William F. Cribbs 1828-1862 (son of Sarah Jane Cribbs, 1803-1839, and John Cribbs)

Company A, 83rd Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry

Private

Enlisted at Titusille, PA on 7 Aug 1861 for three years: Capt Morgan’s Company, Col McLane’s Reg’t Pa. Infantry (later Co A, 83d PVI)

Died died 9 Jul 62 of wounds received at Malvern Hill

Compiled Military Service Record: On file National Archives :

7 Aug 1861-1 Jul 1862 - Present with unit

1 Jul 1862 - Mortally wounded at Malvern Hill, Virginia

9 Jul 1862 - Died of wounds
 
 

Based on Compiled Military Soldier Record, William served with his Company during the following:

Organized at Erie and mustered into United States service September 8, 1861. Moved to Washington, D.C., September 18-20, Attached to Butterfield's Brigade, Fitz John Porter's Division, Army of the Potomac, to March, 1862. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to May, 1862. May 1862, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 5th Army Corps, Army Potomac

SERVICE--Duty in the Defences of Washington, D.C., till March, 1862. Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10-15. Moved to the Virginia Peninsula March 22-24. Reconnoissance to Big Bethel March 30. Warwick Road April 5. Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4. Reconnoissance up the Pamunkey May 10. Action at Hanover C. H. May 27. Operations about Hanover C. H. May 27-29. Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Battle of Mechanicsville June 26. Gaines Mill June 27. Savage Station June 29. Turkey Bridge or Malvern Cliff June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing.

1861-1865: Regiment lost during service 11 Officers and 271 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 151 Enlisted men by disease. Total 435.

(Note: muster rolls were ordinarily compiled to cover a two month period. They are generally accurate for the day on which the roll was filled out, but possibly not for the entire period)

The Eighty-third encountered more fighting and lost more men in battle than any other Pennsylvania regiment; in fact, its loss in action was exceeded by only one other in the entire Union army. None of its losses were caused by blunders, none occurred in disastrous routs; its dead always lay with their faces to the enemy. With its "twin regiment," the Forty-fourth New York, it was assigned to Butterfield's Brigade, Morell's Division, Fifth Corps. Colonel McLane was killed at Gaines's Mill, and Vincent fell at Gettysburg while in command of the brigade. At Gaines's Mill, the regiment lost 46 killed, 51 wounded, and 99 missing; four days later, at Malvern Hill, it lost 33 killed, 115 wounded, and 18 missing--a total of 362, out of the 554 present at Gaines's Mill. At Manassas, under Lieutenant-Colonel McCoy, it lost 14 killed, 72 wounded, and 11 missing, out of 224 officially reported by McCoy as present and engaged. It had the honor, at Gettysburg, of participating in the brilliant manoeuvre of its brigade--Vincent's--in seizing Little Round Top at a critical moment, helping materially to save the fortunes of the day. At Spotsylvania, its casualties amounted to 21 killed, 119 wounded, and 24 missing; total, 164. General McClellan once publicly pronounced the Eighty-third "one of the very best regiments in the army."

(1) Col. JOHN W. McLANE (Killed).

(2) Col. STRONG VINCENT; BRIG-GEN. (Killed).

(3) Col. O. S. WOODWARD; BVT. BRIG.-GEN.

(4) Col. CHAUNCEY P. ROGERS.

M Men D Died of disease, accidents, in prison, &c.

T Total E Total Enrollment

--------K-------- --------D-------

Companies O M T O M T E

Field and Staff 4 · · 4 · · · · · · 20

Company A · · 23 23 · · 12 12 172

B · · 22 22 · · 16 16 116

C · · 20 20 1 10 11 188

D · · 25 25 1 11 12 162

E 2 31 33 · · 19 19 236

F 1 26 27 · · 16 16 200

G 2 22 24 · · 14 14 167

H · · 28 28 · · 22 22 173

I 2 45 47 · · 9 9 193

K · · 28 28 · · 22 22 181

L · · 1 1 · · · · · · · ·

Totals 11 271 282 2 151 153 1,808

282 killed= 15.5 per cent.

1861-1865: Total of killed and wounded 971; died in Confederate prisons (previously included), 23.
 
 

BATTLES. K. & M.W. BATTLES. K. & M.W.

Hanover Court H, Va 1 Spotsylvania, Va., May 8th 57

Gaines's Mill, Va 61 Spotsylvania, Va, May 10th 2

Malvern Hill, Va 50 Bethesda Church, Va 2

Manassas, Va 26 Cold Harbor, Va 1

Fredericksburg, Va 5 Siege of Petersburg, Va 15

Chancellorsville, Va 1 Peebles's Farm, Va 10

Gettysburg, Pa 18 Dabney's Mills, Va 5

Guerrillas, Va., Dec 63 1 Gravelly Run, Va 1

Wilderness, Va 20 White Oak Road, Va 3

North Anna, Va 2 Five Forks, Va 1
 
 

Present, also, at Yorktown; Mechanicsville; Peach Orchard; Savage Station; White Oak Swamp; Glendale; Antietam; Shepherdstown Ford; Aldie; Rappahannock Station; Mine Run; Totopotomoy; Weldon Railroad; Hatcher's Run; Appomattox.

