74th Pennsylvania Infantry
Encyclopedia
The 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry
regiment
which served in the Union Army
during the American Civil War
. It was one of many all-German regiments
in the army, most notably in the XI Corps
of the Army of the Potomac
. Its combat record was marred by the perceived poor performance of the entire corps at Chancellorsville
and Gettysburg
, when parts of the corps routed during Confederate
attacks.
. On September 22, the 35th was posted to Washington, D.C.
However, due to internal intrigue arising while its first colonel
, Alexander Schimmelfennig
, was ill, it was to lose that designation, and its men were in a state of limbo until Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
interests convinced the U.S. War Department to reinstate the colonel. The regiment was then redesignated as the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, but its men and its communities knew it as "The German Regiment" or the "1st German Regiment."
The companies were from the following counties:
Company A Columbia
and Wyoming
Counties
Company B Pittsburgh
Company C Northumberland
County
Company D Snyder
and Union
Counties
Company E Northumberland County
Company F Indiana
and Westmoreland
Counties
Company G Adams
and Berks
Counties
Company H Unknown
Company I Pittburgh
Company K Allegheny
and Philadelphia
Counties
made the presentation. The regiment was part of the "mud march" in Virginia
's Shenandoah Valley
in the spring of 1862 in the effort to confront General Stonewall Jackson
.
Its first significant battle was at Cross Keys
. The 74th was on the far left of the Union line, where it was engaged in a heated battle in the latter part of the day. Six men were killed and another thirteen were wounded. Its second battle was at Freeman's Ford
, when Schimmelfennig advanced the regiment into the rear column of the Confederate forces. The enemy turned its full force on the regiment forced the 74th to retreat. 12 men were killed, 37 were wounded, and 3 drowned trying to cross the river and get back within Union lines. An additional 16 men were missing. It was here that Brig. Gen.
Henry Bohlen
was killed. Colonel Schimmelfennig was eventually promoted to take his place.
In the following days, the regiment was participated in the battles of Sulphur Springs and Waterloo Bridge before joining the Army of the Potomac
for the Northern Virginia Campaign
. It participated in heated fighting at Second Bull Run. When the regiment returned to the Washington D.C. area, its command changed. Maj.
Adolph von Hartung was promoted to colonel and commander of the regiment, which was stationed near Stafford Court House
. There, some of its men who took ill were treated at the XI Corps Reserve Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia
. (Today this historic building, complete with Union soldier graffiti on the walls, is known as Blenheim House. Four members of the 74th wrote on the walls of this house.)
when the brigade retired. Of 381 officers and men, the 74th lost 10 killed, 40 wounded, 60 captured or missing.
With the rest of Schimmelfennig's depleted brigade, soon after Gettysburg, the 74th was permanently transferred from the Army of the Potomac to South Carolina, where it saw action in several fights in the swamplands during operations to take Charleston
.
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment
Regiment
A regiment is a major tactical military unit, composed of variable numbers of batteries, squadrons or battalions, commanded by a colonel or lieutenant colonel...
which served in the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It was one of many all-German regiments
German-Americans in the Civil War
German-Americans in the American Civil War were the largest ethnic contingent to fight for the Union. More than 200,000 native Germans served in the Union Army, with New York and Ohio each providing ten divisions dominated by German-born men....
in the army, most notably in the XI Corps
XI Corps (ACW)
The XI Corps was a corps of the Union Army during the American Civil War, best remembered for its involvement in the battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg in 1863.-Formation and the Valley Campaign:...
of the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
. Its combat record was marred by the perceived poor performance of the entire corps at Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was a major battle of the American Civil War, and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville Campaign. It was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. Two related battles were fought nearby on...
and Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, when parts of the corps routed during Confederate
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
attacks.
Organization
The volunteer regiment was recruited during August and September 1861, primarily of recent German immigrants and descendants of Germans. It was officially mustered into service in mid-September as the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment at Camp Wilkens, near PittsburghPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. On September 22, the 35th was posted to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
However, due to internal intrigue arising while its first colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
, Alexander Schimmelfennig
Alexander Schimmelfennig
Alexander Schimmelfennig was a German soldier and political revolutionary, and then an American Civil War general in the Union Army.-Early life and career:...
, was ill, it was to lose that designation, and its men were in a state of limbo until Pittsburgh and Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
interests convinced the U.S. War Department to reinstate the colonel. The regiment was then redesignated as the 74th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment, but its men and its communities knew it as "The German Regiment" or the "1st German Regiment."
The companies were from the following counties:
Company A Columbia
Columbia County, Pennsylvania
As of the census of 2000, there were 64,151 people, 24,915 households, and 16,568 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 27,733 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...
and Wyoming
Wyoming County, Pennsylvania
Wyoming County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It was created in 1842 from part of Luzerne County. Its county seat is Tunkhannock.-Geography:According to the U.S...
Counties
Company B Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
Company C Northumberland
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania
There were 38,835 households out of which 27.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.40% were married couples living together, 9.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.10% were non-families. 30.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.50% had...
County
Company D Snyder
Snyder County, Pennsylvania
Snyder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 39,702. Snyder County was formed in 1855 from parts of Union County...
and Union
Union County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 41,624 people, 13,178 households, and 9,211 families residing in the county. The population density was 131 people per square mile . There were 14,684 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
Counties
Company E Northumberland County
Company F Indiana
Indiana County, Pennsylvania
-Government and politics:As of November 2008, there are 58,077 registered voters in Indiana County .* Democratic: 26,653 * Republican: 24,159 * Other Parties: 7,265 -County commissioners:*Rodney Ruddock, Chairman, Republican...
and Westmoreland
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 369,993 people, 149,813 households, and 104,569 families residing in the county. The population density was 361 people per square mile . There were 161,058 housing units at an average density of 157 per square mile...
Counties
Company G Adams
Adams County, Pennsylvania
Adams County is a county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 101,407. It was created on January 22, 1800, from part of York County and named in honor of the second President of the United States, John Adams...
and Berks
Berks County, Pennsylvania
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 373,638 people, 141,570 households, and 98,532 families residing in the county. The population density was 435 people per square mile . There were 150,222 housing units at an average density of 175 per square mile...
Counties
Company H Unknown
Company I Pittburgh
Company K Allegheny
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Allegheny County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,223,348; making it the second most populous county in Pennsylvania, following Philadelphia County. The county seat is Pittsburgh...
and Philadelphia
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
-History:Tribes of Lenape were the first known occupants in the area which became Philadelphia County. The first European settlers were Swedes and Finns who arrived in 1638. The Netherlands seized the area in 1655, but permanently lost control to England in 1674...
Counties
Early service - 1862
The 74th Infantry received its colors on March 5, 1862, while encamped near the nation's capital. Representative Robert McKnightRobert McKnight
Robert McKnight was a Republican United States Representative from Pennsylvania.Robert McKnight was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended the common schools and a private school at Xenia, Ohio. He graduated from Princeton College in 1839. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1842...
made the presentation. The regiment was part of the "mud march" in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's Shenandoah Valley
Shenandoah Valley
The Shenandoah Valley is both a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians , to the north by the Potomac River...
in the spring of 1862 in the effort to confront General Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
.
Its first significant battle was at Cross Keys
Battle of Cross Keys
The Battle of Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862, in Rockingham County, Virginia, as part of Confederate Army Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War...
. The 74th was on the far left of the Union line, where it was engaged in a heated battle in the latter part of the day. Six men were killed and another thirteen were wounded. Its second battle was at Freeman's Ford
Battle of Rappahannock Station I
-External links:**...
, when Schimmelfennig advanced the regiment into the rear column of the Confederate forces. The enemy turned its full force on the regiment forced the 74th to retreat. 12 men were killed, 37 were wounded, and 3 drowned trying to cross the river and get back within Union lines. An additional 16 men were missing. It was here that Brig. Gen.
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Henry Bohlen
Henry Bohlen
Henry Bohlen was an American Civil War Union Brigadier General. Before becoming the first foreign-born Union general in the Civil War, he fought in the Mexican-American War Henry Bohlen (October 22, 1810 – August 22, 1862) was an American Civil War Union Brigadier General. Before becoming...
was killed. Colonel Schimmelfennig was eventually promoted to take his place.
In the following days, the regiment was participated in the battles of Sulphur Springs and Waterloo Bridge before joining the Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
for the Northern Virginia Campaign
Northern Virginia Campaign
The Northern Virginia Campaign, also known as the Second Bull Run Campaign or Second Manassas Campaign, was a series of battles fought in Virginia during August and September 1862 in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. Confederate General Robert E...
. It participated in heated fighting at Second Bull Run. When the regiment returned to the Washington D.C. area, its command changed. Maj.
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Adolph von Hartung was promoted to colonel and commander of the regiment, which was stationed near Stafford Court House
Stafford, Virginia
Stafford is a census-designated place in and the county seat of Stafford County in the northern part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. The population as of the 2010 Census was 4,320. It lies north of Fredericksburg, approximately south of metropolitan Washington, D.C., and about north of...
. There, some of its men who took ill were treated at the XI Corps Reserve Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
. (Today this historic building, complete with Union soldier graffiti on the walls, is known as Blenheim House. Four members of the 74th wrote on the walls of this house.)
1863 service
During the early stages of the Battle of Chancellorsville in May, the 74th was among the XI Corps troops that were surprised in camp by the furious flank attack of Jackson's Corps. Another retreat occurred at Gettysburg, where the regiment was pushed through the streets to Cemetery HillCemetery Hill
Cemetery Hill is a Gettysburg Battlefield landform which had 1863 military engagements each day of the July 1–3 Battle of Gettysburg. The northernmost part of the Army of the Potomac defensive "fish-hook" line, the hill is gently sloped and provided a site for American Civil War artillery...
when the brigade retired. Of 381 officers and men, the 74th lost 10 killed, 40 wounded, 60 captured or missing.
With the rest of Schimmelfennig's depleted brigade, soon after Gettysburg, the 74th was permanently transferred from the Army of the Potomac to South Carolina, where it saw action in several fights in the swamplands during operations to take Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
.
Final service
The regiment mustered out of Federal service in August 1865.Casualties
- Killed and mortally wounded: 2 officers, 39 enlisted men
- Died of wounds: 0 officers, 19 enlisted men
- Died of disease or other factors: 1 officer, 71 enlisted men
- Wounded: 9 officers, 129 enlisted men
- Captured or missing: 4 officers, 128 enlisted men
- Total losses: 16 officers, 386 enlisted men