Private Riley Carpenter letters

Riley Carpenter was born on August 12, 1821 to Abner and Nancy Carpenter in Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont. He had three brothers, Welcome, Charles, and Parley, and two half-siblings, Abner and Submit. He was married to Lovicy Adelia Pratt Carpenter (1826-1913). The couple had eight children together, all of them living to adulthood. Six of the Carpenter children were born before the Civil War. During the Civil War, Riley served as a Private in the 150th Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry. The 150th, nicknamed the "Bucktails," was known for exceptional bravery and high casualty rates, given their presence at the costliest battles of the Civil War. Colonel Langhorne Wister raised the 150th Pennsylvania Infantry in Philadelphia and Harrisburg in September 1862. Carpenter served in Company C of the 150th. His Company was present at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Bristoe, Mine Run, Petersburg, and Appomattox. The 150th was mustered out in June 1865. Riley remained a Private from his enrollment in the Union Army in 1862 to at least 1864, the extent of his letters. After the war, Carpenter built a home in Crawford County, Pennsylvania. Riley died on July 21, 1910, at eighty-eight years of age, in Crawford County. He was interred at the Kingsley Cemetery in Steuben Township, Crawford County, joined by his wife in 1913.

Source "Riley Carpenter." Find A Grave. Accessed 1 May 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115048388/riley-carpenter