140th Pennsylvania Infantry The 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was a Union Army regiment in the American Civil War , serving in the Eastern Theater . Recruited in late 1862 , it fought from the Battle of Chancellorsville through the war until the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House . It loses during the war were among the highest of any Union regiment . History . Organization . The regiment was recruited in Beaver , Greene , Mercer , and Washington counties , and formally mustered into service on September 8 , 1862 at Camp Curtin , under the command of Col . Richard P . Roberts . The 140th was initially placed on duty guarding the North Central Railway near Parkton , Maryland and remained there until being ordered to join the Army of the Potomac at Aquia Creek , Virginia , where they arrived on December 12 . Here they were assigned to the 3rd Brigade , 1st Division , II Army Corps , under the command of Gen . Samuel K . Zook , and proceeded to go into winter quarters near Falmouth , Virginia . While in winter camp , on January 18 , 1863 , the regiment received Springfield rifle muskets , to replace their large and unwieldy Vincennes muskets . These were gratefully received by the men , as they had been subjected to continuous mockery by other soldiers with quips such as , “ There goes the walking artillery ” or , “ Look at the twelve - pounders ! ” Chancellorsville . On April 28 , the 140th broke camp and marched with the II Corps around Gen . Robert E . Lee ’ s left flank , crossing the Rappahannock River at United States Ford and proceeding toward Chancellorsville , where it arrived on May 1 and took its place in the left center of Gen . Joseph Hooker ’ s line . Receiving orders on the evening of May 2 to report to Col . Nelson Miles , in charge of the 1st Division ’ s picket line , the men helped to beat back repeated Confederate assaults throughout the morning of May 3 . Additionally , a part of the regiment assisted in bringing off the guns of Battery E , 5th Maine Light Artillery to avoid capture . With Hooker on the retreat , the 140th re - crossed the Rappahannock with the rest of Zook ’ s brigade on May 6 and returned to their old camp near Falmouth . Thus , the regiment had had its baptism by fire . Gettysburg and the remainder of 1863 . With Lee now on the move and having crossed into Pennsylvania , the Union Army , now under the command of Gen . George Meade , marched there to stop him . On the morning of July 2 the 140th arrived south of the town of Gettysburg , with their 1st Division taking up a position on the left of the II Corps , adjoining the right end of Gen . Daniel Sickles ’ III Corps . However , Sickles arbitrarily decided to move his troops out in front of the rest of the Union line , and was soon in trouble , being attacked by Confederates in the afternoon . Thus Gen . Winfield Scott Hancock dispatched the 1st Division to report to Gen . George Sykes to be placed in line of battle to assist Sickles , moving to the latter ' s left end . The 3rd Brigade , under Gen . Zook , who was mortally wounded , advanced on the right end of the division across The Wheatfield , with the 140th occupying the right flank of the brigade . They initially made progress in pushing back the Rebels , but with the onset of Confederate reinforcements and the subsequent collapse of the III Corps to their right , as well as the withdrawal of the division on the left , the brigade was compelled to retreat . Together with their brigade , the regiment occupied a position on the left center of the Union line for the remainder of the battle . At Gettysburg the 140th lost 37 officers and men , including Col . Roberts , 144 officers and men wounded , and 60 officers and men wounded , for a total of 241 Command of the regiment now devolved to Lt . Col John Fraser , who would be promoted to colonel dating from July 4 , 1863 . With Lee defeated at Gettysburg , the Union Army pursued him as he retreated back into Virginia . In September , the 1st Division was reorganized and the 140th was now assigned to the 1st Brigade , under the command of Col . Nelson Miles . For the remainder of 1863 , the regiment was involved in a series of advances and retrograde movements in Northern Virginia with the II Corps , including limited involvement at the Battle of Bristoe Station on October 14 , before finally settling into winter encampment . 1864 . On May 3 , 1864 , the 140th broke camp and began their part in what would be known as Overland Campaign , under the command of Gen . Ulysses S . Grant . During the Battle of the Wilderness , the 1st Brigade occupied the extreme left flank of the Union line . For the first part of the Battle of Spotsylvania , the 1st Brigade occupied the extreme right of the Union line . After being detached for a brief reconnaissance to Todd ’ s Tavern , the 140th rejoined the brigade in its slide to the east , closer to the left end of the Union line . There , early on the morning of May 12 they took part in the massive assault on the part of the Confederate line known as the “ Mule Shoe . ” The men had to pick their way through trees felled to form an abatis before making their way up to the Mule Shoe , where they managed to dislodge the Rebels from their first line , but were unable to proceed further , having to settle into the works just captured . On May 15 the 1st Division was ordered to the rear and occupied this position until the 21st , when they joined Grant ’ s next flank movement to the east toward North Anna River . The movement to and actions at Spotsylvania cost the regiment 41 men killed , 125 officers and men wounded , and 10 men missing , for a total of 176 . The regiment next moved with the II Corps toward the North Anna River , and was involved in skirmishing there May 23 – 25 at the Battle of North Anna . Grant finding that Lee ’ s forces were too strongly entrenched there for a major assault , he ordered yet another eastward movement , this time in the direction of Cold Harbor . At the Battle of Cold Harbor the 1st Brigade occupied the left of the Union line , making contact with the Confederates on June 2 , and driving their line back for a period before being counterattacked in turn and forced to give ground themselves . On June 3 , the regiment was held in support of pickets on the left while the rest of the Union assault occurred to the north . Having advanced their position and entrenching on June 6 , they remained in this position until the 12th . Their losses in the movement to Cold Harbor and the subsequent battle there were 10 officers and men killed , 24 men wounded , and 10 men missing . Petersburg . Grant again uprooted his army , and the II Corps now crossed the James River and advanced on Petersburg . On June 16 the 1st Division joined in an attack on the Confederate entrenchments outside the city , but this would prove to be the beginning of a long a long siege that would last until April 2 , 1865 . During this period , the 140th was involved in various movements and smaller battles which comprised the overall siege , including Ream ' s Station on August 25 , and Hatcher ' s Run February 5 – 7 , 1865 . End of the War . With the Union Army ’ s breakthrough of the Confederate line on April 2 , the 140th now joined in the final pursuit of the remnants of Lee ’ s troops , which would include the Battle of Sayler ' s Creek and their final battle at Farmville on April 7 . Lee would finally surrender to Grant on April 9 , thus bringing the war to a close in this theater . The regiment took its place in the Grand Review of the Armies in Washington , D . C . and was then formally mustered out of service on May 31 . Losses . Over the course of the war , the 140th Pennsylvania had 1132 officers and men enrolled in its ranks . Of these , 198 were killed or mortally wounded , or 17 . 4 percent , among the highest rates of any Union regiment in the Civil War . An additional 128 died of disease , for a total of 326 , or 28 . 8 % . Re - enactors . Currently there is a reenactment group , the 140th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry , Co . A , based in Greene County , Pennsylvania .