The American Civil War

2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery Regiment

The 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery was part of the 3rd Brigade, Second Division, of the XVIII Army Corps, which served in the Federal Army of the James. In late September of 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered the Army of the James to make an assault on the Confederate line defending Richmond. The army's commander, General Benjamin F. Butler, ordered a combined force of 18,000 infantry and cavalry under General William Birney and General Edward O.C. Ord to strike the Confederate defenses north of the James River. In a two-pronged attack, Birney would strike at New Market Heights and Ord would lead a smaller force against the Confederate line at Chaffin's Farm.

They Knew Death Awaited

Joining General Ord's assault at Chaffin's Farm was the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. A huge regiment, larger than many Federal infantry brigades, the men of the 2nd Pennsylvania had originally been organized for garrison duty. The troops were trained to man heavy artillery pieces, but on September 29,1864, the cannoneers were ordered into battle as an infantry unit.
The initial assault was successful, although Federal casualties were severe. A follow-up assault was ordered against Fort Gilmer, a heavily defended earthwork fortification which was crucial to the Confederate defenses of Richmond. Among the regiments chosen to lead this charge was the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery. The regiment would have to charge across an open field for more than a mile, dash through a moat, then scale the fort's ramparts. The inexperienced artillerists understood the challenge: they knew death awaited many of them.
As they moved closer, the heroic men were raked by canister shot. The Pennsylvanians sent their colors to the rear for safekeeping, then resumed their assault. Their commander, Major James L. Anderson, was decapitated by cannon fire. Over the moat and up the ramparts went a dwindling number of blue-coated survivors, until the charge melted away. The Federal advance was checked, but the brave assault had moved Northern forces closer to Richmond. Furious fighting the next day failed to dislodge the Federal forces and the battle ended with Federal troops within sight of Richmond's spires.

The 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery (also known as the 112th Volunteers) was organized in January of 1862 in Philadelphia. Two of the regiment's 10 companies were almost immediately posted to Fort Delaware. In February of 1862, the rest were transferred to the defenses around Washington, D.C. Eventually the entire regiment was posted to the capital's defenses as part of the Artillery Brigade of the Military District of Washington. The regiment remained on garrison duty around Washington until May of 1864, serving most of the time in the 1st Brigade of General Joseph Haskin's Division of the XXII Army Corps.
In late May of 1864, the regiment was transferred from the Washington defenses to Port Royal, Virginia, then on to Cold Harbor, where General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac was suffering horrendous casualties in bloody combat with General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. As part of the 3rd Brigade, Second Division, XVIII Army Corps, the artillerists of the 2nd Pennsylvania were put into action as an infantry regiment.

"Raised for Garrison Duty"

The regiment participated in the Battle of Cold Harbor in June of 1864, and saw action during the Siege of Petersburg, which continued from the summer of 1864 until April of 1865. During the siege, the regiment participated in the Battle of the Crater, the Battle of Chaffin's Farm, and was present at the collapse of the Confederate defenses and the Fall of Petersburg. At Chaffin's Farm, the regiment suffered serious casualties in an infantry assault, prompting General Godfrey Weitzel, commander of the XVII Army Corps to recommend fortification duty for the Pennsylvania artillerists.
"The Second Pennsylvania," Weitzel noted, "was raised for garrison duty, and if the Bermuda line is to be held, should properly be there. It having so few officers and being so large is very unwieldy for field service." On December 2,1864, the regiment was accordingly ordered to duty along the Federal lines at Bermuda Hundred, east of Petersburg. After Petersburg fell and Lee surrendered at Appomattox, the regiment was posted to southern Virginia and remained an occupation force until January of 1866.
In addition to serious battle casualties, the regiment suffered heavy losses due to illness. At war's end, five officers and 221 enlisted men had died of wounds, while five officers and 385 enlisted men had died of disease. On January 29, 1866, the 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery was mustered out of Federal service at City Point, Virginia. The troops returned to Philadelphia, where the regiment was discharged on February 16,1866.