Samuel W. Croft
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.
5032
DATABASE CONTENT
(5032)Croft, Samuel W.18391863-07-02
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Sergeant
  • Rank highest: Sergeant
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 39

  • (14107) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft Enlistment Record, 24 June 1861
  • (14108) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 7 June 1861
  • (14109) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 23 June 1861
  • (14110) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 19 July 1861
  • (14111) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 22 July 1861
  • (14113) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey and Barbara Croft, 26 July 1861
  • (14114) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 12 August 1861
  • (14115) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 19 August 1861
  • (14566) [writer] ~ "On Guard," Poem, 7 September 1861
  • (14567) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 14 September 1861
  • (14568) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 16 September 1861
  • (14569) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 16 September 1861
  • (14570) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 30 September 1861
  • (14571) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 13 October 1861
  • (14572) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 22 October 1861
  • (14573) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 8 November 1861
  • (14574) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 15 November 1861
  • (14575) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, undated
  • (14576) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 9 December 1861
  • (14577) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 16 December 1861
  • (14578) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 22 December 1861
  • (14579) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 4 January 1862
  • (14580) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sam (?), 18 January 1862
  • (14581) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 16 February 1862
  • (14582) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 19 March 1862
  • (14583) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 26 May 1862
  • (14584) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 13 June 1862
  • (14585) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 31 July 1862
  • (14586) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 26 September 1862
  • (14587) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 10 October 1862
  • (14588) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 5 December 1862
  • (14589) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 21 December 1862
  • (14590) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 3 January 1863
  • (14591) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 18 January 1863
  • (14592) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 3 February 1863
  • (14593) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 12 February 1863
  • (14594) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 7 March 1863
  • (14595) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 5 April 1863
  • (14596) [writer] ~ Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 8 June 1863

People - Records: 5

  • (5033) McKelvey, Sarah is the [sibling of] (5032) Croft, Samuel W.
  • (5046) Croft, Barbara is the [parent of] (5032) Croft, Samuel W.
  • (5054) Croft, Benjamin H. is the [sibling of] (5032) Croft, Samuel W.
  • (5141) McKelvey, Ephraim W. is the [sibling-in-law of] (5032) Croft, Samuel W.
  • (5153) (?), Sam is the [cousin of] (5032) Croft, Samuel W.

Places - Records: 2

  • (3097) [birth] ~ Reserve Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
  • (393) [death] ~ Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania

Show in Map

Regiments - Records: 1

  • (1128) [enlisted] [E] ~ 70th New York Infantry
SOURCES

Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900, available from Fold3.com; Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 16 September 1861, DL1923.011, Nau Collection; Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 16 September 1861, DL1923.012, Nau Collection; Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 13 June 1862, DL1923.027, Nau Collection; Samuel W. Croft to Sarah McKelvey, 12 February 1863, DL1923.036, Nau Collection