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Oliver Christian Bosbyshell (January 3, 1839 – August 1, 1921) was Superintendent of the United States Mint at Philadelphia from 1889 to 1894. He also claimed to have been the first Union soldier wounded by enemy action in the Civil War, stating that he received a bruise on the forehead from an object thrown by a Confederate sympathizer while his unit was marching through Baltimore in April 1861. Bosbyshell was born in Mississippi. His parents were of old Philadelphia stock, and he was raised in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. After briefly working on the railroad and then studying law, Bosbyshell enlisted in the Union cause on the outbreak of war. Following a brief period of service in the 25th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment, he joined the 48th Pennsylvania, remaining in that regiment for three years. He saw action in such battles as Second Bull Run and Antietam. He rose to the rank of major and led his regiment, but was mustered out upon the expiration of his term of service in October 1864, having been refused a leave of absence. After leaving the army, Bosbyshell returned to Pennsylvania and worked in two unsuccessful businesses; he also involved himself in Republican politics and in the activities of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' group. He was appointed to a post at the Philadelphia Mint in 1869, and became chief coiner in 1876 and superintendent in 1889, serving for four years. One of Bosbyshell's underlings at the mint stole gold bars and, as they were not all recovered when the culprit was arrested, Bosbyshell was held responsible for the loss by virtue of his office. He was absolved of this liability by act of Congress in 1899. In his later years, he was an officer of an insurance company; he died in 1921. ==Early life and Civil War== Oliver Christian Bosbyshell was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on January 3, 1839, the son of Oliver Christian and Mary Ann (Whitney) Bosbyshell. Both his parents were from old Philadelphia families; the couple had taken up temporary residence in Vicksburg. The senior Oliver Bosbyshell was engaged in the commission business. He contracted bronchitis while fighting a fire that destroyed his warehouse, and died in Philadelphia after a sea voyage taken in the hope of recovering his health. Eight weeks later, his son was born, and Mary Bosbyshell returned from Mississippi with him to her father's house in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Young Oliver grew up there, and attended local public schools. At age 15, he left school to become a telegraph messenger and for the next three years took various jobs in that field before deciding to pursue a career in the law. He first studied with attorney Francis W. Hugbee, then with his uncle, William Whitney; both were in Pottsville. He was still engaged as a student in 1861, when the Civil War broke out. On April 15, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for 50,000 volunteers to fight to preserve the Union. The following day, Bosbyshell joined the Washington Artillerists, a local militia company, which quickly set out for Washington. En route, the company had to march through the streets of Baltimore on April 17. A hostile crowd of Confederate sympathizers gathered; according to accounts in his lifetime, he was struck by a missile variously described as a stone or a brick. Although it gave him a large bruise and momentarily stunned him, the object drew no blood; Private Bosbyshell was purportedly the first man wounded in the Union cause, while an African-American servant, hit a few minutes later by a missile which broke the skin, was deemed the first man to have shed his blood for the Union. However, official records do not list Bosbyshell among the casualties of the Baltimore riots. In Washington, the company was quartered in the Ladies' Gallery of the Senate Chamber, in the Capitol. The 350 Pennsylvania troops who first reached Washington on April 18 became known as the First Defenders and, after the war, the survivors formed an association with that name. While they were lodged at the Capitol, President Lincoln, Secretary of State William H. Seward, and Secretary of War Simon Cameron visited. Bosbyshell recalled Lincoln, "yes, here, towering over all in the room was the great central figure of the war. I remember how I was impressed by the kindliness of his face and awkward hanging of his arms and legs, his apparent bashfulness in the presence of these first soldiers of the Republic, and with it all a grave, rather mournful bearing in his attitude." The Washington Artillerists were redesignated as Company H of the 25th Pennsylvania Volunteers, and were sent down the Potomac River to Fort Washington, where the company spent three months strengthening the fortifications. Bosbyshell was offered a first lieutenancy in the regular Army, which he declined, stating that he preferred volunteer service. When the company's term of enlistment expired, Bosbyshell rejoined Union forces as a second lieutenant in Company G, 48th Pennsylvania Volunteers, to serve a three-year term from October 1, 1861. For about a month after his re-enlistment, Bosbyshell was regimental recruiting officer in Harrisburg, but on November 11, sailed with his regiment from Fortress Monroe, Virginia, to Hatteras, North Carolina. There he served as acting adjutant of his regiment, and as judge advocate for courts-martial. When General Ambrose Burnside launched an attack on New Bern, he took six companies of the 48th with him, as well as Bosbyshell, though Company G was not included among the Union forces. In April and May 1862, Bosbyshell received successive promotions to first lieutenant and captain and was assigned to command his company, which he did at such battles as Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. After Fredericksburg, he was again assigned to serve in courts-martial; when the regiment was moved west in early 1863, Bosbyshell was assigned as provost marshal of Louisville, Kentucky. While stationed at Louisville, he returned home to Pennsylvania on leave of absence to marry Martha Stem, daughter of a minister. When the regiment was ordered to Tennessee in September 1863 to take part in Union actions there, Bosbyshell was made Acting Assistant Adjutant-General for the First Brigade of the Ninth Corps, of which the 48th was part. He fought at Blue Springs and Campbell's Station, and took part in the siege of Knoxville. In 1864, he returned to Pennsylvania again to help bring the regiment up to strength. Returning to his brigade post, he commanded African-American troops in the Wilderness Campaign. On July 10, 1864, Bosbyshell was promoted to major and ordered to command the 48th, though he remained at his brigade post temporarily. At this time, Union forces were besieging Petersburg, south of the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. The acting commander of the 48th, Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants, in civilian life a mining engineer, conceived the idea of digging under the Confederate lines and exploding a giant bomb. After weeks of preparation, the bomb was exploded on July 30, creating a huge pit in the ground and a hole in the Confederate lines. After initial shock, the Confederates rallied and repulsed the attempt to break the lines, aided by Union bungling. Bosbyshell led African-American troops into action in the Battle of the Crater; they suffered over 400 casualties. With Pleasants promoted to General Robert B. Potter's staff, Bosbyshell took command of the 48th on August 2, 1864. Bosbyshell led his command at Globe Tavern and at Peebles's Farm. In September 1864, he sought leave of absence to return to Pennsylvania on personal business. When this was refused, and with his three-year term of service having expired, he was mustered out on October 1, 1864. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Oliver Bosbyshell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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