Historical Sketch:
Col., Peter H. Allabach; Lieut.-Col., William B. Shaut; Maj., Robert W. Patton. The 131st regiment was recruited in the counties of Northumberland, Lycoming, Mifflin, Union and Snyder and mustered in at Harrisburg early in Aug., 1862, for nine months. It was ordered to join the 3d provisional brigade in Virginia, but was soon transferred to the force at Alexandria, and at the opening of the Maryland campaign, made a part of the 3d division, 5th corps. It reached Antietam too late to participate in the battle and went into camp at Sharpsburg. Fredericksburg was the first battle of the regiment and it made a desperate charge to within 30 feet of the celebrated stone wall, losing in an hour and one-half 177 killed, wounded and missing, the men fighting with the steadiness of veterans. Winter quarters were established near Falmouth with no event of importance, except Burnside's second attempt in Jan., 1863, which was rendered futile by the impassable roads. On May 3, the regiment was warmly engaged at Chancellorsville and after the battle returned to its former camp. Its term of service expired on May 15, and it was then ordered to Harrisburg where it was mustered out on the 23d.
Roster:
The Roster of this unit contains the names of 1246 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.
Fox, Arthur B. Our Honored Dead: Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, in the American Civil War. Chicora, Pennsylvania: Mechling Bookbindery, 2008.
Fox, Arthur B. Pittsburgh During the American Civil War 1860–1865. Chicora, Pennsylvania: Mechling Bookbindery, 2002.
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.
Historical Sketch: