155th PA Vol. Inf.
155th PA News













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155th PA News

08/10/2009- From Chris Aronhalt: 
Greetings,
On August 15th and 16th the Victorian Photography Studio will hosting a test run Living History Event featuring the 155th PA. While this is obviously short notice, if it goes well we'll be doing one in Sept. & more in the future. I've become good friends with the owners of VPS, and it's an interesting idea. We'll be doing all the normal Living History Stuff, but most importantly spreading the word of the 155th. All are invited to attend. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
 
Also note, the Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Roundtable will be having their fall clean-up at the 155th Monument on Oct. 3rd at 10am.
 
 
Thanks,
Regards,
Chris Aronhalt

 

The event will be the Victorian Photography Studio on Steinwehr Ave in Gettysburg from 9am til 5pm on Sat. and Sun.


 
12/26/2007-  Thanks to Descendant of Leberton Bunton of Co. D, Russ Eplett, sent me a picture of the Bunton Family circa 1846.
Standing Left to Right: Leberton age 6, Charles age 8, Mary Jane age 11, Louis Lewellyn  age ?
Seated Left to Right: John Father age 38, Ellen Mother age ?, Mary Ellen age 2

bunton_fam1.jpg
Bunton Family circa 1846

07/17/2007-  Descendant of Thomas J. Marlin, Co. K & Color Bearer, Marty Randall recently took a trip to Tarkio, Mo where "Uncle Thomas" settled in 1889 & spent the rest of his life with "a reputation as a skillfull physician". He is buried at the Tarkio Home Cemetery in Tarkio, Missouri.
From Marty Randall:
"The American flag placed at his grave had also been at the base of the 155th's monument for a month prior to our taking it with us.  We felt it was important to have a flag placed at his grave in Missouri from his regiment's monument in Gettysburg."
 
Also, fantastic news from Russ Eplett a descendant of Leberton & Charles Bunton of. Co. D.

"Hello Christopher,

Some time back I sent you a photo of my Great Great Grandfather Leberton Bunton’s gravestone which you posted on the website for the 155th. The stone that I photographed at that time had become worn down by 100 years of weather so that it was no longer easily legible. I have since had the original stone replaced with one that matches his wife’s marker and I have attached a picture of the new stone with this note. I also attached a picture of his brother Charles’ stone. Both were in the 155th and both are buried in the South Fork, PA Cemetery. A picture of Charles in Zouave uniform appears in the text of “Under the Maltese cross”.

 Regards,

Russ Eplett
 
Many Thanks to Marty & Russ.

Courtesy: Marty Randall
tjmarlin.jpg
Sgt. T.J. Marlin's Grave Tarkio, MO

Courtesy: Russ Eplett
leberton_new_marker.jpg
Leberton Bunton's New Marker South Fork, PA Cemetery

Courtesy: Russ Eplett
charles_bunton_headstone.jpg

05/10/2007- Report on Retirement ceremony for Lt. Col. Gary Hetrick:
Greetings,
On May 4th, 2007 Co. B of the 155th Reg. PV was invited to take in the retirement ceremony of Lt. Col. Gary Hetrick of the Asymmetric Warfare Group out of Ft. Meade, MD. LTC Hetrick is also a proud descendant of the 155th PA, having 3 ancestors that served with them, August, George & Peter Hetrick of Co. K.
The Ceremony was held at the Pennsylvania Monument on the Gettysburg Battlefield and was well attended by LTC Hetrick's Family, Colleagues, & Friends. Acting as the color guard Co. B stood out amongst those dressed in modern Military Attire. After the ceremony the Lt. Col.'s family was received by those in attendance at the plaque for the 155th at the PA Monument, with Co. B behind them.
Color Guard:
Chris Aronhalt
James Aronhalt
Shaun Grenan
Ben Hersh
 
A reception was held at the American Legion Post in Gettysburg, to which we were grasiously invited and treated to a wonderful meal.
 
Special thanks to:
Lt. Col. Gary Hetrick (Ret.) & Family
Maj. James Crane, US Army
James Aronhalt
Shaun Grenan & The 114th PA for letting us use their flag
Ben Hersh
Dave Hancock for letting us use his uniform
 
Regards,
Chris Aronhalt
155th Reg. PV, Co. B

 

Left to Right: Maj. Jim Crane, Chris Aronhalt, Col. Robert Shaw, Lt Col. Gary Hetrick (Ret.), Ben Hersh, Shaun Grenan


hetrick4.jpg

05/10/07- The funding to repair the monument will be paid by The PA Monuments Project.
 
