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| Unionstates in the American Civil War |
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| Territories and D.C. |
During theAmerican Civil War, theCommonwealth ofPennsylvania played a critical role in theUnion, providing a substantial supply of military personnel,equipment, and leadership to the Federal government. The state raised over 360,000 soldiers for the Federal armies. It served as a significant source of artillery guns, small arms, ammunition, armor for the new revolutionary style ofironclad types ofgunboats for the rapidly expandingUnited States Navy, and food supplies. ThePhoenixville Iron Company by itself produced well over 1,000cannons, and theFrankford Arsenal was a major supply depot.
Pennsylvania was the site of the bloodiest battle of the war, theBattle of Gettysburg, which became widely known as one of the turning points of the Civil War.[1] Numerous more minor engagements and skirmishes were also fought in Pennsylvania during the 1863Gettysburg campaign, as well as the following year during a Confederate cavalry raid that culminated in the burning of much ofChambersburg, Pennsylvania.
Several significant Federal leaders hailed from the Commonwealth. Military leaders from Pennsylvania included GeneralsGeorge G. Meade (the victorious commander at Gettysburg and fromPhiladelphia),Winfield S. Hancock,John F. Reynolds,AdmiralDavid D. Porter, andQuartermaster GeneralMontgomery C. Meigs. Pennsylvanians also rose to prominence as political figures during the war, likeSecretary of WarSimon Cameron and the fieryRadical Republican abolitionistRepresentativeThaddeus Stevens. A small number of Pennsylvanians joined the ranks of the Confederacy, including such leaders GeneralsJohn C. Pemberton andJosiah Gorgas.
Over 360,000 Pennsylvanians served in theUnion Army, more than any otherNorthern state exceptNew York.[2] (Other states sent larger proportions of their population, but not larger numbers.) Beginning withPresident Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Pennsylvania mustered 215infantry regiments, as well as dozens of emergencymilitia regiments that were raised to repel threatened invasions in 1862 and 1863 by theConfederate States Army. Twenty-twocavalry regiments were also mustered, as well as dozens of lightartillery batteries.
Most Pennsylvania soldiers fought in theEastern Theater, with only about 10% serving elsewhere.[3] The thirteen regiments of thePennsylvania Reserves fought as the onlyarmy division all from a single state, and saw action in most of the major campaigns and battles of theArmy of the Potomac. ThePhiladelphia Brigade was also a rarity in that all of its regiments were recruited from a single city. In an unusual circumstance, thePhiladelphia Corn Exchange sponsored and paid for a regiment, the 118th, which became known as the"Corn Exchange Regiment."[4]
The47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, one of the regiments which initially served in the Eastern andLower Seaboard Theaters,[5][6] went on to become the only regiment from Pennsylvania to both fight in the Union's 1864Red River Campaign across Louisiana[7] and to have menconfined as POWs atCamp Ford, the largest Confederate States Army prison west of the Mississippi River.[8] After the 47th's return to the Eastern Theater in July of that same year, the regiment then participated in a brief encounter at Snicker's Gap before engaging in the intense fighting of Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign in Virginia, including during the battles ofBerryville,Opequon (Third Winchester),Fisher's Hill, andCedar Creek.[9][10]
Most of the new Pennsylvania regiments were organized and trained at sprawlingCamp Curtin nearHarrisburg, as well as thousands of soldiers from other states. Other significant training sites were nearPittsburgh,Easton,Philadelphia andWest Chester. Over 100 soldiers from Pennsylvania units would win theMedal of Honor for their actions during the conflict. Pennsylvania ranked first in the number of black soldiers (8,612) mustered into the Union Army, forming eleven regiments ofU.S. Colored Troops.[11] Most of these trained atCamp William Penn, established in 1863 north of Philadelphia, the only camp used to train Colored Troops exclusively.[12] The 47th Pennsylvania Infantry also became an integrated regiment in October 1862 when several formerly enslaved Black men enlisted with the regiment while it was stationed in South Carolina, and was integrated further with the enlistment of additional formerly enslaved Black men in 1864 while the regiment was engaged in the Union's Red River Campaign across Louisiana.[13]
Leadingmajor generals from Pennsylvania includedWinfield S. Hancock,John F. Reynolds,Samuel W. Crawford,John W. Geary, andJohn F. Hartranft (the latter two would use their military careers to propel them to the governorship following the war). Although he was born inSpain,George G. Meade lived much of his life in Pennsylvania and is buried in Philadelphia.Herman Haupt, who commanded theU.S. Military Railroad, revolutionized military transportation in the United States and was one of the unsung heroes of the war. Significant naval leaders included AdmiralDavid D. Porter andRear AdmiralJohn Dahlgren.
