Bedford County PA Archives Biographies.....Helm, Captain John B. 
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Judy Banja jbanja@msn.com May 2003


CAPTAIN JOHN B. HELM, a prominent citizen of Bedford 
township, Bedford County, Pa., comes of substantial 
Revolutionary stock on both the paternal and maternal sides, 
and is himself a veteran of the Civil War.  A son of Abram 
and Mary (Clark) Helm, he was born September 12, 1834, in 
Belmont County, Ohio, where his parents made their home a 
few years.  His paternal grandfather, John Helm, who served 
in the war for American independence, was an early settler 
of Bedford (Dutch corner), Pa., and as a pioneer aided in 
the development and upbuilding of the township.
  The Helm family originated in Germany, which was their 
home for many generations, and after becoming citizens of 
the United States proved themselves most loyal and faithful 
to the interests of their adopted country. Abram Helm lived 
in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, until after his marriage 
with Mary Clark.  He subsequently resided for a time in 
Belmont County, Ohio, but returned to Bedford township in 
1835, and here spent the remainder of his life.  His wife 
was the daughter of William Clark, a Revolutionary soldier, 
who became an early settler of St. Clair township, Bedford 
County.
  John B. Helm received a common-school education in 
Bedford, Pa., where he grew to manhood, and as a youth 
worked for three years in the office of the Bedford 
Inquirer, which was conducted by Mr. David Over, and was the 
leading local paper.  In April 1861, Mr. Helm, inspired by 
the same patriotic motives that had animated his ancestors 
in Colonial times, responded promptly to President Lincoln's 
call for seventy-five thousand troops by enlisting in 
Company G, Thirteenth Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, under 
Captain John H. Filler, now Colonel Filler, of the 
Philadelphia Record.  During the three months for which the 
regiment enlisted, he was Orderly Sergeant for Captain 
Filler, and performed his duties in that capacity most 
satisfactorily.  He subsequently re-enlisted with the men 
recruited in Bedford by Captain, now Major, D. W. Mullin, in 
Company G, One Hundred and First Pennsylvania Volunteer 
Infantry.  From Second Sergeant he was successively promoted 
to be Orderly Sergeant, Second Lieutenant, and First 
Lieutenant, and at his discharge was brevetted Captain.
  With his comrades he participated in many of the more 
important battles of the war, among others being the 
following: siege of Yorktown; Williamsburg; Fair Oaks, or 
Seven Pines; seven days' battles before Richmond, which 
included White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, and Harrison's 
Landing.  Wessel's brigade, to which the One Hundred and 
First Pennsylvania Regiment was attached, covered the rear 
during these latter engagements, and safely transported all 
the ammunition, wagons, and store supplies.  In December, 
1862, Captain Helm took an active part in the battles at 
Kinston, White Hall, Goldsboro, and Little Washington, all 
in North Carolina.  The following year he was stationed with 
his regiment in that State, and had skirmishes with the 
enemy at Blount's Creek, Williamston, and Foster's Mills, 
besides commanding expeditions up both the Roanoke and the 
Alligator Rivers.
  In April, 1864, Captain Helm was captured, with the 
remaining members of Wessell's brigade, at the three days' 
and nights' siege of Plymouth, N.C., and was taken to Macon, 
Ga., where he was confined several months in the stockade.  
He was subsequently transferred to the prison at Columbus, 
S.C., from which he escaped about the first of November, 
1864; but unfortunately, while hiding in the Smoky Mountains 
of Tennessee, he was recaptured thirty days later by the 
Cherokee Indians, who were in the rebel service.  After 
being marched to Quallatown, on the Swannanoa River, thence 
to Asheville, and then to Morganton, N.C., he and his 
companions were sent by train to Salisbury, N.C., and from 
there to Danville, Va., where they were imprisoned eight 
weeks.  On February 5, 1865, he and two daring comrades 
again made their escape, and were successful in reaching the 
Union lines a month later, glad enough to be once more under 
the protection of the "Stars and Stripes."  The Captain was 
mustered out of service at the close of the war, receiving 
his honorable discharge at Harrisburg.
  Soon after returning to Bedford, Captain Helm settled on 
his present farm, which contains two hundred acres of land; 
and he has since devoted himself principally to agricultural 
pursuits.  A Republican in politics, he takes an intelligent 
interest in the movements of that party, and in two 
campaigns has been the Republican candidate for Sheriff of 
Bedford County.  For a time he was Assessor for the Internal 
Revenue Department in what was then the Sixteenth District, 
but is now the Twentieth District.
  When the Cumberland & Pennsylvania Railroad was first 
built, he was residing at Bridgeport (now Hyndman), and was 
the first Postmaster of that place.  In 1868 he was 
Assistant Deputy Collector of Internal Revenues for Bedford 
County, Pennsylvania, under William McSherry, of Adams 
County, Pennsylvania, the salary being at that time two 
hundred dollars per year, and a bond of five thousand 
dollars being required.  Fraternally, he is an active member 
of William Watson Post, No. 132, G.A.R., of which he was 
treasurer a number of years.



Source: Bedford Biographical Review, 1899, Bedford Co., Pa