454
COLUMBIA AXD MOXTOUR COUNTIES
Irvin, born Oct. I2, i860, in Scranton, who i$ general manager and mechanical engineer of the Danville tou n dry & Machine Company at D anville; George, born Ju n e 4, 1 ^ 2, who died Sept. 2, 1863, in Scranton, F a .; and W al ter, bom Dec. 26, 1866, who is at home. St. Paul’s Methodist Episcopal Church holds M r. Vannan's membership and receives generous support from him. In 1867 M r. Vannan joined the Masons, and has contin ued an enthusiastic member ever since. He is now the only living charter member of W ngsion lx)dge. No. 395, F . & A . M CO L. C H A R L E S W E S L E Y EC K M A N . now deceased, w as a noted man in every avenue of life. H e was bom Ju n e 27, 1837, at Punxsuiaw ney, Pa., where he re ceived the meager educational advantages of its public schools at that day. H e w as first educated to more peaceful fields. H is youth ful days were spent on a farm which never lost it's attractions. A n an early date he came to I^ n ville, Pa., to reside with an uncle. A t the age o f nineteen years. Garfieldlikc he trod the towpath of the now abandoned Pennsylvania canal and became a boatman. A t the tocsin o f Civil w ar he enlisted, be coming a private in Company I I, 93d R a i ment o f Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, and for a time w as lost as a private soldier in the ranks of the Union army. But only (or a time, for (he retiring boy climbed rapidly from the musket way up into the shoulderstraps o f militarv distinction. A s a Union soldier his term o f service was long. H e enlisted at Danville. P a.. Sept. 15, 18 6 1. and constantly continued in the service until he was mustered out at Danville, Va., Ju n e 27, 1865. A s already stated, his rise was rapid. H e was promoted on the field twice in a single day for meritorious services, and at the close of the w ar he was in command of the 1st Brigade of the 2d Division of the 6lh Corps of the A rm y of the P o to m a c said to have been "T h e finest corps that ever faced a foe." H e was assigned to the head of his conis ffith) a l the grand review of the A rm y of the Potomac at Washington. 1). C.. a fte r the sunset at .Appomattox. H e w as then tcnclereil the rank o f brig.adicr general in the regular arm y service, which he declined with the modest remark that he had "seen enough o f w a r." H e was wounded three times in the liattle of the Wilderness, but he never left the field until the end o f that long and doubtful struggle. .At the battle o f Cedar Crcck he lu d two horses shot under him in less than twenty
minutes and w as himself almost mortally wounded in the side by a bombshell that tore the head off his horse and the pommel o ff hb saddle. H e led that matchless charge up Mar>'c’s Heights at Fredericksburg and re ceived special recognition frcxn President Lincoln. He took part in the following battles fought by the Arm y of the Potomac: Siege o f Y ork town, 'a., .April, 18 6 2; W illiam sU i^, Va., •May 5, 18 6 2; F air Oaks, V a.. M ay 3 1 . 1862: Malvern Hill, ’a., Ju ly 1. 18 6 2; Chantilly, 'a.. Sept. 1. (86 2; Antictam, Md., S ro t. 17, 18 6 2; Frcdcricksburp:, 'a ., Dec. 13 . 1802. and M aryc's Heights. a .; Salem Heights. V’a.. M ay'3 . 18 6 3 : Gettysburg. P a., Ju ly 2-3. 1863; Happahannock Station. V a.. N ov. 7. 1863: Mine Run, V a., Dec. 2, 18 6 3; W ilderness, W , A lay s-6, 1864: Spottsylvania Court House. Va.. M ay 12 -13 . 1864: Cold H arbor. Va., Ju n e 1-2, >864: before I’etcrsburg, V a ., June l8. 18 6 4 : Fort Stevens, D. C.. JuL- 17, 1864; Charlestown, ’a.. .Aug. 2 1, 18 6 4; Bunker Hill,
a.. Sept. 13. 18(14: (Jpe<tuan. Va.. Sept. 19.
i 8(ji4; Flint H ill, V a.. Sept. 2 (. 18 6 4; Fish er’s Hill. 'a .. Sept. 22. 1864; Cedar Creek, Va.. Oct. 19, 1864; Winchester, V a., Oct. 10, 1864; before Pctcrivbuig. V a.. March 25, t $ 6 5 : be fore Petersburg. V a.. A pril 2. 1 & 5; Sailor’s Creek, V a.. .April 6, 18O5: I-ce’s surrender. A pril 9. 1865. A t the close of the Rebellion Colonel Kckman returned lo Danville, Pa., where he was engaged in the mercantile business fo r the term o‘f three years. In 1866 he. with other business associates, purchased the DanviUe Oil Refinery, which he operated fo r about three years. Meantime he was also engaged in other business pursuits. In 18O9 he was appointed postmaster of Danville. I*a.. which position he held continuously for seventeen and a h alf years. He then removed to the city o f Reading, Pa., where he resided fo r alxHit one year, thcncc removing to the city o f H ar risburg, Pa., where he first became the super intendent of the LochicI Iron .and Steel Works and afterw ard superintendent of the Coleman blast furnace at that place. He then returnetl to Danville, Pa., where he liecame a manager of the Danville Bessem er Steel Company. On Ju ly 3. 1866. Colonel Itcknun marrie<i ^ p h ia Starker (tcarhart. a daughter o f Maylierry and M ary Catherine Gearhart, and who still resides at the Roaring Creek home. Three children also still survive him : M iss Katha rine G . Eckman, who resides at home; Miss F.lizalicth Boone Eckm an, a graduate of the Pennsylvania Hospital, [Itiladelphia. former
