Artillery

Artillery Page

Battery D fields a full scale reproduction 3 inch Ordinance Rifle. The 3-inch ordnance rifle was the most widely used rifled gun during the war. Invented by John Griffen, it was extremely durable, with the barrel made of wrought iron, primarily produced by the Phoenix Iron Works Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. The rifle had exceptional accuracy. During the Battle of Atlanta, a Confederate gunner was quoted: "The Yankee three-inch rifle was a dead shot at any distance under a mile. They could hit the end of a flour barrel more often than miss, unless the gunner got rattled."

The bursting problem that plagued the Parrott was virtually nonexistent in the wrought iron gun. Only one Ordnance Rifle is known to have burst during the entire Civil War (a gun in a Pennsylvania battery burst at the muzzle ) while firing double canister during the Battle of the Wilderness.

The Ordnance Rifle was a nearly perfect field piece. The absolute pinnacle of muzzle-loading artillery, it remained the primary rifled field gun in the U. S. inventory well into the 1880's when it finally gave way to breechloaders.

1st Pennsylvania Volunteer Artillery Battery D and

The 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry

Service History of 1st Light Artillery Pennsylvania Volunteers Battery D

Recruited in Blair and Philadelphia Counties

Organization

Organized at Philadelphia August 5, 1861.
Moved to Washington, D.C., August, 1861.
Attached to Buell's Division, Army Potomac, October, 1861, to March, 1862.
Artillery, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, Army Potomac, to September, 1862.
Artillery, 3rd Division, 6th Army Corps, Army Potomac, to May, 1863.
Artillery Brigade, 6th Army Corps, to June, 1863.
Camp Barry, Defences of Washington, D.C., to August, 1863.
Unattached, Artillery, Dept. West Virginia, to December, 1863.
1st Brigade, 1st Division, West Virginia, to January, 1864.
Wheaton's Brigade, Dept. West Virginia, to April, 1864.
Artillery Brigade, Dept. West Virginia, to January, 1865.
1st Separate Brigade, Dept. West Virginia, to May, 1865.
2nd Infantry Division, West Virginia, to June, 1865.

Service

Duty in the Defenses of Washington, D. C., till March, 1862.
Ordered to the Virginia Peninsula March.
Siege of Yorktown April 5-May 4.
Battle of Williamsburg May 5.
Battle of Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, May 31-June 1.
Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1.
James River Road near Fair Oaks June 29.
Charles City Cross Roads June 29.
Malvern Hill July 1.
At Harrison's Landing till August 16.
Movement to join Pope August 16-26.
Sulphur Springs August 26.
Maryland Campaign September.
Battle of Antietam, Md., September 16-17 (Reserve).
Duty in Maryland till October 29.
Movement to Falmouth, Va., October 29-November 19.
Battle of Fredericksburg December 12-15.
"Mud March" January 20-24, 1863.
At Falmouth till April.
Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6.
Operations at Franklin's Crossing April 29-May 2.
Maryes Heights, Fredericksburg, May 3.
Salem Heights May 3-4. Banks' Ford May 4.
Ordered to Washington, D.C., June, and duty at Camp Barry till August.
Ordered to Harper's Ferry, W. Va., and duty there till August, 1864.
Sheridan's Shenandoah Valley Campaign August to November.
Berryville September 3.
Battle of Opequan, Winchester, September 19.
Fisher's Hill September 22.
Battle of Cedar Creek October 19.
Duty at Maryland Heights and in Dept. of West Virginia till June, 1865.
Mustered out June 30, 1865.

Losses

Lost during service 11 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and
1 Officer and 18 Enlisted men by disease.
Total 30.