Robert Cebrica Baskin

GEDCOM Note

The death of Robert C. Baskin, during the Civil War at the Laurel Hill, VA battlefield, is recorded in Judson's "History of the 83rd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers" page 197. It reads as follows:

"We found a whole brigade, several times our number, thus entrenched; and, feeling secure in their numbers and in their sheltered position, they stood their ground and commenced pouring in a murderous fire upon our ranks. Our men, maddened at this display of Southern chivalry, yelled "Cowards!" at the rebels and then rushed upon them and commenced plying the bayonet. Cribbs and Ceder of Company A, Robb of Company D, and Eaton, Wentworth, Berlin, Host, Purdy, Pettigrew, Baskin (NOTE: Identified as Robert C. Baskin in the index) and Lowrie of Company G, and I know not how many others, sprang over among them, like infuriated tigers, and fell to bayoneting the enemy within their own works. So terror-stricken were the rebels by the daring valor of these men that they were thrown into confusion and turned to run, but their officers placed the points of their swords to their breasts and forced them back into the ranks. A score of rebels fell beneath the cold steel of these heroic men; but they paid dearly for their heroism. Robb, Wentworth, Host, Baskin and Lowrie fell covered with wounds."
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Found Robert age 28, Louisa age 25, Gertrude age 4 and Emily age 2 living in Kingsley Twp., Venango Co., PA (Post Office Tionesta) in the 1860 Census on page 63. They were all listed as having been born in PA. Real Estate value - $150; Personal Estate value - $150 Occupation: Lumberman
He served as a private in the Civil War from August 28, 1861 to May 8, 1864 when he was killed at the Laural Hill Battlefield, VA. He was with the Pennsylvannia Volunteers, 83rd Regiment, Company G. The 83rd Regiment participated in over 20 engagements including Little Round Top at Gettysburg, PA. Also, movements resulting in the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond, and in the capture of Lee's Army.
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Foreword to the Morningside Edition History of the 83rd

The 83rd Pennsylvania's claim to fame can be stated very simply: in the bloodiest war Americans ever fought it lost more people from death and mortal wounds on the battlefields than any other Union regiment but one. That one, the 5th New Hampshire, lost 295. The 83rd Pennsylvania lost 282. This was 15.6% of its total enrollment of 1808, a percentage exceeded by only a dozen or so other regiments.
The above figures are from Regimental Losses in the American Civil War by Lt. Col. William F. Fox ( Albany, N. Y., 1889 ), a work compiled from official federal and state records. In his summary of the 83rd's history, Colonel Fox wrote, "None of its losses were caused by blunders, none occurred in disastrous routs; its dead always lay with their faces to the enemy." The 83rd just happened to be where the fighting was hardest. It was consistently well handled by able commanding officers, including Col. Strong Vincent. At Gettysburg, leading the brigade of which the 83rd was a part, Vincent was personally responsible for the quick reconnaissance and infantry occupation of Little Round Top, only minutes before the Confederates got there, that proved to be a critical factor in the Union victory.
Vincent was mortally wounded at Gettysburg. The 83rd's first commander, Col. John W. McLane, was killed June 27, 1882 at Gaines's Mill, where the regiment suffered its greatest loss of the war, a total of 61 killed and mortally wounded. This was the battle in which the 83rd's parent Fifth Corps ( Porter's ) virtually isolated on the north bank of the rain-swollen Chickahominy, was attacked by Lee's whole army less Magruder's command, the Confederates out numbering the Union force by more than two to one. On that day the 83rd changed front and fought in three different directions, west, north and east. At Malvern Hill a few days later, the 83rd lost 50 in killed and mortally wounded.
At Gettysburg, the 83rd again had the unpleasant experience of hearing enemy shots falling into its rear when the l5th Alabama very nearly out flanked Vinoent's brigade on Little Round Top. It was the gallant charge of the 20th Maine that rectified this situation, but the 83rd Pennsylvania should share in the credit. Had the regiment not held fast, allowing the charging 20th Maine to pivot on its left "like a great gate upon a post," as Judson puts it, the affair might have had a very different outcome. Also, in its movements prior to the charge the 83rd skillfully extended its line to the left in co-operation with a leftward move of the 20th, permitting the Maine men to take a position that protected the left flank of the brigade and, as it turned out, the left of the whole Army of the Potomac.
In short, the 83rd Pennsylvania was exactly what General McClellan once said it was: ". . . one of the very best regiments in the army." It might further be said that its history is one of the best-written of the many regimental histories published in the years following the Civil War. Its author, Amos M. Judson, who served in the 83rd as a company commander, maintains a humorous, often self-deprecatory attitude through much of the narrative, but it is plain that he brought to his task more than the ordinary capabilities including a sound background in historical reading, a keen sense of observation and the ability to describe vividly the soldier's life in camp, on the march and in battle. One cannot mistake the veracity of the work in this respect. This is the way it was. Everything is here-the rain, the mud, the dust, the shock of battle, the pain of wounds, the boredom of waiting, the fatigue of marching, the comforts and discomforts of an army camp. Particularly outstanding is his description of the battle at Little Round Top and its aftermath of wounds and suffering.
Judson was not only in the midst of things in the theater of war but he also had a hand in the raising of troops to fill up depleted ranks. In the summer of 1864 he was one of the regimental officers who were sent back to Pennsylvania to obtain replacements. These included draftees, substitutes, bounty-jumpers and others of varying quality. Judson's reflections on this experience ought to be read by anyone who believes that pure patriotism will still suffice, or ever did suffice, to keep the ranks of our defense forces filled.

