By Jason Campbell

Hillary Beyer was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania  in 1837. On May 18^th, 1861 at the age of 23, he enlisted into Company A of the 19^th Pennsylvania Regiment, a three-month unit. Three months later on  August 29th, 1861, the regiment’s term of service had expired and the men were mustered out. The mass majority of the men re-enlisted for a three-year term becoming the 90^th Pennsylvania Regiment. Beyer re-enlisted along with his comrades and joined Company H of the newly formed 90^th Pennsylvania.

At the Battle of Antietam the 90^th Pennsylvania served in the Second Brigade, William Christian, Second Division, James Ricketts  of Joe Hooker’s First Corps. The First Corps was on the northern end of the battlefield approaching the infamous Cornfield and East Woods. The Second Brigade was originally led by Col William Christian, however; as Christian led his brigade closer to the East Woods, his mental state started to collaspe.  The tremdenous sounds of battle rolling across the fields of battle weakened Christian’s nerves.  Christian fled from the field leaving his brigade momentarily commaderless.  Col. Peter Lyle of the 90^th, will be elevated to the command of the brigade, this in-turn will elevate Lt.Col. William Leech to command the 90^th. After the battle, Lyle wrote of the involment of the 90^th Pennsylvania:

“We again lay on our arms all night, and at daybreak the next morning (17^th) we moved to the right, passed to the front through a corn-field, and took position on the left of Matthew’s battery, First Pennsylvania, which we were ordered to support. Here we were exposed to a severe fire of musketry and shell, we being immediately in rear of the skirmishers, who were engaging the enemy in the corn-field in the front. We were moved to the left behind a wood [the East Woods], and formed in close column. The shells falling around us, the battery was moved to the front, into the woods. Here we were subject to a raking fire of grape, canister, and shell. The battery fell back, and the regiment was deployed and moved to the front in line. We passed through the woods into a plowed field, where we engaged the enemy until our forces on the right and left gave way, when, having but about 100 men left, we fell back slowly and in good order, under cover of the woods, and then, being hard pressed by the enemy, we fell to the rear, finding that fresh troops were coming to our relief”.

Opposing the 90^th were the remmants of Alexander Lawton’s Division and Evander Law’s Brigade from John Bell Hood’s Division, the latter had started to arrive on the field to replace Lawton. Law’s men threatened both flanks of the 90^th Pennsylvania, in an exposed position, the regiment was forced with  no other choice but to fall back into the East Woods.

 At Antietam the 90^th faced numerous challenges, from command changes to being under heavy fire, these men held their ground as long as they could.  Beyer, a Second Lieutentant in Company H  showee tremendous leadership skills. Though his regiment was retiring from the field, Beyer remained behind risking his life to save as many of his fallen men as possible. Beyer carried one man off of the field to safety. The 90^th Pennsylvania Regiment lost a total of 98 officers and men at Antietam, a number that could have been higher if not for the actions of Beyer.

The monument to the 90^th Pennsylvania Regiment at Antietam has the dubious distinction of being the only monument at Antietam that needed to be replaced. The original monument was made of three original Civil War muskets, both time and weather had compromised the monument which had lasted from the 1880’s to 1930. A new monument designed like the original was dedicated on September 17, 2004, the anniversary of the battle by the decendents of the regiment.

Beyer continued to serve throughtout the war, during General Grant’s Overland Campagin of 1864, Beyer was wounded during the Battle of the Wilderness. In November of the same year, when his term expired, Beyer was mustered out and he returned home.

Awarded the Medal of Honor on  October 30, 1896 

Citation

After his command had been forced to fall back, remained alone on the line of battle, caring for his wounded comrades and carrying one of them to a place of safety.

After the war Beyer lived in Germantown, Pennsylvania where he worked as a manager at the Knickabocker Ice Company, a position he would hold for twenty-five years. Beyer died in Norristown only days shy of his seventieth birthday.