214th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment

The 214th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry also knowns as the 8th Union League was an infantry regiment of the Union Army in the American Civil War. It was raised in Philadelphia close to the end of the war, and spent its year of service on guard duty in the Shenandoah Valley and Washington, D.C.

214th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
State Flag of Pennsylvania, circa 1863.
ActiveMarch 1865 – 21 March 1866
CountryUnited States of America
AllegianceUnion
BranchUnion Army
RoleInfantry
Size1,400 (mustered in)

History

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A newspaper recruiting advertisement for the regiment

The 1,400-strong 214th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Philadelphia in March 1865, with men from that city and the counties of Lancaster and Northampton, under the command of Regular Army officer Colonel David B. McKibbin.[1] It was raised by the Union League for a one-year term of service to replace returning veteran units, and was also known as the 8th Union League Regiment.[2] Though most of the regiment was from Philadelphia, Company H was recruited at Easton in Northampton County.[3] After completing its organization, the regiment left Philadelphia on 8 April[4] for the Shenandoah Valley, where it engaged in guard and provost duty until July as part of the 2nd Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of the Shenandoah. It was ordered to Washington, D.C. to garrison the city as part of the XXII Corps in July, and a detachment under Major Washington M. Worrall was sent to Annapolis to command the post there in November. The regiment was mustered out at Washington on 21 March 1866; it was the last Pennsylvania regiment mustered out.[5] During its service, 24 men of the regiment died of disease.[6]

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Eicher & Eicher 2001, p. 380.
  2. ^ Taylor 1913, pp. 274–275.
  3. ^ Heller 1920, p. 225.
  4. ^ Taylor 1913, pp. 356.
  5. ^ Bates 1871, p. 819.
  6. ^ Dyer 1908, p. 1626.

Bibliography

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  • Bates, Samuel P. (1871). History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Vol. V. Harrisburg: State Printer.
  • Dyer, Frederick H. (1908). A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. Des Moines, IA: Dyer Publishing Company.
  • Eicher, John H.; Eicher, David J. (2001). Civil War High Commands. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-3641-3.
  • Heller, William J., ed. (1920). History of Northampton County [Pennsylvania] and the Grand Valley of the Lehigh. Vol. 1. Boston: American Historical Society.
  • Taylor, Frank H. (1913). Philadelphia in the Civil War. Philadelphia: City of Philadelphia.
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