The 142nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was a volunteer infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

 regiment

Regiment

A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...

 that fought in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. The regiment primarily served in the Army of the Potomac

Army of the Potomac

The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...

 in the Eastern Theater

Eastern Theater of the American Civil War

The Eastern Theater of the American Civil War included the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the coastal fortifications and seaports of North Carolina...

 and was heavily engaged in the first day of fighting at Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg, First Day

The First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War took place on July 1, 1863, and began as an engagement between isolated units of the Army of Northern Virginia under Confederate General Robert E. Lee and the Army of the Potomac under Union Maj. Gen. George G. Meade...

.

History

The regiment was organized in August 1862, with Robert P. Cummins as colonel

Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...

, Alfred B. Calmonat as lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant Colonel (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...

, and John Bradley as major

Major (United States)

In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...

. It was sent to Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, where it built fortifications. After a couple of weeks, it was sent to Frederick, Maryland

Frederick, Maryland

Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...

, where it performed garrison duties.

In October, it became part of the 2nd Brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves

Pennsylvania Reserves

The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antietam and Gettysburg....

. At the Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Fredericksburg

The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, between General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside...

, the regiment formed part of the force which briefly pierced the Confederate right, losing 250 out of 550 men, including Major Bradley, who was mortally wounded. After the battle, the Reserves division was sent back to Washington, and the regiment was reassigned to the 1st Brigade, Third Division, I Corps

I Corps (ACW)

I Corps was the designation of three different corps-sized units in the Union Army during the American Civil War. The units served in the following armies:...

.

At the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the unit fought first on McPherson's Ridge and then on Seminary Ridge

Seminary Ridge

Seminary Ridge is a dendritic ridge which was an area of Battle of Gettysburg engagements during the American Civil War and of military installations during World War II.-Geography:...

 before being driven back to Cemetery Hill

Cemetery Hill

Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...

 only after being outflanked by Confederate North Carolina divisions on its left and right flanks. Only 140 men had made it back to Union lines, and Colonel Cummins was mortally wounded. During the next two days, the 142nd was only lightly engaged. After the battle, the regiment became part of the 3rd Brigade, Fourth Division, V Corps

V Corps (ACW)

The V Corps was a unit of the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War.-1862:The corps was first organized briefly under Nathaniel P. Banks, but then permanently on May 18, 1862, designated as the "V Corps Provisional"...

.

In September 1864, Horatio N. Warren was promoted to colonel of the regiment. It fought throughout the Overland Campaign

Overland Campaign

The Overland Campaign, also known as Grant's Overland Campaign and the Wilderness Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during May and June 1864, in the American Civil War. Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, general-in-chief of all Union armies, directed the actions of the Army of the...

 and the Siege of Petersburg

Siege of Petersburg

The Richmond–Petersburg Campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War...

, mostly against the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad

Wilmington and Weldon Railroad

Originally chartered in 1835 as the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad, the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad name began use in 1855. At the time of its 1840 completion, the line was the longest railroad in the world with 161.5 miles of track...

. After the surrender at Appomattox Court House

Appomattox Court House

The Appomattox Courthouse is the current courthouse in Appomattox, Virginia built in 1892. It is located in the middle of the state about three miles northwest of the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, once known as Clover Hill - home of the original Old Appomattox Court House...

, the regiment participated in the Grand Review in Washington and was mustered out on May 29, 1865.

Casualties

• Total enrollment: 935
• Killed and died of wounds: 7 officers and 133 enlisted men
• Wounded: 21 officers and 409 enlisted men
• Died of disease, etc.: 81 enlisted men
• Captured and missing: 2 officers and 156 enlisted men
• Total loss: 809.

The casualty information presented above is as inscribed on the back of the 142nd's monument on the battlefield at Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg Battlefield

The Gettysburg Battlefield is the area of the July 1–3, 1863, military engagements of the Battle of Gettysburg within and around the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Locations of military engagements extend from the 4 acre site of the first shot & at on the west of the borough, to East...

 in Adams County, Pennsylvania

Adams County, Pennsylvania

Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...

. According to Fox's Regimental Losses, the 142nd PVI suffered the ninth highest percentage of combat fatalities in the entire Union army.

Reenactors

A group portraying Company G is based in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

Stroudsburg is a borough in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Poconos region of the state, approximately five miles from the Delaware Water Gap, at the confluence of the Brodhead and Pocono Creeks. It is the county seat of Monroe County. Stroudsburg is part of the...

. It is not officially affiliated with any larger reenacting group.

Another group is administratively centered in Middletown, MD, portraying Company F, and is affiliated with Birney's Division, 1st Battalion. Company F boasts members in four states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia).




Company F Administrative officers 2010:

President - Adam Tarantino, Harrisburg, PA

Vice President - Chris VanBrederode, Mechanicsburg, PA

Secretary/Treasurer - Stacey Black, Middletown, MD

Civilian Coordinator - Kathy Bingaman, MD

Field Commander - Keith MacGregor, Mechanicsburg, PA

Editor - Keith MacGregor



Company F puts out a monthly newsletter entitled The Yankee Informer. The newsletter is in its 13th year of publication.