The 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War

<p> The 96th Pennsylvania Volunteers infantry regiment was formed in 1861--its ranks filled by nearly 1200 Irish and German immigrants from Schuylkill County responding to Lincoln's call for troops. The men saw action for three years with the Army of the Potomac's VI Corps participating in engagements at Gaines' Mill Crampton's Gap Salem Church and Spotsylvania. Drawing on letters diaries memoirs and other accounts this comprehensive history documents their combat service from the point of view of the rank-and-file soldier along with their views on the war slavery emancipation and politics.</p>