98th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

98th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
	State Flag of Pennsylvania, circa 1863.
Active	17 August 1861–29 June 1865
Country	United States of America
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Union Army
Role	Infantry
Engagements	American Civil War

Last updated August 15, 2019

The 98th Pennsylvania Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment which served during the American Civil War. Colonel John Ballier, who founded the unit to replace his 21st Regiment, served as commanding officer.^[1]

Infantry military service branch that specializes in combat by individuals on foot

Infantry is a military specialization that engages in military combat on foot, distinguished from cavalry, artillery, and tank forces. Also known as foot soldiers or infanteers, infantry traditionally relies on moving by foot between combats as well, but may also use mounts, military vehicles, or other transport. Infantry make up a large portion of all armed forces in most nations, and typically bear the largest brunt in warfare, as measured by casualties, deprivation, or physical and psychological stress.

American Civil War Civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865, between the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy). The most studied and written about episode in U.S. history, the Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North, which also included some geographically western and southern states, proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate States in the South, who advocated for states' rights to uphold slavery.

Philadelphia, known colloquially as Philly, is the largest city in the U.S. state and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the sixth-most populous U.S. city, with a 2018 census-estimated population of 1,584,138. Since 1854, the city has been coterminous with Philadelphia County, the most populous county in Pennsylvania and the urban core of the eighth-largest U.S. metropolitan statistical area, with over 6 million residents as of 2017. Philadelphia is also the economic and cultural anchor of the greater Delaware Valley, located along the lower Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers, within the Northeast megalopolis. The Delaware Valley's population of 7.2 million ranks it as the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.

George Washington was an American political leader, military general, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. He led Patriot forces to victory in the nation's War for Independence. He presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787 which established the U.S. Constitution and a federal government. Washington has been called the "Father of His Country" for his manifold leadership in the formative days of the new nation.

Service history

Perhaps most famous for its service at Salem Heights, Virginia, the 98th Pennsylvania had its initial combat experience in the Battle of Williamsburg. In addition, the regiment fought at Antietam, Fredricksburg, Gettysburg, and Appomattox, among other engagements, and was also present at the surrender of General Robert E. Lee.

Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States located between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, which provide habitat for much of its flora and fauna. The capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond; Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealth's estimated population as of 2018 is over 8.5 million.

The Battle of Williamsburg, also known as the Battle of Fort Magruder, took place on May 5, 1862, in York County, James City County, and Williamsburg, Virginia, as part of the Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign, in which nearly 41,000 Federals and 32,000 Confederates were engaged, fighting an inconclusive battle that ended with the Confederates continuing their withdrawal.

The Battle of Antietam, also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, particularly in the Southern United States, was a battle of the American Civil War, fought on September 17, 1862, between Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Union General George B. McClellan's Army of the Potomac, near Sharpsburg, Maryland and Antietam Creek. Part of the Maryland Campaign, it was the first field army–level engagement in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It was the bloodiest day in United States history, with a combined tally of 22,717 dead, wounded, or missing.

Casualties

The regiment sustained a significant number of casualties during its service tenure, including during the Battle of Fort Stevens on July 12, 1864. Ballier, in fact, was one of those wounded during the engagement,^[2] a military encounter in which President Abraham Lincoln was also nearly injured by Confederate fire while standing on a parapet surveying the action. After having sustained a gunshot wound to his right ankle on May 3, he then also sustained a gunshot wound to his right thigh at Fort Stevens.^[3]

The Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July 11–12, 1864, in Northwest Washington, D.C., as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and Union Major General Alexander McDowell McCook. Although Early caused consternation in the Union government, reinforcements under Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright and the strong defenses of Fort Stevens minimized the military threat and Early withdrew after two days of skirmishing without attempting any serious assaults. The battle is noted for the personal presence of President Abraham Lincoln observing the fighting.

A parapet is a barrier which is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian parapetto. The German equivalent Brüstung has the same meaning. Where extending above a roof, a parapet may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the edge line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a fire wall or party wall. Parapets were originally used to defend buildings from military attack, but today they are primarily used as guard rails and to prevent the spread of fires. In the Bible the Hebrews are obligated to build a parapet on the roof of their houses to prevent people falling.

Monuments and memorials

The accomplishments and sacrifices of the 98th Pennsylvania have been memorialized via two monuments at the Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District.

The Gettysburg Battlefield Historic District is a district of contributing properties and over 1000 historic contributing structures and 315 historic buildings, located in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Most of the contributing elements of the Gettysburg Battlefield are on the protected federal property within the smaller Gettysburg National Military Park.

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References

↑ "John F. Ballier papers, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania, retrieved online July 4, 2018.
↑ "John F. Ballier papers," Penn Libraries.
↑ Medical examination memoranda detailing the gunshot wounds sustained by John Ballier (issued by the medical director's office in Washington, D.C., December 13, 1864), in "John F. Ballier papers, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania, retrieved online July 4, 2018.

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[1] "John F. Ballier papers, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania, retrieved online July 4, 2018.

[2] "John F. Ballier papers," Penn Libraries.

[3] Medical examination memoranda detailing the gunshot wounds sustained by John Ballier (issued by the medical director's office in Washington, D.C., December 13, 1864), in "John F. Ballier papers, Joseph P. Horner Memorial Library, German Society of Pennsylvania." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Penn Libraries, University of Pennsylvania, retrieved online July 4, 2018.