So, just for fun, I decided to search the DB for “Filby” (and the various alternative spellings). All told, I got over thirty hits after the obvious duplicates were weeded out. A quick review of the list turned up three names that were already in our Filby genealogy file (Reunion software, on a Mac). I decided to widen the search … and have already found over a dozen relatives who fought in the Union Army. And we’re still working on it.
One of the most interesting links focused on my five-times removed grandfather Thomas Filby (1779-1822). He had a brother, Samuel (1798-1873), who had three sons who fought in the Civil War. They were Thomas (1840-1905), Samuel, Jr. (1844-1898), and William (1847-1919). These men were, of course, my first cousins (five times removed).
Thomas and William enlisted in 1862 and, on November 23, 1862, were mustered into Company C, 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment. William must have blatantly lied about his age, with his brother backing him up. The unit had relatively easy duty to begin with, serving as part of the defensive garrison for Washington, DC. They were actually fortunate for them, since they had been equipped with castoff swords, obsolete carbines, and (apparently) no revolvers.
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| 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry, ca 1863. Library of Congress. |
At the beginning of 1863, the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry was transferred into northern Virginia, where they encounter the famous Moseby’s Rangers. A regimental history states that Moseby considered their arms so inferior that “it did not pay to capture them.” In fact, Thomas was captured while on picket duty … but was soon released. The Army finally upgraded their weaponry in the spring when they became part of the Army of the Potomac.
In late June, the regiment saw its first serious action at the Battle of Hanover, about 13 miles east of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. At the subsequent Battle of Gettysburg, the regiment participated in one major charge, then spent the rest of the time skirmishing with Confederate scouts and probes. The regiment saw almost continuous action from then on, including at The Wilderness and the Battle of Cold Harbor.
They were then transferred to the Shenandoah Valley for that campaign, where they again saw hard action. Thus, on October 19, 1864, the regiment took part in the Third Battle of Winchester, which, according to the National Park Service, many historians consider “the most important conflict of the Shenandoah Valley.”
A few weeks before that battle, Samuel Filby enlisted in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. The 50th had seen brutal action in many theaters before rejoining the Army of the Potomac for the major battles of 1864. They had taken heavy losses and needed reinforcements badly. Tough as the Shenandoah Campaign was for his brothers, Sam probably had it worse. For the 50th played a major role in the Siege of Petersburg. After taking part in the final breakthrough there, the regiment joined in the pursuit leading to General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.
Meanwhile, the 18th Pennsylvania Cavalry was still busy in the Shenandoah Valley, adding more battle stars to its record. Thomas, however, had been injured in an accident and was too disabled for combat duty. He was reassigned to the “Veteran Reserve Corps.” All told, the regiment fought in around fifty significant actions. Around 300 soldiers died in action or from disease. Probably over 200 men suffered crippling wounds, injuries, or sickness. Some, like Thomas, were transferred to the Reserve Corps, but most received medical discharges. The regiment also lost over 250 men to desertion or missing in action. Shortly after the last Confederate units surrendered, remnants of the 18th were consolidated with another depleted regiment to form a new “provisional” cavalry regiment.
William Filby was discharged in July 1865, about a month after Samuel. The Reserve Corps still had duties guarding government facilities and property during the post-war demobilization. Thus, Thomas Filby was not discharged until August. Having survived the war, the three brothers returned to Greene County, in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania. They married, and began raising families. All went into farming, although William also worked as a carpenter for a time.
Thomas, of course, had survived an injury during the war, but none of the brothers really escaped unscathed. Thus, William filed for “Invalid” status on his military pension in 1879, when he was in his early thirties. Samuel followed with the same request four years later, when he was less than forty years old. Finally, Thomas filed for Invalid status in 1888. He was less than fifty years old. Still, only Samuel died relatively young … in 1898 when he was 54 years old. Thomas Filby died in 1905, and William in 1919.
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| Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg. National Park Service. |
I don’t expect to find anyone famous in our continued search, although William did attain the rank of sergeant. Two of them – Thomas and William – do have their names inscribed on the Pennsylvania Monument at the Gettysburg National Military Park. Still, the project is already fascinating and who knows what else might turn up? We’ve only found one Filby who joined the Confederate Army, and he changed sides at his first opportunity.
And yes, we’ve already found several other Filby relatives who died as Union soldiers, or did not long survive the end of the war.
| References: Extensive use of census, military, and other records available at Ancestry.com |
| Samuel P. Bates, History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, State Printing Office, Harrisburg (1870). |
| History of the Eighteen Regiment of Cavalry, Pennsylvania Volunteers, Wynkoop Hallenbeck Crawford Company, New York (1909). |
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