William Chase
William Chase was born on November 8, 1834, in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, to Joseph and Margaret Chase. His father was a farmer who owned $2,000 of real estate and $600 of personal property by 1860. He grew up and attended school in South Creek, Pennsylvania, and by the early 1860s, he was working as a farmer in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.
 
He enlisted in the Union army on September 21, 1861, and he mustered in as a sergeant in Company I of the 45th Pennsylvania Infantry on October 18. According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 11 inches tall, with black hair and grey eyes. The regiment took part in the Battle of South Mountain, the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the siege of Vicksburg, and the Overland Campaign.
 
He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on September 14, 1862, then to captain on August 12, 1863. He was wounded in the shoulder in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 6, 1864, but he eventually recovered and rejoined the regiment. In April 1865, he noted that many Union officers were “sadly demoralized” by the generous terms offered to General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Chase argued that “they are dealing to[o] lightly with traitors.”
 
He settled in Delmar, Pennsylvania, after the war, and by 1880, he was living in his sister Mary’s household. According to one acquaintance, Chase rarely spoke about his military service. Nonetheless, he remained a “staunch and unswerving republican, his ballots always going as his bullets went.” He moved to Milford, Iowa, in the 1880s, and he died there on April 13, 1896.
3542
DATABASE CONTENT
(3542)Chase, William1834-11-081896-04-13
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Sergeant
  • Rank out: Captain
  • Rank highest: Captain
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 73

  • (9634) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy, 2 October 1861
  • (9635) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 24 October 1861
  • (9636) [writer] ~ William Chase to Friends, 26 October 1861
  • (9637) [writer] ~ William Chase to Sister, 12 November 1861
  • (9638) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 12 January 1862
  • (9639) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 18 January 1862
  • (9640) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 29 January 1862
  • (9641) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 6 February 1862
  • (9642) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 11 February 1862
  • (9643) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 17 February 1862
  • (9644) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 3 March 1862
  • (9646) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 19 March 1862
  • (9648) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 9 April 1862
  • (9649) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 18 April 1862
  • (9650) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 24 April 1862
  • (9651) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 2 May 1862
  • (9652) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 9 May 1862
  • (9653) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 18 May 1862
  • (9655) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 8 June 1862
  • (9656) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 14 June 1862
  • (9657) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 23 June 1862
  • (9658) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 9 July 1862
  • (9659) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 17 July 1862
  • (9660) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 28 July 1862
  • (9662) [recipient] ~ Mary M. Hurlbut to William Chase, 3 August 1862
  • (9663) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 8 August 1862
  • (9664) [writer] ~ William Chase to Sister, 16 August 1862
  • (9665) [writer] ~ William Chase to Sister, 24 August 1862
  • (9666) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 4 September 1862
  • (9669) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 12 October 1862
  • (9696) [writer] ~ William Chase to Sister, 25 October 1862
  • (9698) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 8 November 1862
  • (9699) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 27 November 1862
  • (9701) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 16 December 1862
  • (9706) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 26 December 1862
  • (9719) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 3 January 1863
  • (9727) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 13 January 1863
  • (9729) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 27 January 1863
  • (9730) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 15 February 1863
  • (9732) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 20 February 1863
  • (9734) [associated with] ~ Daniel Chase to Mary Kennedy, 20 February 1863
  • (9736) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 7 March 1863
  • (9740) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 26 March 1863
  • (9744) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 30 March 1863
  • (9745) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy, 8 April 1863
  • (9747) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 20 April 1863
  • (9749) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 3 May 1863
  • (9750) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 10 June 1863
  • (9751) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 22 June 1863
  • (9753) [writer] ~ William Chase to Margaret Kennedy, 28 July 1863
  • (9756) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 28 July 1863
  • (9760) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 21 August 1863
  • (9762) [associated with] ~ Stephen F. Kennedy Statement, 25 August 1862
  • (9765) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy and Mary Kennedy, 8 September 1863
  • (9767) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 13 October 1863
  • (9770) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 21 December 1863
  • (9772) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 22 March 1864
  • (9785) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy and George W. Kennedy, 13 April 1864
  • (9786) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 23 May 1864
  • (9787) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 12 July 1864
  • (9788) [writer] ~ William Chase to George W. Kennedy, 3 August 1864
  • (9793) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 26 August 1864
  • (9795) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 29 September 1864
  • (9796) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 12 October 1864
  • (9798) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 5 November 1864
  • (9801) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 6 January 1865
  • (9802) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 5 March 1865
  • (9804) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 26 March 1865
  • (9806) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 14 April 1865
  • (9808) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 26 May 1865
  • (9810) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 15 June 1865
  • (9812) [writer] ~ William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 2 July 1865
  • (9819) [writer] ~ William Chase, "Little Rhode Island," undated

People - Records: 8

  • (3542) Chase, William is the [sibling of] (3540) Chase, Daniel
  • (3542) Chase, William is the [sibling of] (3541) Kennedy, Mary
  • (3542) Chase, William is the [aunt/uncle of] (3546) Kennedy, Margaret
  • (3544) Hurlbut, Mary M. is the [cousin of] (3542) Chase, William
  • (3547) Chase, David is the [sibling of] (3542) Chase, William
  • (3548) Chase, Wallace is the [sibling of] (3542) Chase, William
  • (3549) Chase, Nancy is the [sibling of] (3542) Chase, William
  • (3555) Chase, George is the [sibling of] (3542) Chase, William

Places - Records: 2

  • (131) [birth] ~ Bradford County, Pennsylvania
  • (2433) [death] ~ Milford, Dickinson County, Iowa

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (955) [officer] [I] ~ 45th Pennsylvania Infantry

Groups - Records: 1

  • (3) [member/supporter] ~ Republican Party
SOURCES

1850 and 1880 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Pennsylvania Veterans Card Files, 1775-1916, available from Ancestry.com; Milford Mail, 16 April 1896; William Chase to Mary Kennedy, 14 April 1865, DL1559.085, Nau Collection