NOTES:

GENERAL SOURCES:

U.S. Army Military History Institute

ATTN: Historical Reference Branch

22 Ashburn Drive, Carlisle Barracks

Carlisle, PA 17013-5008

http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi/ACWUnits.html

Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. Wilmington, NC: Broadfoot,

1993. Vol. 4, pp. 1248-1306 (31 photocopied pages). E527B32.1993v4. (Brief history and roster of the regiment).

Company of Military Historians. Military Uniforms in America. Vol. 3: Long Endure: The Civil

War Period, 1852-1867. pp. 72-73 (2 photocopied pages). Novato, CA: Presidio, l982. UC480M54.l974. (Sketch and description of the French foot chasseur uniform worn by the 83d Pennsylvania through Mar 1862).

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Vol. 2. Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1979. Ref. See pp. 1601-02 (2 photocopied page) for a concise summary of the regiment's service.

Fox, William F. Regimental Losses in the American Civil War,1861-1865, Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1985 reprint.

Judson, Amos M. History of the Eighty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers. Dayton, OH:

Morningside, 1986. 333 p. E527.5.83d.J83.1986. Reprint of 1865 ed.

Karle, Theodore. "Strong Vincent of the 83rd." Mil Images Mag 12 (Jul/Aug 1990): pp. 20-26

(7 photocopied pages). SpColl."Time Lapse." CWTI 30 (Jan/Feb 1992): pp. 58-59 (2 photocopied pages). Per.

Photo of and vignette on Stephen Feather of Company F.

McAfee, Michael J. "The 83rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, l86l-1862." Mil Images Mag

12 (Jul/Aug 1990): pp. 27-29 (3 photocopied pages). SpColl. Mainly on regiment's uniforms.

Norton, Oliver W. Army Letters, 1861-1865: Being Extracts from Private Letters to Relatives and Friends from a Soldier in the Field During the Late Civil War... Dayton, OH: Morningside, 1990. 397 p. E601N88.1990. Reprint of 1903 ed.

. The Attack and Defense of Little Round Top, Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. NY: Neale, 1913. 350 p. E475.53N89.

Strong Vincent and his Brigade at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Ann Arbor, MI: Univ Microfilms, 1909. 57 p. E475.52N9.1971. Reprint of 1909 ed.

O'Brien, Kevin. "Valley of the Shadow: Col. Strong Vincent and the Eighty-third Pennsylvania

Infantry at Little Round Top." In Gettysburg Mag 7 (Jul 1992): pp. 41-50 (10 photocopied pages). E475.53G482no7.

Pennsylvania. Gettysburg Battlefield Comm. Pennsylvania at Gettysburg: Ceremonies at the

Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth.... Vol. 1. Hbg, PA: Wm S Ray, 1904. pp. 461-66 (4 photocopied pages). E475.53P422v1. (Addresses delivered at the dedication of the regimental monument and a photo of that monument at the Gettysburg National Military Park).

Ryan, James G. "Debunking the Myth of Butterfield's Twins." Blue & Gray Mag 13 (Jul 1996): pp. 34-39 (6 photocopied pages). Per.

Sauers, Richard A. Advance the Colors!: Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags. Vol. 1. Hbg, PA:

Capitol Preservation Comm, 1987. pp. 226-29 (4 photocopied pages). E527.4S38.1987.

(Brief unit history with emphasis on the regimental flags).

Smith, Wayne. "Redemption of the 83d Pennsylvania From the Depths of Gaines's Mill to the

Heights of Gettysburg." CW XXII: pp. 38-43 (6 photocopied pages). Per.

Stafford, David W. In Defense of the Flag: A True War Story. Warren, PA: Warren Mirror Print,

1912. 95 p. E611S78.1912.

Stonesifer, Roy P., Jr. "Colonel (Brigadier General) John W. McLane." Unpublished paper, 1985.

7 p. (7 photocopied pages). E473.68S86.1985a.

Waid, Seth III. The Civil War Diaries of.... Meadville, PA: Crawford County Hist Soc, 1993.

142 p. E601W35.1993.

Our Photo Archive includes images of individuals of this unit.

The following pertinent personal papers are in the Institute's Manuscript Archive:

Arnold Family - Papers (Enlisted man and corporal's letters, Mar 8, l864-Apr l7, l865; Diary,

Jul l-2l, l864)

Barnett, James - CWMiscColl (Enlisted man's letters, Sep l0, l86l-Apr l4, l862)

Foote, Daniel B. - Papers (Corporal's letters, Jul 29, l86l-Jun 25, l865)

Lytle, Henry - LeighColl Bk 42: 94 (Enlisted man's letter, Jun 28, l863)

Middaugh, Jesse - CWTIColl (Enlisted men's letters, Oct ll, l86l-Sep 3, l864)

Moore, Larry A. - CWMiscColl (Enlisted man's letter, Sep 7, l862; Poem, Oct 24, l863)

Norton, Oliver - CWMiscColl (Enlisted man's reminiscences, Jul 2, l863)

Stout, David B. - CWTIColl (Enlisted man's letters, Aug 24-Nov 23, l864)

Thickstun Family Papers (Enlisted man's letters, May 1861-Aug l5, l887)