Sitler, Joseph R.

SITLER, ROBINS, WRIGHT, COATES, SPALDING, GOODRICH

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 10/21/2009 at 07:50:32

Sitler, Joseph R.

To say that a man has been true to himself all his days is to pay him very great compliment, but to add to this that he has been a good father, kind and considerate husband, brave soldier and a man whose citizenship has been without taint or flaw is to place that man high among his fellows. Yet these things may be truthfully said of Joseph R. Sitler, the subject of this review.

Mr. Sitler was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, May 19, 1832 being the son of George Sitler, a native of Pennsylvania, and Sarah (Robins) Sitler, a native of New York. He is one of eight children, of whom but four survive, as follows: Mr. Sitler, of this review, the eldest; Henry F., born in 1836, resides in Dodge City, Kansas, of which city he has been one of the pioneer settlers and builders. An old cattleman and railroad contractor, he has been one of the most important factors in the up building of his home city, a portion of it being upon land which he formerly owned as a cattle ranch; Jessie R. Sitler, born in 1840, resides in Bliss, Oklahoma, and is engaged in the grain business; Frank J. was killed at Axtell, Kansas, in 1900, by falling from a loaded straw wagon; he was born in 1845; Ida Wright, widow of Rev. Byron Wright, a Methodist minister, resides in New York City; Anna, wife of Rev. Orin B. Coates, died at the age of twenty-six years, one week after her marriage, her death being as tragic as it was pitiful. Her husband of one week enlisted in the army and when the news of his enlistment was brought to her, she fell to the floor in a swoon, from which she never revived. The young husband went to the front a broken-hearted man. Two brothers of the subject died in infancy. Of Mr. Sitler's parents it may be said that they were hardy, God-fearing people of culture and refinement. The father was a farmer and was a stalwart among his fellow men. Neither ever removed from Pennsylvania. Both are now deceased.

The military record of Mr. Sitler is as remarkable as it is creditable. Few men, even though they took part in that great civil war, were compelled to undergo the misery, hardship and privation through which Mr. Sitler passed. Modest and retiring in manner, he gave only some of the more striking details of his varied army experience to the biographer, but it is easy to "read between the lines" and gather the full purport of what he passed through.

On October 6, 1861, in company with forty-four neighbor boys, he enlisted in the Second Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was placed in the department of the army guarding Washington. For six months he took part in the famous chase after Mosby and his men, after which he was transferred to the Army of the Potomac. He took part in the second Battle of Bull Run and was in the great Battle of Gettysburg. Here it was he acted as first lieutenant of provost guards, the captain being absent, and, hurrying here and there, supervising, directing and reporting to his superiors, he was under fire for hours. He saw the famous charge of rebel General Pickett. The next battle of importance in which he took part was that of Mine Run, Virginia, and for days thereafter was under fire. Then came the terrible battle of the Wilderness and the desultory fighting along the Rapidan River during which battle he was again in command. Before the Battle of the Wilderness he was sent home to recruit men for the army, recruiting one hundred men from Crawford County, Pennsylvania, in one month. On April 26, 1864, along with four hundred men who had been home on furlough, he re-enlisted and was soon in the thick of the fight, two days thereafter being detailed with a scouting party to watch the actions of the rebel cavalry along the Rappahannock river. On the night of May 7, 1864, following the Battle of the Wilderness, he was captured and marched to General Lee's headquarters, where he was kept for twelve days in company with forty-four officers and fourteen hundred other prisoners, with no rations except what they were able to buy for themselves. Next they were marched to Lynchburg, Virginia, a distance of sixty-five miles, two crackers being issued to each prisoner before starting. Some of the men got none. At Lynchburg the men were robbed of everything they possessed, and were then taken to Macon, Georgia, to the rebel prison camp. Here they were kept until July 10, when they were taken to Savannah, and then to Charleston, South Carolina. Here it was that they were confined to the jail yard and the Northern prisoners were exposed purposely to the Northern artillery fire in order that an exchange might be enforced, but none was made. October 9, 1864, they were taken to "Camp Sorghum," South Carolina, so called for the reason that the rations consisted of a pint of corn meal each day and all the sorghum molasses they could use. From Camp Sorghum they were taken across the river and put in the asylum prison at Columbia. Then a number of moves were made to Raleigh, North Carolina, to Wilmington, South Carolina, and to many other places in the vain attempt to avoid the fast approaching Northern Army, but finally at Wilmington, Mr. Sitler, along with many others was paroled. Here occurred one of those striking and romantic incidents so frequent in the Great War. Standing among the Northern troops was a tall, commanding looking man, who eyed the subject of this sketch as he moved about among the other wretched prisoners. Suddenly, something familiar appealed, to him and he clasped the thin hand of the prisoner. It was his brother, Jesse, at that time an adjutant of the Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania. After a long siege in the hospitals, finding him unable to serve further, the authorities gave Mr. Sitler an honorable discharge as first lieutenant and he returned home. Mr. Sitler was commissioned to serve on court martial duty twice, first after the battle of Gettysburg and second at Annapolis. Maryland. This was an exceptional honor to be given a line officer and he was the junior member of the court both times.

Mr. Sitler is a member of Garrett Post No. 16, Grand Army of the Republic, of Newton, of which he has been adjutant since 1895. He has also been commander of the post. He came to Jasper County August 2, 1866, and has resided here ever since with the exception of one year spent in Dodge City, Kansas. On February 16, 1864, he married Carrie Spalding, daughter of Rev. Josiah Spalding, who bore him the following children: Harry, born March 1, 1867, residing in Jasper County; Anna, born January 12, 1869, is unmarried, and resides with her father at home; one child died in infancy, the wife and mother dying soon after.

On March 2, 1881, Mr. Sitler was married to Rebecca Goodrich, daughter of Levi Goodrich, a native of Maine. She still survives and is the considerate and loyal companion of Mr. Sitler, being a sweet-faced woman of rare accomplishments. Both Mr. and Mrs. Sitler are members of the Congregational Church of Newton and Mrs. Sitler is prominent in temperance work, being an active member of the Anti-Saloon League.

Mr. Sitler is a large landowner, besides owning elegant city property and being interested in the Jasper County Mutual Fire and Lightning Insurance Company, of which he has been treasurer for seventeen years. Few men are better known and none are more respected. In politics Mr. Sitler is a Republican. Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa B. F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912 Page 626.