Civil War Union Army Soldier. He was living as a young farm boy from Monroe County, Pennsylvania, when the Civil War began in April 1861. His older brother enlisted in the Union Army in June 1861, leaving 16-year-old William as the oldest able bodied male in the family to care for the farm, his siblings, and his infirm parents. When the older brother was killed in action in the June 1862 Battle of Glendale, Virginia, William Henry Christman became the sole provider for the family. After two years of following the fortunes of the war, he eventually was compelled to enlist by the large bonuses offered by officials, which would help his family greatly. On March 24, 1864 he was officially mustered in as a recruit Private in Company G, 67th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Unfortunately, his service would prove to be brief, for at the end of April 1864 he was stricken by a case of rubella. His conditioned worsened, and he was transported from the regimental hospital to the Lincoln United States Army General Hospital in Washington, DC. There on May 11, 1864 he succumbed to his ailments, one of 153 men from his regiment to die from disease during the war. On May 13, 1864 he was buried in the grounds of Arlington House, the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, whose residence was taken over by Union forces early in the war, and in whose land Union Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs had designated as a military cemetery, becoming the first soldier to be buried in what officially became Arlington National Cemetery.
Civil War Union Army Soldier. He was living as a young farm boy from Monroe County, Pennsylvania, when the Civil War began in April 1861. His older brother enlisted in the Union Army in June 1861, leaving 16-year-old William as the oldest able bodied male in the family to care for the farm, his siblings, and his infirm parents. When the older brother was killed in action in the June 1862 Battle of Glendale, Virginia, William Henry Christman became the sole provider for the family. After two years of following the fortunes of the war, he eventually was compelled to enlist by the large bonuses offered by officials, which would help his family greatly. On March 24, 1864 he was officially mustered in as a recruit Private in Company G, 67th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. Unfortunately, his service would prove to be brief, for at the end of April 1864 he was stricken by a case of rubella. His conditioned worsened, and he was transported from the regimental hospital to the Lincoln United States Army General Hospital in Washington, DC. There on May 11, 1864 he succumbed to his ailments, one of 153 men from his regiment to die from disease during the war. On May 13, 1864 he was buried in the grounds of Arlington House, the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, whose residence was taken over by Union forces early in the war, and in whose land Union Army Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs had designated as a military cemetery, becoming the first soldier to be buried in what officially became Arlington National Cemetery.
Bio by: RPD2
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