4/10/2007- Park response on the Monument
 
From Vic Gavin
Chris,
Apparently the 155th was vandalized several weeks ago. Just this
morning, part of the end of the musket was delivered to me. The part
was found by a visitor. I believe that It was found on the 40th N.Y.
Infantry monument. While vandalism cannot be proved, it seems likely.

The cost of repairs is estimated at about 450.00. A new musket end will
have to be sculpted and installed. It will probably not be completed
until the end of the summer. As far as preserving the monuments
goes.......the light at the end of the tunnel always seems to be a
freight train!

Best Regards,

Vic Gavin


4/5/2007-  From Chris Aronhalt
Greetings all,
Just an update on where we're at right now. I have heard from Rep. Readshaw's people at the PA Monument Project, and they are looking into it. I havn't heard back from the park yet, how ever while out at the monument last Thursday i found a few small bits of the newer material they used to mold the original Hand & top of the rifle. The hand is still there, but like I said the the top of rifle is missing. I've noticed the granite used in the newer parts is extremely brittle indicating lower quality granite was used. So the hand is likely being kept on by the rod that connects it to the monument itself. You can crumble the granite in your finger tips. I am leaning natural causes toward given the recent radical changes in weather, the layer of latex to protect didn't last, it just kinda broke. Given how much they had to graf togeather I guess this was a matter of trial & error, I just hope they have the piece missing. There is some small signs of vandalism, but I can't be sure if they're related.
Attached is a picture of the pieces I found, 1-5 are the newer pieces, 6 is a piece I found at the monument, it is the exact same material as the monument but i'm not sure if is from the monument. "6" is very hard and is proper granite. "7" is a picture of the hand & rifle taken by me in Dec. 2004 at Vic Gavin's Shop.
 
Regards,
Chris Aronhalt

2007bits5.jpg

3/18/2007- From Chris Aronhalt:
Greetings,
Sad news, while on a battlefield hike with the 114th PA, we stopped at the 155th PA Monument. I checked to see if it was still in one piece when I noticed part of the rifle, the part repaired less than 2 years ago was missing. I looked around the area to see if it had fallen off recently, and found nothing. I have reported it to the the Park rangers, and sent an email to Vic Gavin. In the photo below, the area in the red box is missing. This everything I know right now.
 
Regards,
Chris Aronhalt

2007damage.jpg

01/28/2007- There seems to be something wrong with the "Add Comment" part on the photos section. Until this gets fixed i've disabled that option. I have all posted comments that came up distorted saved on my computer. Please contact me with questions at: pogue303@yahoo.com.
 
Greater Pittsburgh CWRT's confirmed Clean-Up dates at the 155th's Monument for 2007.
Spring: Sunday May 6th at 10AM
Fall: Saturday Sept. 26th at 10AM
 
01/22/2007- Happy Belated New Year!!!!!!!!!!
 
Event Scedule for Company B Reenactors for 2007:
January: 13th Vincent’s Brigade meeting, Gettysburg, PA
February: 12th Union League Parade, Philadelphia, PA (114th PA)
March: No Events
April: 20th-22nd Old Bedford Village, Bedford, PA (Zouave)
May: 5th-6th Carroll County Farm Museum, Westminster, MD (Zouave or 2nd MD CSA)
TBD Presentation on Zouaves, Corpus Christi School, Chambersburg, PA
June: No Events
July: 7th Battlefield Hike, Gettysburg, PA
August: 24th-26th Brittany’s Hope, Harrisburg, PA (Zouave)
September: 14th-16th 145th Antietam, Loudon Heights, VA (Blue or 114th PA)
October: 19th-21st Cedar Creek, Middletown, VA (Blue)
November: 17th Remembrance Day, Gettysburg (Zouave)
December: No Events
 
12/21/2006- I've added several photos to the 155th Graves Album on the Photos Page, Special thanks to William Bozic, Linda Jemmett, & Russ Eplett.
 
12/19/2006- Greetings just acouple updates on the website. As of march 2007 i willl no longer have 155thpa.com, I will still have 155thpvi.com which will become the primary address for this site, there will still be the base address of 155thpa.tripod.com.
Also, the 155th is now on Myspace.com, check it out here.
 
