He was born in Schurzburg, Germany (10). He was 25 years old when he was enlisted (10 [27, probably in 1863], 11 [25]).
He was 5 feet 10 inches tall, and had a dark complexion, brown eyes, and black hair (10 [5'11", probably in 1863], 11 [5'10"]).
He was a jeweler when he was enlisted (11). He was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (11).
He was enlisted and mustered into service on 6 September 1861 (1, 11). He was enlisted at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as a private in company I (1, 11).
He was wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville (5).
He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg (12).
He reenlisted as a veteran volunteer on 26 December 1863 (1, 11). He was enlisted for three years, at Bealton, Virginia, by Lieutenant Swan (10).
He was promoted to corporal (11).
He was promoted on 1 January 1864 to sergeant (3, 11).
On 14 November 1864 he was promoted to first sergeant, effective 11 November 1864 (4, 8).
On 12 January 1865, he went on a furlough, which ended on 27 January 1865 (6). He returned (6).
He was discharged on 30 April 1865 by order of Brevet Major General Griffin (9, 10). He was promoted on 1 May 1865 to first lieutenant (1, 2, 11). He was mustered in by Captain Chamberlein, in accordance with special order 97, HQ 5th Army Corps (7).
He mustered out on 10 July 1865 with his company (1, 2, 11).
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster)
3 special order 2, HQ 91st PA, 1 January 1864
4 special order 110, HQ 91st PA, 14 November 1864
5 consolidated morning report, 91st PA, 7 May 1863 (Private Erdman)
6 enlisted men's furloughs (Henry W Erdman)
7 company I, list of commissioned officers (H W Erdman)
8 company I, list of non-commissioned officers (Henry W Erdman)
9 company I, register of men discharged (Henry W Erdman)
10 company I, descriptive roll, #1 (Henry W Erdman)
11 Civil War Veterans' Card File, available at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searched 24 March 2005 (Henry W Erdman)
12 Pennsylvania Memorial, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (H W Erdman)
[I did not find him in the index to pension index cards on <www.ancestry.com> (searched 29 March 2006)]
[I did not find an entry for him in Ancestry's index to the 1890 veterans' census (searched 29 March 2006)]
[I did not find an entry for him in RootsWeb WorldConnect (searched 31 May 2009)]