Medal of Honor Recipient, 17th Pennsylvania Governor, Military Figure. Born in New Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, he spent his youth in the suburbs of Philadelphia. He attended Marshall College in Virginia, and, in 1853, graduated from Union College in New York. Trained as a civil engineer, he switched to politics and law, becoming a deputy sheriff of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in 1854, and, in 1860, he was called to the bar.
Shortly before the outbreak of Civil War, he was named Colonel of the 1st Regiment, Montgomery County Militia. In spring 1861, his outfit became a 90-day volunteer regiment. Sent to Washington, D.C., it accompanied Brigadier General Irvin McDowell's advance to Manassas Junction, Virginia, in mid-July. On the eve of First Bull Run, however, the regiment turned its back on the enemy and marched home because its enlistment period was over, despite McDowell's plea that it remain for the battle. Humiliated by his men's decision, he stayed with the Army, an act that won him the Medal of Honor.
After Bull Run, he raised the 51st Pennsylvania Infantry, of which he became Colonel in November 1861. The 51st served for a time in North Carolina, mainly on occupation duty. At Antietam, on September 17, 1862, it braved a storm of rifle and cannon fire to cross Burnside Bridge and threaten the Confederate right flank. By February 1863, he was commanding a brigade in the IX Corps, Army of the Potomac; later he led a comparable unit in the Army of the Ohio.
After exercising temporary divisional command several times, he took permanent charge of the 3rd Division, IX Corps, competently leading it during many of the Army of the Potomac's final battles. He was particularly conspicuous at Spotsylvania while still in brigade command, winning the star of a Brigadier General, As a division leader at Fort Stedman, his role in helping repulse General Robert E. Lee's last offensive made him a brevet Major General of Volunteers.
In the aftermath of the assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln, Hartranft was appointed both commanding officer of the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C., and as a special provost marshal during the trial of those accused in the Lincoln assassination. The trial lasted from May 9, 1865, until the conviction of Atzerodt, Herold, Paine, and Surratt in late June.
At 1:15 p.m. on July 7, 1865, Hartranft led the four to the gallows in what is now called Fort Lesley McNair. When asked if the convicted had any final statements, the spiritual advisors of Atzerodt and Payne stated that both men wished to thank Hartranft and the officers and soldiers serving under him for the kindness they displayed during their incarceration. Following prayers for each of the prisoners,
