Civil War Photos: Joseph Egolf

Colonel Joseph Egolf (New York State Military Museum)

I think you can tell why I chose this photograph for my next Civil War Photo investigation. Apart from the obvious, there's just something amazing about this man - the way he holds himself, the tidy way in which his empty shirtsleeve is pinned in front of him, his stalwart expression, and his meticulously groomed sideburns. He's someone whom I wanted to get to know.

His name was Joseph Egolf. He was born on February 14, 1830, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He seems to have married twice; first, to an English woman, who was the mother of Egolf's first child, Alma, born 1856; and secondly, to Irish immigrant Martha Hyland, widow of tailor William Hyland and the mother of Egolf's second child, Joseph, born 1874. The family lived in Troy, New York, where Egolf enlisted as a sergeant on April 20, 1861.

Egolf sustained the wound that would ultimately cost him his right arm on August 25, 1864, when he was taken prisoner at Ream's Station, Virginia. Though he was reported dead by several New York newspapers in the days following, the Troy Daily Whig confirmed Egolf's survival on September 3 (right). He was released from captivity on September 14, and discharged for his wounds on December 31.

Troy Daily Whig September 3, 1864

Two years earlier, Egolf had been wounded in the neck at Bristoe Station, Virginia. Due to its location, the bullet couldn't be removed from Egolf's body, and so it remained in place until it killed him 31 years later. More on that to come.

This is Egolf's full service record, adapted from the muster roll abstract above and from the description of his photograph at the New York State Military Museum:

April 20, 1861. Enlisted at Troy, NY, as 1st Sergeant
May 14, 1861. Mustered into Company D, 2nd New York Infantry Regiment
September 6, 1861. Promoted to 2nd Lieutenant
August 27, 1862. Wounded in the neck at Bristoe Station, VA
August 31, 1862. Transferred from Company D to Company F and promoted to 1st Lieutenant
February 5, 1863. Transferred from Company F to Company K and promoted to Captain
March 29, 1864. Commissioned into Company I, 125th New York Infantry and promoted to 1st Lieutenant
June 29, 1864. Promoted to Captain
August 25, 1864. Taken prisoner and wounded at Ream's Station, VA (severe wound in right arm, amputated)
September 14, 1864. Paroled
December 31, 1864. Discharged for wounds
May 26, 1863. Mustered out at Troy, NY

A Regimental History: The 125th NYS Volunteers by Ezra De Forest Symons

Upon his return to Troy after the war, Egolf became somewhat of a local celebrity - for both good and bad reasons. To begin with the good, he served as police commissioner in Troy, and was an active member and leader of the Grand Army of the Republic: becoming the Commander of the Post Willard chapter and founding the Tibbits Veteran Corps of Troy, as recounted in The Second Battle of Bennington by Charles Spooner Forbes:

The Second Battle of Bennington by Charles Spooner Forbes

Below is a letter written by Ulysses S. Grant to Captain Egolf, expressing his regret that he couldn't accept Egolf's invitation to a banquet to be held at Troy by the G.A.R.

Papers of Ulysses S. Grant

Now on to the bad. It seems that Egolf got himself into a number of different physical altercations, the most dramatic of which took place in 1885 and ended with Egolf shooting the Secretary of State's son, William J. Carr. What had prompted Egolf's action? Well, among other things, Carr called Egolf a "one-armed fraud."

This is an article describing the incident; my transcription below it (I added paragraphs for readability).

Buffalo Daily Courier April 27, 1885

Secretary Carr's Son Shot
Albany Argus, April 26

Intense excitement was caused in Troy last night by a rumor that Major William J. Carr, son of the secretary of state, had been shot at the Troy house by Col. Joseph Egolf, commander of the Tibbitt's Veteran corps. The rumor was quickly found to be a fact, and the excitement spread to this city, where both parties are well known.

It appears that Major Carr and Col. Egolf, who were great cronies, had been around together during the day, and late in the afternoon brought up to a River street saloon, where they got into a heated discussion about taking care of Lieut. I. Seymour Scott of the disbanded Veteran corps, who is proposed to send south for his health. Major Carr held that Scott's friends ought to put their shoulder to the wheel, as it were, while Colonel Egolf insisted that the corps should do it. The quarrel waxed hot, and Col. Egolf, it is said, cast reflections on Major Carr's father which so enraged the major that he knocked Egolf down. Col. Egolf, who is a one-armed veteran, bounded to his feet, [illegible] a stove shaker and struck Carr over the eye, cutting a slight gash.

The combatants were hurriedly separated by their friends, and Major Carr went to the Troy house, where he entered the barroom. In a short time Col. Egolf entered with his party, approaching the bar at the end opposite to where Major Carr stood. On seeing his opponent standing at the bar, Major Carr at once advanced toward him. Colonel Egolf ordered him to stand back. Hot words were interchanged and the quarrel was resumed with redoubled fury. Major Carr finally called the colonel a "one armed fraud," when the latter stepped back, drew a revolver and before any one could interfere, fired point blank at his [illegible].

Before a second shot could be fired he was seized by one of the proprietors and the revolver wrenched from his grasp. Maj. Carr staggered back with an exclamation of terror and was hurriedly carried into one of the rooms of the hotel and a surgeon summoned. In the meantime Col. Egolf was turned over to an officer with whom he proceeded quietly to the Second precinct station house. No charge was preferred against him there and he was again set at liberty.

At the hotel, where the excitement was intense, it was found, on examination, that the bullet had pierced Maj. Carr's clothing without even making a flesh wound. The revolver used was of small calibre [sic] and the unsteady aim of its owner fortunately prevented a serious result. Maj. Carr, on learning that he was unhurt, left the hotel with his friends and was seen later in the evening walking about the streets.

This incident doesn't seem to have affected Egolf's reputation or career. Throughout the 1880s, he worked as a moulder and cigar dealer in Troy and continued to be involved in the G.A.R.

1880 US Federal Census

Martha Hyland Egolf died on January 11, 1890, at the age of 55.

Troy NY Daily Times 1890

Egolf himself died three years later, on August 17, 1893, reportedly from the neck wound he had sustained in 1862. He was remembered in the local obituaries as "one of the best-known veterans of the late war in this section of the country," and his funeral was said to be "the largest military funeral ever held in this city [Troy]."

New York Tribune 1893

Alma and Joseph Egolf lived together in Troy after their parents' death. Alma didn't marry, and worked as a stenographer for the Ludlow Valve Company; Joseph worked for the same company as a clerk.

1900 US Federal Census

Alma died on October 22, 1908, at the age of 52.

Troy NY Daily Times October 23, 1908

Joseph Egolf Jr. married a woman named Hannah, a daughter of Scottish immigrants, in 1901. Their son, Joseph Egolf III, was born in 1902. Joseph Jr. worked for the Ludlow Valve Company for more than thirty years, first as a clerk, then a bookkeeper, and then as a sales manager. Hannah Egolf died between 1920 and 1930.

1910 US Federal Census

Joseph Egolf III worked as a traveling salesman for the Ludlow Valve Company. In 1930, he was working in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He traveled to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1953. He died in Carnegie, PA, in 1973.

1. Joseph Egolf (1830-1893) m. (1) Unknown; (2) Martha Hyland (1835-1890)
1. Alma M. Egolf (1856-1908)
2. Joseph Hyland Egolf (1874-after 1940) m. Hannah (1871-before 1930)
1. Joseph L. Egolf (1902-1973)