151st Pennsylvania Infantry The 151st Pennsylvania Infantry was a Union Army regiment during the American Civil War . It was given the moniker of " The Schoolteachers ' Regiment " because of the large enlistment of school instructors , predominately in Company D . History . Forming of the Regiment . The regiment was recruited from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the early fall of 1862 , with companies raised from the following counties : Harrison Allen , formerly major of the 10th Pennsylvania Reserves , was elected colonel of the regiment . George F . McFarland of Company D was elected lieutenant colonel . John W . Young of Company C was elected major . Early Service . The regiment was moved to Washington , D . C . at the end of November , and the following month to Union Mills , Virginia , where it fell into winter quarters with the Army of the Potomac . In mid - February , the regiment was formally assigned to the Third Division of the I Army Corps as part of a replacement for the departing Pennsylvania Reserves , which was recalled to the defenses of Washington . Chancellorsville . The 151st ' s first engagement occurred at Chancellorsville , where it maintained a picket line on the mostly inactive I Corps ' right flank . The regiment guarded the crucial Rapidan River crossing at United States Ford , taking prisoners on a small incursion with Brig . Gen . Francis T . Nicholls Louisiana brigade of Lt . Gen . Thomas J . Jackson ' s corps . Gettysburg . The regiment next fought at the Battle of Gettysburg , with Lt . Col . McFarland still in command . The regiment defended the Union left on McPherson ' s and Seminary Ridges . Confederate attacks forced the I Corps to retreat through Gettysburg . During the fighting near the Seminary , the regiment took cover near a barricade and held off several more Confederate attacks . Lt . Col . McFarland was at the front of the regiment , leading his men . The gunsmoke was so thick that McFarland couldn ' t see the enemy through it . He crouched down to see under the smoke and track the Confederates ' movements . It was then that a Rebel bullet went through one of his legs and through the other as he crouched down . A private of Co . F attempted to carry McFarland back to the Seminary for treatment , as it was then being used as a hospital . The private nearly lost his life when a bullet came so close that it sheared off one of the brass buttons on his cuff . McFarland was kept safely inside the Seminary for several months after the battle . The regiment reformed on Cemetery Hill with only 113 officers and men left , with a captain in command . It was assigned a position on the left of the II Corps , where on July 3 , it helped repulse the Confederate attack . During the battle , the regiment lost 367 out of 478 officers and men , a rate of nearly 75 % . Allen arrived that day to re - assume command of the regiment , which then participated in the pursuit of the Confederate army . Following the conclusion of the campaign , it was sent to Harrisburg on the 19th and mustered out on the 27th . Legacy . The 151st is held in high regard in Juniata County where Company D was formed . A plaque across the street from the old McAlisterville Academy where Lt . Col . McFarland and other members of the regiment taught memorializes the regiment and its actions at Gettysburg . A reenacting unit from Juniata County portrays Company D of the regiment .