Community Corner
A Civil Education About Doylestown's Past
Longtime borough resident and Civil War buff portrayed a lieutenant for a rapt audience.
“Lt. Edwin Fretz” returned to Doylestown Saturday to share his exploits and those of his fellow soldiers during the Civil War.
Dressed as Fretz, Richard Neddenriep led the first Friends of the Library program of the year. He regaled a packed house with stories of a Doylestown that, in 1860, had only 1,800 residents, a brand new train station and a militia that met weekly to drill in Camp Lacey – now, Central Bucks West’s War Memorial Field.
He told of 100 residents who went served time briefly in a Washington, D.C., that “was much like Doylestown, with dusty streets, open sewers, clapboard houses and animals in the streets.” A week after their first engagement concluded, they answered President Lincoln’s call for 500,000 soldiers and a three-year commitment.
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Lt. Fretz served in the 104th Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment – “No draftees in our ranks!” -- under the command of Col. W. W. H. Davis (whose family founded Davisville).
The 1,000 men in the regiment drilled from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., six days a week, and John Wanamaker, of department store fame and a friend of Davis, helped pay to feed the soldiers.
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The soldiers joined the army of the Potomac under McClelland and planned to take the Southern capital of Richmond, which they never completed. They were always on the far left flank; the black regiment featured in the movie Glory fought with them in the campaigns at Forts Sumter and Wagner.
The men from Doylestown later honored their 150 dead – 46 shot, 88 from disease – with one of the nation’s first 10 monuments – still at the courthouse in Doylestown.
For 23 years, Lt. Fretz also worked for Col. Davis as his printer at the Doylestown Democrat and a German-language newspaper.
Neddenriep is a long-time avid Civil War buff and the current president of the on Broad Street in Doylestown http://buckscivilwar.com/.
The museum is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and parking is free across the street at the courthouse lot.
Neddenriep is a retired research chemist, a 42-year resident of Doylestown, and a graduate of Miami University and the University of Wisconsin. He chose Lt. Fretz to portray because his father was a lieutenant in World War I and commanded a black unit, and Lt. Fretz fought with one, as well.
