Samuel Straub

Exploring history’s mysteries, one leaf at a time.

I have spent some time exploring the lives of relatives who served in the Revolutionary War and World War I. Now, I’m taking a closer look at the Civil War and how my 3rd great-grandfather, Samuel Straub served.

Samuel was born on February 21, 1836 in Pennsylvania. I am unsure of who his parents were. He married Hannah Klinger prior to 1857; which is when my 2nd great-grandfather Tobias Albert Straub was born. In June of 1862, he was drafted by the Union. He was assigned to the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. On November 2, 1862, he was assigned the rank of Private and joined the Union Army at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg. He left behind his pregnant wife and two young sons.

It doesn’t appear that this regiment was involved in much action. They moved from Pennsylvania to Washington, D.C. then parts of Virginia and Maryland throughout Samuel’s enlistment period. During July of 1863, the 177th regiment was involved in pursuing Robert E. Lee. After the battle of Gettysburg from July 1-3, 1863; Robert E. Lee was pushed back into Virginia. From July 10-August 1, the 177th regiment as part of the 2nd Brigade of the Army of the Potomac continued to push General Lee, deeper and deeper into Virginia. General Lee would surrender in 1865.

On August 1st, the 177th regiment reported back to Camp Curtin in Harrisburg where Private Samuel Straub was honorably discharged on August 5, 1863. He was then free to return to his life as a farmer. In his absence, his wife had given birth to their third son.

Samuel and his wife Hannah had two more children after the war, a daughter and another son. Samuel died on October 12, 1899 in Lykens, Pennsylvania at the age of 63. He is buried in Dauphin County.

Although his regiment was not involved in many battles and only lost 24 men due to disease, I still admire Samuel’s service to our country. He was very lucky that his regiment was not involved in the Battle of Gettysburg where heavy casualties were noted on both sides.