Pennsylvania in the American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the commonwealth of Pennsylvania played a critical role in the Union, providing a huge supply of military manpower, equipment, and leadership to the Federal government. The state raised over 360,000 soldiers for the Federal armies, and served as a major source of artillery guns, small arms, ammunition, armor for ironclad United States Navy gunboats, and food supplies. The Phoenixville Iron Company by itself produced well over 1,000 cannons, and the Frankford Arsenal was a major supply depot.

Pennsylvania was the site of the bloodiest battle of the entire war, Battle of Gettysburg, which became widely known as the "The turning point of the Civil War." Numerous other smaller engagements were also fought in Pennsylvania during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign and during an 1864 cavalry raid that culminated in the burning of much of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. The industrial town of York, Pennsylvania, was the largest city in the North to be occupied by the Confederate States Army during the war.

Several leading generals and politicians hailed from the commonwealth, including George G. Meade (the victor at Gettysburg), Winfield S. Hancock, John F. Reynolds, Simon Cameron and Thaddeus Stevens, a powerful and outspoken figure among the Radical Republicans. Generals Montgomery C. Meigs and Herman Haupt made significant contributions to the military effort in logistics and railroads, respectively.

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