More About ROBERT CEBRICA BASKIN:
Occupation: Lumberman

Notes for LOUISA WHITE:
Found Louisa age 34 listed in the 1870 census in 2nd Ward, Titusville, Crawford Co., PA. She is listed as the head of the household and a housekeeper by occupation. It appears that she was keeping house for 2 teamsters, Charles Babcock & Wallon Waubillo, that were also listed as residents of the same household.
Family tradition has it that Louisa's father my have been an Indian and he left home one day to hunt and never returned. As of today, it has not been confirmed or disproven, however the dark skin and piercing dark eyes of Louisa, her children and some of her grand & great-grandchildren seem to lend credibility to the story.

Children of ROBERT BASKIN and LOUISA WHITE are:
i.GERTRUDE VIOLA3 BASKIN, b. February 8, 1857, Venango Co., PA; m. __________ BURDICK, Abt. 1885.

Notes for GERTRUDE VIOLA BASKIN:
Found Gertrude in the 1870 PA Census listed under "Pupils in Pennsylvania Solders Orphan School" in 1st Ward, Titusville, Crawford Co., PA. Attended from October 16, 1866 to December 1, 1874. Post Office address when at home: Tionesta.

ii.EMMA IRENE BASKIN, b. February 26, 1859, Kingsley Twp., Venango Co. (now Forest Co.), PA; d. February 3, 1949, Er ie, PA; m. DAVID HUGHES, August 25, 1880, Tionesta, PA.

Notes for EMMA IRENE BASKIN:
Found Emma in the 1870 PA Census listed under "Pupils in Pennsylvania Solders Orphan School" in 1st Ward, Titusville, Crawford Co., PA. Attended from October 16, 1866 to February 26, 1875. Post Office address when at home: Tionesta till Dec 1, 1874 then Spartansburg, Sparta Twp., Crawford Co., PA.

More About DAVID HUGHES:
Burial: Harbor Creek, PA

iii.OTIS REILLY BASKIN, b. March 5, 1861, Venango Co., PA; d. March 1941, Warren Co., PA; m. LOUISE BLAKESLEE.

Notes for OTIS REILLY BASKIN:
Found Otis in the 1870 PA Census listed under "Pupils in Pennsylvania Solders Orphan School" in 1st Ward, Titusville, Crawford Co., PA. Attended from October 16, 1866 to December 1, 1874. Post Office address when at home: Tionesta.
He was the caretaker of the Roselawn Cemetery in Spartansburg, PA.

More About OTIS REILLY BASKIN:
Burial: Spartansburg, PA