The 12th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment also known as the 41st Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry 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 ...

as part of the

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 a ...

infantry division 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 ...

Organization

Service

The 12th Pennsylvania Reserves was organized at

Camp Curtin Camp Curtin was a major Union Army training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. It was located north of Pennsylvania's state capitol building on 80 acres of what had previously been land used by the Dauphin County Ag ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

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 August 1861 and mustered in August 10, 1861 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 ...

John H. Taggart. The regiment was attached to 3rd Brigade, McCall's Pennsylvania Reserves Division,

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 March 1862. 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division,

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

, Army of the Potomac, to April 1862. 3rd Brigade, McCall's Division, Department of the Rappahannock, to June 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

, Army of the Potomac, to August 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division,

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

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 September 1862. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, to February 1863. 3rd Brigade, Pennsylvania Reserves Division, XXII Corps,

Department of Washington Department of Washington, was a department of the Union Army constituted on April 9, 1861. It consisted of the District of Columbia to its original boundaries, and the State of Maryland as far as Bladensburg. It was merged into the Military D ...

, to June 1863. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, V Corps, Army of the Potomac, to June 1864. The 12th Pennsylvania Reserves mustered out June 11, 1864.

Detailed service

At Camp Curtin until August 10. Moved to Washington, D.C., then to Tennallytown, Md., August 10–13. Duty at Tennallytown, Md., August 13 to October 10, 1861, and at Camp Pierpont, near Langley, Va., to March 1862. Expedition to Grinnell's Farm December 6, 1861. Action at Dranesville December 20, 1861. Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10–15, 1862. McDowell's advance on Falmouth April 9–19. Duty at Fredericksburg until June. Moved to White House June 9–12. Seven Days before Richmond June 25 – July 1. Battle of Mechanicsville June 26, Battle of Gaines's Mill June 27, Battle of Charles City Cross Roads, Glendale June 30, and Battle of Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing until August 16. Movement to join Pope August 16–26. Battle of Gainesville August 28. Battle of Groveton August 30. Second Battle of Bull Run August 30. Maryland Campaign September 6–24. Battle of South Mountain September 14. Battle of Antietam September 16–17. Duty in Maryland until October 30. Movement to Falmouth, Va., October 30 – November 19. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12–15. "Mud March" January 20–24, 1863. Ordered to Washington, D.C., February 6, and duty there and at Alexandria until June 25. Ordered to rejoin the Army of the Potomac in the field. Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3. Pursuit of Lee July 5–24. Duty on the Rapidan until October. Bristoe Campaign October 9–22. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7–8. Rappahannock Station November 7. Mine Run Campaign November 26 – December 2. Guarded the Orange & Alexandria Railroad until April 1864. Rapidan Campaign May 4–31. Battle of the Wilderness May 5–7. Laurel Hill May 8. Spotsylvania May 8–12. Spotsylvania Court House May 12–21. Assault on the Salient May 12. Harris Farm May 19. North Anna River May 23–26. Jericho Mills, or Ford, May 25. Line of the Pamunkey May 26–28. Totopotomoy May 28–31.

Casualties

The regiment lost a total of 181 men during service; 1 officer and 110 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 1 officer and 69 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Colonel John H. Taggart – resigned July 8, 1862, recommissioned August 19, 1862 and mustered out September 23, 1862 * Colonel

Martin Davis Hardin Martin Davis Hardin (June 26, 1837 – December 12, 1923) was a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was appointed a brigadier general on July 6, 1864, to rank from July 2, 1864, the date of U.S. Senate con ...

– promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

July 2, 1864 *

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 ...

Richard Gustin – commanded at the battles of Second Bull Run, Antietam, and Fredericksburg while still at the rank of

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 ...

after Col. Hardin was promoted to brigade command

Notes

References

* * Jones, William David. ''The Life and Letters of Corporal William David Jones: 12th Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteers, 1861–1864'' (Baltimore, MD: Gateway Press), 2005. * ;Attribution * {{CWR

External links

12th Pennsylvania Reserves monument at Gettysburg
Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1864 Units and formations of the Union Army from Pennsylvania