Henry J. Stainrook
Encyclopedia
Henry J. Stainrook, occasionally spelled Steinrock, led a regiment of the Army of Virginia
Army of Virginia
The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E...

 and the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. He briefly led a brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 at the Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam , fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000...

. Stainrook was killed in the Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...

.

Before Antietam

Stainrook was a resident of Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...

, at the outbreak of the war. Following President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

's call for 100,00 volunteers to put down the rebellion, Stainrook enlisted on April 23, 1861 in the Union Army as the captain of Company C of the 22nd Pennsylvania Infantry, a three-months' regiment. He was honorably mustered out following the expiration of his term of enlistment.

Subsequently, Stainrook was involved in organizing the 109th Pennsylvania Infantry and was commissioned its colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

 with a nominal date of November 1, 1861. The regiment encamped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, near the State House before going to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

. His unit eventually became a part of the Army of Virginia
Army of Virginia
The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Robert E...

 under Maj. Gen.
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 John Pope
John Pope (military officer)
John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...

. Stainrook was wounded in the abdomen by a shell fragment at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
Battle of Cedar Mountain
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...

 during the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...

.

The 109th Pennsylvania served in the brigade of Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...

 Henry Prince in the 2nd Division, II Corps
II Corps (ACW)
There were five corps in the Union Army designated as II Corps during the American Civil War.* Army of the Cumberland, II Corps commanded by Thomas L. Crittenden , later renumbered XX Corps...

 at the Battle of Cedar Mountain
Battle of Cedar Mountain
The Battle of Cedar Mountain, also known as Slaughter's Mountain or Cedar Run, took place on August 9, 1862, in Culpeper County, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks attacked Confederate forces under Maj. Gen. Thomas J...

 on August 9, 1862. Brig. Gen. Christopher C. Augur
Christopher C. Augur
Christopher Columbus Augur was an American military officer, most noted for his role in the American Civil War. Although less well known than other Union commanders, he was nonetheless considered an able battlefield commander.-Early life:Augur was born in Kendall, New York. He moved with his...

 led the division
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...

, and Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks led the corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...

. In their first battle, the 199th advanced under Confederate fire. Col Stainrook was wounded by Confederate artillery, but he refused to leave the field. The corps missed the Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...

 because it was guarding the army’s rear areas. The 109th helped cover the army’s retreat, destroying supplies that could not be moved.

Antietam

After the removal of John Pope, his army was dissolved; and its units joined the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

. The old II Corps became XII Corps
XII Corps (ACW)
The XII Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.The corps was formed by U.S. War Department General Order of March 13, 1862, under which the corps organization of the Army of the Potomac was first created. By that order, five different corps were constituted: one of...

. Maj. Gen.Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.-Early life:...

 now the corps, and Brig. Gen. George S. Greene
George S. Greene
George Sears Greene was a civil engineer and a Union general during the American Civil War. He was part of the Greene family of Rhode Island, which had a distinguished military record for the United States. His greatest contribution during the war was his defense of the Union right flank at Culp's...

 led the 2nd division at the Battle of Antietam. After the I Corps
I Corps (ACW)
I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...

 had been exhausted in combat, the XII Corps went into the fray. One brigade (Goodrich) was detached from Greene’s Division to join the Iron Brigade
Iron Brigade
The Iron Brigade, also known as the Iron Brigade of the West or the Black Hat Brigade, was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought entirely in the Eastern Theater, it was composed of regiments from Western states...

 in the vicinity of the Miller Cornfield. The other brigades, under Lt. Col. Hector Tyndale
Hector Tyndale
Hector Tyndale was a Union general during the American Civil War rising to the rank of Brevet Major General of Volunteers. He notably led brigades at the battles of Antietam and Wauhatchie...

 and Stainrook, were committed to an attack on the high ground around the Dunker Church (Stainrook was without his own regiment, which was on detached duty.)

Stainrook’s brigade, after some confusion in deploying, passed through the East Woods, driving away the remains of the division of BG John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood
John Bell Hood was a Confederate general during the American Civil War. Hood had a reputation for bravery and aggressiveness that sometimes bordered on recklessness...

. Then it advanced with the Mumma farm buildings, already set afire by retreating Confederates on its left. The brigade moved along the axis of the Smoketown Road and reached the high ground at the Dunker Church. Greene’s advance stopped there. Once Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick
John Sedgwick was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was the highest ranking Union casualty in the Civil War, killed by a sniper at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.-Early life:Sedgwick was born in the Litchfield Hills town of...

’s division of the II Corps had been driven from the West Woods, Greene was forced to retreat. His two brigades rallied behind the ridge line of the Mumma farm. They reformed but did not advance again. After the battle, General Greene commended Steinrook for his conduct in the battle.

After Antietam

The XII Corps was not involved in the campaign leading to the Battle of Fredericksburg
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...

. It did participate in the Mud March
Mud March (American Civil War)
The Mud March was an abortive attempt at a winter offensive in January 1863 by Union Army Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside in the American Civil War....

. In between, Stainrook was back in brigade command from December 22, 1862, to January 3, 1863. When Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker was a career United States Army officer, achieving the rank of major general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Although he served throughout the war, usually with distinction, Hooker is best remembered for his stunning defeat by Confederate General Robert E...

 undertook the Chancellorsville Campaign in the spring of 1863, Stainrook’s regiment was in the brigade of Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Kane
Thomas L. Kane
Thomas Leiper Kane was an American attorney, abolitionist, and military officer who was influential in the western migration of the Latter-day Saint movement and served as a Union Army colonel and general of volunteers in the American Civil War...

 in the 2nd Division of the XII Corps under Brig. Gen. John W. Geary
John W. Geary
John White Geary was an American lawyer, politician, Freemason, and a Union general in the American Civil War...

. Geary’s Division was heavily engaged at Chancellorsville. Stainrook commanded the brigade’s skirmish line on May 1 near Hazel Grove, facing southward. On May 2, the XII Corps had to redeploy because of the flank attack launched by Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...

 on the XI Corps
XI Corps (ACW)
The XI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, best remembered for its involvement in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863.-Formation and the Valley Campaign:...

. By the end of the day, the division of Brig. Gen. Alpheus Williams was facing west, while Geary’s Division faced south, both deployed the east of Hazel Grove. On May 3 and 4 XII Corps was positioned near the Chancellorsville House, receiving heavy fire from Confederate troops. Stainrook was killed on May 4, 1863, “while encouraging his men.”
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