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71st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry | |
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![]() Pennsylvania flag | |
Active | August 1861 to July 2, 1864 |
Country | United States |
Allegiance | Union |
Branch | Infantry |
Engagements | Siege of Yorktown Battle of Seven Pines Battle of Savage's Station Battle of Ball's Bluff Seven Days Battles Battle of Glendale Battle of Malvern Hill Battle of Second Bull Run Battle of Chantilly Battle of Antietam Battle of Fredericksburg Battle of Gettysburg Overland Campaign Battle of Banks' Ford Battle of the Wilderness Battle of Spotsylvania Court House Battle of Cold Harbor |
The 71st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (originally raised as the 1st California) was an infantry regiment of the Union Army that participated in the American Civil War.
The 71st Pennsylvania was organized in August 1861 by Oregon Senator Edward D. Baker, composed of 15 companies instead of the standard 10. Although raised from residents of Philadelphia, it was initially designated the 1st Regiment, California Volunteer Infantry in deference to Baker's wishes. After his death at the Battle of Ball's Bluff in October 1861, it was renamed the 71st Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. It was grouped with the 69th, 72nd, and 106th Pennsylvania regiments to form the famous Philadelphia Brigade.
The 71st was assigned to the II Corps in time to participate in the 1862 Peninsula Campaign. During the Seven Days Battles, it made several charges, losing many officers and men. After reaching Harrison's Landing, companies L, M, N, P, and R were merged into the first ten companies. The regiment, along with rest of the Army of the Potomac, was transferred to northern Virginia. Here the 71st fought at the battles of Second Bull Run and Chantilly. It helped cover Pope's retreat. At the Battle of Antietam that September, the regiment lost one third of its strength. It again suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December.
At the Battle of Gettysburg the 71st helped defeat the attack by Brig. Gen. Ambrose Wright's brigade on July 2. That evening, it was briefly sent to Culp's Hill but was quickly ordered to retreat from the line by its Colonel, Richard P. Smith, who remarked that "he would not have his men murdered". [1] The next day, the 71st was positioned at the famous Angle on Cemetery Ridge. Eight companies of the regiment was placed along the advanced wall with the 69th Pennsylvania to its left, while the other two companies were 50 yards to its right-rear. Col. Smith put Lt. Col. Charles Kochersperger in charge of the companies squeezed into the line and, before he moved himself to the rear, ordered Kochersperger to withdraw the men if the enemy came too close. During Pickett's Charge, the enemy did indeed come "too close", and Kochersperger withdrew the 71st from the line after a few volleys. [2] Brig. Gen. Alexander S. Webb managed to rally the regiment near the 72nd and 106th Pennsylvania, but was unable to convince any of the three units to counterattack at first. Finally after several minutes, they helped to push the Confederates out of the Angle. The 71st lost 98 officers and men during the attack, including nine out of fifteen officers.
The 71st served through the Overland Campaign, losing heavily in both men and officers. At the Battle of the Wilderness, Lt. Col. Charles Kochersperger was wounded and five colorbearers were shot down, and at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Capt. Mitchell Smith was killed. The regiment's last battle as a unit was at Cold Harbor.
Afterwards, those entitled to discharge (a total of 53) were mustered out in Philadelphia on July 2, 1864. The remainder of the regiment was merged into the 69th Pennsylvania. Out of a total of 1,665 men who served in the regiment during the war, only 153 returned uninjured.
The Irish Brigade was an infantry brigade, consisting predominantly of Irish Americans, who served in the Union Army in the American Civil War. The designation of the first regiment in the brigade, the 69th New York Infantry, or the "Fighting 69th," continued in later wars. The Irish Brigade was known in part for its famous war cry, the "Faugh a Ballaugh" which is an anglicization of the Irish phrase, fág an bealach, meaning "clear the way" and used in various Irish-majority military units founded due to the Irish diaspora. According to Fox's Regimental Losses, of all Union army brigades, only the 1st Vermont Brigade and Iron Brigade suffered more combat dead than the Irish Brigade during America's Civil War.
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The 69th Pennsylvania Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War.
The 106th Pennsylvania was a volunteer infantry regiment which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the famous Philadelphia Brigade, which helped defend against Pickett's Charge in the Battle of Gettysburg.
Patrick Kelly was an Irish-American Union Army officer during the American Civil War. He led the famed Irish Brigade at the Battle of Gettysburg.
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The 118th Pennsylvania Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. They participated in several major conflicts during the war including the Battle of Gettysburg, Siege of Petersburg, and escorted the truce flag of Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Five Forks. The regiment was led by Colonel Charles Prevost until he was seriously injured at the Battle of Shepherdstown in which Lieutenant-Colonel James Gwyn assumed command until the end of the war.
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The 2nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Major George H. Gordon, a West Point graduate and veteran of the Mexican–American War, organized the unit's recruitment and formation. The 2nd Massachusetts was trained at Camp Andrew in West Roxbury, Massachusetts on the site of the former Transcendentalist utopian community, Brook Farm. Roughly half the regiment was mustered in on May 18, 1861 and the remainder on May 25, 1861 for a term of three years. The regiment saw extensive combat as part of the Army of the Potomac particularly during the Battle of Antietam and the Battle of Gettysburg.
The 91st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was a Union infantry regiment which fought in multiple key engagements of the American Civil War, including the Battle of Fredericksburg, Battle of Chancellorsville and Battle of Gettysburg. It was established through the combined efforts of Edgar M. Gregory, who had received approval from the U.S. War Department to begin recruiting soldiers for an entirely new regiment during the fall of 1861, and Edward E. Wallace, who had initiated his own recruitment efforts that October. Their recruits were volunteers, the majority of whom initially enlisted for three-year terms of service from their hometown of Philadelphia; they were divided into 10 lettered companies upon muster in during early December 1861: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and K.
DeWitt Clinton Baxter (1829–1881) was an American artist and engraver. He also served as colonel and brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 2nd Delaware Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
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