Under the Red Patch; Story of the Sixty Third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1864

by Gilbert Adams Hays

This historic volume was published in 1908. From the book's Early half a century has elapsed since the Sixty-third Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, was mus- tered into the military service of the United States, under the call of President Lincoln for soldiers to aid in suppressing the rebellion, which at that time threatened the perpetuity of the Federal Union, yet up to the present time no detailed record of the achievements of that famous command has been pub- lished in permanent form. At the first annual reunion of the survivors of the Regiment held in Pittsburgh in November, 1879, a permanent organiza- tion was effected under the title of "The Sixty-third Pennsyl- vania Volunteers Regimental Association," and steps taken to perpetuate the record of the Regiment by appointing Robert H. Millar, of Company E, Historian and Secretary. After much labor and research, a history was prepared which would have proved an invaluable contribution to the literature of the Civil War period, but the Great Commander called the writer before the manuscript was placed in the hands of the printer, and with his death, in 1899, every vestige of this material, collected from a variety of authentic sources, disap- peared and was never recovered, an almost irreparable loss to the regiment. At the reunion following Comrade Millar's death, Gilbert A. Hays, son of our beloved commander, was chosen Regimental Historian and Secretary of the organization, and the seem- ingly hopeless task of compiling the history was, with many misgivings, again taken up, and perseveringly and patiently brought to a finish in this volume, a labor of love and duty. In 1900 William H. Morrow, a member of Company A, prepared and published in weekly installments in the "Wil- merding News," an interesting series of personal reminis- cences of army life in the Sixty-third, under the title of "History of a Famous Regiment, from the Standpoint of a Private Soldier," but was compelled by circumstances to greatly curtail the details of the history, and finally discon- tinue the publication before its completion. These sketches form the basis of the earlier chapters of the present volume. It is natural that in the long lapse of years since the stirring events here recorded took place, the loss of valuable data and death of many comrades, errors should appear in this history, although every effort has been made to verify each record and statement. The Committee wish to acknowledge the valuable services of Colonel Edwin B. Houghton, Historian of his Regiment, the Seventeenth Maine, in the final preparation of this history for publication. Sewickley, Pa., April, 1908 GILBERT A. HAYS, Secretary

524 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 16, 2010

Reviews

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike a lot of other regimental histories this one is actually a good read! The book covers everything from camp life and little vignettes to battles. Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in the common soldier or Pennsylvania regiments during the civil war.