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I'm looking for information on these folks: http://www.pa-roots.com/~pacw/indengcoc.html variously called "Wrigley's Independent Company of Engineers, "5th Independent Company, Pennsylvania Acting Engineers," "Independent Engineers, Company C," or some variation thereof. They seem to be mostly from the Philadelphia area.
The search engine brought up info on New York engineers and engineers in general, but I didn't see anything on this company. I've found a little just through google on Capt. Wrigley and some thumbnail histories, but does anyone know of any memoirs, letters, diaries, articles etc. by members or that mention their activities in detail? I'm especially interested in the time that Capt. Wrigley was in charge, and they were repairing bridges around Harpers Ferry and Lovettsville in 1862.
Also, I noticed that out of about 135 privates, 30 deserted, most within a few months of enlisting. What was up with that? Were high desertion rates normal for engineers, or was there something going on?
Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net
The search engine brought up info on New York engineers and engineers in general, but I didn't see anything on this company. I've found a little just through google on Capt. Wrigley and some thumbnail histories, but does anyone know of any memoirs, letters, diaries, articles etc. by members or that mention their activities in detail? I'm especially interested in the time that Capt. Wrigley was in charge, and they were repairing bridges around Harpers Ferry and Lovettsville in 1862.
Also, I noticed that out of about 135 privates, 30 deserted, most within a few months of enlisting. What was up with that? Were high desertion rates normal for engineers, or was there something going on?
Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net