Kistler Kin
William Kistler / Philadelphia
-JOHANNES KISTLER, Immigrant of 1737
-HANNES KISTLER of Albany Township
-ABRAHAM KISTLER, b1761 Berks Co, d 1833 Perry Co
-SAMUEL KISTLER, b 1802, Perry Co, d 1872, Perry Co
-WILLIAM KISTLER, b 1826, Perry Co, d 1877, Philadelphia
Kistler Family Watershed Mimics That of a Nation
The life of my great-great grandfather William Kistler reflects not only the upheaval of the Civil War but also the dramatic shift that took place in Pennsylvania Dutch culture during that period. William was the first of my Kistler line who was not a farmer, the first who was not a Lutheran, the first who did not speak Pennsylvania Dutch as a first language and the first city dweller.
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His occupation reflects the onset of the Industrial Revolution. As the oldest son, he grew up working his father’s farm in Perry County. But he married into a family of itinerant foundry workers who went from forge to forge following the burgeoning iron industry in Blair, Huntingdon and surrounding counties. In 1847 he married Emeline Gates at Martha Furnace near McKee, Blair County. A small settlement grew up around what was later known as Gap Furnace. William was not alone, others of his generation from Perry County also went into the iron trade.
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Typical iron forge from the era.
However, at the outbreak of the Civil War, William was working as a tailor and living in Greason, west of Carlisle. I don’t know what prompted the change, but I speculate that he was injured and, unable to do forge work, needed a less physically demanding occupation. It’s hard to comprehend why a man who had a comfortable job, a wife, a house full of children and who was no spring chicken and possibly suffering from at least some degree of physical disability, enlisted a few short months after the first shots rang out at Fort Sumter. Again, he was not alone, many men, young and old of every social station, did the same thing. I sense in them a jumble of emotions. First, a boiling over of righteous indignation. How dare those rebels fire upon their fellow Americans? Second, an irresistible, tribal obligation to join the martial throng. They would not be branded as cowards. And third, a flush of youthful enthusiasm. This was going to be a lark. They’d have great sport teaching the secessionists a well-deserved lesson and be home before Christmas.
However, all thoughts of a quick Union victory evaporated just a few weeks after William enlisted. When news came of the disastrous first major battle at Bull Run, people in the North suddenly realized that the war might be long and costly. If regret did not come to Willie at once, it surely came when McCall’s Pennsylvania Reserve Corps was sent to Mechanicsburg just in time for him to witness the utter humiliation of the Army of the Potomac during the Seven Days.
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On the muster roll of Company A, 7th Regiment, William is first listed as a Fife Major and later as a Principal Musician. That means he was a band leader! I know nothing of his musical training and can only suppose that he had been a member of the Blain town band. He must have been an accomplished musician to qualify for such a position. His band almost certainly played for President Lincoln, Governor Curtin and General McClellan when they reviewed the Pennsylvania Reserves stationed at Tennallytown, part of the defensive perimeter protecting Washington, D.C. In battle, musicians were often detailed to serve as litter bearers.
Union fife and drum corps.
William was at the very front when the Battle of Mechanicsburg began. The Pennsylvania Reserves repelled repeated Rebel attacks at Beaver Dam Creek then were forced to retreat again and again as the Army of the Potomac put its tail between its legs and abandoned the Peninsula. Afterwards, William was listed as "absent sick" on muster rolls. Several entries indicate that he was in Portsmouth Grove Hospital, Rhode Island. The company muster-out roll of June 16, 1864 states that he was "In Gen'l Hosp David's Island, New York.” Later documents indicate that William had contracted a serious lung disease, possibly tuberculosis. William exemplifies the fact that disease claimed far more casualties during the war than cannons or rifles.
Army of the Potomac pickets.
Following the war, William exhibited yet another occupational shift. He returned to Perry County briefly then moved his family to the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia where he operated a tobacconist shop selling “segars” on the Delaware River with his brother-in-law Martin Gates. In Kensington, William was surrounded by his extended family where they continued to live long after he was gone. My branch of the rural Kistlers had become a decidedly urban clan.
