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       My name is Bob Cochran, Camp Commander of Appomattox Camp # 2 of the SUVCW. My Civil War ancestor was my 2ndGreat-Grandfather, Robert Cochran. He was descended from two Revolutionary War Patriots: his paternal grandfather Robert Cochran (1749 – 1835) and his maternal great-grandfather John Hindman (1720 – 1796).

       He was born August 1, 1821, near Millersville, PA, passed on November 15, 1898, in Millville, NJ, and is buried in Longwood Cemetery in Kennett Square. Growing up, he learned harness and saddle making from a man named Eli Fredd of Ercildoun, PA. 

       In 1846, at the age of 25, he enlisted as a private in the 3rd U.S. Regiment of Dragoons which was a raised for one year of service in the Mexican–American War. During his enlistment he fought at the Battles of Churubusco (August 20, 1847), and Molina Del-Rey (September 8, 1847). 

       After returning home, Robert married Anna Marie Walton in 1855 and became the father of 4 sons, the oldest of which, Charles Emerson Emmett Cochran, is my 1stGreat-Grandfather.

       At the age of 41, Robert answered Lincoln’s call for 9-month volunteers by enlisting as a private in the 124th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers. He was mustered into service at Harrisburg on August 13, 1862, and barely four weeks later fought at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862, as part of the 3rd Brigade, 1stDivision, of the 12th Army Corps. The positive result of the Battle of Antietam for the Union allowed Lincoln to announce the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862.

       On April 30, 1863, Robert also fought at the Battle of Chancellorsville. It is at the Battle of Chancellorsville that Confederate General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (to whom I am also distantly related by marriage) was killed by his own troops.

       He mustered out of the service in Harrisburg, PA on May 16, 1863, in Harrisburg, just 6 weeks prior to the Battle of Gettysburg. 

       He passed on November 15, 1898 “…helpless and much of a sufferer during the close of his life…. He was not a member of any church, but died an example of Christian meekness, patience, and fortitude, his uncomplaining and peaceful spirit amid discomfort and suffering being a subject of wonder to those who were about him.”

If you have an ancestry account, you can see more details about his life at https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/56494026/person/42011079837/facts.    

Pictured at left is the headstone for Robert Cochran in Logwood Cemetery, Kennett Square, PA