Wilson Tweed Hartz was born on September 9, 1836, in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, to Samuel and Harriet Hartz. His father was a justice of the peace. He grew up and attended school in Pottsville, and by 1860, he was working as a civil engineer in Ashland, Pennsylvania. He owned $150 of personal property.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on April 22, 1861, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company E of the 6^th Pennsylvania Infantry. He mustered out on July 27, 1861, but he rejoined the Union army soon afterward. In October 1861, he received a commission as a 1^st lieutenant in the 70^th New York Infantry. The regiment took part in the Peninsula campaign, the Seven Days’ Battles, and the Second Battle of Manassas. In October 1862, he was promoted to captain and assistant adjutant general. He was severely wounded in the chest in the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862.

 

He remained in the army after the war, and in 1866, he became a 2^nd lieutenant in the 15^th United States Infantry. He was promoted to 1^st lieutenant in June 1867. In 1870, he was stationed at Fort Bascom in the New Mexico Territory. He married Maud Rutherford on October 18, 1876, and they had two children: Maud, born around 1878; and Rutherford, born around 1880. He was promoted to captain in August 1877 and to major in April 1898. In May 1899, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the 22^nd United States Infantry. He retired on May 31, 1900, and he settled in Howard, Maryland. His wife died in November 1906, and he died in Chiantla, Guatemala, on July 16, 1915.

 

Image: Wilson T. Hartz (Memorials of Deceased Companions of the Commandery of the State of Illinois Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States)

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