5th Regiment, Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry (34th Volunteers)



Historical Sketch:
Cols., Seneca G. Simmons, Joseph W. Fisher; Lieut.-Cols., Joseph W. Fisher, George Dare, Alfred M. Smith; Majs, George Dare, Frank Zentmeyer, James H. Larrimer, Alfred M. Smith, James A. McPherran. This regiment was the 5th of the reserve corps, and was mustered into the U. S. service June 20, 1861, at Harrisburg, for a three years' term. With the Bucktail rifles it left Harrisburg the same day for Cumberland, Md. After the battle of Bull Run the regiment joined the reserves at Tennallytown, Md., and was assigned to the 1st brigade. It arrived at Dranesville too late to participate in the victory. Early in March, 1862, it moved to Hunter's mills, Alexandria, Manassas, Falmouth and Fredericksburg. In June, it participated in the battles of Mechanicsville, Gaines' mills and Glendale, where Col. Simmons was killed. At the second Bull Run, South Mountain and Antietam the regiment did brave work, and then with the 3d brigade took part in the battle of Fredericksburg, losing heavily. Ordered to Washington in Feb., 1863, the regiment remained there until the Gettysburg campaign, when it showed great bravery in the battle and took part in the pursuit which followed. The winter was spent at Alexandria and in May, 1864, with the Army of the Potomac it took part in the Wilderness campaign. The 34th participated in the battles of that month and returned early in June, to Harrisburg, where it was mustered out on the 11th, the veterans and recruits being transferred to the 191st Pa. infantry. Roster:
The Roster of this unit contains the names of 1601 men.
Source:
The Union Army by Federal Publishing Company, 1908 - Volume 1
Bibliography:
  • Barcousky, Len. Civil War Pittsburgh: Forge of the Union. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2013. ISBN 9781626190818.
  • Blair, William and William Pencak, editors. Making and Remaking Pennsylvania's Civil War. University Park, Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press, 2004.
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  • Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce. Southern Revenge: Civil War History of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania: Greater Chambersburg Chamber of Commerce, 1989.
  • Miller, William J. The Training of an Army: Camp Curtin and the North's Civil War. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: White Mane, 1990.
  • Sandou, Robert M. Deserter County: Civil War Opposition in the Pennsylvania Appalachians. Fordham University Press, 2009.
  • Skinner, George W., ed. Pennsylvania at Chickamauga and Chattanooga: Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Monuments Erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Wm. Stanley Ray, State Printer, 1897.
  • Taylor, Frank H. Philadelphia in the Civil War. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The City, 1913.
  • Wingert, Cooper H. Harrisburg and the Civil War: Defending the Keystone of the Union. Charleston, South Carolina: The History Press, 2013. ISBN 9781626190412.
  • Young, Ronald C. Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the Civil War. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: published by the author, 2003.



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