08/02/2006- In late June Descendant William Bozic took a trip to Fredricksburg, VA, some photos of his trip are available in the Photos Section. He also took some pictures of the 155th PA Men buried in Fredricksburg National Cemetery, they are available on the Gravesites Page.Special thanks to William for the photos.

Courtesy: William Bozic
aah54.jpg
A. A. Humphreys Monument Fredricksburg, VA

04/17/2006- Recently "Cactoctin Magazine" published an article on the Civil War Graffiti Found at The Landon House in Urbanna, near Fredrick, MD. The Landon House is now the Maryland Museum of the Civil War.The Graffiti was done by Pvt. Charles McKenna of the 155th PA Sept. 16, 1862. The incident is in the unit history on pages 69 & 70. The Museum has posted a part of the article on their website in the News section. Check out the Maryland Museum's Website Here
 
03/9/2006- A partial restoration has been done on the 114th Pa Monument by the Park Service. The bronze statue has been placed back on top, with a new ram rod added. The fence has still not been fixed. The Zouave Monument Fund is still raising money for this project, as it has not been funded yet, and the 11th Mass, & Smith's Battery are still awaiting full restoration. Photos of the the partial restoration can be seen here.
 
2/19/2006- Update on a previous story. In response to the Vandalism of the 114th PA Monument, a new Charity to raise money for restoration is in the works. The Zouave Monument Fund is joint venture being created as a Grass Roots Effort to help raise the Estimated $8,000 to restore the Collis' Zouaves Monument at Gettysburg. Once the money has been raised the ZouMF will still exsist to assist in the restoration of any future damage to Zouave Monuments.
 
2/16/2006- The only unit more dear to my heart than the 155th PA, the 114th PA, Collis' Zouaves, Has had their monument brutaly vandalised.
 
Please help stop battlefield Vandalism.
 
From Shaun Grenan:
Early this morning someone or someones pulled the bronze
artilleryman from the Smith's 4th NY battery monument from the
pedastal and dragged him down the hill. They then took the HEAD from
the artilleryman.
The also demolished the top of the 11th Massachusetts Infantry
monument.
Lastly, and most dearly to my heart, they toppled the bronze 114th
PA Zouave from the monument at the Peach Orchard, damaging the
Zouave and the iron fence around him.

As soon as I find out the cost it will take to replace the Zouave on
top of his pedastal, I will let everyone know. I want to organize
some sort of fundraiser to help with the cost, as well as have a
rededication ceremony to show the culprits that the spirits of those
who love the battlefield will not be dampened by senseless acts of
violence!


"Three Gettysburg battlefield monuments vandalized
The Associated Press

GETTYSBURG -- Monuments honoring Civil War soldiers from
Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts were damaged late Wednesday
or early Thursday morning, Gettysburg National Military Park
officials said.

The head of a sculpture was stolen on Devil's Den, a rocky part of
the battlefield, and a sword was taken from a second memorial. A
third marker's sculpture landed on a decorative iron fence, which
also was damaged.

"It's terribly sad, and the monuments were put there by the veterans
and survivors of this battle. So what's happened is, it's their
memory that is vandalized," said park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon.

The bronze sculpture of an artilleryman from the monument to Smith's
Battery, also known as the 4th New York Battery, was dragged from
its place and its head was removed and is missing, Lawhon said.

The top stone and sculpture from the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer
Infantry Monument were toppled, and a sword was stolen from it.

Also, the vandals pulled down a bronze sculpture of a Zouave
infantryman from the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument,
and a fence was damaged when it fell.

Thieves have damaged park monuments three times in the last year-and-
a-half. They also stole a bronze sword from a Pennsylvania cavalry
marker in January 2005 and a sword from the monument to Alexander
Hays in September 2004. Those crimes have not been solved.

Bronze markers, including state seals, also are occasionally stolen
from the park.

Motorists also have taken a toll on the park's historical objects in
recent years. Drivers crashed into the 4th Ohio Volunteer Infantry
right flank marker in 2004, and destroyed a cast-iron cannon
carriage and damaged the 74th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument in
separate 2003 incidents.

The 6,000-acre park houses some 1,300 monuments to the tide-changing
July 1863 battle between the Union and Confederate armies."

Regards,
Shaun Grenan
Gettysburg, PA

Photos Courtesy GNMP Here


 
2/13/2006- The 155th PA Photos page has been redone, it now has galleries as opposed to trying to cram all the photos on page currently availible are:
More will be coming
 
 
2/13/2006- New News Page created the old one can be found here