He was born in Chester, Pennsylvania (5, 7 [Chester County]). He was 40 years old when he was enlisted (5, 7 [45 at death in 1864]).
He married Mary A Benedict (8). They had a child, George Whistler, born 8 March 1854, in Philadelphia (8).
He was a brickl[ayer] when he was enlisted (5).
He was 5 feet 9-1/2 inches tall, and had a dark complexion, blue eyes, and dark hair (5).
He was enlisted and mustered into service on 30 November 1861 (1, 2, 5). He was enlisted for three years, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Lieutenant Mattack [?] (5). He was mustered in as a private in company K, by Lieutenant Mattack (1, 2, 5).
He was discharged at Providence, Rhode Island, on 28 October 1862, on surgeon's certificate of disability, due to wounds sustained in battle (1, 2, 4).
He died of those wounds or of debility after debauch, in a military hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 1 March 1864 (2, 7 [Philadelphia Hospital], 8). He was then a brick mason (7). He was buried from 513 North 11th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (7). He was buried on 4 March 1864, in American Mechanics' Cemetery (7).
Mary Whistler, his wife, died twelve days after he did, on 13 March 1864 (8). Their son, George, was raised by his uncle, Stephen Spencer, of Indianapolis, Indiana (8).
He was George Rodearmel's brother-in-law (3).
On 10 October 1864, he applied unsuccessfully for a pension (9, 10).
His minor dependent, Lizzie G Vigar, applied unsuccessfully for a pension on 20 December 1872, from Colorado (2, 5, 9).
Ken Honda is studying Whistler; contact him at rhondahonda@juno.com.
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)
2 e-mail message, from Ken Honda, 16 October 2001, including information from pension index card (image at Ancestry), and Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming (Chicago, IL: A.W. Bowen & Co., 1903), pp.173-174.
3 e-mail message, Ken Honda, 4 June 2002
4 company K, register of men discharged, #11 (George Whistler)
5 company K, descriptive roll, entry 87 (George Whistler)
6 pension index, by name (George Whistler)
7 death certificate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1 March 1864 (George Whistler)
8 Progressive men of the State of Wyoming. Chicago: A W Bowen & Co., 1903 [?]. Page 173. (George Whistler)
9 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infanty, company K (George Whistler)
10 pension index, by name (George Whistler)
[I did not find an entry for him in Ancestry's index to the 1890 veterans' census (searched April 2007)]
Born in the city of Philadelphia, Pa., on March 8, 1854, the childhood and youth of George W. Spencer, one of the representative and progressive ranchmen of Canyon Springs Prairie in Weston county, Wyo., were darkened by the dense shadow of the Civil War, which deprived him of both parents and left him to the care of strangers when he was ten years old. His parents were George and Mary A. (Benedict) Whistler, also Pennsylvanians by nativity. The father was a bricklayer by trade and his peaceful industry was broken up by the call for volunteers to defend the integrity of the Union and he enlisted in 1861 as a member of Co. K, Ninety-first Pa. Infantry, serving in the field until he was sent home on account of injuries received in the South, and on March 1, 1864, he died from those injuries in a military hospital in Philadelphia. Twelve days later, on March 13, 1864, his widow followed him to the spirit land, leaving her son George, then ten years old, in the care of his uncle, Stephen Spencer, of Indianapolis, Ind., who adopted him and gave him his name. ...