Pennsylvania was a critical source of raw materials to the Union's war effort, particularlyanthracite coal.[14] The Commonwealth supplied all of this "smokeless" coal for the military's purposes, as well as the majority ofbituminous coal also used in the war effort. Nearly 80% of all theiron for the government came from Pennsylvaniafoundries, as well as significant quantities of flour, meat, foodstuffs, textiles, and uniforms.[11] TheCumberland Valley was among the fertile farming regions that supplied vast amounts of food and grain to the Army. The railroads became critical in transportingmateriel and troops. In particular, theBaltimore and Ohio Railroad and thePennsylvania Railroad were of importance, as well as theNorthern Central Railway, which led from Harrisburg toBaltimore, Maryland, andWashington, D.C.
TheBethlehem Iron Works produced railroad rails andarmor plating for theU.S. Navy's ships. The largest producer ofwrought iron artillery pieces for the Union army was thePhoenixville Iron Company inChester County, which, at its peak, churned out fifty 3" Ordnance Rifles each week. Smaller facilities produced steel swords, rifles, pistols, tools, camp implements, tents, and other items used by the Federal armies, making Pennsylvania one of the most important sources of government supplies during the war.[15]
The Philadelphia region was a significant contributor to the war effort. TheFrankford Arsenal was a vital source of small-arms, ammunition, artillery shells, and time fuses to the Federal Army and state militia. ThePhiladelphia Navy Yard provided an important source of ships, sailors, and supplies for theUnited States Navy during the war. The vast majority of the coal used by the Navy for its warships and blockaders came from underground mines in several counties in northern Pennsylvania. TheSatterlee Hospital and theMower Hospital (both near Philadelphia) were significant military hospitals and rehabilitation centers, as was the York U.S. Army General Hospital.
On the other side of the state, Pittsburgh's heavy industry provided significant quantities of weapons and ammunition. The Fort Pitt Works near Pittsburgh made mammoth iron castings for giant siegehowitzers andmortars, among the largest guns in the world. The foundry produced 1,193 guns (15 percent of the total U.S. wartime artillery production) and almost 200,000 artillery projectiles. Other prominent Pittsburgh area factories included Singer, Nimick, and Co. (maker of 3" Ordnance rifles) and Smith, Park, and Co., which produced more than 300,000 artillery projectiles. Pittsburgh industries collectively manufactured 10 percent of the total U.S. wartime production of artillery projectiles.
The U.S.Allegheny Arsenal was the primary military manufacturing facility for U.S. Army accouterments, as well as saddles and other cavalry equipment. In addition, the Allegheny Arsenal produced as many as 40,000 bullets and cartridges every day (more than 14 million per year), supplying between 5 and 10 percent of the Army's annual small arms ammunition requirements.
FiveEllet-classrams were converted from civilian towboats at Pittsburgh. In addition, fourironclads were built from the keel up: theUSSManayunk,Marietta,Sandusky, andUmpqua. Pittsburgh rolling mills supplied the armor for many of the ironclads that were built inNew York and Philadelphia.
As a result of its vital role as a Federal raw material source and its proximity to theMason–Dixon line, Pennsylvania was the target of several raids by theConfederate States Army. These included cavalry raids in 1862 and 1863 byJ.E.B. Stuart, in 1863 byJohn Imboden, and in 1864 byJohn McCausland in which his troopers burned the city ofChambersburg.[16] Fears were raised in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1863 whenMorgan's Raid approached Pennsylvania before it was thwarted in neighboringOhio.[17][self-published source?]
Pennsylvania also saw theBattle of Gettysburg, nearGettysburg. Many historians consider this battle to be a major turning point of the Civil War. Federal dead from this battle rest atGettysburg National Cemetery, site of Abraham Lincoln'sGettysburg Address. Several smaller engagements were also fought in Pennsylvania, including theBattle of Hanover,Battle of Carlisle,Battle of Hunterstown, and theBattle of Fairfield, all during theGettysburg campaign. The city ofYork, Pennsylvania became the largest Northern city to be occupied by Confederate troops whenJubal A. Early's division took control of the town in late June 1863 and extracted a ransom.
