PREFACE. HE plan of this work is to tell the story of the Eighty ΤΗ seventh Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, from the time it entered the service, in 1861, to the end of the great conflict for the preservation of the Union. The first chapters describe how the regiment was recruited and organized, and how the soldiers went to war. Then follows a mental picture of the daily life and acts of the men, portraying their sturdy courage and devotion to the country and the flag, their experience in camp, on the march, in battle, in the prison pen, and how the returning soldiers were welcomed home. To the comrades of the regiment, it is hoped the work will present a stereoscopic view, a panorama of their career in the army, which will take them back in memory to the time of their early manhood, cause their pulses to thrill, and help them to live over again those eventful years of the past. For the nonmilitary reader, the aim has been to make the history interesting, instructive and entertaining, and show how the soldier of the Civil War served and fought and endured to prevent the dismemberment of the Union. A comprehensive description of all the engagements has not been attempted, but the part taken by the regiment in every skirmish and battle in which it participated, is given in detail, as well as an account of its long marches, during the entire period of its service. The project to prepare and publish the history of the regi ment originated at the reunion of 1897. It culminated in a |