American Historical Ephemera & Early Photography Online

ROATH, Captain Emanuel D. (1820-1907). "List of Members of the Jackson Infantry Company of Marytown Lancaster County Penna." Thrice signed ("E.D. Roath") by Emanuel Dyer Roath as captain of the Lancaster County militia. 4 December 1849. 4pp including integral address leaf, approx. 8 x 12 1/2 in. (extensive adhesive repair, chipping along edges, small losses not affecting text). Addressed to Major General George Ford, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and with autograph note signed from Roath to Ford related to the company roll. Includes the names of 45 members of the "Jackson Infantry," including Emanuel Roath and his brother Philip B. Roath who would later serve with Emanuel Roath in the 107th PA Infantry. Perhaps the earliest known example of Emanuel D. Roath's signature, on a roll containing the names of other future Civil War soldiers and Gettysburg combatants.

The “Jackson Infantry Company” was organized in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and was active at least as early as 1848. Roath, a prominent local figure, served as its captain. Roath was a teacher turned lumberman prior to being elected as Marietta, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, justice of the peace in 1854. When the Civil War began, Roath enlisted in November 1861 in the 107th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Organized in 1861 and composed largely of men from Lancaster County and nearby areas—including some former members of Jackson’s Infantry—the regiment joined the Army of the Potomac. It participated in major campaigns and battles, including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. At Gettysburg, the 107th PA regiment was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel James M. Thomson until he was wounded on July 1 and Captain Emanuel D. Roath then took command, most notably leading the regiment while on Cemetery Hill during Pickett's Charge. The 107th brought 255 men to the field, losing 11 killed, 56 wounded and 98 missing. Roath would later be captured at the Battle of Weldon Railroad in August 1864, and imprisoned in Confederate prisons for the next nine months until exchanged.

[With:] MULCAHY, John P. A Fine Day: The Civil War Diary of Capt. Emanuel D. Roath 107th PA Volunteers Detailing 1864 Combat & Life in Confederate prisons January 1864-March 1865. [Marietta, PA]: Lulu Press, 2012. An annotated version of Roath's diary as published by Mulcahy, a descendant of Captain Roath.