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Archibald Fulton Hill (379) was born 23 October 1842 on the Hill homestead, Fairfield Township, Crawford County, Pennsylvania, the oldest son of Samuel Hill (374) and Margaret Montgomery (378). He is described in military documents as being five feet nine inches tall, having a light complexion, gray eyes and brown hair, and by occupation a farmer. Archibald enlisted 20 August 1862 for three years at Meadville, Pennsylvania. He was mustered into Company H, 150th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (Bucktails). The companies of the 150th Regiment initially rendevoused at Camp Curtin, near Harrisburg, PA, where they were organized into a military unit. The 150th initially was employed as guards in and around Washington, DC. Company H guarded a hospital; Archibald wrote a letter to his cousin John Hill (424) on 13 October 1862 describing this duty. They were apparently located near the Capital, since Archibald talks about visiting Congress. Archibald also wrote a second letter to John Hill on 26 November, and a third letter to his sister Eliza Jane on Christmas Day, 1862 while the 150th was still at Washington, D. C. See Following this, in February 1863, the 150th moved to Belle Plain, Virginia where, with two other Pennsylvania Regiments, they were formed into the Second Brigade of the Third Division, First Corps. Archibald wrote a letter to his sister, Jennie [Eliza Jane] (384), on 8 April 1863 from Belle Plain, shortly before the 150th moved toward Fredericksurg, and then west to the vicinity of a large solitary house in the woods known as Chancellorsville. The 150th was held in reserve during the Battle of Chancellorsville, seeing no combat. The 150th then marched back to Pennsylvania, toward a rendezvous with the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. On the way, he wrote a letter to Jennie, and one to his cousin, John. He wrote a second one to John on 24 June 1863 when the Union Army, under Joseph Hooker, was rushing to intercept Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, already in Pennsylvania. The 150th Pennsylvania played an important role during the first days battle at Gettysburg. Part of Stone's brigade, Third Division, First Corps under command of MG John Reynolds, they were initially deployed on Seminary Ridge, to the right of the Iron Brigade. Following Reynolds' death at the hands of a sharpshooter, MG Abner Doubleday commanded the First Corps. The First Corps troops held on for hours, later reinforced by the Eleventh Corps. As the day wore on, Confederate forces continued to approach Gettysburg until the Union troops on Seminary Ridge faced the bulk of Lee's invading army. The Union troops were forced to fall back through the town to Cemetery Hill, already held by the Union Fifth Corps, to wait until MG Meade could bring up the remainder of the Army of the Potomac. Stone's Brigade was the last to leave the field with the 150th probably the last of the Union troops holding the line. The 150th suffered heavy casualties, more than 60% of the men killed, wounded or missing, and had their colors captured within the town. Nevertheless, they took up position on Cemetery Hill and took part in the second and third days fighting. Their colors were recovered from Jefferson Davis's baggage when he was captured at the end of the war. In a letter to his mother on 5 July, Archibald says "we have had a very hard fight." Archibald survived the Battle
of Gettysburg unscathed, writing
that "I did not get a scratch though the boys fell around
me," although his brother James
(380) was wounded. In most of his surviving letters,
he mentions being "blessed with good health." Ironically,
then, he died 5 September 1863 at Rappahannock Station (now Remington),
Virginia, of "congestion of the brain." He is buried
in Arlington National Cemetery, Block 2, Section E, Row 7, Grave
69, with other Union soldiers who died during the war. |
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Page created 9 May 2000
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