57th Regiment

Pennsylvania Volunteers

 

The Fifty-seventh Regiment was principally recruited in the counties of Mercer. Crawford, and Venango; though a considerable number were from the counties of Tioga, Bradford, Susquehanna, and Wyoming. Company K, Captain Cornelius S. Chase, was originally recruited as an independent company of sharp-shooters; but failing of acceptance in that capacity, it became a part of this regiment. Recruiting commenced early in September, 1861, the men rendezvousing in squads and companies at Camp Curtin, where a regimental organization was effected by the choice of the following officers: William Maxwell, of Mercer county, Colonel; Elhannan W. Woods, of Mercer county, Lieutenant Colonel; Jeremiah Culp, of Bradford county, Major.

On the 14th of December the regiment moved to Washington, and encamped on the Bladensburg Pike, near the toll gate. Considerable sickness had prevailed before leaving Camp Curtin, and the exposure of the men on the journey, confined in box cars without fire, contributed to increase it. The new camp, unfavorably located on low wet ground, and the inclemency of the weather while there, caused a still further increase of the sick list, and several died. In February, 1862, the regiment was ordered into line with the Army of the Potomac, and crossing the river went into camp at Fort Lyon below Alexandria. It was here assigned to Jameson's Brigade* of Heintzelman's Division. On the 1st of March Colonel Maxwell resigned, and was succeeded in command by Charles T. Campbell. On the 17th of March the regiment embarked with the division for Fortress Monroe, and upon its arrival encamped near the little village of Hampton. Upon the formation of Army Corps, General Heintzelman was promoted to the command of the Third, and was succeeded by General Hamilton, who, shortly afterwards, was superseded by General Philip Kearny. Drill was here earnestly prosecuted. On the 4th of April the army moved toYorktown, where the enemy was intrenched to dispute its progress. After remaining a few days within range of the enemy's guns, the brigade was moved back to a wood, or rather swamp, in the rear, and the men were kept at hard labor in the trenches for a month. "Here,” says Surgeon Lyman, "for three weeks, the men walked in mud, slept in mud, and drank water from holes scooped out of the mud. The combined remonstrances of the medical officers of the brigade,' that a month's continuance in that place would deprive the government of the services of one-half of its numbers,' were met by the silencing reply,'it is a military necessity.' The event showed that our fears were well founded. The malaria of the marshes and swamps of Yorktown, with the excessive labor performed in the trenches and on picket, debilitated our men for months, sending dozens of them to their graves, and rendering hundreds unfit for service, many for life. We had one man killed by a shell, and five wounded, while before Yorktown." On the afternoon of the 11th of April, the Sixty-third Regiment was attacked while on picket, and the Fifty-seventh was ordered to its support. Advancing at double-quick, it formed in line of battle and moved over an open field, in face of a hot fire, and with the help of Weeden's Battery, soon put his columns to flight. The enemy having evacuated his works about Yorktown, the army moved forward on the 4th of May towards Williamsburg, where he again made a stand. The Fifty-seventh had reached a point within four miles of the battlefield, when it was ordered to throw off knapsacks, blankets, and overcoats, and march, at double-quick, to the front. Upon its arrival it formed line on the right of the road, but night coming on, the fighting ceased, and it was not engaged. The men, overheated by rapid marching, and wet to the skin by a drenching rain, without rations, fires or blankets, remained under arms all night. " It seemed," says Colonel Perkins, "immediately after, as though the regiment had been struck with a pestilence. Nearly, or quite one-half of the men were taken sick, and the number of discharges, from that night's exposure, was greater, I think, than our casualties in any battle during the war.”

Leaving Williamsburg on the 7th, where after the battle it had performed picket duty, the regiment marched to Cumberland Landing, on the Pamunkey, and for ten days it acted as guard to the supplies stored there. It re-joined the brigade at Baltimore Store, and on the 24th crossed the Chickahominy, at Bottom's Bridge. Upon the opening of the engagement at Fair Oaks, on the31st, the regiment made a forced march to the battlefield, and was soon hotly engaged. It had been detached from Jameson's, and ordered to duty with Birney's Brigade. But without awaiting orders from Birney, who, from some cause of difficulty with Kearny and Heintzelman, was left behind, Colonel Campbell led his men promptly into action, and by desperate fighting, Heintzelman's Corps succeeded in staying the rout into which Casey's Division had been thrown. The loss in this short engagement was very severe, being eleven killed and forty-nine wounded. Major Culp was killed, and Captain Cornelius S. Chase, of company K, mortally wounded. Colonel Campbell was severely wounded in wrist and groin. The command of the regiment now devolved on Lieutenant Colonel Woods, and Captain S. C. Simonton was promoted to Major.

After the battle, the regiment was encamped amid swamps and marshes, where the water was insufferably bad, and was employed in throwing up breastworks and picketing the lines. The swamp fevers carried many to the hospitals, and the grave. While on picket duty at the front, on the 25th of June, the enemy attacked with artillery, using grape and canister, resulting in a loss, to the regiment, of several wounded, but soon withdrew. The camp at this time was in the front line of works, a half mile to the left of the Williamsburg stage road. The air was now full of rumors of battle, and on the 26th and 27th, while the fighting was in progress across the Chickahominy at Mechanicsville and Gaines' Mill, the regiment skirmished with the enemy in its front. Withdrawing from the breastworks on the morning of the 28th, it encamped in ma open field to the rear, where one hundred and fifty rounds of cartridge were issued to each man, an ominous circumstance. To readily distinguish his officers, General Kearny here ordered that each should wear a patch of red upon the top of his cap, the beginning of distinguishing badges.

On the morning of the 29th the regiment was placed upon the picket line, where it remained for several hours, when it was re-called and stood in line of battle during the fighting at Savage Station, but did not become engaged. Towards evening it marched through White Oak Swamp, and went into position on the 30th, in an open field, near Charles City Cross Roads. Heavy cannonading was heard far to the right and left, but in front all was quiet. Suddenly the picket line was fiercely attacked and driven in, which was followed up with artillery, filling the air with bursting shells. After a momentary confusion a line was taken up at the edge of a wood, about a thousand yards to the rear of the Charles City Road, and the fighting in earnest commenced. The regiment was posted on the extreme left of Kearny's Division, and joined on the left the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps. The contest was severe, lasting until long after dark, and though attacked by vastly superior numbers, every assault was repulsed with great slaughter, the conduct of the regiment drawing from that accomplished soldier, General Kearny, the highest encomiums. The loss was seven killed and fifty-six wounded, most of whom fell into the hands of the enemy. Major Simonton and Lieutenant Morse were among the wounded.

Remaining upon the field, watchful for a surprise, the enemy still in heavy force in its immediate front, until two o'clock on the following morning, the regiment silently withdrew and proceeded to Malvern H-ill. Upon its arrival it was soon ordered to the front, and at three P. I. was hotly engaged. After a short, but severe contest, the enemy withdrew. The regiment during the entire day was exposed to a heavy artillery fire. The loss was two killed, and eight wounded. Lieutenant Charles O. Etz was of the killed. Remaining on picket until nine o'clock on the following morning, it marched through a drenching rain to Harrison's Landing. Lieutenant Colonel Woods here left the regiment on account of sickness, and was soon after honorably discharged. Without a field officer, and with but few line officers fit for duty, reduced by battle, by sickness, and severe duty in the trenches and on the march to fifty-six effective men, it presented a marked contrast to the thousand-strong that scarcely three months before had marched forth to battle.' All were exhausted," says Surgeon Lyman, " and disheartened, scarcely a well man in the regiment, with two hundred and thirty, for the first few days, on the sick list. Scurvy made its appearance to a small extent, yet sufficient to complicate and multiply other ailments." The command now devolved, for a time, on Captain R. Maxwell; but subsequently, Major William Birney, of the Fourth New -Jersey, an excellent officer, a brother of General Birney, who was now in charge of the brigade, was assigned to its command. The sick now rapidly returned to their places in the ranks, recruits were received, a wholesome discipline was enforced, drill regularly held, and the regiment in a short time, restored to its original efficiency. Birney's Brigade, to which the Fifty-seventh had been transferred, was composed, in addition to it, of the Thirty-eighth, Fortieth, and One Hundred and First New York, Third and Fourth Maine, and the Ninety-ninth Pennsylvania.

On the morning of August 15th, the division commenced the march down the Peninsula. At Liberty Church, the Fifty-seventh and the Fourth Maine moved off the main road, and acted as flankers to the right of the column. From the Peninsula Kearny's Division preceded to Alexandria, and moved out by rail to Warrenton Junction, and thence marched to Bealeton Station, where it joined Pope's army. On the 29th the regiment was in line and under fire at Bull Run, and on the 30th became engaged, losing three wounded, two of whom died. The admirable maneuvering of Kearny, keeping up a show of great strength, and the holding his command well in hand for a final stand, deterred the enemy from pushing his advantage on that ill-fated field. The Fifty-seventh left the ground in good order, and marched back to Centreville. Late in the afternoon of Monday, September 1st, it was ordered into line and hurriedly marched to Chantilly, where a fierce battle was in progress. A heavy rain was falling, and it was nearly dark when it arrived. Company K was immediately sent out on picket, while the balance of the regiment was held in reserve. As soon as the picket line was formed, it was ordered to advance and reconnoitre the ground in front, and soon arrived within speaking distance of the enemy, when it was ordered back. In the morning, the enemy having withdrawn during the night, the regiment marched to Fairfax Court House. In this battle, the gallant Kearny, while reconnoitering, having ridden into the enemy's lines, was killed, and his body, left upon the field, fell into the hands of the enemy. On the following day, four companies of the Fifty-seventh were sent as an escort, under flag of truce, to receive his body and bring it to our lines. At Alexandria, where the regiment arrived on the 3d, General Kearny's death was announced in orders, and each enlisted man of his division was directed to wear the Kearny badge, a red patch one-inch square, on the right side of the cap.

General Stoneman succeeded to the command of the division, which, after remaining a few days at Alexandria, where it received supplies, proceeded up the Potomac, arriving at Poolesville on the 15th. The enemy had now reached the South 3iountain, in Maryland, and to protect the left wing of the Union army, hastening to meet him, Stoneman was ordered to hold the line of the Potomac, from the mouth of the Monocacy, south. The Fifty-seventh was stationed at Conrad's Ferry, where it remained a month, two companies being on picket daily. A well laid plan to entrap Stuart on his return from his ride to Chambersburg, around our army, failed by reason of the weakness of the forecast White's Ford, where he escaped across in safety. On the 10th of October, Colonel Campbell having recovered from his wounds, re-joined the regiment and resumed command. During the march of the army to Warrenton, six men of company K were captured, while out with a foraging party.

Upon the assumption of chief command by General Burnside, a re-organization of the army was made, whereby General Stoneman was assigned to command of the corps, General Birney of the division, and General Ward of the brigade. On the 25th of November, the regiment arrived at Falmouth, opposite Fredericksburg, where it went into winter-quarters. On the afternoon of the12th of December, it marched with the division down the river to Franklin's crossing, and at noon of the following day, passing over on pontoons, marched to the front. After remaining for an hour and a half under a hot fire of shot and shell, the Fifty-seventh was ordered to advance and relieve the Fortieth New York. "'We marched”, says Captain Strouse, "by the flank, until we cleared a battery of ours in front, when Colonel Campbell gave the command,' By company into line,' and then,' Forward into line on first company,' which was executed, in beautiful order, under a murderous fire of the enemy, who had by this time driven some of our troops from the woods, and were coming upon us, yelling, as they advanced, like savages. Our men soon got into position in a ditch, but we could not return his fire for fear of shooting our own men. As soon as our front was cleared, we opened with telling effect, and held him in check for some time. In the midst of the engagement, Colonel Campbell received several severe wounds, and was borne from the field, the command devolving on Captain Maxwell, of company F. The regiments on our right and left had been posted beyond our reach, or had now been driven back, and seeing that resistance by our regiment alone was useless, Captain Maxwell gave the order to retreat. As soon as we had cleared Randolph's Battery, which was posted about ten rods in our rear, Randolph opened on the masses of the enemy rushing forward, checking their impetuosity, and causing fearful slaughter.

On the 14th the regiment was employed as provost guard to bring up stragglers, and in the evening in company with the One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania, was ordered to the extreme front line, where it remained until the night of the 15th. In the afternoon a truce was sounded, which lasted for an hour and a half, for the burial of the dead and taking off the wounded. During this time, the men of the two opposing armies, which but a few hours before had joined in deadly conflict, were peaceably intermingled upon the battlefield, each party seeking out its wounded companions, and bearing them away. The Fifty-seventh brought off not only all of its wounded, but its dead. As soon as night set in, preparations were made for burying the latter but before it could be completed, the order to retire was received, and the long line of dead bodies which the men had labored so industriously to bring together, was left finally unburied. Upon re-crossing the river, the regiment returned to its old camp. It went into the engagement with three hundred and sixteen men, and lost twenty-one killed, seventy-six wounded, and seventy-eight missing. Among the wounded were Colonel Campbell, Captain Strohecker, and Surgeon Kennedy. Colonel Campbell had, a few days previous to the battle, received his commission as Brigadier General, but chose to lead his old regiment once more into action before leaving it. "As we resumed our old camp” says Colonel Perkins, "'on our return, after the battle, we began, again, the work of recuperation. Our losses had been very heavy. A striking proof of this, and a sad one, was the number of vacant huts in each company street.”

Captain Peter Sides, of company A, who had been promoted to be Lieutenant Colonel after the discharge of Colonel Woods, assumed command of the regiment upon the fall of Colonel Campbell. About the 1st of March, the army, now under Hooker, was re-organized, and the Fifty-seventh was re-assigned to the First Brigade, commanded by Colonel C. H. T. Collis, subsequently by General Charles K. Graham, which now consisted of the Fifty-seventh, Sixty-third, Sixty-eighth, One Hundred and Fifth, One Hundred and Fourteenth, and One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania Regiments. General Birney commanded the division, and General Sickles the corps.

On the 28th of April the corps moved on the Chancellorsville campaign, and after marching down the river to Franklin's crossing, and maneuvering in front of it, making feints to cross, it finally on the evening of the 30th, moved fifteen miles up the river, to United States Ford, where it crossed, and marched to Chancellorsville. The Fifth, Eleventh, and Twelfth corps were already in position, and after marching back and forth upon the plank road, at evening, it bivouacked near the Chancellor House. At five A. M. of the 2d of 3ay, it moved to the front, three-fourths of a mile southwest of the Chancellor House, near a pine grove, and took position behind breastworks erected there. The Fifty-seventh was on the extreme right of the corps, and joined the left of the Twelfth Corps. At two P. M. Birney's and Whipple's divisions, the First and Third, were ordered to the front, where some skirmishing ensued, which lasted until dark, when, suddenly, a tremendous crash of artillery was heard away to the right and rear, followed up by the mingled roar of musketry. It was the onset of Jackson upon the Eleventh Corps. Shortly after dark, falling in quietly, the two divisions marched to the rear, and were halted in an open field in front of the works occupied in the morning, now in the hands of the enemy. General Ward's Brigade made a bayonet charge during the night, and drove the enemy from apart of the line. At daylight of the 3d, the enemy made a vigorous attack; but not knowing from what direction he would come, the division was not in line, and when it was delivered the brigade was in column of regiments. It was immediately moved by the right flank, at double-quick, and deployed in line of battle near the Chancellor House, to the left of the Plank Road, and at right angles to it, and charged, driving the enemy, but was in turn driven back. In this charge the regiment suffered a grievous slaughter. The brigade steadily fell back, fighting as it went for nearly a mile, when a new line was formed, which was held until the morning of the 6th, when the army re-crossed the river, and the regiment returned to its old camping-ground. The loss was two officers and eleven men killed, three officers and forty-five men wounded, and twenty-three missing. Among the killed were Captain Edson J. Rice, and Lieutenant Joseph Brady.

On the 11th of June the regiment broke camp, and marched on the Gettysburg campaign, arriving at Emmittsburg, Maryland, on the 1st of July. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the corps resumed the march, and arrived on the ground after dark, bivouacking in an open field to the right of the Emmittsburg pike. At daylight of the 2d it moved to the front. Considerable time elapsed before the line was formed. Graham's Brigade was posted in the open field facing the pike. At four P. M. the enemy opened with artillery, and for an hour and a half the solid earth was shaken by his unceasing fire, the regiment being much exposed, and many being wounded by his bursting shells. As the fire ceased, the brigade moved forward and attacked the enemy's infantry, which was just then advancing from the wood beyond Sherfy's. It was soon hotly engaged, and for a time checked his advance. The right of the Fifty-seventh rested on Sherfy's house, in an admirable position, where the men could fire deliberately and with excellent effect. But the regiments farther to the left, failing to get into position in time, the enemy broke through, and flanking the position, caused Graham to fall back. A considerable number of the men had taken cover in an old cellar, and amidst the noise and confusion, did not receive the order to retire, nor notice the withdrawal of the rest of the regiment, but still kept up a rapid and most destructive fire. When too late, they discovered their isolated position, and were nearly all taken prisoners. A portion of the Sixth Corps came timely to the assistance of the Third, and the advance of the enemy was stayed. The regiment was re-formed by Captain A.H. Nelson, and marched three-quarters of a mile to the rear, where it rested for the night. In the afternoon of the 3d it moved a half-mile to the right, and went to the front, where in the afternoon it was exposed to a severe shelling, but did not again become engaged. On the night of the 3d it was placed on picket, in front of the Second Corps, on the ground where the enemy had made his desperate charges, and the dead and wounded commingled, were thickly strewn on all the field. The loss was twelve killed, forty-five wounded, and forty-seven missing. General Graham was taken prisoner. Lieutenants Henry Mitchell and John F. Cox were killed, Colonel Sides was among the wounded, and Major Neeper, and Lieutenants Burns, Crossley, and Hines, were among the captured.

In the march of the army in pursuit of Lee to Williamsport, and in the subsequent campaigns of the army in the Valley of Virginia, wherein Meade advanced to Culpepper, and to checkmate his adversary retired to Centreville, and again advanced to Mine Run, the regiment participated, engaging the enemy at Auburn Creek, on the 13th of October, at Kelly's Ford, on the 7th of November, and at Locust Grove, on the 26th, and losing in each some men. On the 2d of December it returned to the neighborhood of Culpepper, where it went into winter-quarters. Here the question of re-enlistment was much discussed, and on the 24th the regiment was drawn up in hollow square, when it was briefly addressed by Chaplain M'Adam. Upon the conclusion of his spirited and patriotic remarks, Colonel Sides reduced square, and ordered all who desired to re-enlist to step three paces to the front. More than two-thirds advanced, and after giving three hearty cheers were dismissed. On the 8th of January, 1864, the regiment departed on veteran furlough, and after an absence of forty-nine days returned to camp, bringing with it a large number of recruits.

During the month of March, the First and Third corps were broken up, and the troops distributed among other corps, the Fifty-seventh being assigned to the Second Brigade, General Alexander Hays, Third Division, General Birney, Second Corps, General Hancock. The brigade was composed of the Fifty-seventh, Sixty-third, One Hundred and Fifth, and One Hundred and Forty-first Pennsylvania, the Ninety-third New York, the Seventeenth Maine, and an independent regiment of Berdan's sharpshooters.

At midnight of the 3d of May, the regiment broke camp, and with the corps marched to Chancellorsville, bivouacking for the night on the same ground over which it fought a year before. On the following morning it moved out, and after marching and counter-marching, finally struck the Brock Road, and at four P. M., was hurriedly marched to the crossing of the Brock and Plank roads, formed in line of battle, and advanced into the woods, the left of the regiment resting on the right of the Plank Road. Advancing about half a mile, the enemy was met, and a furious battle opened, which lasted until dark. The fighting was at short range, and the slaughter, as was evinced by a view of the field the next morning, was terrible. The loss in this brief engagement was twenty-two killed, one hundred and twenty-eight wounded and three missing. Colonel Sides being among the latter, the command of the regiment devolved on Captain A. H. Nelson, of company K. In the evening the regiment was relieved at the front and rested for the night near the Brock Road. On the following morning it moved out on the Plank Road, nearly a mile beyond the point where it fought on the previous day, and formed line in the woods to the left of the road. "The density of the woods,' says Captain Strouse, who was himself severely wounded during the day, "rendered it impossible to maintain a regular line of battle, so we commenced bushwhacking with the enemy on a grand scale, driving him, and in turn being driven back." In the meantime, the enemy had been reinforced by Longstreet, who at about five o'clock in the evening delivered a vigorous and determined assault. He carried everything before him in the wood, and made a desperate effort to drive the Union line from the breastwork which it occupied, along the narrow Brock Road. In this he failed, and with it ended offensive operations on his part. At Todd's Tavern another engagement seemed imminent and the corps was brought into position, threw up breastworks, and skirmished with the enemy, but had no considerable fighting until the 12th. At dawn of that day the corps was formed for an assault, and advanced in two columns. The men were so fatigued that they could scarcely stand, but as the word to advance was given, they moved forward with alacrity, and did not stop until the enemy's line was surprised and taken. The rebel General Johnson with his division was captured. It was an entire success, and though the men were completely exhausted by constant marching and fighting, they maintained their ground during the day against the repeated assaults of the enemy to re-possess his works. The loss was seven killed, twenty wounded, and three missing. Lieutenant J. C. Green was among the killed in this engagement.

From Spottsylvania to the James River there was almost constant marching, fighting, and intrenching. At the North Anna, on the afternoon of the 23d, the regiment with the brigade assaulted the enemy's lines, protected by a redan, and drove them in confusion across the river. Again at Cold Harbor it was in the front line, which was pushed close up to the enemy's works. Here the flagstaff was struck by a fragment of shell, and broken, and the flag, which was wound around it, was torn to tatters. In these and other minor engagements from the 12th of May until the 14th of June, the regiment sustained considerable loss. Captain Edgar Williams, and Lieutenants John Bowers and Henry M'Adams, were among the killed. Lieutenant Colonel William B. Neeper, who had been for a long time confined in southern prisons, returned, and assumed command.

Crossing the James River, the brigade moved up to the front near Petersburg, where it relieved the colored troops, and on the afternoon of the 16thprepared to assault the rebel lines. The Sixty-third Pennsylvania was on the right, and a battalion of heavy artillery on the left of the Fifty-seventh. As our batteries on the hill to the rear opened with a heavy fire, the brigade moved forward, and drove the enemy across a ravine and through an old camp into his strong lines of works. Too weak to scale this formidable barrier unsupported, the brigade threw up a line of intrenchments, and sank down behind it. The regiment fortunately suffered little loss, having the old huts of the rebel camp for protection.

During the summer and early part of the autumn the regiment was almost constantly at the front engaged in driving back the enemy, establishing new lines, and erecting fortifications. Most of the month of October was spent in camp, a half mile to the right of the Jerusalem Plank Road, in the front line of works. On the 25th the regiment broke camp, and moved with the corps along the Vaughan Road to Hatchers Run. Crossing the run, where some skirmishing occurred, it proceeded in the direction of the South Side Railroad. After taking position, and while awaiting the arrival of the Fifth Corps, Mahone's Division of the rebel army fiercely attacked, but after a brief engagement he was repulsed and driven back, and the corps returned to its former Position. The regiment sustained some loss in wounded. In the raid upon the Weldon Railroad, which commenced on the 7th of December, the regiment participated, but sustained no loss. On the 28th of November, Colonel Sides, who had been absent since the date of his wound in the Wilderness, was honorably discharged. On the 4th of November, Lieutenant Colonel Neeper was also honorably discharged, and Captain L. D. Bumpus was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and assumed command.

The regiment having been greatly reduced in strength by the severity of the summer campaign, by special order of the War Department, dated January11th, 1865, it was consolidated into a battalion of six companies. On the 16thof January, the Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania was consolidated with the battalion, restoring the Fifty-seventh to something like its pristine strength. George Zinn, Lieutenant Colonel of the Eighty-fourth, was commissioned Colonel, George W. Perkins, Captain of company K, Lieutenant Colonel, and Samuel Bryan, Captain in the Eighty-fourth, Major. Colonel Bumpus, at the expiration of his term, was mustered out of service.

On the 5th of February, another movement was made to Hatcher's Run, in which the regiment was engaged, but without loss, and at its close the corps was established in a new camp near the run. Upon the occasion of the enemy's assault upon Fort Stedman, on the 25th of March, demonstrations were made along the whole line. The Second Corps moved out from its encampments, attacked the enemy's picket line, and a portion of it near the Watkin's H-house was captured by the brigade. After gaining possession, the brigade was driven out; but again assaulted, carried the work, and held it. In the final assault, the Fifty-seventh fought with conspicuous gallantry, and captured over one hundred prisoners. The engagement of the 25th inaugurated the movementwhich resulted in the capture of Petersburg, Richmond, and Lee's army. On the 29th, the Second Corps commenced active operations near Hatcher's Run-On the 2d of April, the enemy's line having been broken, the corps advanced towards Petersburg, which was evacuated on the following day, and the pursuit of the rebel army was commenced. At Sailor's Creek the corps came up with the enemy's wagon train, and a spirited engagement ensued which resulted in the capture of the entire train, consisting of two hundred and fifty wagons. The regiment was here warmly engaged in which Lieutenant Colonel Perkins, and twelve men were wounded. Resuming the pursuit, the corps reached High Bridge at noon of the 7th, where breastworks were thrown up, the enemy in front. At noon of the 9th, when within a mile of Appomattox Court House, the joyful tidings were brought that Lee had surrendered.

Moving hence to Burkesville, the regiment remained in camp until the beginning of May, when with the mass of the army it marched to Richmond, and thence to Alexandria, where on the 22d of June, it was mustered out of service. Previous to disbanding, the line officers issued an address to their men in which they said, "' Parting as a band of brothers, let us cling to the memory of those tattered banners, under which we have fought together, and which, without dishonor, we have just now restored to the authorities who placed them in our hands. Till we grow gray headed and pass away let us sustain the reputation of this noble old regiment. Fortune threw together two organizations, the Eighty- fourth and the Fifty-seventh, to make the present command. Both regiments have been in service since the beginning of the strife, and the records of both will command respect in all coming time. Very many of those who were enrolled with us have fallen, and their graves are scattered here and there throughout the South. We shall not forget these, and the people of this nation will and must honor their memory. Comrades, Farewell!"

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*Organization of the First Brigade, Brigadier Genera] Jameson, First Division, Brigadier General Philip Kearny, Third Corps, Major General Samuel P. Heintzelman. Fifty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel Charles T. Campbell; Sixty-third Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel Alexander Hays; Eighty-seventh Regiment New York Volunteers, Colonel Stephen A. Dodge; One Hundred and Fifth Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, Colonel Amor A. M'Knight.

Source:

Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65, Harrisburg, 1868-1871.



Organization:

Organized at Harrisburg December 14, 1861.
Left State for Washington, D. C, December 14.
Attached to Jameson's Brigade, Heintzelman's Division, Army Potomac, to March, 1862.
1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to August, 1862.
2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to March, 1863.
1st Brigade, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, to March, 1864.
2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, 2nd Army Corps, to June, 1865.

Service:  

Duty in the Defences of Washington, D. C., till March, 1862.
Moved to the Virginia Peninsula March 16-18.
Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4.
Skirmish Yorktown April 11.
Battle of Williamsburg May 5.
Battle of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, May 31-June 1.
Seven Days before Richmond June 25-July 1.
Oak Grove June 25.
Peach Orchard and Savage Station June 29.
Charles City Cross Roads and Glendale June 30.
Malvern Hill July 1.
Duty at Harrison's Landing till August 16.
Movement to Centreville August 16-26.
Skirmish at Bull Run August 20.
Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia.
Battles of Gainesville August 28; Groveton August 29;
Bull Run August 30; Chantilly September 1.
Guard fords from Monocacy River to Conrad's Ferry till October.
March up the Potomac to Leesburg, thence to Falmouth, Va., October 11-November 19.
Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15.
Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863.
At Falmouth, Va., till April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6.
Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5.
Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24.
Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3.
Pursuit of Lee July 5-24.
Wapping Heights, Va., July 23.
Duty on line of the Rappahannock till October.
Bristoe Campaign October 9-22.
Auburn and Bristoe October 13-14.
Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8.
Kelly's Ford November 7.
Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2.
Payne's Farm November 27.
Veterans on furlough January to March, 1864.
Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12.
Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7; Laurel Hill May 8; Spottsylvania May 8-12;
Po River May 10; Spottsylvania C. H. May 12-21.
Assault on the Salient May 12.
Harris' Farm May 19.
North Anna River May 23-26.
Line of the Pamunkey May 26-28.
Totopotomoy May 28-31.
Cold Harbor June 1-12.
Before Petersburg June 16-18.
Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
Weldon Railroad June 22-23, 1864.
Demonstration north of the James at Deep Bottom July 27-29, and August 13-20.
Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, August 14-18.
Ream's Station August 25.
Poplar Springs Church September 29-October 2.
Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher's Run, October 27-28.
Expedition to Weldon Railroad December 7-12.
Consolidated to five Companies January 11, 1865.
Dabney's Mills, Hatcher's Run, February 5-7.
Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
Boydton Road March 30-31.
Fall of Petersburg April 2.
Sailor's Creek April 6.
High Bridge, Farmville, April 7.
Appomattox C. H. April 9.
Surrender of Lee and his army.
At Burkesville till May.
March to Washington D. C, May 2-12.
Grand Review May 23.
Duty at Alexandria till June.
Mustered out June 29, 1865.

Losses:  

Regiment lost during service:

12 Officers and 149 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and
217 Enlisted men by disease
Total 378.

Source:

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion Compiled and Arranged from Official Records of the Federal and Confederate Armies, Reports of he Adjutant Generals of the Several States, the Army Registers, and Other Reliable Documents and Sources.Des Moines, Iowa: The Dyer Publishing Company, 1908

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