Joseph George Rosengarten Joseph George Rosengarten ( July 14 , 1835 - January 14 , 1921 ) was a Philadelphia lawyer , historian , and Civil War veteran . He served on the staff of General John F . Reynolds . Early life and education . Joseph George Rosengarten was born in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , the child of German immigrants , George D . and Elizabeth ( Bennett ) Rosengarten . His father was a chemist and manufacturer , who created a " large chemical establishment " and had an interest in numerous other profitable business ventures , including the Pennsylvania Railroad . Rosengarten received his early education in private schools in Philadelphia , and for a time " came under the influence of a scholarly man in York , Pennsylvania , the Rev . Charles West Thomson , who aroused in him a liking for literature that became an abiding habit . " He completed his secondary education at an academy then affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania , studying under Dr . Samuel Crawford . In 1849 , at just fourteen years of age , Rosengarten was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania , graduating three years later with the degree of A . B . in the Class of 1852 . In 1855 , Rosengarten received the degree of Master from the same university . After graduation he studied law in the offices of Henry M . Phillips , a prominent member of the Philadelphia Bar , and in 1856 , Rosengarten was admitted to practice . Rosengarten ' s father then arranged for him to travel abroad to further his studies : While abroad he was " thrown into contact with men of distinction , " including Ludwig Häusser and Adolph von Vangerow , who served respectively , as professors of history and law at the University of Heidelberg . During this period , Rosengarten also met the eminent British jurist James Fitzjames Stephen , and his brother , author and critic Leslie Stephen . In 1857 , Rosengarten returned to the United States and began practicing law in Philadelphia . His law partners were Henry Schell Hagert and George Junkin . Witnesses John Brown ' s raid on Harpers Ferry . In 1859 , Rosengarten witnessed abolitionist John Brown ' s famous raid on Harpers Ferry , Virginia . Brown was attempting to start an armed slave revolt by seizing a United States Arsenal at Harpers Ferry . Brown ' s raid was defeated by a detachment of marines led by then Colonel Robert E . Lee . Rosengarten had been traveling at the time as a guest with the Directors of the Pennsylvania Railroad , his father being one of the directors . His train stopped at Harper ' s Ferry and Rosengarten witnessed the attack made by Lee ' s men on the engine house where John Brown had sought refuge . He later saw John Brown lying wounded . Rosengarten wrote a vivid account of the raid , and what he had witnessed , that was published in the " Atlantic Monthly " in 1865 . Civil war service . On September 2 , 1862 , a year after the outbreak of the Civil War , Rosengarten was commissioned a first lieutenant in Company D of the 121st Pennsylvania Infantry . The regiment was soon ordered to Washington , D . C . , and upon its arrival , went into camp at Arlington Heights . Arms and equipments were not delivered until some weeks after its arrival , but drill and instruction were immediately commenced , and prosecuted with vigor , the regiment becoming noted for good discipline at the drills and reviews of General Casey ' s Provisional Brigade , to which it was then attached . Rosengarten fought with distinction at the Battle of Fredericksburg , " distinguishing himself for bravery , picking up the colors after four sergeants had been disabled and carrying them successfully through the engagement . " As a result , he gained the notice of Major General John F . Reynolds , and was offered the post of Ordnance Officer and a position on General Reynolds ' staff . Rosengarten remained on Reynolds ' staff , fighting under him at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg , until the Reynolds was killed in action during the latter battle . Rosengarten was assigned the honor of escorting Reynolds ' body to his final resting place in Lancaster , Pennsylvania . Due to his intimate association with Reynolds , Rosengarten was also chosen to deliver the address at the dedication of Reynolds ' monument at Gettysburg in 1889 . Later life . On September 6 , 1863 , Rosengarten received an honorable discharge from the military . In March 1865 , he received the rank of Brevet Captain . After receiving his discharge , Rosengarten returned to his law practice in Philadelphia . He was also employed as his father ' s business manager and legal representative , overseeing his father ' s numerous business ventures and investments . Rosengarten maintained a lifelong interest in his alma mater the University of Pennsylvania , serving as president of the alumni association , and as a member of the Board of Trustees . He supported several other public institutions , among them the German Hospital , now Lankenau Hospital , and the House of Refuge , the first institution in Pennsylvania established to reform juveniles charged with delinquency . Rosengarten served on the Board of Managers ( 1878 ) , and later as vice president ( 1893 - 1910 ) , and finally , as president ( 1911 - 1914 ) of the House of Refuge . At his urging , the institution was moved from Philadelphia to the outlying countryside , where , instead of being " treated as prisoners the boys and girls were placed in homes organized on the cottage system , " provided with educational opportunities , plenty of fresh air , outdoor work and exercise . Rosengarten served as a board member ( 1895 - 1911 ) and president ( 1899 - 1909 ) of the Free Library of Philadelphia , and it was largely through his efforts that the library received a bequest of five hundred thousand dollars from Andrew Carnegie . Carnegie remembered the kindness once shown to him , years before , while he was employed as secretary to the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad , by Rosengarten ' s father . Rosengarten developed a close association with Anthony J . Drexel and , as a result , served from its founding in 1892 until 1909 as a member of the board of the Drexel Institute . Rosengarten contributed frequently to newspapers and periodicals , including the " New York Tribune " , the Philadelphia " Public Ledger " , the " North American Review " , the " Atlantic Monthly " , the " Penn Monthly , " and " The Nation " . He also delivered numerous addresses before various literary and charitable associations , including one before the Historical Society of Pennsylvania on the “ " Life and Public Services of General John F . Reynolds " ” ( Philadelphia , 1880 ) . Rosengarten was an active member of the American Philosophical Society . He contributed translations of Hessian soldier Stephan Popp ' s Revolutionary War diary and Achenwall ' s Observations on North America to a paper , " " American History from German Archives " , " published in the Society ' s " Proceedings " for 1900 . Through his association with Henry C . Carey , Rosengarten became interested in social science , and was active in the establishment of the American Social Science Association , which later became the American Academy of Political and Social Science . An amateur historian , Rosengarten was particularly interested in the subject of French and German immigration to the United States , and the role played by French and German immigrants in the foundation of the country . He authored numerous articles on the subject and two books : " The German Soldier in the Wars of the United States " ( Philadelphia , 1886 ) and " French Colonists and Exiles in the United States " ( Philadelphia , 1907 ) . Rosengarten was also remembered for his large circle of influential friends and acquaintances : Rosengarten never married , living first with his parents and unmarried siblings , and later , after the death of his parents , with his sister , Fanny Rosengarten . He died in Philadelphia on January 14 , 1921 . He is buried beside his sister Fanny at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia .