47th Pennsylvania Volunteers: One Civil War Regiment's Story

Marching from Halltown during the opening days of September 1864, General Philip Sheridan’s Union troops arrived at Berryville, Virginia on Saturday, September 3. Meanwhile, that same day, the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry's Company I also left camp near Charlestown and marched toward Berryville.

Before those Union troops could even put their tents in place, however, they were forced to repel an attack by Major-General Joseph B. Kershaw's division of Confederate troops on a Union force that was led by Brigadier-General George Crook. That attack was led by CSA Major-General Richard H. Anderson. Illustration: General Crook's Battle of Berryville, Virginia, September 3, 1864 (James E. Taylor, public domain).

Average cost to purchase one cup of coffee at your favorite coffee shop: $3 to $5.

Average cost to purchase the U.S. Civil War Pension file for one U.S. Civil War soldier so that it can be digitized and made available free of charge to teachers, students, descendants of that soldier, and members of the public: $80 to $100.

19 October 1864: "A cavalry charge was ordered against right and left flank of the enemy, and then a grand advance of the three infantry corps from left to right on the Enemy’s centre [sic]. ‘On through Middletown,’ says the correspondent above quoted, ‘and beyond, the enemy hurried, and the Army of the Shenandoah pursued. The roar of musketry now had a gleeful, dancing sound. The guns fired shafted salutes of victory. Custer and Merritt, charging in on right and left, doubled up the flanks of the foe, taking prisoners, slashing, killing, driving as they went. The march of the infantry was more majestic and more terrible. The lines of the foe swayed and broke before it every where [sic]. Beyond Middletown, on the battle-field fought over in the morning, their columns were completely overthrown and disorganized [sic]. They fled along the pike and over the fields like sheep.’"

One of the most important areas of study re: the 47th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry is the medical treatment that 47th Pennsylvanians received while in service to the nation. A significant percentage of the men who served with this regiment were wounded in battle, injured in some other way while on the job, or were sickened by a wide range of illnesses. Be sure to check out the Medical section of the 47th Pennsylvania project's website.

John Boulton Young was a strong-minded, strong-willed, 19th-century boy whose curiosity and energy knew no bounds. Compelled by an indomitable spirit to leave his secure life in a small Pennsylvania city and rush head-long into adulthood, his star rose quickly, brightened the lives of those around him, and flamed out—all before he had turned fourteen. Learn more about his life and untimely death by reading, "The First 'Man' to Die — Drummer Boy John Boulton Young."

According to historian Lewis Schmidt, the small force of the Saint Johns Bluff expedition steamed upriver roughly 100 to 200 miles “to Lake Beresford, where they then assisted in capturing the [68-ton] steamer Governor Milton,” which had been renamed in honor of Florida’s governor after having been “formerly known as the George M. Bird [under its previous owners] a New England family named ‘Swift’, who were timber cutters and used it as a tug boat to tow rafts loaded with live oak to the lumber market.”

Corporal Nichols of E Company went on to describe the capture as follows:

"Men of the 47th, of the Old Keystone, I trust you. It is impossible for a General, commanding, to know all in his command, nor the men him, but having confidence in you, I know you will act in such a manner that will reflect credit on the glorious state from which you hail. To gain a victory is your aim. There are two kinds of victories: one to meet the enemy and fall in death’s track, and the other to see the backs of the foe, as they try to escape the vengeance of those who are fighting for the most glorious cause and country a soldier can lay down his life for. It is not to be supposed you are to remain inactive. It is not quite time for an advance, but rest assured, you may soon hear the command, 'Onward!'" – Major-General Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, commander of the U.S. Army’s 10th Corps and Department of the South