REGIMENT
THE IRISH BRIGADE'S FIFTH REGIMENT
REGIMENT
A BRIEF HISTORY
By David Kincaid
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In
the spring of 1862, a call was made by the Federal government for more troops.
The Civil War had been in progress for more than a year, and the 116th
Pennsylvania, recruited principally from Philadelphia, was one of the regiments
then authorized. Tipperary born Dennis Heenan, a man of years of prewar militia
experience who had also served as Lt. Col. of the Irish 24th Pennsylvania
Militia in the early months of the war, was chosen as Colonel. Though a young
man in his early twenties, Antrim native St. Clair A. Mulholland, also of
militia experience and described as an "excellent drill instructor," had
raised two companies for the regiment and was appointed Lt. Colonel. George
H. Bardwell was selected as Major. Though originally recruited as an Irish
regiment intended to be called the "Brian Boru United Irish Legion," pressures
to fill the regiment in a timely manner made it difficult to maintain a purely
Irish character, and a number of "Pennsylvania Dutch," who would by the end
of the war account for roughly 18% of the regiment, were recruited to the
ranks.
Toward the end of August of 1862, the One-sixteenth mustered approximately seven hundred men. Although still under-strength, the regiment was ordered, due to General Banks' defeat and hasty retreat down the Shenandoah Valley, to move to Washington without delay. For the next month the regiment was shuffled back and forth between Maryland, Washington and northern Virginia, engaged in drill, fatigue, guard and picket duties. The regiment was then ordered to report to Harper's Ferry, Virginia, and on October 10th, joined Brig. General Thomas F. Meagher's famed Irish Brigade. This was undoubtedly received favorably by the unit's commanders, as both Col. Heenan and Lt. |
| Col. Mulholland had attempted to raise units for the Irish Brigade the year before, and Col. Heenan had been planning to offer the One-sixteenth to Corcoran's Irish Legion, being raised at this time. | |
| Shortly afterward, and while at
Harper's Ferry, the regiment received its first colors. By all accounts its
clear that initially the 116th Pennsylvania received one flag, called the
"state and national colors" by Col. Mulholland--that being the elegant national
flag issued by the state of Pennsylvania, bearing the state seal in the canton.
What is unclear, and what has been the subject of heated debate in recent
times, is whether or not the regiment ever received a green Irish regimental
flag, like those issued to the other regiments of the Irish Brigade. It is
the opinion of this writer that compelling arguments can be mounted supporting
either side, and until conclusive evidence surfaces, the question remains
open and subject to interpretation.
The regiment's first engagements, Charlestown and Snicker's Gap, would be minor, producing no serious injuries or fatalities, and not in any way preparing the the men for their first taste of real war--the futile and tragic assault on Marye's Heights at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862. At the close of the battle, most of the One-sixteenth's field and company officers were killed or wounded, with severe losses in the ranks. The new regiment never wavered and fought like veterans, establishing the reputation for courage and discipline that that would be their hallmark throughout the war. |
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After Fredericksburg the decimated
One-sixteenth was consolidated into a battalion of four companies, Mulholland
accepting a demotion to major to remain in command. The unit bravely fought
through the remaining battles of 1863 as a battalion, cited for gallantry
for recovering the guns of the 5th Maine Battery
at Chancellorsville, an action that earned Col. Mulholland the Medal of
Honor.
In his regimental history, Mulholland emphasizes the fact that most of the men of the 116th were from the city, often siting the "superiority of the city men over those who had come from the farm." Nowhere was this more apparent than on the long forced-march in late June of 1863 toward Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where very few men were missing when the roll-call was given at its end. Though fatigued from the march in the oppressive heat, arriving in their home state revitalized the men. |
| On the morning of July 1st, 1863
the men were marched and bivouacked within three miles of Gettysburg, to
what Mulholland would call the "Battle of the Century." Arriving too late
to participate in the first day's battle, the 116th PVI, along with the rest
of the 2nd Corps, was moved on to the line of Cemetery Ridge on the morning
of July 2nd, to the left of the "Umbrella Trees." From this vantage point,
the men rested as they anxiously watched the advance of the 3rd Corps into
the Peach Orchard. Spoiling for a fight, the order then to go to the aid
of the recoiling Union troops was received with pleasure. The 1st Division,
commanded by General John C. Caldwell, to which the Irish Brigade belonged,
moved off by the left flank toward Little Round Top. Arriving at the foot
of the hill little damaged by enemy artillery fire intended to stop the advance,
the division formed in line of battle. The Irish Brigade, commanded by Col.
Patrick Kelly, was deployed on the right of the line.
As the division advanced and fought, the One Hundred and Sixteenth held its extreme right flank. Advancing at "right shoulder shift" through hilly, rough ground strewed with trees and huge boulders, the regiment's alignment was well maintained as it approached the crest of a hill. A body of the enemy, having first reached the top from the other side, delivered a volley over the heads of the men of the 116th. The regiment rushed forward and delivered a volley of their own, having deadly effect on the enemy, and the lines were soon within a few feet of each other. The battle became hand-to-hand but the enemy, weary and demoralized, soon surrendered and were sent to the rear. |
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| The brigade was halted
and aligned where the monuments now stand. In a twist of irony, the 116th
had fought the men of Kershaw's Brigade, the same who had poured deadly fire
into their ranks at Fredericksburg. The enemy soon had troops advancing in
the front and rear of the brigade, and orders were given for the division
to retire. The Irish Brigade maintained relatively good order, although under
a cross-fire, as it went at a run back through the Wheatfield to the foot
of Little Round Top, where it remained until the fighting on the left was
over for the day. At dusk the division reformed on its original position
on Cemetery Ridge.
The next morning the 116th was placed in support of Sterling's 2nd Connecticut Battery by General Hancock, commander of the 2nd Corps. Here they waited until eleven o'clock, when the men joined in the glad cheer for the 12th Corps' victory on Culp's Hill. During the two hour artillery duel that followed, the men hugged the ground closely as they lay in front of Sterling's guns, with both his fire and that of the enemy's passing over them. The rebel gunners over shot, and the 116th's Company B, deployed in rear of the battle line as divisional Provost Guard, suffered more than the men in front. |
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Col. Mulholland's men were
never happier than when watching the Confederate infantry advancing to sure
destruction in the midst of "Picket's Charge." "It was Fredericksburg reversed,
never were the men of the Regiment so eager to rush into the fight." The
enemy disappeared behind a knoll just as he came within firing range--the
116th was ordered "ready!" When the rebels reappeared it was not the Confederate
battle flag that was seen, but the white flag of surrender, and within ten
minutes most of Wilcox's Brigade were prisoners of war. The battle ended
abruptly as "the firing suddenly ceased and Gettysburg became the victory
that marked the beginning of the end of the war."
Of the 2nd Corps, Col. Mulholland states that "thirty-three battle flags, six thousand prisoners and thirteen thousand stands of small arms were truly a bountiful harvest to be gathered by the men who wore the trefoil." Of the men of his command, the Colonel reported that "every one of them did their duty in a manner that excited my warmest admiration and gratitude." |
The regiment served out the remaining months of the war with great distinction, and Col. Mullholland, one of the most beloved and respected commanders in his division, was given command of the 4th Brigade by the end of the 1864.
The 116th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
had spent 31-1/2 months in U.S. combat service in the American Civil War,
23 of those (73%) as members of the Irish Brigade. They would, through the
mingling of their blood and spirit on many a terrible battlefield with that
unit's other gallant regiments, be proudly, and forever after, an integral
part of its history and hallowed name. |
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116th PVI Monument, Gettysburg Battlefield
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