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C. Styer

C. Styer

Federal (USV)

Assistant Surgeon

Charles Styer

(1840 - 1896)

Home State: Pennsylvania

Education: University of Pennsylvania Medical School, Class of 1862

Command Billet: Regimental Asst. Surgeon

Branch of Service: Medical

Unit: 45th Pennsylvania Infantry

Before Antietam

A recent medical school graduate, he was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the 45th Pennsylvania Infantry on 1 August 1862.

On the Campaign

He treated wounded men of the Regiment during action on South Mountain (14 Sept) and at Antietam. A regimental history noted ...

In going into this fight [South Mountain] the surgeon and both assistants were with the regiment. This seemed to be considered the proper place for them. However, when the musketry fire opened and the air was full of uncomfortable sounds, Dr. Christ [Surgeon, 45th] soon realized that to use his own words "It is to - - hot here;" turning to the assistant surgeons, he ordered them to attend to the temporary dressings of the many wounded, sending them a little way down the mountain to a little log house where he established our field hospital. This was not entirely out of range, but on the whole better suited to the work that was in hand, and work it was, for our boys were hard hit. The loss in our regiment alone being about 140 killed and wounded.

... Our next engagement was three days later at Antietam. Here while the fighting was terrific and the losses of our army great, it was the great good for tune of our regiment to escape with a comparatively small list of killed and wounded, yet there was plenty of work for all.

The rest of the War

He was "a competent officer, well liked by the men and officers and remained with the regiment until promoted Surgeon" of US Volunteers on 12 January 1863. He was briefly on the books of the 179th Pennsylvania (13 Jan), but was assigned to the 99th Infantry on the 16th. He was dismissed on 1 May 1863. He may have had additional service in 1864 - 65 as Acting Assistant Surgeon at the Army hospital in Philadelphia.

After the War

He was appointed Assistant Surgeon, US (Regular) Army, on 9 Oct 1867 and served on the frontier (probably including with the 21st US Infantry c. 1870), and at Fort Macon, North Carolina (c. 1875) in the decade afterward. He resigned 30 June 1878 and went into private practice in Philadelphia. He was also active there in the GAR - Union veterans group, and medical societies.

References & notes

Quotes above from the History1, with service dates from Heitman2. Further details from his death notice in the Journal of the AMA (18 July 1896). Thanks to Robert D Boutin for sending along the picture used here (from a group photo of the family of George M Downey c. 1870).

Birth

1840 in PA

Death

07/06/1896; Philadelphia, PA

Notes

1   Albert, Alan D., editor, and Comrades of the Regimental Association, History of the Forty-fifth Regiment, Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861-1865, Williamsport (Pa): Grit Pub. Co., 1912, pp. 317, 319  [AotW citation 1152]

2   Heitman, Francis Bernard, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army 1789-1903, 2 volumes, Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1903, Vol. 1, pg. 935  [AotW citation 1153]