Abram Spengler General was the son of
Christian Spengler and
Susan Hoffman. He left Moorefield, Virginia (now West Virginia) as Captain of the Hardy Grays, a company raised chiefly by his efforts, under instructions to report to Colonel Thomas J. Jackson, then in command of the Confederate forces at Harper's Ferry. He company was at once assigned to the 33rd Virginia Regiment, of which it formed a part, until the close of the war. Captain Spengler was in command of his company in the first battle of Manassas (or Bull Run), in which he lost heavly, the 33rd Regiment being one of those making up the famous "Stonewall Brigade," and it was during the hottest part of this fiercely contested battle, that its commander received the name of "Stonewall," and by which name it was ever afterwards known. Subsequently to this battle, General Jackson, was ordered to the Valley of Virginia (the valley of the Shenandoah River) with his brigade, and in all the battles of that brilliant campaign, Captain Spengler participated, never being known to have been absent from duty when an engagement was anticipated, or in actual progress. He was engaged in the following battles, viz: Kernstown. In the battle of McDowell, the Stonewall Brigade was not engaged but was brought into action again against the retreating forces of General Banks at Winchester Heights. Then follows Port Republic, and Cross Keys, after which General Jackson was ordered to Richmond, to co-operate with General Lee, against McClellan. Here Colonel Spengler, having been promoted, took part in the battles of Gaines Mills, Cold Harbor and Malvern Hill. After the seven day's battles, his next experience was the battle of Cedar Run, or Slaughter Mountain, as it has been variously named. Then follows the second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg (or Antietam), Ox Hill, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and engagements that took place on the retreat of General Lee, until the final surrender of the latter. He rose from the rank of Captain to that of Colonel, commanding the "Stonewall Brigade" and his comission as Brigadier General, had been made out, but in the confusion of the evacuation of Richmond and withdrawal of the Department of the Government, it was never transmitted to him. General Spengler was a cool, brave and skillful officer, kind to his subordinates, and ever ready to obey his superiors. He ended his military career, when General Lee surrendered at Appomatox Court House. He married
Mary S. (?). Abram died in 1893 at
Mooresfield, West Virginia.