheim in the Bayern (aka Bavaria) region of Germany in December, 1823. He was born to Philipp Jacob Vogel and Philippina Werther. Ancestry.com provided an image of his baptismal record from the Lutheran church in Wörth.He married Margaret Huhn and after the birth of their first son, Johannes (John), they immigrated to America.

They settled in Brooklyn and in 1847 had their first daughter, Mary. The 1850 census shows them living in Brooklyn's 1st Ward, which would be today's Brooklyn Heights/Downtown area. His occupation was listed as a shoemaker.

By the 1857, Conrad and Margaret had moved to Parryville, Pennsylvania. The 1860 census report confirms them in Franklin Township, Carbon County and he is listed as a carpenter. They had eight children by this time, John, Mary, Peter, Henry, Francis, Phillipine (my 2x great grandmother), Caroline and Louisa Vogel. They owned the property they lived on, which was valued at $500, and their personal property value was $100. It seemed that they were living a comfortable life... until the Civil War.

Union Army Roster Card For Conrad Vogel

 

Conrad enlisted in the Union Army in Harrisburg on May 29, 1861 and was placed in the 42nd Volunteer Infantry, Company F. He enlisted as a sergeant as part of the Pennsylvania Bucktail Rifles, also known as "Kane's Rifles". Bucktails carried breech-loading Model 1859 Sharps Rifles, normally only issued to sharpshooters.According to information online, Company F was known as The Irish Company, so I expect Conrad may have stood out among his fellow soldiers.

Battle of South Mountain

 

This regiment fought in several important battles during the Maryland Campaign, including the Battle at Bull Run (Manassas), on July 21, 1861. In September of 1862, Union forces needed to regain control of three passes at South Mountain, Maryland. On the 14th of September, the battle of South Mountain took place at three locations: Crampton's Gap, Fox's Gap and Turner's Gap. I do not know at which gap Sgt. Vogel was fighting but he was shot and killed during the fierce battle. The Union Army was victorious but not before losing 443 men. Three days later the Battle of Antietam took place and another 2,108 Union soldiers were killed. It is believed that the remains of those killed at South Mountain were buried with those of Antietam.

A rendering of Confederate dead at Fox's Gap.

 

There were still two and a half years left before the end of the civil war that ravaged our nation. However, the death of Conrad Vogel, 39 years old, had already ravaged the Vogel family before the end of the war. Margaret was unable to care for her eight children and had died in New York in 1865 at the age of 40 years old.

I will continue the remarkable story of the Vogel children in the next post.