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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2013 - 2014
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | October 15, 2014 07:58 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Andrew E. Dinniman |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Honoring the 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment from the Civil War |
| In July 1861, the Honorable H. Jones Brooke, state senator for Chester and Delaware counties, asked the U.S. secretary of war for permission to form a regiment in his district. Permission was granted and later that month Col. Henry Guss began to recruit from his home in West Chester Borough. The 97th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Regiment formed in "Camp Everhart," the wooded grove that is today known as Everhart Park. The land was donated by one of West Chester’s most famous residents, former Congressman William Everhart, whose son, Dr. John R. Everhart signed on as the regiment’s surgeon. The regiment consisted of more than 1,000 soldiers in ten companies and a coronet band. It was mustered into commission on October 29, 1861, by Gov. Andrew Curtin, who cited the Chester County region’s strong ties to the Revolutionary War in presenting the regiment with its colors. For the next three years, the 97th participated in numerous battles along the southern Atlantic coast as part of the Anaconda plan, which was designed to blockade and capture Southern ports in order to deprive Confederate states’ trade and supplies. It was a less known part of the war, but a key element of the Union effort. The 97th saw action in the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. It participated in the assault on Fort Wagner, the battle best known for the leading role of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry Regiment as depicted in the film, "Glory" (Several of the members of the 54th were also from Chester County.) The 97th also helped capture Fort Clinch in Florida and besieged Charleston, South Carolina, but it's most famous action was the capture of Fort Fisher. Fort Fisher stood at the mouth of the Cape Fear River, guarding the harbor of Wilmington, North Carolina, the Confederacy’s last remaining seaport. Preceding the invasion, 56 Union Ships pounded the structure with 40,000 rounds – the largest single naval bombardment in U.S. history prior to World War II. During the assault, Galusha Pennypacker of Valley Forge, who began as regimental quartermaster and to this day remains the youngest person to hold the rank of brigadier general in the U.S. Army (Galusha happened to be the nephew of Samuel Pennypacker of Phoenixville who fought with the Union at Gettysburg then went on to become Pennsylvania’s 23rd Governor and the only one to hail from Chester County), led the second brigade, consisting of the 97th and four other regiments. The battle raged for hours and when the 97th’s color bearer went down, Pennypacker personally hoisted the flag onto the rebel parapet. After planting the flag, Pennypacker was immediately wounded in the hip, an injury that took him out for the rest of the war. For his service, he was made brigadier general. In 1891, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Fort Fisher. The flag held by Pennypacker at Fort Fisher was pierced by 107 bullets and canister shot and its staff shot in half. Today, the same flag has been preserved by the Pennsylvania Museum and Historical Commission and is on display in Harrisburg. Please join me in honoring the incredible bravery, patriotism, and sacrifice of the men of the 97th by co-sponsoring this resolution. |
Introduced as SR502
Memo Updated: October 15, 2014 08:01 PM