CAPT. JOSEPH GROFF - Civil War - a Father & Son

Between September 1861 and April 1862 the regiment was lead by General Banks. Some of the earliest duties included guarding the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad near the Shenandoah Valley. In time the regiment was driven out of the Valley, with most of their forces concentrated in the Harper’s Ferry area. Lt. Joseph Groff had lived for 10 years (1840-1850) in Harper's Ferry and was very familiar with the area. With the defeat of General Pope’s forces at the Second Battle of Bull Run, the regiment was then forced to surrender the garrison they were guarding at Harper’s Ferry on September 15, 1862. The regiment along with the two Groff men was taken prisoners. In one day all the captured Union soldiers were then paroled by the Confederates and exchanged for their own soldiers. The regiment was later assigned to duty along the Potomac in the southern part of Maryland.

Over the next 9 months Joseph was able to return to Frederick several times on leave to see his family. By February 10, 1863 he was given the rank of captain. Then on February 22, 1863, another daughter, Fannie W. Groff, was added to the family. But within just a few months one of the biggest battles of the war was about to take place about 50 miles north of Frederick.

The Confederate General Robert E. Lee was moving his armies northward from Virginia into Maryland and was ready to move into Pennsylvania by June of 1863. The Confederate troops had stormed into areas of Frederick, Maryland and into Hanover, Pennsylvania destroying some buildings along the way. But the townspeople had held their ground and the Rebel forces did not take the towns.

At the same time two regiments, The First Regiment Potomac Home Brigade of Maryland lead by Colonel William P. Maulsby and the 115th New York Volunteers lead by Colonel J. H. Ketcham were making a long and painful march from Baltimore, via Frederick City to reach Gettysburg. They arrived at 8 a.m. on July 2nd. Early on July 1, 1863, the Union cavalry patrols were on the road northwest of Gettysburg watching for any Confederate troops. It was then that shots were fired on the Union troops, west of Gettysburg along the Chambersburg Pike. The Union soldiers were outflanked and driven back to Seminary Ridge and to higher ground. That first day alone saw thousands of Northern troops killed, injured or taken prisoner. The second day of fighting centered in the areas south of Gettysburg (Little Round Top, Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Hill, and Devil’s Den). Again the push of the Rebels kept the Yankees in place. Near midnight of July 2nd, a skirmish between both sides broke out as soldiers from both sides tried to get water for their canteens at Spangler’s Spring, which was near Culp’s Hill.

During the early morning hours of Friday, July 3, 1863, Colonel Maulsby’s regiment (First Potomac Home Brigade of Maryland) was selected to engage the enemy within the woods. The forest areas were entered and the enemy engaged and driven back behind a stone wall, which was nearly parallel with the turnpike. During the battle, while leading his men at Spangler’s Spring, a bullet in the right foot wounded Capt. Joseph Groff. But there was no time to remove the bullet, only time enough to put a dressing over the wound. The regiment had 80 men killed or wounded and their ammunition was in short supply. The Brigade Commander of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, Henry H. Lockwood, wrote in his report, “I cannot too strongly comment the courage and good conduct of every officer and man engaged in this fearful enterprise.”

There would be continuous fighting on both sides during the day. The Confederacy with Pickett’s Charge would see that there was tremendous combating by both sides for many hours. Gunfire, cannons and hand to hand fighting continued until the Union reinforcements arrived and the Confederates withdrew. It rained all day of July 4th and then on the 5th, so General Lee pushed his remaining Northern Virginia Army southward. The casualties for both sides were about 50,000 men over those three bloody days.

The regiment marched with the Army of the Potomac in pursuit of General Lee as far as the Potomac River, when it was then assigned to guarding the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. During that time there were many skirmishes between the Confederates and the First Potomac Home Brigade of Maryland. By July of 1864, when General Early invade Maryland, the regiment took an active part in checking the Confederate advance, and part of the regiment fought in the Battle of Monocacy under General Wallace.

Capt. Joseph Groff was given permission in July 1863 to return to his home in Frederick, since it was so close to Gettysburg, to have a surgeon remove the bullet. This would offer him the time to mend his wound. William S. Groff remained with the 1st Potomac Home Brigade and was promoted to a corporal. Joseph returned to his company and active duty by September 2, 1863. But during the next year the effect of explosives had caused deafness in Joseph’s ears. He was also unable to do physical labor after a year. William was fortunate and not wounded during his military service. By September 6, 1864 (even while the war still waged on), Joseph and his son, William S. Groff, were mustered out from military service and then honorably discharged in Washington, D.C. in December 1864. Father and son had serviced their hometown and country well over a three-year period and lived to return to their family in spite of the fact they had just served in one of America’s most bloody wars.