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 and Gettysburg.

When President Abraham Lincoln called for volunteers to "put down the rebellion" in the spring of 1861, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania found itself with more volunteers than needed to meet its Federal quota. Although 14 regiments were requested, Pennsylvania exceeded this by providing 25 organized regiments. The Secretary of War, Simon Cameron, was a political enemy of Andrew Curtin, Pennsylvania governor, and refused to take the extra men into Federal service. Curtin decided to retain the extra men and organized, trained, and equipped them at state expense. The creation of the special division was approved by the Pennsylvania legislature on May 15, 1861, "for the purpose of suppressing insurrections, or to repel invasions." The men were trained at camps of instruction in four cities: Easton, Pittsburgh, West Chester, and Harrisburg. The training camp near Harrisburg was named Camp Curtin for the governor.

Fifteen regiments were formed, known as the 1st through 15th Pennsylvania Reserves (they were later designated the 30th through 44th Pennsylvania Volunteers, but generally retained the label of the Pennsylvania Reserves). At the time of the redesignation, Pennsylvania had other troops both in the field or in various stages of development using the same numbers. While many of these units used their designations into middle and late 1862, much confusion arose over the naming convention. Additional naming confusion occurred within the ranks of the reserves. The 13th Pennsylvania Reserve Regiment (42nd Pennsylvania Volunteers) was additionally named the 1st Pennsylvania Rifles. Although better known as the "Bucktails," this regiment became officially known as the First Rifles. The same can be said regarding the 14th and 15th Pennsylvania Reserves (43rd and 44th Pennsylvania Volunteers), which officially were designated as the 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery and the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, respectively.

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