Samuel W. Croft was born around 1839 in Reserve Township, Pennsylvania. By the early 1860s, he was working as a carpenter.
He enlisted in the Union army on June 24, 1861, and he mustered in as a private in Company E of the 70th New York Infantry. The regiment took part in the Peninsula campaign, the Seven Days’ Battles, the Second Battle of Manassas, the Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Gettysburg. In September 1861, he blamed the “abolition hoards” for provoking the war. Nonetheless, he took pride in “doeing my country a little service.”
He celebrated the “glorious stars and stripes,” writing that “I did not come for money and good living. my heart beats high, and I am proud of being a soldier.” In June 1862, when his sister asked whether or not he had received a promotion, he responded, “promotion is not my ambition. I wish to see the Union restored.” He opposed Black enlistment, explaining that “if they are to be made do the ‘digging’ it is all right, but if they are to be armed for the field, I think it a foolish job. It will be throwing arms away to put them into the hands of n*****s.” “Loyal as I am,” he continued, “I would not serve my country with n*****s for my companions.”
He was promoted to corporal on January 1, 1862, and then to sergeant on February 28, 1863. He died at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863.