Have some info on the 149th Pennsylvania Bucktails
Anyone who studies or knows anything about the war between the states is usually well versed in the battle of Gettysburg, sometimes the extent of that knowledge is the basic ‘July 1st, 2nd, 3rd’ with the famous regiments and names associated.
This is absolutely fine! By all means, learning about favorite generals/regiments/politicians is awesome, I do this all the time.
The Bucktails are near and dear to my heart, though. The more I learn of these men from the Northern tiers of Pennsylvania, the more I wish their actions were known. The 149th played a large role in all three days of that decisive battle, yet to get what little information I have, it has come from fellow Bucktail reenactors and researchers. Like many other important units, they go largely unrecognized.
June 30th, 1863 The 149th PVI are camped along Marsh Creek, southwest of the town of Gettysburg. There, they are given three days rations, unaware of what the following days will entail.
July 1st, Word and concern spreads as to how close The Army of Northern Virginia is, the regiment is roused at 7:00 AM. No bugles are used this morning, instead, the men are woken with swift kicks to the brogans sticking out of their shelters or tent poles are shaken roughly. By 9:00 AM, 590 men are ready and moving North along the creek until coming to Millerstown Road.
They stop at the Warfield Farm to refill canteens, and it is here that the sounds of the coming struggle begin to drift through the midmorning July air, like a thick wet blanket that will soon smother thousands of soldiers and civilians alike.
It is from here that the men are ordered to move again, now at the double quick. This isn’t a brisk walk, nearly 600 men are now jogging at a fast pace up The Emmitsburg Road, through broken fences previously mowed down by The Iron Brigade, past the Codori Farm and through the fields of Gettysburg. By 11:30 they are passing The Lutheran Theological Seminary, their federal blue frock coats are now black, soaked through with sweat and they are ordered to leave any unnecessary items behind. Knapsacks hit the ground like tons of bricks, haversacks lie abandoned on the ground as the men strip to the bare essentials of cartridge boxes, belts and guns. This alone still weighing the body down and making it difficult to move.
The McPherson barn stands to the left as the Bucktiails pass and make it to the Chambersburg Pike. The regiment is exhausted now, though they have yet to see the elephant. They’ve taken their position to hold off the Confederate Army, and by 1:00 PM the line of Bucktails has fallen under long range artillery fire from the North and the West.
With shells bursting directly overhead, landing within the ranks and ripping gaping holes into man and ground alike, an order is given as a diversionary delaying tactic. The 149th Regimental Colors are sent forward and to the left. In the rolling ridges and knolls of Pennsylvania it is easy to lose sight of men in the farmlands. The fire is drawn away from the main line, saving the regiment from the horrific display until the shelling slowed, but this was only because the Confederate Artillery did not want to fire upon their own infantry regiments that had been advancing.
Two advances are made into the railroad cut, across the Chambersburg Pike by the Bucktails, both times the regiment is pushed back. The men are weary, numbers shattered and the line is in shambles. A young soldier, placed with the Regimental Colors, makes his way through the chaos to obtain orders, the regiment is now in retreat, but he is unable to take those words back to the men protecting their flag. He can only watch as a sea of Confederates separate him from the banner he’s marched beneath from the time he enlisted.
It’s now become a fist fight, hand to hand over the painted silk of the 149th. The Ash pole is snapped, the flag carrying barely more than a tear. Seeing it’s first and last battle as it’s ripped from Union hands, surrounded by a field of grey as the men who followed it lose sight of it altogether.
The 149th retreats, with 75% casualties and no flag. Though, this is not the end of their fight. On July 2nd, the surviving Bucktails are reformed on Cemetery Ridge and placed in reserve July 3rd. They are present and not far from the Copse of Trees during Pickett’s Charge.
—There may be gaps and misinformation here, different accounts claim different things. I’m only an amateur historian sharing what I know.
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