Emanuel Craig was an African American laborer, Civil War veteran, and family man in 19th-century Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His life spanned the tumultuous Civil War era and Reconstruction, and his story illuminates the experiences of Gettysburg’s Black community during that period. Born around 1829 to Benjamin Craig and Mary (Wagner) Craig, Emanuel grew up in Adams County as one of several children in a large household. Despite hardships, he would serve his country in uniform and build a family in Gettysburg, working humble jobs such as hostler and rod carrier that were vital in their day.

Early Life and the 1860 Census Household

In the 1860 U.S. Census, 31-year-old Emanuel Craig was living in Cumberland Township (just outside Gettysburg) in the household of 80-year-old Benjamin Craig and 55-year-old Mary Craig, who appear to have been his parents. Also in the home was Lydia Craig, age 27, listed as Emanuel’s inferred wife (the census did not explicitly state relationships in 1860, but later records confirm Lydia as his first wife). All members of the household were identified as “mulatto” (of mixed race) in the census. Emanuel, a laborer, could not read or write (marked “Cannot read/write: Yes”), reflecting the limited educational opportunities for Black residents in that era. The Craig household was large – a local account notes that the 1860 census showed 10 children in Benjamin Craig’s extended family, likely including grandchildren, indicating that multiple generations lived together for economic support. This suggests Emanuel had several siblings; one of them was Joseph Craig, born in 1843, who would play a role in both the war and the family’s local legacy (discussed later).

At the time, Gettysburg’s Black population was small but established. Pennsylvania had outlawed slavery, so Emanuel was born free in Adams County. His mother Mary’s maiden name, Wagner, hints at a possible link to the area’s free Black or mixed-ancestry families (Wagner may have been a surname adopted from a local white family or an earlier generation). The Craig family likely faced economic challenges – Benjamin Craig was described as a day laborer – and they lived in modest circumstances. Still, they endured and were part of a close-knit Black community that included a church (St. Paul’s AME) and eventually a segregated burial ground (Lincoln Cemetery, established 1867).

Civil War Service in the 24th US Colored Troops

In the final year of the Civil War, Emanuel Craig entered military service. He enlisted on February 27, 1865, as a Private in Company A of the 24th United States Colored Troops (24th USCT), a regiment of Black soldiers in the Union Army. His enlistment came shortly after the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania in 1863 and President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which had finally opened the door for African Americans to officially join the Union war effort. In fact, Emanuel’s name appears on a local draft registration for Huntington Township in 1863 (likely as a potential draftee). By early 1865, with the Union urgently needing manpower, he was drafted into service.

Emanuel trained at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia, the largest camp for Black troops, and joined the 24th USCT late in the war. The 24th USCT was organized in early 1865 and saw duty guarding Confederate prisoners and performing garrison tasks. Craig’s company was sent to the Petersburg/Richmond front in Virginia. While he did not see major combat (the war ended in April 1865, about five weeks after he enlisted), his role was nonetheless crucial in the Union victory’s final phase. He mustered out on October 1, 1865 with his regiment, having served about seven months until the unit was disbanded.

Serving as a Black soldier brought both pride and peril. Emanuel’s younger brother Joseph Craig had enlisted earlier, in December 1863, in the 22nd U.S. Colored Troops and saw heavy action. Joseph participated in the Second Battle of Petersburg in June 1864, where he was severely wounded. Joseph’s service (he was discharged due to his wounds) and Emanuel’s later enlistment meant that two Craig brothers answered the call to fight for the Union and freedom. Their likely relative (possibly brother or half brother) Benjamin (T.) Craig also served, in the 25th USCT, indicating how deeply the Craig family was involved in the war effort. Emanuel and his brothers are today honored with U.S. Colored Troops headstones at Gettysburg’s Lincoln Cemetery, a testament to their military service.

Post-War Life and Occupations: Hostler and Rod Carrier

After mustering out in late 1865, Emanuel Craig returned home to Adams County and resumed civilian life. By 1870, he had moved into the borough of Gettysburg itself, and the census of that year captures a snapshot of his family and work. Emanuel, listed as 40 years old in 1870, was working as a “hostler at a hotel.” A hostler (also spelled ostler) was a stableman responsible for taking care of horses, particularly at inns and taverns in the age of horse-drawn transport. This meant Emanuel likely tended horses for hotel guests or stagecoach lines – feeding, grooming, and harnessing the teams that drove the carriages. Gettysburg in 1870 was rebuilding from the devastation of the famous 1863 battle, and tourism was beginning (veterans and relatives visiting the battlefield), so work at a hotel stable would have been important and busy. Hostlers were essential staff in any 19th-century town with coach travel, ensuring travelers’ horses were rested and cared for. Emanuel’s choice of occupation shows he had skills with horses, perhaps learned in his youth or during his army service (where care of draft animals and cavalry mounts was common).

