The 205th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an 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 served 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...

.

History

The 205th was recruited during the late summer of 1864, mostly in south central Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. Companies A, C, and I were raised in Blair County

Blair County, Pennsylvania

-Significant Topographic Features:*Brush Mountain*Logan Valley*Morrison Cove*Tussey Mountain-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 129,144 people, 51,518 households, and 34,877 families residing in the county. The population density was 246 people per square mile . There were 55,061...

, companies J, B, E, and H in Berks County

Berks County, Pennsylvania

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...

, companies F and K in Mifflin County

Mifflin County, Pennsylvania

Mifflin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 46,682. Its county seat is Lewistown. It is named after Thomas Mifflin, the first Governor of Pennsylvania.-Geography:...

, company D in Huntingdon County

Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania

Huntingdon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. In 2010, its population was 45,913.Huntingdon County was created on September 20, 1787, from part of Bedford County. Its county seat is Huntingdon.-Geography:According to the U.S...

, and company G in Blair, Dauphin

Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Dauphin County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and is one of the three counties comprising the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 census, the population was 268,100. The county includes the city of Harrisburg, which has served as the state capital...

, and Franklin

Franklin County, Pennsylvania

As of the census of 2000, there were 129,313 people, 50,633 households, and 36,405 families residing in the county. The population density was 168 people per square mile . There were 53,803 housing units at an average density of 70 per square mile...

 Counties. The regiment was organized at Camp Curtin

Camp Curtin

Camp Curtin was a military training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War.When news of the bombardment and subsequent surrender of Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina reached Washington, D.C. on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers...

 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

 on September 2, 1864. Joseph A. Mathews was selected to be colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

, William F. Walter lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 and B. Mortimer Morrow major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. Many of the officers and men, including all three field officers, had previously fought in the war.

The regiment was sent to the siege

Siege

A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...

 lines at Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg, Virginia

Petersburg is an independent city in Virginia, United States located on the Appomattox River and south of the state capital city of Richmond. The city's population was 32,420 as of 2010, predominantly of African-American ethnicity...

, first as part of the Army of the James

Army of the James

The Army of the James was a Union Army that was composed of units from the Department of Virginia and North Carolina and served along the James River during the final operations of the American Civil War in Virginia.-History:...

, and then reassigned to 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...

. With five other Pennsylvania regiments, the 205th was part of a provisional brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...

 of the IX Corps

IX Corps (ACW)

IX Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War that distinguished itself in combat in multiple theaters: the Carolinas, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi.-Formation, Second Bull Run, and Antietam:...

 commanded by Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 John F. Hartranft

John F. Hartranft

John Frederick Hartranft was the 17th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1873 to 1879 and a Union Major General who received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...

. Two months later, the brigade was turned into the corps' Third Division, with Hartranft promoted to command the division. The 205th became part of the 2nd Brigade, commanded by Matthews, along with the 207th and 211th Pennsylvania. The division fought in the Battle of Fort Stedman

Battle of Fort Stedman

The Battle of Fort Stedman was fought on March 25, 1865, during the final days 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...

 on March 25, 1865. The 205th captured several prisoners and one battle flag, losing only ten wounded.

During the breakthrough at Petersburg

Battle of Petersburg III

The Third Battle of Petersburg, also known as the Breakthrough at Petersburg or the Fall of Petersburg, was a decisive Union assault on the Confederate trenches, ending the ten-month Siege of Petersburg and leading to the fall of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia.-Fort Mahone:The Union IX Corps...

, 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. During the Appomattox Campaign

Appomattox Campaign

The Appomattox Campaign was a series of battles fought March 29 – April 9, 1865, in Virginia that culminated in the surrender of Confederate General Robert E...

, the 205th repaired the South Side Railroad as far as Burkesville. After the Confederate

Confederate States Army

The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted 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 was moved to City Point, Virginia

City Point, Virginia

City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War.- History :...

, and then to Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

. It participated in the Grand Review of the Armies

Grand Review of the Armies

The Grand Review of the Armies was a military procession and celebration in Washington, D.C., on May 23 and May 24, 1865, following the close of the American Civil War...

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 enlsited men
• Died of disease: 0 officers, 17 enlisted men
• Total: 8 officers, 150 enlisted men