Hiram C. Hostetter, s/o David B. & Rebecca (Rise) Hostetter, gave his life for the Union cause near White Plains, VA, after being taken prisoner on December 18, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
The son of David B. & Rebecca (Rise) Hostetter, in 1860 he was a farm laborer living with his family in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 7" tall and had black hair and hazel eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Harrisburg May 8, 1862, mustered into federal service there May 17 as a sergeant with Co. G, 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves (31st Pennsylvania Infantry). Captured at the battle of Fredericksburg December 13, 1862, he was confined in Richmond four days later, and paroled at City Point (now Hopewell), Virginia, on January 9, 1863. Per standard procedure, he reported to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland, January 11, and forwarded from there to Elmira, New York, to await formal exchange, arriving on February 24. Once exchanged, he was ordered to Washington DC May 17, 1862, to serve in its defensive emplacements but died shortly thereafter. The extent to which his relatively brief captivity led to his death is speculative but certainly possible.
His compiled military service record contains a letter from his father to Maj. Gen. David Bell Birney requesting the general's aid in bringing Hiram's body home. Clearly he was successful.
[Contributed by Dennis Brandt]
The son of David B. & Rebecca (Rise) Hostetter, in 1860 he was a farm laborer living with his family in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 7" tall and had black hair and hazel eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Harrisburg May 8, 1862, mustered into federal service there May 17 as a sergeant with Co. G, 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves (31st Pennsylvania Infantry). Captured at the battle of Fredericksburg December 13, 1862, he was confined in Richmond four days later, and paroled at City Point (now Hopewell), Virginia, on January 9, 1863. Per standard procedure, he reported to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland, January 11, and forwarded from there to Elmira, New York, to await formal exchange, arriving on February 24. Once exchanged, he was ordered to Washington DC May 17, 1862, to serve in its defensive emplacements but died shortly thereafter. The extent to which his relatively brief captivity led to his death is speculative but certainly possible.
His compiled military service record contains a letter from his father to Maj. Gen. David Bell Birney requesting the general's aid in bringing Hiram's body home. Clearly he was successful.
[Contributed by Dennis Brandt]
Hiram C. Hostetter, s/o David B. & Rebecca (Rise) Hostetter, gave his life for the Union cause near White Plains, VA, after being taken prisoner on December 18, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg.
The son of David B. & Rebecca (Rise) Hostetter, in 1860 he was a farm laborer living with his family in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 7" tall and had black hair and hazel eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Harrisburg May 8, 1862, mustered into federal service there May 17 as a sergeant with Co. G, 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves (31st Pennsylvania Infantry). Captured at the battle of Fredericksburg December 13, 1862, he was confined in Richmond four days later, and paroled at City Point (now Hopewell), Virginia, on January 9, 1863. Per standard procedure, he reported to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland, January 11, and forwarded from there to Elmira, New York, to await formal exchange, arriving on February 24. Once exchanged, he was ordered to Washington DC May 17, 1862, to serve in its defensive emplacements but died shortly thereafter. The extent to which his relatively brief captivity led to his death is speculative but certainly possible.
His compiled military service record contains a letter from his father to Maj. Gen. David Bell Birney requesting the general's aid in bringing Hiram's body home. Clearly he was successful.
[Contributed by Dennis Brandt]
The son of David B. & Rebecca (Rise) Hostetter, in 1860 he was a farm laborer living with his family in Lancaster, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. He stood 5' 7" tall and had black hair and hazel eyes.
A Civil War veteran, he enlisted in Harrisburg May 8, 1862, mustered into federal service there May 17 as a sergeant with Co. G, 2nd Pennsylvania Reserves (31st Pennsylvania Infantry). Captured at the battle of Fredericksburg December 13, 1862, he was confined in Richmond four days later, and paroled at City Point (now Hopewell), Virginia, on January 9, 1863. Per standard procedure, he reported to Camp Parole, Annapolis, Maryland, January 11, and forwarded from there to Elmira, New York, to await formal exchange, arriving on February 24. Once exchanged, he was ordered to Washington DC May 17, 1862, to serve in its defensive emplacements but died shortly thereafter. The extent to which his relatively brief captivity led to his death is speculative but certainly possible.
His compiled military service record contains a letter from his father to Maj. Gen. David Bell Birney requesting the general's aid in bringing Hiram's body home. Clearly he was successful.
[Contributed by Dennis Brandt]
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