Klemroth, Edgar H., b. 1838
Rank:	Corporal; Private (1862 September)
Regiment:	6th Pennsylvania Cavalry. Co. A (1862-1865)
Service:	1861 August 24-1865 August 7

Background note:

Born and raised in New York City, Edgar H. Klemroth was employed as a bookbinder in Philadelphia before the Civil War, and was thus trained and extensively exposed to the graphic and manual arts. He clearly had a natural artistic talent. In August, 1861, Klemroth put his trade on hold to enlist in Co. A of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, a regiment raised among the sons of the Philadelphia elite, and originally outfitted as lancers. For months, they were a regiment on show, training in Philadelphia, parading in the nation's capitol, but in May, they entered into action on the Peninsula, and continued in support of the Army of the Potomac through and beyond the battle of Antietam, serving later near Chancellorsville, the Gettysburg campaign, the Spotsylvania-Cold Harbor campaigns, the Shenandoah Valley, and the Appomattox Campaign. At their last engagement taking place near Five Forks, the regiment had been reduced to only 48 men under arms.

Klemroth's service record bears one unsightly blemish, earned at Antietam. On September 13, 1862, with Lee's army bearing down, Klemroth presented himself to the regimental surgeon, complaining of "heart palpitations." Indeed, the surgeon found Klemroth "very much excited," and ordered him to the rear, an order which Klemroth took very literally. When he was next seen, it was in the far rear -- Washington, D.C. -- and for his wide migration, he was brought up on court martial, stripped of his lonely corporal's stripe and reduced to half pay for six months.

Despite his vacillation at Antietam, Klemroth appears to have remained a valuable soldier. He reenlisted with the regiment in January, 1864, and -- suggestive of his good standing -- was placed on detached duty at Gen. Torbert's headquarters, Middle Military District, in August, where he remained until at least April, 1865.

Scope and contents:

Edgar H. Klemroth's talent as a graphic artist are well displayed in the pages of his sketchbook, which he entitled "Very Rough Sketches presented to Captain R. Ellis." Rudolph Ellis, the recipient, was an adjutant with the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, later promoted to Captain of Co. B. A majority of the sketches are rendered in the popular comic style of the era, and display a very skillful use of line and strong familiarity with drawing techniques and ink wash in both sepia and black ink. The more polished and delicate drawings tend toward a more "realistic" appearance, and are every bit as effective as the Klemroth's comic gems, and he intersperses his sketchbook with sensitive portraits of generals, friends, acquaintances, and other characters. All of these illustrations appear to have been made during the few months after the Shenandoah Valley Campaign had wound down, with the majority sketched between November and December, 1864. At the time, Klemroth was on duty at Torbert's headquarters, and many of the sketches reflect the softer side of military life experienced while posted at headquarters.

Klemroth's portraits of Custer and Sheridan are reasonably good likenesses of the men, but his representations of Moss the Scout, Pat (otherwise unidentified), and Lieut. Spreadbury suggest a greater intimacy, and are correspondingly more powerful and more revealing of their personality. Even better are his camp scenes, the drawings of exhausted men returning from the field, or soldiers at play in their spare time.

Provenance:

Acquired 1990.

References:

"Shenandoah sketchbook" Civil War Times Illustrated 14, 8 (1975), p. 11-17 (this article on Klemroth erroneously records him having been killed in battle).

Gracey, Samuel Lewis. Annals of the Sixth Pennsylvania Cavalry... (Philadelphia, 1868).

P-1506
Cat. 2/98 rsc

Link to Subject index to the Edgar H. Klemroth Sketchbook

Inventory of drawings in the Edgar H. Klemroth Sketchbook

Alphabetic index to the Schoff Civil War Collections

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