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September |
Organized by First Lieutenant Joseph M. Knap of Company L, 28th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment at Point of Rocks, Md., from a company formed for the 63rd Pennsylvania Infantry and surplus men of the 28th Pennsylvania Infantry.
Knap became captain of the battery, with Charles A. Atwell and Clement Tingley, Jr. as first lieutenants and Edward R. Geary and James D. McGill as second lieutenants.
The battery immediately moved to Washington and into camp at East Capital Hill, Defenses of Washington, attached to W. F. Smith's Division, Army of the Potomac, and was outfitted as a six gun battery. |
November 24 |
Moved to Point of Rocks; attached to Banks' Division, Army of the Potomac for duty there and near Harper's Ferry |
December 19 |
Action at Point of Rocks |
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February 28 |
Occupation of Loudon Heights |
March 1-April 14 |
Operations on line of Manassas Gap Railroad, attached to Geary's Separate Brigade, Banks' 5th Army Corps |
March 1 |
Capture of Lovettsville |
March 7-8 |
March to Wheetland and Leesburg |
March 8 |
Capture of Leesburg |
March 12 |
Advance to Snickersville |
March 14 |
Upperville |
March 15 |
Ashby's Gap |
March 27 |
Middleburg |
March 27-28 |
Operations about Middleburg and White Plains |
April 1 |
At Salem; attached to Geary's Separate Brigade, Dept. of the Shenandoah. |
April 2 |
Thoroughfare Gap |
April 14 |
Piedmont; Guarding Railroad at Salem. Four guns under Captain Knap were at Salem while a section of two guns under Lieutenant Atwell were stationed at Front Royal with Colonel Kenley's outpost there. |
May 23 |
Front Royal
The two gun section under Lieutenant Atwell was part of Colonel Kenly's force which was overwhelmed and destroyed by General Jackson's surprise attack. The force was able to withdraw from the town across the Shenandoah River, and Atwell's guns supported the rearguard at the bridges.
From the wayside marker at Guard Hill, north of Front Royal:
Closely pursued by the 8th Louisiana Infantry, Union Col. John R. Kenly's rear guard occupied Guard Hill just west of here. The two-gun section of Knap's Battery E, Pennsylvania Light Artillery, commanded by Lt. Charles Atwell, covered part of the peninsula between the North and South Forks of the Shenandoah River as the Confederates surged toward the North Fork Bridge.
As the Confederate forces crossed the South Fork onto the peninsula, Kenly's Union troops deployed on the Winchester side of the Pike Bridge over the North Fork. The prominence of Guard Hill offered Kenly a good position to slow down the Southern advance. Atwell unlimbered his cannons on the height west of the turnpike near Dr. Kenner's home, while the Federal infantry dug in on either side of the road to combat any attempt by the Confederates crossing at the bridge.
Atwell's guns held off the commands of Col. Bradley T. Johnson and Maj. Chatham Roberdeau Wheat for almost an hour, despite being shelled by Capt. John A. Lusk's Confederate battery from Atwell's former position on Richardson's Hill. When Kenly rode forward to check the progress of his bridge-burning orders, he found "the river below the bridges ... alive with horsemen (Lt. Col. Thomas S. Flournoy's 6th Virginia Cavalry), crossing in two different places by fording." Kenly ordered a retreat, leaving two companies of the 5th New York Cavalry as a rear guard while the infantry and artillery hastened north on the Front Royal Turnpike.