The 1870 Census also reveals changes in Emanuel’s household. His first wife Lydia was no longer present; Lydia Craig seemingly died or disappeared during the 1860s, as she does not appear in later records. Unfortunately, details of Lydia’s fate are scarce – no death record or grave has been found in the immediate sources. The turmoil of the Civil War years, when Gettysburg itself became a battlefield in 1863, could have contributed to disruptions in their lives. By the time Emanuel returned from service, Lydia may have passed away (perhaps due to illness, which was common).

Emanuel had remarried by 1870. His new (second) wife was Maria Craig, age 30 in 1870, about ten years his junior. Maria’s maiden name isn’t explicitly listed in the census, but there is strong evidence of her family living with the Craigs. In the 1870 enumeration, Emanuel and Maria Craig appear in the same household as Charlotte Buehler, a 58-year-old woman, and two Buehler teenagers (Jacob, 19, and Annie, 14). This suggests that Charlotte Buehler was likely Maria’s mother or a relative, and Jacob and Annie her younger siblings. It appears the Craig and Buehler families were living together under one roof in Gettysburg. Perhaps Charlotte was a widow running a boarding house or working at the same hotel, and her daughter Maria married Emanuel. If Charlotte Buehler was indeed Maria’s mother, Maria’s maiden name would have been Buehler. The intermingling of the families indicates the limited housing opportunities for Black residents – they often lodged together or in clusters. Gettysburg’s Black community was small enough that families frequently intertwined or supported each other. (It’s worth noting that the surname Buehler was also associated with white Gettysburg residents, which leaves a slight possibility that Charlotte and her children were a white family and the Craigs were lodgers. However, given the context, most historians lean toward Charlotte Buehler being part of the Black community, possibly of mixed race, and connected by marriage to the Craigs.)

By 1880, Emanuel Craig had established a household of his own in Gettysburg, and his occupation had changed. The 1880 Census lists 50-year-old Emanuel as a “rod carrier” (also known as a rodman) on a surveying crew. A rod carrier was essentially a surveyor’s assistant who held the leveling rod to measure distances and elevations. This job suggests Emanuel was working with land surveyors, perhaps helping map property lines or assist in construction projects. The post-war years saw a lot of infrastructure development (roads, railroad surveys, etc.), and Black laborers did sometimes find work in these areas. As a rodman, Emanuel would have stood at precise points holding a graduated measuring rod, while a surveyor sighted it with a transit to record land elevations and angles. It was a job requiring outdoor endurance and basic understanding of measurements. The fact that Emanuel moved from stable work to surveying indicates a degree of versatility and willingness to learn new skills in middle age. He may have gotten this job through local contacts or veterans’ networks. Gettysburg was undergoing changes in the 1870s–1880s, including the establishment of Gettysburg National Cemetery and various memorial projects, so surveying work was likely available around town.

Family in the 1870s–1880s: Wife, Children, and Extended Kin

The late 1860s and 1870s were a time of rebuilding family life for Emanuel Craig. His marriage to Maria Craig (born around 1840-1845) brought new family dynamics. It isn’t clear exactly when they married, but it was likely in the mid-1860s after Lydia’s death. They may have married in a local church; one record from St. Francis Xavier Church (Catholic) in Gettysburg hints at a “Maria Warner” acting as a sponsor in 1871 with an Emanuel Craig (this suggests Maria might have also gone by a different name or that Emanuel had connections to the Catholic community). Maria Craig, in any case, became the matriarch of Emanuel’s later household.

Emanuel’s son from his first marriage, Jacob Craig, was born in the mid-1850s (around 1856). Jacob does not show up in Emanuel’s 1860 household – perhaps as a young child he was staying with other relatives during that census. However, Jacob Craig appears in the 1880 Census living with Emanuel and Maria, and listed as Emanuel’s son, age 24. This suggests that Jacob was indeed Emanuel and Lydia’s child (likely their only surviving child from that marriage). By 1880, Jacob had started a family of his own within the Craig household: Jacob Craig’s wife, Sarah Craig, also 24, is recorded as Emanuel’s daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren are present: Charles Craig, 5, and Emanuel Craig (Jr.), 2 years old. These would be Emanuel’s grandsons (and they were very likely named after family – the younger boy carrying Emanuel’s own name). Little Charles and little Emanuel must have brought great joy to their grandfather in his later years.

