Christopher Preston Kane

From Port Carbon, giving his age as 22, he enlisted at Pottsville on 15 September 1861 and mustered there as a Private in Company C, 96th Pennsylvania Infantry on 23 September.

He was wounded in action at Crampton’s Gap on South Mountain on 14 September 1862.

He was captured in action at White Plains, VA on 25 July 1863 and was confined in Libby prison, Belle Isle, and Castle Thunder in Richmond, VA, and finally at Andersonville, GA.

From a letter written on 1 April 1864 by Captain I.E. Severn, about Kane’s Capture:

Hd. Qrs. 96th Regt. Penna Vol.
Col.
I have the honor to make the following statement and request that the men named may be taken up on the company rolls without trial. Private Christopher Kane Co. C 96th Regt. Penna. Vols. On the 25th July 63 the regiment was in camp at White Plains Va. and a night move toward near Baltimore - In the afternoon Kane received permission from his Capt. to go to a creek within the limits of the brigade for the purpose of washing his clothing, not returning and nothing being heard from him - at the time of making up the rolls for July-August he was dropped as a deserter-it has since appeared for the witness of private Harry Groatman of the same company taken prisoner about the same time and exchanged in October, now with the regiment and from letters received by his Captain and members of his family that he was captured by guerrillas on the 25th of July and was sent to Richmond and remains there a prisoner of war at this time.

Editors, Miners Journal: Oblige a returned prisoner, a member of the 96th Regt. P.V. by inserting this in the column of your paper. I have been a prisoner for sixteen months, and been in all the rebel hells in the confederacy. There were twenty three captured members of the Regiment at Andersonville when I left. All of the names I do not know. The following are those I Know: S. Bishop, Co. C; E Pritchard and M Larkin Co. A; T. Prosser, D. R. Erdman and D. Engle of Co. H; A. Sandy and D. Williams, and E Hardman of Co. G and Maddox, of Co. F. The deaths have been: A Wike, Co.B died June 30, 1864; J. Bonsinger, Co.E died July 15, 1864, and S. Bishopp, Co. C, died October 22, 1864. The following are here in camp; E. Gearing, Co. G and J. Devitt, Co. I there are several more whose names I do not know.
Yours
Kane

In 1880 he was a letter carrier in Philadelphia and he had retired there by 1900.

His service basics from Bates1 and the Card File.2 The letters quoted above transcribed online by Stu Richards at Schuylkill County Military History. Personal details from family genealogists and the US Census of 1880-1900. His gravesite is on Findagrave.

He married Sarah Jane Collins (1849-1931) in May 1866 and they had 7 children.

12/08/1842; Philadelphia, PA

07/15/1913; Philadelphia, PA; burial in Greenmount Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA