Organization of the regiment:

• Company A – Philadelphia and Wayne Counties – Captain George B. Osborn
• Company B – Indiana County – Captain William McIntire
• Company C – Luzerne and Northumberland Counties
• Company D – Luzern and Philadelphia Counties – Captain Frederick Williams
• Company F – Indiana County – Captain George Corman
• Company G – Luzerne County – Captain Joseph K. Helmbold
• Company H – Centre County – Captain William W. Brown
• Company I – Centre and Luzerne Counties – Captain E. F. M. Hustons
• Company K – Schuylkill and Susquehanna Counties – Captain David Mitchell

Pope’s Campaign in Northern Virginia

Battle of Gainesville

Captain George Corman of comnpany F was killed. Colonel Sullivan Meredith was badly wounded and Lieutenant Colonel John W. Hofmann took command of the regiment.

Groveton (Brawner’s Farm)

The regiment’s color company was surrounded and the colors were captured. Captain George Osborn and First Lieutenant Oliver Mumford, both of of Company A, were wounded.

Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas)

The regiment was only able to muster 154 men present for duty. Sergeant William R. Surrine of Company A was wounded.

Maryland Campaign

Attached to 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 1st Army Corps, Army of the Potomac

Battle of South Mountain

The Regiment fought at Turner’s Gap. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John W. Hofmann until he took over command of the brigade from the wounded Colonel William Pratt. Captain Frederick Williams then took command.

Battle of Antietam

The regiment was held in reserve north of Poffenberger’s Farm to support the First Corps Artillery.

From the brigade marker on the Antietam battlefield:

Hofmann’s Brigade was held in support of the Corps Artillery.
About noon it was moved to the left in support of the Artillery of the First and Second Corps.
In the afternoon it was returned to the right where it remained until the close of the battle.

Union, Va.

The regiment lost 5 men killed and 10 wounded.

Battle of Fredericksburg

On the 12th the regiment crossed the Rappahannock in the early evening on a pontoon bridge. In the morning it was positioned on the left of Franklin’s Left Grand Division. The 56th was not engaged, and although surrounding units suffered from Confederate artillery the regiment did not lose a single man killed or wounded. It recrossed the Rappahannock on the 15th.

Burnside’s 2nd Campaign, “Mud March”

The regiment began its march in the early morning. Around 10 p.m. a brutal winter storm of snow, cold rain and sleet destroyed the roads and made further advance impossible. The men made their way back to their huts.

Chancellorsville Campaign

The regiment mustered 21 officers and 289 enlisted men.

Operations at Pollock’s Mill Creek and Fitzhugh’s Crossing

The regiment marched to the banks of the Rapahannock and bivouacked there. In the early morning of the 29th construction was begun on a pontoon bridge, but Confederate sharpshooters made the effort nearly impossible. While a storming part crossed in boats with General Wadsworth swimming his horse across, the 56th formed a skirmish line on the bank of the river to cover the assault. The attack was successful, the bridge constructed, and the corps crossed over and erected defenses around the bridgehead. Two men were killed, including Sergeant Charles B. Post of Company G, and seven men were wounded.

Battle of Chancellorsville

In midmorning Wadsworth’s Division marched to United States Ford and bivouacked. At 5 a.m. the regiment formed line of battle on Ely’s Ford Road and held the position for the rest of the battle.

Battle of Brandy Station

The 56th Pennsylvania was commanded by Colonel John William Hofmann. It reached the battlefield around Noon and formed line of battle under enemy artillery fire. In the early afternoon it was ordered by General Buford to Beverly Ford, forming on the crest of a hill a half mile west of the ford to protect it and the cavalry’s line of retreat. Companies A and F under the command of Captain Runkle were posted to a forward position behind a stone wall where they held off a heavy Confederate cavalry charge. The regiment held the position until the cavalry withdrew, then followed them back across the Rappahannock.

Gettysburg Campaign

Battle of Gettysburg

The 56th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment was commanded at Gettysburg by Colonel John W. Hoffmann. It was the second regiment in the line of march as the First Corps made its way up the Emmitsburg Road and across the fields to Seminary Ridge. As the battle line formed it was the first to get in position, and immediately opened fire: the first Union infantry to do so in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Brigadier General Cutler, who command division, wrote Pennsylvania’s Governor Curtin that November,

“…I am reminded that I have neglected a duty which I owe to one of your regiments, the Fifty-sixth, and its brave commander,Colonel J. William Hofmann. That regiment… was at that time under my command. It was my fortune to be in the advance on the morning of July 1st. When we came upon the ground in front of the enemy, Colonel Hofmann’s regiment (being the second in thecolumn) got into position a moment sooner than the others, the enemy now advancing in line of battle within easy musket range. The atmosphere beinga little thick, I took out my glass to examine the enemy. Being a few paces in the rear of Colonel Hofmann, he turned to me and inquired, ‘Is that the enemy?’ My reply was, ‘Yes.’

“Turning to his men, he commanded, ‘Ready,right oblique, aim, fire!’ and the Battle of Gettysburg was opened. The fire was followed by other regiments instantly; still that battle on the soil of Pennsylvania was opened by her own sons, and it is just that it should become a matter of history. When Colonel Hofmann gave the command’ aim, I doubted whether the enemy was near enough to have the fire effective, and asked him if he was within range; but not hearing my question, he fired, and I receivedmy reply in a, shower of rebel bullets, by which many of the Colonels men were killed and wounded. My own horse, and those of two of my staff, were wounded at the same time… I hope that you will cause proper measures to be taken to give that regiment the credit, which is its due, of having opened that memorable battle.”

-Bates, Samuel P. History of the Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65, Harrisburg, 1868-1871.

After the first exchange of vollies an intense firefight went on for twenty minutes, then the regiment was ordered to withdraw, which it did in good order. After exchanging fire with enemy troops to the north the brigade, out of ammunition, was relieved and moved through the town to the cemetery near Baltimore Pike, where it spent the night. Lieutenant Gordon of Company B and seven enlisted men were killed. Captains Burritt and Flynn, Lieutenant Hubler, and sixty-one enlisted men were wounded, and seventy-eight men were missing.

The regiment moved into the woods and dug in at the summit of Culp’s Hill on the 2nd. It was soon attacked by Confederates coming up the slope of the hill. Some had approached within twenty yards of the defenses in spite of the regiment’s murderous fire, but they fell back, and continued to fire until late at night from the cover of the trees and rocks. The regiment lost two men killed, and three men wounded on the 2nd.

The 56th received a respite on the 3rd until early in the evening, when it moved to the cemetery to support batteries on its crest.

From the monument to the 56th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg:

The Regiment here delivered the opening fire of the infantry in the Battle of Gettysburg in the forenoon of July 1st, 1863. July 2nd and 3rd, occupied position on Culp’s Hill as indicated by stone marker.

Went into action with 252 officers and men. Killed and died of wounds 17 Wounded 58 Captured or missing 55 Total 130

The official casualty figures differ slightly from those on the monument, with 14 killed, 61 wounded, and 55 missing. Second Lieutenant John D. Gordon of Company B and Sergeant Harrison Smith of Company K were killed. Captain Ira N. Burritt of Company K and First Lieutenant John D. Hubler of Company F were wounded. Captain Robert H Day of Company D was captured and would spend the rest of the war in Confederate captivity.

Pursuit of Lee

The regiment marched to Entmmittsburg on the 6th, continueing on the 7th across the Catoctin Mountain and reaching Middletown at noon of the 8th. It then crossed the Potomac at Berlin.

Bristoe Campaign

Mine Run Campaign

The regiment lost five men wounded.

Rapidan Campaign

Crossed the Rapidan River at Germania Ford at 4 a.m. on the 4th.

Battle of the Wilderness

Marched towards Paker’s Store on the 5th. Formed line of battle with the regiment on the extreme left of the division. At midday they adbvanced into the dense woods and quickly ran into the Confederates. Captain Barger whose Company H was one the very end of the division, reported that the enemy was outflanking the line. The whole line was assaulted and forced back, losing heavy casualties. Lieutenant Henry C. Titman of Company G was killed. The line reformed at Lacy House and in the early evening made their way through the woods to support the Second Corps, fighting west of Brock Road along the on the plank road.