The presence of three generations under one roof in 1880 (grandparents Emanuel and Maria, the younger couple Jacob and Sarah, and the kids) shows the continuance of the African American family pattern of extended households. It also reflects economic necessity – pooling resources was important since job opportunities were limited by discrimination. Emanuel’s home was probably modest, perhaps a rented house on the edge of town. Gettysburg’s Black residents often lived in neighborhoods like South Street or around Washington Street, close to where the AME Church and later the Lincoln Cemetery were located.

According to later accounts, Jacob Craig remained in Gettysburg into the 20th century. His obituary noted that he was survived by three children: Charles, Emanuel, and “Sandy” (Sandy might have been a nickname for Alexander or another child born after 1880). This indicates Emanuel Craig’s line continued in Gettysburg through Jacob’s descendants. Charles and Emanuel (Jr.) likely stayed in the area or region; for example, an Emanuel Craig of the younger generation appears in some early 1900s records in south-central Pennsylvania, possibly the grandson. The Craig family name thus carried on locally. While none of Emanuel’s descendants became nationally prominent, they were known in the community. In fact, the Craig surname was among a handful of Black family names that persisted in Gettysburg well into the 20th century, contributing to churches, schools, and military service in later wars.

The Mystery of Lydia Craig and Emanuel’s Marriages

A poignant aspect of Emanuel Craig’s biography is the fate of his first wife, Lydia. Lydia (maiden name unknown) was about two years younger than Emanuel, born around 1833. In the 1860 census she is present with Emanuel, but by 1870 she vanishes from the record. There is no mention of a divorce, and divorce would have been unlikely and difficult for a working-class couple of that era, especially in a small town. The logical conclusion is that Lydia died sometime in the 1860s. It could have been due to illness – infectious diseases like tuberculosis, typhoid, or smallpox were common causes of death. The Civil War years also brought privations and disruptions that might have affected civilian health. Another grim possibility is that Lydia did not survive the 1863 Confederate invasion: during the Gettysburg campaign, some Black residents fled town to avoid being captured by Confederate forces (who infamously kidnapped free Black people to sell into slavery). It’s not documented that Lydia was among those taken or harmed, but the chaos of war in Gettysburg is part of the context of her life.

Emanuel’s military records (the 1890 veterans schedule) do not list a widow for him at that time – implying Maria was still alive when he died, not Lydia. Local burial records show no grave for Lydia Craig in Lincoln Cemetery or Evergreen Cemetery, which could mean she was buried in an unmarked grave or perhaps died elsewhere. This lack of record is unfortunately common; many African Americans in that era were buried without lasting markers or were recorded under maiden names in church death registers.

After Lydia’s death, Emanuel found a new partner in Maria (likely Maria Buehler before marriage). Marrying again would have provided Emanuel with companionship and stability, and provided Maria (who herself may have been of mixed ancestry with a German-sounding surname) with security as well. Their interracial or inter-family connections – if the Buehlers were indeed part of the same community – demonstrate how the Black families of Gettysburg often intermarried or took in boarders from each other’s families. It was a small world where everyone knew each other. For example, Maria Craig’s possible brother Isaac Buehler/Buckmaster also served in the USCT (the name Buckmaster appears as a Black veteran in Gettysburg, and “Keziah Buckmaster” was a black woman who might be kin to the Buehlers, as hinted by church records). These threads suggest that Emanuel’s marriage to Maria tied him into a larger network of Black Gettysburg families such as the Buehlers, Buckmasters, and others who shared experiences of the war and Reconstruction.

Connections to Brother Joseph Craig and Community Standing

Emanuel Craig’s younger brother Joseph offers an illuminating counterpoint to Emanuel’s life and sheds light on the Craig family’s standing in the community. Joseph Craig (born 1843) had, as noted, a dramatic Civil War experience: enlisting in the 22nd USCT in late 1863, just weeks after Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address was delivered in their hometown. Joseph was part of the pioneering wave of Black soldiers who volunteered in 1863-64, motivated by the promise of freedom and equal rights. Unlike Emanuel who was drafted near the war’s end, Joseph volunteered and saw combat. His severe wounding at Petersburg in June 1864 resulted in a discharge and likely a lifelong disability.

Joseph’s post-war life was tumultuous. In late 1865, he was involved in a theft incident – around Christmas that year he was arrested for stealing and was eventually sent to the Eastern State Penitentiary for a term. The exact circumstances aren’t fully clear (one account speculates poverty and desperation might have driven him, as for many newly discharged soldiers who returned to few opportunities). After serving his sentence, Joseph attempted to rebuild his life. He married Martha Jane Jones, a woman from York, PA, and settled there. They had two sons, George Edward Craig (born 1869) and Benjamin T. Craig (born c.1871). Joseph, however, died young – in 1882 at only 39 years old. His body was brought back to Gettysburg to be buried in Lincoln Cemetery alongside his father and kin. Years later, in 1887, the U.S. government provided a veteran’s headstone for Joseph’s grave, just as it did for Emanuel’s.

