Battery A, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery was a

light artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and led to heavy, ...

battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

that served in the Union Army as part of the

Pennsylvania Reserves The Pennsylvania Reserves were an infantry division in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Noted for its famous commanders and high casualties, it served in the Eastern Theater, and fought in many important battles, including Antieta ...

infantry division during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Service

The battery was organized at

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

and mustered in for a three-year enlistment on August 5, 1861 under the command of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Hezekiah Easton. The battery was attached to McCall's Pennsylvania Reserve Division,

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the primary field army of the Union army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the Battle of ...

, to March 1862. Artillery, 2nd Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, to April 1862. Artillery, McCall's Division, Department of the Rappahannock, to June 1862. Artillery, 3rd Division,

V Corps 5th Corps, Fifth Corps, or V Corps may refer to: France * 5th Army Corps (France) * V Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * V Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Arm ...

, Army of the Potomac, to August 1862. Artillery, 3rd Division,

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

Army of Virginia The Army of Virginia was organized as a major unit of the Union Army and operated briefly and unsuccessfully in 1862 in the American Civil War. It should not be confused with its principal opponent, the Confederate Army of ''Northern'' Virginia ...

, to September 1862. Artillery, 3rd Division, I Corps, Army of the Potomac, to February 1863. Artillery, 3rd Division,

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

, Army of the Potomac, to April 1863. Artillery, 2nd Division,

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

Department of Virginia The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863, it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departm ...

, to July 1863. U.S. Forces, Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia,

Department of Virginia and North Carolina The Department of Virginia and North Carolina was a United States Military department encompassing Union-occupied territory in the Confederate States during the Civil War. In 1863, it was formed by the merging of two previously existing departm ...

, to January 1864. Artillery, Heckman's Division, XVIII Corps, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to April 1864. Defenses of Portsmouth, Virginia, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to May 1864. District of Eastern Virginia, Department of Virginia and North Carolina, to July 1864. Artillery Brigade,

X Corps 10th Corps, Tenth Corps, or X Corps may refer to: France * 10th Army Corps (France) * X Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * X Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army * ...

, to October 1864. Artillery Brigade, XVIII Corps, to December 1864. Artillery Brigade, XXIV Corps, Department of Virginia, to July 1865. Battery A, 1st Pennsylvania Light Artillery mustered out of service July 25, 1865 at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Detailed service

Ordered to Washington, D.C., August 1861. Camp at Tennallytown, Md., until October 1861, and at Camp Pierpont near Langley, Va., until March 1862. Expedition to Grinnell's Farm December 6, 1861. Action at Dranesville, Va., December 20. Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10–15. McDowell's advance on Falmouth April 9–19. Duty at Falmouth and Fredericksburg until June. Ordered to the Virginia Peninsula. Seven Days before Richmond, Va., June 25-July 1. Beaver Dam Creek or Mechanicsville June 26. Gaines' Mill June 27. Charles City Cross Roads and Glendale June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing until August 15. Movement to join Pope August 15–26. Battle of Gainesville August 28. Battle of Groveton August 29. Second Battle of Bull Run August 30. Maryland Campaign September. Battle of South Mountain September 14. Battle of Antietam, Md., September 16–17. Movement to Falmouth, Va., October–November. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12–15. "Mud March" January 20–24, 1863. Ordered to Newport News February 9, then to Suffolk, March. Siege of Suffolk April 12-May 4. Dix's Peninsula Campaign June 26-July 8. Expedition from White House to South Anna River July 1–7. Duty at Portsmouth, Va., until July 1864. Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond July 1864 to April 1865. Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28–30, 1864. Fair Oaks October 27–28. Before Richmond until April 1865. Occupation of Richmond April 3. Engaged in demolishing defenses and removing ordnance at Richmond until July.

Casualties

The battery lost a total of 38 men during service; 1 officer and 16 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 21 enlisted men died of disease.

Commanders

* Captain Hezekiah Easton - killed in action at the Battle of Gaines's Mill * Captain John G. Simpson - dismissed from the service August 21, 1864 * Captain William Stitt *

1st Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a sen ...

John G. Simpson - commanded the battery after Cpt Easton was killed in action at the Battle of Gaines's Mill

References

* Dyer, Frederick H. ''A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion'' (Des Moines, IA: Dyer Pub. Co.), 1908. * {{Pennsylvania in the Civil War Military units and formations established in 1861 Military units and formations disestablished in 1865 Units and formations of the Union army from Pennsylvania P

Service

Detailed service

Casualties

Commanders

See also

References