Service
The 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves were raised at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 20, 1861. Horatio G. Sickel served as the regiment's first colonel, William S. Thompson as lieutenant colonel and Richard H. Woolworth as major. It was sent to Washington, D.C., where the division was assigned to the I Corps of the Army of the Potomac. The I Corps remained in northern Virginia instead of following the rest of the Army for the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. In May, due to Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's demands for reinforcements, the division was sent the Peninsula as well. The 3rd performed well during the Seven Days Battles, but lost over one hundred men.
In August, the Army of the Potomac was transferred to northern Virginia to support the Army of Virginia. The 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves then fought at Turner's Gap in the Battle of South Mountain and at the Battle of Antietam. At the Battle of Fredericksburg on December 13, the 3rd formed part of the force which briefly broke through the Confederate right. It was among the last units to withdraw and suffered 128 casualties.
After Fredericksburg, the 3rd was assigned to the XXII Corps defending Washington, where it rested and recruited members. In January 1864, it was sent, along with the 4th Reserves, to West Virginia, where it performed garrison duty and fought at the Battle of Cloyd's Mountain. The regiment was mustered out on June 17, 1864, at Philadelphia. Men who reenlisted and those whose enlistments had not yet expired were transferred to the 54th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry on June 8, 1864.
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—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)