The 52nd Pennsylvania Infantry was a volunteer infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
History Formed in response to President Abraham Lincoln's calls, during the spring and summer of 1861, for volunteers to enroll for military service, the 52nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was composed primarily of men from Bradford, Clinton, Columbia, Luzerne, Union and Wyoming counties of Pennsylvania. Authority to recruit men for the regiment had been granted by Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin on August 1, 1861, to Lycoming County resident John C. Dodge, Jr., who had performed his three months' service during the opening months of the American Civil War.Bates, Samuel P. History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5, Vol. II, pp. 47-91. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: B. Singerly, State Printer, 1869.Luzerne in the Civil War–History of the Fifty-Second Regiment, in History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, PA. with Illustrations, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers, pp. 116-126. New York, New York: W. W. Munsell & Co., 1880.Mott, Smith B., editor. The Campaigns of the Fifty-Second Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry First Known as "The Luzerne Regiment" Being the Record of Nearly Four Years' Continuous Service, from October 7, 1861, to July 12, 1865, in the War for the Suppression of the Rebellion. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1911.
Following their muster-in at Camp Curtin in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, the members of this regiment engaged in basic training at this Union Army camp until November 8, 1861.Bates, p. 47.Fifty-Second Pennsylvania, History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, p. 116. While stationed here, John C. Dodge, Jr., Henry M. Hoyt, and John B. Conyngham were commissioned as field and staff officers on October 7, and awarded the respective ranks of colonel, lieutenant colonel, and major. The 52nd Pennsylvania also initially had its own regimental band, a 16-piece ensemble staffed by members of the Wyoming Cornet Band from Wilkes-Barre, which was under the baton of Professor Fred Wagner. As the 52nd readied for departure, Governor Curtin presented regimental leaders with state and national flags to be carried by the regiment's color-bearer unit.Bates, p. 47.Mott, p. 25.
On November 8, 1861, the regiment marched to the train station at Harrisburg, and was then transported to Washington, D.C. by way of York, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore and Relay Junction, Maryland.Fifty-Second Pennsylvania, History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, p. 116. Upon arrival in Washington, the 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteers were marched to the Kalorama Heights in Georgetown, where they made camp at "Camp Kalorama," and received additional training.Bates, p. 47.Mott, pp.25-26.
1862 Ordered into winter quarters, the 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteers were housed in barracks "on Meridian Hill, at Fourteenth street, in the rear of Columbia College," according to Bates. While here, they continued to perform in a series of dress parades as part of their ongoing training. Illness plagued the regiment during this phase of service with a number of 52nd Pennsylvanians contracting typhoid fever or variola (smallpox); several died. The regiment's ranks were further thinned when 10 men volunteered for gunboat service on detached duty (many of whom were then killed in June 1862 while serving aboard the steamer during the Battle of Saint Charles, Arkansas).Bates, pp. 47-48.Fifty-Second Regiment, History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, p. 116.
In March 1862, the regiment was assigned to the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, IV Corps of the Army of the Potomac, and on the 28th of that month, moved out with its brigade. Marching for Alexandria, Virginia, the regiment boarded the steamship USS Constitution, which ran aground twice after departing from that city's docks. Following their arrival at Hampton Roads, the regiment transferred to a smaller steamer, the USS Hero, which took them to Newport News. During their trip, the 52nd Pennsylvanians were fired upon by a Confederate artillery battery stationed on Craney Island, but escaped without damage to the ship or injury to the men. According to Bates, on April 17, the 52nd Pennsylvania and its brigade "advanced and took position in front of the enemy's lines at Lee's Mills, Smith's Division on the right, and Couch's on the left" with the "main operations of the siege ... directed against his fortifications at Yorktown."Bates, p. 48.Fifty-Second Pennsylvania, History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, p. 116.Mott, pp. 27-30.
Now part of the Peninsula Campaign,Bates, pp. 48-54. the 52nd Pennsylvania saw its first serious combat action in the Battle of Williamsburg on May 5, 1862. Assigned to point at the head of a Union Army column marching on Fort Magruder, part of the regiment was caught in an explosion of an improvised explosive device (IED). According to Bates, General Henry M. Naglee, his staff, and members of the 52nd's A Company had just crossed a parapet at the fort "when a torpedo, which had been skillfully planted in the way, exploded under Company F, instantly killing one man [Private John Pruyne of F Company], and horribly mutilating six [or nine] others."Bates, p. 48.Fifty-Second Regiment, History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, pp. 116-117.Mott, pp. 30-34.
On May 20, General Naglee selected one hundred men from the 52nd Pennsylvania, designated them as sharpshooters, and placed them under the command of Captain Greanleaf Davis, commanding officer of the 52nd's E Company. Although this detachment came under heavy musket and artillery fire while assigned to reconnaissance of Bottom's Bridge and neighboring rail lines, it was able to maintain control of its assigned area, enabling Union forces to cross the Chickahominy River just 14 miles outside of Richmond.Bates, p. 49.Fifty-Second Regiment, History of Luzerne, Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties, pp. 116-117.Mott, pp. 35.
During the evening of May 23, General George B. McClellan ordered General Naglee to move his army toward Seven Pines with these words:Bates, p. 49.
Your instructions for the reconnaissance today, are as follows: You will, if possible, advance to the Seven Pines, on the forks of the direct road to Richmond, and the road turning to the right into the road leading from New Bridge to Richmond, and hold that point if practicable.... You will push the reconnaissance as far towards Richmond as practicable, without incurring too much danger.
In response, the 52nd Pennsylvania Volunteers, under the command of Colonel Dodge, departed early the next morning. They were accompanied by the 104th Pennsylvania, which was commanded by Colonel Davis. Joining up with them at 8 a.m. were the 1st New York Artillery's 2nd battery and Regan's 7th Independent New York battery. With the new column formed, the men moved out onto the Williamsburg road at 9 a.m. At Creek Run, roughly 1.5 miles from Bottom's Bridge, they encountered and chased off a group of Confederate pickets. As they progressed further, more CSA pickets were encountered, as were five regiments of Tennessee infantrymen who were part of Hatton's Brigade, and infantrymen and artillerymen under the command of General J. E. B. Stuart. Naglee ordered the 104th Pennsylvania to move to the left of the Williamsburg road and the 52nd Pennsylvania to the right of the road while also extending itself across the railroad. Advancing, they made it as far as a forested area just past Savage Station, where they encountered a much heavier enemy presence. Naglee then moved Regan's battery to the right at the front edge of the forest, from which it shelled the woods on the road's left side. The 52nd Pennsylvania, also on the right, was ordered to move forward to a farm and orchard nearby, where its men could take shelter in and behind the buildings and fence on the property. The shelling and troop movements "lessened materially the fire of the enemy on the left," according to Bates, enabling the 104th Pennsylvania to then also move forward. At 1 p.m., Gregg's Cavalry joined the Union force with Mink's artillery battery connecting with the group later that afternoon.Bates, pp. 49-50.Mott, pp. 35-36.
Roughly a half mile outside of Seven Pines Corner, both regiments were subjected to withering fire from the enemy. The wood in front of the 52nd Pennsylvania was particularly thick with CSA skirmishers. In response, Naglee ordered the 104th Pennsylvania to fire obliquely on the enemy while the 52nd Pennsylvania continued its direct fire on CSA troops. Directing the 85th Pennsylvania to move forward to a position behind the railroad, he then ordered the 52nd Pennsylvania to "advance from the fence and buildings directly into the wood in front of it," which "forced the enemy to leave precipitately the wood on the right." At 4 p.m., Naglee directed the sharpshooters of the 52nd Pennsylvania to target enemy artillerymen; within 30 minutes, the fire from CSA batteries was significantly reduced, prompting CSA forces to retreat. Naglee then moved Gregg's Cavalry, part of Mink's Battery, the 85th New York, 104th Pennsylvania, and 52nd Pennsylvania forward, further scattering CSA troops. Naglee was then ordered by General Keyes to have his men stand down in order to prevent a larger scale engagement with the enemy.Bates, pp. 50-51.Mott, pp. 36-41.
Ordering the sharpshooters from the 52nd Pennsylvania to advance during the early afternoon of May 25, Naglee then moved the 11th Maine, 104th Pennsylvania, two sections of Bailey's Artillery, and remainder of the 52 Pennsylvania forward in support of the sharpshooters who had advanced to a forested area 500 yards beyond Seven Pines in a "line extended perpendicular to the Williamsburg road, and across to the neighborhood of the Fair Oak Station," according to a report made later by Naglee, who added that he then "ordered the artillery to open upon the enemy," who were "forming in the open fields beyond the wood pile." Advancing his pickets toward the sharpshooters, Naglee then also moved the 11th Maine and 104th Pennsylvania forward, which prompted another CSA retreat. The next day, he continued his advance, moving his troops within five miles of Richmond. On May 27, he then ordered the sharpshooters of the 52nd Pennsylvania to advance yet again, which they did, reaching Garnett's field along the Chickahomony River. The 52nd Pennsylvania was then ordered to make camp "on the Nine Mile road, a half mile beyond Fair Oaks, as a support to the pickets along Garnett's field."Bates, p. 51.Mott, pp. 41-42.
Sometime during the opening days of the aforementioned engagement, Private Dilton "Sid" Taylor of the 52nd Pennsylvania's G Company was wounded seriously enough to require medical treatment and a period of convalescence after which he was honorably discharged on a surgeon's certificate of disability on September 16, 1862.Bates, p. 82.Mott, p. 36.