205th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

205th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
205th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
	Pennsylvania flag
Active	September 2, 1864 – June 2, 1865
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Union Army
Type	Infantry
Size	Regiment
Engagements	American Civil War Siege of Petersburg ; Battle of Fort Stedman ; Third Battle of Petersburg ;
Commanders
Notable; commanders	Col. Joseph A. Mathews

Last updated July 20, 2023

The 205th Pennsylvania Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was raised during the final war year in response to President Lincoln's call for 500,000 volunteers.^[1]^[2] The regiment joined the IX Corps to counter General Lee's final offensive thrust at Ford Stedman and attacked to break through the Petersburg defenses one week before his final surrender at Appomattox. It participated in the Grand Review of the Armies and was mustered out in June 1865.

Organization

The 205th Pennsylvania was recruited during the late summer of 1864 in central Pennsylvania and mustered in at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg on September 2, 1864. Joseph Ard Mathews was selected to be Colonel, William F. Walter Lieutenant Colonel, and B. Mortimer Morrow Major. Many of the officers and men, including all three field officers, had previously fought in the war.

Company	County of Recruitment	Earliest Captain
A	Blair	George C. Gwinner
B	Berks	Joseph G. Holmes
C	Blair	Louis D. Spiece
D	Huntingdon	Thomas B. Reed
E	Berks	William F. Walter
F	Mifflin	Jacob F. Hamaker
G	Blair, Dauphin and Franklin	Erasmus D. Wilts
H	Berks	Franklin Schmehl
I	Blair	Ira R. Shipley
K	Mifflin	F. B. McClenahen

Petersburg Campaign

The regiment was sent to the siege lines at Petersburg, Virginia, first as part of the Army of the James, and then reassigned to the Army of the Potomac. Five other Pennsylvania regiments with the 205th comprised a provisional brigade of the IX Corps and were commanded by Brigadier General John F. Hartranft. Two months later the brigade was redesignated as the Corps' Third Division, and Hartranft was promoted to its command. The 205th became part of the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Mathews, along with the 207th and 211th Pennsylvania. The new troops of the Third Division attacked the veterans of Confederate General John B. Gordon twice within a span of eight days.

Battle of Fort Stedman

The pre-dawn and early morning phases of the final offensive thrust of the Army of Northern Virginia had broken the Union line at Fort Stedman, capturing the Fort and several adjacent batteries. Arriving on the field and quickly recognizing the severity of the situation, General Hartranft organized and executed a highly effective counter-attack which reversed the outcome of the Battle.

For their part in the Battle of Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865, the division was commended for good conduct in their first major engagement by the corps commander, Major General John G. Parke. The 205th captured several prisoners and one battle flag, losing only ten wounded.

Petersburg Breakthrough

Using the Jerusalem Plank Road to guide them, the 205th Pennsylvania stepped off in the center column of three which attacked Fort Mahone and adjacent batteries during the pre-dawn hours of April 2.

General Grant's primary plan for the morning of April 2, 1865, was to push forward his own left flank and to break General Lee's right flank. Aware of the possibility for troop shifting from far distant points to resist his primary assault, Grant found it necessary to order a simultaneous assault on Lee's center at Fort Mahone although the Confederate fortifications were considered impregnable.^[3]

During the breakthrough at Petersburg, the 205th assaulted Battery 30, capturing more prisoners and another battle flag. Morrow was wounded during the attack and Captain Holmes took command of the regiment.

Appomattox Campaign

During the Appomattox Campaign, the 205th repaired the South Side Railroad as far as Burkesville. After the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, the regiment was moved to City Point, Virginia, and then to Alexandria, Virginia. It participated in the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington, D.C., on May 23 and was mustered out on June 2.

Casualties

Killed and died of wounds: 3 officers, 37 enlisted men
Wounded: 5 officers, 91 enlisted men
Captured or missing: 0 officers, 5 enlisted men
Died of disease: 0 officers, 17 enlisted men
Total: 8 officers, 150 enlisted men

Notes

↑ Bates, Samuel P (1871). History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. Vol. V. Harrisburg, PA: B. Singerly, State Printer. pp. 636–654.
↑ "Proclamation 116-Calling for 500,000 Volunteers-July 18, 1864". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
↑ Embick, Milton A. (1913). History of the Third Division. Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: C.E. Aughinbaugh, State Printer. pp. 17.

