The 157th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was a

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

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 which fought in multiple key engagements during the final years of 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 ...

, including the

Battle of Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

, and Appomattox Campaign. One of two military units raised at roughly the same time in the

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 ...

area during the fall of 1862, the 157th Pennsylvania was stationed initially at

Fort Delaware Fort Delaware is a former harbor defense facility, designed by chief engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.Dobbs, Kelli W., et al. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware as a ...

, beginning in December 1862, and remained there on garrison duty until it was reassigned to the defense of Washington, D.C. during the early winter of 1863. It was then assigned to the

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 ...

during the spring of 1864, and sent to the front lines of the war's Eastern Theater, where it remained for the duration of the war. During a reorganization of Union Army units in the spring of 1865, its men were merged with those of the 191st Pennsylvania Infantry.

History

Raised in response to the continuing need for additional soldiers to support 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

, the 156th and 157th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry regiments began their respective recruiting drives in the Philadelphia area during the fall of 1862. Neither drive went well, however; as a result, by December 1862, the partially-staffed 157th Pennsylvania was assigned to garrison duty at

. With recruitment still proceeding slowly for both regiments after the New Year of 1863, the men who had been recruited for the 156th Pennsylvania, who numbered roughly the size of just one company, were transferred to the 157th Pennsylvania Infantry, thereby forming a battalion composed of four companies. The commissioned officers appointed to lead this new iteration of the 157th Pennsylvania were: Edmund T. Tiers, lieutenant colonel, and Thomas H. Addicks, major. Battle of Cold Harbor

The men of the newly reorganized 157th Pennsylvania were then transported to Washington, D.C., attached to Tyler's Division, 22nd Corps in February 1863, and assigned to defensive duties of the city. On May 29, 1864, the battalion was reassigned to the 2nd Brigade, 4th Division, 5th Army Corps of the

, and ordered out on operations between North Anna and Cold Harbor, Virginia. Engaged in the battles of Bethesda Church (June 1–3) and

Cold Harbor The Battle of Cold Harbor was fought during the American Civil War near Mechanicsville, Virginia, from May 31 to June 12, 1864, with the most significant fighting occurring on June 3. It was one of the final battles of Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S ...

(June 1–12), the 157th Pennsylvania then participated in the

, including the

Battle of the Crater The Battle of the Crater was a battle of the American Civil War, part of the siege of Petersburg. It took place on Saturday, July 30, 1864, between the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, and the Union Arm ...

(July 30). Attached to the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 5th Army Corps beginning in August 1864, the 157th Pennsylvanians were then assigned to operations along the Weldon Railroad (August 18–21) before engaging in the fighting at Poplar Springs Church (September 30–October 2), Yellow House (October 2), and Boydton Plank Road (October 27–28), and in Warren's Raid on the Weldon Railroad (December 7–12). Engaged in the

Battle of Hatcher's Run The Battle of Hatcher's Run, also known as Dabney's Mill, Armstrong's Mill, Rowanty Creek, and Vaughn Road, fought February 5–7, 1865, was one in a series of Union offensives during the siege of Petersburg, aimed at cutting off Confederate ...

(February 5–7, 1865), the 157th Pennsylvania was then merged into the 191st Pennsylvania Infantry on March 21, 1865, and assigned to the Appomattox Campaign. According to historians of the Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, the agency responsible for the conservation of the state's Civil War-era battle flags, it was on that same day that the 157th Pennsylvania's original commanding officer, Edmund T. Tiers, requested that his regiment be given its First State Color. Although the flag was eventually manufactured by Horstmann Brothers and Company, it was never carried into battle. Present for Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, the men of the 157th Pennsylvania (now part of the 191st Pennsylvania), then officially mustered out in Virginia on June 28, 1865. According to historian Samuel Bates, “In consequence of its consolidation, no separate muster-out rolls were made. The records of the officers and men will, therefore, be found in their places in the rolls of the One Hundred and Ninety-first, and such as left the service, or died before the consolidation, in an appendix to that regiment.”

Casualties

The following is a partial assessment of casualties: * Combat-related deaths (killed or mortally wounded): 31 enlisted men * Disease-related deaths: 34 enlisted men

Notable members

Abram Douglas Harlan initially cared for casualties of the war at

Fortress Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

before enrolling as a private with Company C of the Myers Independent Cavalry. He then enrolled with the 157th Pennsylvania on October 16, 1862, was commissioned as a first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster with the battalion's field and staff officers' corps on December 16, and was then honorably discharged on February 27, 1863. Post-war, he held a variety of clerkships with the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, the

U.S. Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory tax ...

, and the U.S. Customs Bureau office in Philadelphia, and was then elected to the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

in 1883. Twice re-elected, he served until 1892.

John Wallace Scott John Wallace Scott, also known as J. Wallace Scott (August 31, 1832 – May 12, 1903), was a United States soldier who fought with the Union Army as a member of several Pennsylvania infantry units during the American Civil War. Severely wounded du ...

was wounded in action multiple times while serving with the 157th Pennsylvania, and was then awarded the U.S. Medal of Honor for his gallantry during the

Battle of Five Forks The Battle of Five Forks was fought on April 1, 1865, southwest of Petersburg, Virginia, around the road junction of Five Forks, Dinwiddie County, at the end of the Siege of Petersburg, near the conclusion of the American Civil War. The Union Ar ...

, Virginia on April 1, 1865. Although his citation states that his actions took place while he was a member of the 157th Pennsylvania, that particular act of valor actually occurred after his regiment had been merged into the 191st Pennsylvania. Two men were assigned as color-bearers for the 157th Pennsylvania:Historical Listing of Pennsylvania Civil War Color Bearers
, in "Pennsylvania Civil War Battle Flags". Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Capitol Preservation Committee, retrieved online September 18, 2018. * Corporal William H. Howard, Co. A (regimental color-bearer, February 5, 1865) * Sergeant Francis A. Olmstead (regimental color-bearer, 1866)

References

{{reflist

External links

* Hawks, Steve A.
157th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment
(chronology). ''The Civil War in the East'': Retrieved online September 18, 2018. *
Richie, Joseph: History of 157th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers
. New York, New York: The Gilder Lehman Institute of American History, retrieved online September 18, 2018. * Simmons, R. Hugh.

. Delaware City, Delaware: Fort Delaware Society, retrieved online September 18, 2018. Units and formations of the Union Army from Pennsylvania 1862 establishments in Pennsylvania Military units and formations established in 1862 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865

History

Casualties

Notable members

See also

References

External links