The above picture was found in a Schuylkill County history and was captioned “Girardville: Last Remnant of the Civil War Veterans.” It was taken in 1912.
Pictured are:
Front Row (seated): William Williard; Louis Blitz; Patrick Dolan; William K. Moyer.
Back Row (standing): Albert Bordy; Frank Bensinger; John Butler; Adam Metz; Col. P. H. Monaghan.
The men are posing in their “official” G. A. R. uniforms.
On November 20, 1979, the Pottsville Republican and Herald, as part of its “Glimpses Into Yesteryear” series, reprinted the photo with the following caption:
Throughout its history, Girardville [Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania] has been noted for its active veterans, and it all started with the group represented above, Grand Army of the Republic Civil War veterans. When this photo was taken on March 23, 1912, the men pictured were the town’s last surviving members of that conflict.
Seated are, from left, William Williard, Louis Blitz, Patrick Dolan, and William K. Mayer. Standing, Albert Boardy, Frank Bensinger, John Butler, Adam Metz, and Patrick H. Monaghan.
Patrick H. Monaghan was one of Schuylkill County’s most famous Civil War heroes, having been awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for recapturing a Union flag on June 17, 1864, on the battlefield at Petersburg. During an early morning charge by Company F, 48th Regiment, Monaghan saw three rebel soldiers hurrying to the rear, one carrying a stand of colors. He rushed at them and demanded their surrender. They threw up their hands and Monaghan took them in. When the colors were unfurled they proved to be those of the 7th York Heavy Artillery, captured the day before. After the war, Monaghan became active in the Pennsylvania National Guard and eventually became a lieutenant colonel. From 1873 to 1916 he was Girardville’s most prominent educator, having been a teacher and later superintendent of schools. Born in County Mayo, Ireland, he died in 1917 at age 74. (Photo from the collection of William “Bishop” Peel).
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Part of this post was first published on The Civil War Blog, February 23, 2018. The photo caption was obtained through Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.