Over 360,000 Pennsylvanians served in the
Union Army, more than any other
Northern state except
New York. (Other states sent larger proportions of their population, but not larger numbers.) Beginning with
President Lincoln's first call for troops and continuing throughout the war, Pennsylvania mustered 215
infantry regiments, as well as dozens of emergency
militia regiments that were raised to repel threatened invasions in 1862 and 1863 by the
Confederate States Army. Twenty-two
cavalry regiments were also mustered, as well as dozens of light
artillery batteries. Most Pennsylvania soldiers fought in the
Eastern Theater, with only about 10% serving elsewhere. The thirteen regiments of the
Pennsylvania Reserves fought as the only
army division all from a single state, and saw action in most of the major campaigns and battles of the
Army of the Potomac. The
Philadelphia Brigade was also a rarity in that all of its regiments were recruited from a single city. In an unusual circumstance, the
Philadelphia Corn Exchange sponsored and paid for a regiment, the 118th, which became known as the
"Corn Exchange Regiment." The
47th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, one of the regiments which initially served in the Eastern and
Lower Seaboard Theaters, went on to become the only regiment from Pennsylvania to both fight in the Union's 1864
Red River Campaign across Louisiana and to have men
confined as POWs at
Camp Ford, the largest Confederate States Army prison west of the Mississippi River. After the 47th's return to the Eastern Theater in July of that same year, the regiment then participated in a brief encounter at Snicker's Gap before engaging in the intense fighting of Sheridan's 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign in Virginia, including during the battles of
Berryville,
Opequon (Third Winchester),
Fisher's Hill, and
Cedar Creek. Most of the new Pennsylvania regiments were organized and trained at sprawling
Camp Curtin near
Harrisburg, and thousands of soldiers from other states. Other significant training sites were near
Pittsburgh,
Easton,
Philadelphia, and
West Chester. Over 100 soldiers from Pennsylvania units would win the
Medal of Honor for their actions during the conflict. Pennsylvania ranked first in the number of black soldiers (8,612) mustered into the Union Army, forming eleven regiments of
U.S. Colored Troops. Most of these trained at
Camp William Penn, established in 1863 north of Philadelphia, the only camp used to train Colored Troops exclusively. The 47th Pennsylvania Infantry also became an integrated regiment in October 1862 when several formerly enslaved Black men enlisted with the regiment while it was stationed in South Carolina, and was integrated further with the enlistment of additional formerly enslaved Black men in 1864 while the regiment was engaged in the Union's Red River Campaign across Louisiana. Leading
major generals from Pennsylvania included
Winfield S. Hancock,
John F. Reynolds,
Samuel W. Crawford,
John W. Geary, and
John F. Hartranft (the latter two would use their military careers to propel them to the governorship following the war). Although he was born in
Spain,
George G. Meade lived much of his life in Pennsylvania and is buried in Philadelphia.
Herman Haupt, who commanded the
U.S. Military Railroad, revolutionized military transportation in the United States and was one of the unsung heroes of the war. Significant naval leaders included Admiral
David D. Porter and
Rear Admiral John Dahlgren. ==War material and logistics==