Chancellorsville • Gettysburg • Bristoe Station
Mine Run • Wilderness • Todds Tavern
Corbin's Bridge • Po River • Spottsylvania
North Anna • Totopotomoy Creek
Cold Harbor • Petersburg • Ream's Station
Deep Bottom • Hatcher's Run
Sutherlands Station • Sailor's Creek • Farmville
Appomatox

Introduction

This is the history of a remarkable Union regiment from the American Civil War. It is the story, told in their own words, of 1,132 men from Western Pennsylvania who volunteered for service in the Federal Army. This group of farmers, teachers, students, shopkeepers and others became the 140th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers who would be chosen repeatedly for service on the front line. Throughout the course of the war, they would suffer more casualties than any other regiment from Pennsylvania, and more than all but two other regiments in the entire Union Army. In the end, at Appomattox, when less than 300 remained, they would still be on the front line, at the forefront of the Union army chasing the troops of General Robert E. Lee, and it would be in their front that his flag of truce first appeared.

Although this history gives first hand details from the hottest parts of several historic battles, including the truly heroic actions of many men, it is far more than a tale of the excitement and tumult of war. It is first a human story of immense warmth and pride, conveying the commitment these men felt for one another and the determination they held for their cause. With deserved pride, Chapter VI tells how the 140th removed both the wounded and the last cannons from the Chancellorsville House as it burned in the calamitous retreat of the Union Army. Chapter VIII relates, in a personal way, how Father Corby administered last rites before the battle at Gettysburg and tells of the price paid by two members who carried a wounded comrade to a place of shelter. Chapter XIV describes how 20,000 men marched on the Confederate lines at Spotsylvania with rifles disabled. The text is filled with human warmth and pride.

Yet, this story is never boastful. Portions of dry and self-deprecating humor lighten its weight. For example, there's a story of a foraging squad of "hungry boys" who "appropriated" a pig and another tale of an ill-timed decision to do laundry.

In 1912, the fiftieth anniversary of the regiments muster-in, the Regimental Association commissioned Robert Laird Stewart, a member of the regiment, to write their history. This edition is a verbatim transcription of Stewart's work, which is long out of print.

Click here to read excerpts and here to purchase the book.

Back to top

Back to top

Back to top

Order online

This is the authoritative narrative of the 140th PA Volunteers written by Robert Laird Stewart and edited by me. Stewart, a member of the regiment, was authorized by the Regimental Association to write their history on the occasion of their 50th anniversary in 1912. It is verbatim transcription (except for obvious typographical errors). Inconsistencies in the original text have been resolved by editor's notes.

Additionally, I have made these enhancements -

• Inserted a general introduction
• Added a table of contents
• Greatly expanded the index
• Researched and corrected inconsistencies in the Regimental Roster

If you are considering purchase of the book, here are a few things you should know -

• 358 pages, soft cover, spiral bound, 8 1/2 x 11
• Includes all maps, including complete route map from August 1862 through May 1865
• Does not include photos

$35 plus $5 S&H Order with your credit card or your PayPal account

Back to top

When it comes to battlefield preservation ...
It's not about BLUE and it's not about GREY
It's about GR$$N

Back to top