The 109th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry (aka "Curtin Light Guards") was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

that served in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Service

The 109th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

beginning December 1861 and mustered in for three-years service under the command of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Henry J. Stainrook Henry J. Stainrook, occasionally spelled Steinrock,Dyer, p. 321. led a regiment of the Army of Virginia and the Army of the Potomac in the American Civil War. He briefly led a brigade at the Battle of Antietam. Stainrook was killed in the Battle of ...

. The regiment was attached to 1st Brigade, Sigel's Division,

Department of the Shenandoah The Army of the Shenandoah was a Union army during the American Civil War. First organized as the ''Department of the Shenandoah'' in 1861 and then disbanded in early 1862, it became most effective after its recreation on August 1, 1864, under Phi ...

, to June 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division,

II Corps 2nd Corps, Second Corps, or II Corps may refer to: France * 2nd Army Corps (France) * II Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * II Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French ...

Army of Virginia The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of ''Northern'' Virginia, ...

, to August 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps, Army of Virginia, to September 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division,

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII (Ro ...

Army of the Potomac 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 June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

, to October 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, XII Corps, to January 1863. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XII Corps, Army of the Potomac, to October 1863, and

Army of the Cumberland The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio. History The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...

to April 1864. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, XX Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to March 1865. The 109th Pennsylvania Infantry ceased to exist on March 31, 1865 when it was consolidated with the

111th Pennsylvania Infantry The 111th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was noted for its holding the high ground at the center of the line at Antietam as part of Stainrook's 2nd Brigad ...

Detailed service

Moved to Washington, D.C., May 10; then to Harpers Ferry May 24, 1862. Defense of Harpers Ferry, Va., May 24-30, 1862. Operations in the Shenandoah Valley until August. Battle of Cedar Mountain August 9. Pope's campaign in northern Virginia August 16-September 2. Guarded supply trains during the Second Battle of Bull Run. Maryland Campaign September 6-22. Battle of Antietam September 16-17 (reserve). Duty at Bolivar Heights until December. Reconnaissance to Ripon, Va., November 9. Reconnaissance to Winchester December 2-6. Marched to Fredericksburg December 9-16. Burnside's 2nd Campaign, "Mud March," January 20-24, 1863. At Stafford Court House until April 27. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee July 5-24. Duty near Raccoon Ford until September. Movement to Bridgeport, Ala., September 24-October 3. Reopening Tennessee River October 26-29. Battle of Wauhatchie October 28-29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Lookout Mountain November 23-24. Missionary Ridge November 25. Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, Ga.,, November 27. Duty on Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad until April 1864. Atlanta Campaign May 1-September 8. Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Near Cassville May 19. New Hope Church May 25. Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and bathes about Dallas, New Hope Church, and Allatoona Hills May 25-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kennesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Gilgal or Golgotha Church June 15. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes Creek June 19. Kolb's Farm June 22. Assault on Kennesaw June 27. Ruff's Station or Smyrna Camp Ground July 4. Chattahoochie River July 5-17. Peachtree Creek July 19-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Operations at Chattahoochie River Bridge August 26-September 2. Occupation of Atlanta September 2-November 15. Expedition to Tuckum's Cross Roads October 26-29. Near Atlanta November 9. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Siege of Savannah December 10-21. Carolinas Campaign January to March 1865. Battle of Bentonville, N.C., March 19-21.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 135 men during service; 3 officers and 61 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 71 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel Henry J. Stainrook - killed in action at the Battle of Chancellorsville * Colonel Charles M. Harris - discharged October 25, 1862 *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Lewis W. Ralston - commissioned colonel, but never mustered at rank *

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Frederick L. Gimber - commanded at the Battle of Gettysburg

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * Kerr, Paul B. ''Civil War Surgeon: Biography of James Langstaff Dunn, MD'' (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse), 2005. * Veale, Moses. ''The 109th Regiment Penna. Veteran Volunteers: An Address Delivered at the Unveiling of Their Monument on Culp's hill, Gettysburg, Pa., September 11, 1889'' (Philadelphia: J. Beale, Printer), 1890. ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links