137th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

137th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Active	August 25, 1862 to June 1, 1863
Country	United States
Allegiance	Union
Branch	Infantry
Engagements	Battle of South Mountain ; Battle of Antietam ; Battle of Fredericksburg ; Battle of Chancellorsville

Last updated August 15, 2019

The 137th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

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.

A regiment is a military unit. Their role and size varies markedly, depending on the country and the arm of service.

During the American Civil War, the Union Army referred to the United States Army, the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. Also known as the Federal Army, it proved essential to the preservation of the United States as a working, viable republic.

Service

The 137th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and mustered in for a nine-month enlistment on August 25, 1862 under the command of Colonel Henry M. Bossert.

Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 49,229, it is the 15th largest city in the Commonwealth. It lies on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, 107 miles (172 km) west of Philadelphia. Harrisburg is the anchor of the Susquehanna Valley metropolitan area, which had a 2018 estimated population of 574,659, making it the fourth most populous in Pennsylvania and 96th most populous in the United States.

In the United States Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force, colonel is the most senior field grade military officer rank, immediately above the rank of lieutenant colonel and immediately below the rank of brigadier general. It is equivalent to the naval rank of captain in the other uniformed services. The pay grade for colonel is O-6.

The regiment was attached to 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VI Corps, Army of the Potomac, to December 1862. Provisional Brigade, Aquia Creek, Virginia, Patrick's Command, Army of the Potomac, to January 1863. 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, to May 1863.

VI Corps (Union Army) formation of the Union Amry during the American Civil War

The VI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in May 1865 following the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in April.

I Corps (Union Army) formation in the Union Army during the American Civil War

I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Separate formation called the I Corps served in the Army of the Ohio/Army of the Cumberland under Alexander M. McCook from September 29, 1862 to November 5, 1862, in the Army of the Mississippi under George W. Morgan from January 4, 1863 to January 12, 1863, and in the Army of the Potomac and Army of Virginia. The first two were units of very limited life; the third was one of the most distinguished and veteran corps in the entire Union Army, commanded by very distinguished officers. The term "First Corps" is also used to describe the First Veteran Corps from 1864 to 1866.

The 137th Pennsylvania Infantry mustered out of service on June 1, 1863.

Detailed service

Ordered to Washington, D.C. immediately upon organization. Maryland Campaign September 1862. Sugar Loaf Mountain September 10-11. Crampton's Gap September 14. Antietam September 17. Duty in Maryland to November. In the defenses of Washington, D.C. until December, and at Aquia Creek, Va., until January 1863. Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863. Duty at Belle Plains until April. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Operations at Pollock's Mill Creek April 29-May 2. Chancellorsville May 2-5. Ordered to Harrisburg, Pa. for muster out.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 59 men during service; 1 officer and 58 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

Colonel Henry M. Bossert - resigned March 14, 1863
Colonel Joseph Barr Kiddoo

Joseph Barr Kiddoo was a Union Army general in the American Civil War and assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau in Texas in 1866 and 1867.

Related Research Articles

The 4th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment, also known as the 33rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was a part of the famed Pennsylvania Reserves in the Army of the Potomac for much of the early part of the war, and served in the Eastern Theater in a number of important battles, including Antietam and Fredericksburg.

The 76th New York Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 56th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The unit has the distinction of being the first Union Army infantry regiment to open fire at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The 132nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 130th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 129th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 123rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 131st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 133rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

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

The 124th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 45th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 128th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 111th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Battery D, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery was a light artillery battery that served in the Union Army as part of the Pennsylvania Reserves infantry division during the American Civil War.

The 68th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 27th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 109th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 22nd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

The 136th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

References

Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908.
Rhode, John A. The Luckiest Regiment in the Army of the Potomac: The Diary of Corporal John A. Rhode, 137th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (Lancaster, PA: Quaker Hills Press Inc.), 2007. ISBN 1-8812-0400-6

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

Attribution

This article contains text from a text now in the public domain : Dyer, Frederick H. (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Co.

External links

Monument of the 137th Pennsylvania Infantry at Antietam Battlefield

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.