History of the Eighty-seventh Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, prepared from official records, diaries, and other authentic sources of information

Preface

HE plan of this work is to tell the story of the Eighty-seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, from the time it entered the service, in 1861, to the end of the great conflict for the preservation of the Union. The first chapters describe how the regiment was recruited and organized, and how the soldiers went to war. Then follows a mental picture of the daily life and acts of the men, portraying their sturdy courage and devotion to the country and the flag, their experience in camp, on the march, in battle, in the prison pen, and how the returning soldiers were welcomed home.

To the comrades of the regiment, it is hoped the work will present a stereoscopic view, a panorama of their career in the army, which will take them back in memory to the time of their early manhood, cause their pulses to thrill, and help them to live over again those eventful years of the past. For the nonmilitary reader, the aim has been to make the history interesting, instructive and entertaining, and show how the soldier of the Civil War served and fought and endured to prevent the dismemberment of the Union.

A comprehensive description of all the engagements has not been attempted, but the part taken by the regiment in every skirmish and battle in which it participated, is given in detail, as well as an account of its long marches, during the entire period of its service.

The project to prepare and publish the history of the regiment originated at the reunion of 1897. It culminated in a

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reality, in igoo, through the enterprise of Captain W. H. Lanius, of Company I, whose earnest support and intelligent judgment made it possible for the appearance of the work.

During the preparation of the history, Captain John Fahs, of Company A, and Lieutenant Stallman, of Company C, were added to the Historical Committee appointed at the reunion, and gave efficient aid and assistance. John C. Hoffman, of Company G, was untiring in his efforts, and rendered faithful service to the author. The regimental papers were loaned by Colonel Schall; Lieutenant Colonel Stahle gave a helping hand in many ways; Major Findlay I. Thomas furnished material of important value, and Edward J. Chalfant spent many hours in aiding the author to collect and arrange the historical data.

Many volumes of government publications were carefully read for official information. The diaries of Lieutenant Charles H. Stallman, Lewis I. Renaut, Captain Solomon Myers, Lewis Frey, Jonathan S. May, Michael Heiman, James Oren, Henry C. Pentz, George Blotcher and Captain George J. Chalfant, and the information furnished by Captain Maish, Lieutenant Strickler, Captain Blasser, Chaplain Eberhart, Corporal William T. Ziegler, Michael Smyser, Charles E. Gotwalt, Howard F. Andrews, Samuel B. Gray, H. L. Neuman, Philip M. Shive, and other comrades, have been of the greatest value in the preparation of the work, which it is hoped will be a valuable souvenir to the members of the regiment and their friends.

Return of the Regiment — Reception at York — Mustered out of the Service — Committees of Reception and Entertainment — Regimental Association and Reunions.