Pvt., 194th and 16th Pennsylvania Infantry
1845-1908
George M. Forrer was born December 12, 1845 in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He was the middle child of Abraham and Margaret Forrer.
At age 19 he was enrolled in the Civil War out of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He was 5 feet 5 1/2 inches tall, had a dark complexion, brown hair, hazel eyes and worked as a laborer.
George joined Company C of the 194th Infantry in July of 1864. The 194th engaged in only guard, provost and escort duties while in Baltimore. He left in November of 1864.
By February 1865 George was a member of Company B of the 161st Regiment (16th Cavalry). Company B joined the regiment while it was in winter quarters near Hancock’s Station. In the following spring the regiment was engaged at Hatcher’s Run, Dinwiddie Courthouse, Five Forks, Amelia Springs, Sailor’s Creek and Farmville. After the surrender of Lee the regiment went to North Carolina to the support of Sherman; then it was sent to Lynchburg, where it remained until the close of its term of service. George served until July 1865.
In January 1870 George married Margaret Jane Mann of White Haven in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. The family grew steadily to include 10 children. By 1891 the Forrer family had moved to Jersey City, New Jersey. George worked for the railroad as a fireman, brakeman and conductor. His death came in 1908.
