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90th PENNSYLVANIA INFANTRY JEWELER MADE ID PIN: ANDREW MCLARDY, LOST AN ARM AT ANTIETAM- “A HOT PLACE”

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Finely engraved, jeweler-made identification disk worn by Andrew James McLardy, a private in Company B of the 90^th Pennsylvania, who lost an arm at Antietam in fighting at the East Woods and Cornfield, where the regiment lost roughly half the men it took onto the field, but was last of Rickett’s division to be pulled back in the attack in face of Hood’s fierce counterattack on the Union right. Veterans of the regiment later erected a simple monument consisting of three stacked muskets from which is suspended an army camp kettle with the words “Here fought the 90th Penna. (Phila) / Sept. 17, 1862 / A Hot Place.” A rather remarkable battle monument we think- both for its understatement, given the high casualty rate, and in its celebration of the camaraderie of the veterans in the more peaceful, and punning, use of an army kettle over a campfire- a hot place- though with the reminder of war in the use of three rifles to fashion its tripod.

Measuring just 5/8-inch in diameter, this silver disk is pierced near the edge by a small hole for suspension and delicately engraved on both sides. On one side the center is filled by a four-leaf clover superimposed on other floral motifs at center, all surrounded by a densely and finely checked ground with narrow border near the rim. The other side has a finely done ric-rac border with “A. J. McLardy” in script along a top band, “Co. ‘B’” in a central band, and “90^th Regt. Pa.” in the lower band. The fine “ric-rac” pattern of the border is repeated in two half circles filling the centers of the badge above and below the company designation, and in two short segments dividing the upper and lower bands, creating the impression the engraving is done on two forked banners. We also note some delicate flourishes along McClardy’s name, those on the right imitating a leafy branch.

Born in Glasgow in 1844, Andrew James McClardy was brought to the US by his family in 1848. He seems to be picked up in the 1860 census at age 15, living with a widowed mother and siblings and “learning dyeing,” though an 1865 pension application states he was an “Engineer” before entering the army. The regiment organized in Philadelphia from October 1861 to March 1862. McLardy (sometimes listed as McClardy) enlisted Feb. 12 and mustered into Company B as a private on February 13. He is listed as present on company muster rolls from the March-April roll until his wounding at Antietam. The regiment left the state on March 31, was campaigning against Jackson in the Shenandoah by May and in late July joined Pope, fighting in the rearguard at Rappahannock Station and at Thoroughfare Gap, and was heavily engaged at Groveton, losing some 200 in killed, wounded and missing. In the Antietam Campaign they were engaged at South Mountain, suffering 3 wounded, and on Sept. 17 were in Rickett’s Division, which led the attack on the Union right, the regiment first lying under musketry and shell fire near Matthews’ battery and then joining the brigade as it moved into action in the East Woods and eastern part of the Cornfield. The division was eventually pulled back in the face of Hood’s counterattack, but the brigade was the last of the division to pull back and the regiment was the last of the brigade to do so, having fired much its ammunition and lost 17 killed, 75 wounded, 9 missing and 2 captured, about half of those in action, the Colonel, who had taken over the brigade when the commanding general panicked and fled, estimating he had only about 100 left to pull back.

McLardy was among the casualties, suffering a severe wound in the right arm below the elbow- a “gun shot fracture” in the words of the surgeon. He was evacuated to Keedysville, where his arm was amputated between the shoulder and elbow, and was then sent to recover at the hospital at Smoketown. In a testimony to his toughness, however, it was not the last of his army service. He re-enlisted April 1, 1865, mustering in as Second Lieutenant of Co. F of the 215^th Pennsylvania, a one-year regiment, on April 18. The regiment was posted to Fort Delaware in June and July, best known as a prisoner-of-war facility, where they mustered out on July 31, 1865. (His pension index card lists only his service in the 90^th, but a newspaper obituary lists both units.)

He had been granted a monthly disability pension of $8.00 after his wounding, which supplemented his income from various jobs. City directories of the 1870s list him as a carpet manufacturer and a clerk, the former perhaps related to his “learning dyeing” in the 1860 census and the latter perhaps reflecting his work at the post office, which is indicated in his obituary. (A somewhat confused online cemetery record says he was also a census taker in 1870 and an Assistant US Marshal, which we have not confirmed.) He married in October 1865 and later was a member of Walter S. Newhall Post No. 7 G.A.R. He died in February 1877 from causes deemed related to his wound, leaving behind a widow and three children. The doctor who had treated him since 1865 had noted his health varied quite a bit over the years, “until about July 1875 when the result was but question of time.”

This is a finely made identification tag belonging to a soldier with some significant service and sacrifice.  [SR][ph:L]

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