During the retreat to Winchester several men were captured, and just before reaching the town the two guns were spiked and abandoned. They were recovered when Jackson was forced to retreat from Winchester. |
May 24-25 |
Retreat to Manassas, attached to Geary's Separate Brigade, Dept. of the Rappahannock |
June-August |
Guard Railroad and operations in the Valley attached to Artillery, 2nd Corps, Army of Virginia |
July 12-17 |
Reconnaissance to Orange and Culpeper Court House |
August 9 |
Battle of Cedar Mountain
One enlisted man was killed along with a black civilian hired as a servant for the battery, who was helping to carry amunition to the guns. Lieutenant Geary was wounded. |
August 16-September 2 |
Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia |
August 21 |
Rappahannock Bridge |
August 23-25 |
Sulphur Springs |
September 2-23 |
Maryland Campaign; attached to Artillery, 2nd Division, 12th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac |
September 16-17 |
Battle of Antietam
The battery lost one enlisted man killed and several badly wounded. |
September 19-23 |
Moved to Harper's Ferry |
October-December |
Duty at Sandy Hook |
November 9 |
Reconnaissance to Rippon |
December 2-6 |
Reconnaissance to Winchester |
December 2 |
Berryville |
December 4 |
Winchester |
December 9-17 |
March to Fairfax Station and duty there |
|
January 20-24 |
"Mud March" |
February-April |
At Aquia Creek |
April 27-May 6 |
Chancellorsville Campaign |
May 1-5 |
Battle of Chancellorsville
The battery lost one enlisted man killed and several wounded. Lieutenant Atwell was lightly wounded and Captain Knap had his horse killed under him. |
May |
Attached to Artillery Brigade, 12th Army Corps |
May 25 |
Captain Knap resigned to become superintendent of the Fort Pitt Foundry in Pittsburg, which was casting guns and mortars for the Navy and coastal forts. Lieutenant Atwell was promoted to captain and Sergeant Thomas Sloan was promoted to lieutenant. |
June 11-July 24 |
Gettysburg Campaign |
July 1-3 |
Battle of Gettysburg
The battery was commanded by Captain Atwell. It brought six 10-pounder Parrott rifles to the field.
From the monuments:
"At 3:30 p.m. July 2nd one gun was placed on Culp's Hill in the position marked by a monument, and was joined by two others at 5 p.m., when the three guns engaged the enemy's batteries on Benner's Hill. These guns were withdrawn when the Infantry was ordered to the left and the Battery went into this position where it remained until the close of the battle."
"Present at Gettysburg 4 officers and 135 men. Wounded 3 men." |
September 24-October 3 |
Movement to Bridgeport, Ala. attached to Army of the Cumberland |
October 28-29 |
Wauhatchie, Tenn.
Captain Atwell was mortally wounded and Lieutenant Geary was killed. Lieutenant McGill took command of the battery. |
November 23-25 |
Battles of Chattanooga |
November 23-24 |
Lookout Mountain |
November 25 |
Mission Ridge |
November 27 |
Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge |
December |
Artillery, 2nd Division, 12th Corps, Army of the Cumberland |
|
January |
The battery reenlisted |
January and February |
On veteran's furlough |
April 12-16 |
Expedition down Tennessee River to Triana attached to Artillery, 2nd Division, 20th Army Corps |
May to September |
Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign |
May 8-11 |
Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge |
May 8 |
Dug Gap or Mill Springs |
May 14-15 |
Battle of Resaca |
May 19 |
Near Cassville |
May 25 |
New Hope Church |
May 26-June 5 |
Operations on line of Pumpkin Vine Creek and battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills |
June 10-July 2 |
Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain |
June 11-14 |
Pine Mountain |
June 15 |
Gilgal or Golgotha Church |
June 15-17 |
Lost Mountain |
June 17 |
Muddy Creek |
June 19 |
Noyes Creek |
June 22 |
Kolb's Farm |
June 27 |
Assault on Kenesaw |
July 4 |
Ruff's Station or Smyrna Camp Ground; attached to Artillery Brigade, 20th Army Corps |
July 5-17 |
Chattahoochie River |
July 19-20 |
Peach Tree Creek
Captain McGill was badly wounded and two enisted men were killed. Lietenant James Dunlevy took command of the battery. |
July 22-August 25 |
Siege of Atlanta
Lieutenant Dunleavy resigned due to declining health, dying shortly after. Lieutenant Sloan was promoted to captain. |
August 26-September 2 |
Operations at Chattahoochie River Bridge |
September 2-November 15 |
Occupation of Atlanta |
November 9 |
Near Atlanta |
November 15-December 10 |
March to the sea |
December 10-21 |
Siege of Savannah |
|
January to April |
Campaign of the Carolinas |
March 16 |
Averysboro, N. C. |
March 19-21 |
Battle of Bentonville |
March 24 |
Occupation of Goldsboro |
April 9-13 |
Advance on Raleigh |
April 10 |
Neuse River |
April 14 |
Occupation of Raleigh |
April 26 |
Bennett's' House. Surrender of Johnston and his army. |
April 29-May 20 |
March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond. Va. |
May 24 |
Grand Review |
June 14 |
Mustered out at Pittsburg |
