125th Pennsylvania Infantry The 125th Pennsylvania Infantry volunteered during the American Civil War and served a 9 - month term from August 1862 to May 1863 . It selected the motto In God We Trust . The Regiment fought at the Battle of Antietam under the leadership of Colonel Jacob C . Higgins less than six weeks after being recruited in Blair , Cambria and Huntingdon Counties . The Regiment was noted for its charge through the East Woods , along the Great Cornfield , down Smoketown Road , past the Dunker Church , and into the West Woods . While in formation beyond the Dunker Church in an ' overextended ' position , the Regiment repulsed four counterattacks at a price of 229 casualties ( 33 % of engaged ) within 20 minutes . A fifth , heavily - reinforced Confederate counterattack forced a retreat with a desperate struggle to retain the Regimental colors . Two weeks before the end of their enlistment , the 125th PA also occupied the perimeter of Chancellorsville , Virginia , during the Battle of Chancellorsville . Composition . As the Civil War extended into its second year , President Abraham Lincoln appealed nationally for 300 , 000 additional men on July 1 , 1862 . In response on July 21 , Governor A . G . Curtin called for 21 new regiments from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania with nine - month enlistments . Four regiments were expected from Blair and Huntingdon Counties , and the 125th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers was recruited as ten companies from late July through early August : The great majority had no previous military experience and came from all walks of life . Although the draft would come to Pennsylvania in September , the members of the 125th enlisted earlier and primarily for " patriotic motives . " Campaigns . Battle of Antietam ( 1st Div , 1st Brigade ) < br > Mud March ( 1st Div , 2nd Brigade ) < br > Battle of Chancellorsville ( 2nd Div , 2nd Brigade ) Battle of Antietam . After mustering at Harrisburg , the regiment was assigned to the 1st Brigade , 1st Division , XII Corps in the Army of the Potomac while they trained at Washington , D . C . They marched from Washington to Frederick to Sharpsburg in response to the Confederate Army ' s crossing of the Potomac River into Maryland . Less than six weeks after mustering , with a minimum of training , and without combat experience they entered the battle . Early on the morning of September 17 , 1862 , while forming line of battle east of Smoketown road and 250 yards north of the East Woods , they observed a mortally - wounded General Mansfield ( Commander , XII Corps ) as he returned on his horse from a forward reconnaissance position . Three members of the 125th PA ( Coho , Edmundson , & Rudy , along with two others ) helped him from his horse , carried him to the rear on a chair formed from muskets , and turned him over to a surgeon . After a delay for re - organization , the 125th PA moved forward to support Monroe ' s First Rhode Island Battery ( I Corps , 1 Div ) diagonally across the intersection of Smoketown Road and Hagerstown Pike at about 8 : 45 . They were then detached from the XII Corps , 1st Division , and making a stand with Tyndale ' s and Stainbrook ' s Brigades of Greene ' s 2nd Division ( XII ) , and Confederates were forced to temporarily withdraw from the West Woods . By 9 : 00 they moved 100 yards farther ahead but remained the lone Union element in the West Woods . By about 9 : 15 as the Confederates counter - attacked , the 34th NY ( II , 2 ) arrived to the 125th PA ' s rear , while the 7th MI ( II , 2 ) arrived remotely to the 125th PA ' s right , and Sumner ' s ( II Corps ) " Disaster in the West Woods " began . Receiving heavy fire from Kershaw ' s Brigade of McLaw ' s Division under Longstreet and Early ' s brigade of Ewell ' s Division under Stonewall Jackson , the outnumbered 125th PA and 34th NY resisted for a few more minutes , during which time they sustained a very high rate of casualties , and were finally forced to retreat . Sensing a rout , the Confederates followed the retreating regiments and continued to administer fire until Union artillery elements stalled their pursuit . The 125th PA remained with Monroe ' s Battery ( now re - positioned near the intersection of Smoketown Road and Mumma Farm Lane ) until the end of the Battle . The commander of II Corps , 2nd Division , 1st Brigade , Brigadier General Willis A . Gorman , observed the performance and fate of the 125th PA and commented , " On our left , in the woods , there was a force that told me they belonged to General Crawford ' s brigade , that were posted there when we first entered it . They fought handsomely until the heavy force of the enemy turned their left , when they retired rapidly , and by this movement in five minutes the enemy ' s fire came pouring hotly on our left flank and rear . " Battle analysis . In his memoirs General William T . Sherman decried a systematic problem which the 125th PA fell prey to at Antietam , along with many other Regiments in their initial battles : < br > Significantly , Antietam was the last battle fought in the east without the construction of field fortifications , although naturally - occurring features , such as the Sunken Road and the quarry holes above the Burnside Bridge , were exploited as rifle pits . Three months after Antietam at Fredericksburg , several of Longstreet ' s divisions fought behind breastworks , and eight months after Antietam at Chancellorsville , both armies constructed hasty fortifications at every opportunity . Battlefield monument . The 125th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry Monument on the Antietam Battlefield was dedicated on September 17 , 1904 , and is located on Confederate Avenue behind ( West ) of the Dunker Church . During the 125th PA ' s withdrawal from the indicated position in the West Woods , one of the most dramatic events in the regiment ' s history began with the regimental color - bearer , Sergeant George Simpson who stands immortalized in granite on top of the monument : Mud March . By October 