The Story of Isaac Wittes
Civil War Hero
By Kathy Ann Wittes
Dear readers and Wittes family members,
As of January 1, 2008, this is what I’ve been able to put together about Isaac Wittes over the last few months. I feel very proud of him and hope that you will as well after you read his story. I will probably need to get his Civil War Pension packet to confirm everything, which is a matter of expense and time. Some day I hope to get images of my supporting documentation up here for you.
My great-great-great Grandpa Isaac Wittes was born in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1818. Isaac’s parents were John B. and Elizabeth Wittes. On February 24, 1842, he married Susanna Betzer, who was also born in Snyder County, on December 09, 1819. Records suggest that they came from families who were active in the German church community, what we today call Pennsylvania Dutch. Susanna may have also been known as Ann Betzer or Susanna Bitzer.
In Pennsylvania, Isaac and Susanna had three daughters, Adda in about 1843, Sarah in about 1844, and Phebe in about 1850. These were followed by their two sons, Franklin Jacob, born in September 1852, and Charles “Charley” H., born in May of 1861. Isaac and Susanna and these children appear on the 1860 census as living in Synder County, PA. There were other folks with the surname Wittes living near by as well.
The late 1850’s were a time of great unrest in the United States, leading up to our Civil War in the early 1860’s. Per the book History of Pennsylvania Volunteers by Samuel P. Bates, he signed up for three years of service and was mustered into service on November 16, 1861. Isaac was a private, fighting for the Union. We know that Isaac volunteered for the United States Army. During the time that he served, there was no draft as there was later in the war, and thus during Isaac’s tour of duty all Union soldiers were volunteers. Historically, the men who joined voluntarily at the beginning of the war were more aware of the issues at stake and tended to be fighting for their ideals. Many men of the day felt strongly about preserving the union, and many men who were active in religious communities felt strongly about abolition. I hope to do further future research into the values of Isaac’s community and church to help us get more specific ideas on why he signed up.
At that time, the army was organized geographically. A company was supposed to consist of 100 soldiers, but in fact companies were made up of however many men from a given town signed up, approximately 75 to 125 men. Isaac was in Company H of the 51st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and presumably traveled and served with men from his own community. A regiment was supposed to be made up of 1000 soldiers, but again, this was approximate, based on how many man from a given locality signed up. The men of the 51st were recruited in Montgomery, Northampton, Union Centre, Lycoming and Snyder Counties, so this geography suggests that Isaac was serving with men from the part of Pennsylvania where he grew up. Company H was specifically recruited from Snyder and Union Counties. I know that Isaac Wittes held the rank of private, and this is verified in various sources. I saw an index on one website suggesting that he was also a cavalry man, but I have not been able to verify that yet.
On September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam took place at Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was the single bloodiest day in American history. Part of the Union strategy was to capture a stone bridge which stands to this day, known as Burnside Bridge. This task fell to the Pennsylvania 51st. At the age of 44, Isaac Wittes was killed in the securing of this bridge, which was thought to be of critical tactical importance at the moment Company H was sent toward it. Today there is a monument by Burnside Bridge, bearing the name of Isaac Wittes and others in the 51st who died taking the bridge that day. Photos of this monument are available online, but I haven’t found a photograph in which Isaac’s name is clearly visible. Antietam Cemetery has an adopt-a-monument program so that donors can help to preserve the Civil War memorials there. Maybe some day I can participate in that. I hope to get a photograph with Isaac’s name clearly visible on the Pennsylvania 51st Memorial, as well as a photo of Isaac’s grave if it can be found.
About 40 percent of the Union soldiers killed that day at the Battle of Antietam are in graves that are only marked as belonging to Union soldiers. About 60 percent of the Union fallen were identified, and their names appear on their headstones at Antietam Cemetery. It is likely that Isaac’s stone is labeled because he was known to have died at Burnside Bridge, but I have not found a photo of it on line. Another possibility: a comrade could have seen him fall and thus he was known to have died, and yet if his body were not identified later, he may be buried in an unmarked grave.
Though many Union soldiers rest unidentified to history, their sacrifice was critical to the outcome of the war. At that time, the United States was badly in need of a victory on the Eastern Front. The Union victory at Antietam convinced England that it should not recognize the Confederacy as a nation and that it should not challenge the Union blockade. Abraham Lincoln had drafted a plan for emancipating slaves several months earlier, but he had declined to announce it until such time as the Union army achieved a victory on the Eastern Front. Antietam was that victory, and Lincoln was able to announce his plans for those slaves which where being used in the Confederate war effort. Private Isaac Wittes made the ultimate sacrifice for his country on a day that determined the course of history.
My great-great grandpa Charley Wittes was just 16 months old when his father Isaac died, so he had to have grown up with little or no memory of his father. The next time Susanna appears on a census, she is listed in the 1870 census, Lucas County Ohio, living with her young sons Charles and Frank. The girls are not listed. I am trying to track down where they wound up, although at this point what I’ve found suggests that some may have married and moved to a different part of Pennsylvania. It is likely that the reason Susanna moved to Ohio was that she had Betzer family in the area, but I have not been able to locate them. It is also likely that they traveled by rail, but I do not have that information either, nor have I been able to secure Isaac’s pension record. This is how our branch of the Wittes family came to be living in northwestern Ohio.
The older son, Frank Wittes, was about 9 years older than Charles. Frank married a woman of well-documented Czech ancestry named Asenath “Sena” Demuth. They had nine children: Cora, William, John, Charles A.-presumably named for Frank’s baby brother, Minnie, twins Harry and Harvey, and Raymond. Isaac and Susanna’s youngest, my great great grandpa Charles “Charley” H. Wittes married Mary Leu. I have a census record that shows that the Leu family lived close enough to be on the census page, so she was a neighbor girl. They had fifteen children: Frank-presumably named for Charley’s big brother, Henry, John, Albert, Ella, Verne, Lillian, Louis, Anna, Marian, Waldo, Olus, Melvin, and, according to family tradition, two who died as infants. The infants are believed to have been buried on the family farm on Neowash Road in Whitehouse, Ohio, which was later owned by John Wittes, my great grandpa.
Susanna lived the rest of her life in Waterville Township and is buried at the Mennonite Cemetery on Finzel Road (near Dutch Road) in Whitehouse, Ohio. There is a memorial there with her name and Isaac’s name on it. Susanna is buried there under this memorial, listed as Dec 9, 1819 to Sept 15, 1902.
Though Isaac is listed on the Burnside Bridge Memorial as having died at Antietam in 1862, he is also listed on the marker where Susanna is buried. We can assume that he is not buried with her, because it would not be likely for his body to be shipped from Sharpsburg to Snyder, and then later to Whitehouse. Some genealogists use divining rods to detect graves, so perhaps someone can check to be sure, but it is most likely that only Susanna was buried there. It is likely that she simply wanted his information added as a memorial cenotaph. The dates on the marker for him are June 23, 1818 to Sept 12, 1867. This death date is of course incorrect; the 7 and the 2 were transposed and it should read September 17, 1862. I think it would be nice if we could correct this tombstone error at some point in time.
In the mean time, I continue to look for more information on this wonderful hero ancestor from our family. I really wish I could get more information on him, or even a photograph.. I intend to revise this biography as I secure more facts.
Kathy Ann Wittes
January 1, 2008