Civil War reenactors to honor bravery of Pennsylvania regiment

The ground where the killing took place is quiet and serene. A breeze rustles through scrub oaks and pine trees that surround a depression where the Whitlock house once stood.

Almost 150 years ago, Union and Confederate soldiers fought hand-to-hand there, slashing with bayonets and bludgeoning with gun stocks. The din of musket fire and screams was deafening.

Now, at that spot, 300 yards from the nearest road in Glendale, Va., there is a historical marker celebrating the desperate charge of a Philadelphia unit of Union soldiers.

At a crucial moment, the 69th Pennsylvania Infantry, made up of Irish immigrants, stopped Confederate forces from turning a Union retreat into a disastrous rout.

On Saturday, a few dozen Philadelphia and South Jersey reenactors who portray the 69th in full uniform will march the route of the charge and dedicate the marker they paid for.

"Saving the land [from development] is not enough," said Don Ernsberger, 62, a Lansdale reenactor who helped coordinate the Virginia event. "You have to take the additional step of educating people about what happened there."

The reenactors packed their muskets and wool Union uniforms into a rented van and personal cars for the long trip Friday to Glendale.

"We come from many different backgrounds," Ernsberger said. "I was an educator and a deputy chief of staff for a California congressman on Capitol Hill.

"We have three lawyers, forklift operators, people from many other occupations. All are connected by their interest in the Civil War."

And more than half of them have Irish ancestors.

The members of the original Pennsylvania unit "were all volunteers," said Bob Clements, 59, a Haddon Heights resident and technical editor and writer at Lockheed Martin. "They came from Ireland, got off the boat, and within days, weeks, or months were fighting for their new country.

"That's something people should remember and respect," he said. "It's the right thing to do - to preserve their memory so it does not fade from history."

As dawn broke on June 30, 1862, the 69th had been marching and fighting for four days and had not slept the night before. The soldiers were taking a break after arriving at Glendale when the Confederates punched through the Union line about 2:30 p.m.

The Southerners took over artillery batteries and were ready to turn them on retreating federal troops as Union Gen. Joseph Hooker looked for a way to plug the gap. "I will give you one of my best regiments, the 69th Pennsylvania," Gen. Edwin V. Sumner told Hooker.

Musicians began a drumbeat and more than 500 members of the Irish unit lined up, fixed bayonets, and moved forward through the ranks of other retreating Union soldiers.

"The charge was crucial," said Bill Meehan, a reenactor and retired Philadelphia steamfitter who lives in West Goshen. "It was an amazing feat.

"You had other troops running away and you'd have to ask yourself, 'They're running, so why shouldn't I?' " Meehan said. "But they did their duty for their new country."

The 69th advanced through heavy musket volleys and exploding artillery shells, then returned fire and fought hand-to-hand near the Whitlock house.

Seven were killed and 34 were wounded, but the hole in the line was plugged and the artillery was not used on other retreating troops. During the night, the 69th joined the Union withdrawal, leaving the hard-won field.

"We were ordered to evacuate," said Ernsberger, who - as a reenactor private - often speaks as if he were a veteran of the unit. "But we stopped the Confederates from breaking the Union army in half."

The historical marker commemorating the battle is set in a small open area of the forest, lit by the sun at midday. It's part of a tract purchased by the Civil War Preservation Trust, a nonprofit organization that plans to turn it over to the National Park Service, which will be represented along with the trust at the Saturday dedication.

The location "is almost like a natural theater," said Ernsberger. Without the marker, "the average person would walk right past the Whitlock house and not know it," he said. "This marker will be the beginning of what we hope will be a walking trail and other markers."

The 69th would go on to fight in some of the most horrific battles of the war, including Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg. By the time of the surrender of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House in April 1865, only 56 of the 1,007 men who once filled its ranks were present.

On Saturday, reenactors in blue wool uniforms will raise heavy muskets skyward and fire a volley as a salute.

"Their sacrifice saved the lives of others," said Scott Eller, 43, a Collingdale resident and reenactor who serves as a paramedic and diver for the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Environmental Medicine. "They proved themselves in battle, and their recognition is overdue."