On the morning of the 6th the regiment and the 76th New York were ordered to drive away enemy skirmishers and a battery on the crest beyond the ravine the regiment occupied. The men rapidly attacked up the slope, capturing much of the enemy skirmish line and forcing the battery to withdraw. Lieutenant Eby of Company H was killed, and Captain Michael Runkle of Company F was badly wounded, losing his arm.

At noon the regiment rested with its left on the plank road until another enemy attack was launched. The 56th swung its line around facing the road and met the assault with a heavy fire. But the division was forced to pull back. It was at this time that General Wadsworth was killed.

In the evening Colonel Hoffman with the remnants of nine regiments, less than 500 men, recaptured the intrenchments that had been taken from the Second Corps. The 56th was the first regiment to plant its flag on the works. General Hancok stated that these men “saved the day on the left.”

After darkness fell the division marched for Spotsylvania Court House.

Battle of Spottsylvania Court House

Battle of Spottsylvania Court House (Laurel Hill)

At daylight on the 8th the regiment reached Todd’s Tavern. Working with the 95th New York Infantry, the two regiments capruted an orchard and farmhouse at the top of Laurel Hill. But the division was forced to fall back, digging in a hundred and fifty yards to rear.

Lieutenant Miller of Company F was severely wounded in both arms, losing one. a large body of the regiment’s skirmishers, commanded by Lieutenant Michaels, were captured.

Battle of Spottsylvania Court House

The regiment, along with the 14th Brooklyn, 95th New York, and 147th New York, took up positions in preparation to charge the Confederate lines at the Bloody Angle. The attack was not carried out, but the regiments were left in the position to pin the Confederates in place and provide support for the great assault on the Mule Shoe planned for the next morning.

Battle of Spottsylvania Court House

The regiment moved to a position a half mile east of the courthouse along the Fredericksburg Road and erected fortifications.

North Anna River

The brigade cross the North Anna and moved into a woods. They met a column of the enemy which was attampting the flank the corps and threw them back, taking many prosoners. Captain John A. Black was wounded, and command of the regiment fell to First Lieutenant Charles Baker of Company A.

Jericho Ford

There was heavy skirmishing. Second Lieutenant Benjamin F. Young of Company D was killed, and Lieutenant Lemuel Shaw of Company K was severely wounded.

Totopotomoy

Battle of Cold Harbor

Bethesda Church

The regiment suffered no losses.

Grant’s First Assault on Petersburg

On the 16th Captain Oliver Mumford of Company A was killed and Lieutenant J.E. Cunningham of Company B was badly wounded. He would be discharged in October.

On the 17th the regiment moved up in the morning to again attack the enemy’s entrenchments and found them abandoned, with a new line of defenses established on the crest of the ridge a distance to the rear beyond the Petersburg and Norfolk Railroad tracks. That line was attacked at 3 p.m. The assault came with 30 yards of the enemy’s trench’s before it was forced to go to ground, where they stayed until withdrawing after dark.

Captain Oliver Mumford of Company A died leading the regiment, and Captain Robert B. Barger of Company H was badly wounded. He would be discharged in September.

Siege of Petersburg begins

First Lieutenant Charles E. Baker was promoted to Captain of Company A.

Mine Explosion IBattle of the Crater)

The regiment was in reserve in the covered way west of the railroad, but was never ordered in due to the chaos in the Crater.

Weldon Railroad (Globe Tavern)

On the first day Captain Ira N. Burritt of Company K was again badly wounded. Breastworks were constructed. On the second day the Confederate attacks by Mahone’s Brigade made it to within twenty feet of the earthworks before the attack was broken, leaving fifty of thee enemy killed, three hundred prisoners, and three captured battle flags. Sergeant John Lebo of Company I was mortally wounded by an artillery shell which removed his leg.

Private James T. Jennings of Company K was awarded the Medal of Honor for the “Capture of flag of 55th North Carolina Infantry (C.S.A.).”

Poplar Springs Church

Attached to 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 5th Army Corps

Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher’s Run

Battle of Dabney’s Mills, or Hatcher’s Run

Appomattox Campaign

Lewis Farm near Gravelly Run

Captain Lemuel Shaw of Company K was mortally wounded.

Boydton and White Oak Road

Battle of Five Forks

Fall of Petersburg

Appomattox Court House

Surrender of Lee and his army.