John Frederick Hartranft (1830 - 1889)

John Hartranft was the only child of Samuel Engle Hartranft and Lydia Bucher. He married Sallie Douglas Sebring and the couple had six children.^[1]

Spouse:

• Sallie D. Sebring Hartranft (1835 - 1914)

Children:

• Samuel Sebring Hartranft (1855 - 1921)
• Ada Hartranft (1858 - 1862)
• Wilson Hartranft (1859 - 1862)
• Annie Hartranft (1867 - 1915)

Civil War Union Brigadier General, Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient, 17th Pennsylvania Governor. Born at New Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, he spent his youth in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He attended Marshall College in Virginia, and in 1853 was graduated from Union College in New York. Trained as a civil engineer, he switched to politics and law; becoming a deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1854, and in 1860 he was called to the bar. Shortly before the outbreak of Civil War he was named Colonel of the 1st Regiment, Montgomery County Militia. In spring 1861 his outfit became a 90-day volunteer regiment. Sent to Washington D.C., it accompanied Brigadier General Irvin McDowell's advance to Manassas Junction, Virginia, in mid-July. On the eve of First Bull Run, however, the regiment turned its back on the enemy and marched home, its enlistment period over, despite McDowell's plea that it remain for the battle. Humiliated by his men's decision, he stayed with the army, an act that won him the Medal of Honor. After Bull Run, he raised the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, of which he became Colonel in November 1861. The 51st served for a time in North Carolina, mainly on occupation duty. At Antietam, on September 17, 1862, it braved a storm of rifle and cannon fire to cross Burnside Bridge and threaten the Confederate right flank. By February 1863 he was commanding a brigade in the IX Corps, Army of the Potomacp; later he led a comparable unit in the Army of the Ohio. After exercising divisional command several times temporarily, he took permanent charge of the 3rd Division, IX Corps, leading it competently during many of the Army of the Potomac's final battles. He was particularly conspicuous at Spotsylvania while still in brigade command, winning the star of a Brigadier General, and as a division leader at Fort Stedman, where his role in helping repulse General Robert E. Lee's last offensive made him a brevet Major General of Volunteers. After the war he was appointed a special Provost Marshal during the trial of those accused in President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Returning to civilian life, he was Auditor General, then served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania, from 1873 to 1879. In 1879 he became Postmaster of Philadelphia and from 1881 to 1885 he was collector of the city port. He was awarded his Medal of Honor on August 26, 1886. His MOH citation states: Voluntarily served as an aide and participated in the battle after expiration of his term of service, distinguishing himself in rallying several regiments which had been thrown into confusion. ^[2]

His Medal of Honor citation reads:

Voluntarily served as an aide and participated in the battle after expiration of his term of service, distinguishing himself in rallying several regiments which had been thrown into confusion. ^[3]

After the war ended, he commanded the Washington Arsenal prison at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C. As the provost marshal, he read the last rites to the four Lincoln assassination conspirators and signalled the executioner to carry out their death by hanging.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ S3 http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/1790-1879/4283/john_frederick_hartranft/444283
2. ↑ S2 Find A Grave: Memorial #5894512 (bio by: Ugaalltheway)
3. ↑ S5 http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1862_cwh/hartranft.html
4. ↑ S4 http://www.gettysburgdaily.com/montgomery-cemetery-john-frederick-hartranft/

See also:

• Source: S1 John Hartranft on Wikipedia
• http://civilwarstudies.org/articles/Vol_3/john-hartranft.shtm
• 1850 Federal Census

Name: John Hartranft Age: 19 Birth Year: abt 1831 Birthplace: Pennsylvania Home in 1850: Norristown Upper Ward, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, USA Gender: Male Family Number: 326 Household Members: Name Age Samuel Hartranft 43 Lydia Hartranft 45 John Hartranft 19 Israel Thomas 25 Daniel Neiman 24 Edwin Moore 23 John Nugent 23 Charles Cauffman 24 Amasa Smith 23 Isaac Grubb 14 Michael Shoemaker 21 Sarah Feather 20 Susan Heebner 20 Joseph Heidelburg 22 Thomas Osborne 17 John Osborne 15 Source Citation Year: 1850; Census Place: Norristown Upper Ward, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: M432_800; Page: 244B; Image: 665

• 1860 US Federal Census

Name: John F Hartranft Age: 29 Birth Year: abt 1831 Gender: Male Birth Place: Pennsylvania Home in 1860: Norristown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania Post Office: Norristown Family Number: 619 Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age John F Hartranft 29 Ann Sebring 53 Sallie D Hartranft 24 Samuel L Hartranft 4 Ada Hartranft 2 Wilson Hartranft 6/12 Source Citation Year: 1860; Census Place: Norristown, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: M653_1144; Page: 575; Image: 82; Family History Library Film: 805144

• 1870 US Federal Census

Name: John F Hartranft Age in 1870: 39 Birth Year: abt 1831 Birthplace: Pennsylvania Home in 1870: Norristown Upper Ward, Montgomery, Pennsylvania Race: White Gender: Male Post Office: Norristown Value of real estate: View image Household Members: Name Age John F Hartranft 39 Sarah D Hartranft 35 Samuel S Hartranft 14 Linn Hartranft 7 Mariam Hartranft 4 Annie Hartranft 3 Ann Leabring 62 Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Norristown Upper Ward, Montgomery, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1378; Page: 138A; Image: 280; Family History Library Film: 552877

• 1880 US Federal Census