30 , 1862 , the 125th PA had been reassigned to the 2nd Brigade , 1st Division ( XII Corps ) under Brigadier General Thomas L . Kane and newly positioned at Loudon Heights , VA , near Harper ' s Ferry , for extended drilling . Departing on December 10 , one leg of the 125th PA ' s march toward Fredericksburg was brilliantly fortunate ( avoiding Burnside ' s signature disaster ) , but the second leg coincided with Burnside ' s fatal act of futility , the Mud March . Escorting the XII Corps ' train of ammunition wagons from Dumfries ( January 20 ) to Stafford Courthouse ( January 24 ) , the 125th PA endured the same days of heavy rain which stalled the movement of the Army ' s " Center Grand Division " ( III and V Corps ) toward Banks ' Ford . All participants in the Mud March moved very slowly or became stuck fast , and Burnside ' s aspirations for success at Fredericksburg expired with his command . Battle of Chancellorsville . April 27 – 30 . On April 27 – 28 , the initial three corps of the Army of the Potomac began their march under the leadership of General Henry W . Slocum . They crossed the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers as planned and began to concentrate on April 30 around the hamlet of Chancellorsville , which was little more than a single large , brick mansion at the junction of the Orange Turnpike and Orange Plank Road . Upon reaching Chancellorsville on April 30 , 1863 , General Joseph Hooker deployed the Army of the Potomac in a defensive perimeter around the intersection . Slocum ' s Twelfth Corps held the center of the Union line , and for three days , his troops entrenched , creating a sturdy earthwork screened by a line of fallen trees known as abatis . May 1 . While Hooker still maintained the initiative , he commanded a three - pronged eastward thrust . The 1st & 3rd Divisions of the V Corps ( Meade ) advanced along River Road , the 2nd Division ( Sykes ) advanced along the Turnpike , and the entirety of the XII Corps ( Slocum ) advanced along the Plank Road . One mile out , Slocum ( XII Corps , including the 125th PA ) encountered a Confederate picket post and reacted cautiously by deploying his two divisions in line of battle , one Division on each side of Plank Road . Advancing slowly for the next half mile in this formation , the XII Corps had just emerged onto high ground at the Alrich farm , favorable for an offensive , when a Hooker emissary , Colonel Joseph Dicksinson , reported the advance far short of objective and already engaging the enemy at about 1 : 30 p . m . Simultaneously , Hooker received unfavorable reports about the progress of Sykes ( V - 2 ) ( east of Chancellorsville on the Turnpike ) and Sedgwick ( VI ) ( east of Fredericksburg ) . Meade ' s ( V ) 1st & 3rd Divisions were advancing unimpeded toward a strategic imperative , occupation of Bank ' s Ford on the Rappahannock River ; nonetheless , Hooker called a halt to all operations and ordered a retreat into defensive positions around Chancellorsville . Thereby , the initiative had been lost for the remainder of the battle . May 2 . Between noon and 2 p . m . , an armed , westward - moving force became visible and audible to the 125th PA ' s 2nd Division . Private Hicks noted , " From this force we could hear an occasional command , ' Close up , ' ' Steady , men , ' and like words , and now and then we could catch glimpses of the gray - clothed ranks moving with steady steps , with arms at right shoulder and paying no attention either to us or to our skirmish line in front . " The degree of subterfuge associated with the movement was noted by Captain Wallace : < br > Following the failure of the Union command to recognize and respond to General Thomas J . Jackson ' s flanking movement and the subsequent attack , the entire XII Corps attempted to rally the panic - stricken fugitives of the XI Corps , but they would not stop until they were either captured or reached the Rappahannock River . Ultimately , intense night - fighting , especially artillery from Hazel Grove , stemmed the attack , but the 125th PA , along with the most of their 2nd Division , was not involved . May 3 . For two days of battle the Confederates did not test Slocum ' s position , but starting at 5 : 30 a . m . on May 3 , Lee ordered a broad assault . While Virginians led by General William Mahone attacked the 2nd Division of the XII Corps , Confederate artillery on the Orange Plank Road and at Hazel Grove sent shells screeching into Slocum ' s line from the rear . The XII Corps gamely held its ground , but as the hours passed , its supply of ammunition ran low . At 9 a . m . , Slocum ordered a retreat , and by 10a . m . , fighting had essentially ceased with the Confederates in possession of Chancellorsville . Battle analysis . Constructing effective breastworks near the Chancellor Mansion and Tavern , the 125th PA ' s Regimental losses were limited ( 5 killed , 12 wounded , and 10 captured ) . On May 2 , Stonewall Jackson ' s famous ' Flanking Maneuver ' avoided the trap of breastworks placed by the III , XI and XII Corps and led to an attack on the XI Corps ' rear . The fiercest fighting of the Chancellorsville Campaign occurred on May 3 , including action at Salem Church and Fredericksburg , and produced the second bloodiest day of the Civil War . The smaller Confederate Army ( 60 , 892 CS men vs . 133 , 868 US men ) experienced a significantly higher rate of casualties ( 22 % CS vs . 13 % US ) than the enemy during General Robert E . Lee ' s ' Perfect Battle . ' Muster out and after . Shortly after the Regiment mustered out and returned home , the Confederate victory at the Second Battle of Winchester on June 13 – 15 , 1863 , opened the doorway for the invasion of Pennsylvania . Many of the Regiment reenlisted immediately at the State level as part of the Emergency and State Militia Troops of 1863 . Others reenlisted for national service in units of infantry , cavalry or artillery , and some successively reenlisted at both levels . Mission statement and legacy . " To teach the lesson of patriotism to future generations . "