PA Civil War > Regiments > 81st
81st Pennsylvania Regiment
Recruited in the city of Philadelphia, Carbon County, Luzerne County, PA
81st PA Regiment Newspaper Transcription
- Indiana Democrat - July 17, 1862
Pennsylvania Colonels Killed in the War...
81st PA Regiment Books
- Well Satisfied with My Position: The Civil War Journal of Spencer Bonsall
A first-person account of army life during the Civil War’s Peninsula Campaign and Battle of Fredericksburg. Spencer Bonsall, who joined the 81st Pennsylvania Infantry as a hospital steward, kept a journal that shows his experiences in the context of the field of Civil War medicine.
81st PA Regiment Companies
- Field and Staff Officers
- Company D
Philadelphia and Carbon County - Company K
Luzerne County - Regimental History
- Bates' Regimental History & Rosters
81st PA Regiment Organization, Service & Battles
- Organized at Philadelphia October, 1861.
- At Easton, Pa., till October 10.
- Moved to Washington, D.C., October 10.
- Attached to Howard's Brigade, Richardson's Division, Army Potomac, to March, 1862.
- 1st Brigade. 1st Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army Potomac, to June, 1865.
Service & Battles - 1862
- Duty in the Defences of Washington, D.C., till March, 1862.
- Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10-15.
- Reconnoissance to Gainesville March 20.
- Operations on Orange & Alexandria Railroad March 28-31.
- Ordered to the Virginia Peninsula.
- Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4.
- Construction of Grape Vine Bridge on Chickahominy May 28-30.
- Battle of Fair Oaks (Seven Pines) May 31-June 1.
- Fair Oaks June 18.
- Fair Oaks Station June 21.
- Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1
- Orchard Station June 28.
- Peach Orchard, Allen's Farm, June 29.
- Savage Station June 29.
- White Oak Swamp Bridge and Glendale June 30.
- Malvern Hill July 1.
- At Harrison's Landing till August 16.
- Movement to Fortress Monroe, thence to Alexandria and Centreville August 16-30.
- Centreville September 1.
- Maryland Campaign September 6-24.
- Battle of Antietam, Md., September 16-17.
- Moved to Harper's Ferry, W. Va., and duty there till October 29.
- Reconnoissance to Charlestown October 16-17.
- Advance up Loudoun Valley and movement to Falmouth, Va., October 29-November 17.
- Snicker's Gap November 2.
- Manassas Gap November 5-6.
- Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12-15.
Service & Battles - 1863
- At Falmouth till April, 1863.
- Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6.
- Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5.
- Reconnoissance to the Rappahannock June 9.
- Kelly's Ford June 10.
- Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 13-July 24.
- Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3.
- Pursuit of Lee July 5-24.
- Duty on line of the Rappahannock till September.
- Advance from the Rappahannock to the Rapidan September 13-17.
- Bristoe Campaign October 9-22.
- Auburn and Bristoe October 14.
- Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8.
- Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2.
- Mine Run November 28-30.
Service & Battles - 1864
- At Stevensburg till May, 1864.
- Demonstration on the Rapidan February 6-7.
- Rapidan Campaign May 4-June 12.
- Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7;
- Corbin's Bridge May 8; Spottsylvania May 8-12;
- Po River May 10;
- Spottsylvania Court House May 12-21.
- Assault on the Salient May 12.
- Landten House May 18.
- North Anna River May 23-26.
- Line of the Pamunkey May 26-28.
- Totopotomoy May 28-31.
- Cold Harbor June 12.
- Before Petersburg June 16-18.
Service & Battles - 1865
- Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865.
- Jerusalem Plank Road June 22-23, 1864.
- Demonstration north of the James at Deep Bottom July 27-29.
- Deep Bottom July 27-28.
- Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30 (Reserve).
- Demonstration north of the James at Deep Bottom August 13-20.
- Strawberry Plains, Deep Bottom, August 14-18.
- Ream's Station August 25.
- Reconnoissance to Hatcher's Run December 7-10.
- Hatcher's Run December 8.
- Dabney's, Mills, Hatcher's Run, February 5-7, 1865.
- Watkins' House, Petersburg, March 25.
- Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9.
- On line of Hatcher's and Gravelly Runs March 29-30.
- Hatcher's Run or Boydton Road March 31.
- White Oak Road March 31.
- Sutherland Station April 2.
- Sailor's Creek April 6.
- High Bridge, Farmville, April 7.
- Appomattox Court House April 9.
- Surrender of Lee and his army.
- March to Washington, D.C., May 2-12.
- Grand Review May 23.
- Mustered out June 29, 1865.
- 18 Officers and 190 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 2 Officers and 96 Enlisted men by disease. Total 306.
Organization
81st PA Regiment Medal of Honor Recipients
- ROBINSON, THOMAS: Tamaqua, born in Ireland. Private, Company H, 81st Pennsylvania Infantry. Spotsylvania, Va., 12 May 1864. Citation: 1 December 1864. Capture of flag in a hand-to-hand conflict.