Union and West End Cemetery

Charles W. Abbott was born in Easton, Pennsylvania on February 18, 1834. About 1854, he married the former Emma E. Kuhns. Sons, William Henry Abbott, was born on September 25, 1855 and Harry C. Abbott in July 1860.

Charles Abbott was a member of the Allen Infantry militia unit which was organized in Allentown by Captain Yeager in 1859. Charles was with the militia unit in April, 1861 when it answered the call for troops to defend the Capital from invasion by rebel forces. The Allen Infantry was assigned to 25th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment as company K. The men of Allen Infantry, along with four other militia units from across the state, would, from that time forward, be known as the 'First Defenders'. The initial militia units that responded to the call for troops were enrolled for only ninety-days. Thus, they were mustered out of service on July 26, 1861, having fulfilled their term of service.

Many of the 'First Defenders' enlisted with three-year regiments that were being formed across the state. On August 21, 1861, Charles W. Abbott enlisted with the Forty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment. This regiment was being raised by Colonel Tilghman H. Good, who had formerly served as Captain of the Allen Rifles, another Allentown militia unit that had members serving in ninety-day companies during the initial months of the war. Because of his service with the Twenty-fifth regiment, Charles Abbott was given the rank of 1st Lieutenant and assigned to the headquarter company of the Forty-seventh. At the time of his enrollment with the Forty-seventh, Charles was twenty-seven years of age, listed his occupation as a carpenter and was a resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania. His enlistment was for three-years.

The detailed history of the campaigns in which the Forty-seventh Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment was engaged and their movements is detailed elsewhere in this web-log.

On October 22, 1862, following the Battle of Pocotaligo Bridge, Charles Abbott was promoted to the rank of Captain, and placed in charge of Company K, replacing Captain Charles Mickley, who was killed during the battle.



On January 3, 1865, Charles was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel and was second in command of the regiment which was commanded by Colonel J. P. Shindle Gobin. Gobin replaced Colonel Tilghman Good who had been mustered out at the end of his term of service. Gobin was subsequently promoted to brevet Brigadier General on March 13, 1865.

Charles Abbott was mustered out with the regiment on Christmas Day, December 25, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina where the unit had been posted. However, the regiment did not embark for New York until January 3, 1866. Upon arrival in New York, after a stormy voyage, they proceeded by rail to Philadelphia. Finally, on January 9, 1866, the men of the regiment were released from duty at Camp Cadwalder.

The regiment saw service in seven Southern States, participated in the most exhausting campaigns, marched twelve hundred miles and made twelve voyages at sea. Most of the men of the Forty-seventh had re-enlisted at the expiration of their initial three-year term and thus were committed to serve out their terms, which accounts for their unusual length of service.





Charles returned to Allentown, Pennsylvania in Lehigh County after the Civil War. In 1870, he was living in the second ward and again following the trade as a carpenter. In addition to his wife and two sons, there was a Charlotte Mathias, age 64 also living in the household. For additional information for the Abbott family taken from the 1870, 1880 and 1900 census, along with photos of the graves in the family plot, click on the link below:



Charles Abbott died on March 29, 1908 and is buried along with other family members in the Union and West End Cemetery, Allentown, Pennsylvania.