Military: Civil War:Three Year Regiments - Part I: Taylor's Philadelphia in the Civil War, 1861-1865: PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Val. USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. ____________________________________________________________ PHILADELPHIA in the CIVIL WAR 1861-1865 =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THE THREE YEARS REGIMENTS In the course of an address delivered at Orchard Knob, Tennessee, upon November 13th, 1897, Comrade John Tweedale, late of the Fifteenth Cavalry, Pennsylvania Volunteers, said: "It does not come to each generation to be privileged to offer life that a Nation may live. In our time the opportunity came and we accepted it." In the highest sense, the three year men of the Union Armies accepted their duty. There were among them recruits lured by large bounties, unwilling men who had been conscripted, some who had no higher motive than adventure, but the greater part were actuated by the purest spirit of patriotism for which they willingly gave up education, business opportunity, trade and security, to face unknown dangers, death, disease and Southern prison pens. These men were paid from month to month, and when the paymasters closed their accounts at the end of the war, the Government owed them nothing in agreed-upon dollars and cents. What was this pay? The average monthly pay of the commissioned officers in an infantry regiment, not including commutations for rations, servants and forage, was $58.75 per month, or $1.82 per diem. The pay of a captain of infantry, including allowances, when computed on a gold basis, which represented in 1864 its true purchasing power, was less than $60 per month, out of which he subsisted himself, bought clothing, equipment and paid his servant. The enlisted men really received a little more than $8 per month.[38] It has been estimated that from depreciated money alone the three-year soldiers lost $250,000,000. [38] Army and Navy Journal, November 19, 1864, page 196 Three years away from the ordinary avocations of life was a handicap for the returned soldier, which many found a losing factor in his resumption of a civilian life. The three year soldiers did not figure out the cost -- they accepted an opportunity to fight for the salvation of country and flag.[39] [39] Seventy-two percent of all enlistments were for the term of three years. The average strength of the Union armies, volunteers and regulars, during the war, was 809,777. This figure does not include the militia serving as State troops. The maximum strength of the land forces (not including militia) did not reach 1,000,000 men until May 1st, 1865, and the highest number reached was 1,000,516. ("The Soldier in the Civil War," Frank Leslie Reprints) =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= TWENTY-THIRD REGIMENT INFANTRY ("Birney Zouaves") Colonel David B. Birney to February 17th, 1862 Colonel Thomas H. Neill to December 13th, 1862 Colonel John Ely to December 6th, 1863 Colonel John F. Glenn to September 8th, 1864 Total Enrollment: 1,589 Officers and Men[40] [40] When Philadelphia companies are specified in headings, the total enrollments apply to them only; in other cases the entire regimental enrollments are given. This regiment was organized under the first call for troops on April 21st, 1861 under command of Col. Charles P. Dare, being the first regiment that left Philadelphia fully armed and equipped. It was mustered out on July 31st and re-enlisted August 2d under command of Col. David B. Birney.[41] [41] Col. Dare died soon after the return of his regiment. Col. Birney was advanced to the rank of brigadier-general on February 17th, 1862. He died while in command of the Tenth Army Corps on October 18th, 1864. Gen. David B. Birney died at the Eagle Hotel on the West Chester turnpike, near Llanerch, a fact recalled by the newspapers in connection with the recent destruction of the time honored hostelry by fire. Breaking camp at the Falls of Schuylkill, the regiment left in September for Washington. Soon afterward the regiment was recruited to fifteen companies, of which twelve were from Philadelphia and one each from Pittsburgh, Wilkes-Barre and Columbia. Col. Birney was promoted February 17th, 1862 as brigadier-general, and Capt. Thomas H. Neill, of the 5th U.S. Infantry became colonel of the regiment. At this time four of the companies were detached to the 61st Pennsylvania Infantry and a fifth was absorbed into the remaining ten companies. The 23d first met the enemy at Warwick Creek, Williamsburg and Bottom's Bridge, losing a few men wounded. At Fair Oaks, Seven Pines and in the final movements of the Peninsular campaign the regiment saw heavy fighting with much loss, being engaged at White Oak Swamp, Charles City Cross Roads and Malvern Hill. The 23d was next sent to the Bull Run Campaign, via Alexandria, Va., participating in the battle of Chantilly. In September it was part of an independent brigade under Col. Thomas H. Neill, detached to guard the fords of the Upper Potomac, just crossed by Lee in the Maryland campaign. Here the regiment lost twenty-six men of Company B by capture. At Fredericksburg, upon the night of December 10th, the 23d led the army across the Rappahannock River upon the pontoon bridge at Franklin's Crossing. Col. Neill here took command of a brigade, and Lieut.-Col. John Ely became colonel. In May, 1863, the regiment, with the Sixth Corps, was again in front of Fredericksburg, where five companies, under Lieut.-Col. John F. Glenn, made a preliminary attack upon Marye's Heights, losing sixteen men. In the final charge the 23d voluntarily rushed into a weak point and entered the works, assisting in capturing, with the Sixth Corps, everything in sight, losing seventy-two men. For this feat one hundred silver medals were afterward presented to participants by Col. Ely. Upon the afternoon of the same day (May 3d) the 23d, with Gen. Sedgwick's Sixth Corps, again met the enemy at Salem Church. Skirmishing and marching through June, the 23d Regiment entered upon the famous forced march of the Sixth Corps, which brought all- important help to Meade at Gettysburg. Arriving upon the scene at 4 P.M., July 2d, they were promptly sent to the support of the Fifth Corps, near Little Round Top, but without actual engagement. In the conflict of the third day Shaler's Brigade, including the 23d, was sent to the Twelfth Corps at Culp's Hill where they became engaged, driving Johnston's force back to their works, and in the afternoon it was marched, under the heavy artillery fire preceding Pickett's assault, to the left center of the battle line formed to receive him. The regimental loss in these various movements was two officers and twenty-nine men killed and wounded. The monument of the 23d Regiment at Gettysburg is located at Culp's Hill where it was engaged.[42] [42] The Gettysburg Battlefield Commission first offered the regiment a monument site at either to the right of Little Round Top or to the left of Gen. Meade's headquarters. Eventually the 23d proved its claim to the location on Culp's Hill and there erected its monument. After the State appropriation was made for the cost of regimental monuments, the 23d expended its share thereof in the addition of a bronze figure of a Zouave. When this had been done the monument was rededicated. On July 5th the Sixth Corps followed Lee's retreating army in the direction of the Potomac River, capturing large numbers of prisoners. While in camp at Warrenton the regiment received a re-enforcement of one hundred and forty-six drafted men, and was assigned to the Second Division, Sixth Corps. Col. Ely returned and resumed command on September 2d, 1863, and soon afterward the regiment was again marching, guarding and skirmishing in the movements of the Sixth Corps, this period covering the affairs at Rappahannock Station, Kelly's Ford and the Mine Run. At the beginning of December, 1864, the regiment was back in its old camp at Warrenton, where, because of disabilities, Col. Ely resigned and Lieut.-Col. John F. Glenn was commissioned colonel. At the end of the year two hundred of the men re-enlisted as veteran volunteers. The balance of the regiment was dispatched in January, under Major William J. Wallace, to Johnson's Island, Lake Erie, for guard duty over the prison for Confederate officers, the veteran contingent joining them on February 11th, 1864. The opening of the summer campaign found the 23d again upon familiar ground in Virginia, and on May 14th the command was detailed to guard and convoy freshly captured prisoners, then very numerous. This work and the destruction of the railroad trackage was performed under command of Col. Isaac C. Bassett of the 82d Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry. The 23d rejoined the Army of the Potomac at the North Anna. At Cold Harbor, on June 1st, the 23d met with its most trying experience, losing, in the futile effort to break the Confederate line, nine officers and one hundred and eighty-eight men, killed or wounded. The remnant of the regiment remained on the firing line until, ten days later, the movement was made to the investment of Petersburg. Here the old Sixth Corps was kept busy, night and day, in the trenches. After a hot skirmish at Ream's Station, the scene again changed. The Sixth Corps was hurried away to Washington, then threatened by the tireless Early, who was followed to the Shenandoah Valley. While engaged in the Valley the term of enlistment of the 23d expired. The veterans and recruits were transferred to the 82d Pennsylvania Regiment. At Philadelphia the command was mustered out on September 8th, 1864. TOTAL LOSSES Killed or died from wounds - 6 officers; 126 men Died from disease or other causes - 3 officers; 56 men Wounded, not mortally - 18 officers; 434 men Captured or missing - 1 officer; 78 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Warwick Creek, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, White Oak Swamp, Charles City Cross Roads, Turkey Bend, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Marye's Heights, Salem Church, Gettysburg, Funkstown, Mine Run, Cold Harbor, Petersburg; also present at Second Malvern Hill, Chantilly, Rappahannock Station, North Anna, Hanovertown, Fort Stevens, D.D.., and in Shenandoah Valley campaign to August 23d, 1864. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= TWENTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel William F. Small to June 30, 1862 Colonel Benjamin C. Tilghman to July 26, 1863 Lieut.-Col. Robert L. Bodine to June 18, 1864 Total Enrollment: 1,523 Officers and Men This regiment, recruited by Col. William F. Small, late commander of the Washington Brigade, was the first of the three years' regiments of Pennsylvania. It was mustered in to date from May 5th, 1861. With the exception of a part of Company K it was composed of Philadelphia volunteers.[43a] The regiment moved to Washington upon June 17th, where Company B, Capt. John B. Adams, was detached for special duty at headquarters of Gen George B. McClellan. This company rejoined the regiment in February, 1863. The 26th was attached to Grover's Brigade, Hooker's Division, Third Corps, and wintered in camp at Budd's Ferry, Maryland. In April, 1862, the 26th was engaged upon the Virginia Peninsula, sharing in the actions of Yorktown and Williamsburg. At the latter battle Col. Small was wounded, necessitating his retirement from the service. Lieut.-Col. Benjamin C. Tilghman succeeded to the colonelcy. The regiment participated in the battles of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines and Malvern Hill, and in the movements leading to Harrison's Landing, on the James river. Leaving Yorktown by steamer for Alexandria, Va., the Third Corps was advanced to the Rappahannock river, met the enemy at Bristoe Station, and on August 29th, 1862, lost heavily at the second battle of Bull Run. In December, 1862, the 26th was engaged in the attack upon Fredericksburg. At the battle of Chancellorsville it was again severely depleted. In this battle Col. Tilghman was wounded, and, later, resigned. Lieut.