Related Research Articles

The Battle of Fort Stedman, also known as the Battle of Hare's Hill, was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final weeks of the American Civil War. The Union Army fortification in the siege lines around Petersburg, Virginia, was attacked in a pre-dawn Confederate assault by troops led by Maj. Gen. John B. Gordon. The attack was the last serious attempt by Confederate troops to break the Siege of Petersburg. After an initial success, Gordon's men were driven back by Union troops of the IX Corps commanded by Maj. Gen. John G. Parke.

The Third Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Breakthrough at Petersburg or the Fall of Petersburg, was fought on April 2, 1865, south and southwest Virginia in the area of Petersburg, Virginia, at the end of the 292-day Richmond–Petersburg Campaign and in the beginning stage of the Appomattox Campaign near the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Union Army under the overall command of General-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, launched an assault on General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's Petersburg, Virginia trenches and fortifications after the Union victory at the Battle of Five Forks on April 1, 1865. As a result of that battle the Confederate right flank and rear were exposed. The remaining supply lines were cut and the Confederate defenders were reduced by over 10,000 men killed, wounded, taken prisoner or in flight.

The 54th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 1st Michigan Sharpshooters Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army's Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.

The 53rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lilley (soldier)</span>

John Lilley was a United States soldier who was recognized with his nation's highest award for valor, the U.S. Medal of Honor, for his gallantry during the American Civil War. While fighting with Company F of the 205th Pennsylvania Infantry as part of the Union Army engaged in the Third Battle of Petersburg, Virginia on April 2, 1865, he captured the flag of the Confederate States Army by single-handedly rushing, and forcing the surrender of, that army's color-bearer, along with several additional CSA soldiers.

The 60th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 138th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 18th New Hampshire Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 5th Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 93rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 50th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 100th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 51st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 41st United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed almost entirely of African American enlisted men and commanded by white officers. The regiment was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863. The regiment engaged in the Siege of Petersburg and Appomattox Campaign and was present at the unconditional surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

The 200th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 43rd United States Colored Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was composed of African American enlisted men commanded by white officers and was authorized by the Bureau of Colored Troops which was created by the United States War Department on May 22, 1863.

The 211th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Union Army in the American Civil War. Raised in western Pennsylvania in September 1864, the regiment initially served with the Army of the James during the Siege of Petersburg, holding trenches at Bermuda Hundred. In late November it transferred to the Army of the Potomac and during the northern hemisphere spring campaign fought in the counterattack during the Battle of Fort Stedman and the Union breakthrough at Petersburg. During the last days of the Appomattox Campaign it guarded trains, and participated in the Grand Review of the Armies following the end of the war before mustering out.

The 199th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, alternately known as the Commercial Regiment, was an infantry regiment of the Union Army in the American Civil War. Raised in Philadelphia in late 1864, the regiment enlisted for one year and was sent to the Army of the James during the Siege of Petersburg. During the Third Battle of Petersburg it assaulted Forts Gregg and Alexander, then pursued the retreating Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, fighting at Rice's Station and Appomattox Court House. Following the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, the regiment moved to Richmond, where it mustered out in late June 1865.

The 207th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment of the Union Army in the American Civil War. Raised mostly in northern and central Pennsylvania in mid-1864, the regiment initially served with the Army of the James during the Siege of Petersburg, holding trenches at Bermuda Hundred. In late November it transferred to the Army of the Potomac and during the northern hemisphere spring campaign fought in the counterattack during the Battle of Fort Stedman and the Union breakthrough at Petersburg. During last days of the Appomattox Campaign it guarded the supply line, and participated in the Grand Review of the Armies following the end of the war before mustering out.

References

Pennsylvania in the Civil War

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Bates-1] Bates, Samuel P (1871). History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5. Vol. V. Harrisburg, PA: B. Singerly, State Printer. pp. 636–654.

[2] "Proclamation 116-Calling for 500,000 Volunteers-July 18, 1864". The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on 20 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.

[3] Embick, Milton A. (1913). History of the Third Division. Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: C.E. Aughinbaugh, State Printer. pp. 17.

[1]

[2]

[3]