Langhorne Wister

He volunteered in the Union Army and personally raised a company from Duncannon.^[4] He was mustered in June, 4 1861,^[5] and served as captain in the 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, known as the "Bucktails", under Charles John Biddle.^[4] He fought at the Battle of Dranesville, the Battle of Beaver Dam Creek, and the Battle of Glendale.^[4] He was wounded in the ankle at the Battle of Gaines' Mill.^[6]

At the end of the Peninsula campaign, he was stationed in Philadelphia on recruiting duty, but was quickly recalled into active service.^[1] He was promoted to colonel on September 4, 1862,^[6] and commanded the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment,^[1][7] known as the "Third Bucktails".^[8] He fought at the Battle of Fredericksburg^[4] and at the Battle of Chancellorsville in I Corps of the Army of the Potomac.^[6]

Wister assumed command of a brigade on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg after Colonel Roy Stone was wounded. Wister was wounded in the face and had to give up command, however, he remained on the field of battle to motivate the troops. He took a leave of absence to recover from his wound and returned to lead the brigade.^[1] He resigned on February 22, 1864.^[6] He was brevetted brigadier general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, for his service at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.^[6]

He returned to Duncannon, resumed work at the iron business, and became a partner in L. & R. Wister & Co., an iron commission merchant.^[2] He owned a 280-acre farm in Perry County, Pennsylvania.^[9] He was a member of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.^[2]

Wister died of meningitis at home in Germantown on March 19, 1891,^[10] and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Section L, Lot 316-318.^[11]

• List of American Civil War brevet generals (Union)

Citations

Sources

• Thomson, O.R.; Rauch, William H. (1906). History of the Bucktails. Electric Printing Company.
• Wister, Jones (1920). Jones Wisters' Reminiscences. J.B. Lippincott Company.