John Frederick Hartranft (December 16, 1830 – October 17, 1889) was an American military officer who read the death warrant to the individuals who were executed on July 7, 1865, for conspiring to assassinate American President Abraham Lincoln. Previously having achieved the rank of major general of the Union Army during the American Civil War, he had also been awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor for his actions in the First Battle of Bull Run.
Post-war, he served as the 17th governor of Pennsylvania from 1873 to 1879.
Early life and career
Hartranft was born in Fagleysville, a village in New Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, near Pottstown, the son of ethnic German Americans Mary Lydia (Bucher) and Samuel Engle Hartranft.
Hartranft had some local schooling in Norristown, where his family moved when he was a boy. He attended Marshall College in Mercersburg, a forerunner of Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. He moved to New York, where he completed his degree in civil engineering in 1853 from Union College in Schenectady.
He briefly worked for two railroads in eastern Pennsylvania before returning home to Norristown to assist his father in the real estate and stage line businesses. In 1854, the young man was appointed deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. That year, he married Sallie Douglas Sebring. They had six children, but three died in infancy.
Hartranft was active in the Norristown fire company and the local Freemason lodge. After "reading the law" as an apprentice with an established firm, Hartranft was admitted to the bar in 1860. He entered the Pennsylvania Militia, being promoted to the rank of colonel.
Civil War
In April 1861, Hartranft raised a Montgomery County regiment of 90-day volunteers in Norristown, serving as colonel of the 4th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. When their term of enlistment was up, the regiment returned to Pennsylvania, although it was the eve of the First Battle of Bull Run, and firing had already begun. Hartranft was humiliated by his men's decision to go home.
He stayed to fight with the Army on July 21, 1861. This act earned him the Medal of Honor on August 21, 1886, for volunteering his services to fellow Pennsylvanian Col. William B. Franklin. His citation reads: "Voluntarily served as an aide and participated in the battle after expiration of his term of service, distinguishing himself in rallying several regiments which had been thrown into confusion."
Hartranft raised a three-year regiment, the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, and became its colonel. They first served on the North Carolina coast in the Burnside Expedition. Hartranft led them in battle at Roanoke Island and New Bern. In July 1862, Hartranft's men proceeded to Newport News, Virginia, to become part of Burnside's IX Corps, with whom they fought in the Second Battle of Bull Run and at South Mountain. They also fought at the Battle of Antietam, where Hartranft led the famous charge across Burnside's Bridge, suffering 120 casualties. They later participated in the Battle of Fredericksburg. The 51st Pennsylvania was transferred to the Western Theater, where Hartranft saw action at the battles of Vicksburg, Campbell's Station, and Knoxville; in the latter two actions, he served as commander of the 2nd Division of the IX Corps while still a colonel.
He commanded the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, of the IX Corps in the 1864 Overland Campaign, participating in the fighting at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania. He was promoted to brigadier general as of May 12, 1864. He continued in operations against Richmond and Petersburg. His brigade distinguished itself in the Battle of Peebles' Farm.
When the IX Corps was reorganized, Hartranft was given command of a new 3rd Division, consisting of newly raised Pennsylvania regiments. Hartranft was brevetted major general by Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant for defeating Confederate General Robert E. Lee's last offensive at the Battle of Fort Stedman. He brought his untested division from its reserve position and counterattacked to recover the captured fort.