Welcome to the 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry Web Blog: An On-Line Journal Dedicated to the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment.
Recruited in Schuylkill County during the summer of 1861 and mustered out of service in July 1865, the 48th Pennsylvania is best remembered as “that regiment of coal miners” who, in June and July 1864, tunneled under the Confederate defenses surrounding Petersburg and triggered the Crater explosion. But the history of the 48th Pennsylvania extends far beyond this memorable and remarkable feat. Using this online journal, I intend to present the history of this regiment one ‘blog’ at a time.
In future posts, I will add a chronological record of the 48th, an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources pertaining to the regiment, biographical sketches of soldiers who served in the ranks, photograph galleries of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers and officers, complete muster and descriptive roll information for each of the companies, plus much, much more.
As a native of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and a lifelong student of the American Civil War, I have studied the 48th Pennsylvania in-depth for the past fifteen or so years. I currently reside in Gettysburg and am employed as an interpretative Park Ranger at the Antietam National Battlefield. In 2004, my first book, First in Defense of the Union: The Civil War History of the First Defenders, was published, and I am currently working on a number of other book projects I hope to have completed by the end of next year. I began this web blog simply to tell the story of one regiment, the 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry. I will try my best to regularly update this journal. If you have any comments, questions, criticisms, or concerns about this web blog or about the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, please do not hesitate to contact me at johnhoptak@hotmail.com.
Recruited in Schuylkill County during the summer of 1861 and mustered out of service in July 1865, the 48th Pennsylvania is best remembered as “that regiment of coal miners” who, in June and July 1864, tunneled under the Confederate defenses surrounding Petersburg and triggered the Crater explosion. But the history of the 48th Pennsylvania extends far beyond this memorable and remarkable feat. Using this online journal, I intend to present the history of this regiment one ‘blog’ at a time.
In future posts, I will add a chronological record of the 48th, an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources pertaining to the regiment, biographical sketches of soldiers who served in the ranks, photograph galleries of 48th Pennsylvania soldiers and officers, complete muster and descriptive roll information for each of the companies, plus much, much more.
As a native of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and a lifelong student of the American Civil War, I have studied the 48th Pennsylvania in-depth for the past fifteen or so years. I currently reside in Gettysburg and am employed as an interpretative Park Ranger at the Antietam National Battlefield. In 2004, my first book, First in Defense of the Union: The Civil War History of the First Defenders, was published, and I am currently working on a number of other book projects I hope to have completed by the end of next year. I began this web blog simply to tell the story of one regiment, the 48th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry. I will try my best to regularly update this journal. If you have any comments, questions, criticisms, or concerns about this web blog or about the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, please do not hesitate to contact me at johnhoptak@hotmail.com.
(The photograph above shows the tattered, torn, and battle-scarred flags of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. It was taken in July 1865, when the regiment was mustered out of service).
John,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the Civil War blogosphere. As a student of the Petersburg Campaign, I especially look forward to your coverage of the 48th during that time.
Brett S.
American Civil War Gaming & Reading