Schuylkill County
The War of 1812-'14

Transcribed and Contributed by Debbie Ovechka

On the 3rd of June, 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain. Hostilities began, with England, as early as June, 1807, when the French and British governments ordered the seizure and confiscation of American ships, on the high seas, in utter defiance of the rights of neutrals and when hundreds of American sailors were impressed into the royal navy on the pretence that they were deserters from the English forces and her ships of war. The Indians of the northwestern frontier, instigated by British emissaries, attacked the frontier, settlements and an invasion of Canada was undertaken by the Americans, in 1812. The successes of the American navy, including the Great Lake's fleet, far out-balanced the defeats of the forces by land. The campaign of 1814 was more important. After a series of victorious maneuvers in New York and on Lake Champlain, the American forces repulsed the British, who lost their fleet and 2, 500 men. In the summer of 1814, a British fleet landed a force of several thousand men on Chesapeake Bay, under General Ross, who advanced upon Washington, burning the capitol, the President's House and the several executive buildings of the government. After the defeat of the British at New Orleans, a treaty for peace was signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814.


Soldiers in War of 1812 - 1814 from Schuylkill County

Captain John Barr - Tavern Keeper, Pinegrove

Michael Fritz - Substitute for Jonathan Seidel, Friedensburg. (Father of E.J. Fritz and Mrs. J. K. Baker, of Pottsville.)

Samuel B. Riland - Friedensburg

John Aulenbach - Friedensburg

Jacob Mennig - Friedensburg

Adam Snyder - Friedensburg

George Lerch - Friedensburg

Daniel Kaercher - Friedensburg. (Grandfather of Samuel B., Edward and Daniel Kaercher, Pottsville.)

John R. Bannan - Pottsville

Burd Patterson - Pottsville

Benjamin Pott - Pottsville

Daniel Christian - Pottsville, (Drummer Boy).

Charles Siegfried - Pottsville. (Grandfather of George Eiler, Mrs. K.C. Wilson, the Rehrs and others, of Pottsville.)

David Maurer - Pottsville.

Christopher Loeser - Pottsville. (Father of Mrs. Sarah Briscoe, Mrs. F.P. Dewees, and uncle of Charlemagne Tower.)

Andrew Achey - Pottsville

Henry Fidler - Pottsville

Conrad Roeder - Pottsville. (The Roeders were among the first butchers of Pottsville, and highly respected.)

Caspar Roeder - Pottsville

Peter Dinger - Pottsville

George Dinger - Pottsville

George Deidrich - Pottsville

John Schoup - Pottsville

John Kessler - Pottsville

Peter Bressler - Lower Mahantongo Township

Jonathan Bressler - Now Hegins Township

John Sterner - Manheim and Pinegrove Townships, native of Long Swamp, Berks County (Father of Charles B. Sterner, Pottsville.)

Phillip Staller - Wayne Township

Henry Heckaman - (Father of Sarah Heckaman, of Stouchsburg, Berks County and grandfather of the wife of Capt. W.F. Stitzer of Schuylkill Haven.)

Peter Starr - Branch Township

George Hoerner - Lower Mahantongo Township (Father of Mrs. Ernest Nichol, dec'd, of Pottsville.)

John Kawl - Now Hubley

Ludwig Shott - Berks County (Grandfather of Dr. C. Lenker, Schuylkill Haven.)

Phillip Snyder - From Mohrsville, Berks County (Grandfather of Henry B. Snyder, of Mahanoy Plane, Schuylkill County.)

John Hummel - Berks County, 1776, (Grandfather of Hon. Edward Hummel, Pinegrove.)

Peter Aurand - Berks County ( Father of Aquilla Aurand, of Tamaqua.)

Jacob Heisler - East Brunswick Township

Jacob Waltz - East Brunswick Township

George Moyer - East Brunswick Township

Capt. John Christian - East Brunswick Township

Rev. John Stein - East Pinegrove Township

(Rev. John Stein, son of John Stein and wife, Susanna Eckles, born two miles north of Pinegrove, July 17, 1794. He preached in many Lutheran churches in Schuylkill and Lebanon counties, among them Jacob's church, Pinegrove Township)

(The Christians of Pottsville have good military records in all of the wars since 1812. John, Michael and Daniel came to Cumru Township, Berks County, from Switzerland, about 1780. The latter went to Maryland and settled. Michael was the ancestor of the Berks County branch. John settled north of the Blue Mountains and was the head of all of that name in Schuylkill County. Capt. John Christian was the father of William Christian, father of C. & I. policeman Capt. Daniel Christian. Other sons were Jacob and Benjamin, of Pottsville.)

Records from Tombstones

St. Peter's Lutheran and Reformed Cemetery - Jonathan Bonavitz, Benjamin Bonavitz, John Bonavitz, John Boyer, Dr. Jacob Christ, Henry Eckler, Jacob Lehman, Daniel Umbenhen, Henry Zimmerman.

St. John's Lutheran, Pinegrove - Henry Conrad, John Barr, Peter Filbert, Daniel Kitzmiller.

Hetzel's Church - Phillip Zerbe, 1812; Joseph Zerbe, 1861; John Zerbe, 1861; John Hummel, 1812.

St. Jacob's , Swatara Valley - John Ream, Adam Reed, Jacob Spancake, 1812, 1861.

St. Paul's Evangelical, Pinegrove - Henry Reinoehl.

(Pension list soldiers in the War of 1812, Penna. Archives, 6th Series, Vol. 9, pp. 408, 505, 603.)

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Source citation: "Blue book of Schuylkill County : who was who and why in interior eastern Pennsylvania, in colonial days, the Huguenots and Palatines, their service in Queen Anne's, French and Indian, and Revolutionary Wars : history of Zerbey, Schwalm, Miller, Merkle, Minnich, Staudt, and many other representative families" by Ella Zerbey Elliott; Pottsville, Pa.: "Republican", 1916

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