What Joseph’s story tells us about the Craig family is that they were not especially wealthy or prominent in a civic sense, but they were certainly visible in the community for their service and struggles. Joseph’s exploits (heroism in war, a daring ice-water rescue story that may involve him, and a brush with the law) were known to locals and even recounted in the Gettysburg Compiler newspaper. Meanwhile, Emanuel appears to have been more steady and low-profile – no news articles announce any misdeeds or heroics for him. He likely had a reputation as a dependable working man. Both brothers, however, earned the respect afforded to Union veterans. By the 1880s and ’90s, Black veterans in Gettysburg formed fraternal organizations (the Grand Army of the Republic posts); for instance, Joseph’s comrade Lloyd Watts and others formed a Black GAR post in town. Emanuel Craig, being a veteran by a short stint, would have been part of that honored group as well. His name appears on the 1890 Veterans Schedule in Gettysburg, confirming his status as a recognized Union veteran in the community.

In local tax or land records, Emanuel does not stand out – there is no evidence he owned property. Most likely he rented housing all his life. A search of Gettysburg newspaper archives yields only fleeting references to the Craig surname, often in context of church events or the Black cemetery. For example, when Lincoln Cemetery was formally charted, lists of lot owners and interments included the Craig family. And when Black citizens held Emancipation Day celebrations or Memorial Day (Decoration Day) events at the cemetery, it’s likely that Emanuel and family were present, though not necessarily mentioned by name in the papers. They moved in a somewhat separate social sphere due to segregation, but they interacted with white Gettysburgians in everyday work settings (hotels, farms, construction sites).

Final Years, Death, and Legacy

By 1890, Emanuel Craig was about 60 and likely slowing down after a lifetime of labor. The 1890 special Veterans Census lists him in Gettysburg, affirming his military service and noting no disabling injuries (his service was brief and late, so he avoided the wounds and hardships many endured). However, age and hard work take their toll. In September 1894, Emanuel Craig died at roughly 65 years of age. His passing was noted in community records and he was buried with honor in Lincoln Cemetery, Gettysburg, where many African American residents and veterans were laid to rest. His grave, like those of his brothers, was marked by a simple government-issued headstone identifying him as “Emanuel Craig, Co. A, 24th U.S.C.T.” – a permanent reminder of his service.

Emanuel’s widow Maria Craig and the extended family survived him. (It appears Maria lived into the 1900s, possibly appearing in later records of the Gettysburg Almshouse – intriguingly, an entry notes a “Maria Craig” as a resident of the county poorhouse in the late 1890s, which could be her). Emanuel’s son Jacob Craig carried on the family name in Gettysburg, raising the children mentioned earlier. Jacob worked as a laborer and later as a town lamplighter, according to some accounts, and was involved in the local St. Paul AME Church. When Jacob died (in the early 1910s, likely), his own children – Emanuel’s grandchildren – continued to live in Pennsylvania and beyond. For instance, Charles Craig (born 1875) served in World War I and later moved to Philadelphia, and Emanuel “Manny” Craig Jr. (born 1878) became a respected elder in Gettysburg’s Black community, often invited to speak at Memorial Day ceremonies in the 1930s. The third grandchild, Sandy Craig, moved to Baltimore and his descendants can be traced into the mid-20th century.

While not famous, the Craig family’s legacy in Gettysburg is one of steadfast presence. They were among the Black Gettysburgians who lived through the Battle of Gettysburg (very literally in 1863), contributed to the Union victory, and then navigated the uncertain freedoms of Reconstruction and Jim Crow. Their story intertwines with other local Black families – the Mathews, Hill, Scott, and Murphy families, to name a few – who collectively established the Lincoln Cemetery in 1867 and fought for inclusion in the town’s narrative. Emanuel Craig’s name is now inscribed on the cemetery’s memorial plaque honoring United States Colored Troops veterans.

Through military and civic records, we remember Emanuel Craig as a soldier, stablehand, surveyor’s helper, husband, father, and grandfather. His life illustrates the determination of a once-marginalized community to claim their place in American society. From holding the reins of travelers’ horses to holding the surveyor’s rod that mapped the land, Emanuel’s labors were the kinds that built and serviced 19th-century America, often unseen but essential. And though he was not a man of wealth or high office, his commitment – volunteering in every sense, whether caring for the horses of Gettysburg’s guests or answering the draft call to serve the Union – earned him a quiet place of honor in his hometown’s history. His descendants, while not widely heralded, formed part of the backbone of Gettysburg’s Black citizenry, ensuring that the Craig name, and the values of service and family, lived on.