• Born: 1840
• Died: July 4, 1863 in Gettysburg (Buried at the Christ Union Church at Niantic)

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Few conclusive records exist regarding John Fox’s short time in the Union Army during the Civil War.  Furthermore, due to his short time in service and the lack of good record keeping at the time, determining which of the at least 37 Pennsylvania soldiers named “John Fox” is the correct one is very difficult.  Therefore, most of what is known of him has been passed down through the family: that he fought and died at Gettysburg on the second day of that infamous battle.

It is most probable that John Fox, son of Israel and brother of Aaron, served in the 27^th Emergency Pennsylvania Infantry Militia.  Government records show that a “John J. Fox” and a “John W. Fox” served in this infantry, one of several emergency units formed in June of 1863 to face General Lee’s invasion of Pennsylvania that summer.  The emergency unit, which did serve at Gettysburg, consisted of 903 men and was disbanded at the end of July, 1863.  While John’s tombstone appears to have “N.” as his middle initial, no Pennsylvania regiment with a “John N. Fox” listed served at Gettysburg (*Edit: On closer inspection, the middle initial appears to be a B).  Considering all records at the time were handwritten, an incorrectly transcribed middle initial is certainly plausible.

According to Samuel P. Bates’ History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865, the 27^th was positioned on Cemetery Hill for much of the battle at Gettysburg, and was among the first regiments to march into the town of Gettysburg on the morning of July 4^th.  Unfortunately, John did not survive the battle and thus was no longer among them at this time.

More is known about John’s death than his military service.  At the age of approximately 23 he served his first and last day in the Union Army at the Battle of Gettysburg where, it is said, he was decapitated and killed by a cannonball.  John’s family sent for his body to be returned to Montgomery County, and he was laid to rest in the cemetery at the Christ Union Church at Niantic. 

His rest was not a peaceful one, however.  Due to expansions made to the church building, John and his parents’ graves were moved from their initial locations.  John’s tombstone was also struck and split in half by lightning on two separate occasions.  Today, his tombstone is secured by metal bars and sunken into the ground to prevent further damage.