Pennsylvania 62nd Infantry Regiment Out-line Field History of the Sixty-second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers (Col. J. B. Sweitzer) from the time it entered the service up to the 1st day of August 1863 Monument at Gettysburg dedicated to the Pennsylvania 62d Infantry Regiment on September 11, 1889 photo from Pennsylvania at Gettysburg, 1893

The Out-line Field History Pages 1-10 Pages 11-20 Pages 21-30 Pages 31-40 Pages 41-50

- 11. - and the three that made the best progress and presented the finest app- earance were to receive a French uni- form and camp and garrison equip- page of that nation complete. The 62nd Penna Vols. was one the three thus rewarded. When the large round French tents were received, the camp was beautifully laid out, handsomely ornamented with trees and evergreens, and named after the Colonel's youngest daughter, "Bettie Black." Who of the 62nd Regiment will ever forget the many pleasant days and nights spent at "Camp Bettie Black"? The entire regiment was also served with the improved Spring- field rifled musket.

- 12 - During the winter Lt. Col. Lehman resigned his commission and Maj. Sweitzer was promoted Lt. Col. and Capt. J. W. Patterson of Co. B. elected to fill the place thus vacated. Several reconnaissances were made in the di- rection of Fairfax Court House and Viena, but as we were in no instance engaged with the enemy, they were all of minor importance.     On the 10th day of March 1862 whil- st the Regiment was in the neighbor- hood of Viena, repairing the London, Hampshire and Alexandria Railroad the army began to move forward and without further notification, we repaired to the camp nine miles distant, and that afternoon were

- 13 - marching through mud and rain towards Fairfax. The advance was made upon Centreville and Mannas- sas, but, these places having been evacuated, the regiment soon after marched to Alexandria, where it embarked on board the transport "Donaldson" and "Flushing" for the Peninsula where it safely arrived, af- ter a pleasant trip down the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, and dis- embarked on the 23rd at Hampton, once a beautiful town near Fortress Monroe but destroyed the Summer previous by the rebel vandal General Magruder.     On the 4th of April the advance upon Yorktown was made and the Regiment under the fire of the enemy's

- 14 - guns, arrived there on the morning of the 5th. This was the first fire to which the men were subjected, and they behaved in the most creditable manner. A detour of the enemy's works was made and it was at once determined to lay siege to the place. We lost on man killed and three wounded. The regiment was encamped in a large peach orchard on the banks of the York River; our time was employed during the siege in working on the parallels, building bridges, roads, earthworks and performing picket-duty. Then was not a day passed that with com- mand was not, to some extent, ex- posed to the fire of the enemy's heavy

- 15 - guns. We became as accustomed to the voice of the shells and solid shot as we were to the humming of the bees or the whistling of the wind. On Sunday morning the 4th of May while the Regiment was to the front on picket, it was rumored that the enemy had or was evacuating, and Col. Black was ordered forward to re- connoiter and storm the works. The Regiment sallied forth and upon reaching the works discovered the enemy gone. Col. Black was the first to mount the parapets and with his own hands planted the stars and stripes on the walls of Yorktown.      After the battle of Williamsburg Porter's Corps was ordered to West Point

- 16 - with a view to intercept the flying re- bel columns and cut off their retreat. We embarked at Yorktown on the evening of the 7th and arrived at West Point (where the Paumanky and Matapony unite and form the York) the next morning, and disembarked by means of pontoons(?)[sic]; no quays had yet been constructed and the river is shallow, except in the channel. The enemy successfully eluded our army and were now retreating steadily and in good order toward Richmond. We had but one recourse left and that was to follow and give battle at the very gates of the rebel Capital. Our line of march was along the Pam- uncky river as far as White House

- 17 - where our future base of operations was established. We marched form West Point to Cumberland and thence to White House. He we [sic] encamped on the extensive and rich plantation on which stood, in all its grandeur, at that time, this time honored historic mansion. From here we marched forward and encamped near Coal [sic] Har- bor about fifteen miles from Richmond. At this point one of the Regiments in our Brigade (the 4th Mich) led by Capt. Custer (then on General McClellan's staff) now a Brig. Gen'l.) made a reconnaissances in which they discovered a force of re- bels, gave them battle, and after several brilliant charges put them to flight. For their gallantry in this

- 18 - occasion they received the plaudits of the Commander in Chief.      On the 26th of May we marched to the Chickahumming [sic] and encamped at Gains Mills about seven miles from Richmond. On the 27th the regiment was called out at an early hour, with orders to march to Hanover Court House, a distance of fifteen miles. The rain fell in torrents and the roads where fill ed with mud and water, the men, however were in good spirits and the columns moved with astonishing rapidity. As the command neared the Court House, our ears were greeted with the roar of Artillery. The rain had ceased and all felt eager for the fray. The regiment arrived on the

- 19 - field of action shortly after noon; the firing had ceased and for a while it was thought that the battle was over and we had arrived too late. The column was moving rapidly towards the town, when suddenly heavy mus- ketry firing was heard to our rear and the battle was renewed. We were im- mediately faced about and in a few minutes after stood face to face with the enemy. After a brilliant charge, through a dense woods, in which the enemy was in position; and fir- omg several volleys that shattered their ranks, another desperate charge and the rebel column was put to flight and we had the

- 20 - field. After having completely routed the enemy and capturing many pri- soners. We bivouaced that night on the battle-field, and early the next day the regiment marched out several miles farther, where it remained on picket until noon. That afternoon the command marched back to camp, where it arrived soon after dark. The regiment had marched forty miles, fought a battle, and stood a turn of picket within thirty-six hours! Our loss was seven men wounded.      While in this camp Gen'l Mor- ell was assigned to the command of the Division and Col. McQuade

Pages 1-10 Pages 11-20 Pages 21-30 Pages 31-40 Pages 41-50

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This page authored and maintained by John R. Henderson (jhenderson@ithaca.edu), Lodi, NY.
Last modified: Sunday, 13 January 2002
John R. Henderson's grandfather, John G. Henderson, had an uncle, John Henderson, a resident of Elders Ridge in Indiana County, who was a soldier in Company D.
URL: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/pa62d/outline2.html