The 197th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, alternately the 3rd Coal Exchange Regiment 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 ...

of 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 ...

in 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 ...

. Raised in

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 ...

in mid-1864, the regiment was made up of

Hundred Days Men The Hundred Days Men was the nickname applied to a series of regiments of United States Volunteers raised in 1864 for 100-day service in the Union Army during the height of the American Civil War. These short-term, lightly trained troops freed veter ...

in an effort to augment existing manpower for an all-out push to end the war within 100 days, and spent most of its service guarding Confederate prisoners of war at Rock Island.

History

197th Pennsylvania Infantry Recruiting Advertisement 14 July 1864

197th Pennsylvania Infantry Recruiting Advertisement 18 July 1864

The regiment was organized at

Camp Cadwalader Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

near

on 22 July 1864, under the command of volunteer officer Colonel John R. Haslett, who had worked as a house painter before the war. It was alternately known as the 3rd Coal Exchange Regiment due to its having been organized with the assistance of the Coal Exchange Association of Philadelphia, and had a total enrollment of 932. All companies were recruited in Philadelphia, except for a portion of one company in Montgomery County. According to

Samuel Penniman Bates Samuel Penniman Bates (January 29, 1827 – July 14, 1902) was an American educator, author, and historian. He is known for his reference works on the American Civil War, including his multi-volume ''History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861–186 ...

' official history, "a large proportion" of the regiment were "well schooled soldiers." Shortly after its organization, the regiment was sent to

Camp Bradford Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...

at Mankin's Woods near

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

on 29 July, where it trained for two weeks. From there, it entrained for Rock Island in August to guard Confederate prisoners of war. The number of guards was insufficient for the task, and this placed pressure on the 197th, which repeated the 133rd Illinois Infantry's practice of firing upon prisoners, but was otherwise undistinguished. The regiment returned to Philadelphia at the end of its term, and was mustered out there on 11 November. During its service, six men of the regiment died of disease.

Notable personnel

Emmet Crawford Emmet Crawford (December 22, 1844 – January 18, 1886) was an American soldier who rose through the ranks to become an officer. He was most noted for his time spent in the Arizona Territory under General George Crook in the United States Cava ...

, who later served as a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer during the

Apache Wars The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States Army and various Apache tribal confederations fought in the southwest between 1849 and 1886, though minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. After the Mexic ...

, served as first sergeant of Company K. Future

Pennsylvania National Guard The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 per ...

General Wendell P. Bowman served as a

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...

in Company K.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Cite book, url=https://archive.org/stream/cu31924028861842, title=Philadelphia in the Civil War, last=Taylor, first=Frank H., publisher=City of Philadelphia, year=1913, location=Philadelphia

External links