During the1860 Presidential Election, Pennsylvania voted in favor ofAbraham Lincoln (268,030 votes or 56.3% of the ballots cast) overStephen Douglas (178,765; 37.5%),John C. Breckinridge (16,765; 3.5%), andJohn Bell (12,776; 2.7%).[18]
Throughout the war, Republicans dominated Pennsylvania politics under the capable leadership ofGovernorAndrew G. Curtin, a strong supporter of President Lincoln. The extreme southern tier of the state included a fair number ofCopperheads, particularly inFulton,Adams, andYork counties.
On the national level,Simon Cameron served asSecretary of War during the early years of Lincoln's administration. CongressmanThaddeus Stevens became one of the leading voices of theRadical Republicans in Washington. He was hawkish toward both the war efforts and his harsh views onReconstruction. Stevens' Caledonia Iron Works were burned byJubal A. Early's Confederates during the Gettysburg Campaign in direct response to his strong stance supportingscorched earth policies in the South.[19]
One Pennsylvanian soldier spoke to a Confederate slave woman whose husband was whipped and was appalled by what she had to tell him of slavery. He stated that "I thought I had hated slavery as much as possible before I came here, but here, where I can see some of its workings, I am more than ever convinced of the cruelty and inhumanity of the system."[20]
After theBattle of Antietam in the fall of 1862, thirteen Union governors assembled inAltoona, Pennsylvania, at the LoyalWar Governors' Conference. GovernorAndrew G. Curtin assembled this meeting; its purpose was to discuss strategy, troop quotas, and the Union. The governors affirmed their support towards and expressed their concerns regarding the war effort and the emancipation proclamation. They then traveled to Washington, DC, to meetAbraham Lincoln and relay their conclusions. A few weeks later, Lincoln removed GeneralGeorge B. McClellan from commanding the Army of the Potomac (about whom the governors had voiced their displeasure) and issued theEmancipation Proclamation.[21]
By late 1864, the majority of Pennsylvania voters had rallied around the president and supported his incumbency in thePresidential Election, giving Lincoln 296,292 votes or 51.6% of the ballots cast versusMaj. Gen.George B. McClellan's 277,443 votes (48.4%).[22]
![Sec. of War Edwin Stanton[a]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEdwin_McMasters_Stanton_Secretary_of_War.jpg)
![Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan[b]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aGeorgeMcClellan-cropped.jpeg)
![Qtrmaster. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs[c]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aNew-Meigs.jpg)
While the war still raged, efforts were underway in Gettysburg to preserve portions of the battlefield for future generations to tribute those men who fought there. Pennsylvania also took steps to preserve and record the history of each regiment and unit raised in the state, as well as the muster rolls. In 1869, the official commonwealth historianSamuel Penniman Bates wrote the monumental five-volumeHistory of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865 which remains the standard reference for the Commonwealth's regimental histories and unit rosters.
The State Archives in Harrisburg preserves the military records of the state's emergency militia, as well as material on the state's volunteer regiments and batteries. It also houses microfilmed records of the damage claims from individuals in several counties, delineating losses of their personal property and possessions to the opposing armies during the Gettysburg Campaign. The Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee maintains and preserves just under 400 ofPennsylvania's historic Civil War battle flags TheState Museum of Pennsylvania houses an extensive general collection of Civil War artifacts, as well asPeter Rothermel's massive painting of the Battle of Gettysburg.
TheNational Civil War Museum in Harrisburg is one of the country's leading interpretive sites for the Civil War. The Visitors Center at theGettysburg Battlefield holds thousands of artifacts, including the most extensive collection of vintage Civil War weapons in Pennsylvania.[citation needed] Other Civil War-related museums are scattered throughout the state, as well as county archives and hundreds of memorials/monuments/historical markers. An impressive state-sponsored monument in the Gettysburg National Military Park honors Pennsylvania's soldiers and leaders.
I thought I had hated slavery as much as possible before I came here, but here, where I can see some of its workings, I am more than ever convinced of the cruelty and inhumanity of the system.
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