Civil War & Reconstruction
Civil War
Second Union Occupation
110th Pennsylvania Infantry
110th Pennsylvania Infantry
“Valley Forge” unit returns revealed a reality. Regiments at this point averaged about 400 men of their original 1,000. Many infantry companies reported only 25-30 soldiers present for duty.
Units like the attired 110th Pennsylvania Infantry in early January 1863 had so few effectives that it further consolidated its companies (originally 10) from eight to four. Redistributing soldiers (with their original weapons) within a given regiment, necessitated by cumulative losses, led to some bizarre weapons combinations – literally an ordnance sergeant’s nightmare. For example, Company A, 46th New York Infantry, had eight different weapons on-hand in six different calibers!