-Col. Robert L. Bodine assumed command. Early in June, 1863, the regiment was detailed to guard the wagon train of the Third Corps upon a march which finally led to South Mountain and Gettysburg. The Third Corps was engaged in the great battle at this historic field upon the second and third days. The 26th went into the fight with three hundred and sixty-four rank and file, losing two hundred and thirteen killed and wounded. Of the eighteen officers, two were killed and nine severely wounded. Three color bearers were killed. At Beverly Ford, in August, 1863, the regiment was reinforced by one hundred and ninety-two recruits from Philadelphia. A series of marches and skirmishes kept the regiment fully occupied through the autumn, and the winter was spent in road construction and camp routine. At this time the Third Corps was disbanded and the 26th became a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second Corps. On May 4th, 1864, the regiment, under Major Samuel G. Moffitt (Col. Bodine having been promoted Bvt.- Brig.-General) was again on the march, and in the thick of the fight at the "Wilderness," losing twelve killed and twenty-seven wounded. On the 10th the 26th charged the enemy at Spotsylvania, and two days later shared in a greater charge upon the same ground, capturing two Napoleon guns. Here the regiment lost twenty killed and forty-five wounded. Many of the casualties were inflicted by an attack upon the left flank of the army by Rosser's cavalry. At North Anna River a week later, the 26th fought its last battle, and, its term of service having expired, was sent to Philadelphia, arriving upon June 5th, 1864. The men whose enlistments had not ended were transferred to the 99th Regiment, Penna. Infantry. After a splendid reception by the people of Philadelphia, the regiment was mustered out June 18th, 1864. [43a] Col. Small had served in the Mexican War as Captain of the Monroe Guards. Lieut.-Col. Rush Van Dyke had also served in Mexico as captain of the Montgomery Guards. Both of these companies were from Philadelphia and numbers of their members were enrolled in the 26th Regiment. TOTAL LOSSES Killed in action - 5 officers; 77 men Died of wounds - 1 officer; 63 men Died of disease or other causes - 2 officers; 73 men Wounded, not mortally - 22 officers; 398 men Captured or missing - 65 men BATTLES Yorktown, Williamsburg, Oak Grove, Seven Days' Battles, Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania and also present at Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Chantilly, Kelly's Ford, North Anna and Totopotomoy =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= TWENTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel Max Einstein to October 2d, 1861 Colonel Adolph Buschbeck to June 11th, 1864 Total Enrollment: 1,346 Officers and Men The staunch German element of the Northern Liberties and Kensington districts which had been so largely represented in the Second Regiment of General Small's Washington Brigade, proceeded, immediately after the Baltimore episode, to organize a regiment of light artillery. Col. Max Einstein, its commander, offered the services of his regiment to the Government, but the acceptance was accompanied with the proviso that the command should serve as infantry and, as such, it was mustered in May 30th and 31st, 1861. The term of service was, however, dated to begin May 5th. Camp was established in Camden, N. J., from which the regiment proceeded to Washington June 18th, encamping at Kalarama Heights. Here it was assigned to the First Brigade (Blenker's) of the Fifth Division, Army of the Potomac. This division formed the reserve of the battle of Bull Run, and, being posted at Centreville Heights, was not actively engaged. The 27th was the only Philadelphia regiment identified with that disastrous Union advance and rout, and its men covered the retreat of the army like veterans. In August, Company F, Captain Chauncey Spering, was detached for duty at the Washington Arsenal and did not rejoin the regiment. Upon September 7th, 1861, Lieut. Col. Charles Angeroth and Major William Schoenleber resigned, their respective successors being Adolph Buschbeck and Lorenz Cantador. Col. Einstein resigned October 2nd, 1861, and the officers named were promoted as Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel. Colonel Buschbeck was soon afterward placed in command of the brigade. It was not until in winter quarters that the officers received their commissions, and the regimental colors were not provided until February, 1862. Under the McClellan organization the 27th became a part of Lieut.-Colonel Stahl's Brigade, Blenker's (German) Division, First Corps. In the spring of 1862 Blenker's Division marched westward to join the Mountain Department, then commanded by Major Genl. John C. Fremont, with headquarters at Franklin, West Virginia. At Cross Keys and Port Republic, in the Valley of the Shenandoah, the regiment experienced its first duels with the enemy, with great credit to its officers and men. Through July, August and September, the 27th participated in a retrograde movement, which led in the direction of Washington. Major General Franz Sigel had superseded Fremont in command of the Mountain Department. The First Corps crossed the Blue Ridge and the 27th, with the 45th New York and a battery, now became the extreme outpost of the Army and the rearguard of Pope's retreat. At Rappahannock Station, Freeman's Ford and White Sulphur Springs the command was under constant fire. Skirmishing and fighting across the country to the vicinity of Centreville, the Confederates were encountered in force upon the old Bull Run field, upon August 28th, 1862, where, as usual, the 27th was in the thick of the fight. This action was preliminary to the more important battle known as the "Second Bull Run," occurring upon the 30th, from which, after a hard day's work, the 27th, with a detachment of "Bucktails," covered the retreat, which led through Vienna to Falls Church, Va. Upon September 21st the brigade was moved forward to Centreville, Va. Upon October 26th, 1862, the 27th was attached to the First Brigade of the Second Division, Eleventh Corps. Between this date and February 5th, 1863, when the regiment was finally allowed to establish winter quarters at Stafford Court House, Va., it was constantly employed in building roads, clearing ground for defences and similar heavy duty, varied with picket duty and skirmishing. The campaign of 1863 opened, in earnest, with the disastrous battle of Chancellorsville, in which the 27th lost heavily. The Confederate success on this field was promptly followed by the invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Eleventh Corps was rushed into Maryland and, constantly watching the movements of the enemy upon its left flank, was but little behind the First Corps in reaching Gettysburg, where it arrived at noon, upon July 1st, plunging at once into the conflict. In the melee many of the men were killed, wounded or captured. The balance of the regiment retired to Cemetery Hill, and there, at nightfall of the 2d, joined in the repulse of the famous "Louisiana Tigers." The 27th remained upon this part of the field assisting in the defence of the right flank, upon the 3d, being exposed much of the time to a destructive fire. The command was among the first to enter Gettysburg upon the morning of the 4th of July. The regimental loss in this series of battles was two officers and twenty-two men killed, three officers and sixty-five men wounded, one officer and forty-four men captured. Two months later, after having received an accession of one hundred and seventy conscripts, the 27th entered upon a new chapter of adventure. With the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps it became a part of an army of twenty thousand men under Major General Joseph Hooker, dispatched to the assistance of General Rosecrans, who was beleaguered at Chattanooga, Tenn. The journey, by rail, was accomplished in eight days, traversing five States. On September 9th the Eleventh Corps marched from Murfreesboro, Tenn., to a point thirteen miles south, where the command fortified, but was advanced by rail to Stephenson, Ala., reporting here to General Hooker. The task of the troops was now to force a junction with Rosecrans. The way led through Bridgeport Ala., twenty miles west from Chattanooga, via Shell Mound, beyond which, to Wauhatchie, Tenn., the route was through the wild and picturesque valley of the Tennessee River. While in camp near Wauhatchie, Lieut.-Col. Cantador resigned, being succeeded by Major Peter A. McAloon. The brigade, including the 27th, marched into Chattanooga upon November 22d, and, with Sherman's troops, participated in the fight of Orchard Knob and in the assault upon Missionary Ridge. One officer and forty-five men were killed and six officers and eighty men were wounded. Among the latter was Lieut.- Col. McAloon, who died upon December 7th. The command of the regiment now devolved upon Major August Reidt. The remnant of the 27th was immediately sent, with other troops, upon a forced march under General Sherman, without tents or blankets, to the relief of General Burnside at Knoxville, but was returned to Chattanooga in December. The 27th was now placed in the First Brigade of Geary's Division. At this time the men claimed that the term of service of the regiment had expired, but, after considerable discontent had been manifested, the command marched away toward Atlanta, a part of Sherman's victorious column, to wage further battles at Rocky Face, Dug Gap, Resaca and Dallas. At the latter point the war-worn survivors received orders to proceed to Philadelphia, where they arrived upon May 31, 1864, and were soon afterwards mustered out, having served three years and two months. Lieut.-Col. August Reidt was the only original field officer of the regiment who remained to the end of the term of service. The total strength of the regiment, together with conscripts and recruits, was thirteen hundred and forty-six officers and men. Of these, three hundred and thirty-six officers and men, including those in Company F (detached), came home with the regiment, and a large portion of this remnant had been wounded in one or more of the many battles in which they had been engaged. TOTAL LOSSES Killed or died from wounds - 5 officers; 73 men Died from disease or other causes - 62 men Wounded, not mortally - 3 officers; 26 men Captured or missing - 1 officer; 76 men BATTLES Cross Keys, Rappahannock River, Groveton, Bull Run (second), Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Hagerstown, Orchard Knob, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, Dallas =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= TWENTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel John W. Geary to April 25th, 1862 Colonel Gabriel de Korponay to March 26th, 1863 Colonel Thomas J. Ahl to March 18th, 1864 Colonel John J. Flynn to November 3d, 1865 Philadelphia Companies: C, D, I, K, M and P Total Enrollment: 975 Officers and Men In June, 1861, Col. John W. Geary began the organization of a regiment of fifteen companies, six of which were recruited in Philadelphia and nine in the counties of Luzerne, Westmoreland, Carbon, Huntingdon, Allegheny and Cambria. Col. Geary uniformed and equipped the regiment at his own expense. The original uniform was gray, but this was afterward discarded for the regulation blue. The command was mustered in, upon June 28th, 1861, as the Twenty-eighth Regiment. The camp was located at Oxford Park, Philadelphia. Ten companies were sent, upon July 27th, to Harper's Ferry, where Col. Geary was ordered by Major-General N. P. Banks to patrol duty along the Potomac River. This involved great vigilance and some desultory skirmishing. The 28th, with several Massachusetts and Wisconsin companies, under the command of Col. Geary, met and defeated a force of Confederates at Bolivar Heights, West Virginia, upon October 16th, and again, a few days later, at Loudon Heights. For these achievements the regiment was especially commended by the President, Secretary of War and Gen. Banks. Upon October 21st, the regiment was present at the affair of Ball's Bluff. A week later at Nolan's Ferry, Md., a Confederate column was repulsed in an effort to cross the Potomac and enter Maryland. For more than three months the bridges and ferries of the Potomac were protected and then, upon February 24th, 1862, Col. Geary once more crossed the river and again drove the enemy from Bolivar Heights, and beyond Leesburg. On March 8th he occupied that point and pushed on to Snickers Gap in the South Mountain, and thence to White Plains, with several brisk skirmishes en route at Middleburg and Salem. Here, fifty miles southwest from Harper's Ferry, Col. Geary's force proceeded to repair the Manassas Railroad. Upon April 25th, 1862, Col. Geary received a commission as Brigadier- General of Volunteers. Lieut.-Col. Gabriel de Korponay now became Colonel of the 28th. The brigade, now under Gen. Geary, continued to guard and make effective the Manassas Railroad over a distance of fifty- two miles. At the western extreme of this line, at Front Royal, in the Valley of the Shenandoah, a portion of the 28th was engaged with other troops in a defensive fight in which the infantry, with Knap's Battery, did effective work. Upon July 10th, 1862, orders were issued constituting the 28th, and other troops of Gen. Geary's command, the Second Brigade, First Division, Second Corps. A month later the designation was changed to First Brigade, Second Division, Second Corps. Upon August 9th the 28th was sent to dislodge the enemy from possession of Thoroughfare Gap (Cedar Mountain). Part of the regiment reached the field of Cedar Creek at night, in time to participate in the battle at that point. In this affair Gen. Geary was wounded. At Bristoe Station the 28th, in the face of the advancing enemy, destroyed, by order, several locomotives, a large number of cars and all of the Government supplies stored there. The 28th reached Bull Run upon the day following the second battle upon that field. From September 2d to the 16th the First Brigade was upon the march which was ended in Antietam, Md., a distance of one hundred and twenty-five miles in torrid weather. In the hard-fought battle of the 17th the regiment lost, in killed and wounded, two hundred and sixty-one officers and men, a record exceeded by but one other command present. The trophies of the 28th were two guns and five flags. Two days later the regiment found itself once more at the scene of its early victories, upon Loudon Heights, Harper's Ferry. Five companies, including M and P, of Philadelphia, were detached on October 28th 1862, to become a nucleus for the 147th Regiment, then forming at Harrisburg. General Geary returned to duty and assumed command of the Second Division, at Bolivar Heights. Upon December 9th the Twelfth Corps was ordered to Fredericksburg, but the 28th was left at Dumfries, Va., upon the Potomac River, where it was attacked by a large force of Stuart's Cavalry. The latter were driven northward by Geary's Division, resulting in an engagement at Occoquan, Va., a few miles south of Mount Vernon. For four months, dating from January 1st, 1863, the 28th enjoyed comparative rest at Acquia Creek. Then it was hurried away upon a forced march to Chancellorsville, and three days later counted its losses to be above one hundred killed and wounded of the three hundred officers and men in line. Among the killed was Major L. F. Chapman, who had been in command. Upon March 26th, 1863, Col. de Korponay resigned and Capt. Thomas J. Ahl of Company H was commissioned colonel. Up to this period the regiment had been armed with Enfield rifles, carrying sword bayonets. These were now replaced with Springfield rifles. Along with the hurrying army en route to head off the determined Confederates under Gen. Lee, in their break toward Pennsylvania, the Twelfth Corps began its northward march. It was destined to reach the scene at Gettysburg upon the morning of July 2d, 1863, being stationed at the "point of the hook" upon Culp's Hill. Being well fortified the 28th lost in this great battle but twenty-five killed, wounded and missing. The regiment followed with other troops, upon the heels of the retreating Confederates seventy-five miles, finally reaching Sandy Hook, Md., upon the Potomac River, on the 18th. Geary's division next met the enemy at Manassas Gap, where the last of the 28th's battles upon Virginia soil was waged. The Eleventh and Twelfth Corps had been selected, for their oft-proven fighting qualities, to go to the help of the Army of the Cumberland. The 28th, with Geary's Pennsylvanians speeded westward, over the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, to the Ohio River and on through Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee to Murfreesboro, Tenn., arriving in time to save the railroad connecting with Bridgeport upon the Tennessee River from the tender mercies of Wheeler's Cavalry. Upon joining the Army of the Cumberland Gen. Geary's Brigade became a part of the Twentieth Corps, through the merger into that organization of the old Eleventh and Twelfth Corps. The 28th missed the battle of this division at Wauhatchie, after a twenty-eight-mile march. In this battle Capt. E. R. Geary, the eighteen-year-old commander of Knap's Battery, and son of Gen. Geary, was killed. Upon November 24th, the Second Division, including the 28th, was ordered to storm the heights of Lookout Mountain. All that historic day of the famous "battle above the clouds" the struggle continued. Around the rock-strewn flanks of Lookout the battle surged and the clouds were lurid with fires, but in the morning, when the mists had swept away, the host of soldiery in and around Chattanooga, saw the stars and stripes waving from the cliffs of the mountain. This splendid feat won the unstinted praise of Gen. U. S. Grant, who reviewed and thanked Geary's Division at Wauhatchie. The 28th was in the action at Missionary Ridge upon November 25th, and on the 27th again met the enemy at Ringgold, Ga., where the regiment lost thirty-four killed and wounded, including among the killed Lieut. Peter Kahlor of Company E, a veteran of the Mexican War. In December the regiment, having re-enlisted, returned home for thirty days, at the expiration of which it rejoined the Army of the Cumberland. Upon March 18th, 1864, Col. Ahl resigned and Lieut.-Col. John J. Flynn was commissioned in his place. In April the regiment helped to punish the enemy at Guntersville and Triano upon the Tennessee River, and in May placed two more affairs to its credit at Snake Creek Gap and Dalton Road, Ga., followed by a week of continuous fighting near New Hope Church, Ga. In June the advance toward Atlanta was contested at Pine Knob, Pine Hill and Lost Mountain, Muddy Creek, Noses' Creek, Kolb's Farm, Kennesaw Mountain and upon July 3d the battle of Marietta, considered the key to the city of Atlanta, which was approached upon July 5th, 1864. The prize was not to be had, however, without further effort. It was necessary to chastise Hood and his cohorts at Peach Tree Creek. Atlanta fell upon September 2d. So constant was the battling all through this campaign that it has been called the "hundred days' fight," the progress of the Union forces being one of constant victory.[43b] The "March to the Sea" began upon November 15th. This remarkable tour de forceÊrequired five weeks of constant marching and skirmishing, out of all touch with the North and without reserve supplies. The Fourteenth and Fourth Corps formed the left wing of the army. The men seemed to know that they were making history. Savannah was occupied upon December 21st. The 28th Regiment captured and occupied Fort Jackson. The Pennsylvanians of Geary's Division were the first to enter the city. The troops extinguished the fires kindled by the Confederates and restored order and confidence. Within a few days Philadelphia was busy raising money for and sending food to the "starving people of the city." [43b] The total losses of Sherman, in killed, wounded and captured, between Chattanooga and Atlanta were estimated to be 31,300. The left wing started from Savannah upon the long, wet and muddy journey westward and northward upon January 19th, 1865. This occupied eleven weeks, up to the date of Johnston's surrender. As a result of the capture of Columbia, capital city of the "mother of secession," the city of Charleston, heroically defended for more than four years, was abandoned by the garrison under McLaws. Upon February 24th, 1865, Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was appointed by the Richmond Government to the command of the Carolinas, and that capable officer came into conflict with the Union forces in numerous skirmishes and in two severe battles, at Averysboro, N. C., and Bentonville, N. C. At Goldsboro, N. C., Gen. Sherman found, upon March 23d, Schofield's force awaiting him. Raleigh, N. C. was occupied upon April 13th, and here, upon the 26th, Gen. Johnston surrendered upon terms similar to those extended to Lee by Grant, seventeen days earlier, at Appomattox. In referring to the march of the Union force "from Atlanta to the Sea," and from Savannah to Raleigh, the Confederate Gen. Johnston said that "these troops were the toughest and most ready army since Julius Caesar commanded the Roman legions." The 28th Regiment, including its re-enlistment, was in the field more than four years. It served in twelve States and was engaged in as many skirmishes and battles as any regiment in the army. The Philadelphia companies of the regiment were mustered out upon July 18th, 1865. TOTAL LOSSES Killed or died from wounds - 6 officers; 151 men Died from disease or other causes - 3 officers; 124 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Pritchard's Mill, Berlin (September 19th, 1861), Point of Rocks (September 24, 1861), Berlin (September 29th, 1861) Bolivar Heights, Point of Rocks (December 19th, 1861), Leesburg, Middleburg, Linden, Northern Virginia campaign, Antietam, Hillsborough, Lovettsville Road, Old Wilderness Tavern, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Fair Play, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold or Taylor's Ridge, Mill Creek Gap, Resaca, Pumpkin Vine Creek, New Hope Church, Pine Knob, Kulp's House, Dallas, Kennesaw Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Savannah, North Edisto River, Congaree River, Durham Station or Bennett's House =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= TWENTY-NINTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel John K. Murphy to April 23d, 1863[44] Colonel William D. Rickards, Jr., to November 2d, 1864 Colonel Samuel M. Zulick to July 7th, 1865 [44] In the War with Mexico Col. Murphy was captain of the National Artillery from Philadelphia. Total Enrollment: 2,108 Officers and Men Under the name of "The Jackson Regiment" this strong command was recruited entirely in Philadelphia, by Col. John K. Murphy in May, June and July, 1861. Headquarters were located in the building adjoining the Custom House, upon the west. The ten companies were known as the Marion Guards, West Philadelphia Greys, United Rifles, Belmont Guards, Koska Guards, Wayne Artillery Corps, Federal Guards, Henry Clay Fencibles, Morgan Artillery and Dougherty Guards. Upon July 16th the regiment went into camp at Hestonville. The heavy expense of recruiting, and of uniforms and subsistence was borne by the officers. The uniforms, as in the case of many other of the early regiments, were of gray cloth. The companies were mustered during June and July and the command was designated the 29th Regiment of the line, and was the third of the five Philadelphia infantry regiments destined to win glory in both the eastern and western armies. Upon August 3d, the 29th left Philadelphia for Sandy Hook, Maryland, there joining the army under Major-General N. P. Banks, being attached to the Third Brigade, First Division, Second Corps. The work and experiences of the 29th under Gen. Banks were parallel with those of the 28th, involving the guarding of ferries along the upper Potomac River, and the occupation of the country westward along or south of the Shenandoah River, co-operating with Fremont's Mountain Department with almost constant skirmishes with Confederate cavalry parties. In a skirmish with the Louisiana Brigade at Winchester, Va., upon April 25th, 1862, Col. Murphy with a considerable number of the regiment were made prisoners. These, together with two companies captured on May 23d by the Confederates at Front Royal, aggregated a loss of seven officers and one hundred and forty-eight enlisted men. Three companies, C, E and F of the 29th, under command of Major Michael Scott, were present at the battle of Cedar Mountain upon August 9th, but not actively engaged. Upon September 17th the regiment was at Antietam, but being upon provost and rear guard duty did not meet with heavy fighting. Col. Murphy and his fellow officers having been exchanged, returned to the regiment upon October 22d. After a period of provost duty at Hagerstown, the regiment rejoined the brigade near Fairfax Station, Leesburg, Va., of which Col. Murphy, as senior officer, took command. The brigade was then moved to Alexandria, Va. Following the experience of Burnside's famous "mud march" the 29th went into camp at Stafford Court House, Va., where, in command of Lieut.-Col. William D. Rickards, winter quarters was built and the regiment devoted itself to the routine of drill and guard duty. Upon March 21st, 1863, the 29th became a part of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Twelfth Corps. The new brigade was composed entirely of Pennsylvania regiments. Upon April 26th, 1863, the regiment moved from its camp toward Fredericksburg, arriving at Chancellorsville upon the evening of the 30th. In the battles of May 1st to 4th, the 29th lost six men killed and thirteen wounded. With the general movement of the army toward Maryland and Pennsylvania, in June, 1863, the 29th performed the long and exhausting march ending at Gettysburg, reaching the field, with Geary's division, upon the 1st of July, occupying Round Top. Upon the morning of the 2d, the 29th was sent to the right of the line at Culp's Hill. At 7 P. M. the brigade was hurried away to assist the left flank, in the direction of Little Round Top. Returning to Culp's Hill it was hotly engaged in that wilderness of forest and rocks to the end of the battle, losing, altogether, fifteen killed and fifty-nine wounded or missing. The pursuit of the retreating Confederates led the Twelfth Corps back to the region of Harper's Ferry and the Shenandoah River and thence on to the South Mountain and Thoroughfare Gap, but the quarry had escaped. On September 23d, the regiment, proceeding to Washington, was entrained with the rest of the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, and sent to join the Army of the Cumberland. At Murfreesboro, Tenn., Col. Rickards was ordered to the command of the Twelfth Corps regiments already arrived. While engaged in building a fort at Fosterville, upon the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, the force was ordered to Stephenson, Ala., by rail, and there reported to Gen. Hooker. From this point the 29th was sent forward through a wild and picturesque country to Wauhatchie Junction, the regiment being at once placed on picket duty. This precaution frustrated a night attack in which the enemy was badly beaten. This was the battle of Wauhatchie, in which the Union force consisted of four New York and three Pennsylvania Regiments and Knap's Battery. General Longstreet's troops, met here, numbered three to one of the Federal force. Upon November 24th, at daylight, the 29th occupied the right of Major- Gen. Geary's division in the picturesque action called the "Battle above the Clouds." The column advanced up the west slope of Lookout Mountain at a place about three miles south from the point which overlooks the Tennessee River. When the head of the line reached the vertical escarpment of rock the column faced left and swept along the slope, through the tangle of rocks and forest growth, followed by the supporting line of the Third Brigade. The enemy swarmed along the cliff and down the narrow gorges to the attack. Hundreds of the Confederates surrendered and were sent to the rear. In the midst of lowering clouds, here, eighteen hundred feet above the valley, the fight surged around the point, past the Craven house and on to another defensive work, just south of the Summertown road, which leads up to the mountain from Chattanooga. Here the advance rested. To the thousands of spectators in the valley the scene seemed, indeed, a battle in the skies. The 29th remained in the darkness, when friend or foes could not be distinguished, until 9:30 P. M., then being relieved. At dawn, the following morning, Col. Rickards, with a number of his men, ascended ladders found in a cleft of the cliff, and upon gaining the summit, discovered that the enemy was gone. While there an officer of the 8th Kentucky (Union) Regiment and several men came up the Summertown road and waved a flag within sight of the city and camps below. A party from the 111th Pennsylvania Regiment also ascended the ladders, and the incident is shown in bronze upon their tablet, affixed to the rock at this point. The tablet of the 29th, nearby, does not refer to the circumstance. Losing no time the brigade crossed the valley upon the Rossville Gap road and captured a brigade from Polk's left wing upon Missionary Ridge, and the next day, November 26th, fought his retreating rear guard at Rossville, then moving upon Ringgold, Georgia, where the enemy was encountered in force and a severe action was fought with his rear guard. This was glory enough for three days, and the regiment rested upon its honors once more at Wauhatchie. The 29th was mustered out on December 8th, and on the 10th two hundred and ninety of the officers and men were mustered into the first "veteran" regiment formed for further service in the Union Army.[45] Gen. Geary's Division passed in review of the 29th and the General complimented the regiment upon its patriotic action. [45] Under a general order dated June 25th, 1863, able-bodied volunteers who had served more than nine months in the United States forces, and who could pass the mustering officer, were eligible to re-enlistment as veteran volunteers for three years' service. Such veterans were allowed a month's pay in advance, a furlough and a bounty and premium of $402.00, payable in installments at specified intervals. It was provided that the full sum thus awarded was to be paid to any veteran honorably discharged at any time prior to the full term of his enlistment. Veteran volunteers were distinguished by service chevrons upon the sleeve. General Order No. 191. This entitled the command to a visit home. The 29th arrived in Philadelphia upon December 23d, 1864, where it was honored with a great military reception, with addresses of welcome at National Guards Hall and a dinner at the "Cooper Shop." Three months later, having recruited to a strength of twenty-one officers and five hundred and eighty-eight enlisted men, the regiment barracked at Chester, Pa., leaving for the front early in April. The regiment was now attached to the Third Brigade, Second Division, Twentieth Corps. With Gen. Sherman's army the 29th fought its way through to Atlanta. At Kennesaw Mountain Col. William Rickards was so badly wounded that he was retired from the service and Lieut.-Col. Samuel M. Zulick was commissioned in his place. Under this officer the regiment continued from Atlanta to Savannah and thence to Goldsboro and Raleigh, a march of nearly one thousand miles. After a rest of four months with comparatively uneventful service the regiment was mustered out at Alexandria, Virginia, upon July 17th, 1865, after a service of four years and one month. The 29th was engaged in the last great battle of the war, at Bentonville, N. C. on March 19th, 1865. TOTAL LOSSES Killed or died from wounds - 4 officers; 55 men Died from disease, accident and in prison - 1 officer; 66 men Wounded, not mortally - 7 officers; 125 men Captured or missing - 7 officers; 164 men BATTLES, ETC. Harper's Ferry, Winchester, Campaign of the Shenandoah Valley, Woodstock, Edenburg, Stony Creek, Front Royal, Backton Station, Winchester, Bull Run (guarding trains), Antietam, Chambersburg, Maryland Heights, Fairfax, Mud March, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Pursuit of Lee, Movement with Hooker Detachment, Bridgeport, Ala., Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain, Ringgold, Mission Ridge, Ringgold Gap, Atlanta Campaign, including Dalton, Resaca, Cassville, New Hope Church, Dallas, Allatoona Pass, Marietta, Pine Hill, Lost Mountain, Golgotha Church, assault on Kennesaw Mountain, Ruff's Station, Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Expedition to Tuckum's Bridge, March to the Sea, Siege of Savannah, Campaign of the Carolinas, Bentonville, Bennett's House, Surrender of Johnston, Muddy Creek, Noses Creek =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THE RESERVE CORPS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA The rapid formation of regiments for the National service through Pennsylvania in the spring of 1861, having deprived the State of its uniformed militia force, the Legislature, upon the initiative of Governor Curtin, enacted a law, upon May 15th, providing for the formation of a body of troops to be sustained by the State for defense against internal disorder and invasion. It was also provided that this Reserve Corps should be subject, at all times, to call by the Government. Under this Act thirteen regiments of infantry, one regiment of cavalry and one regiment of artillery were soon assembled and in camps of instruction at Easton, West Chester, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. Philadelphia was represented in this corps by twenty companies of artillery, in which were enrolled about 3,000 men. The command of this Reserve Division was tendered by Governor Curtin to, and accepted by, Col. George A. McCall, a native of Philadelphia and a veteran officer of the United States army, who had retired from the service in 1853 and was residing upon his farm in Chester County. He was given a State commission as Major-General, and proceeded to organize the several camps.[46] Two regiments from this force, the Fifth and Thirteenth Reserves, were accepted by the Government for guard duty upon the upper Potomac river and in West Virginia. After the battle of Bull Run, responding promptly to the urgent call of the President for troops to defend Washington, the entire Reserve Corps enlisted in the United States service for three years. It was not until the reserve regiments were encamped at Tenallytown, upon Georgetown Heights, that they were brigaded. Maj.-Gen. George A. McCall, having received his commission from the United States Government, selected as his brigade commanders Brig.-Generals John F. Reynolds, George Gordon Meade and E.O.C. Ord, all fellow cadets at West Point.[47] [46] The command of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps was tendered by Governor Curtin to Major-Gen. George B. McClellan before it was offered to Gen. McCall. ("McClellan's Own Story.") [47] The staff of Gen. McCall included Lieut.-Col. Henry J. Biddle, A.A.G., Capt. Henry Sheetz and Capt. Henry Coppee, all of Philadelphia. The record of the Pennsylvania Reserves in the following years forms one of the most brilliant chapters in the annals of the great Rebellion. Upon June 27th, 1862, Gen. Reynolds was captured by the enemy, and three days later Maj.-Gen. McCall was made a prisoner at the battle of New Market. A return of ill health, resulting from hardships before exchange, compelled the latter to resign. Maj.-Gen. Truman Seymour then became the commander of the Reserve Corps pending the return and appointment to that position of Maj.-Gen. John F. Reynolds. Just before the battle of Antietam, Gen. Reynolds was detailed to the command of the Pennsylvania militia. Maj.-Gen. George Gordon Meade then commanded the Reserves until called to lead the Fifth Corps. The last commander of this splendid corps was Maj.-Gen. Samuel Wylie Crawford, who led the remnant of the division in its heroic work at Gettysburg.[48] [48] Major-Gen. S. Wylie Crawford, of Philadelphia, was a surgeon in the small garrison under Major Anderson at Fort Sumter in 1861. In the critical days just before the battle of Gettysburg, when newspapers of other States were reproaching Pennsylvania because of her inability to defend her State borders from invasion without help from outside, the editor of the Philadelphia "Inquirer" wrote, July 1st, 1863: "At the first call to defend the National Capital, Pennsylvania's valleys overflowed with volunteers and the excess was embodied into a military organization armed, equipped and maintained out of her own treasury. Then she was capable of defense. But when McDowell's army was overthrown at Bull Run the National authorities called again for instant help, and Pennsylvania contributed her only State corps to the defense of the Nation, for the whole war, fifteen thousand nine hundred men, infantry, cavalry and artillery. That body is known to history by its brilliant fighting in almost every battle since Bull Run as 'The Pennsylvania Reserves.'" At the close of their term of service in the summer of 1864, the Reserves were accorded great honors at Harrisburg and Philadelphia. PHILADELPHIA COMPANIES ATTACHED TO THE PENNSYLVANIA RESERVE CORPS, THREE YEARS SERVICE 31st Regiment, 2d Reserves (Companies A, B, C, D, E, G, H and K) 32d Regiment, 3d Reserves (Companies E, G and K) 33d Regiment, 4th Reserves (Companies A, B, D, G and I) 36th Regiment, 7th Reserves (Companies E, G and K) 41st Regiment, 12th Reserves (Company A) 43d Regiment, First Artillery Reserves (Batteries C, D, G and H) These troops were part of the Third Division, First Corps, and the Third Division, Fifth Corps, Army of the Potomac.[49] [49] The traveler southward, after passing Fredericksburg may see upon the eastward side of the railroad a stone pyramid. It was erected by Confederates upon the spot where they met the Pennsylvania Reserves. Just beyond is the house within which Stonewall Jackson died. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THIRTY-FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY (Second Reserves) Colonel William B. Mann to October 30th, 1861 Colonel William McCandless to June 16th, 1864 Total Enrollment: 850 Officers and Men[50] [50] Philadelphia companies only This regiment was recruited under the direction of William B. Mann, Esq. and was taken by him to Camp Washington, the Reserve Camp at Easton, Pa., of which Col. Mann was appointed commander May 27th, 1861. The eight Philadelphia companies were: Co. A, Penn Rifles; Co. B, Governor's Rangers; Co. C, Hibernia Target Co.; Co. D, Governor's Rangers; Co. E, Scotch Rifles; Co. G, Taggart Guards (partly from Lancaster Co.); Co. H, Independent Rangers; Co. K, Consolidation Guards. Responding to the call of the War Department, the command was moved from Harrisburg to Baltimore in the latter part of July, and thence to Sandy Hook, Maryland, reporting to Gen. N. P. Banks, without the formality of muster, into the United States service. This led to complications which resulted in the defection of a large proportion of the rank and file. Many of the men returned to Philadelphia and entered other regiments. By order of Major-Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks the regiment was disturbed by the disbandment of several companies. This displaced a number of excellent officers, for some of whom other places were found. The regiment was active in the movements under Banks in the vicinity of the Potomac river, above Washington. Upon September 25th the Reserve Division was joined at Tenallytown, Md., and the 31st was assigned to the First Brigade, commanded by Gen. John F. Reynolds. Entering Virginia with the Reserves, the brigade was near Ball's Bluff upon the morning of the unfortunate battle at that point, but was ordered back to camp by Gen. McClellan. Col. William B. Mann resigned upon November 1st, and was succeeded by Lieut.-Col. William McCandless, who was not, however, commissioned as colonel until the following August (1862). Late in May, 1862, the Reserves were sent to Fredericksburg to operate in the direction of Richmond, but were recalled, and upon June 8th embarked upon a steamer, landed at White House, on the Pamunkey river, and marched to Dispatch Station, within ten miles from Richmond. At Mechanicsville, six miles north of Richmond, upon June 26th, and at Gaines' Mill, the next day, the 31st had its first battles, in which the command lost twenty-two killed, forty-two wounded and a number captured. The next move was through White Oak Swamp, where in the close fighting at Charles City Cross Roads, the regiment lost heavily, and upon July 1st was in reserve at Malvern Hill, nine miles east of Richmond. Although victors, the army was withdrawn by McClellan and the Reserves found themselves at Harrison's Landing on the James river. The struggle was now transferred to the Rappahannock river, where Pope faced Lee, and where, on August 29th, the second battle of Bull Run was fought. Col. McCandless was among the wounded. The battle of South Mountain was fought on the way to Antietam. At the latter field the 31st was under fire upon both the 16th and 17th of September. Here, out of one hundred and seventy-one men in line, the regiment lost twenty-six killed, wounded and missing. At Fredericksburg, in December, the 31st, on the left of the line, killed, wounded and captured the 19th Georgia Regiment. Of one hundred and ninety-five rank and file in the 31st the loss was thirty-nine killed, wounded and missing. Being greatly reduced and war-worn, the regiment was ordered to the vicinity of Washington, where it went into camp under Maj. George A. Woodward. Upon June 17th, 1863, the officers of the 31st signed a petition to be allowed to go with the Army of the Potomac, then hastening to Pennsylvania. Accordingly, the First and Third Brigades were attached to the Fifth Corps and started north. The Reserves reached Gettysburg upon the 2d of July at 5 P.M., plunging immediately into the battle in support of the Third Corps, in front of Little Round Top, driving the enemy back in confusion. In the afternoon of the 3d, the regiment, with the 3d, 11th and Bucktail Regiments, advanced and cleared the wheat field and woods in front of Little Round Top, of the enemy, capturing many prisoners. The regimental loss here was forty killed and wounded. Early in September, 1863, Lieut.-Col. Woodward was succeeded in command (as Lieut.-Col.) by Maj. Richard Ellis. In the operations of the Army of the Potomac, early in 1864, the regiment was engaged in fights at Mine Run, Bristoe Station and New Hope Church. At Spotsylvania the regiment lost twenty killed, wounded and missing. Upon May 31st, 1864, six days after its term of service had expired, the 31st fought its last battle upon the site of its first fight, three years before, near Mechanicsville, Va. In that last encounter the enemy was annihilated or captured. The regiment was soon afterward sent to Harrisburg and Philadelphia where, with many honors, the remnant was mustered out June 16th, 1864. TOTAL LOSSES (Regimental) Killed or died from wounds - 4 officers; 82 men Died of disease - 2 officers; 54 men Wounded, not mortally - 22 officers; 207 men Captured or missing - 5 officers; 48 men BATTLES OR ENGAGEMENTS Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Groveton, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy, Bethesda Church =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THIRTY-SECOND REGIMENT INFANTRY (Third Reserves) Colonel Horatio G. Sickel to June 17th, 1864 Philadelphia Companies E, G and K Total Enrollment: 338 Officers and Men Among the numerous companies of volunteers raised in Philadelphia at the outbreak of the war, which were unable to find places in the three months' service, were the De Silver Grays, of Holmesburg; the Germantown Guards and the Ontario Infantry. The captain of the latter was Horatio G. Sickel. These companies became respectively E, G and K of the Third Reserve Regiment with Capt. Sickel commanded as colonel throughout the three years of its service. The 32d was organized at Easton, Pa., in May, June and July, 1861, and under its colonel, an officer of twenty years' experience, rapidly gained in efficiency. The command was mustered at Harrisburg upon July 27th, and sent to the Reserve camp at Tenallytown, near Washington, where it joined the Second Brigade under Brig.-Genl. George Gordon Meade. Entering Virginia with the Reserve Division, the movements of the regiment were identical with those of the 31st or Second Reserve Regiment. In the course of the several battles occurring at Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, White Oak Creek and Charles City Cross Roads within six days, the 32d lost about two hundred officers and men, killed, wounded or missing, but it inflicted a heavier loss upon the Confederates. At Malvern Hill, upon July 1st, 1862, the regiment was in reserve and had no casualties. The Reserves were moved by water from Harrison's Landing to the Potomac in July, and pushed forward to assist Gen. Pope at Rappahannock Station. This led to the battle of the Second Bull Run, with a resulting heavy loss in the regiment. At South Mountain the 32d was upon the edge rather than in the thick of the fight, but in the two days' conflict at Antietam lost, in killed and wounded, fifty- one officers and men. At Fredericksburg, on December 13th, the regiment had its part with the Reserve Division on the left, losing, in killed, wounded and missing, one hundred and twenty-eight. This was the regiment's last fight in Virginia. The remnant of survivors were placed in camp near Washington, and attached to the newly formed Twenty-second Corps. The 32d remained here nearly a year, then, with the Fourth Reserves, both under the command of Col. Sickel, it was sent to meet further warfare in a new field. Under command of Maj. William Briner the 32d was taken to Martinsburg, West Virginia, and in this section was subjected to an exhausting service far more trying than fighting open battles, as the mountains were infested with the guerrilla cavalry of the enemy, and the railroads were in need of constant guarding. In March the Third and Fourth Reserves were sent to Harper's Ferry, but immediately returned to West Virginia, in the vicinity of Grafton, and upon April 22d, 1864, moved by steamers down the Ohio river to the Great Kanawha river, camping at Brownstown, West Virginia. Here Col. Sickel returned to resume command of his old regiment, but was placed by Gen. George Crook in charge of the Reserves brigade. The 32d was then under command of Capt. Jacob Lenhart. The troops thus assembled formed an expedition intended to destroy the railroad line south of the Allegheny Mountains, over which Gen. Lee's army received the greater portion of its subsistence. This involved a forced march of three weeks in mud, storm and cold, through a wild and desolate country, but the task was accomplished. The chief features of this heroic raid were the battle of Cloyd Mountain, upon May 9th, and of New River, upon the 10th. At Cloyd Mountain the two Reserve regiments lost nearly one hundred officers and men. Among those killed were Col. Richard H. Woolworth, of Philadelphia, formerly Major of the Third Reserves, but, at the time, in command of the Fourth Reserves. The wounded were subjected to great suffering in the course of the march, which ended at Meadow Bluff ten days after the battle. Upon May 22d the brigade was ordered home, its term of service having expired. The return occupied nine picturesque, happy days by steamer and rail via Pittsburgh, the brigade reaching Philadelphia upon June 8th, 1864, and there the troops were mustered out upon the 17th of June. The recruits and re-enlisted veterans of the brigade still remaining in the field were formed into a battalion, which subsequently became a part of the 54th Regiment Veteran Volunteer Infantry. This battalion included, out of the two Reserve regiments, one hundred and three Philadelphians, who shared the fortunes of the 54th to the end of the war.[51] [51] These veterans experienced further service in the Shenandoah Valley under Sheridan and in the closing scenes of the siege of Petersburg. During the pursuit of Gen. Lee's troops after the fall of Richmond, the 54th was captured and held until the capitulation at Appomattox when, after considerable hardship, they regained their liberty. TOTAL LOSSES (Philadelphia Companies) Killed or died from wounds - 17 men Died from disease - 1 officer; 7 men Wounded, not mortally - 16 men Captured or missing - 8 men BATTLES Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Charles City Cross Roads, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Gainesville, Groveton, Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Cloyd Mountain, New River Bridge, Newport. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THIRTY-THIRD REGIMENT INFANTRY (Fourth Reserves) Colonel Robert G. March to October 1st, 1861 Colonel Albert L. Magilton to December 3d, 1862 Colonel R. H. Woolworth to May 9th, 1864 Colonel Thomas F. B. Tapper to June 17th, 1864 Philadelphia Companies A, B, D, I and G Total Enrollment: 497 Officers and Men Five companies from Philadelphia, the Able Guards, Quaker City Guards, Dickson Guards, Reed Guards and Harmer Guards were sent in June, 1861, to the Reserve camp at Easton, Pa., and enrolled with companies from Montgomery, Lycoming, Monroe, Susquehanna and Chester Counties to form this regiment. Fifteen of the field officers were from Philadelphia. The 33d was mustered in at Harrisburg July 17th, and sent to Baltimore, encamping there at Carroll Hill on July 21st. Part of the command occupied the Stewart mansion in the city, assisting in the suppression of the disloyal reserve camp at Tenallytown, Md., near Washington. Col. March resigned in October, being replaced by Albert L. Magilton, late Lieut.-Col. of the Second Reserves. Under this experienced officer the regiment improved greatly in drill. The 33d was, at this time, assigned to the Second Brigade, First Corps. The Brigade commander was Gen. George G. Meade. Eager for active service, the Reserves entered Virginia upon October 9th. At the battle of Dranesville, Va., twenty-five miles northwest from Washington, upon December 20th, 1861, the 33d was in the supporting line and not actively engaged, but in the movement under Gen. McClellan, in the costly "on to Richmond" campaign, between Mechanicsville and Malvern Hill the 33d lost two hundred officers and men, chiefly during a desperate bayonet fight in defense of Randall's battery at Gaines' Mill. These inexperienced troops drove back the on-rush of seasoned Alabamians and saved the guns. Under Pope, the 33d fought at the second Bull Run and at South Mountain, Md., on the way to Antietam. In the two battles of the Antietam campaign the regiment lost seventy-five officers and men, killed and wounded. Three months later, at Fredericksburg, Va., upon December 13th, the Reserve Division, led by Gen. Meade, charged the Confederate right wing with success. Here the 33d lost thirty-eight killed and wounded. A few days later Col. Magilton resigned and Lieut.-Col. Richard H. Woolworth assumed command. This officer was commissioned as Colonel in the following March. The Reserve Division was placed upon routine duty in the defenses of Washington, remaining here nearly a year. Upon January 6th, 1864, the 33d was sent to join the force in West Virginia, then concentrating under Major-Gen. George Crook, in the Kanawha Valley. The services of the regiment, in the exhausting but successful expedition southeastward across the Allegheny Mountains, were identical with those of the Third Reserves. At Cloyd Mountain, Va., Col. Woolworth, leading the brigade, and Capt. Prosper M. Davis were killed. At New River Bridge, Va., May 10th, 1864, the 33d had its final meeting with the enemy. After a few days of rest the regiment, with such of its wounded as could be transported, was sent via the Ohio river and Pittsburgh to Philadelphia, where it was mustered out upon June 17th, 1864. Just prior to the dissolution of the regiment a portion of the men re- enlisted in a battalion, which was subsequently merged with the 54th Regiment Infantry. This additional service included fifty-seven men from the Philadelphia companies of the Fourth Reserves. TOTAL LOSSES (Regimental) Killed or died from wounds - 2 officers; 76 men Died from disease - 1 officer; 60 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Dranesville, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Savage Station, Charles City Cross Roads, White Oak Swamp, Malvern Hill, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Fredericksburg, Cloyd Mountain, New River =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY (Seventh Reserves) Colonel Elisha B. Harvey to July 4th, 1862 Colonel H. C. Bolinger to August 19th, 1864 Philadelphia Companies: E, G, and K Total Enrollment: 284 Officers and Men Philadelphia was represented in this regiment by the Ridgeway Guards, Co. E., Capt. Charles S. Peall; Second Philadelphia Guards, Co. G, Capt. John C. Chapman; and Douglass Guards, Co. K, Capt. Casper Martino. The balance of the regiment was recruited from the interior counties in the Eastern sections of the State. At Camp Wayne, near West Chester, Pa., the regiment was drilled and uniformed. Upon July 21st, 1861, under Col. Elisha B. Harvey, the 36th left via Baltimore for Washington, where it was mustered into the United States service upon July 27th. A week later the regiment marched to Tenallytown, there joining the Reserve Division, being assigned to the Second Brigade, commanded by Brigadier-General George G. Meade. Late in August the regiment was sent to Gen. Banks for guard duty at Great Falls on the Potomac river. The autumn and winter were spent in camp upon Virginia soil, near Washington. With the opening of the active season in April, 1862, the 36th was stationed at Fairfax, Va. With part of the First Corps, the regiment shared in the advance of the Reserves upon Richmond, which resulted in the battles of Mechanicsville and Gaines' Mill. At the latter affair the 36th fought like veterans to save Butterfield's battery and lost, in killed and wounded and captured, half of its force. Assisting in guarding Gen. Hunt's artillery column in the retreat, and in desultory fighting through Savage Station, White Oak Swamp and Charles City Cross Roads, the Reserves reached Malvern Hill, and after that victory moved on to Harrison's Landing. In that week of battles the 36th had lost three hundred and one men. In August the Reserves were on the firing line along the Rappahannock river with the Army of Northern Virginia. At the close of Pope's campaign, after further heavy losses, the regiment went back to its old camp of the year before, but was at once ordered northward. On September 14th, 1862, the command helped to drive the enemy out of the passes of South Mountain and hurried on to Antietam. Upon this field the 36th again suffered heavily and added greatly to its laurels. At Fredericksburg the regiment made, with other First Corps troops, the glorious but fruitless charge upon the Confederate right, capturing many prisoners and a battle flag. The worn remnant of the 36th was relieved, together with the Reserve Corps generally, from further hard fighting until April 18th, 1864. It then marched away from its camp at Alexandria to have a share in the campaign which began with the battle of the Wilderness. This proved the Waterloo of the Seventh Reserves. While driving the retreating enemy the regiment was ambuscaded, with the exception of Co. B, and two hundred and seventy-two officers and men were captured. The few officers and men who were not captured at the Wilderness continued to rally around their colors and to fight. They numbered, together with recruits, one hundred and ten officers and men. This battle-scarred contingent was mustered out, at Philadelphia, upon June 16th, 1864. TOTAL LOSSES (Philadelphia Companies) Killed or died from wounds, or from disease - 1 officer; 32 men Died in prison at Andersonville - 21 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, Charles City Cross Roads, South Mountain, Antietam, Wilderness =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= FORTY-FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY (Twelfth Reserves) Colonel John H. Taggart Philadelphia Company A: 124 Officers and Men Re-enlisted (in 190th Regt.) 34 Men Although formed and commanded by a Philadelphian, this regiment contained but one local company. This became Co. A, of which the Captains were Henry B. Whisner and Franklin Daniels. The 41st served throughout its term of enlistment with the Army of the Potomac, taking part in the several campaigns and many battles in which the Pennsylvania Reserve Division so distinguished itself. At the end of its enlistment thirty-four members of Company A re-enlisted as veterans.[52] Many others were discharged for disability and, at muster out, upon June 11th, 1864, at Harrisburg, the company had present but seventeen officers and men. [52] These veterans participated, as part of the Third Brigade, Third Division, Fifth Corps, in the battles of Charles City Court House, Petersburg, Weldon Railroad and Hatcher's Run, Five Forks and Appomattox. LOSSES (Company A) Killed or died from wounds - 10 men Died from disease - 3 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Dranesville, Mechanicsville, Gaines' Mill, Glendale, Malvern Hill, Groveton, Bull Run (second), South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Rappahannock Station, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy, Bethesda Church =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THE RESERVE BATTERIES Twenty-one Philadelphians held commissions in the Pennsylvania Reserve regiments not herein recorded. One of the most distinguished was the second Colonel of the 13th Reserves (Bucktails).[53] [53] Gen. Thomas Leiper Kane was born in Philadelphia, January 27th, 1822. He founded the town of Kane, Pa., and in 1861 recruited the 1st Bucktail Regiment (42d Pennsylvania Volunteers). He was promoted to brigadier-general June 7th, 1862, and to brevet major-general March 13th, 1865. At Gettysburg, although on sick leave, he led his brigade. Gen. Kane was wounded in two battles and was captured at Harrisonburg. He died December 26th, 1883. The records of the four Philadelphia batteries originally recruited as a part of the 1st Artillery Reserves (43d Regiment) will be found in the artillery group of the three years' commands, inasmuch as the batteries never served with the Reserve Corps, but were assigned, as occasion required, to cooperate with numerous other bodies of troops. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= FIFTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel Sullivan A. Meredith to November 29th, 1862 Colonel J. William Hofmann to March 7th, 1865 Colonel Henry A. Lavcock to July 1st, 1865 Total Enrollment: About 1,600 Officers and Men This regiment was formed from companies raised chiefly in the northern counties of the State. Two of its three colonels were citizens of Philadelphia, as were also twelve of its field and company officers and many of its rank and file. The 56th was mustered in at Camp Curtin, upon September 1st, 1861, and remained at Harrisburg until March 8th, 1862. Its early active service was in the vicinity of Washington and along the lower Potomac River. Upon August 9th, 1862, near Fredericksburg, the command was assigned to Doubleday's Brigade, King's Division, McDowell's First Corps. At Rappahannock Station the 56th had its first encounter with the enemy, Col. Meredith being among those wounded. A second engagement fell to the 56th in the same vicinity the following day. At South Mountain Lieut.-Col. Hofmann commanded the brigade, the regiment being in command of Capt. Fred. Williams. In the difficult but successful charge up the mountain many of the men were killed or wounded. At Antietam the regiment lost comparatively few. Two weeks later, on the way south, the enemy was routed out of the way at Union, Va. In this affair the regiment lost fifteen. Lieut.-Col. Hofmann resumed command upon November 11th. In the Fredericksburg advance of December the regiment escaped casualties, although under artillery fire. A period of inactivity followed the never-to-be-forgotten "mud march," ending with the opening of the Chancellorsville campaign planned by Gen. Hooker. This long interval in its comfortable camp of log huts at the mouth of the Potomac Creek was always regarded by the men of the 56th as the most enjoyable of their experiences, with just enough of drilling to keep the men in good shape. Lieut.-Col. Hofmann was promoted to the colonelcy, and the 56th took the field in 1863 with twenty-one officers and two hundred and eighty-nine enlisted men. At Pollock's Mills, Chancellorsville and Brandy Station the regiment repeatedly proved its effectiveness under fire. The march to Pennsylvania began upon June 25th. The 56th was only second to the 76th New York in the column of the First Corps, but was first in position upon the morning of July 1st, 1863, and secured the honor of opening the battle of Gettysburg.[54] With the heroic First Corps the regiment made the splendid first day's fight, sharing the glory and vicissitudes of that fateful day with the Eleventh Corps, holding the swarming lines of the enemy in check until reinforced. The morning of the 2d found the 56th with Wadsworth's depleted division, holding the crest of Culp's Hill, repelling the desperate assaults of the Confederate left wing, including that made, late in the day, near the cemetery. The regiment was called upon, late in the afternoon of the 3d, to support the artillery at the cemetery, but the battle had ended. The losses of the 56th were one officer and sixteen men killed or mortally wounded; five officers and fifty-three men wounded; one officer and fifty-four men captured or missing, out of seventeen officers and two hundred and thirty-five men in action. Nearly all of the casualties occurred upon July 1st. In the course of the following month Col. Hofmann brought from Philadelphia a considerable accession of recruits. Without further important fighting the 56th entered upon camp routine through the following winter. In March the veterans re-enlisted with the usual joyful holiday period at home. The command returned to camp upon April 20th, 1864. Two weeks later began the series of fierce conflicts in the Wilderness, a deadly month of constant sorties, assaults and marches, with almost daily losses of comrades by bullet, shell or capture. Upon June 16th the army crossed the James River and coiled about Petersburg. In September the old First Corps was consolidated into a division and assigned to the Fifth Corps. Col. Hofmann, having been brevetted brigadier-general, Lieut.-Col. George B. Osborn was promoted as colonel, but soon afterward retired from the service. The next commander of the 56th was Lieut.-Col. John T. Jack. Its last commander was Lieut.-Col. Henry A. Laycock, under whom the regiment shared the trials and triumphs of the closing months of a struggle so needlessly prolonged. [54] An exception must be made in favor of Buford's Cavalry regiments, which were engaged in skirmishing with the Confederate advance before the arrival of any of the First Corps. The muster out took place July 10th, 1865, at Philadelphia. TOTAL LOSSES Killed - 5 officers; 73 men Wounded - 26 officers; 329 men Captured or missing - 2 officers; 178 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Rappahannock Station, Sulphur Springs, Gainesville, Groveton, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, Antietam, Union, Upperville, Fredericksburg, Pollock's Mills, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Gettysburg, Mine Run, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Totopotomoy, Bethesda Church, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Weldon Road, Poplar Spring Church, Hatcher's Run, Dabney's Mill, Boydton Road, White Oak Road, Five Forks, Appomattox Court House =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= FIFTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel J. Richter Jones to May 23d, 1863 Colonel Carlton B. Curtis to July 2d, 1863 Lieut.-Colonel Cecil Clay to January 24th, 1866 (Philadelphia Companies A, B, C, D and K) Total Enrollment: 850 Officers and Men This regiment was formed on February 13th, 1862, by the union of two partially organized regiments, one of which was being raised in Philadelphia and the other at Camp Curtin, Harrisburg. The Philadelphia companies, which had been encamped at Roxboro, proceeded by steamer to Fortress Monroe, the left wing joining them, by rail and steamer, at that point. The command arrived at Camp Hamilton, on Hampton Roadstead, on the day of the naval battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac. The 58th formed part of the column, under Gen. Wool, which occupied Norfolk and Portsmouth. Through the balance of the year the regiment was employed in guard duty, reconnaissances and work upon the forts in that section. On January 5th, 1863, the regiment embarked with the expedition under Major-Gen. J. G. Foster (18th Army Corps) to New Berne, N. C. The troops entrenched eight miles westward, between the Neuse and Trent Rivers. From this base frequent advances were made, with attendant skirmishing. In one of these, undertaken on May 22d, at Batchelor's Creek Station, Col. Jones was killed.[55] Under command of Col. Curtis the 58th was ordered to Washington, N. C., and, with other troops, held the post, in the face of frequent attacks, until withdrawn, late in April 1864. The 58th was now assigned to the Eighteenth Corps, which operated south of the James River with the army of Major-Gen. Benjamin F. Butler. In May the Eighteenth Corps, under Gen. W. F. Smith, joined the Army of the Potomac. A portion of the regiment, including Companies B, D and K, of Philadelphia, took part in a gallant charge at Cold Harbor on June 1st. During the severe battle at this place, on the 3d, the 58th drove the enemy from his rifle pits, holding the position, under deadly fire until re-enforced. The Eighteenth Corps was now returned, by transports, to Bermuda Hundred, on the James River, and the investment of Petersburg began. The veterans of the regiment who had re- enlisted were sent upon furlough to Philadelphia on June 24th. They returned to camp with numerous recruits on August 25th. The arms of the regiment were, at this time, exchanged for new Springfield rifles. On the night of September 28th portions of the Tenth and Eighteenth Corps, under Major-Gen. E. O. C. Ord, crossed to the north side of the James River and, in the morning, advanced toward Richmond. The 58th, under Major Charles A. Winn, and the 188th Pennsylvania Regiment, Major F. H. Reichard, were formed for the assault upon Fort Harrison, one of the most formidable of the defensive works around the Confederate capital. The charge across open, rising ground and the capture of the works is recorded as one of the most brilliant episodes of the war. Six of the nine officers of the 58th and one hundred and twenty-eight, out of the two hundred and twenty-eight men in line, were killed or wounded. The loss of the 188th was also very heavy. After the arrival of additional troops the survivors of the two regiments were sent into another fight, at the left, close to the James River, where the field was in range of the enemy's gunboats. This movement, which failed, again cost the assailants large loss. Repeated assaults upon Fort Harrison were made by the Confederates the next day, but the citadel was held. The 58th participated in further affairs, in the autumn, eastward of Richmond. On November 19th Capt. Cecil Clay, of Company K, promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, was placed in command. The regiment was active in the final campaign which resulted in the fall of Petersburg and Richmond. The regiment was retained in service, under the direction of the Freedman's Bureau, for provost duty in tidewater Virginia.[56] It was finally mustered out at City Point on January 24th, 1866, the last of the fighting infantry regiments of the Keystone State to stack arms, fold its colors and return to civilian life. [55] Writing from Camp Curtin, Harrisburg, on January 13th, 1862, Col. Jones urged an official friend at Washington to induce the Secretary of War to send the 58th Regiment on this expedition, as the command wanted active service. [56] Service of this character was peculiarly distasteful to the Union regiments, being devoid of the excitements and ardor of campaigning. The men were scattered in detachments over large sections, the inhabitants of which naturally regarded them as oppressors and enemies, this requiring great self-control upon the part of the rank and file. The 58th is credited, however, in having made many friends while on provost duty, and they certainly enforced order where it was sorely needed.] TOTAL LOSSES Killed or died from wounds - 6 officers; 68 men Died from disease - 6 officers; 139 men BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS Occupation of Norfolk, Suffolk, New Berne, Cove Creek, Sandy Ridge, Kinston, Wise's Cross Roads, Dover Road, Kinston (April 28th, 1863), Gun Swamp, Batchelor's Creek. On duty at Washington. Advance on Neuse River road, Blounts' Creek, Butler's Campaign, James River, Fort Darling, Drewry's Bluff, Bermuda Hundred, Cold Harbor. Siege of Petersburg and Richmond, including Hare's Hill, Chapin's Farm, New Market Heights, Fair Oaks. Expedition to Fredericksburg (March, 1865). Signal Hill, near Richmond. Occupation of Richmond. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= SIXTY-FIRST REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel Oliver H. Rippey to May 31st, 1862 Colonel George C. Spear to May 3d, 1863 Colonel George F. Smith to September 7th, 1864 Colonel Robert L. Orr to June 28th, 1865 Philadelphia Companies G, H and I Total Enrollment: 500 Officers and Men This regiment was formed at Pittsburgh, being hastened to Washington, when not fully recruited, on March 1st, 1862. Companies M, O, P and R of the 23d Pennsylvania Regiment, enlisted between August 12th and September 4, 1861, were transferred to the 61st, thus filling the command to maximum strength.[57] The regiment was assigned to the First Brigade, First Division, Fourth Corps, then commanded by Major-Gen. Erasmus D. Keyes. The 61st participated in the Peninsular movement upon Yorktown, Williamsburg and Richmond. In its first important encounter with the enemy, at Fair Oaks, May 31st, 1862, the regiment suffered almost unprecedented losses. Eleven officers and two hundred and ninety- nine enlisted men were killed. Col. Rippey[58] was among the dead, Lieut.-Col. Spear (wounded) and Major Smith were among the captured. The command now devolved on Capt. Robert L. Orr, of Company H, who posted the regiment on the new line, occupying the field of the battle. Almost daily here and near Seven Pines, the regiment skirmished to the 28th, then moving in the "change of base" to Malvern Hill and Harrison's Landing. The Fourth Corps was withdrawn from the James River late in August, moving to Centreville, Washington and the Maryland shore of the Potomac River. The 61st reached Antietam upon the evening of September 17th, assisting in the running fights with the retreating Confederates. Lieut.-Col. Spear had been exchanged, and, upon return, was promoted to command. In October the division was transferred to the Sixth Corps, with which the regiment was engaged at the first (Burnside) assault at Fredericksburg, December 13th, 1862. In February, 1863, the 61st was placed in a light brigade of the Sixth Corps. [57] The companies thus transferred became G, H and I in the 61st. They were commanded as follows: Company G, Capts. John W. Crosby, William M. Dawson, Vincent P. Donnelly, John Barrett, and Charles H. Bewley; Company H, Capt. Robert L. Orr; Company I, Capts. George W. Mindil and Charles S. Greene. [58] Col. Rippey, a veteran of the Mexican War, had served in the three-months' campaign as Lieut.-Col. of the 7th Regiment. George C. Spear was promoted as Lieut.-Col. from the rank of junior major of the 23d. The Continental Guard, which had been raised by Capt. Spear prior to his promotion, was the first company which left Philadelphia for the South. George F. Smith, commissioned major, was promoted from the rank of captain in the 49th Regiment. At the second battle of Fredericksburg, on May 3d, 1863, the 61st was selected as the "forlorn hope" to open the fight for the possession of the hills. The regiment made the desperate charge, gaining Marye's Heights and captured two guns from the Washington Artillery of New Orleans, the first ever lost by that famous battery. The command now devolved, in the absence of other field officers, upon Major George W. Dawson. Following this charge the 61st was immediately sent to again meet the enemy at Salem Heights, with further severe punishment. Under the third Colonel (Smith) the 61st made, with the Sixth Corps, the famous forced march to Gettysburg. The light brigade to which the 61st was attached (Neill's) was sent to reinforce the Twelfth Corps at the extreme right of the line. The regiment was not, therefore, seriously engaged. The regiment wintered at Brandy Station. In the spring (1864) the command was recruited to five hundred men. From the opening of the Wilderness Campaign, upon May 5th, to its close, less than six weeks later, the regimental loss was (according to Bates' History) in killed, wounded and missing, about thirty officers and four hundred men. In early July the Sixth Corps was suddenly hurried from the front of Petersburg to Washington, once more imperiled by the restless enemy. In the resulting clash at Fort Stevens and the pursuit, further loss of officers and men reduced the thin line of survivors. The term of service expired on September 3d, 1864. Under Col. Smith the regiment returned to Pittsburgh. The veterans and recruits were formed into five companies as the "Sixty-first Battalion." Subsequently, Col. Smith returned to the command. Of the original Philadelphia enlisted men, seventeen re- enlisted. In its last fight Lieut.-Col. John W. Crosby, formerly captain of Company G, lost his life. The records of the Adjutant-General, War Department (as shown by a report of April 4th, 1888) indicate a total regimental loss, from all causes of nine hundred and thirty-two officers and men. The 61st lost more officers, killed, than any other regiment in the Union Army.[59] [59] "Regimental Losses," Fox. TOTAL LOSSES Killed - 2 officers; 27 men Wounded - 2 officers; 36 men Died of disease - 12 men Captured - 5 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Fair Oaks, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Marye's Heights, Salem Heights, Gettysburg, Rappahannock Station, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Fort Stevens, Opequon, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, Petersburg, Sailor's Creek, Appomattox C. H. (surrender) =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= SIXTY-SIXTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel Alfred W. Chantry to January 18th, 1862 Colonel John Patrick to February 6th, 1862 This organization, which was recruited in May and June, 1861, was declined by the State authorities upon the ground that the city's quota had been filled. Its officers received authority from the Secretary of War to proceed with their work, and upon June 13th were notified that if the regiment was fully recruited and uniformed within ten days it would be mustered in. In order that the command might comply with this condition a patriotic citizen, Benjamin L. Berry, guaranteed the cost of the uniforms. The repeated delays and discouragements, however, resulted in the withdrawal of many of the men. The recruits were barracked at the Girard House, and later, at the building adjoining the Custom House. In August the command was mustered in at its camp in Camac's Woods. The urgent need of more troops in the vicinity of Washington prompted the Government to call for many organizations still in the course of formation. When, on August 24th, Col. Chantry's command left for the front it consisted of a battalion of five companies. At Washington these companies were assigned to the first of three brigades constituting a provisional division under the command of Gen. Fitz John Porter. Additional recruits were sent on from Philadelphia, and the adjutant's report of October 10th showed a total strength of six hundred and twenty officers and men.[60] The regiment was known, up to this point, as the "30th." [60] Bates' History, Vol. 2 In September it was sent to the command of Gen. Banks, at which time it was finally recognized as a part of the Pennsylvania contingent and numbered as the 66th. Upon January 18th, 1862, Col. Chantry was relieved and Lieut.-Col. Patrick was commissioned to succeed him. Three weeks later this officer and a number of the company officers resigned. Upon March 1st, by order of Governor Curtain, the regiment was disbanded. Companies A and G were assigned to the 99th Regiment. Companies B, C and D were transferred to the 73d Regiment. Companies E, F and K were distributed among the companies of the 73d. The subsequent records of the companies and men thus disposed of prove that the 66th was composed of good fighting material which had been badly handled, through no fault of its men in the process of becoming soldiers of the Union. =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= SIXTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel John F. Staunton to September 4th, 1864 Colonel John C. Carpenter to July 14th, 1865 Philadelphia Companies B, E and I Total Enrollment: 360 Officers and Men The 67th was one of the semi-Philadelphia regiments, the greater part of its recruits coming from nine of the northern and western counties. Authority for its formation was issued upon July 24th, 1861, by the Secretary of War. Col. Staunton, three of his field officers and twelve company officers were Philadelphians. The regiment was soon located in camp at Camac's Woods, where it remained until April 3d, 1862, when it was ordered to guard duty at Annapolis, Md., and at Camp Parole, near that point. In February, 1863, the 67th was moved to Harper's Ferry, and later was stationed, under Gen. Robert H. Milroy, at Berryville, Va., to patrol the lower Shenandoah Valley and its gaps. Upon June 15th, 1863, the regiment was cut off from the main column by a large Confederate force, near Winchester, and was captured, with the exception of about seventy- five men. The officers were detained in prison a year, but the enlisted men were exchanged in October. While in camp at Brandy Station a large proportion of the men re- enlisted. Three hundred and fifty rank and file, with their officers, were sent home on furlough. Upon return to duty the veterans were stationed at Port Royal and White House, Va. In June the recruits, who had been with the 135th Regiment (Pennsylvania), rejoined the 67th in front of Petersburg, taking part in an affair at Reams' Station. The third Confederate advance into Maryland caused the transfer of the Third Division of the Sixth Corps by transports to Baltimore, and by rail, to checkmate Early. This movement ended, the Sixth Corps became a part of Sheridan's force, meeting the enemy again at Winchester on September 19th, 1864 (Opequon), and subsequently driving Early out of the defences at Fisher's Hill (September 22d, 1864), and far to the southward. Near Strasburg, Va., a month later, the 67th was identified with the battle of Cedar Creek, which was made famous by the stirring war poem (T. Buchanan Reid), "Sheridan's Ride." At the end of the year the Sixth Corps was returned to the army in front of Petersburg, the 67th participating in the siege and forward movement which ended at Appomattox, after which it marched with the column sent on to Danville, a precautionary measure, which was ended by Johnston's surrender upon April 26th. The last commander of the regimental remnant was Captain John C. Carpenter, of Company E. One Philadelphia officer, Capt. William E. Tucker, died from wounds while in the field. TOTAL LOSSES (Philadelphia Companies) From wounds and disease - 1 officer; 55 men BATTLES Winchester, pursuit of Lee's army after Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Rappahannock, Bristoe Campaign, Kelly's Ford, Brandy Station, Mine Run, Payne's Farm, Rapidan, White House, Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, assault on the Salient, North Anna, Totopotomoy, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Reams' Station, Monocacy, Charlestown, Opequon, Winchester, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek, siege of Petersburg, Appomattox Campaign =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= SIXTY-EIGHTH REGIMENT INFANTRY Colonel Andrew H. Tippen Philadelphia Companies A, B, C, D, E, F, G and K Total Enrollment: 1,049 Officers and Men When Col. Tippen undertook the organization of this regiment it attracted many of the officers and enlisted men of the 20th Regiment, of the three months' service, in which Col. Tippen had ranked as major. This experienced officer had seen service in Mexico as a lieutenant in the regular infantry. Lieut.-Col. Anthony H. Reynolds, Major Thomas Hawksworth, Major Robert E. Winslow and Capt. Michael Fulmer were also veterans of the Mexican campaign. The 68th was, with good reason, known as the "Scott Legion Regiment." The regimental camp was located in Frankford, Philadelphia. Company H was raised at Pottstown and Company I in Chester County. The urgent need of more troops resulted in the muster of the regiment upon September 2d, 1862, and its immediate departure for Washington, where it was encamped upon Arlington Heights. Early in October the 68th was sent to guard Conrad's Ferry, on the upper Potomac River. Soon afterward a detachment of about forty men, guarding the regimental baggage, was captured. Under the Burnside regime the 68th was assigned to Robinson's Brigade, Birney's Division, Third Corps. At Fredericksburg, December 13th, 1862, the regiment experienced its first battle in support of artillery. Major Hawksworth was mortally wounded and Lieut. Joseph E. Davis was killed. About forty of the enlisted men were killed or wounded. At Chancellorsville the regiment met with severe fighting and additional losses, capturing a stand of colors and a number of prisoners. In this battle Captains James Shields and John D. Paulding were mortally wounded. Sickles' Third Corps reached Gettysburg from Emmittsburg upon the evening of July 1st, the 68th taking position just east of the Peach Orchard. Here, upon the 2d, it was exposed to continuous artillery fire, and, at sunset, was involved in the terrific fighting on Sickles' front, resulting in a retreat of the survivors to the new line near Little Round Top. Here the regiment was held in reserve upon the 3d, with some additional losses. The regimental casualties in this battle were four officers killed or mortally wounded, thirty-four men killed or mortally wounded, nine officers and one hundred and seventeen men wounded, thirteen men captured. The officers who lost their lives were Capt. George W. McLearn and Lieutenants Andrew Black, John Reynolds and Lewis W. Ealer. Upon the return to Virginia the 68th was engaged at Wapping Heights and, on October 14th, at Auburn. Col. Tippen was taken prisoner at the latter affair and was absent, at Libby prison, nine months, during which time Lieut.-Col. Robert E. Winslow commanded. Hard fighting and heavy marching signalized the closing weeks of 1863. Capt. Milton S. Young was killed at Locust Grove on November 27th. With the opening of the campaign of 1864 the 68th went with that portion of the Third Corps which was consolidated with the Second Corps, then commanded by Gen. Hancock. In April the 68th was selected as provost guard at the headquarters of Gen. Meade, under the immediate command of the Provost General of the Army, an honor which did not, however, absolve it from reserve duty upon the battle line. Col. Tippen was exchanged and resumed command upon June 26th. Headquarters duty occupied the regiment during the balance of its stay in Virginia, a detachment being stationed at City Point. In the last charge upon the enemy's lines at Petersburg the 68th was with the storming party, losing Major John C. Gallagher, mortally wounded, and a number of officers and men. At Sailor's Creek, upon April 6th, 1865, the Confederate General Ewell and his force were captured. The 68th was detailed to guard the officers, about six hundred in all, to City Point. While en route the prisoners were informed, much to their dismay, that Gen. Lee had surrendered. The regiment returned to the headquarters in charge of six thousand recruits, being then sent, in company with the 143d Pennsylvania Regiment, to Hart's Island prison camp, near New York, for guard duty. Here the regiment remained until mustered out June 9th, 1865. TOTAL LOSSES Killed or died from wounds - 10 officers; 58 men Died of disease or other causes - 51 men Wounded, not mortally - 15 officers; 190 men Captured or missing - 3 officers; 100 men BATTLES AND ENGAGEMENTS Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Auburn, Kelly's Ford, Mine Run, Wilderness, Guinea's Station, Petersburg =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=