Isaac J . Wistar Isaac Jones Wistar ( November 14 , 1827 – September 18 , 1905 ) was an American lawyer , miner , farmer , soldier , and author . He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War , in which he was wounded twice , and was noted for his criticized performance during the 1864 Bermuda Hundred Campaign . After the conflict Wistar became a distinguished penologist and a writer . Early life and career . Isaac J . Wistar was born in 1827 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He received early his education at Westtown Friends ' School , and then attended the Haverford College . Wistar also received a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Pennsylvania . After graduating Wistar took up studying law , and then began practicing as a lawyer within Philadelphia . In 1849 he relocated to California in order to participate as a miner in the Gold Rush . From then on until the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861 , Wistar held a great variety of vocations . Among these were : as an animal trapper , a mountaineer , as an Indian fighter , a farmer , and then once again practicing law . Civil War service . At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861 , Wistar chose to follow his home state and the Union cause . He raised a company of men and was elected its captain . Wistar ' s company was then added to the 71st Pennsylvania Infantry , originally known as the California Regiment . This regiment was organized at Fort Schuyler located in New York . On June 28 Wistar was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel , and on July 1 the 71st left for Fortress Monroe on the Virginia Peninsula . On July 22 Wistar and the 71st was then ordered to Washington , D . C . , forming part of the capital ' s defenses until that fall . Wistar participated in the much - publicized Union defeat in the Battle of Ball ' s Bluff on October 21 . In the fight he temporarily led the regiment and was seriously wounded , hit in his right elbow , his jaw , and thigh . Following the death of Col . Edward D . Baker at Ball ' s Bluff , Wistar became the commander of the 71st Pennsylvania , promoted to colonel on November 11 , 1861 . The 71st participated in the Peninsular Campaign of 1862 , although it isn ' t clear whether Wistar was actually present ; at the Battle of Seven Pines ( May 31 and June 1 ) the regiment was led by its major , and during the Seven Days Battles ( June 30 and July 1 ) commanded by its lieutenant colonel . Wistar fought in the Battle of Antietam on September 17 , 1862 , and was wounded in his left arm . His commander , Oliver O . Howard , reported on Wistar ' s new injuries , saying " . . . with his right arm nearly useless from a former wound , had his left disabled . " referring to the previous Ball ' s Bluff wounds . On November 29 Wistar was promoted to brigadier general , and he was assigned to brigade command in the VII Corps beginning on May 16 , 1863 . Beginning on July 18 , 1863 , Wistar commanded the District of Yorktown in Virginia , and that August the post was re - designated as a subdistrict of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina . In April 1864 he briefly was given divisional command of the XVIII in the Army of the James . On May 7 Wistar resumed leading a brigade and participated in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign , but eleven days later he was relieved of duty and replaced by Col . Griffen Stedman . Military historian Ezra J . Warner surmises Wistar performed poorly during this campaign , saying : Wistar ' s resignation from the Union Army was accepted by the U . S . War Department on September 15 , 1864 . Postbellum career . After resigning , Wistar resumed his law practice in Philadelphia , and he also was a noted penologist . He served as vice president of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company , leading its coal and canal components . Wistar founded the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1892 , and also served as Inspector of the Pennsylvania State Penitentiary , both located in Philadelphia . He also served as president of the following organizations ; the Pennsylvania State Board of Charities , the American Philosophical Society , and the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia . Wistar also authored several works , including an autobiography and writings about war and penology . He retired in 1903 and died two years later at his summer home located in Claymont , New Castle County , Delaware . He was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia .