Pennsylvania military volunteer units
More than 200 regiments of military volunteers were raised in Pennsylvania to serve in the United States Volunteers at various times, beginning during the War of 1812 and continuing until the passage of the Militia Act of 1903.[1]
Units
[edit]War of 1812
[edit]Among the units raised for the War of 1812 were:
- Pittsburgh Blues. "This formation was extensively employed throughout the Old Northwest, distinguished itself at such notable engagements as Mississinewa, Fort Meigs, and Fort Stephenson, and won official commendation from General William Henry Harrison."[1]
- Fenton's Volunteer Infantry Regiment, more commonly known as the "Pennsylvania Volunteers." Authorized by the Pennsylvania State Assembly on March 8, 1814, the regiment consisted of two battalions of five companies each. Hailing from Adams, Cumberland, and Franklin counties, the volunteers mustered at Carlisle under the command of Col. James Fenton. The unit joined others in fighting at 1814 Niagara campaign, particularly in the battles of Chippewa, Lundy's Lane, and Fort Erie.[1]
- Washington Guards. Organized on March 22, 1813.[2]
- Philadelphia Blues[3]
- Independent Volunteers[3]
Philadelphia continued to raise volunteer units throughout the war: "During the autumn of 1814, a large number of Volunteer Companies were organized in the City and County but did not take the field".[3]
Post-1812
[edit]- Washington Grays. Formed in 1822 by veterans of the Washington Guards who fought in the War of 1812, the Grays were first a light infantry unit, then an artillery unit. In 1879, the regiment became part of the new Pennsylvania National Guard.[4]
Civil War
[edit]More than 200 volunteer regiments were raised in Pennsylvania for the Civil War.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Fredriksen, John C. (April 1987). "The Pennsylvania Volunteers in the War of 1812: An Anonymous Journal of Service for the Year 1814" (PDF). The Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine. 70 (2): 123.
- ^ Dorland, W. A. Newman; Singer, Abraham; McKean, Thomas; Bradford, Thomas; Barker, John; Stein, Philip (1925). "The Second Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry (continued)". The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. 49 (1): 75–94. ISSN 0031-4587.
- ^ a b c Bowen, Daniel (1839). A history of Philadelphia, with a notice of villages in the vicinity ... with an historical account of the military operations of the late war, including the names of over two thousand patriotic officers, and citizen soldiers ... in 1812, -13, & 14. New York Public Library. Philadelphia : Daniel Bowen.
- ^ Foering, John Oppell (1912). Register of the Members of the Artillery Corps, Washington Grays, of the city of Philadelphia who Served in the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865. Members of the Artillery Corps, Washington Grays.
External links
[edit]- Timeline: History of the 105th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers at the Library of Congress
- "Muster rolls of the Pennsylvania volunteers in the war of 1812-1814, with cotemporary papers and documents. Vol. 1. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Lane S. Hart, Pennsylvania State Printer and Binder. 1880.
- Montgomery, Thomas Lynch, ed. (1907). Troops under the command of Col. Fenton, Col. Rees Hill, Gens. Harrison and Crook, Col. Rush and Major Wersler, and those who rendezvonsed at Camp Dupont, Erie, Lancaster, Marcus Hook and York and miscellaneous rolls. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer.
- List: "The Descriptive List of Deserters from Pennsylvania Military Units During the Civil War" (Provost Marshal General, Washington, D.C., September 1866